Cubs, Pirates, Royals, Braves in on Jason Hammel

By Drew SilvaDec 10, 2013, 9:21 PM EST
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From FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi comes word that the Cubs, Pirates, Royals and Braves are among the teams with interest in free agent Jason Hammel.

The Giants requested the 31-year-old’s medical records at one point earlier this offseason, but they’ve apparently moved on after signing Tim Hudson and re-upping with Ryan Vogelsong.

Hammel, who’s said to be looking for a three- or four-year deal, posted a disappointing 4.97 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 6.2 K/9 in 139 1/3 innings this past season for the Orioles. The right-hander posted a much-better 3.43 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 8.6 K/9 in 118 frames with Baltimore in 2012.

Donald Trump wants Curt Schilling in the Hall of Fame

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By Craig CalcaterraJan 21, 2019, 8:43 AM EST
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We’ve talked a lot about Curt Schilling’s Hall of Fame candidacy over the years.

Bill has argued that, if voters are going to use the character clause to keep certain players out, they should keep Curt Schilling out. I’ve differed on that, not because I think Schilling is a good person — he’s loathsome, actually — but because I find the character clause to be illegitimate and would never, if I had a vote, use it to impact my vote. So, yes, I’d put Schilling on my ballot if I had one.

I’m not alone in this, of course. At the moment Schilling has support on about 72% of ballots which have been made public. My guess is that he’ll fall a tad short when results are announced tomorrow — non-public ballots tend to include fewer players on them — but we’ll see.

I am not the only non-BBWAA member who would vote for Schilling. He’s got some top level support too. From the President of the United States:

Ballots had to be submitted by December 31, so it’s not like this is gonna have any impact on the vote totals. If it came earlier, though, one wonders if it would. And one wonders if that’d help Schilling or hurt him.