Category Archives: BBBA Featured Writers

Will The San Francisco Giants’ Aggressive Winter Lead To Big Results?

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Matt Musico (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – chinmusicbaseball.com) 

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Throughout any given winter, it’s sometimes difficult to figure out what certain MLB front offices are trying to accomplish. The San Francisco Giants were definitely not one of them this past offseason.

After all, it’s an even year. They have a reputation to uphold. Following an 84-78 record in 2015, San Francisco was one of the winter’s biggest spenders, which doesn’t happen very often.

With so many major acquisitions made by the Giants, Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers, the NL West was undoubtedly one of baseball’s busiest divisions this past winter. On paper, the Giants are a favorite to return to the postseason and keep the even-year trend alive. However, these moves are the epitome of high risk, high reward.

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Musings On Yesterday’s Game In Cuba: Rays vs National Team

Chris Kabout (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – yankeebiscuitfansdutchblog.mlblogs.com) 

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Even though my mind wasn’t really in baseball mode after the crap that happened in Brussels yesterday (Brussels is across the border about an hour from where I live, so it is getting very close), I still wanted to see the historic game between the Cuban national team and the Tampa Bay Rays. 

Overall the game itself wasn’t that exciting as the Rays were too strong without really flexing their muscles. The result also shows that Cuban baseball has deteriorated in the past two decades.

Not only because of all the defectors but also because the highest league in Cuba is simply too big for the number of talented players. Back in the nineties, when Cuba played the Orioles, the team managed to win one game.

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A-Rod Will Retire After ’17

Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports, via Reuters

Ground Rule Triple Blog (Featured BBBA Website – groundruletriple.com)

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Whether you like it or not, you can’t argue that Alex Rodriguez is definitely a symbol of the game of baseball, whether you believe that is negative due to PEDs or positive due to his illustrious career.

Alex Rodriguez announced Wednesday afternoon that he will play out the rest of his 10-year $275 million contract with the New York Yankees and then retire, which would be after next season, following the footsteps of fellow longtime Yankees Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera.

The 40-year-old slugger has played 20 years in the MLB thus far–11 with the Yankees and counting, 7 with the Mariners, and 3 with the Rangers. He’s a 14x All-Star, 3x AL MVP, 2x Gold Glover, 10x Silver Slugger, and a 4x Hank Aaron award winner.

He was a part of that Yankees 2009 squad that won the Fall Classic, and he has proceeded to…

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Mookie Betts Could Be The Best Player In Fantasy Baseball For 2016

mookie betts

Perhaps the best name in baseball, Mookie Betts, could find himself at the top of fantasy baseball rankings following the upcoming 2016 season.

Before we get into my reasons why, let me highlight the background of one of the most exciting players in baseball. Mookie Betts was born in Nashville, Tennessee on October 7th, 1992 (23 years old).

He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 5th round of the 2011 MLB Draft.

After tearing his way through the minor leagues, he made his debut on June 29th, 2014. Since then, Betts has done nothing but climb the ranks in fantasy baseball and prove to many owners that he is an incredibly versatile asset.

To read the reason why Betts could be the best player in fantasy baseball in 2016, click the link below:

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2016 Fantasy Baseball Seasonal/Re-Draft Rankings

Bryce Harper emerged as the premiere player in the National League during the 2015 season.  At Age 22, he 3 Slashed .330/.460/.649 with 42 HRs. 38 - 2B. 118 Runs Scored and 124 Walks.  His plate discipline is incredible, and he pulled off these numbers despite the rest of the club battling injuries and lackluster play.  If they can all up their game, Harper's talent will be elevated even higher.  Harper won his 1st MVP Award in 2015.

Bryce Harper emerged as the premiere player in the National League during the 2015 season. At Age 22, he 3 Slashed .330/.460/.649 with 42 HRs. 38 – 2B. 118 Runs Scored and 124 Walks. His plate discipline is incredible, and he pulled off these numbers despite the rest of the club battling injuries and lackluster play. If they can all up their game, Harper’s talent will be elevated even higher. Harper won his 1st MVP Award in 2015.

Trey Rose (Featured Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) 

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The following rankings are for seasonal fantasy baseball leagues. Seasonal leagues are the same as re-draft leagues and don’t take into account keeping any players in future years. I have compiled my rankings based off of the scoring I use for the league I created last year (You can find it in the “links” of my blog called “USFBA”).

It is based on head to head scoring with the following categories: OBP, HR, R, RBI, SB, SO, SLUG, Total Bases… Quality Start %, H/9, BB/9, Total K’s, ERA, WHIP, Holds, Saves. The “position” column is based on each players eligible position(s) for the 2016 season.

In order to qualify for a specific position, they must have played 10 games at that position in 2015. Click the link below to see the rankings:

Please tweet me with any questions you may have

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Don Mattingly Gives David Wright Confidence for Upcoming Season

Doug Mills/The New York Times

Doug Mills/The New York Times

Freddy Vasquez (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – metshotcorner.com) 

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David Wright has a very challenging 2016 season in his sights. The talk around baseball this Spring Training is if he is able to be on the field for 100 games, it’s a successful year.

To combat the naysayers, Wright spent a month in California exploring techniques and developing a game plan for a daily regimen to get him ready to play with limited or no effort outside of the ordinary preparation.

Wright himself stated, “So far, so good”, and with that I will have the utmost confidence in our Captain.

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Dodgers Dropping Like Flies In Spring Training

Elsa/Getty Images

Elsa/Getty Images

(Featured Baseball Website – behindenemylines32.blogspot.com) 

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Dodgers are feeling the pain.

If you’re a Dodger fan and you’re squeamish, you might want to avert your eyes. As Opening Day approaches, the injuries are coming in at a freakish clip, which is not something a club wants to see this close to breaking camp.

All the depth the front office has been stockpiling might very well get tested earlier than expected.

Candidates for the fifth spot in the rotation are on a downward spiral. 

Training camp barely began when the Dodger pitching staff started taking a hit. First to go down was Brett Anderson with back surgery.

So Alex Wood moved up to occupy Anderson’s fourth slot, and then promptly felt tightness in his left forearm. He missed one start and then returned, but it’s hard to tell if he’s really healthy since he revealed he was secretly playing with a sore ankle pretty much from the day he arrived last season in the trade with the Braves. Fishy.

Then the Hyun-Jin Ryu setbacks started up, and it’s deja- vu, you know, that feeling when the team keeps on pushing back his return timetable until it finally announces he needs surgery…again. Let’s hope not.

The team says it will be at least June before Ryu sees a major league mound, so the fifth slot, just like last season, is a black hole.

In the early-going, it was fun watching guys compete for the #5, now it’s just scary. 

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Recap Of Spring Training Injuries

Jarrod Parker

(Featured BBBA Website – groundruletriple.com) 

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Opening Day is getting closer which means Spring Training a couple of weeks away from its end. As always, players on nearly every team suffer small and some major injuries during Spring Training.

The question from the fans will be whether these injuries will last into the regular season and prevent them from starting the season on the Opening Day roster. Let’s take a look at the teams who have had some more major injuries this spring and their timetable:

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ESPN’s Baseball Tonight’s Top 100 MLB Players

brantley

(Feature Website – 216clevelandgirl.blogspot.ca) 

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(Michael Brantley Ranked 80th)

I wasn’t expecting Baseball Tonight to start its Top 100 countdown so soon. Usually, they do that over two days at the end of spring training, both online and in a TV special.

Now, the Top 100 reveal is taking place over 10 days, from March 15-24. every morning, a new set of 10 players, beginning with #100-91, is posted on ESPN.com.

When it’s time for the Top 10 to be announced on March 24, that will occur on a special edition of Baseball Tonight at 10 pm EST on ESPN2 and WatchESPN.

much like the change in the publication of this list, the way in which it was constituted differs from last year as well. a panel of 70 ESPN experts (vs. 60 previously), including MLB writers, analysts, and contributors, were polled in February and March after being given a list of more than 350 MLB players (vs. 600 last year).

These experts evaluated the players by assigning them a number from 0 to 10 based on player projections for 2016.

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Bat Flips, Pumped Fists, And Change In Baseball Culture

jose bautista bat flip

Trey Rose (Featured Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) 

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Earlier this week, some of the league’s biggest superstars spoke out on how the culture of baseball needs to change. This charge was lead by players such as Bryce HarperJose BautistaJose FernandezChris ArcherCarlos Correa,

and Yoenis Cespedes. All of these players have one thing in common, they love to show emotion on the field. Unfortunately, the culture of baseball frowns upon those who celebrate too much following a home run or pumping their fist after a big strikeout.

Perhaps the game would be even more exciting if there was more emotion on the field by other players, but as for now, this is not the norm. To hear more about the analysis from the players, please click the link below:

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Bugs Raymond: A Baseball Legend

image - dugoutlegends.com

image – dugoutlegends.com

Andrew Martin (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – baseballhistorian.blogspot.ca) 

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Professional baseball is rife with legends and ciphers that have popped up over the years. Although most of them may not reach the level of a Sidd Finch, there have been many whose stories have vacillated between the humorous and the tragic.

Bugs Raymond was an outstanding pitcher who fits into both categories; whose escapades that became legendary even as he battled alcoholism and wound up murdered at the age of 30.

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The Curious Case Of ‘Mets Thrower’ Josh Smoker

NY Mets Josh Smoker

Freddy Vasquez (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – metshotcorner.com) 

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With two spots open in the bullpen, Josh Smoker is hoping he can prove his worth and snag a spot on the big league roster. But what makes his story interesting is not that he hits 97 mph on the gun at spring training, but rather the events that took place to get him there.

Smoker was a former #1 draft pick for the Washington Nationals, but injuries would lead to shoulder surgeries and eventually his release from the team in 2012.

After playing for the Frontier League in 2014, and proving his shoulder was better than before, MLB teams were still not interested enough to take a look at Josh and retirement seemed on the horizon.

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Father And Son Milwaukee Brewers Connection – Eric Young And Eric Young Jr.

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Chris Zantow (Featured BBBA Baseball Writer/Owner – chriszantowauthor.wordpress.com ) 

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On January 5, 2016, Eric Young Jr. quietly signed a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers with an invitation to spring training in the big-league camp. 

I say quietly because most reporters gave the signing an obligatory two or three paragraph article after it was first mentioned December 31, and finalized a few days later. 

Of course there is more to this signing than meets the eye since his father once played for the Brewers.  So today on the blog I’d like to provide a bit more depth and backstory than has been reported so far.  

To tell Junior’s story, first let’s go back and take a look at his father’s story and stint with the Brewers.  

Eric Young, or ‘EY’ as he was nicknamed and will be referred to going forward, had a pretty good career in the big leagues and played for 15 seasons all told.  He was born in Brunswick, New Jersey, and stuck around to play both baseball and football at Rutgers. 

EY decided to pursue a career in baseball and was drafted in the 43rd round of the 1989 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Yup, you read that right – the 43rd round.

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2016 Houston Farm System Handbook

A HOUSTON ASTROS FARMBOOK

Jayne Hansen (Featured BBBA Baseball Writer/Owner – www.whattheheckbobby.blogspot.ca  ) 

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The 2016 Houston Farm System Handbook is now available for purchase and is already drawing great reviews! When I introduced the Houston Farm System Handbook in 2015, almost all of the reviews were of the 5-star variety (one person raved that they loved it but only gave it 4 stars).

Astros Announcer Bill Brown complimented me on doing “a masterful job cataloging tons of information on the Astros prospects” and really liked the portability of an e-book.

As good as that 2015 Handbook was, the 2016 version should prove to be even more valuable to prospect fans everywhere with the addition of a “Beyond the Top Prospects” depth chart.

Before last season I was touting prospects such as Matt Duffy, Tyler White, Jon Kemmer and Albert Abreu, all of whom landed in Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook for the first time recently.

In my depth charts, I have identified a number of players who may very well debut in that publication next year, including RHP Dean Deetz, 1B Chase McDonald and many others.

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Baseball’s Fun Problem: Old School Vs New: Goose Vs Bautista/Cespedes/Harper

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Andrew Martin (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – baseballhistorian.blogspot.ca) 

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Baseball has a “fun” problem. The game noticeably stands apart from other professional leagues with its reputation for longer, slower-moving games and expectations for more stoic behavior on the field. S

ports are a leading source of entertainment but baseball lags behind their counterparts in many ways when it comes to their image of being stuffy and boring.

This was personified by recent comments made by Hall-of-Fame reliever Goose Gossage, blasting behavior he thinks is ruining the game.

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The American League Exploits Another Pitcher As Jordan Zimmermann’s Fantasy Stock Drops

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Trey Rose (Featured Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) 

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After signing a 5-year/$110 million contract with the Detroit Tigers, Jordan Zimmermann will play a pivotal role in the Tigers’ rotation, but this move to Detroit could drastically hurt Zimmermann’s fantasy stock.

As you analyze and digest a pitcher switching from the National League to the American League, it doesn’t bode well for Zimmermann. In 2015, the National League ERA was 3.908, whereas the American League ERA was 4.006.

This is because the American League pitchers have to face a designated hitter, whereas the National League pitchers face the opposing pitcher instead.

To further illustrate the extreme difference between the two leagues, click on the link below:

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Should The Pirates Shop At The Bargain Bin

david freese

Jason Rollison (Featured Baseball Website Writer – piratesbreakdown.com) 

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You can never have too much depth.  It is the mantra of every athletic team from community youth programs to the major sports conglomerates, from badminton to baseball.

Last year, the Pirates had eleven cases of Tommy John surgery throughout the organization. 

They were hit hard at the Triple-A level, especially with injuries. Casey Sadler, Brandon Cumpton, and Jameson Taillon were lost for the season. 

Alen Hanson suffered a hand injury that caused him to miss out on a September promotion.

The Pittsburgh Pirates need to take advantage of the wealth of affordable veteran talent still available on the free agent market. But who?

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Base Running, Not Leadoff Should Be The Blue Jays Focus

kevin pillar

Shaun Doyle (Featured Baseball Writer – Owner jaysfromthecouch.com) 

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For a lot of the winter, there has been a great deal of attention paid to just who will lead off for the Blue Jays in 2016. With the exit of Ben Revere in the trade that brought in Drew Storen, the debate has gone in several different directions.

Some are firmly in the camp that Kevin Pillar be given a chance to put his contact skills to use. Others feel that the club should go with giving their best hitters the most at bats, thus slotting Troy Tulowitzki in the 1st spot.

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2016 Fantasy Baseball Pitching Studs, Duds, Break Outs, and Bounce Backs Candidates

verlander

Trey Rose (Featured Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) 

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Every year fantasy baseball GM’s search and search to find trends and statistical analysis on pitchers to get the upper hand in their leagues.

Well today I am here to give you that upper hand. I will be highlighting my 2016 studs, duds, breakout, and bounce back candidates for the upcoming fantasy season.

I will be highlighting the following players: Justin VerlanderJoe RossJordan ZimmermannLance McCullersJohnny CuetoMarcus StromanShelby Miller, and James Shields. To read the article and my analysis, click the link below:

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Is Edwin Encarnacion The Key To Next Offseason For The Boston Red Sox?

Edwin Encarnacion has been one of the top 5 offensive hitters in the AL since the start of the 2012 year.  It is unfortunate that Bautista and he will probably not remain a Blue Jays beyond this upcoming year.  If EE can't come to terms with the Canadian franchise - perhaps Boston may be a perfect candidate to ink the slugger after this season.

Edwin Encarnacion has been one of the top 5 offensive hitters in the AL since the start of the 2012 year. It is unfortunate that Bautista and he will probably not remain a Blue Jays beyond this upcoming year. If EE can’t come to terms with the Canadian franchise – perhaps Boston may be a perfect candidate to ink the slugger after this season.

Andrew Martin (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – baseballhistorian.blogspot.ca) 

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The 2016 MLB season has just kicked off with the first spring training games of the year, yet it’s not too early to start looking forward to next year.

As things currently stand, there is a lengthy list of players set to become free agents in 2017.

While they possess varying skills and positions, there is one player in particular the Boston Red Sox should focus their attention on, and that is Edwin Encarnacion — who could be the key to next offseason as an excellent candidate to replace the departing David Ortiz.

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Bartolo Colon’s Legend Grows Like Him: He Is The Last Montreal Expos Player On The Field

Montreal Expos starter Bartolo Colon delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Mets, Tuesday, July 23, 2002 at Shea Stadium in New York. Colon gave up four runs on five hits in the Expos 4-3 loss to the Mets. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm) ORG XMIT: NYS108

Montreal Expos starter Bartolo Colon delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Mets, Tuesday, July 23, 2002 at Shea Stadium in New York. Colon gave up four runs on five hits in the Expos 4-3 loss to the Mets. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm) ORG XMIT: NYS108

Jen Rainwater (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – www.bbstmlb.com) 

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It’s miraculous that Bartolo Colon is still dominant at 42. It’s miraculous that he’s still playing at 42. It’s insane that he had eight hits for the New York Mets last season at age 41 (and having always been on the chubby side) – a couple were actually doubles! I mean does it get better than that?

Maybe not exactly better but, with the retirement of 35-year-old Maicer Izturis this week, Bartolo Colon met another new milestone. He became the last active player who played for the Montreal Expos. 

He played for the team in 2002, not long before the Expos became the Washington Nationals after the 2004 season.

Like the majority of Colon’s seasons he pitched well going 10-4 in 17 starts, throwing four complete games, one of which was a shut out, and posting a 3.31 ERA.

He was just 29 years old. My how far we have traveled with Colon since then.

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NY Yankees Player Milestones In 2016: A-Rod, Teixeira, Beltran + CC

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Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

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There is no doubt about it that the Yankees are old.  However, they have some guys who are chasing down some historical numbers this season in Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran.

A-Rod is chasing down Babe Ruth next on the ALL – Time HR list with just trailing him 714 – 686.  If he can crack 28 jacks, he will tie the “Sultan of Swat” and with 29 he will surpass him.

If #13 manages just 23 HRs, he would become the ALL – Time American League HR champ, as Babe Ruth hit 708 of his 714 big fly’s in the Junior Circuit, before tallying 6 more with the Boston Braves.

Rodriguez is also chasing down many other categories like Hits, Runs, RBI, GP, XBH and Strikeouts.  Of course he already holds the record for Career Grandslams with 24.

If he can somehow reach the 30 HR barrier, it will be his 16th year of that many, and break a tie with Aaron for that honor.

A-Rod is just 60 Runs Scored behind Willie Mays. Read the rest of this entry

Miguel Sano: Too Big To Fail In Minny

Miguel was not even called up to the Majors until July this year but he still finished 3rd in AL Rookie Of The Year Voting.  He had a 3 Slash Line of .269/.385/.530 with 18 HRs and 52 RBI.  This guy is a beast - and te club should use the DH position to have him stay for his duration of his playing tenure with him.  If he can avoid a sophomore slump, and match his production next season, it will give them the #4 hitter they haven't seen since the Justin Morneau days before his concussions kicked in.

Miguel was not even called up to the Majors until July this year but he still finished 3rd in AL Rookie Of The Year Voting. He had a 3 Slash Line of .269/.385/.530 with 18 HRs and 52 RBI. This guy is a beast – and the club should use the DH position to have him stay for his duration of his playing tenure with him. If he can avoid a sophomore slump, and match his production next season, it will give them the #4 hitter they haven’t seen since the Justin Morneau days before his concussions kicked in.

John Swol (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – twinstrivia.com) 

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I have told you all before that my glass is half empty and it is leaking. You can say that it is a negative attitude or what ever you want but this type of thinking has served me well during my life time and it helped me immensely in my 38 year career in IT.

I hope like hell that Miguel Sano has finally found a position he can call home but I can’t help but wonder what would happen if for some reason it does not pan out.

It is unlikely that a decision like that would be made quickly because the Twins want and need Miguel Sano to play right field, if Sano isn’t an outfielder all kinds of poop hits the fan.

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An Interview With Former MLB’er Glenn Wilson

glenn wilson

Andrew Martin (Featured Baseball Writer/Owner – baseballhistorian.blogspot.ca) 

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Only a small percentage of baseball players who sign or are drafted end up playing in the major leagues. Therefore, when a prospect pans out and goes on to have a solid career, it’s quite the accomplishment.

When outfielder Glenn Wilson became a professional player, he began with high expectations but more than lived up to them during his decade as a big leaguer.

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Texas Rangers Facing Same Roster Uncertainties In 2016 As They Did In 2015

Jim Cowsert, USA TODAY Sports

Jim Cowsert, USA TODAY Sports

Matt Musico (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – chinmusicbaseball.com) 

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With a shaky starting rotation and a rookie manager leading the way, few MLB analysts picked the 2015 Texas Rangers to make noise in the American League West…especially following a disastrous 67-95 record.

Their perceived postseason chances only sunk lower once Yu Darvish was lost for the year due to Tommy John surgery.

That’s why they play the game, though.

Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo bounced back from injuries, the starting rotation held together long enough before trading for Cole Hamels, and before we realized it, this team was crowned division champs with an 88-74 record.

Despite this unlikely turnaround and most of the same guys coming back for another year, both FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus project them to finish with a record below .500 in 2016.

These projections were released before Ian Desmond signed to be their left fielder, but it’s doubtful there’d be a significant change.

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Cardinals Extend Kolten Wong

kolton-wong

Jen Rainwater (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – www.bbstmlb.com) 

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In an offseason where the St. Louis Cardinals tried to sell their city to every free agent out there – including outfielder Jason Heyward

Heyward spurned the Cardinals, who acquired him before the 2015 season from the Atlanta Braves.

The team and its players immediately began talking the team, the city and the fans up to Heyward in hopes that the soon to be free agent would want to re-sign with the team.

In the end Heyward decided to take less money to go to the Chicago Cubs. A lot of MLB free agents did the same this year including super utility man Ben Zobrist and most recently outfielder Dexter Fowler.

Perhaps it’s the Cubs’ young talented core and their good chance to finally win a World Series or two after a century-long drought. Perhaps it is that they like manager Joe Maddon‘s style.

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Mending Ties With Cuba Begins With Baseball

Angel Franco - New York Times

Angel Franco – New York Times

Jen Rainwater (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – www.bbstmlb.com) 

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The Tampa Bay Rays and even President Obama will be in Cuba later this month while the Rays take on the Cuban National team.  Something of this magnitude that has not occurred in almost 20 years, when the Baltimore Orioles played an exciting two-games series there in 1999. And even then President Clinton was not in attendance.

It is believed by many that the love and passion that the two countries share for the game of baseball will help bring them together. In part of a statement issued by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred he shared this sentiment saying that during this time of historic change,

“We appreciate the constructive role afforded by our shared passion for the game, and we look forward to experiencing Cuba’s storied baseball tradition and the passion of its many loyal fans.”

The Rays will fly into Cuba on March 20, hold an exhibition clinic on the 21st and play the Cuban National Team at Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana on the 22nd before returning home to the United States.

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Twitter And The MLB: Better The Team, More Followers? It’s Much More Than That.

a bucs raise it

BY (Featured BBBA Website – bucsraiseit.com) 

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With Spring Training finally getting underway, it’s refreshing to have actual baseball news to talk and write about it after a long winter, which continues to drag on.  

But even with workouts beginning in Florida and Arizona, this is still a pretty quiet period for another week or so- when games actually begin.  

With the down time, and while bracing for the madness of the regular season to being, it’s sort of refreshing to have some time available to look into subject matter, that otherwise, I may not give a second thought about when the thick of the season is underway.  

Several days ago, I noticed on twitter that the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens were celebrating hitting the 1 million follower mark for their official twitter page.  

I thought to myself, “ok, that’s pretty impressive”.  So, I decided to see where the baseball teams in the Majors ranked in terms of their following on the social media network.  At first, I really didn’t have a purpose, but then I thought that it would be interesting to take a look from top to bottom and see if anything sticks out.  

Then, the project evolved a bit to look into whether there were any correlations between market size (which I heavily assumed), or perhaps the weight that winning has on increasing followers.  

Seemed logical to me that teams that were successful, most likely had a following that was greater than perennial “losers”   And finally I figured I would take a look at the data from a geographical perspective.  

First, let’s take a look at the data (twitter followers tab is in thousands- for instance 1,570= 1.57 million), and pick out a few things that stick out:  

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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.

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) 

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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.

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BBBA Members Presence On The MLB Reports: Lots Of Content Heading To Our Site!

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Chuck Booth (BBBA President/Majority Owner mlbreports.com) 

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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 (Left) and Jonathan Hacohen (Right) - MLB Reports Brass

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 + #WOB, #SullyMetrics, Baseball Analysis (Audio + Written, Salaries, Org. Depth Charts, Historical Series for All 30 Clubs + State Of The Unions + Wicked Daily Content,) + tyhe best coverage on the 2014 MLB schedule in the world. We are not your average "Cookie Cutter" Website. Also our motto is "THE TRUTH STINGS LIKE A CATCUS!"

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!”