Greg Burke's career trajectory might not be as drama-filled as Josh Hamilton's, as awe-inspiring as Rick Ankiel's, or as dynamic as Jose Bautista's, but to finally hold down a major league bullpen spot after eight years of toiling in the Independent and minor leagues -- as an undrafted free agent...

Luck plays a large role in the outcome of baseball games, and how players are perceived by fans.

To this day, many New York Yankees fans still gleefully speak of Aaron Small, who despite owning a 5.49 ERA (and 82 ERA+) from 1994 to 2004, somehow rolled out a 3.20...

Previously, Part 1 and Part 2 of this series explored targeting arbitration-eligible and pre-arbitration-eligible outfielders, respectively. Due to some well-intentioned clamoring, Part 3 will now explore acquiring either blocked prospects old and young, or formerly-touted minor leaguers who've seen better days.

GARY BROWN

At the 2011 trade deadline, the New...

The New York Mets offense is struggling. The team has a collective .230/.302/.382 triple-slash, with a .684 OPS -- which ranks 26th in the major leagues. However, the real issue is with the Mets' outfield. Mets' center fielders have combined for a .530 OPS+ (worst in the majors) and right...

The first part of this two-part series detailed a possible extension scenario for Daniel Murphy. Extending him through his final two arbitration and first two free agent seasons would make some sense for the New York Mets, but the organization should simultaneously attempt to generate trade interest for...

It wasn't too long ago that Nate McLouth was one of the more exciting, young outfielders in baseball. In 2008, McLouth-in his fourth major league season-posted a 125 OPS+, 26 HR, and 23 SB campaign for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The then 26 year-old also led the league with 46 doubles.

Among Mets fans, Daniel Murphy is a contentious player. They are generally split on how to view the 28-year-old infielder. To most, Murphy is a solid-hitting, hard-nosed starting second baseman, who would ideally be a super utility option on a playoff caliber team. To others, however, Murphy conjures up pure...

In 2011, Justin Upton emerged as an elite hitter in the major leagues. Upton, then 23 years old, already had a 26-home run season under his belt, but 2011 was different. His 141 OPS+ ranked just outside the top 10 in the National League, and his 31 home runs were...

Through the first month of the season, the main attraction in Flushing has been Matt Harvey. Harvey has dazzled both Mets and baseball fans alike with a 1.54 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, and 3.90 K/BB. He's even won 4 of his first 5 starts in 2013. But with each dominant game...

The most contentious decision for a fantasy baseball owner is always which closers to draft. Closers, unlike arguably any other position, come with the greatest degree of risk.

The best example of this is perhaps New York Yankees great, Mariano Rivera. Prior to 2012, Rivera owned a sterling career 2.21...

Audiences know why Willy Loman commits suicide, at least the first line of Hamlet's contemplative soliloquy, and even that Batman will eventually put the bad guy to justice. Despite knowing "what will happen," audiences are not deterred from watching the performances many times over.

Yet in the world of fandom,...

In 2012, the Washington Nationals advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1981. Just to give you a sense of how long ago that was, Ronald Reagan was in the ninth month of his first term as president, 'Endless Love' by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie was blowing...

The New York Yankees have won 27 World Championships in their storied history- - five of which coming in the past 16 years. The Yanks have also made the playoffs 16 times in the last 17 seasons, only missing out in 2008. And despite trash talk from envious onlookers, the...

The 2013 baseball season is still in its fetal state. Teams like the Colorado Rockies, for instance, have until March 31 -- about 17 days from now -- to make organization-altering decisions, like tapping Miguel Batista over Daniel Rosenbaum as their long man.

Oh, there will be blood (or at...

For many fans, the beginning of the baseball season starts in early-February, when pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Ten days ago, the likes of David Price, Justin Verlander, and even Greg Burke took the mound in sunny Florida and Arizona for their respective organizations. Yet even though all...

With few closing options available via free agency, teams have little choice but to buy seventh and eighth inning depth instead. And considering Brandon League recently signed a $22.5 million, three-year deal with the Los Angles Dodgers to be their setup man, it's possible that other teams will...

In the school of sabermetrics, you are taught a few basic, ideological ground-rules: batting average doesn't matter for much, being overly aggressive on the base paths results in unnecessary outs, and patience [at the plate] is a virtue. For these three reasons, Juan Pierre has often been the subject of...

At its core, BBH's recent "Susan Glenn" Axe campaign is hardly presenting a new revelation or message in the wide world of advertising. The brand's prior campaign, which more or less featured six-pack-equipped males with lustful, skimpy girls hanging off them, wasn't truly different, ideologically, from their recent...

I was 14 years old on September 11, 2001. It was the beginning of 9th Grade, and I was very nervous. I was nervous because I was a little on the chubby side, and had braces. I was nervous because just the year before, the girl who I liked (and...

The Oakland Athletics were not supposed to be good in 2012. During the off-season, the A's traded three fourths of their starting rotation (Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, and Guillermo Moscoso) and closer (Andrew Bailey), and even let their best statistical hitter (Josh Willingham) sign with the Minnesota Twins. Heck, they...