Daily Archives: August 8, 2012
Los Angeles Angels: Can Their Starting Rotation Carry Them Into the Postseason?
Wednesday August 8th, 2012
Jake Dal Porto (Baseball Intern Writer):
The Los Angeles Angels made two big splashes in the offseason. One obviously being Albert Pujols, the second C.J. Wilson who has helped stabilize their rotation this season. Jerry Dipoto wasn’t finished tweaking his already steady pitching staff yet, however. Instead of sticking with Garrett Richards or Jerome Williams to fill out a star-studded rotation, he went out and acquired former American League Cy Young award winner, Zack Greinke from the Brewers at the trade deadline. According to multiple insiders, the move was supposedly a steal for the Angels too. And the fact that Dipoto is willing to dangle a top prospect away for a rental pitcher, shows how committed the Angels are to winning this year.
Can they make a playoff push behind their rotation, however? Read the rest of this entry
Top Ten Stat Of The Week: Active Career Stolen Base Leaders
Wednesday August.8/2012
Juan Pierre was one of the most prolific hitters in terms of base hits in the last 12 years along with being the Active Leader for Career Stolen Bases. Pierre has 4-200 hit seasons in his resume.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on Twitter)- The game has been moving back towards speed, offense and athleticism since the adaptation of the steroid testing in the MLB. I think we will see a big emphasis on the Stolen Base in the coming years. We have Billy Hamilton coming in the near future and he could actually challenge a 100 Stolen Base in one season. 30 years ago there were several guys challenge or eventually succeed in stealing 100 bases. Rickey Henderson and Vince Coleman both hit the century mark 3 times, while Ron LeFlore and Tim Raines cracked the 90 SB plateau. Teams used to have several speedsters in their lineup. Jose Reyes has the most stolen bases in one year for the active players with 78 swipes in 2007.
I omitted Luis Castillo from the list because he has not played since 2010, (much to the delight of the New York Mets fans I am sure.) I am sure that Boston Red Sox fans are hopeful that he can regain his stolen base prowess very soon with him being only in the second year of a 7 YR/140 Million Dollar Contract. Johnny Damon also has foraged a great career to be on this list from sheer determination. Out of this top ten , Jose Reyes has the most steals per games played, while Omar Vizquel (who has played 2947 games) has the least amount of steals per game played. I was most surprised by Derek Jeter cracking this list because he has never stolen more than 34 bags in one year. I wonder how many bags Ichiro would have stolen had he arrived in North America earlier? Johnny Damon and Omar Vizquel making this top ten is a test to their long-playing careers. I figured Jimmy Rollins had more steals than what his totals came in as. Bobby Abreu has the most HRs on this list with 286 and Juan Pierre has the least. with 17.
Josh Reddick is Having a Breakout Season in Oakland
Wednesday August 8th, 2012
Sam Evans: When the A’s acquired Josh Reddick from Boston this offseason, he appeared to be in place simply to just eat some at-bats for a rebuilding ballclub. However, in 2012, Reddick has finally tapped into some of his raw power, and as a result, he’s on pace to have a 5+ WAR season. Josh Reddick is one of the main reasons Oakland is contending this year, and Red Sox fans have to wonder if their team correctly evaluated Reddick’s talent. If Reddick can prove that his first 105 games haven’t been a fluke, he has a chance to win the A.L. Comeback Player of the Year award, and earn himself a long-term contract.
MLB Reports 
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