Author Archives: Jonathan Hacohen
Orioles Setting A Dangerous Precedent With Physicals (Circa Gallardo): Fowler Leaves To The Cubs
Dexter Fowler re-signed with the Cubs for a minimum 1 year deal of $15 MIL in 2016 (with a mutual option for 2017) if he or Chicago don’t want to opt out after the upcoming season. Fowler had been said to have a 3 YR/$33 MIL in place with the Orioles before this happened. Maybe Fowler didn’t act 100% in good faith with Baltimore – however the O’s don’t exactly have a great track record with treating players in regards to physicals anyway.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Wow, didn’t see that coming did you Orioles brass? Dexter Fowler leaves his deal with you guys and re-signs with his old team in Chicago.
I have to wonder if the way things went down with Yovani Gallardo didn’t weigh on Dexter Fowler’s mind. The track record for Free Agent’s having deals going south is about a 50/50 proposition with the O’s.
In one way I am disappointed that Baltimore didn’t land Fowler, because I think that deal would have definitely narrowed the gap in the AL East. Read the rest of this entry
Is Matt Joyce The Answer To The Pirates’ 4th Outfielder Spot?
Matt Joyce had a down year in 2015, but his history as a starter in the outfield could make him the Pirates’ best fourth outfielder option come Opening Day.
Jason Rollison (Featured Baseball Website Writer – piratesbreakdown.com) Follow @pbcbreakdown
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The final signing of the Pirates’ off-season might have happened last week when the team signed outfielder Matt Joyce to a minor league contract.
The move wasn’t a major one, but it may have filled one final need the Pirates had before heading into spring training: the fourth outfielder position.
He’ll be competing with Sean Rodriguez, Jason Rogers, Mike Morse, and Jake Goebbert for playing time, and to be the primary outfielder off the bench come Opening Day. Out of the available choices, is Joyce the best option the Pirates have for that role?
I’d argue yes. As a fourth outfielder, a player is the first option off the bench to give either Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, or Gregory Polanco a day off, and would also be used as a pinch-hitter and possibly a late game defensive replacement.
Joyce has by far the most major league experience in the outfield (5163.0 innings) compared to the next closest in Morse (3061.2) and Rodriguez (662.1).
He also has a higher career WAR at 9.0, the next closest being Rodriguez at 7.3. He’s the only one of the group to be an All-Star may be arguably the best overall offensive player of the group (Morse has more power, but has fallen off since his career 2012 campaign).
Carl Yastrzemski And The Boston Red Sox: Did You Know?
Carl Yastremski was the last major league baseball player to ever win the triple crown before Miguel Cabrera in 1967 – a span of 46 years.
Andrew Martin (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – baseballhistorian.blogspot.ca) Follow @historianandrew
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Every major league baseball team has their own Mount Rushmore; their most iconic players from respective franchise histories.
The Boston Red Sox are no exception, and having been in existence for more than a century, have as impressive a group as anyone. This includes Hall-of-Fame outfielder Carl Yastrzemski, better known to fans simply as “Yaz.”
Although his career has been much discussed, here are some things that you may not know.
Why Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto Won The 2015-16 MLB Offseason
Matt Musico (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – chinmusicbaseball.com) Follow @mmusico8
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Heading into 2015, the Seattle Mariners not only had playoff aspirations, but some analysts even tabbed them as a World Series team. Upon eventually crossing the finish line with a disappointing 76-86 record, change at the top was bound to happen.
Once it did, plenty of other changes took place, too.
Former general manager Jack Zduriencik was out of a job before the calendar flipped to September, followed by Jerry Dipoto being tabbed as his successor by the end of that month.
From that point on, the Mariners went through as close to a complete makeover as one organization possibly could in one offseason. We knew Dipoto had a clear vision as to what kind of team he wanted to field on Opening Day since the changes were coming fast and furious within his first few months on the job.
BBBA Members Presence On The MLB Reports: Lots Of Content Heading To Our Site!
Chuck Booth (BBBA President/Majority Owner mlbreports.com) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
As some of you have probably already surmised, the Baseball Bloggers Alliance has infiltrated the mlbreports.com big time over the last few months.
These are talented writers that love the game as much as we do, and we have the pleasure of sharing some of their work on our place of the web. I hope you embrace their work, and click the links over to their home sites.
I was named the President of the BBBA back in August and since I returned from my year-long MLB journey in October – I have been working with a lot of pro bloggers.
In 2011, I was lucky enough to have been tutored on baseball writing by our ‘website founder’ Jonathan Hacohen. It is my wish to help out as many other independent bloggers as humanly possible as a ‘pay it forward’ maneuver.
MLB Reports is happy to give our social media power to the cause.
Chuck Booth – Current Majority Owner (Left) and Jonathan Hacohen MLB Reports Founder and former Owner (Right) – MLB Reports Brass at the Rogers Center during 2012. This website has grown into Millions of views and established a great record of prediction on Gambling 101 topics.
The MLB Reports will still stick to its core of content – and this additional material will act as supplemental. We may reach over 2000 posts for the 2016 calendar season.
We have Sully’s Baseball Podcast for 366 episodes this year, and he runs a daily MVP segment during the regular season and playoffs called ‘Who Owned Baseball’.
We are still going to be hardcore when it comes to Gambling on baseball. Hunter Stokes will run a weekly blog on all MLB Futures, and will have MLB Power Rankings during the regular season.
I will be helping Hunter write all of the 2016 MLB Team Payroll articles – and we are going to be going heavy on this aspect going forward – as it is one of our biggest strengths. The plan is to update them a hell of a lot more.
We also have MLB Shutout Survivor and MLB Runs Scored Survivor coming back for 2016.
We also update the website every time there is a no-hitter, cycle or top 50 contract handed out. There are widgets on our sidebar window of the home page. Of course, we also have a Tommy John Surgery ALL – Time List page we keep here at the site too.
I also will be updating the Interleague Results every day – and keep a running total of the records.
I have taken the MLB Scheduling off the site because it is to time intensive to maintain. i still hate the fact that no MLB Website offers monthly and yearly running pages for their schedule like the nhl.com does, but there are not enough hours in the day to keep it true.
Look for more posts, and more coverage for all of your favorite teams and players in 2016!
If you haven’t had enough of your baseball fix, I am also operating the BBBA’s website over at bbba.work
Thanks for reading and for your time,
Chuck Booth
BBBA President/Majority Owner of mlbreports.com
mlbreports@gmail.com
Home Of Sully Baseball 20 minute Daily Podcast + #WOB, #SullyMetrics, Baseball Analysis (Audio + Written, Salaries, Tommy John Surgery) BBBA coverage, Gambling 101, Interleague, Cycle and No – Hitter History + Wicked Daily Content,) We are not your average “Cookie Cutter” Website. Also our motto is “THE TRUTH STINGS LIKE A CATCUS!”
Blue Jays Vs. Jose Bautista: The Art Of Negotiations
Jose Bautista must stay on the field the entire season if the Canadian franchise has any hopes of playoffs. Joey Bats should be capable of clubbing between 35 – 40 HRs like he did in 2015. Whether the skipper bats him 2nd, 3rd or 4th in the lineup still remains to be seen. Bautista features a 3 Slash of .264/.384/.538 during his 8 seasons tenure with Toronto – clubbing 243 HRs and adding 632 RBI. At Age 36 next winter, he is said to be seeking 5 Years and $150 MIL from the team. That may not work.
Shaun Doyle (Featured Baseball Writer – Owner jaysfromthecouch.com) Follow @jaysfromthecouch
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THE TORONTO BLUE JAYS AND JOSE BAUTISTA ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAME OF CHICKEN. WITH NO NEGOTIATIONS, WHO WILL BLINK FIRST?
Have you ever seen a cartoon where people get into a fight and dirt is flying around like a tornado, legs and arms flail about and then the dust settles and one of the participants is left by themselves?
In those cases, one of the fighters ends up just fighting with themselves and then looks around to find nothing but quiet.
That’s kind of what happened Tuesday with Jose Bautista and the Toronto Blue Jays. In the span of 24 hours, we’d heard that Bautista was not going to negotiate for his potential extension.
What ensued was a tornado of speculation and nonsense that resulted a whole lot of nothing…except an interesting staring contest.
What To Expect From The Dutchies This Year? Jurickson Profar
(AP Photo/Jim Cowsert)
Chris Kabout (Featured Baseball Writer – Owner www.yankeebiscuitfansdutchblog.mlblogs.com/) Follow @dutch_ball
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
With Spring Training at full swing now, it is time to see how the players from the Kingdom of the Netherlands will do in the upcoming season.
Of course there is no crystal ball and it is still up in the air, but in general you can make a decent prediction based on the performance of previous years.
Jurickson Profar is finally on the way back from a very long stint on the DL.
Jurickson Profar started the 2014 season on the 60-day DL and was expected to return to the Rangers mid June. But somewhere in May 2014 the Rangers announced that Jurickson had re-injured his shoulder again. He opted for rest instead of surgery.
But as Profar becmae injured again in February 2015, it was decided that he would get surgery. This would cost him almost the entire season.
In August he started his rehab stint with several MiLB teams of the Rangers and he was added to the Arizona Fall League to get ready in time for the 2016 campaign. In both cases he served as a DH.
Other Dutch Profiles:
What To Expect From The Dutchies This Year? Andrelton Simmons
Spring Training: Indicator for Regular Season Results?
Ground Rule Triple Blog (Featured Baseball Website – groundruletriple.com)
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Spring Training has finally gotten underway, and the first games will be next week. With that in mind, Spring Training is where the managers make sure everyone is having consistent at-bats and innings and just making sure everyone has playing time before the season begins.
This got me thinking of whether good records during Spring Training for teams was a sign of things to come in the regular season or was it completely irrelevant?
I’ll be taking a look at how the best and worst teams during the past five Spring Training’s fared during the regular season. Let’s take a look:
READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY 1,109 more words
Yoenis Cespedes Looks Good On And Off the Field For The Mets In Their 2016 World Series Quest
Yoenis Cespedes led all LF for HRs with 35 on the campaign in 2015. He picked a contract year for his best season to date out of the 4 years he has been in the Major Leagues. Cespedes hit 17 HRs with the Mets in 2 months, after smacking out just 18 in the first four months with Detroit. Cespedes finished in the top 40 for both leagues in respective big fly’s, and was tied for 13th overall with Manny Machado and David Ortiz. Expect more of the same in 2016. Mets are the best bet of for the ‘Fall Classic’ value wise in a lot of gambling sites based on his re-signing right now. His Fantasy stock should also be high.
Trey Rose (Featured Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) Follow @Dynasty_Digest
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Yoenis Cespedes had a monster 2015 season after hitting .291 with 35 home runs, 101 runs, 105 RBI’s, and a .328 on base percentage. This was his best season yet and he is only 30 years old.
I would expect more of the same in 2016 after resigning with the New York Mets, who all of a sudden, has a very hitter-friendly stadium at least for him.
Although, if Cespedes, for any reason finds himself out of baseball, he could probably take over batman’s role. He already has the cannon arm to protect mankind, but he now officially owns the closest thing to the batmobile.
Yoenis Cespedes could be the superhero that society needs, but for now, he will be the hero the New York Mets need to make a run at a World Series title in 2016.
To read the rest of the article and to see his new car, click the link below:
Justin Verlander Will Return To His Cy Young Form In 2016
Justin Verlander was once the best pitcher in the American League over the last 5 years. Verlander was 137 – 77 (.640) with a 3.41 ERA in the 1st 9 years of his career. The Detroit Tigers are certainly lucky the San Diego Padres took Matt Bush with the 1st overall pick in 2004. Verlander was 137 – 77 (.640) with a 3.41 ERA in the 1st 9 years of his career, before going just 20 – 20 in the last 2 years. The 2011 AL Cy Young Winner and 2012 Cy Young runner up is signed with the club until at least 2019, and it could be 2020 with a Vesting Option. Verlander had thrown over 200+ IP each year since 2007 prior to 2015’s 133. frames thrown. The 33 Year old has added a 7 – 5 record in 15 Career Post Season Games and a 3.28 ERA – among 0 – 3 with a 7.20 in 3 World Series Starts.
Trey Rose (Featured Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) Follow @Dynasty_Digest
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Detroit Tigers right-handed pitcher, Justin Verlander, has had a tough go of it over the past two seasons. In 2014 he threw 206 innings with 15 wins, a 4.54 ERA, and 159 strikeouts.
Last year he threw only 133.1 innings with 5 wins, a 3.38 ERA, and 113 strikeouts. Many fantasy baseball owners and fans have overlooked this 33 year old veteran heading into the 2016 season, but I think he could be a steal in many drafts.
While he probably won’t have another season like his 2011 MVP and Cy Young campaign (he threw 251 innings with 24 wins, 2.40 ERA, and 250 strikeouts in 2011), I expect him to return to his ace-like capabilities that he showed from 2009-2013. To read the rest of the article, click the link below:
‘BBA Live’ Podcast Enters Season #2: MLB Reports Welcomes Them To Our Site
Ricky Keeler and AC Wayne host the flagship podcast of the BBBA!
Ricky Keeler Follow @rickinator555
& AC Wayne Follow @publicrecord
Follow The BBBA On Twitter Follow @baseballblogs
Note from Chuck Booth: Welcome to the BBBA flagship podcast. As the President of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, I am bringing you quality audio and written work from our members to the MLB Reports.
‘BBA Live’ will be posted on our site on a regular basis. I encourage you to listen to this show.
Download This Episode Here
BBA Live! is entering its second season. Listen in as AC Wayne is again joined by Ricky Keeler of Yanks Go Yard and District On Deck (Nats).
Tonight, we’ll showcase the AL East as well as all the latest news and headlines throughout the league. Tentatively scheduled, special guest: Rich Rivera of Mets Public Record.
Follow and subscribe to the podcast http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mets-public-record
A casual look at Major League Baseball and The New York Mets. Call-in When we are live! #347-326-9300
Youngsters Making An Impact In 2016; National League West
Shane Kay (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – sonsof84tigers.mlblogs.com Follow @sonsof84tigers
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Position players are in camp and games are just around the corner! For the last week, we;ve been taking a look at a couple of young players for each team that I think will have a larger impact in 2016.
We started with theAmerican League East, moved to the AL Central, hit the AL West, swung it to the National League East, NL Central and today we take our final look at the NL West!
Arizona Diamondbacks
Archie Bradley, RHP – This one is part pipe dream and part reality as I’m not sure Robbie Raywill hold the 5th spot all year.
Bradley had been on top prospect lists since 2012 and finally made his debut in 2015 with Arizona and started off with four strong starts where he was 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, but was hit in the face by a line drive by Carlos Gonzalez that knocked Bradley unconscious for 3-minutes.
Bradley made his way back two weeks later, but it was pretty clear he wasn’t the same pitcher. His ERA ballooned to 5.80 by June 1st and Bradley was sent to the minors shortly after.
The potential is there and Bradley showed it, if it wasn’t for bad luck, who knows what would have transpired last year and who knows if Bradley will be the pitcher he once was after this trauma.
Youngsters Making An Impact In 2016; National League Central
Shane Kay (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – sonsof84tigers.mlblogs.com Follow @sonsof84tigers
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Spring training camps are up and running with games just around the corner and we’re taking a look at a couple of young players for each team that I think will have a larger impact in 2016.
We started with the American League East, moved to the AL Central, hit the AL West, swung it to the National League East and today we touch on the NL Central. Keep on reading as we go division by division!
Chicago Cubs
Kyle Schwarber, OF – I’ve got Schwarber on this list for numerous reasons. The first of course is his power potential and seeing that over the length of a season (played 69 games in 2015).
Second, we’re going to see a more disciplined hitter I think. Schwarber as a minor leaguer carried a .333 batting average in his two seasons, but only hit .246 with the Cubs, and struck out 28% of time in the Majors compared to 20% in the Minors, so adjustments will be made.
Additionally, Schwarber had a very good .842 OPS for Chicago last year, but his Minor Leaguer career shows room for improvement as well where he had a 1.042 OPS.
The main focus for Kyle this year though, will have to be working on hitting lefties much better, as he hit just .143 off of them, with just a .481 OPS in 61 plate appearances. This is one guy I am seriously excited to watch grow this year.
Is This The End Of Cliff Lee?
Ground Rule Triple Blog (Featured Baseball Website – groundruletriple.com)
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Philadelphia Phillies’ Cliff Lee works against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 6, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
The 37-year-old’s career might be over, after his agent remarked that Lee’s camp “doesn’t anticipate him playing at this point”.
It was reported earlier in the offseason that there was plenty of interest in the veteran left-hander, but Lee has stated before that he would only pitch if it was the perfect situation for him.
READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY 349 more words
What To Expect From The Dutchies This Year? Andrelton Simmons
Chris Kabout (Featured Baseball Writer – Owner www.yankeebiscuitfansdutchblog.mlblogs.com/) Follow @dutch_ball
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
With Spring Training here, it is time to see how the players from the Kingdom of the Netherlands will do in the upcoming season.
Of course there is no crystal ball and it is still up in the air, but in general you can make a decent prediction based on the performance of previous years.
Andrelton Simmons, new shortstop of the Anaheim Angels (sorry, I refused to call them Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), was acquired in a trade with the Braves that sent Erick Aybar, Sean Newcomb, Chris Ellis and cash to the Braves.
Since the Braves are shedding salary and have two top prospects at the position of shortstop in the minors, they could make this move. One of the prospects is Simmons’ fellow countryman from Curacao, Ozainho Albies.
But with Aybar, they can let Albies mature a bit in the minors before calling him up.
Twins Roster Make Up From 2006 – 2015
John Swol (Featured Baseball Website – twinstrivia.com)
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
We are on the cusp of a new baseball season and that means that Spring Training is underway and players from all over the world including peach-fuzz faced rookies and grizzly old veterans are beginning their fight for a MLB roster spot, they want to be one of the 750 players on a 25-man roster participating in “The Show“.
Some players are already guaranteed spots, others will win a job, and still others will get a job because someone else had the misfortune to get injured.
Baseball fans all over have been watching free agency, hot stove league action as well as play in the winter leagues and everyone has their own idea what each of the 30 GM’s should have done and what they can still do to improve the home team.
One of the fun aspects of spring training is pretending to be the GM and manager and decide who gets to make the 25 man roster for the big trip up north when April rolls around.
2016 AL MVP Candidates
Ground Rule Triple Blog (Featured Baseball Website – groundruletriple.com)
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We’ve taken a look at Rookie of the Year candidates as well as potential Cy Young’s. It’s time to look at the Most Valuable Player award, starting with the Junior Circuit as always!
READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY 1,235 more words
Alex George: The Teen Baseball Phenom
Photo courtesy of http://www.kansascitybaseballhistoricalsociety.com
Andrew Martin (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – baseballhistorian.blogspot.ca) Follow @historianandrew
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What would be tougher? Being good enough to play major league baseball but only get in to five games? Or having all of those five games come before your 17th birthday?
Only one person knows that answer for sure, and its former shortstop Alex George, who reached the pinnacle of his baseball career as a teenager in the autumn of 1955.
Reed And Flores Happy To Still Be Mets In 2016
If things had played out differently – perhaps to Mets on the club wouldn’t be. But Wilmer Flores and Addison Reed are – plus are looking forward to a 2016 season in Flushing Meadows, NY.
Freddy Vasquez (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – metshotcorner.com) Follow @metshotcorner
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Addison Reed spent only a mere two months with the New York Mets, but within that time frame he went from playing for Arizona with no hopes of making the postseason, to making an appearance in the 2015 World Series.
Wilmer Flores says his ankle is 100% since the injury and that 2015 will be a season he will never forget thanks to the fans.
Can The Miami Marlins Be The Ones To Disrupt The NL East Narrative This Season?
The Miami Marlins have not had a winning season since finishing 87 – 75 in 2009. With some deft maneuvers and the right allocation of team salary (like the latest Chen signing) – this club could contend in the NL East with Atlanta and Philadelphia both rebuilding. With all questions pointing to how Jeffrey Loria will behave if they were in contention halfway through, it will be an entertaining season.
Matt Musico (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – chinmusicbaseball.com) Follow @mmusico8
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Heading into 2015, the narrative in the NL East was mostly focused on the Washington Nationals being heavy World Series favorites. Narratives are great, but they don’t always hold true once the season actually starts.
We all know how this one turned out. Instead of Bryce Harper and the Nats in the Fall Classic, it was David Wright and the New York Mets.
With 2016 officially kicking off as teams begin reporting for Spring Training, there’s a new narrative surrounding the NL East. It’s now about this division being a two-horse race between these squads, leaving the other three out in the proverbial cold.
For the Miami Marlins, they’re hoping a strong finish to 2015, a new manager and a full season of Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez can help them crash the party and be the second consecutive team to disrupt this narrative.
Youngsters Making An Impact In 2016; National League East
Shane Kay (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – sonsof84tigers.mlblogs.com Follow @sonsof84tigers
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Spring training camps are opening up and we’re taking a look at a couple of young players for each team that I think will have a larger impact in 2016. We started with the American League East, moved to the AL Central, hit the AL West and swung it around today to the National League East. Keep on reading as we go division by division!
Atlanta Braves
Matt Wisler, RHP – The 22-year old Wisler was a highly thought of prospect in the Padres organization before being part of the Craig Kimbrel trade.
Wisler entering his age 23 season already has 19 starts (20 games) under his belt with mixed results.
Regardless, he’s young, has much to learn, but will also be a building block as Atlanta tries to return to relevancy in the NL East over the next few years.
Wisler impressed in his debut, as he went 8 innings giving up 6 hits and an earned run against the Mets for his first career win.
He was then properly hit hard in his next start against Washington where he last just 4 innings. His ERA remained a respectable 3.43 through his first 7 starts until he was shelled in for 12 combined runs his next two starts. Wisler did finish …
New York Yankees Need To Go Full Bore To Start 2016: Seek Reinforcements Midway Through If Need Be
The Yankees were almost flawless in their 1st 33 games to start the 2015 campaign. Quick starts by Teixeira and A-Rod fueled the offense, while Miller and Betances did not yield a run in this stretch either. Pineda was 5 – 0, Tanaka was healthy, and their duo of Ellsbury and Gardner were hitting north of .300. The club was able to coast for the last 129 games of the year when injuries and age caught up to them. Considering they spent no real money in the winter, they should go for bore early in the season, and then bring in a boatload of people late via trade to compensate for injuries that will probably occur to their roster.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
On May.11, 2015 – the New York Yankees had just finished an 11 – 5 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Rays – and this led to a record of 21 – 12 to start their first 33 games. It would be important on so many levels in completing the campaign.
You see – in the next 129 games the club would go just 66 – 63 to secure the 1st Wild Card Berth.
Mark Teixeira had clubbed 11 HRs over the wall with 27 RBI. Alex Rodriguez had 8 big fly’s with many of them giving the Bronx Bombers a shot in the arm for victory.
Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances both had not yielded a run to that point. Michael Pineda was a brilliant 5 – 0, and that was about the time that Masahiro Tanaka began having health issues.
You throw in Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner both hitting well over .300 – and it was easy to see how the Pinstripers had taken off to a great start. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Reports Placed Bets: MLB Gambling 101 In 2016
I take my betting style from a philosophy used from a few decades of research. This book was one of the templates followed for success.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
So I have let my profits ride on this winter heading into futures betting in 2016 MLB. I thought I would take you into a little look on what I have thrown down so far – and what got me here over the last few seasons.
In 2014, I made 3 over/under selections (Washington over 91.5 wins, Kansas City over 81.5 Wins, and the Padres under 79.5 wins). Made a nice profit of a few hundred dollars for that – sporting a perfect 3 – 0 clip.
For my initial World Series picks in 2014, I wagered the Rangers, Rays but I was smart enough to take a +2500 preseason SF Giants selection.
Halfway through the season I plunked down some money on the Royals when they were near .500, talking of firing Ned Yost, and running at an +8000 odd to win the World Series.
I also was able to win money on the Orioles for the AL East Division, and at +5000 to win the World Series, I was able to hedge bet both KC and BAL in the 1st round of the postseason, and also the World Series. Read the rest of this entry
Perhaps It Is Time For The MLB To Adopt The ‘Boomerang Concept’ For Drafting Rounds In The Amateur Draft
The MLB should consider doing what all ‘even level playing field’ sports pools do and that is to use the boomerang method of each draft round. A team that drafts 1st in round one would draft last in round 2, before picking 1st in round 3 again and so forth. It wouldn’t alleviate tanking altogether – with the best talent still being absorbed in the top 10 most times, but it would level out the middle rounds for sure.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
We have all gone into pools/player drafts where we drew the worst card possible and then picked last. To offset the sting of this a lot – in the ‘interest of fairness’, the draft worked like a boomerang.
If there are 30 guys picking, the 30th guy picks the last selection in the 1st round, but then he is able to pick 1st in the 2nd round. Maybe it is time for the MLB to take this action for its Amateur Draft each year?
There has been so much talk about tanking by the teams like Phillies, Braves, Reds, Brewers, Padres and Rockies all following the path paved by the Cubs, Astros, Royals, Pirates, Nationals, Rays and Twins in yesteryear.
KC and Pittsburgh both had 2 decades of shame before they turned their franchises around to respectability. The Rays (once named the Devil Rays) failed to top 72 wins for the first 9 seasons since their inception to the MLB in 1998. before showcasing 80 wins for every year since 2008. Read the rest of this entry
The 2016 Red Sox Outfield Has A Lot Of Questions
(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Andrew Martin (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – baseballhistorian.blogspot.com) Follow @historianandrew
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Hopes are high for the 2016 Boston Red Sox. A strong offseason that saw them land a number of players, including beefing up a lackluster pitching staff, has optimism running high.
However, not everything is necessarily rosy. Although nary a game has been played, one area of potential concern is the outfield, which could be an area of weakness for the team if things don’t go just right.
The ‘PECOTA’ System For MLB Team Win Projections Should Be Thrown Into The ‘Woodchipper’ Fargo Style!
I wish the “PECOTA” system allowed for wagers based on their totals like Atlantis Casino did last week. Plenty of cabbage would be flung around on those totals.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
This winter has brought my attention to the gambling world more often than I ever would have guessed. I already spent an impromptu weekend in Reno/Carson City after throwing down some serious cabbage at Atlantis Casino based on their over/unders last week.
I have been fortunate to nail down two straight years in which I have turned a $1000 profit on MLB futures. For those people who have been following our Gambling 101 series of bets, this is one of the best streaks I have been on all – time, and maybe it will end with me ‘letting it ride’ this year, but I am also confident it won’t.
I only wish that PECOTA’s win totals (BY BP) would come with the ability to win moolah just like Atlantis offered.
Oh, where to begin. LOL. Read the rest of this entry
Odds To Win The Overall Homer Crown In 2016 MLB Baseball: Battle Of The Big Fly’s
Stanton has light tower power – and should lead the NL and MLB in Homers if he can remain healthy for a whole year. In just 74 Games Played last campaign, the big slugger belted 27 HRs. The problem is always staying on the field. There is no reason to think he can’t crack 50+ HRs if he played a full season. To aid his efforts as the biggest favorite to win this years MLB Homer crown – is that Marlins Park is bringing in the fences and also lowering them.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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I am flat-out wondering why these guys failed to include Chris Carter on this list? For a prolific Home Run Hitter over the last 3 years (90 bombs), this guy is getting no respect.
I mean they have Corey Seager, Matt Adams and Freddie Freeman at the +20000 clip, but no word for a guy who finished 2nd in 2014 MLB Homers?
Carter is headed to the best home run park in the Major Leagues in Milwaukee, and will not be on a competitive club, where his AB may be in question. Sure the guy might fan 250 times in 600 AB this season, but he may crack 40 taters for all we know.
I have requested this gambling website send me the odd for Carter (you can request a player that wasn’t listed), and I will get back to you shortly.
Let me start by saying that if Giancarlo Stanton remains healthy for a full year that he should definitely lead the Majors in longballs. Despite us predicting him to do this, his odd only is listed as our #5 value best bet on the board. Read the rest of this entry
6 MLB Teams Facing The Most Pressure To Win In 2016
Matt Musico (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – chinmusicbaseball.com) Follow @mmusico8
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With Spring Training officially starting this week at MLB team complexes around Arizona and Florida, optimism for the upcoming season is high. However, optimism also brings expectations – both realistic and not so realistic.
Whether it’s fueled by last year’s performance or the moves made (or not made) this winter, the pressure to win is higher than normal for a handful of teams.
Here’s one team from each division that needs to see results once September rolls around.
Projected Top 5 Save Leaders In The American And National League For MLB 2016
Craig Kimbrel is still about as filthy as they come in nailing down games in the Majors. With 225 Saves and a 1.63 ERA in the last 5 years of his career, this 27 year old flamethrower brings his talents to Beantown and a top rated club. Last year was the 1st season he didn’t lead the National League after four consecutive years of leading the Senior Circuit. He still managed 39 Saves for a 74 win San Diego team. Since the Red Sox are going to be somewhere in the 90 win range, Kimbrel should at least be in the mid 40’s in Saves again for 2016.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Figuring out the Saves Leaders for the 2016 year is a lot easier to project than the Holds Leaders we did last week. Perhaps the easiest to discern is also the National League.
Since I projected 7 teams will win 90+ games in the Senior Circuit I have listed 5 teams with their Closer out of the fold there. I did however, leave out Hector Rondon and Mark Melancon.
I feel the Bucs may trade Melancon despite being in a position to make the playoffs. I also think the Cubs will blow out a ton of clubs this season in games, and therefore not need Rondon to lockdown a 3 run or under lead.
This is the same reason why I won’t label Roberto Osuna for the top 5 in the American League either. It is also not unfathomable to see the Jays go with Drew Storen to close down games.
I fully think that Craig Kimbrel will lead the entire Major Leagues for the Boston Red Sox as their Closer.
I may have gone with Aroldis Chapman on the list as well, however his pending suspension for his domestic violence call in should see him riding pine for at least 25 games. The New York Yankees should still lead the Junior Circuit for total team Saves.
Read the rest of this entry
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