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San Francisco Giants Payroll in 2013: And Contracts Going Forward
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Follow @mlbreportsFriday February 8, 2013
Without Marco Scutaro during the second half of the 2012 season – who knows if the Giants would’ve gone nearly as far as they did. He hit a very impressive .362 after joining the Giants in July. He hit a new NLCS record .500 versus the Cards last year. Resigning him was definitely a priority for the Giants so signing him through 2015 on a 3 YR/$20,000,000 was huge for both sides of the deal.
By Kyle Holland (Giants Correspondent): Follow @TheKHolland13
Coming off of the 2012 World Series victory, the Giants haven’t really done much this offseason. Either way every team in the league is going to be trying to take them down. When you’re the Champion of all of baseball, what team wouldn’t be gunning for you? Their biggest contest is going to be their rivals in the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team has made more moves since August than you can count. The Giants realize what a great team they have and how little moves they made have shown they are confident in what they can do in 2013.
The possibly most important move they have made is resigning the Second-Half-hero Marco Scutaro. His 3 yr./$20,000,000 deal is a great deal for San Francisco. After what he did the Giants probably would have considered paying more for Scutaro. You just can’t match .500 AVG in the NLCS. This man was the definition of clutch for the club. Other very important deals include Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan, and Jeremy Affeldt. Pence, who was acquired at the Trade Deadline from the Phillies, was a huge reason the Giants even made it past the NLDS. His inspirational speeches got the entire squad ready before every game. Him resigning for a 1 YR./$13,800,000 deal was huge for him and the Giants. The team gets to utilize his skills for another year – while he gets to prove he’s worth more come next winter.
San Francisco Giants: 2012 World Series Highlights. Mature lyrics- parental guidance is advised:
Fixing the Pittsburgh Pirates: Robert Whitmer’s Five Point Strategy Plan
Wednesday, Nov.21/2012
Robert Whitmer (Baseball Writer) Follow @rwhitmer
So we have a dilemma in this 5-point series. We have a team here that, for the past two years has been in first place at the all-star break and ended up with a losing record. Do they really need a change in the team or do they just need to grow up a little bit and stay consistent through the final 3 months of the season? The first thing that you have to look at is the line-up. Does this crew have the ability to maintain after getting the start that it has the past couple of years? I think with some minor changes the Pittsburgh Pirates from perennial losers to World Series contenders.
On http://www.MLB.com the depth chart for the Pirates shows a couple of areas that they need to upgrade in. With a total payroll of about $65 million, they have money to spend on free agents that can assist them in accomplishing their goals. The following five points are designed to provide the pirates with a fix to win now. I firmly believe that they are on the right track in their minor leagues to sustain their future. Read the rest of this entry
Contact Hitters and Pitching Are Keys to Winning In the MLB Playoffs: Bravo Giants! Attn: Yankees!
Saturday, Nov.10/2012
The Giants GM Brian Sabean saw that his offense had significant holes from previous years and before 2012, dealt for Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan. Both are decent contact hitters, with decent power and speed. It also took for the emergence of Marco Scutaro and the renaissance play from Pablo Sandoval to show that teams that can make regular contact (and are armed with great pitching,) ultimately win in the playoffs.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
I can’t believe I am going to utter these next few words, “I am starting to shift on the idea of eliminating the DH in the AL and also I am beginning to find the National League Brand of Baseball a lot better these days.” I am not just saying this because the National League has registered 5 World Series Wins out of the last seven years (STL x 2, SF x 2 and PHI vs BOS AND NYY since 2006.) I just find that the American League Baseball is becoming boring. If you have read my articles in the past, I hate teams that strikeout non-stop and when you put two of these teams together for a Series like the AL routinely does, the games are filled with heavy pitch counts, four-hour games and not much contact. This years ALCS represented an all-time low for fan excitement. Put aside that I am a Yankees fan for a minute, it was absolutely brutal baseball. In fact, last years ALCS was no picnic either. If the games continue on like this, they might as well scrap the DH, start having the umpires call more strikes on the hitters and have all AL Teams convert to a National League style of game.
The National League has seen the Cardinals give us thrilling moments and comebacks to epic proportions over the last 2 years. I honestly think that Mark McGwire is not receiving enough credit for molding that team into a bunch of contact hitters. You watch the 2013 offense of the LA Dodgers, they will all have a different approach. We will save the DH debate for another day, but lets just say that 2012 was the worst year for DH’s in some time if not ever. There are only about 3-4 decent DH’s left in the game and if David Ortiz is not in the lineup for the Red Sox, there are no more marquee guys that just hit and not field! The National League Teams plan on more contact for runs created out of necessity and it is always reflective by the competitive games we see them play in the playoffs.
In 2012, the Giants made 4 key acquisitions before and during the season to change their offensive demeanor. If you ask me flat-out as a baseball observer, there is no way the Giants win the World Series without Marco Scutaro or Angel Pagan at the top of the lineup. I also am conceding credit to Melky Cabrera’s hitting contributions as a contact hitter before being busted. Before Melky Cabrera was shown the door for PED’s, he was the same hitter as Scutaro in the 2nd half and postseason, in just hitting every single pitch that was thrown at him. To be honest here, Angel Pagan does strike out a fair bit as a lead off hitter, however he also has speed that makes him dangerous whenever the ball is contacted. It is all about a mixture of power, speed and contact hitters. To illustrate this fact, Hunter Pence (also picked up near the Trade Deadline) did not hit well in the regular season or playoffs for average, yet he was able to drive in a pile of runs because guys ahead of him were always on base. All he needed to do was to make contact for his RBI. Read the rest of this entry
What 2012 Really Meant to the St. Louis Cardinals
Thursday November 1st, 2012
2012 was a season that ended with disappointment which ultimately distracted us from recognizing what a successful year it really was. 2012 highlighted a lot of the greatness that is to come for this great franchise.
Alex Mednick (Baseball Analyst and Writer)
The St. Louis Cardinals came into 2012 as the defending World Series Champions. In 2011 they just eked their way into the post season on the final day of the regular season when they defeated the Houston Astros and the Braves, who were tied for the wild card spot with St. Louis, ended up losing to the Phillies in extra innings. Coming into the 2011 postseason, the Cardinals were huge underdogs. That didn’t stop them from going for what they wanted: to win it all.
While most analysts amongst the sport would not have guessed St. Louis would even make it to the World Series, yet alone win it, the Red Birds emerged to show their true colors. The current team that the city of St. Louis has assembled and gets to watch for 81 games a year is, undoubtedly, a team that plays on all cylinders and the highest octane fuel. They play with the intensity of a little league team that wants nothing more than the coach to bring them out for ice cream when they win. Watching the Cardinals brand of baseball is to watch baseball again as a game, and not just as a competition played by millionaire athletes with tremendous talent.
Watching the scrappiness of St. Louis native David Freese in the 2011 playoffs is the perfect example. His David Eckstein-like approach to the game reminds us all of one of our teammates back in middle school. The one at the sandlot that always slid hard, tried to steal home, and complained when the rest of us wanted to go home because “it was getting dark”. In 2011, David Freese and his 39 teammates played baseball together as a true team and sent Tony LaRussa home with a World Series title in his final year managing. Read the rest of this entry
2012 MLB Trades And Deadline Deals Revisited for Contenders: Who Won and Lost
Friday, October.26/2012
Ichiro Suzuki played the best baseball he has in the last 2 years with the Yankees. It would be a wise move to re-sign the guy for at least the next season. In my opinion, they should have Jeter and Suzuki linked together on the club until they retire.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
I love the new era of baseball. One thing the 2nd Wild Card team enabled this year was a flurry of transactions right near the Non-Waiver Trade Deadline, plus we even saw a bunch of trades between Aug.01-31 as well. I am not going to breakdown the trades for who went the other way (unless both teams were in contention) since we have a dedicated page for that here. What I am going to do is see who made out well with their new player. I will tell you right now that the hands down winner was the San Francisco Giants for picking up Marco Scutaro and Hunter Pence. Marco Scutaro hit .362 for the Giants and smacked 90 hits in 61 games. He has parlayed another 19 hits in 59 AB during the playoffs (.322).
I am going to be writing a series of payroll breakdowns for each MLB team in the offseason. I have already compiled reports for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels and Washington Nationals. These reports can be found in my author archives here. In addition to this, I am going to write another piece on Payroll Strategy specifically geared towards making runs at trades near the deadline. Look for those in the coming weeks. The work never ends here, and we will have you game ready for spring training when it comes to all of the clubs. Read the rest of this entry
The 2013 Nationals Appear Primed to Make a Run at the World Series
Friday October 26th, 2012
Sam Evans: The Washington Nationals had a somewhat disappointing end to their season, losing to St. Louis in five ALDS games. Nonetheless, the Nationals had a tremendous season and should be pleased with where they stand heading into next year. With the NL East teams around Washington getting older and losing talent, there’s no reason why Washington can’t repeat as division champions in 2013. In fact, the Washington Nationals should be favored to make a World Series push in 2013.
Ever since the franchise moved from Montreal in 2005, Washington had yet to have a season over .500 and finish in the top two in the NL East. 2011 was a surprising season in which Washington won ninety-eight games, the most in major league baseball, and won the N.L. East. Their Pythagorean record (96-66) suggests that the Nationals 2012 season was not a fluke. Washington was led by Ian Desmond, rookie Bryce Harper and a tremendous young group of starting pitchers. 2012 wasn’t a fluke and Washington won’t be putting a team on the field in 2013 that is much different. So why can’t they repeat as division champs? Read the rest of this entry
The San Francisco Giants Are Ready to Return to the World Series
Wednesday October 24th, 2012
Kyle Holland: The 2012 NLCS will go down as a series to remember. Firstly from a history standpoint, this was the first time in LCS history that the last two World Series champions squared off. Second, it was played between the 3rd and 4th seeds in the national league. The Giants coming back from being down 0-2 against the Cincinnati Reds, while the Cardinals recovering from being down 6-0 in game 5 in the NLDS to defeat the Nationals 9-7. The comeback kids facing off. This series was sure to be a thriller, and it did not disappoint.
The Giants, being forced to win 3 straight games to make it to the World Series, held off the Cardinals in game 7 to complete the comeback. Read the rest of this entry
Dusty Baker and The San Francisco Giants Just Don’t Mix Well
Tuesday October 23rd, 2012
Jake Dal Porto: The San Francisco Giants and current Reds’ manager Dusty Baker just don’t seem to mix all that well. Baker had a very capable Reds squad just a win away from the NLCS, putting pressure on the Giants to win all of the remaining three games. And they did, doing their best imitation of the comeback kids.
The thing is, the Reds weren’t expected to be on vacation by the end of the second week of October. They were built for a World Series run. They had the pitching, the powerful offense, and air-tight defense all in their favor to make a charge. They didn’t boast the second best record in baseball by accident. This was a team on a mission- a team of destiny.
More simply put, their expectations and the fans’ expectations exceeded a first round departure, especially with a lofty 2-0 lead in their home park. Of course, DustyBaker doesn’t deserve all the blame. He set up his troops to succeed and they didn’t answer the bell at home. It’s that simple, and there really is nothing else he or any other manager could have done differently to alter the outcome of that series. Read the rest of this entry
2012 NLCS Recap: The Cardinals are 1 Win Away from the World Series
Friday October 19th, 2012
Kyle Holland: The 2012 postseason has been all but “normal” so far, considering all division series went to 5 games. Conclusion? The NLCS has yet to disappoint. The St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants. Both teams had to battle to even still be playing to this point. The Giants had to come back down 0-2 and beat the hot Cincinnati Reds in three straight games in Cincinnati.
The Cardinals, after first having to win the play-in wild card game, had to beat the Nationals, who had the best record in baseball. To make it worse, the Nationals were up 6-0 in game 5… and blew it. Both of these teams have a lot of fight, and experience this late in the season.
There is something unique about the Giants and Cardinals facing off in the 2012 NLCS. This is the first time in MLB history that the last 2 world champions are playing in the LCS (the Giants in 2010 and the Cardinals in 2011). Read the rest of this entry
How Much do the Giants miss Melky Cabrera?
Thursday October 18th, 2012
Bernie Olshansky: When the San Francisco Giants made the playoffs this year for the second time in three years, there was one major question: Should Melky Cabrera be activated at some point? There were two schools of thought: the business side, which leaned toward activating him; and the emotional fan side, which was against activating him. If Cabrera was activated, there was no doubt he would help the Giants offensively. Cabrera’s .346 average would have won him the batting title (he disqualified himself) and helped the Giants greatly in the postseason. Granted, if Cabrera had not gotten suspended, the Giants might not have gone after Hunter Pence. Still, a lineup going Cabrera-Posey- Sandoval in the three-four-five holes would be dangerous. And, if Pence was added, the offense would be even more potent.
If the emotions and distractions of players and fans were not considered, the Giants would have activated Cabrera immediately. But, with all of the drama surrounding Cabrera’s suspension and him likely lying to many of his teammates, bringing him back might not have been the best decision. Cabrera would definitely draw an abundance of unwanted media attention into the clubhouse and would undoubtedly cause a distraction. Giants’ fans were also mixed. Some wanted him back while some wanted him run out of town. Although not as important, Cabrera’s return could anger some fans, giving the usually electric AT&T Park a different atmosphere.
The Legacy of Chris Carpenter: Savior in St. Louis
Thursday October 18th, 2012
Chris Carpenter started his career in Toronto after being the 15th overall selection in the 1994 draft. After the 2001 season, the Toronto Blue Jays made a calculated decision not to offer Carpenter a major league contract. He elected for free agency, rather than pitching in the minors for Toronto, and his legacy in St. Louis began when the Cardinals picked him up.
Alex Mednick (Baseball Analyst and Writer):
The legend of Chris Carpenter started as a 19-year-old pitching for the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in 1994. He was the 15th overall pick by the World Series Champion Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 draft. He was a physical specimen built to stand atop a 9.5” hill and stare down at hitters as they stared back at his 6 foot, 6 inch frame. Drafted out of Manchester, New Hampshire, the 19-year-old already had a plus fastball and a nice curveball. By 1997, at the age of 22, Chris Carpenter had broken into the Toronto Blue Jays rotation and was pitching against the best hitters in the world.
As a mid-season call up in 1997, Carpenter struggled in Toronto, hosting an ERA above 5.00 and a record of 3-7 over 13 games. His role in Toronto was mostly to eat innings, and he was there to gain experience and hopefully blossom into what the Blue Jays brass new head could be. He was in a rotation that consisted of the 1996 AL Cy Young winner Pat Hentgen, as well as the 1997 AL Cy Young winner Roger Clemens, so he had some serious mentors to help guide him on breaking into the big leagues. Despite his amazing talent, Carpenter struggled for most of his first season in Toronto and was eventually moved into the bullpen. In 1998 however, he emerged and gave everyone at least a glimpse of what would eventually come of Chris Carpenter, while proving himself to already be a competent starter capable of winning games. He led the Toronto Blue Jays (tied with Pat Hentgen) with 12 wins in 1998, and continued to pitch well into 1999…at least until he became cursed by a spell of injuries. Read the rest of this entry
2012 NLCS Preview: The Clash Of The Comeback Kids
Tuesday October 16th, 2012
Jake Dal Porto: You might’ve heard about the Giants’ historical comeback. You might heard about the Cardinals historical comeback in Game 5 of the NLDS against the big, bad Nationals. But all you need to know is these two clubs don’t go away easily. Giants’ general manager likes to call his team “cockroaches” because they never go away, while the Cardinals, well, they aren’t named after a bug, but let’s call them the comeback kids for the lack of a better phrase.
There’s nothing scientific about it. They both play to the end. The end is the end, but these two teams tend to avoid the end. Down 0-2 heading back to Cincinnati, the Giants were counted out by the world, seemingly. And who in their right mind would say they weren’t done? People aren’t that stupid. Yet, they silenced Reds’ fans for three straight days, and celebrated on their home field.
Then there’s the Cardinals. Adam Wainwright unraveled, and allowed six early runs to put his team in a very deep hole. And what needs to be underscored here, is the fact that they came back against a legitimate Cy Young candidate in Gio Gonzalez. Nothing fazes them. Even Stephen Strasburg couldn’t have helped… as much as people want to use that excuse.
And now, the two miracle stories clash.
Starting Pitching Preview
The Giants obvious strength entering the playoffs was their strong starting pitching. Even with Tim Lincecum not being the Tim Lincecum he once was, the Giants boasted a very formidable staff with Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner heading the rotation. But San Francisco’s plan to stay in games through their pitching has failed miserably. In the first round, Cain gave up six runs in 10.2 innings pitched, Bumgarner allowed four runs in 4.1 innings pitched, and Barry Zito allowed two runs in 2.2 innings pitched. Ryan Vogelsong was the only one out of the four Giants’ starters to at least have something of a respectable line (5 IP, 1 ER, 3 Walks). Yet, he wasn’t even that good. Read the rest of this entry
The Stephen Strasburg Innings Limit: Was it the Right Move by the Nationals?
Monday October 15th, 2012
Stephen Strasburg is the face of the Washington Nationals. Will Bryce and Harper and he be able to bring a World Series to Washington?
Robert Whitmer: About two months into the season (May 21st to be exact), I wrote an article about Stephen Strasburg explaining that he was at a crossroads in his career. We discussed Justin Verlander and his abilities and compared him to the jock that you can find in any high school in the world. We said that he was the kind of guy that was good at anything that he tried to do. I said that it was just plain unfair how he abuses hitters at the plate because of the wide variety of pitches that he has to deal with. We also discussed Mark Prior and how he was the coulda, woulda, shoulda, of the argument. He did not live up to his potential and injuries were to blame. I remember saying that we would have to see what happens and where he ends up. Well the end of the season for the Nationals has come (for Strasburg it came earlier than the teams and don’t worry we will cover that later) so let’s take a look back at how the season that Strasburg had compares to the third season that Verlander and Prior had. You can read the above mentioned article here.
We shall start with Mark Prior for the sole purpose being that I have his stats up on Firefox first. Prior had a less than stellar third year for the Cubbies. He started 21 games but could only squeak out a 6-4 record in 2004. His ERA wasn’t that great either because it ended up at 4.02. We compare this to the previous year for Prior when he came in at 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA in 30 starts. Let’s look further at the 2004 numbers. He struck out 139 while giving up 14 jacks. The other number that is striking is that he only faced 510 batters the entire year. That’s just over 24 batters per game. This would be a great number if he were pitching into the ninth inning every game and having almost complete games each outing. That wasn’t the case. He started 21 times but only factored into the decision 10 times. That’s 11 outings where something happened that cause him to get the no-decision as evident by the 0 (zero) complete games that year. Like I said, it was a less than stellar year but in his defense, he did start the season on the DL for two months. Read the rest of this entry
2012 World Series Predictions: Tigers and Cardinals Will Meet Again in October
Monday October 15th, 2012
Sam Evans: With the Championship Series just beginning, predicting the two teams that will face off in the World Series has never been easier. Still, the teams playing in the ALCS and NLCS right now are pretty evenly matched so it’s still difficult to see which two will advance. Due to their momentum and great ability to come back, St. Louis will prevail over San Francisco in the NL. Due to their outstanding pitching staff and Miguel Cabrera being on his current tear, Detroit has a slight advantage over New York in the American League. Even if these predictions go horribly wrong, the one thing we can be certain of is that these two series are going to include some thrilling games played between some of the best teams in baseball. Read the rest of this entry
Tim Lincecum’s Future in San Francisco
Sunday October 14th, 2012
Kyle Holland: No pitcher has come out of college before and jumped right onto the Major League scene as much as Tim Lincecum did by fancying a 56-29 Won-Loss record in his first 4 seasons as a pro. Drafted tenth overall in the first round of the 2006 Amateur Draft, Lincecum came to the Giants pitching staff with great expectations. At the time, his $2.025 signing bonus was the highest amount the Giants had ever given a player. In just his second season in 2008, he won the NL Cy Young, and followed up with another the next year in 2009.
After these 2 amazing Cy Young seasons in ’08 and ’09, Lincecum led the Giants to their first World Series in San Francisco in 2010. At only 5’11’’, 163 Ibs, he can routinely get his fastball up to 93 MPH.
With this being his 6th year pitching in 2012, all is not well. For a guy that has usually thrown well enough to be the staff’s ace, Lincecum didn’t even make the NLDS roster as a starter because the Giants decided to use him out of the pen instead. His 10-15 record for the regular season left a lot to be desired, and the club opted to use Barry Zito after Cain, Baumgarner and Vogelsong. So how did this happen to such a prolific pitcher? Read the rest of this entry
2012 NLDS Wrap: Giants Defeat the Reds and Will Face Either the Cards or Nats in the NLCS
Friday October 12th, 2012
Bernie Olshansky: Game One: Reds 5, Giants 2: The first game of the National League Division Series looked to be a pitchers’ duel with Johnny Cueto of the Reds matching up with Matt Cain of the Giants. This possibility quickly went out the window when Cueto was seen in major discomfort after throwing a pitch to the second batter of the game. Out went Cueto with back spasms and in came Sam LeCure. Lecure pitched very well bridging the gap to probable game three starter Mat Latos. Right as Cueto came out, this became a must-win game for the Giants. These first two games would be the only two home games of the series for the Giants, and the ace of the Reds’ staff was out of the game after a third of an inning. While the Reds bullpen and Mat Latos continued to keep the Giants’ offense at bay, Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce delivered all the offense that the Reds needed with a two-run bomb to left and a solo shot to right-center. Latos and the bullpen did the rest, only giving up a solo shot to Buster Posey and a run in the ninth inning. It looked as if the Reds had all the momentum taking at least a tie back to Cincinnati.
Game Two: Reds 9, Giants 0: The Reds picked up just where they left off starting the scoring with a Ryan Ludwick solo homer to dead center. In a fall evening in San Franciso, a hitter needs to get all of it for it to be a home run and Ludwick did just that, putting the Reds up 1-0 in the second inning. A few innings later, the Reds continued to pummel Madison Bumgarner scoring three in a rally started by Joey Votto. In what was a weird turn of events, Tim Lincecum came in to pitch in the sixth inning in relief of George Kontos. Lincecum went to the bullpen and only threw a few pitches before heading back to the dugout. Then, to what looked like his surprise, Bruce Bochy inserted him into the game as part of a double switch that put Xavier Nady into left field. Lincecum pitched very well for the limited warm-up tosses he had, shutting down the Reds and keeping the deficit at four. Unfortunately for the Giants the Reds kept going, shelling Jose Mijares and Santiago Casilla for five more runs, bringing up the total to nine. As of Sunday night, it looked like the Giants were completely dead.
ATR: Ask the Reports Answers Your Baseball Questions: Sunday October 7th
Sunday October 7th, 2012
Jonathan Hacohen: The regular season is done. Toast. That’s it. We even finished the one game sudden death Wild Card playoffs. We are now officially in full swing, MLB playoff mode.
It is a bittersweet feeling. I love the playoffs. But it is hard to go without having 12-15 MLB games going every day. And then I shudder to think what life is like when the playoffs are finished. We are less than 3 weeks away from the World Series. Can you believe it? This was an incredible season, with many highs and lows. From all those no-hitters to the countless players undergoing Tommy John surgery. The surprising A’s and Orioles. The disappointing Angels and Phillies. We had quite the year. Valentine Gate. Melky’s suspension. Miggy’s triple crown. Trout’s dominance. Dickey’s greatness. 2012 will go down as one of my favorite baseball seasons of all time.
Before we turn over to your questions, let’s address those Wild Card games. For all the talk of Atlanta’s great season, they are done. One game and over. The St. Louis Cardinals, the defending World Series champs squeaked into the playoffs…and are now heading to the NLDS for a date with the Nationals. Over in the American League, the powerhouse Rangers are done. For a team that led the AL in wins for most of the year and held the AL West crown for almost the entire season, their late season collapse ended in disaster. With a two game lead going into the final season, the A’s sweep in Oakland of the Rangers meant a date at home for Texas with Baltimore. This shows the importance of a division title vs. a wild card spot. While the A’s face the Tigers in a 5-game series, the Rangers had only one chance and blew it. Given the fact that they had enjoyed back-to-back World Series appearances the last two seasons, 2012 will go down as a black mark in Rangers history. It goes to show you: a team can have all the hitting on the planet, but to win- they need pitching. Sure the Rangers hitting cooled off in the 2nd half, but they also did not have enough reliable pitchers to be ready for the playoffs. Now imagine the Rays had a better offense. That’s the type of team that was built to compete in the playoffs. Great, young and healthy pitching is usually the secret to success in today’s game. But without enough hitting, the road was too hard for the Rays.
As a result, teams like the Orioles and the A’s are in, while the Rays and Rangers are out. The teams may not have the best pitching or hitting- but with a steady amount of both, playoff dreams became a reality. What the A’s and Orioles both enjoy is lights-out bullpens. So called experts may call bullpens/relievers/closers as overrated. Looking at the Orioles success in 1-run games and the A’s in extra innings, I would have to disagree. If a team can lock down a game from the 6th inning an on with a lead consistency, that is what we call a dangerous team. I have no idea if the A’s and O’s face-off in the ALCS. If they do, that should be one explosive series. My crystal ball sees the winner of the A’s/Tigers going to the World Series. In the NL, I see it as the Reds all the way. They are just too stacked and consistent. Anything can happen in a short series, but those are my picks for baseball’s biggest showdown of the season. Stay tuned!
Now let’s get to your top questions of the week: Read the rest of this entry
The Philadelphia Phillies Franchise Part 3 of 4: The Pitchers
Saturday September.01/2012
Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5.The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles here.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024 This team has played for almost 130 years. As such, they have a great deal of history, so there are going to be several more hitters than pitchers as is the case with most Franchises. For the first seasons as the Quakers, they had some decent pitchers. It wasn’t until Pete Grover Alexander joined the club, that Philadelphia Phillies fams got to see a Hall of Fame pitcher before their very eyes. From Alexander, to Robin Roberts and Curt Simmons, to Jim Bunning, Rick Wise and Chris Short, to Steve Carlton, Tug McGraw and Jim Lonborg, to Curt Schilling and Mitch Williams, to Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, the Phillies Pitchers have been improving in each generation.
Last year when the club won a record 102 games for the Franchise, they had the best 4 starters they had ever assembled in Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Roy Oswalt to take the mound. Having Kyle Kendrick and Joe Blanton as your 5th starter is an option most teams would love to have. The Phillies have been one of the best teams in the National League since 1975. They have appeared in 9 NLCS’s and 5 World Series while winning 2 of them. That is an impressive 36 year run. Going forward, the clubs pitchers still look solid. Cole Hamels just signed a 6 year extension, Cliff Lee is around for 3 more years and Roy Halladay still has 2 more years left after this. The club also signed Jonathan Papelbon up until the end of the 2015 season before 2012 began. Papelbon may have a chance to make this list when someone else chronicles the best pitchers in Phillies history one day 25 years from now.
If you ask me to have a Mount Rushmore of Pitchers it would be: Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, Grover Alexander and probably Cole Hamels because of his instrumental pitching since the 2007 season.
For Part 1 of the Phillies Article Series: The Franchise click here:
For Part 2 of the Phillies Article Series: The Hitters click here:
For Part 4 of the Phillies Article Series: Team Payroll and Contractual Statuses click here
For the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals Franchise 5 Part Series click here
Steve Carlton Highlight Reel:
The Philadelphia Phillies Part 1 of 4: ‘The Franchise’
Friday August.17/2012
Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Team’s Payroll going into in 2013 and 5. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) To follow all of the updates, be sure to check my author page with a list of all archived articles here.
It took the Phillies 77 years to win their first World Series in 1980, however since that time, they have been to 4 more World Series: In 1983, 1993, 2008 and 2009, while taking home the Trophy in 2008.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024 The Phillies started as a franchise in 1883 in the city of Philadelphia-and have the longest continued stretch as their original name. It has been a club that suffered tremendous droughts for the player and fans alike. Only in recent vintage (since 1975) has this team come into permanent prominence, with the now Hall of Fame Mike Schmidt entering the league and turning the fortunes of the city. From signing Pete Rose to put them over the top for their 1st World Series Trophy, to just re-signing Cole Hamels to a 144 Million Dollar Contract, the team has been adamantly aggressive in keeping its name amongst the elite in baseballs annals.
One could even argue that the Phillies had been the best team in baseball from 2008 up until the start of this season. I recently named this club the best team from the years 1980-1983 and then again for the years of 2008-2009. But before the likes of: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, or Curt Schilling, Lenny Dykstra and Darren Daulton, or Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Pete Rose, they were plenty of other men who left a mark on this historic NL Franchise. We will look at all of the significant players that ever played for the club as a pitcher or hitter. The pitchers and hitters will be focused on solely in the next 2 weeks. Let us look and how the team has fared in its history.
Here are the final pitches of the 2008 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays. Property of Major League Baseball & Fox.
For Part 2 of The 4 Part Philles Article Series: The Hitters, click here.
For Part 3 of The 4 Part Phillies Article Series: The Pitchers- click here
For Part 4 of the Phillies Article Series: Team Payroll and Contractual Statuses click here
The Best Teams from 1980-2012: Will Texas claim the title this year from 2010-2012?
Wednesday July.11, 2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- There is only so much one can read in an article, otherwise I would make these lists up from the turn of the 20th century. If you gave me enough time as a reader, I promise to backdate this topic with another article featuring the best teams dating back further in years. Eventually, all of the years may be dissected and we can have a healthy debate on some of my selections. I really started watching baseball in the early 1980′s. As I became older and discovered ways to research the history of the game, my knowledge and curious mind grew for more information. I have studied and read baseball stat books and breezed through the odd Bill James novel. If I ever take a break from writing or baseball park chasing, I may find some time down the road to watch the 9 part PBS documentary that Ken Burns did on baseball’s history.
Baseball lends itself more to the history than any other sport because of how it has been chronicled throughout their past. Writers, announcers, former players, parents etc.. have always carried on with the stories of America’s favorite pastime. I will never be sold that NFL is the greatest pastime in sports right now. NFL is the greatest gambling sport presently. It is my firm belief that the only reason why the NFL draws in more cash from its sport is because of the gambling factor. If you took that aspect out of it, I believe baseball is the #1 sport. Can you imagine how much attention we would pay to baseball if there were only a 16 game schedule? Enough with that rant, let’s get down to the list. Who were the best teams at any specific time period for the last 32 years? We will start with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1980-1983. Read the rest of this entry
