Features Archives | Baseball Essential

Outs Above Average: A Test Case in Statcast’s Newest Number

Sep 15, 2017

A fun thought thing to talk about, if you're the kind of person who enjoys angry arguments about baseball statistics, is the 2016 stat lines for Jason Heyward and Matt Kemp: Player,AVG,OBP,SLG,OPS,OPS+,H...

Rebuild in Kansas City Will Be Royally Long, Ugly

Tom Dorsa

Sep 14, 2017

Kansas City Royals, Opinions & Predictions

Over the past few years, the Kansas City Royals have been perhaps the most fascinating and intriguing team in Major League Baseball. They have never been the most powerful team at the plate, but their exception...

Chris Sale’s Struggles Against the Indians are Bad News for the Red Sox

Varun Tekur

Aug 28, 2017

Boston Red Sox, Features

Chris Sale is unquestionably having one of the best seasons by a Boston Red Sox pitcher, or any American League pitcher, in recent years. His absurd 12.77 K/9 ratio is the highest figure in the major leagues, a...

What Boston Pressure? Eduardo Nunez Is Tearing It Up For Red Sox

Tom Dorsa

Aug 28, 2017

Boston Red Sox, Features

Can he handle the pressure that comes with playing in Boston? That's the first thing you'll hear from writers and analysts when the Boston Red Sox sign a high-level free agent, promote a promising prospect, or ...

Confessions of a Baseball Jinx

Jeff J. Snider

Aug 11, 2017

Features, Los Angeles Dodgers

I'm no scientist, but I know enough to know that baseball jinxes aren't real. An announcer saying the phrase "no-hitter" does not mysteriously impart added skills to the struggling hitters. No player ever got w...

Drew Pomeranz Quietly Putting Together a Stellar Season for the Boston Red Sox

Varun Tekur

Aug 8, 2017

Boston Red Sox, Features

By giving up highly regarded minor league pitcher Anderson Espinoza to the San Diego Padres, the Boston Red Sox seemingly paid a steep price for Drew Pomeranz in mid-July of the 2016 season. So, when Pomeranz s...

Oracular Voting Process Will Hurt Jose Altuve’s MVP Case

Tom Dorsa

Aug 2, 2017

American League, Opinions & Predictions

Just two weeks ago, baseball fans and experts alike had made the somewhat safe assumption that New York Yankees rookie sensation Aaron Judge could be penciled in as the American League's Most Valuable Player. H...

Rangers’ Window Has Closed; Now Is The Time To Sell Big

Tom Dorsa

Jul 28, 2017

Opinions & Predictions, Texas Rangers

As future Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre creeps closer to becoming the 28th player in Major League Baseball history to reach 3,000 career hits, fans of the club in ...

Nationals’ Trade For Madson, Doolittle Still Not Enough To Beat Dodgers

Tom Dorsa

Jul 17, 2017

National League, Opinions & Predictions, Statistics

On Sunday afternoon, it was announced that the Washington Nationals had traded reliever Blake Treinen, left-handed pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo, and infielder prospect Sheldon Neuse to the Oakland Athletics ...

Mature, Fearless Jared Johnson Took a Circuitous Route to Pro Baseball

Jeff J. Snider

Jul 17, 2017

Draft, Features, Interviews, Minor League Baseball, Washington Nationals

When a baseball player takes a few years off, it can raise questions. The most notable example is Josh Hamilton, whose league-imposed hiatus was not a pattern any aspiring ballplayer would want to follow. Almos...