Posts belonging to Category Major League Baseball

What’s in a name? A great many syllables, if you’re Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish. But while the former journeyman pitcher’s title is impressively weird, it has many rivals – most of them old-timey – for the goofiest name in professional baseball history.

I’ve compiled a brief, unordered list of those names. Who is the funniest? And whom, as I quickly scoured over a century of data, did I unjustly overlook?

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Taylor Jungmann is currently 10-0 with a 0.90 ERA and a 5.79 K:BB in nearly 90 innings.  He features a fastball that sits in the low-90s that can reach above 95 mph when he needs/wants it.  His breaking ball is borderline-knockout currently, with a chance to pick up a little pace.  It currently is thrown in the high-70s with excellent depth and break in two planes.  His changeup grades as solid average to plus as well, although he doesn’t use it as often.  It is thrown in the 84-86 mph range with decent fade, though.  Most importantly, Jungmann commands all three pitches very well to both sides of the plate and has an athletic 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame that obviously projects.

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The Golden Sombrero presents MLB Look-alikes: Mark Teixeira and Prince William

Another week and another healthy helping of goodness, baseball is well under way with what can finally be considered a “worth-while” sample size.  By now, you have had enough time to watch baseball games, dissect saber-stats, and formulate a nice feel for your team and league.  It is the primetime to find an unsatisfied owner and score some fine product; the perfect opportunity to pry away some prime real estate at Target prices.

Unfortunately for this week, I have no new trades to report in the Denslow Cup.  I have been in negotiations on a couple deals involving some weight…Jose Bautista, Chipper Jones, Joey Votto, Yovani Gallardo, and C.C. Sabathia.  Not that these are all guys I will be talking about in this article, but I just love negotiating with other owners to find out how their opinions have changed on different guys and see if I can bring back a guy, or two, for under market value.

Speaking of negotiating, I can speak enough on how important it is to love the hunt as much as the kill.  In order to pull off successful trades, it requires many discussions and proposals with different owners in your league.  If your mind has  changed on guys you drafted, be sure that the same has happened all across the league.  Knowing how certain players on the fringe of bust or bounce-back years are being reevaluated is key to hitting pay dirt.  The following is a list of great Trade Bait.

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D-Lee: Far removed from his famous 2005 season…

Top 1: Derrek Lee called out on strikes against Gavin Floyd

Top 4: Lee struck out swinging against Floyd

Top 5: Lee called out on strikes against Floyd

Top 7: Lee struck out swinging against Jesse Crain

Final Line: 0-4, 4 strikeouts

Notes: After seemingly finding his swing (7-for-21 from April 26 – April 30) Lee kicked off May with a bang, fanning in each of his four at-bats on Sunday.  The performance lowers Lee’s slash line to .228/.304/.287 for the 2011 season, and he has now struck out 27 times in 101 at-bats.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 16