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The Inside Corner
 
What's new with WikiProject Baseball: Volume 2, issue 1 – March 30, 2014

Around the horn

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Contributor: Go Phightins!

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Ty Cobb sliding into third

Contributor: Newyorkadam

About

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The Inside Corner is brought to you by WikiProject Baseball's Outreach department. If you have an update to share, or an article to contribute, please sign up at the newsletter desk.

This issue's contributors:

Project news

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The month of March has seen many exciting developments in WikiProject Baseball, and many could use your participation! Among the priorities we discussed were:

  • Creation of an IRC discussion channel: (#wiki-baseball connect)
  • The usefulness of A-Class ratings for WikiProject Baseball: general consensus was that given limited reviewing resources, focusing on GA and FA ratings was sufficient
  • The need for a Baseball Manual of Style: expanding the current style advice pages is welcome
  • Opportunities for collaborative opportunities; specifically the need to clean up all team articles, particularly the history sections
  • Project leadership: no specific leadership void was identified; a lack of editors performing article assessment is an issue
  • How we can support new editors interested in baseball: a welcome template was created; the outreach department could use reviving
  • General discussion on the advancement of the project: a project newsletter is being re-established

All in all, it was a terrific flurry of discussion. The challenge now is to progress with implementing the various suggestions to improve the project. You can help! Chip in and join the discussion on what we can do to improve baseball articles for readers.

Speaking of article improvement, during the month of March, several articles advanced in class:

Article improvement brings me to the 2014 WikiCup. Several members of the project are still in the contest, and can use reviews of their contributions:

And that's what's going on in WP:BASEBALL; thanks for tuning in. It's been a pleasure broadcasting this to you, but for now, I'm outta here! Go Phightins! 01:56, 19 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Showcase

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Pittsburgh's Best

Since its construction, the $216 million PNC Park has been heralded as one of the great ballparks for fans to sit back, relax in the sun, and take in a Pirates game. The park opened in 2001 to replace Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh's home field from 1970–2000; its first regular season game occurred on April 9, when the Pirates lost to the Cincinnati Reds 8–2. Though created for baseball, the stadium also serves multiple purposes outside of the sport: various bands have preformed concerts at PNC, including Pearl Jam and Dave Matthews Band, while the United States Department of Homeland Security has used the venue to test evacuation drills. PNC Park progressed from a Good Article nominee in May 2008 to a Featured article in October 2008, with some great collaboration between the reviewers and nominator.

Currently, there are a number of reference errors and dead links that detract from its featured status. Help on PNC Park— or any other baseball-related article— is greatly appreciated! See our quality assessment log for a list of articles you can contribute to, based on importance and length. Any contribution, no matter how small, will increase the tremendous standard of excellence WikiProject Baseball has become known for. Thanks again.

Right: editors promoted the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, one of the most sought-after by collectors, to Featured Picture status in November 2007. After careful deliberation, users agreed that the original image, containing a hole in the top center, should be featured, as opposed to a version with the hole removed: one editor even said the alternate "obliterates the history of the card in question". Contributor: Seattle

Opinion

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A new season begins

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The 2014 MLB season is upon us, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have already won two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but as Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels aptly noted, "Opening Day is great, and I'm sure this one will be no different. Everybody is 0-0, and everybody believes they have a chance to win." This season is marked by a few rules changes, most notably expanding instant replay, and outlawing home-plate collisions between the runner and catcher. The game to which we dedicate much of our Wikipedia work is back, and that calls for celebration (and stat updates ). So here's to America's natural pastime: let the fun begin. Play ball! Contributor: Go Phightins!

2014 preseason predictions

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With advent of the regular season, it's time for the highly useful and accurate exercise of making some preseason predictions:

Category Go Phightins! Northern Antarctica
AL East Rays Red Sox
AL Central Tigers Tigers
AL West Athletics Athletics
AL Wildcards Orioles & Angels Rays & Rangers
ALCS Athletics over Tigers Tigers over Athletics
NL East Phillies Nationals Nationals
NL Central Cardinals Pirates
NL West Dodgers Dodgers
NL Wildcards Pirates & Phillies Cardinals & Giants
NLCS Dodgers over Nationals Dodgers over Pirates
World Series Athletics over Dodgers Tigers over Dodgers
AL MVP Mike Trout Miguel Cabrera
AL Cy Young Sonny Gray Aníbal Sánchez
AL Manager of the Year Buck Showalter Ron Washington
AL Comeback Player of the Year Brian Roberts Grady Sizemore
NL MVP Hanley Ramirez Carlos González
NL Cy Young Jose Fernandez Clayton Kershaw
NL Manager of the Year Ryne Sandberg Bruce Bochy
NL Comeback Player of the Year Ryan Howard Curtis Granderson

Selected commentary from Go Phightins!

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  • AL East: I am tempted to pick the Orioles ... and the Red Sox ... and the Yankees ... (sorry, not the Blue Jays), however it seems to me the team you forget about is the one that always comes back to get you, and that is the Tampa Bay Rays. They have few glaring weaknesses, and Joe Maddon is a genius; he will find a way to win the division.
  • AL West: I know the A's lost a lot of starting pitching from last season due to departure (Colon and Anderson) as well as injury (Parker), but last year was the start of something special in Oakland, and one way or another, that will continue in 2014. Between a frontline ace in Gray, a sneaky, under-the-radar acquisition in Scott Kazmir, and Yoenis Cespedes, who one has to think will bounce back, I look for them to be highly successful out west ... sorry Angels.
  • AL Wildcards: I love the Orioles. If I was not a Phillies fan, I would be an Orioles fan. This offseason, they waited, and smartly acquired Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez at below original market value. Ultimately, they will make the playoffs. And any team with Trout has a shot ...
  • AL Cy Young: Gray looked terrific in 2013, and he should only get better, now that he is the legitimate ace of this ball club. A sophomore slump is possible, but if he is healthy, he should be terrific.
  • AL Comeback Player of the Year: I have a feeling here. Everyone has written off Roberts, but with Robinson Cano gone, Roberts should get a chance to play frequently, and let's not forget, he led the AL in doubles in 2009 ... he could be a key part of the Yankees' lineup, and could contribute to the Yanks getting to the wildcard.
  • NL East: As tempting as it was to choose my Phillies, I could not in good conscience pick them over a team with a loaded lineup, and deep starting rotation that, if anything, was bolstered this offseason. I don't know that it's our year, Phellow Phils Phans.
  • NL Central: To me, this is the toughest division in baseball to peg. I am not sure there is a bad team. Even the Cubs could be decent if some of their prospects perform. So I went with history and picked the Cardinals ... they do not really have a weakness, and have veteran experience.
  • NL Wildcards: Would it not be fun to have a "Keystone clash" for the one-game playoff? I think so ... wishful thinking, perhaps, but on paper, if they can stay healthy, the Phillies are not a bad team, and the Pirates are not horrific either. Other candidates for these two spots included the Braves, the Marlins (yes - Fernandez and Stanton are too good to unilaterally rule out), the Reds, and the Giants.
  • NL MVP: Boy am I glad Ramirez is gone from the NL East! He would make the Marlins a legitimate threat to win the NL East. The stars hath aligned, however, for him in LA, so if he stays healthy and doesn't act stupidly off the field, he should lead the team to a World Series appearance with a .300/30/100 clip.
  • NL Comeback Player of the Year/NL Manager of the Year: Yup, I had to make a few Phillies picks, and to me, these two picks go hand in hand. If Howard can return to 80% of his old form, the Phillies will produce, and since most wrote them off in the offseason, Ryno will get some credit.
  • World Series: A west coast classic, baby! Look for the Dodgers and the A's to play at least six games and for Sonny Gray to dominantly pitch the clincher ... think Cole Hamels-like rockstar from the 2008 Phillies. The Moneyball approach may work after all.

To deliver a summary of The Inside Corner, place the following on the user talk page of the intended recipient: {{subst:Wikipedia:WikiProject Baseball/Outreach/Newsletter/Summary}}

The Inside Corner : March 30, 2014

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What's in the latest edition of WikiProject Baseball's newsletter:

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