Category Archives: The Rest: Everything Baseball
From Cuba to Japan, Opening Day to the World Series and the WBC
Ty Cobb Victimized By Trash Talking Catcher
Trash talking in professional sports is something that seems to have its genesis in the most recent of generations. However, that is simply not true, as athletes, including major league baseball players have enjoyed sniping at each other over the years. An early example of this was catcher Lou Criger, who came out swinging in the press more than a century ago about his major disdain for legendary outfielder Ty Cobb.
Rollie Hemsley: The Long Journey to Sobriety
Rogers Hornsby himself couldn’t control the talented catcher, who drank himself off four teams before finding help — and eventually helping thousands of others. READ MORE AT PLATECOVERAGE.COM
Spike Owen 1989 Donruss – Sully Baseball Card of the Day for January 30, 2017
While I was taking a train to a game at Yankee Stadium in the early 2000’s, I saw film critic Jeffrey Lyons was on the subway with me. We both appeared in the HBO Documentary Curse of the Bambino. I truly doubt if he recognized me from that.
We are both Sox fans and I decided I would try to stump him with a trivia question. I brought up Spike Owen, the starting shortstop on the ill fated 1986 Boston Red Sox. I asked him “What was Spike Owen’s real first name?”
He didn’t know.
I told him “Spike. His mother’s maiden name was Spikes, so Spike is NOT a nickname for him. That is his actual name.”
I took that as a moment of pride for me that he didn’t get it.
I don’t ever remember buying a pack of Donruss cards in 1989, but my eyes do…
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The Greatest Detroit Tiger By Position: Right Field
Moving on to the last position in the outfield, we’ve already anointed Bobby Veach the Greatest Tiger left fielder, and Ty Cobb the greatest Tiger center fielder. The question now is, will Sam Crawford make an early 1900’s sweep of outfield greats, or will Al Kaline or possibly Harry Heilmann, or another Tiger take home that crown? To be eligible for the list, a player must play at least 5-years for the Tigers with a majority of games coming at that position. Unlike the infielder however, I do look at stats across all outfield spots.
If you’d like to catch up, you can see who I believe is the greatest Tiger catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop of all-time as well.
Qualifying for today’s list is: Al Kaline, Harry Heilmann, Sam Crawford, Pete Fox, and Magglio Ordonez. With this group, I am leaving Pete Fox off the list with a total Tigers WAR of 10.6.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – January 29, 2017
Jeff Gross/Getty Images North America
It is Sunday and time for The Sunday Request.
@sullybaseball sunday request: whos the best hitter of this generation? Pujols, miggy or other.
— TheStartingBloc (@thestartingbloc) January 16, 2017
Cabrera and Pujols are both going to the Hall of Fame. Right now as the best offensive player of their generation, they could be neck and neck.
And a Trout is swimming up to them!
Looking back at right now on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – January 28 2017
The San Diego Padres can be a unique fan base if 35,000 people can show up to PetCo Park a day.
Why not? It is a fun time at the ball game!
Love the Friars on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Was Dixie Walker a Racist?
The only player to have been a teammate of both Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, Dixie Walker received MVP votes in eight separate seasons, finishing as high as second in 1946. Yet if he is remembered at all by today’s fans, it’s for the charge that he was the player most responsible for trying to keep Jackie Robinson from joining the Brooklyn Dodgers—a charge dramatized on the big screen in the 2013 film “42.” Walker has been characterized as a bigot for decades—but is it a fair assessment of the man?. READ MORE
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – January 27, 2017
Was Rich Gossage the greatest reliever of all time? He is certainly in the conversation. But if one tiny thing had changed in his Hall of Fame career, we’d think of him much differently.
It is a Call the Fireman episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
New York Mets Top 25 Prospects
What started off as one of the weakest systems in baseball was bolstered by the additions by the trade of Zack Wheeler in 2011, then Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud in 2012-13. Furthermore, the team opted to draft high ceiling project players like Brandon Nimmo, Michael Fulmer, Gavin Cecchini, and Dominic Smith.
In 2014, Alderson changed his draft approach again with the selection of college outfielder Michael Conforto, then after losing the Mets 2015 first rounder in the Michael Cuddyer signing, selected his first set of college pitchers in Justin Dunn and Anthony Kay.
Graduation and trades have lowered the ranking of the farm system to the bottom third of the league. What was once a system flush with ace level arms and high ceiling batters have since become a more balanced system that features both potential offensive contributors and future rotation contributors.
Still, the 2016 season saw many prospects make their first impressions in the majors, including Sandy Alderson’s first ever Mets draft pick in Brandon Nimmo. For the first time since 2011, the Mets find themselves looking up at their counterparts as opposed to the other way around. What can a full season from the 2016 draft class do? Which prospects will graduate from this list?
New York Mets Top Prospects
2017 All-Money Team: The Highest-Paid MLB Players at Each Position
While it may not feel like spring is on the way in certain parts of the country, it’s closer than you think. Why? Well, the start of Spring Training is less than three weeks away, and we all know that the mere sight of players on a baseball field gives people the warm and fuzzies — no matter what the thermometer says.
Another year of MLB action means there will be lots of money earned by the league’s best players. But who gets the honor of being the top earner at their position this season? That was a question we wanted to answer with the 2017 All-Money team.
Thanks to Spotrac, it was easy to check out the payroll salaries at each position to see who is bringing home the most bacon over the next few months. Here’s a squad that would be pretty darn good overall, but just a tad bit expensive.
St. Louis Cardinals 2017 Keys: Aledmys Diaz
St. Louis Cardinals 2017 Keys: Aledmys Diaz
By Bill Ivie
The dawn of Spring Training is just around the corner. Coverage for the last few months has focused on changes. Now, the focus becomes projections. What are the keys to success? Who can a team rely on.
For the St. Louis Cardinals, one of the biggest keys is Aledmys Diaz.
You’ve no doubt heard of Diaz by now. The casual fan probably couldn’t say the same thing this time last year. His unexpected arrival in 2016 changed that.
This time last year, Diaz was still just a minor league player, brought in on a free agent contract after defecting from Cuba. The Cardinals signed him in hopes that he was the future as their shortstop. An injury to Jhonny Peralta seemed to open the door. The signing of Miguel Tejada seemed to close it just as fast.
Just a Few Words About Jake Daubert
The forgotten MVP, there was never a player easier to root for than Jake Daubert.
The Los Angeles Angels Have Had a Great Offseason
Outside of watching Mike Trout dominate on a nightly basis, there wasn’t much else to be happy about in 2016 with regard to the Los Angeles Angels.
They went a disappointing 74-88 and missed the playoffs for the fourth time since 2012, which was Trout’s rookie season. To make things worse, it’s also been hard to feel optimistic about the organization’s future in recent years.
It’s getting better, though.
ESPN’s Keith Law (subscription required) no longer views them as baseball’s worst farm system, but coming in 27th out of 30 teams isn’t anything to party about. On the big-league level, big contracts to C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver have come off the books, leaving just one more year of paying Josh Hamilton and another five years (womp womp) of Albert Pujols.
Without the financial means to throw money at a free agent or the farm system to offer a boatload of intriguing prospects in a trade, general manager Billy Eppler had to get creative this winter, which is exactly what he’s done.
Are the Angels now playoff contenders? Probably not, but they look better on paper for 2017 than they did in 2016.
Let’s see how much of a lift the roster could have with a series of moves that haven’t grabbed a ton of headlines over the past few months.
The Tampa Bay Rays Should Play 3 Series A Year In Montreal Right Now
Tropicana Field is regarded as the 2nd worst facility in the Major Leagues next to the o.co in Oakland. The Rays are always in the bottom 2 for attendance in the ML and simply can’t draw much more than that – even though they had 6 straight 80 win seasons from 2008 – 2013. With 4 other clubs in their Division all spending double to triple the amount of money on payroll as them, it will not get better for the clubs finances any time soon. They are locked in a lease deal until 2027. Why not play some of their games at Olympic Stadium in Montreal in the meantime?
With horrible attendance each year, coupled with the recent success of exhibition games at Olympic Stadium over the last few years, along with the stadium issue sill being prominent in the area, the Rays should host 9 – 10 games in Montreal, QC, Canada.
My idea would be to have one series in the French Province against the Jays, one against the Boston Red Sox and also one set of games versus the Yankees.
Considering the amount of traveling fans from these 3 AL East contending clubs, I would think the contests would be well attended.
This schedule would still allow the Tampa Bay Rays to hold 2 other series in St. Petersburg versus all 3 clubs.
With the 19 Games a year versus Division rivals, this is a good way to have the Rays also not create team fatigue within their home dates. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – January 24, 2017
Denis Poroy/Getty Images North America
Took a question from Cubs Fan with an 8.
@sullybaseball What are the top 5 (or 10) moments of the regular season that will stick with you from the 2016?
— cubsfan (@cu8sfan) January 22, 2017
We tend to forget the regular season moments, so let’s savor them while they still are fresh.
Loving the days of Spring and Summer on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Cleveland Indians Top Prospects
The major selling point of this system is the success of the pitching coaches in recent years. The Major League rotation is one of the best in baseball, and there are many top prospects who may challenge for those spots. The age range for both pitchers and fielders offers a look for continued success with players breaking through to the top level both now and three years into the future. A team coming off of a World Series run will not need a complete roster overhaul, allowing the lower level clubs to develop their players at the right pace.
Cleveland Indians Top Prospects
The Greatest Detroit Tiger By Position: Center Field
As we continue on exploring the greatest Tigers by position of all-time, we move on to what I am guessing is a slam dunk before any research is done. Before getting to the list however, looking back I’ve covered the all-time best Tigers catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, and left fielderleft fielder. You can click on any of the previous links to check out that position.
Moving on to center field, we changed the criteria up a bit for outfielders where I still am looking for at least five years with the Tigers and playing a majority of time at that positon. The one change I did make however to gaging the outfield spots, is opening it up to majority of games played at that position, but looking at all outfield numbers, since it’s much more common to see a players shift positions.
For the Center Field spot, we have four qualifiers: Ty Cobb, Mickey Stanley, Ron LeFlore, and Chet Lemon. Austin Jackson just misses out being traded mid-way through his 5th season in Detroit, but could be back via free agency this season. Since this is a shoe in, we’ll take a look at all of the players…
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – January 23, 2017
Duane Burleson/Getty Images North America
Sunday, we learned about the tragic deaths of Yordano Ventura and Starling Marte. These were two lives cut short and two very different careers ended in the worst way.
Meanwhile, an awful Tweet by a fan about the death of Ventura made me realize we need to do small things to make this experience of living a little better.
Paying respect on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast -January 22, 2017
It is Sunday and time for THE SUNDAY REQUEST.
@sullybaseball Shoeless Joe was given a lifetime ban. Since he is dead, shouldn’t he be re-instated?
— Bob Buscaglia (@BobBuscaglia) January 19, 2017
It is pretty clear to me that Joe Jackson has paid his price. But would would that mean for Pete Rose and his Hall of Fame chances?
Place your bets on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
On Royals Pitcher Yordano Ventura Dead at 25
Reports out of the Dominican Republic within the last hour are that Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura has died in a car accident. He was 25 years old and he will be missed.
The young pitcher had a terrific delivery, a fastball that could challenge anyone’s in the game in terms of both velocity and precociousness. His future was as bright as the sun. He was fun to watch and I cannot help but think of the recent passing of Jose Fernandez. As I search for words, I am left feeling how Max felt just 6 months ago. This sucks.
I have been especially close to death in the last year. Through various life events, I have been left to ponder the meaning of life and the reasons to keep living. How does one articulate the desire to keep living? I was left to go back to hope of a better future, of a better tomorrow and of the good times ahead. The passing of these young stars is so difficult because of how it shakes that fundamental motivation of life.
To continue reading about the passing of Yordano Ventura, please click over to our mostly baseball blog at offthebenchbaseball.com
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – January 21, 2017
Jeff Gross/Getty Images North America
In 2012, the Angels decided to sign Josh Hamilton instead of retaining Zack Greinke. That decision haunts the team to this day.
It is a butterfly effect episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – January 20, 2017
It’s a good day to talk about the Milwaukee Brewers and how they have made some terrific trades recently. They understand better than most teams about windows of opportunity.
Roll out the barrels on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
The Texas Rangers’ Outfield Has a Ton of Questions With 2017 on the Horizon
If the general premise of this sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve talked about this before.
On the heels of the Texas Rangers returning to the playoffs in 2015, I noticed they had similar roster uncertainties in advance of 2016. All they did once Opening Day rolled around was win the American League West with ease by posting an AL-best 95-67 record.
While they proved to be masters of winning one-run games, having just a +10 run differential made some wonder if they’d be able to hang in the playoffs. And before there was an answer, they were packing up for the winter after getting swept by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS.
The 2017 season is fast approaching, and the AL West will be interesting to follow. After all, Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto won’t stop making trades and the Houston Astros are doing whatever they can to make Sports Illustrated look like a bunch of geniuses.
The Rangers still have some roster questions to answer ahead of Spring Training — like, is this Mike Napoli reunion happening or not? — but one area that’s set is the outfield.
Texas will go to battle with 21-year-old Nomar Mazara in left, Carlos Gomez in center and Shin-Soo Choo manning right. This looks good on paper, but it’s far from a sure thing judging from each player’s recent history.
Tyson Ross: Calculated Risk for Texas Rangers
Despite winning the AL West by 9 games and winning 95 games in 2016, the Texas Rangers finished 22 out of the 30 MLB clubs in overall pitching with a 4.37 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. The Ranger’s pitching staff allowed a .260 batting average against to opposing hitters and a .424 slugging percentage. Texas finished in the middle of the pack (16 out of 30) in starting pitching with a 4.38 ERA. The Rangers may have won a lot of games in 2016, but their run differential was only +7. They didn’t beat their competition by much throughout the season and below average pitching could be contributed as a big factor.
Let’s Give Away a Baseball Book!
PlateCoverage.com is giving away copies of “Baseball’s Most Baffling MVP Ballots,” by Jeremy Lehrman. Simply follow @plate_coverage on Twitter, and re-tweet the link below. They’ll hold a random drawing when they reach 500 followers, and again at 1000 followers. How easy is that?
Book giveaway! Follow @plate_coverage; retweet this link. Must do both. Random drawing at 500 and 1000 followers.https://t.co/nJWQi9zAM0
— Plate Coverage (@Plate_Coverage) January 15, 2017
Visit Plate Coverage.com for more.
Ranking the 2017 National League Managers
It has become an annual tradition around these parts for me to offer up my thoughts on each and every manager in the MLB. First, this started as a ranking and became one of our most popular posts. Since then, the manager reporting has morphed into a grading system on an A-F scale, with A reserved for only the cream of the managerial crop and F standing in for ‘Should be Fired.’
As usual with my mid-winter grades, I won’t offer any score for first time managers, but if a guy has managed elsewhere in the majors he’s fair game, even if this will be his first season with his current team.
Let’s get to it!
National League East
Dusty Baker, Washington Nationals: The first yer of the Dusty Baker era in DC went pretty well all things considered. Dusty did some Dusty things when it came to bullpen management and managing his pitchers’ workload but he handled that Trea Turner situation well. The Nats won 95 games and walked to the AL East crown but the team still couldn’t get over that NLDS hump. Until Baker does that, his job in Washington is incomplete. Grade: B
To continue reading Our ranking of baseball managers, check out offthebenchbaseball.com!
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – January 18, 2017
While sitting listening to 1970’s songs at the airport, I honor Curt Flood, who basically sacrificed his career to usher in the Free Agency era.
Waiting at the gate on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Blue Jays Top Prospect Interviews
Jays From the Couch sits down with two of the Toronto Blue Jays’ top prospects, Conner Greene and Rowdy Tellez
This past weekend the Toronto Blue Jays organization put together a wonderful treat for their fans in Buffalo, NY. In a joint effort with the Buffalo Bisons the event on January 24th, was held at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo. Luckily, we here at Jays From the Couch were granted access to the event, and able to secure some excellent interviews with a few players.
Our first interview features a conversation with pitching stud, Conner Greene. With Greene finishing each of the last two seasons with Double-A New Hampshire, it is not unreasonable to determine he could start the 2017 season with the Fisher Cats. Should his progression remain steady a trip to Triple-A Buffalo, and perhaps a Toronto September call-up could be warranted. Greene discussed his progress and his new mentor.
CHECK OUT FULL INTERVIEW at Jays From the Couch
In our second interview, Rowdy Tellez talks to our Catherine Stem about his approach to hitting, coaching and much more! The addition of Rowdy Tellez to the Buffalo Bisons roster has some Blue Jays fans celebrating the talent coming up through the minor league system. Shaun Doyle wrote about his impressive season in New Hampshire with the AA Fisher Cats and The Toronto Blue Jays have certainly been keeping an eye on him. That has bred the hope that he could, sometime in the future, be a replacement of sorts for the power bat of Edwin Encarnacion, a point made by Ryan Mueller HERE.
CHECK OUT FULL INTERVIEW at Jays From the Couch
Robinson Cano’s 2016 Season Was a Flashback to His Yankee Days
Handing out a lucrative, multi-year contract to a player is always risky for an MLB organization, no matter how much of a no-brainer it appears to be. That risk factor goes through the roof when it’s a 10-year, $240 million deal, like the one Robinson Cano signed prior to the 2014 season.
Outside of a dip in power, his first season in Seattle was a success. He hit .314/.382/.454 with 14 home runs and 82 RBI, producing a wRC+ of 137 and a 5.2 fWAR – the fifth consecutive year he surpassed 5.0.
It was the first half of 2015 when people likely started to freak out, to a degree.
He limped into the All-Star break with a lackluster triple slash of .251/.290/.370, accompanied by just 6 home runs, 30 RBI and an wRC+ of 86. Providing power as a second baseman had always been one of his best attributes, but a .118 first-half ISO showed that the only thing his power was doing was continuing to deteriorate.
Cano did start to look like himself again following the midsummer classic — he hit .331/.387/.540 with 15 home runs, 40 RBI, a wRC+ of 157, and most importantly, his ISO jumped back up to .209.
That second-half performance ended up being a sign of what was to come.
Were there any similarities between 2016 and his prime years in the Bronx from 2010-12 when Cano’s ISO never dipped below .214 while posting a .311/.370/.539 line with a combined 90 homers and 321 RBI?
Yes, but there are also some interesting differences showing how his game has transformed over the years.
MLB Reports 
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