Bruce Chen - A TDZ Career Retrospective

A day I hoped would never come finally has - the greatest Chinese-Panamanian baseball player in MLB history has retired today.

After 17 years in the bigs, Bruce Chen ends his playing career with a winning record (82-81), over 1,000 strikeouts (1,140), 1 shutout, and so many laughs, memories and friends from the 11 teams for which he played:

• Atlanta Braves (1998-2000)
• Philadelphia Phillies (2000-2001)
• New York Mets (2001-2002)
• Cincinnati Reds (2002)
• Montreal Expos (2002)
• Boston Red Sox (2003)
• Houston Astros (2003)
• Baltimore Orioles (2004-2006)
• Texas Rangers (2007)
• Kansas City Royals (2009-2014)
• Cleveland Indians (2015)

In honor of his impressive staying power in the bigs, TDZ has created the Bruce Chen All-Stars Sporcle quiz so that future generations will remember the man who played with some of the game's greats.

A proud Panamanian, Chen also pitched for Panama in the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009.

During the offseason, Chen studied civil engineering at Georgia Tech (according to Wikipedia), which will perhaps lead to his next career if he decides to forego a coaching role.

The Danger Zone applauds Bruce on his career in Major League Baseball and wish him luck in his future endeavors. 

Tricky: The Story of R.A. Dickey

When Tim Wakefield retired, I lamented the end of an era: another knuckleballer calling it quits after a long, slightly above average career. No sooner had he retired this off-season than a new pitcher picked up the torch as the most baffling slow-tosser in the game: R.A. Dickey. A mere 37 year old king in Queens, may his reign last for decades more.

How does he do it?! I'm thinking it's the crazy eyes.

But what's the key to his success? We're not talking about your momma's knuckleballer, or even your grandmomma's or great-grandmomma's. What Dickey is doing now flies in the face of about 100 years of knuckleball tradition. For starters, he's winning on a consistent basis, and in dominating fashion.

In a special investigative segment, TDZ chases down Dickey's fluttering butterfly pitches to find out how they are so elusive. The answer just might shock you.

Bruce Chen and the Path to the Promised Land

Never has a back-end of the rotation starter created such a stir as Bruce Chen has in 2011. He potentially embodies the key to victory not only in fantasy baseball, but in the actual game itself.

My 89 mph fastball will save you...

Ken Rosenthal reports that the Red Sox are looking to acquire Chen for what would be a legendary tie-breaking start against the Rays should both teams remain tied following today's games.

Just last year, Bruce Chen was going about his business, pitching for a small market team and living the quiet life without a care in the world. Now he could be thrown into the most dramatic game of the 2011 season as the potential savior of Red Sox Nation. Not since an emergency trade for Doug Mirabelli in 2006 would a Red Sox trade be made with such urgency and melodrama.

Speaking as both a Red Sox homer and Bruce Chen mark, I hope Theo Epstein pulls the trigger. Even the most violent haters of His Bruce-ness have to admit that he's a better option than John Lackey, Kyle Weiland, or even my main man Tim Wakefield.

His ERA is 6.41. Instead of eating innings he's clearly been eating Taco Bell and cheesecake.

The downside of this trade would be for Chen's owners in fantasy land. They're depending on him to make his start tonight and beat the lowly Minnesota Twins to secure fantasy baseball championships across America.

The hopes of so many people now depend on one guy. But what a guy.

Jamie Moyer is rehabbing - Bruce Chen is Jamie Moyering

Great news for all Jamie Moyer fans out there: the 48 year old is rehabbing at the Phillies' facility in Clearwater, FL and is on the warpath to a triumphant 2012 return. He's an easy favorite for Comeback Player of the Year, beating out the likes of Stephen Strasburg, Brandon Webb, Johan Santana, and any other joker who tries to come back harder than Ol' One Mississippi, Two Mississippi.

Who says old bastards don't know how to party?

Even if the unthinkable happens and no team signs Jamie Moyer, we might have another pitcher replacing him on baseball's (career twilit) horizon: the one and only Bruce Chen.

Yeah, I just get assigned a random number with every team I play for, wanna fight about it?

In a delightful and heartwarming article on Fan Graphs, Bruce Chen states that he believes he can replicate some of the "success" Jamie has had, relying on pitching smarts rather than pure stuff to significantly prolong his career. Though just 34 years old, he already has a suitably low K/9 of 5.86 while still managing a rather low BABIP of .282, which is quite odd given how easily players make contact with his pitches. Maybe he can do this!

If he does pull it off, my ballad will have to morph into an epic poem to do justice to his lengthy list of illustrious back-end-of-rotation deeds. I think I speak for all the TDZ regulars when I say good luck to both of them!

MLB Power Rankings 2.5 - There's Always Next Year

Like the majestic sloth, these teams are just going to hang around, until the year draws to a merciful close.