Good things come to those who wait and for the Chicago Cubs, they know that all too well. When you’ve spent over a century waiting for a championship, a few extra months over the winter biding your time for a
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Category: Pinch Hitting
Welcome to Hell – Your 2018 Baltimore Orioles
Welcome to BF&N, Matt Clough… It’s 2018. The past two World Series champions have won the title – and ended their respective championship droughts – by utilising a combination of long-term thinking that incorporating tanking and advanced analytics. This sabermetric
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Player Profiles – The Kid
This post by podcast guest Mark Blakemore, originally featured on Bases Loaded in 2014. Check out his other player profile The Big Unit It takes a talented individual to not only make it as a major league baseball player but
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Time to Stop Hating on the Yankees…
Welcome back, Chris Brown… In a recent survey, the UK voted the Yankees as the team they hate the most. Admittedly if there’s one MLB team that traditionally shouldn’t be liked, it’s the Bronx Bombers, but here’s a few reasons
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What’s in a Cap?
Taking on another Hall of Fame controversy, a warm BF&N welcome to Padraig Whelan… This week, the 2018 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees for the summer’s ceremony were revealed. A four-man group of Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero
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Player Profiles – The Big Unit
This post by podcast guest Mark Blakemore, originally featured on Bases Loaded in 2014. Occasionally a pitcher comes along who dominates through intimidation. Their propensity to throw heat together with movement and the ability to rack up strikeouts at a rapid rate
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Milwaukee Brewers – Stick or Twist?
Welcome to BF&N, Craig Batho… 2018 was a gigantic step in the right direction for the Milwaukee Brewers, who were very much stripped down for parts over the three previous years. Seeing Jean Segura, Jonathan Lucroy, and Carlos Gomez, among
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The Pittsburgh Pirates – Panic Stations or Trust the Process?
Welcome to BF&N, Estevão Maximo… Contrary to popular belief, even if you do things the right way, it might not work. In baseball and sports in general, the reason for using correct objective methodology is to get the best chance
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How I Learned to Love the Cubs
Welcome to BF&N, Michael Ivory… I love cricket. Out of all sports in England (and I follow the vast majority), it’s my number one. There’s nothing better for me than sitting at Edgbaston, on a hot summers day with a
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The Tale Of A Third Baseman Called Traffic Cone
In 2015 the Boston Red Sox signed Pablo Sandoval to a five-year, $95m deal. If you missed out on what happened, well he was terrible. In his first season, he batted .245/.292/.366 with 10 HR (wRC+ 76). Not only was
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