Blog Archives
Current Top 5 MLB Home Run Leaders in the AL + NL: Home Runs Hit May 19th
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Miguel Cabrera has hit 332 HRs, 398 Doubles and 13 Triples in his 11th year in the Major Leagues. With 1170 RBI, and just barely being 30 Years of age, the man has a serious chance to chase the ALL – Time RBI record of 2297 By Hank Aaron. After his 3 HR night on Saturday, he has a 2013 – 3 Slash of .387/.457/1.116 (all lead the AL). He has added 11 HRs (tied for 2nd) and 47 RBI (1st in the MLB). He could challenge a 2nd straight Triple Crown in 2013. Something that hasn’t happened since Honus Wagner in the 1920′s.
DH on our home site pages – Stands for Daily HR Hitters in the Majors.
We are going to run the gauntlet on the previous days HRs for all MLB Players.
I loved it when MLB XM Radio used to do a running total every night on their Roundtrip with Mike Ferrin (Laser Show). So I am bringing it every day on this website. To view every nights big boppers for the whole year (from May 8th on) visit the DH page!
Click beyond the Youtube link or click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON to see who hit yesterdays big flies.
Cabrera’s mammoth night May.19th/2013
Current Top 5 MLB Home Run Leaders in the AL + NL: Home Runs Hit May 17th
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Alex Rios has been quietly piecing together a solid campaign in 2013, with 10 HRs (T 5th in the AL), He has 8 2B, 7 SB and has scored 25 Runs in 40 GP. His 3 Slash line reads .297/.363/.917. Behind Great Start Pitching, plus recent good play of Adam Dunn, the Southsiders have won 4 Games in a row to climb within 4 Games of the AL Central with a 19 – 21 Record.
DH on our home site pages – Stands for Daily HR Hitters in the Majors.
We are going to run the gauntlet on the previous days HRs for all MLB Players.
I loved it when MLB XM Radio used to do a running total every night on their Roundtrip with Mike Ferrin (Laser Show). So I am bringing it every day on this website. To view every nights big boppers for the whole year (from May 8th on) visit the DH page!
Click beyond the Youtube link or click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON to see who hit yesterdays big flies.
Triple Play Podcast Ep #8 – Bucs And Nats Time In The Around The Horn Feature
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The Triple Play Show will have 5 shows per month. Each show will be about 1 hour.
By The Big Ticket Show ( AKA Triple Play Podcast on http://www.mlbreports.com) Follow @bigticketshow
Guests in this Podcast – MLB Reports Nationals Correspondent David Huzzard of Citizensofnatstown.com ( Follow @bigticketshow and MLB Reports Pirates Correspondent Brad Cuprik
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On a Mother’s day edition of the triple play podcast we heed the advice of our mother’s and turn the lemon of our original guest being unable to join us into the lemonade of Bard Cuprik of mlbreports.com (Check out his latest Roster Tree piece – where he goes through the 6 degrees of separation of a how each pitcher arrived in a Bucs uniform here ) – and David Huzzard of the Citizens of Natstown podcast (and Writer) dissects the pitching and the Nationals start to the 2013 Season. Read the rest of this entry
Top 5 MLB Home Run Leaders in the AL + NL: Home Runs Hit May 9th
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Friday May 10th, 2013
The Indians continue to lead the MLB in HRs with 49. They are now 18 – 14 for the year – after winning 11 out of their last 12. They also lead the MLB in SLG % with a .475 clip – and OPS – with a .809 mark. They boast the AL HR leader in Reynolds (11) and Santana is leading the world in OPS of (1.129). The Cleveland fans have not bought into the next exciting offensive play. The team is dead last in MLB Attendance – having only drawn 239,765 in 17 home dates thus far. This translates into just over 14100 people per contest. C’mon Cleveland, support your club! The Tribe is only 1 GB behind Detroit heading into a weekend showdown series
DH on our home site pages – Stands for Daily HR Hitters in the Majors.
We are going to run the gauntlet on the previous days HRs for all MLB Players.
I loved it when MLB XM Radio used to do a running total every night on their Roundtrip with Mike Ferrin (Laser Show). So I am bringing it every day on this website. To view every nights big boppers for the whole year (from May 8th) visit the DH page!
Click beyond the Youtube link or click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON to see who hit yesterdays big flies.
Cleveland Indians with 7 HRs 4/30 versus the Phillies:
Pittsburgh Pirates 2013 Team Salary, Pirates Roster + Organizational Depth Charts (MLB and MiLB)
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The Pittsburgh Pirates organization is looking a lot better over the last few years. They have had 20 Losing season in a row – and are one of the 3 teams to not make the playoffs since the 1994 Player Strike (KC and Toronto) and are the the only National League team to hold this distinction. The club were one of the best franchises around the game of the MLB in the 1970′s. The club has started 13 – 9 in 2013. This pattern has formed over the last few campaigns, – in the NL Central contention until just after the ALL – Star Break – before swooning in 2011 and 2012.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024 and welcome Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB) – visit his website here Follow @prosportsroster
You guys are all in for a treat. Jeff Kleiner recently contacted me about a partnership merge for the website. He has developed a site (prosportsrosters.com) that covers all organizational affiliates in the Minors for all of the Major League Baseball Clubs. We are going to combine efforts to bring you the best look at salaries, current 25 Man Player Rosters and Depth Charts for all 30 teams.
Jeff is going to provide the documents in form of spreadsheets and I am going to accompany the posts with deep analysis of what the numbers tell us from my perspective. If you can’t wait for all of my assessments for each club, go and visit Jeff’s website over at http://www.prosportsrosters.com.
In Speaking with Jeff, he is one of the more passionate fans I have come across towards the game of baseball. He spends enough time in updating his MLB Facts for it to be a Full-Time Job. So after the usual Video Clip and READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY button, you will find some serious &*!@?!#!
For a Full 3 year Salary Outlook plus last years Stats for every player in the Pirates Organization click here
Pittsburgh Pirates Look at Buc Nation 3 Videos:
MLB (R) Weekly Power Rankings – Week 2
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Follow @mlbreportsMonday Apr.15/2013
Billy Beane has seen his club roar out of the gates – leading in most offensive and defensive categories so far. This year’s team is 9 – 4 (Leading the AL West) – and have put up a 81 – 40 Record since starting last year 23 – 32. The Tigers seem to be the only toxic for the franchise. The Athletics at least played in front of decent crows at 0.co Coliseum on Saturday drawing 35K – with the team trying to go for a 10th straight win. Justin Verlander stopped the streak.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Well, the Atlanta Braves are the toast of the MLB right now, Prince Fielder is the hottest hitter on the planet, John Buck is doing his best Johnny Bench impersonation – while Chris Davis is giving new definition to the nickname ‘Crash’.
The Mets and Rockies have had the biggest ‘Cupcake Schedules’ thus far in the Major Leagues – and I am still not buying stock in these teams.
The Angels pulled out a couple of wins versus the Houston Astros to end the week 5 – 8 (You guys are supposed to beat Houston whenever you play them this year!
The Yankees rode a 4 – 1 week among a schedule that was blown apart by weather induced cancellations in Cleveland, to climb the standings.
To quote Joe Pesci in (‘ My Cousin Vinny” when Fred Gwynne tells him he is in contempt of court) in response to Jose Reyes being injured. ”There is a f—— surprise!
3 Reasons That The Pirates Will – Or Won’t End 20 Years Of Consecutive Losing Records
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The Pirates are hoping to bring winning baseball for the beautiful PNC Park in 2013.
By Brad Cuprik (Pirates Correspondent) Follow @bradcuprik
The statistical improvements are easy to decipher in Clint Hurdle‘s first two years as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2011, the Bucs were 72-90, scored 610 Runs and gave up 712 Runs. Those were improvements of 15 victories, 23 Runs Scored and an impressive 154 less Runs Allowed.
This past season, Pittsburgh improved in all three categories again – earning 79 victories with 651 Runs Scored and 674 Runs Allowed. If it seems like an excruciatingly long time since Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Andy Van Slyke and Doug Drabek were leading the Pirates to a winning season and a third consecutive NLCS, that’s because it has been – two decades to be exact.
Bill Clinton was just starting his first term as President of the United States and something called Color Me Badd was popular on the radio.
Questionable music aside, if the Pirates want to put an end to all that losing, another year of similar improvement will get them over the .500 hump.
Here are three reasons why 2013 will be the year it happens for them and three reasons why the longest consecutive streak of losing seasons in professional sports will reach 21 years.
Sid Breams 1992 NLCS Game 7 Slide kicked off a 20 Year Consecutive Losing Records Streak
The Method To Pirates GM Neal Huntington’s Team Building Strategy
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Follow @mlbreportsTuesday March 12, 2013
Neal Huntington was named General Manager by the Pirates in 2007 – and has yet to produce a winning season. Expectations are becoming higher with each passing year. The Pirates are the only NL Team not to make the playoffs since the 1994 Lockout.
Bernie Olshansky (Baseball Writer): Follow @BernieOlshansky
There is no question that the Pittsburgh Pirates have gone through their fair share of struggles. They have not had a winning season since 1992, and the closest the team has come to a .500 season was last year, when they went 79 – 83. It looks, though, as if there is light at the end of the tunnel for Pirates fans.
General Manager Neal Huntington has made some nice moves to strengthen the team since he was named in 2007.
He immediately went to work, hiring a new manager and making major trades up to the 2008 trading deadline. One of two major trades included sending Xavier Nady to the Yankees for pitchers, notably Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, and Outfielder Jose Tabata.
The second major trade was sending Jason Bay to the Red Sox for Brandon Moss, Andy Laroche, and others. Although these deals never really came to fruition, Huntington made it clear that he would not stand idly by and let his team suffer.
Pittsburgh Pirates Highlights – Mature Lyrics so Parental Guidance is advised:
Ranking the Top 10 Hitters In The MLB Right Now: Part 1 (1-5)
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Miguel Cabrera: Cooperstown Bound. Undoubtedly, “Miggy” is one of the great players of this generation. Watching him play the game every day is a gift to baseball lovers.
By Jake Dal Porto (Baseball Writer) Follow @thejakeman24
The best hitters in baseball aren’t hard to identifying, but arranging them is the tough part.
The “new” era of hitters have arrived on the scene. This doesn’t necessarily imply that some of the older hitters might as well call it quits, rather, it means that they have taken the backseat.
So, here we go: Baseball’s Top 5 hitters. This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Next week, we go through the 6-10 best hitters.
Mike Trout is baseball’s consensus best overall player, factoring in defense and speed, but Miguel Cabrera gets the nod as baseball’s best hitter.
Cabrera won the Triple Crown award in 2012, and in turn, beat out Trout for MVP honors.
As for the stats, well, they’re also impressive. He was second in the American League in oWAR (offensive WAR), third in ISO (Isolated Power), led the MLB in OPS, slugging percentage, total bases and extra base hits.
Cabrera’s compact swing enables him to do damage on most pitches. In 2012, he hit .344 on hits to left field, .412 on hits to center field and .424 on hits to right field. These three figures simply imply that Cabrera hits the ball where it’s pitched. Yes, it’s a simple approach, but it’s proven to be the most effective approach in baseball. The stats speak for themselves.
For Part 2 of the Top 10 Hitters Series (6-10) click here
Miguel Cabrera 2012 Highlights – Mature Lyrics so Parental Guidance is advised:
Pirates Payroll In 2013 And Contracts Going Forward
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Pittsburgh GM Neil Huntington has found creative ways to help the Budget out – by taking risks on Wandy Rodriguez and A.J. Burnett. They are both being paid portions of their contracts by their previous teams. Signing Andrew McCutchen to a long-term contract has also given the franchise the ability to add players in 2013 if need be.
By Brad Cuprik (Pirates Correspondent) Follow @bradcuprik
On August 8 of last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates were 63-47, 2.5 games back of the First-place Cincinnati Reds, securely into the second Wild-Card Spot – and had the fourth-best record in the National League. The wheels came off, the Bucs finished on a 16-36 slide, 18 games back of the Reds and with the 10th-best record in the NL. Reality could have caught up to a overperforming squad, or a youthful team took the next step in learning how to win. Either way, the Pirates enter 2013 with breaking a streak of 20 losing seasons on their minds.
General Manager Neal Huntington has been shrewd and active, signing MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen to a long-term deal in 2012 and getting other clubs to eat up significant chunks of their largest contracts when acquiring their top two starters. Starting pitching depth has been added and Huntington is even taking more high-priced risks, landing Catcher Russell Martin as a Free Agent.
Pittsburgh Pirates 2012 Highlights:
Pittsburgh Pirates Roster in 2013: State Of The Union
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Follow @mlbreportsWednesday, January 23, 2013
The Pirates have not made the playoffs since the 1992 Season. That year, Barry Bonds could not throw out Sid Bream from deep Short in Game #7 of the NLCS versus the Braves – and they were eliminated for the 3rd straight year in the playoffs before reaching the World Series. Bonds subsequently left the team for the SF Giants in 1993 – and 20 losing seasons have since occurred. Only the Kansas City Royals have a longer streak of not making the playoffs (1985). Will this change in 2013?
By Brad Cuprik (Pirates Correspondent) Follow @bradcuprik
Although the Pirates made significant strides in 2012, they still finished in fourth place in the National League Central – with a 79-83 mark – extending their professional sports record for consecutive losing seasons to 20. After being active at last season’s trading deadline, the Bucs added two key Free Agents in the offseason. One of those signings, LHP Francisco Liriano, agreed to 2 YR Deall for just under $13 Million – but broke his arm from an undisclosed injury in late December. The two sides agreed to a deal that lowers the first-season payout if Liriano misses any time due to the injury.
That has not dimmed the enthusiasm swelling around Pittsburgh and very few roster spots are up for grabs as the 2013 season nears. With the Houston Astros moving to the American League West, the division is down to five teams, but the Pirates still have numerous questions surrounding their ability to compete for a Post Season Berth.
Andrew McCutchen hitting mechanics: Mature Lyrics Content – Parental Guidance is Advised
Post Chipper Jones Era: Is David the Wright Solution?
Saturday September 22nd, 2012
John Burns: As you all know, the almighty Chipper Jones will be retiring from baseball after this season. He is it calling it quits after 19 seasons in the Majors. The 40 year-old Chipper Jones has been one of the best players in baseball for a longtime. With his outstanding career numbers, it is no question that one day he will be inducted into Cooperstown. A lock to be a first-ballot inductee. Jones has been part of Atlanta’s organization for 22 years after being drafted number first overall to the Braves in the 1990 MLB Draft. That is a lot of years at the hot corner, as well as some time spent in the outfield.
How will Atlanta recover without Chipper playing third every day? Are there any possible replacements? Besides his play on the field, can his leadership be replaced? This might shock a lot of you… but could David Wright be the one to replace Chipper in Atlanta? Read the rest of this entry
Pedro Alvarez: Finally Meeting The Hype in Pittsburgh
Saturday September 15th, 2012
Jake Dal Porto: Pedro Alvarez is starting to turn the corner. Taking the next step. But, early career struggles had insiders, fans, writers, and everything in-between, labeling him as a “bust”. Let’s not forget that he was the second overall pick in the 2008 draft. So pressure and expectations are sky-high for him, and that’s not anything out of the ordinary. That’s a common theme with almost all high MLB draft picks. Alvarez, however, didn’t meet or exceed those expectations when he first broke into the majors, which caused some concern throughout the club.
In an article on Baseball America, one writer called him “the biggest waste of hitting talent in draft history”. That’s a pretty bold statement especially from a respected baseball publication. Sure, if it came from some snobby fan, then a statement like that would simply be shrugged off. That wasn’t the case, however. And believe it or not, that bold statement was pretty precise. Harsh? Yes. True? You bet. Yes Alvarez was young, but there were too many red flags to ignore at this stage of his young career. Read the rest of this entry
Pittsburgh Pirates: Do they Have Enough to Stay in the Playoff Race?
Saturday August 4th, 2012
Jake Dal Porto: The Pittsburgh Pirates have been one of the many surprising teams in baseball this season. Led by perennial MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen, they trail the first place Reds by just four and a half games in the National league Central division and retain the third best record in the entire N.L. If the playoffs started today, the Pirates would be playing postseason baseball for the first time since 1992. While they made a push at the playoffs last season as well, an August collapse ultimately diminished their chances of playing October baseball for the first time in over two decades.
However, an August breakdown doesn’t seem to be in the cards for these 2012 Pirates. Players like Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata, and Garrett Jones were all on the 2011 team that plummeted from first place on July 25th to 16 games back of first place on August 25th. Nearly a year later, the same core group has the Pirates back in the thick of the playoff chase, but their mentalities have significantly changed with the experience they garnered in 2011. Why? It’s cliche, but the more experience a player or team can refer to, the better they will perform. And in this case, that team is the Pirates. Read the rest of this entry
Justin Morneau: Twins Trade Bait or Damaged Goods?
Thursday July 12th, 2012
Bernie Olshansky: Over the past few years, Twins fans have been disappointed with Justin Morneau’s performance. He’s been plagued by a concussion he sustained in Toronto two years ago after sliding into the leg of Aaron Hill. Before the injury, Morneau was hitting .345 through 81 games, hit .274 in the year before that (2009), finished second in MVP voting in 2008 after hitting .300 with 23 home runs and 129 RBIs, and won the AL MVP award in 2006 after hitting .321 with 34 homers and 130 RBIs. The big question is: Can he return to his original form? Read the rest of this entry
MLB Reports Monthly Power Rankings: July 2012
Wednesday July.4, 2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)-We are going to bring you monthly power rankings every month of the season. There will be a few notes written for each team. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts. The Texas Rangers are the top ranked team yet once again, although teams are certainly gaining on the them in the last month. If this report was being done last week I might have put the New York Yankees in 1st and Texas in 2nd. A 7 game winning streak help preserve another month for Texas on the leader-board. There were superior months by Aaron Hill, Jose Bautista, Joey Votto , Jason Heyward and a new phenomenon was born with Jose Altuve. It was a great month for the MLB. With 20 teams within 5.5 games or less for the playoff races, we are sure to see some serious movements in the Power Rankings in the 2nd half of the season.
Standings taken before play Tuesday July.03/2012
July Power Rankings-Last Month Rank in Parenthesis
1. Texas-50-30 (1) The Rangers rode a 7 game winning streak to end up 18-8 for the last month. David Murphy, Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus all hit over .300 in the last 30 days. The Rangers were able to weather a slow spurt from Josh Hamilton, in which he hit .222 with only 4 HRs for the month. Matt Harrison has asserted himself as an ace on the staff with a 5-0 month with a 1.29 ERA, while leading the American League with 11 wins on the year. The Rangers have 6 players going to the ALL-Star Game including 3 starters. Yu Darvish can make a 7th if he is voted into the final roster spot with his rookie campaign of 10-5 so far.
2. NY Yankees 48-31(5) The Yankees have ridden good pitching and a hot bat from Robinson Cano to a 19-7 record over the last month, with a 5 games lead over their competition in the AL East. Cano hit .370 with 12 HRs and 24 RBI in the last month. Derek Jeter is hitting .298 overall but saw his average go from .389 in April, to .283 in May to .232 in June. He still tops a list of 4 Yankees heading to the ALL-Star Game including 23 HR homer man Curtis Granderson. Phil Hughes went 5-1 in the month with a 2.59 ERA and Ivan Nova won his 3 decisions with a miniscule 1.32 ERA. Rafael Soriano has converted 18 out of 19 save opportunities since taking over as team closer.
3. San Francisco 45-30 (9) The Giants went 16-11 in the month and saw a perfect game from Matt Cain, with a few other 1 hitters. The team shutout the Dodgers 3 games in a row in a series last week. The Giants have Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey and Melky Cabrera starting in KC next week. The Melkman continues to show that last year was no fluke with his .352 Average and he is leading the Major Leagues with 111 base hits. The Giants pitching staff has coped with the loss of Brian Wilson and the ineffectiveness of starter Tim Lincecum, by the rest of the staff having career years.
4. LA Angels 45-35 (12) The Angels have been really steady since the end of May. They just finished going 17-8 in the last 25 days on the backs of ALL-Stars Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo and resurgent Albert Pujols. Trout might be the most exciting player on the planet these days and is a lock for AL Rookie of the Year if he keeps this up. Trout hit .367 over the last month and has taken over the AL batting lead with a .342 AVG. Trumbo hit 10 HRs and drove in 28 RBI for the month and Pujols hit .337. to raise his average 40 points. C.J Wilson was good enough in June to be named as CC Sabathia‘s replacement at the ALL-Star game.
5. Washington 45-32(9) Mike Morse has returned to the lineup with a vengeance during the last week with a .484 average. Super Sub Tyler Moore has also hit .415 in the last 14 games with 4 HRs and 12 RBI. Ian Desmond had 16 Extra base hits for the month to go along with 20 RBI, while he made the ALL-Star game as a reserve. Ryan Zimmerman awoke from a season long slump to plate 17 RBI. Adam LaRoche still contributed 7 HRs and 15 RBI despite a paltry .191 average in June. Stephen Strasburg is 9-3 on the year with a 2.81 ERA and a league leading 122 SO. Gio Gonzalez is 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA. Both Gonzalez and Strasburg made the ALL-Star squad. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Third Basemen in 2012: Fantasy Strategies
Wednesday February 8th, 2012
Peter Stein (Fantasy Baseball Analyst – MLB reports): Third base is one of my favorite positions in fantasy baseball, mainly due to the fact that most owners do not have a wise approach in this area come draft day. Third base is clearly one of the shallowest positions in baseball and contains a plethora of high-risk players. However, third base is also the home of some of the games top players, most notably Miguel Cabrera- who looks to regain eligibility in 2012 after the Tigers’ acquisition of Prince Fielder.
Clearly, Cabrera changes the dynamics of the position. He was already my top rated first baseman, so eligibility at third base, along with Fielder’s production, makes him even that much more valuable. Just be sure you understand your league’s eligibility rules, but it appears that Cabrera will at least be playing third base a couple times a week. After Cabrera, Jose Bautista is the clear number two, followed by Evan Longoria, Adrian Beltre, Ryan Zimmerman, and David Wright. Read the rest of this entry
