Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, has the following to say about one Kyle Matthew Lohse:

He tends toward inconsistent pitching appearances, throwing well and going deep into the game on one start, then having little control and being pulled in the early innings the next time out.

The AP got in on the “inconsistent” meme, noting at the time of his deadline trade from the Reds to the Phillies this past season:

Lohse was by far the Reds’ most inconsistent starter, pitching either very well or very poorly.

In the same way that people associate David Eckstein with being “gritty,” Lohse has been saddled with the “inconsistent” tag. I’m here to defend Mr. Lohse, at least from the charge that his inconsistency has anything to do with the way he pitches (or, perhaps, his “makeup”). Below, with help from baseball-reference.com, I’ve compiled a table of Lohse’s statistics in wins, losses and no-decisions over the last two years.

Pretty inconsistent, right? I mean, there’s nearly an 8 run difference between his ERAs in wins and losses! Case closed. Look at his split OPS+ numbers, where 100 is by definition league average. In both 2006 and 2007, he was way above average at limiting hitters OPS as a winning pitcher and way below average at the same as a losing pitcher. Put another way, hitters were able to rack up more offense against Lohse the losing pitcher than against the average losing pitcher, but had a harder time getting offense against Lohse when he was the winning pitcher than against the average winning pitcher. These data seem to suggest that on some days, Lohse is a great pitcher, able to hit his spots and dazzle on the mound. Other days, not so much. Is it so simple?

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The Washington Post is running with an excellent page one article about Ronnie Strompf, who – in addition to having a great name – is the project manager for the new Nationals Park. The park is currently under construction in Washington’s Near Southeast neighborhood, and will likely only be named “Nationals Stadium” for the 2008 season (principal team owner Mark Lerner has been quoted saying a corporate naming deal is “more of an ‘09 thing.”)

From the Post article:

Construction projects are like battle campaigns. There are leaders laying out goals and planners plotting strategy. And then there are the field generals, who carry out the orders, make sure those objectives are met, care for the morale of the troops. The best field generals improvise when necessary and get the job done.

The new park represents a huge step forward for the Nationals franchise, which was playing in the “cozy” Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico as recently as four seasons ago, and last season played in the (*ahem*) venerable RFK Stadium. If the field general can marshal his troops to bring the project to completion by spring, he will have delivered the commander-in-chief, Jim Bowden, with a reliable income stream with which to pursue talent.

You can view hour-by-hour photos of the new stadium’s construction, as well as time-lapse sequences of the photographs over time, here.

Sure, the Tigers made a splash by acquiring Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, creating a latter-day Murderer’s Row. But other than that, the excitement and action this Hot Stove season has been found west of the Continental Divide. (That is, at least, until Johan Santana moves.) How have the teams done so far?

Interestingly, there has been a good deal of parity in both the AL West and the NL West over the past several seasons. I’ve developed a simple guide to determining if a team in either division will be a contender in 2008. Simply ask yourself the following question:

1. Does your team play in the Bay Area?

If the answer is yes, I’m sorry. This summer, try enjoying the beautiful weather and skyrocketing property values away from the ballpark. Unless you are the kind of person who goes to NASCAR races for the crashes, there won’t be much satisfaction on the field this season.

However, if you answered no, allow me congratulate you on your good fortune! Your team has a fighting shot. That is, unless you’re from Dallas (and really, the Cowboys are good this year, so no complaining).

So let’s take a look at the NL West, which ended the season in a big game of musical chairs, and ultimately produced half of the NL’s playoff contenders (and both of the teams in the NLCS).

Breakdown after the jump. (more…)

Reverent nod to Voros McCracken, who has started a blog.

Two days ago, Roger Clemens publicly denied the use of steroids ascribed to him in the Mitchell Report. In a statement released through his agent, Clemens said:

“I want to state clearly and without qualification: I did not take steroids, human growth hormone or any other banned substances at any time in my baseball career or, in fact, my entire life. Those substances represent a dangerous and destructive shortcut no athlete should ever take.”

Sure, that’s all well and good as far as adamant refutations go. But it strikes me as a sort of boilerplate denial. With the revelation that longtime friend and teammate Andy Pettitte admitted he used HGH in 2002, stock denials just aren’t going to cut the mustard.

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Without further introduction, the best quotes of the Mitchell Report.

“McNamee injected [Roger] Clemens approximately four times in the buttocks over a several-week period with needles that Clemens provided.”

“Radomski recalled teaching [Rondell “Ron D.L.”] White ‘a lot about steroids and HGH’ and ‘walking him through the HGH injections for two hours on the phone one night.’ White has had injury problems during his career (including four trips to the disabled list) and told Radomski that he needed performance enhancing substances to ’stay on the field.’”

“Clemens appears to be one of the two people associated with baseball – Andy Pettitte is the other – who have remained loyal to McNamee after he left the Yankees. Clemens has remained a source of income for McNamee up to and including 2007.”

“Radomski said that he did not sell [Mo] Vaughn steroids because Vaughn was ‘afraid of the big needles.’”

More, and pictures, after the jump. (more…)

Here it is. From a rough PDF search of the 409 page document, it doesn’t look like Pujols is named. And for those of you who are associates at DLA Piper law firm (who helped prepare the report and are the largest law firm in the world), go have a stiff drink.

Caveat Emptor: There is absolutely no verification behind these names. Seriously. The real names will be released in an hour and a half. But what else is there to do but spread rumors? Additionally, according to WNBC, MLB is disputing the list, claiming it contains several errors.

Considering how erroneous the leaked list was (what did you expect?), I’ve taken it down. Check out the real report, in its 409 page glory, above. Here is the real list (from here):

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The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that free agent outfielder Aaron Rowand will join the Giants after signing a five year deal. No word yet on compensation, though he was expected to command around $12-$14 million per year. UPDATE 7:05 PM EST: The five year deal is reportedly for $60 million ($12 million AAV)

The Giants were believed to be involved in the bidding for Japanese free agent Kosuke Fukudome, who recently signed with the Cubs.

Brian Sabean, you are killing this team.

Rumor has it that Miguel Tejada has been traded to the Houston Astros in exchange for Luke Scott, Matt “Hey hey hey, I’m Fat” Albers, Troy Patton, Dennis Sarfate and Michael Costanzo.

More word as we get it. Ed Wade has now added a starting centerfielder and a starting shortstop. Not bad for two months on the job.

UPDATE 12:53PM EST: Here is the Houston Chronicle’s story. They note that Tejada has two years and $32 million left on his contract.

UPDATE 1:02PM EST: Here is the Baltimore Sun’s more in-depth take.