Chris Kahrl's Transaction Analysis for September 11-15. "The interesting contest in the AL Central is among the young catching all five teams can boast...No, it isn't Piazza and Posada, but all five teams have interesting choices to make in the next couple of seasons, and most of these guys are plausible starters or prospects." (Baseball Prospectus)

Chris Kahrl: "The most basic problem this year's Braves team has is its lineup. Make no bones about it, the Braves are the weakest of the NL teams headed into the postseason." (ESPN.com)

Derek Zumsteg proposes some new awards. "Sure, we had the Hank Aaron Award, which was supposed to clear some of this up, but MLB managed to botch that (way to honor Hank there, by the way). Some may argue we don't need any more awards. But if three/league are good (MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year), I say, the more the better. As rosters expand, so should our hearts." (Baseball Prospectus)

Baker's Dozen: The week in preview. "The Cardinals sure are in a nice 91 to 95 or 96-win groove these past few years. The Diamondbacks, however, are one of the minority World Series champion teams to better their record the following season." (ESPN.com)

Jim Caple: "I like that David Wells used to go out to the mound with his shirt unbuttoned. I like that Eric Gagne wears the same sweat-stained cap the entire season. I like that Seattle's Charles Gipson wears his pants a little baggy and his blue socks up to just under his knees." (ESPN.com)

Rob Neyer: "I don't watch baseball to see players expressing their sartorial tastes, I watch baseball to see players playing as well as they can. If I had my druthers, all 25 players on each club would be compelled to wear their uniforms exactly the same, like the Reds were back in the days of the Big Red Machine." (ESPN.com)

........

Baker's Dozen: The week in preview. "I still think we're going to have a four-team race in [the AL West] one of these years. All four teams are interesting, either as teams or as showcases for great individuals. With a few right moves, the Rangers could be right in the thick of it next year." (ESPN.com)

Jeff Bower on the Mariners' disappointing season. "It's quite possible that Gillick's hands were tied by an ownership that announced before the deadline that they were loath to take on additional salary. If that's the case, it's time for the citizens of the Emerald City to grab their torches and pitchforks." (Baseball Prospectus)

Jonah Keri interviews Dr. Frank Jobe, the inventor of Tommy John surgery. (ESPN.com)

Good resource: Boston Sports Media Watch.

Bruce Allen: "The only ones who thought Manny's actions Wednesday night were out of line were people who were not even there. Everyone who was actually there, beat writers from both the Globe and Herald, have stated that Manny did nothing disrespectful. So will guys like John Dennis, Gerry Callahan, Bob Neumeier, Steve Burton and to a lesser degree Dale Arnold, be admonished, or have any action taken against them for this? Of course not. Their job is to stir things up, get people talking." (Boston Sports Media Watch)

Dusty Baker debate at Only Baseball Matters:

John Perricone: "In my opinion, the Giants win in spite of Dusty's failings. They do so because his basic managerial style is conducive to winning, because treating his players with respect is a terrific starting point. From that point forward, Dusty stumbles, big time."

Professor Jim Adams: "[T]o paraphrase Bill James, when players perform well the manager deserves a reasonable share of the credit. Particularly in this case, when we're dealing with a manager who is known for being liked and respected by his players, I think you have to draw a connection between Dusty’s people skills and these players’ astonishing on-field performances."

John Perricone: "If, as you suggest, good performance should be credited to the manager, who gets the credit for the team-wide failure over these last two years? His inability to get the most out of his backups has to be accounted for somehow, doesn't it? As for in game and player personnel management decisions, I see more problems."

Finally...

Patriots 44, Jets 7. Another upset win for those scrappy underdogs. (Boston Globe)

Derek Zumsteg on Freddy Garcia's struggles. (Baseball Prospectus)

New weblog: Boy of Summer.

Stark shuts down Dodgers' offense in Rockies' rout. There's nothing quite like...

Padres edge Giants in 10th. ...a good old-fashioned Dodgers-Giants pennant race. (Wild-card race, whatever.) (ESPN.com)

Vizcaino's homer ends Cards' eight-game win streak. "VIZ - CAI - AY - NO (clap clap)!" The Astros are now 5 1/2 games behind the Cardinals. Roy Oswalt goes for his 20th win tonight. (ESPN.com)

Angels surge into first-place tie with A's. We've got two great NorCal-SoCal races, both tied at the moment. The Angels-A's race isn't as big a deal, though...it's mainly to determine who draws the Yankees and who draws the Twins. That is, unless one of the teams totally collapses and the Mariners or Red Sox run the table. Doesn't look like that'll happen. (ESPN.com)

Last-place Rangers complete sweep of Mariners. The M's still get to play Oakland and Anaheim 6 times each, so they're still alive, but just barely. (ESPN.com)

Rob Neyer presents his Guide to Enjoying the Last Two Weeks of 2002. (ESPN.com)

Bill James: "A seven is still a seven, an ace is still an ace. Tejada is terrific, but he's the king; A-Rod is the ace, the best player in the league." (mlb.com)

Chris Kahrl's Transaction Analysis for September 4-10. "Royce Clayton... released. [White] Sox fans generally take their pleasures at other people's expense, and about the only way this could make them any happier is if Clayton suddenly somehow became a Cub. This really only leaves Todd Ritchie (and arguably Antonio Osuna) from among the Kenny Williams House of Horrors All-Stars, almost returning the organization back to where they were before he started working his magic." (Baseball Prospectus)

Bonds: Giants better bring Kent back next season.

"If he's not back next year, I will be one pissed-off player on this team, period, and I'm not afraid to say it," Bonds told the San Francisco Chronicle after the Giants' 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Padres on Thursday. If Kent does not return, Bonds said, "The organization better get somebody that can do as well or better."

(ESPN.com)

Ryan Wilkins: "A lot of people like to talk about Vladimir Guerrero as The Most Overlooked Star In Baseball Today™, but I'd be willing to bet that a lot fewer people have heard of Carlos Beltran than Vlad the Impaler. It should be interesting, over the next few years, to see who ends up more valuable at his peak." (baseballjunkie.net)

John Perricone likes the wild card. I was beginning to think I was the only one. (Only Baseball Matters)

Bob Ryan: "Manny is frustrating. Manny is exasperating. Manny is, to most of us, a mystery. But we've seen Mannys before. Manny is in the finest tradition of baseball Goofballs. In baseball there are Deviants and there are Goofballs. You cannot live with the former, but you almost always try to live with the latter." (Boston Globe)

Spiezio helps bring Angels within two games of A's. (ESPN.com)

Craig Calcaterra on the amazin' A's. (Bull)

Of Feats, Streaks, and Pennant Races. Don Malcolm on the A's and the AL West race. (Big Bad Baseball)

Giants take over NL wild-card lead. They've won 5 straight; the Dodgers have lost 4 straight. (ESPN.com)

Gary Huckabay: "This is a strange time for me personally. I find myself rooting for the Giants. This is a similar feeling, I suspect, to finding yourself cheering for influenza, spoiled shellfish, or for a victor in the California Gubernatorial Race." (Baseball Prospectus)

Kent-for-Williams: from ugly to beautiful. Rob Neyer on Brian Sabean's first major deal as Giants GM. He took a lot of heat for it, but it's worked out great. (ESPN.com)

Ray Ratto: "Two months ago, Kent was a former Giant walking, and you couldn't have found a taker for Kent's return when summer began. Now, it's not only a discussible point but, for the Giants, a worthwhile one." (ESPN.com)

Craig Calcaterra on the labor agreement. (Bull)

Les Exits. A detailed Expos relocation study. (Mike's Baseball Rants)

Rob Neyer: "If Major League Baseball wants to test the waters in Washington, Portland, and Charlotte, the Expos -- actually, let's call them the "Tri-City Orphans" -- could play 27 home games in each of those cities, along with their normal road schedule. If MLB wants Las Vegas in the mix, the Orphans would play 20 games in each of those four prospective homes, along with a 'Bon voyage, Expos!' game in Montreal." (ESPN.com)

Mike: "It's an interesting idea but unfortunately an impractical one and not just because it's 'way too creative for Major League Baseball' as Neyer opines." (Mike's Baseball Rants)

John Perricone proposes a new Triple Crown. (Only Baseball Matters)

Chris Kahrl's Transaction Analysis for August 28 - September 3. "I'm pretty unhappy about how things turned out for the Reds, since there's so much here to like and so much here that you have to turn a blind eye towards in order to keep your enthusiasm...It might have been better if the Reds had been more aggressive in shoring up their rotation earlier in the summer, instead of winding up with overlapping pickups of Scuffy Moehler, Ryan Dempster, and Shawn Estes." (Baseball Prospectus)

A-Rod drives in six, breaks own SS homer record. (ESPN.com)

Rob Neyer: "The best -- as it turns out, the easiest -- way to measure 'value' is to simply ask, 'Which player does the most things to help his team win?' If you ask that question, you can't avoid the singular conclusion that Alex Rodriguez is the most valuable player in the American League. Yes, Miguel Tejada and Alfonso Soriano are both having great seasons ... but neither of them is within shouting distance of Rodriguez." (ESPN.com)

Braves don't lift a finger to clinch 11th straight title. Took them 12 years to win 11 straight titles, but they did it. (ESPN.com)

Bonds propels Giants past L.A. with mammoth HR. The teams are now tied for the wild card lead. (ESPN.com)

Michael Wolverton: "No middle infielder in the NL -- for that matter, no infielder in the NL -- comes close to matching [Jeff] Kent's offensive production this season. Yet in a survey of recent columns in leading publications breaking down the NL MVP race, we find barely even a mention of Kent." (ESPN.com)

Comparing Giambis. Dan Werr: "If Jeremy can reduce his strikeouts, he may well find himself among the league's most dangerous hitters. But even if he doesn't, he still has a great deal of value--value which, unfortunately, has largely escaped the notice of not only the media but also his team. Hopefully, that will change, and Jeremy will get a full season next year to show us all what he can do." (Baseball Primer)

Hudson, A's end Angels' win streak at 10. The A's have won 23 of their last 24. (ESPN.com)

Derek Zumsteg: "Every Mariners game for three weeks now has gotten more depressing. In fact, I've taken to watching this Mariners road trip flipping back and forth to ESPN to see the current A's score. When the A's are behind, I've found hope, but even then I dread knowing they're just coming back. Because, you see, they win every game." (Baseball Prospectus)

Behind Lowe, Red Sox double-up Devil Rays. Too little, too late. Derek Zumsteg, I know how you feel. (ESPN.com)

Brady on target as Patriots steamroll Steelers. Aaaah. That's better. (ESPN.com)

Hatteberg's heroic blast wins 20th straight for A's. They blew an 11-run lead, but still won. (ESPN.com)

Rob Neyer: "[T]he Athletics are making a case for themselves as one of the great second-half teams of this era. Or any other." (ESPN.com)

Next scheduled post: September 10.