Archive for the ‘Baseball’ Category

Not the way he was supposed to go out………….

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

In a horrific turn of events Thursday afternoon, while finishing a pregame routine he had been doing since he entered the Majors, the career of the best closer to ever play the game may have come to an end. While shagging balls at the end of batting practice like he does before every game, Mariano Rivera tore his ACL running down one particular fly ball. His cleat stuck in the dirt and his knee popped.

Its crazy to think the Hall of Fame pitchers career may very well be over. At age 42 Mariano Rivera is regarded as the best closer to ever pitch. He compiled 608 saves throughout his illustrious career. After finding his cutter, the pitched that defined and saved his career went on a mythological career, which included 5 World Series championships and 12 All Star appearances. When Rivera entered the game in the 9th, the game was deemed to be all but over. As Rivera made quick work of his opponent, another tally was added to his save total.

He will be the last player to don the number 42 on his jersey, after being retired to honor the legendary Jackie Robinson. 42 also made other appearances such as it being his age currently. As well as being the total number of post-season saves he has amassed.

Rivera should have gone out getting a last magical save in Yankee stadium, being carried off by teammates and not a medical cart. Even if you are not a Yankee fan you have to appreciate Rivera for all he did within the diamond. A 12 month intense rehabilitation is in front of Rivera and at the age of 42 and his Hall of Fame bust all but cast in Cooperstown there is no reason to believe he will ever pitch in the Major Leagues again.

MLB 2012 prediction

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

With Opening Night starting tonight and opening day tomorrow I figured I would take my opportunity to weigh in on some thoughts for the 2012 MLB season. I think the random sprinkle of games that actually count like the Japan games between Oakland and Seattle and Opening night tonight between the new look Miami Marlins and the defending World Series Champion St Louis Cardinals. I miss the traditional opening day when every team was in action starting their season on the same day. Major League Baseball is watering down their product and taking away a special day that separates their product. That said I am very excited for the 2012 MLB season, the one time where anyone has a chance, even though I have to wait for Friday as a Giants fan.

 

The National League is going to be a close race overall and should provide tight battles especially with a second wild card added for 2012.

 

NL East:

The Phillies will win this division. I think the Marlins, Braves and Nationals will challenge the Phillies and make the race a very competitive one late. The Phillies pitching staff is too strong and deep. Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee are all Cy Young caliber pitchers that will carry the Phillies all season. Offensively they are a shell of what they once were. Ryan Howard will be back at June at the earliest and probably wont be back until after the All Star Break. Chase Utley is back but has a knee that must be managed all season.

 

NL Central:

This is the year the Cincinnati Reds win the division for the first time since 1990. A line up anchored by Joey Votto will be helped by Jay Bruce and veterans like Scott Rolen and Jay Bruce. The Reds bolstered their Staff by adding Mat Latos who should provide stability replacing Edison Volquez.

I wanted to pick the defending World Series champions St Louis Cardinals, but the health of Chris Carpenter is a big question mark for St Louis especially with the departure of Albert Pujols. The Cardinals are relying on the emergence of David Freese to carry a line up along with veterans like Lance Berkman and Carlos Beltran who are on the backside of their careers and injury prone is synonymous with these two guys the past couple seasons.

 

NL West:

The Arizona Diamondbacks will win this division. Pitching will be a key for Arizona. They will rely on another fantastic season from Ian Kennedy, along with consistent improvement from Daniel Hudson. They also bolstered a much-improved rotation by adding Trevor Cahill from Oakland. Offensively MVP candidate Justin Upton leads them. The will look for Paul Goldschmidt to take the next step as well as Ryan Roberts and newly acquired Jason Kubel to help Justin Upton provide offense.

 

NL Wildcard:

The San Francisco Giants will get one of the Wild Cards. They have a deep pitching staff with two Cy Young caliber pitchers and Madison Bumgarner ready to make the leap to the elite level. The return of Buster Posey should help an anemic offense. They are also counting on Angel Pagan and Melky Cabrera to make strides to help score enough runs to win games.

 

The Other wild card will go to the Atlanta Braves. Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman will make strides this season and Chipper Jones will be able to stay healthier. Combine that with a strong pitching staff and stability at the back end of the bullpen they will finish strong and avoid another collapse like last season.

 

AL East:

The Tampa Bay Rays will win this division. They can go 6 starters deep, Evan Longoria will bounce back to anchor a strong line up and will be helped by the return of Carlos Pena. The Yankees and Red Sox will still be really good and push but between injuries, lack of pitching and need to rest older players they will fall just short of the division.

 

AL Central:

The Detroit Tigers will run away with the division and fight for the best record in baseball. They have a deep lineup that can hit. Anchored by Justin Verlander the pitching staff will be solid and a stable bullpen will make the Tigers a force all season.

 

AL West:

Anaheim Angels will win the division. Adding Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson will make the Angels to strong to not win the division. The Angels have an amazing pitching staff that will be among the leagues best and a line up that will not issues scoring runs all season.

 

AL Wildcards:

The Texas Rangers will get one of the wild card slots. They have a strong pitching staff and a lineup filled with stud hitters. They have made the World Series each of the past two seasons.

 

The AL East will occupy the other playoff slot. I think the Yankees will grab the last spot. They will need to stay healthy offensively but should be able to pitch well enough to fend off the Red Sox.

 

Playoff Predictions:

 

AL crown:

The Tigers will beat the Angels to win the American League

 

NL crown:

The San Francisco Giants will beat the Philadelphia Phillies to win the National League

 

World Series:

The Tigers will beat the Giants to win the World series.

 

MVP:

AL- Evan Longoria

NL- Justin Upton

 

CY Young:

AL- Jered Weaver

NL-Cole Hamels

Twolf Karaoke

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

Manny Ramirez: No brainer in Oakland

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

The Oakland Athletics have signed Manny Ramirez to a one-year deal worth $500,000.  While a head case like Manny Ramirez might be off putting to some franchises and leave fans scratching their heads, this moves makes a ton of sense for the Oakland Athletics. The move provides the A’s a lot of flexibility and makes a lot of sense even as a small market team. One of three scenarios will play out in Oakland this season, with two of them providing a large return on investment.

Worst-case scenario, if Manny becomes a cancer in the locker room, can’t hit or is doing nothing positive for the team they can simply cut him and will not be affected in the big picture. However, if Manny starts the season on a tear the A’s will have two great options for him moving forward. They can either keep him in the middle of the order, riding out his hot hitting in a tough, but winnable division if things go right offensively. Or Manny’s hot hitting will garner him trade value and allow Oakland to move Manny to a contender for prospects.  The Oakland A’s have used their farm system to build up their big league club and moving Manny will only help something that is already a strength.

The A’s are franchise built on a well-stocked farm system and on potential. A marquee hitter will never go to Oakland through free agency. The lack of financial mobility and a big ballpark that favors pitchers are factors that turn away power hitters. They will never have the ability to make up for a bad signing like Boston and New York can do. So as a franchise, the Athletics must take risks on guys with upside potential. Manny fits in perfectly in this scenario. Manny is one of the greatest right handed hitters of all time and if he finds his groove in Oakland and even if he returns to a slightly diminished version of himself the A’s have a middle of the line up guy that will DH every day. They also just signed Yoenis Cespedes, who is reportedly a fan of Manny. Ramirez will provide a comfort factor for the Cuban making a drastic transition into the MLB. Any time you can help smooth the transition of a guy you want to become an important part of your team and be a middle of the line up guy you need to explore that.

Your 2012 Super Bowl Champions…..

Saturday, February 4th, 2012

I know, its last minute but I figured the NFL’s biggest game deserved a little attention from me as well. America has been beaten over the head for the last two weeks with stats and analysis on the big game. I will buck that trend and give you two simple reasons the Giants get Eli his second ring in the house that Peyton built.

The Patriots biggest weakness is their secondary. While it has been improving over the last few weeks of the season and into the playoffs, the Giants passing game is by far the best they have seen and will have Julian Edelman on Mario Manningham. Julian Edelman for those who don’t know is a wide receiver on the Patriots roster. Manningham, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks have been torching other teams secondaries all season and will have no issue doing the same thing to New England.

The front four of the Giants have been dominant as soon as Osi Umenyora returned from injury. They have the best front four in football. They way to beat the Patriots is to get to Tom Brady and hit him. He will become very familiar with the Giants front four and will find it hard to get the ball to his playmakers.

Tom Brady is the second best quarterback ever behind Joe Montana and will keep the Pats close. The Giants will get a late score and edge out the Patriots.

 

Giants 34 Patriots 31

 

For the betting public:

3 points have decided every Patriot Super Bowl. If your looking for a long shot MVP to jump on look at Victor Cruz who will have a huge day and Jason Pierre Paul who will be hanging onto Tom Brady all day. 10/1 and 20/1 respectively.

Daniel Hudson 2012 Cy Young

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

After an impressive first full season in the Majors, Daniel Hudson has proven he has the ability to not only pitch, but pitch well in the Major Leagues. His ability to strike batters out is one of his strongest characteristics. He relied on this strength last season posting 169 strikeouts combined with only 50 walks, Hudson has shown he can be successful in a hitter’s park such as Chase Field. Hudson’s second season will elevate him into Cy Young conversation and introduce him to the MLB fans around the country.

Daniel Hudson will have a lineup with loads of run scoring potential which is anchored by MVP candidate Justin Upton and Paul Goldschmidt, who proved he was major league ready last season and into the playoffs. Along with the run scoring ability, the Diamondbacks can be equally as productive with their prowess in the field with an outfield who’s ability to make run saving catches in the case of Chris Young and rocket in the case of Justin Upton who can throw out runners trying to advance. Being surrounded by a team that can produce at the plate and in the field will help Hudson’s numbers.

Miguel Montero will be a huge asset to Hudson this season as well. The presence of a veteran catcher who can call games well and leave Hudson from second guessing decisions will help Hudson make strides this season.

Daniel Hudson went over 200 innings last season, which is a positive sign for his durability and stamina. Many young pitchers will start to slow as they reach the 200-inning mark, as many of them have not pitched that many innings before. Not only did Hudson pitch well late in the season, but also gave the Arizona Diamondbacks a guy they could rely on going into the playoffs.

Being surrounded by a pitching staff anchored by Ian Kennedy will be a huge boost to Hudson. He can slot in the 2 or 3 spot of the rotation depending on how Kirk Gibson sees newly acquired Trevor Cahill fitting into the rotation. The veteran presence not only takes the pressure of Hudson, allowing him to do what he does best, but he can lean on them throughout the season for advice on dealing with different situations. In JJ Putz, Hudson has a closer he can rely upon, which will help Hudson approach a 20-win season. Improving upon his 16 game win total from last year is a realistic expectation for Hudson.

With the talent surrounding Hudson, solid leadership from his Manager Kirk Gibson and a division that’s not exactly murders row, he should be able to make a serious run at CY Young candidacy. He will have hefty competition from Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum who have each won the award. But Hudson will approach 20 wins this season and 175-200 strikeouts. With those numbers he should be in the conversation for Cy Young, especially on a division winner.

Off Season:Winners and Losers

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

With the last big free agent piece finally signing and baseball quickly approaching I decided to take a look at some of the off season moves figure out what they mean going forward.

 

The Winners

 

Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder


Most would think the teams would be the winners in the scenario and yes they made out by signing two talented power hitters to long term deals, but the Albert and Prince did one of the smartest things they could do, sign in the American League. As a player gets older athletic ability and mobility fades, and in the case of Fielder, his defensive ability was already in question. Both of these guys signed mega deals that will take them late into their careers. The ability of both guys to not only transfer into full time designated hitters as they get older, but also the ability to dh every 5th day and save some wear and tear on their bodies will dramatically effect the second half of their contracts and help these guys remain superstars.

 

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

            Not only did the Halo’s improve a position immensely that was filled nicely by Mark Trumbo by signing Albert Pujols, but also filled a rotation spot that gives the Angels one of the best and deepest rotations in baseball. In the signing of CJ Wilson, they added a front of the rotation starter who has been to the World Series each of the past two years. He has dynamite stuff, post season experience and success that will help as the Halo’s make a legitimate run to the World Series. CJ Wilson is coming to Anaheim from Texas, which keeps him pitching in the American League West, where he has already shown he can be dominant.

The Angels will feature a staff of Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, CJ Wilson, and Ervin Santana, with Jerome Williams penciled in to the number 5 spot. They have 3 legit number one starters in Weaver, Haren, and Wilson, all of whom have been number one starters. Almost every day the Angels pitcher should be better than who their opponent is running out there and with exception of maybe the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and Wilson’s former team Texas Rangers, who filled his spot nicely with Yu Darvish.

 

Texas Rangers

            In the signing of Yu Darvish, the Rangers signed the best free agent pitcher behind CJ Wilson. The Rangers paid handsomely to sign the 6’5” Darvish. They paid 51 million to talk to him, which went to Darvish’s former club in Japan. They locked up Darvish with a 6-year deal that will pay him 56 million. A lot of people might point to Dice-K or Hideo Nomo as the precursor to Darvish, however Darvish has a 6 foot 5 frame that is imposing on hitters, is younger than Dice-K when he made the switch, and numbers wise has been much more dominant. The ability to work with Mike Maddux also is a huge positive for Darvish. Maddux has a track record of turning out quality pitching. Darvish has 20 win potential and is a key factor if The Rangers want to make another run at the American League crown.

 

Detroit Tigers

Locking up Prince Fielder, gives the Tigers another stellar bat to put in their lineup. The thought of having Fielder and Miguel Cabrera in the 3-4 slots of their line up is mind-boggling. Assuming Victor Martinez fully recovers and returns to his All Star form, the Tigers will have a stellar 3-4-5. Justin Verlander should be able to make a legit run at 30 wins with this line up.

The only concern the Tigers will have to face is what they do defensively. They can put Prince at first and move Cabrera to third, but doing so will hurt them severely. Late in games Leyland will have to decide whether it is worth improving defensively by removing Cabrera or Fielder’s bat. This will become a bigger issue when V-Mart returns. They will be able to rotate the two players between first and DH duties.

The Losers

 

St Louis Cardinals

I didn’t want to put St Louis in this category because in the long term, this was the best thing the Cardinals could do. Albert Pujols leaving town will hurt in the short term, but signing a mid 30’s super star to a 10-year deal makes no sense for team not in a major market. Income produced from ticket sales, merchandise and concessions will see a drop off. St Louis is a huge baseball town and fans will still go to games and support their team, especially after winning the World Series. However they lost the best bat in their line up and the face of the franchise. Resigning an aging Lance Berkman who saw much better pitches thanks to Pujols’ protection in the line up is not the answer but should help in the short term. Getting Adam Wainwright back after missing all of last season due to injury is a huge upgrade to their pitching staff, who has the potential to be the best pitcher not only on his team but in the majors. They are going to have to piece production together to make up for Albert’s numbers. They signed Carlos Beltran to help in the process, but are asking a lot from a guy who spent much of his 2011 season going on and off of the DL.

In addition to Pujols, the Cardinals lost Tony Larussa who was pivotal in the Cardinal World Series runs in 2004, 2006 and 2011, winning in both 2006 and 2011. He knew how to get the most out of his guys and seemed to know when to make moves and when to sit back and let his team do the work. Dave Duncan leaving with Tony is going to hurt the Cardinals as much if not more than Larussa. He was the mastermind that gave life back to the careers of Kyle Lohse, Jake Westbrook and even Chris Carpenter who was a marginal pitcher before heading to St Louis.

 

San Francisco Giants

The Giants inability to make any moves this off-season is baffling. The Giants are in a quandary because many of their stars were heading towards free agency like Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval or will be very soon in the cases of Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain.  Giving a three-year deal for 17.5 million to Pablo Sandoval was a head scratcher. He has become a fan favorite in San Francisco and make a big contribution last season. However this was coming off a season in 2010 where has almost a non-factor in the Giants run to the World Series. The Giants are banking on Pablo not only staying in shape, but that he will hit for a 3oo average with 20-25 homers.

The Giants moved Jonothan Sanchez to Kansas City for Melkey Cabrerea who is an underrated out fielder who can hit and has shown flashes including playoff runs with Atlanta and the Yankees. But then adding Angel Pagan in exchange for Andres Torres only added another “speed guy” who is not really stealing bases or hitting for a very good average in New York for the Mets. Both of these guys are the same type of player with Pagan providing more speed and Cabrera adding more pop. Adding these guys to an outfield with a resigned Nate Schierholtz on a 1-year deal, Aubrey Huff, and Brandon Belt makes for a team that doesn’t seem to have a direction. In Melky, Angel and Nate the team seemingly got a little better defensively but will not be able to hit for much if any power. With Huff or Belt in the outfield, the defense will be downgraded immensely, but will provide much more pop into their lineup.

I don’t know if I am giving Brian Sabean too much leeway after 2010, but I am going to let the moves play out and see what happens. Getting Buster Posey back is a huge upgrade, but I think expecting an aging Aubrey Huff and Brandon Belt who is young and has yet to prove anything is a big ask.

 

Side Note

In the most compelling, perplexing, and interesting trade I can remember for a long time, The Seattle Mariners moved Michael Pineda to the New York Yankees for Jesus Montero. The Yankees got a front of the rotation potential starter and Seattle, in Montero, get a power bat, which they desperately need. Montero is listed as a catcher, but as most scouts believe, he will have to become a full time DH.

The trade works out great for the Yankees. They can plug Pineda into the three or four slot depending on where they see Kuroda fitting into the rotation. Pineda should evolve into a high-end number two starter with huge strikeout potential. Ivan Nova will fill the number 3 spot in the rotation and give the Yankees a stellar rotation going forward. The trade also makes room at the DH position, which is clogged without Montero.

As for the Mariners, the trade will have to wait to be evaluated. While Montero’s power has tremendous upside most of his power is to opposite field, which would have played great in new Yankee Stadium. At Safeco, he will hit more a long doubles hitter than homer run hitter. He should hit for a solid average with good power numbers and improve a Seattle offense that had a very difficult time producing runs.

Barry Larkin: The Hall of Fame class of 2012

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Congratulations Barry Larkin! I guess the third time really is the charm. On this third time on the ballot, Barry Larkin finally got enough of the vote to become elected in into the Baseball Hal of Fame. In a result I did not see coming, the Baseball Writers got it right. As a baseball fan I loved watching Barry Larkin play. Defensively he was awesome and dynamic. Offensively while not a power guy, Larkin always had a good average and rarely struck out. He was a great team guy and everyone around baseball seemed to think highly of him. I wasn’t sure this would be enough to get him into the Hall of Fame. It was a down year for candidates and the next year will bring interesting decisions for baseball writers, guys like Larkin will get backed up and potentially not make it. Each writer with a vote can vote up to ten players each year. Each player must get at least 5% of the vote to stay on the ballot and get at least 75% of the vote become elected.

Staring next year the “Super 6” will become Hall of Fame eligible. The “Super 6” includes the faces of the steroid generation, whether they tested positive or not they are permanently linked. The “Super 6” includes Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Curt Schilling, and Mark Mcgwire. Along with the 6, guys like Mike Piazza, who is arguably the greatest hitting catcher of all time, Jeff Bagwell who put up great numbers but because of his physical growth and wearing a baggy jersey, some believe he used some sort of performance enhancer. It also doesn’t help Bagwell that he played with Ken Camanitti who is an admitted user. These guys are linked in with group and give writers a serious quandary. What do you do with a player that has taken PED’s or is believed to have taken PED’s?

There are three basic thoughts for the majority of writers. Either you look directly at the numbers and say this guy is a Hall of Famer. The Second approach is the exact opposite, if you think they used PED’s you don’t vote for them at all. The third approach, which I think features more writer than one might think is to take it on a case by case basis. The third strategy is the one that will cause issues. This is putting the judgment on the writer, a having them assume that the player was a Hall of Famer before PED’s such as Bonds and Clemens. The writer is forced to pick an arbitrary date when the player might have started taking PEDS and look at their stats previous to that date.

The three camps will create a backlog in getting players in the Hall of Fame. Most of the Super 6 will not get enough votes to get in and will get too many to get taken off the ballot. This just goes into a deeper problem that is the Hall of Fame voting process. There are 590 baseball writers with a Hall of Fame vote. There is a contingent that will refuse to vote someone simply because its that players first time on the ballot. So many of the voters hold grudges against players or have a great memory of the player because of interactions when they were players that goes into how they vote.

The Baseball Hall of Fame should have a committee that at least sets the standards if not does the electing, If if player is a Hall of Famer then they should get in on the first go around and if not then they don’t get in. A player is a Hall of Famer or not, there is not grey area where after three years of eligibility they become a Hall of Famer. They did not put up new stats after retiring, what has changed. It plays into the thought of when a memory gets farther away your tend to remember the good things and less of the bad. A Hall of Fame standards committee erases the emotion, and looks at a player’s body of work. If they did enough to get in then they are hall of famers, and if not it takes nothing away from there career but they’re not amongst the elite of elite.

Jay Cutler gets his wish

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

In the drama that is the Broncos offseason, Jay Cutler has received his wish and has been traded. The Broncos asked for 2 first round picks in exchange for Cutler and the Chicago Bears stepped up to the plate. The Broncos will recieve a first round pick this year and next as well as a third round pick and Kyle Orton who made strides last year and was a productive Quarterback. This trade makes both teams better. The Bears desperately need a QB and the Broncos can use the picks and Orton to build with new coach Josh McDaniels.

Starting a NBA franchise. Who do you take?

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

While listening to sports radio the other day an interesting question was posed. If you start a NBA franchise today, what player do you build your franchise. The hosts decided to take LeBron James out of the equation, both feeling that he was the clear cut favorite. There discussion came down to either Chris Paul or Dwight Howard. Based on these parameters i will start there. The key idea is to decide if you want to build around a guy who will have the ball around 80% of the time on offense vs a guy who can score, rebound and dominate on both ends of the court. Having a guy who controls the pace of the game, make other players better and be a floor leader is much more important to me that a guy who can score, rebound, and block shots. I feel like i can get a Sam Dalembert or Erick Dampier to block shots, rebound and control the paint. To find a Chris Paul is much harder to do. That said starting today i would choose Dwyane Wade over any player including Lebron James. D Wade has already won a championship. Granted it was with Shaq but D Wade carried that team in the finals, and had them one step away the year before with Lamar Odom and Caron Butler as his key weapons. I think Wade can lead a team, make players better and score at will with the game on the line. Wade is a close second to Kobe in key shots at the end of games and is right there with Steve Nash and Chris Paul distributing the ball. Some people may ask why the Heat are so terrible now then. The answer is in his teammates. He is working with some over the hill players, NBDLers, and rookies. If you put Wade in New Orleans or Toronto with Chris Bosh and they would be right there in there respective divisions.