I stopped giving a damn about the Hall of Fame years ago, save for one player. I wanted Ron Santo in the Hall Of Fame because I thought he deserved it, but also because I loved Ronnie so much and he wanted it so badly. I'm glad they finally called his name, despite the fact that they insultingly did it …
Ken Gurnick: Professional Asshole
I'm not going to link it, because that would be giving him publicity he doesn't deserve. Instead, I'll just copy and paste Gurnick's "reasoning" behind his HOF ballot. KEN GURNICK, Dodgers beat reporter Morris Morris has flaws — a 3.90 ERA, for example. But he gets my vote for more than a decade of ace performance that included three 20-win …
Obstructed View’s Self-Indulgent Retrospective of Our Own Posts From 2013
There wasn't much memorable about the 2013 Cubs, but we tried to keep things interesting and entertaining around here at Obstructed View. We saw more contributions from non-founding authors like Sitrick, GW and Myles while myself, Dmick, Berselius and And Counting had various reasons to step back a bit. Without them, OV would have been a much less interesting place …
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame vs. MLB Hall of Fame
This will be short because I'm mostly interested in your thoughts. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame does not keep drug users out of the Hall. It doesn't really care one way or the other. Drug use and music have gone together for longer than than I've been alive (39 years today). The best bands have been ones that …
Javier Baez Not the Only Baez Cubs Fans Should Root For
Cubs fans have been rooting for Javier Baez since he was drafted with the Cubs' first pick in the 2011 draft, but Carrie Muskat posted a piece today that sheds light on another member of the Baez family that we should all root for, Javier's sister, Noely. "[Christmas] is very, very special," said Baez, the Cubs' top prospect. "When my …
OV Hall of Fame Voting Results – Class of 2014
The votes have been cast and if OV was in charge of the Hall of Fame, there would be four (FOUR!) new inductees this summer. Congratulations, Greg Maddux (98.8% of the vote), Frank Thomas (79.8%), Tom Glavine (78.6%), and Mike Piazza (75.0%)! Voting Results Some quick notes: Last year, we elected Mike Piazza, Tim Raines, and Barry Bonds, but only Piazza …
Bill James: great frequency of defensive shifts will probably end in about five years
In a recent Q&A, Bill James said this and I agree. It may not be five years, but we will see an end to the increasing frequency of these shifts. The reason is simple: bunting is the best option and once players begin to do it, the shifts will end. If you can bunt for a hit, it almost always …
Patrick Newman and The Japan Times on NPB posting fees
The Japan Times published an article yesterday about how the new posting system agreement puts Rakuten (Masahiro Tanaka's team) in an unfavorable position. The Eagles were widely expected to post Tanaka this offseason, but the newly agreed upon system, complete with a $20 million cap on posting fees, seems to have the team rethinking things. “First of all, discuss it …
Rakuten President won’t post Masahiro Tanaka?
Following the announced agreement that the maximum bid for a posted Japanase player would be $20 million, it made it less likely that Masahiro Tanaka would be posted. According to this, the team president has said he will not be posted (h/t to RC). Rakuten was the lone NPB team to vote against the agreement and were said to be very angry …
Winter Meetings Roundup
The annual Winter Meetings took place this week and we had you covered here on Obstructed View we were lazy bastards and kept you uninformed. I'd apologize for this. It is the first of the meetings that I have not covered thoroughly in 10 years. I'm just tired of apologizing so let's just get to it. The biggest news is that …