Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday …Ivan DeJesus

DeJesús is noteworthy for being involved in two trades that played significantly in the fortunes of the teams involved. In 1976, he was traded along with Bill Buckner from the Dodgers to the Cubs for Rick Monday. In 1981, he was traded from the Cubs to the Phillies for Ryne Sandberg and Larry Bowa. In 1977, he had 595 assists, the

Smallthoughts: Rave of the Week …Theo Epstein

Everyone loves a winner and Chicago is in love with Theo Epstein. he has done something no front office man has done in a Cubs front office in 108 years …turn the Cubs into a World Champion. Smart baseball decisions smart drafting of talent and hiring a smart manager makes for a smart Winner and

Smallthoughts :Old School Tuesday …Joe Niekro

Last week we spotlighted the Alou Brothers and Felipe Alou’s son Moises Alou. This week it the Niekro Brothers …Joe and Phil. Joe Niekro pitched for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers with occasional success before joining Phil with the Atlanta Braves in 1973. Joe used a fastball and a slider early

Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday…Moises Alou

  played for 17 seasons in the National League. In 1,942 career games, Alou had a batting average of .303 with 2,134 hits, 421 doubles, 332 home runs, and 1,287 runs batted in. His father Felipe, who managed Moises with the Expos from 1992 to 1996 and the Giants from 2005 to 2006, as well

Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday…Andre Dawson

I always liked watching Andre Dawson play. He played hard all the time. He was part of a young outfield that the Montreal Expos(Now the Washington Nationals) in the 1976-77 years. He played in the outfield Warren Cromartie  and Ellis Valentine. Dawson was a blend of speed and power and played great defense. Valentine had

Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday …Bill Madlock

Another player who doesn’t get mentioned enough as a great hitter. He wasn’t blessed with speed but could hit 300 from his bed yet never got the recognition that he fully deserved. A lifetime 305 hitter Madlock was a right-handed hitter who won four National League batting titles. His record of four batting titles as

Smallthoughts: Rave of the Week …Wilmer Flores, A.K.A. Mr. July

To Met fans July should be now known as Wilmer Flores Month. Last year in the month of July we had Wilmer Flores crying game in which he was emotional when the Mets tried unsuccessfully to trade him to the Milwaukee Brewers along with Zach Wheeler. It turns out to be the trade that didn’t

Smallthoughts: Rave of the Week… Jake Arrieta

Some pitchers go their whole careers and never pitch a no hitter, some franchises go their whole existence without having a pitcher hurling a no hitter for them (this was the case of the Mets until 2012 when Johan Santana pitched the first and only no hitter in franchise history). Jake Arrieta has two no

Smallthoughts : Old School Tuesday …Dusty Baker

In light of Dusty Baker becoming manager of the Washington Nationals a job he has been interested in for some time (https://smallthoughtsinasportsworld.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/dusty-baker-interested-in-washington-nationals-managers-job/) we are going to start Smallthoughts: Old School Tuesday by spotlight …Dusty Baker. Before becoming a big league manager, Dusty Baker was a successful major league player. Baker began his major league baseball

What did we Learn from both Wildcard games?

In a one game playoff home field didn’t matter at least to the visiting team because both the Astros and the Cubs came into new York and Pittsburgh and walked out with wins to advance to the next round against Kansas City and St Louis respectively. If there was any doubt of whether the Astros