Fun from Chris Jaffe at The Hardball Times today: 2012’s most exciting and incredible games.
It not only highlights the games themselves, but talks a bit about what makes a game wild: close-and-late? Comebacks? No-hitters? Big swings and constant lead changes? All of that really.
Jaffe puts them on a point scale and tries to quantify the excitement. Which, yes, I admit plays into stathead stereotypes, but we’ll let it pass because Jaffe’s good at what he does.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Astros assistant GM Mike Elias will be the new general manager of the Orioles “barring a change of heart.”
Elias, 35, has been the Astros’ assistant general manager since August 2016. He had previously served as Houston’s scouting director and, before that, as a scout for the Cardinals. He was part of the team that came over from the Cardinals when Jeff Luhnow joined the Astros.
If he does take the O’s job his work will certainly be cut out for him. Baltimore was historically bad in 2018, finishing 47-115 thanks to a roster full of expensive, past-their-prime players and an underdeveloped farm system. He’ll have to hit the ground running too, as he’ll not join the team until nearly two months into the club’s offseason, having had no time to assess its needs and personnel. Oh, and the Winter Meetings begin in a little over three weeks.
