Majors: Column
Dodgers Are Left In Limbo
Dec. 23, 2009
Are the Dodgers' hopes, along with the marriage of owners Frank and Jamie McCourt, on the rocks? [...] Continue Reading »
Padres, Blue Jays Make Moves For Different Reasons
Oct. 26, 2009
The day Jeff Moorad took control of the Padres, general manager Kevin Towers was unofficially given notice that his days were numbered. [...] Continue Reading »
Draft Gives Teams Chance To Succeed
Sep. 22, 2009
With the Stephen Strasburg signing by the Nationals came an outcry to revamp baseball's draft. Why? The draft does what it is supposed to do. It gives the teams that have less success on the field a chance to add the better amateur prospects each year. [...] Continue Reading »
McDonald Comes Full Circle
Sep. 8, 2009
One of the most decorated prep athletes in Colorado history, Darnell McDonald was a first-round pick in 1997. He finally played his first game at Coors Field on Monday after a long, mostly minor league career, and talked to Jack Etkin about the long, strange trip back to Denver. [...] Continue Reading »
Needed Step
Sep. 4, 2009
For all the fanfare surrounding the Nationals agreeing to terms with righthander Stephen Strasburg, the more significant moment in the history of that franchise came three days later. That's when the term interim was removed from Mike Rizzo's title and he was officially announced as the team's general manager, and the true foundation for the future was put in place. [...] Continue Reading »
Always A Gamble
Sep. 2, 2009
It's a gamble when a first-round draft choice turns his back on pro ball. And rarely does the player hit the jackpot, at least in baseball. [...] Continue Reading »
Slowing The Spread Of The Game
Aug. 20, 2009
While my colleague Will Lingo argues (correctly) that baseball and the Olympics were never a great fit, there are ways that baseball needs the Olympics. And the biggest reason is the bureaucracy and the money that stem from the strength of the Olympic brand name. [...] Continue Reading »
Rickey Steals The Show
Aug. 11, 2009
What was so special about Rickey Henderson's induction into the Hall of Fame is that it was clear how special the moment was for Henderson. Henderson stole the show at this year's induction ceremony. But then, what else could you expect from the game's all-time thief? [...] Continue Reading »
Wrong One Leaving?
Jul. 27, 2009
If Blue Jays general manager J.P Ricciardi can't figure out a way to make Roy Halladay fit into his long-term plans, then the best solution in Toronto would be to keep Halladay and get rid of Ricciardi. [...] Continue Reading »
Making The Most Of It
Jul. 14, 2009
Juan Pierre has gone back to the Dodgers bench with the return of Manny Ramirez from his 50-game exile for violating baseball's drug policy. Pierre, however, is no longer forgotten. [...] Continue Reading »
Fehr Creates His Own Labor Legacy
Jul. 6, 2009
When Don Fehr became the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, he was in a no-win situation. Twenty-six years later, however, as Fehr announced his resignation as the executive director of the union, he departs a winner—big time. [...] Continue Reading »
Ramirez Sideshow Comes To Cal League
Jun. 29, 2009
Manny Ramirez homered off 2007 first-rounder Nick Schmidt in his first rehab at-bat in the Cal League, but can it really be "rehab" if he's coming off a 50-game PED suspension? [...] Continue Reading »
Still Going
Jun. 1, 2009
There's a reason Bobby Cox is still managing for the Braves. [...] Continue Reading »
Current Setup Flawed But Still Works
Jul. 30, 2008
College players were cool in the Olympics and big leaguers would be fascinating, but the current setup with minor leaguers representing Team USA (and other nations) makes for an interesting tournament. [...] Continue Reading »
Commencing A New Chapter
Apr. 5, 2007
Alan Schwarz says farewell with his final Baseball America column. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Philip Humber And Mike Pelfrey
Mar. 23, 2007
Alan Schwarz sits down with the Mets top two pitching prospects. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Cooper Brannan
Mar. 6, 2007
Cooper Brannan's career as an infantry rifleman in the Marines ended two years ago, when on his second tour of duty in Iraq, a grenade blew several fingers off his left hand. Yet that horrific moment ultimately led to a second career beginning right now: Padres minor league pitcher. Brannan, 22, still has only four fingers on his left hand but will carry 40 times the normal life experience inside his new uniform. I spoke with the righthander about getting signed by the Padres, his experience in Iraq, and playing Wiffle ball in the desert with buddies who never came home. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Dale Murphy
Feb. 26, 2007
Alan Schwarz talks with former Braves star Dale Murphy who is developing a national organization to educate young athletes about the unfairness of using steroids. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Casey Close
Feb. 9, 2007
Alan Schwarz talks with agent Casey Close about the business and his brief, if spectacular, playing career. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Ellis Burks
Jan. 24, 2007
Ellis Burks is learning the other side of the game working as a special assistant to the general manager for the Indians. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Manny Acta And Fredi Gonzalez
Jan. 11, 2007
Alan Schwarz talks with the NL East's two newest managers. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Lou Piniella
Dec. 18, 2006
Alan Schwarz sits down with Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella who is taking over a Cubs team that is on a winter spending spree. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Walt Jocketty
Nov. 24, 2006
Alan Schwarz interviews Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty about winning the World Series and building a championship team. [...] Continue Reading »
Baseball America's Scouting Dictionary
Nov. 14, 2006
It happens to everyone at Baseball America. A scout is describing a player's skills, breaking down a kid's tools and potential and mindset, and every 10 words or so starts speaking in a tongue so foreign — "chicken-winger" . . . "cankles". . . "snap dragon" — that you long for an English-to-scout dictionary. Laughs Dodgers scouting director Logan White, "My sister would ask me when I talked about my job, 'What the heck are you saying?' She had no idea." We know the same thing happens to you when you're reading BA. To appease the desperate cries, we hereby present the Baseball America Scouting Dictionary, the first time all important scouting terms have been brought together in one handy-dandy, clip-and-save resource. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Rob Manfred And Mike Weiner
Nov. 3, 2006
Alan Schwarz breaks down how the CBA affects the draft and the minor leagues with the men who negotiated the document. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Billy Beane
Oct. 19, 2006
With all the hoopla surrounding Billy Beane and his management of the Athletics several years ago, I tended to be more reserved, saying, "The scouts gave him cheap stars like Hudson, Mulder and Tejada. Re-tooling the club will be the real trick." Now he's turned it. The A's just won 93 games and went deeper into the postseason than any Oakland club since the team went to the World Series in 1990, fueled mostly by the Danny Harens, FrankThomases and Mark Kotsays he acquired without the draft. I sat down with Beane a few days after the Tigers swept Oakland from the playoffs to talk about his evolving shopping lists, what he wants from his next manager and how—gasp!—his A's might one day lead the league in steals. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Joe Buck
Oct. 16, 2006
In the 10 years since Joe Buck called his first World Series at age 27, he has become the nation's primary network voice for both baseball and football, called about 9,642 hours of Yankees postseason games and, now that he works the Fox football pregame bacchanalia as well, learned to decode not just Tim McCarver but Terry Bradshaw, too. I caught up with Buck just before his first postseason broadcast this October to talk about Yankee overkill, the difference between football and baseball culture and just what bass fishing can do for a guy. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Filmaker Who Saw All 189 Ballparks
Oct. 2, 2006
Cass Sapir visited every affiliated major and minor league ballpark this season. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Justin Verlander And Joel Zumaya
Sep. 13, 2006
Alan Schwarz sits down with Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya to talk about the young guns impressive seasons. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Jered Weaver
Aug. 31, 2006
Jered Weaver, two years removed from being named Baseball America's College Player of the Year at Long Beach State, became the first pitcher since Livan Hernandez in 1997 to win his first nine career decisions, posting a 1.95 ERA overall. (This while also going 6-1, 2.10 in two stints at Triple-A Salt Lake.) I sat down with Weaver in New York to talk about his corkscrew delivery, essentially replacing his brother Jeff on the Angels, and feeling like he's living a video game. [...] Continue Reading »
Dodgers Are Left In Limbo
Dec. 23, 2009
Are the Dodgers' hopes, along with the marriage of owners Frank and Jamie McCourt, on the rocks? [...] Continue Reading »
Padres, Blue Jays Make Moves For Different Reasons
Oct. 26, 2009
The day Jeff Moorad took control of the Padres, general manager Kevin Towers was unofficially given notice that his days were numbered. [...] Continue Reading »
Draft Gives Teams Chance To Succeed
Sep. 22, 2009
With the Stephen Strasburg signing by the Nationals came an outcry to revamp baseball's draft. Why? The draft does what it is supposed to do. It gives the teams that have less success on the field a chance to add the better amateur prospects each year. [...] Continue Reading »
McDonald Comes Full Circle
Sep. 8, 2009
One of the most decorated prep athletes in Colorado history, Darnell McDonald was a first-round pick in 1997. He finally played his first game at Coors Field on Monday after a long, mostly minor league career, and talked to Jack Etkin about the long, strange trip back to Denver. [...] Continue Reading »
Needed Step
Sep. 4, 2009
For all the fanfare surrounding the Nationals agreeing to terms with righthander Stephen Strasburg, the more significant moment in the history of that franchise came three days later. That's when the term interim was removed from Mike Rizzo's title and he was officially announced as the team's general manager, and the true foundation for the future was put in place. [...] Continue Reading »
Always A Gamble
Sep. 2, 2009
It's a gamble when a first-round draft choice turns his back on pro ball. And rarely does the player hit the jackpot, at least in baseball. [...] Continue Reading »
Slowing The Spread Of The Game
Aug. 20, 2009
While my colleague Will Lingo argues (correctly) that baseball and the Olympics were never a great fit, there are ways that baseball needs the Olympics. And the biggest reason is the bureaucracy and the money that stem from the strength of the Olympic brand name. [...] Continue Reading »
Rickey Steals The Show
Aug. 11, 2009
What was so special about Rickey Henderson's induction into the Hall of Fame is that it was clear how special the moment was for Henderson. Henderson stole the show at this year's induction ceremony. But then, what else could you expect from the game's all-time thief? [...] Continue Reading »
Wrong One Leaving?
Jul. 27, 2009
If Blue Jays general manager J.P Ricciardi can't figure out a way to make Roy Halladay fit into his long-term plans, then the best solution in Toronto would be to keep Halladay and get rid of Ricciardi. [...] Continue Reading »
Making The Most Of It
Jul. 14, 2009
Juan Pierre has gone back to the Dodgers bench with the return of Manny Ramirez from his 50-game exile for violating baseball's drug policy. Pierre, however, is no longer forgotten. [...] Continue Reading »
Fehr Creates His Own Labor Legacy
Jul. 6, 2009
When Don Fehr became the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, he was in a no-win situation. Twenty-six years later, however, as Fehr announced his resignation as the executive director of the union, he departs a winner—big time. [...] Continue Reading »
Ramirez Sideshow Comes To Cal League
Jun. 29, 2009
Manny Ramirez homered off 2007 first-rounder Nick Schmidt in his first rehab at-bat in the Cal League, but can it really be "rehab" if he's coming off a 50-game PED suspension? [...] Continue Reading »
Still Going
Jun. 1, 2009
There's a reason Bobby Cox is still managing for the Braves. [...] Continue Reading »
Current Setup Flawed But Still Works
Jul. 30, 2008
College players were cool in the Olympics and big leaguers would be fascinating, but the current setup with minor leaguers representing Team USA (and other nations) makes for an interesting tournament. [...] Continue Reading »
Commencing A New Chapter
Apr. 5, 2007
Alan Schwarz says farewell with his final Baseball America column. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Philip Humber And Mike Pelfrey
Mar. 23, 2007
Alan Schwarz sits down with the Mets top two pitching prospects. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Cooper Brannan
Mar. 6, 2007
Cooper Brannan's career as an infantry rifleman in the Marines ended two years ago, when on his second tour of duty in Iraq, a grenade blew several fingers off his left hand. Yet that horrific moment ultimately led to a second career beginning right now: Padres minor league pitcher. Brannan, 22, still has only four fingers on his left hand but will carry 40 times the normal life experience inside his new uniform. I spoke with the righthander about getting signed by the Padres, his experience in Iraq, and playing Wiffle ball in the desert with buddies who never came home. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Dale Murphy
Feb. 26, 2007
Alan Schwarz talks with former Braves star Dale Murphy who is developing a national organization to educate young athletes about the unfairness of using steroids. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Casey Close
Feb. 9, 2007
Alan Schwarz talks with agent Casey Close about the business and his brief, if spectacular, playing career. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Ellis Burks
Jan. 24, 2007
Ellis Burks is learning the other side of the game working as a special assistant to the general manager for the Indians. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Manny Acta And Fredi Gonzalez
Jan. 11, 2007
Alan Schwarz talks with the NL East's two newest managers. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Lou Piniella
Dec. 18, 2006
Alan Schwarz sits down with Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella who is taking over a Cubs team that is on a winter spending spree. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Walt Jocketty
Nov. 24, 2006
Alan Schwarz interviews Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty about winning the World Series and building a championship team. [...] Continue Reading »
Baseball America's Scouting Dictionary
Nov. 14, 2006
It happens to everyone at Baseball America. A scout is describing a player's skills, breaking down a kid's tools and potential and mindset, and every 10 words or so starts speaking in a tongue so foreign — "chicken-winger" . . . "cankles". . . "snap dragon" — that you long for an English-to-scout dictionary. Laughs Dodgers scouting director Logan White, "My sister would ask me when I talked about my job, 'What the heck are you saying?' She had no idea." We know the same thing happens to you when you're reading BA. To appease the desperate cries, we hereby present the Baseball America Scouting Dictionary, the first time all important scouting terms have been brought together in one handy-dandy, clip-and-save resource. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Rob Manfred And Mike Weiner
Nov. 3, 2006
Alan Schwarz breaks down how the CBA affects the draft and the minor leagues with the men who negotiated the document. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Billy Beane
Oct. 19, 2006
With all the hoopla surrounding Billy Beane and his management of the Athletics several years ago, I tended to be more reserved, saying, "The scouts gave him cheap stars like Hudson, Mulder and Tejada. Re-tooling the club will be the real trick." Now he's turned it. The A's just won 93 games and went deeper into the postseason than any Oakland club since the team went to the World Series in 1990, fueled mostly by the Danny Harens, FrankThomases and Mark Kotsays he acquired without the draft. I sat down with Beane a few days after the Tigers swept Oakland from the playoffs to talk about his evolving shopping lists, what he wants from his next manager and how—gasp!—his A's might one day lead the league in steals. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Joe Buck
Oct. 16, 2006
In the 10 years since Joe Buck called his first World Series at age 27, he has become the nation's primary network voice for both baseball and football, called about 9,642 hours of Yankees postseason games and, now that he works the Fox football pregame bacchanalia as well, learned to decode not just Tim McCarver but Terry Bradshaw, too. I caught up with Buck just before his first postseason broadcast this October to talk about Yankee overkill, the difference between football and baseball culture and just what bass fishing can do for a guy. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Filmaker Who Saw All 189 Ballparks
Oct. 2, 2006
Cass Sapir visited every affiliated major and minor league ballpark this season. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Justin Verlander And Joel Zumaya
Sep. 13, 2006
Alan Schwarz sits down with Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya to talk about the young guns impressive seasons. [...] Continue Reading »
Going Deep: Jered Weaver
Aug. 31, 2006
Jered Weaver, two years removed from being named Baseball America's College Player of the Year at Long Beach State, became the first pitcher since Livan Hernandez in 1997 to win his first nine career decisions, posting a 1.95 ERA overall. (This while also going 6-1, 2.10 in two stints at Triple-A Salt Lake.) I sat down with Weaver in New York to talk about his corkscrew delivery, essentially replacing his brother Jeff on the Angels, and feeling like he's living a video game. [...] Continue Reading »
indicates Premium Content | Copyright © 1999-2009 Baseball America Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. All rights reserved. | Site Map | Frequently Asked Questions/Site Troubleshooting | Privacy Notice | Return/Refund Policy.
Baseball America, 4319 South Alston Avenue, Suite 103, Durham, NC 27713.