I needed a portfolio to get into Ryerson University’s journalism program. That’s basically why I started writing at Banished to the Pen. I was a baseball fan my whole life, and I had some knowledge of advanced metrics, so I said screw it, this seems like a good place to write and if/after I get into my program I’ll stop…
Posts by Julien Assouline
Julien Assouline and Tim Livingston join Ryan Sullivan to talk about the Stompers, MLB announcers, AJ Pollock, Pablo Sandoval, and 2016 predictions.
At this point we’re less than a month away from the June 8th, 2015 Major League Draft. Which essentially means we’re in draft season. A lot of mock drafts are coming out, and most fans… Read more »
Around a month ago I wrote an article entitled “Tommy John Surgery and Throwing 95+ MPH”. Basically what I was trying to find out was, are pitchers who throw harder more likely to have Tommy… Read more »
Today, all everybody seems to care about is Tommy John surgery. The surgery is on the rise and people want to find a solution. This is not unreasonable: according to Jeff Zimmerman and Jon Roegele’s… Read more »
“Valar Morghulis,” in celebration of the upcoming Game of Thrones season, and with the new baseball season underway, I thought I would write a fun article on which players resembled the Game of Thrones characters… Read more »
Nowadays all the rage seems to be about Tommy John surgeries, as it should be. The number of players who’ve had the surgery is rising at an alarming rate. Therefore many studies have been done… Read more »
Throughout most of its history, baseball in Montreal has been a struggle, not just on the field but also off it. In fact, just getting a suitable stadium for the team was a headache. The Expos had to play their first seven years in a Triple-A ballpark called Jarry Park, which could only seat 28,500 people. The stadium was less than ideal, it wasn’t a dome, and due to Montreal’s cold weather, many games in April and September had to be played on the road.
One of the founding notions of sabermetrics has been the emphasis of the walk. Before sabermetrics, in the dark ages, people hardly paid attention to the walk. Teams would pay players based on their batting… Read more »
Jackie Bradley Jr. is not a terrible baseball player, and honestly he probably didn’t have a terrible 2014 season. Well at least, it wasn’t as bad as what people perceived. That, however, is due to… Read more »
As offense is continually decreasing, a popular solution to increase the offense has been the shrinking of the strike zone. The solution that many have proposed is to reduce the low strike, which has been… Read more »
For most of his baseball career, Xander Bogaerts has been an extremely successful player, whether it’s been in the low or high minors. He’s also always been a highly touted prospect, primarily praised for his… Read more »
If you told me at the end of 2013 (5.19 ERA) that Phil Hughes would have a chance to win a Cy Young, I would’ve told you, no way. If you told me in 2012… Read more »
This might be a scary thought to consider if you’re a Red Sox fan or if you’re a member of the Red Sox front office. Most of us, including me, perceive Buchholz to be a… Read more »
As most of you already know, Alex Cobb is a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. He is projected to be their “Ace” in the upcoming season. In fact, many people would argue that he’s… Read more »
As the ever so affectionate Tyrion Lannister once said, “Turns out far too much has been written about great men and not nearly enough about morons.” Now, the Cleveland Spiders weren’t necessarily morons, but you… Read more »
I just want to make something very clear, right off the bat: I am not a scout. This is not a scouting report. The purpose of this exercise is merely to bring attention to low-ranked… Read more »
The Chicago Cubs signed Jon Lester to a six-year, $155-million contract in December. Presumably, the Cubs believe they will be competitive, if not this season, then next, and therefore decided to get themselves an ace…. Read more »
Major League Baseball is trying to make the games go faster and so they’ve experimented with a 20-second pitch clock in the Arizona Fall League. The reports of the experiment were good and therefore the… Read more »
Now that the Washington Nationals have signed Max Scherzer to a seven-year deal, they have an opportunity to make a blockbuster trade involving one of their aces. The Nationals, for all intents and purposes, have… Read more »
Praising another important figure in the history of African-Americans in baseball.
