Did you see this?
Our weekly look at some of the best and most interesting things I've seen over the last 7 days
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BASEBALL’S “WOKE HILLBILLY”
One of my favorite Baseball writers of all-time, Scott Miller, profiles one of my favorite Baseball people of all-time, Tim Flannery, for The New York Times.
STEELE-Y RESOLVE
It can sometimes be easy for some fans to forget that the players they root for are human beings who, like all of us, have good days and bad days and often have challenges in their lives away from their jobs.
Meghan Montemurro of The Chicago Tribune shares the story of emerging Cubs ace Justin Steele, who has burst onto the big league scene with a Cy Young-caliber season in 2023 while simultaneously helping his fiancee deal with a life-altering illness.
One of the best baseball stories I’ve read this year.
TOUGH TIMES IN SAN DIEGO
As a disastrous season winds down for the Padres, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune took a look at issues of “culture, cohesion and chemistry” within the clubhouse.
PROSPECTS APLENTY
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo breaks down the reasons why we’ve seen a record number of top prospects make their big league debuts in 2023.
SUDDEN IMPACT
From the Reds at #1 to the Braves at #30, Jim Bowden of The Athletic ranks the impact made by rookies on each big league roster in 2023.
Eury Perez elevated the Marlins into the top half of the rankings more or less single-handedly.
TO SELL OR NOT TO SELL
Is the Lerner family rethinking its decision to sell the Nationals? Thom Loverro of The Washington Times thinks so.
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ICYMI
In case you didn’t check out VFTB daily, here’s what you missed this past week:
With 3 weeks to go, we broke down the NL Wild Card race, 6 teams for 3 spots.
One thing to know about every team in the National League.
One thing to know about every team in the American League.
The latest on Sandy Alcantara’s UCL sprain and a look at epidemic of pitching injuries that’s plaguing Major League Baseball.
While you’re here…
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Regarding the number of prospects in MLB this year, it seems clear that injuries and payroll considerations are paramount. Lots of injuries on the docket with all that guaranteed money, replaced with league- minimum players. Additionally, successful teams stagger their prospect replacements, formulating a strategy that is balanced with the payroll management. Consider Houston, which allowed Correa, Springer, and Verlander to walk. Peña, Correa's replacement, didn't have to replicate Correa's production. Tucker was waiting in the wings when Springer left. Positions that need filling due to free agency need not have FAs re-signed just to stay even because the strategy is team composition-centic, not entirely positionally driven. The best run teams, as we know, do not rebuild, they reload. By continually integrating prospect talent, production is more stable, veterans carry the load, and teams are not forced to wager their future on one or two ridiculously risky high-priced and long-term losing FA deals. The team can determine who and for how long they will sign with reasonable expectations of the baseball success dynamic, which is different, we know, from other sports. Teams like the Reds and Tigers wasted the better part of a decade by eschewing the base all dynamic and hitching their respective wagons to mindless long-term deals (Votto and Cabrera) instead of utilizing those monstrous sums to balance their teams. I figure the Yankees (Judge and Stanton), Mets, and Padres (many players) are just entering their handwringing learning curve.