Chicago Cubs State Of The Union For 2016

I absolutely love the signing of Zobrist for the Cubs. He is a quality veteran Utility guy for this young versatile club. Zobrist at 35 may have been pricey at the four year deal work, but they were able to trade away Starlin Castro as a result. Zobrist was vital to the Royals 2015 World Series Playoff run – and is Joe Maddon’s favorite all time player. His ability to switch all over the field will give guys like Schwarber, Baez, Soler and Russell all the availability to thrive with matchup maneuvers. The Cubs should not stop here though. They need to acquire a CF – and trade for a #3 starter at some point in the next 8 months.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Cubs finally threw their names in the ring on the Free Agent front this week by first signing ultra Utility man Ben Zobrist to a 4 YR/$56 MIL -on the heels of John Lackey to a 2 YR/$32 MIL deal.
The club also dealt Starlin Castro away for another team controllable pitcher in Adam Warren. These are significant steps in the right direction to start their run at the 2016 NL Central Division Title,
2015 was a nice breakout season – and the furthest the team has gone in 12 years however this franchise needs to spend as much money and continue to pursue an end to their century plus World Series drought.
There is no question all other 29 clubs would trade their offensive rosters for the value the young Chicago NL squad is going to put forth the next 5 years. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 9, 2015

AP Photo
The Diamondbacks are going for it. Did the Braves just pick up a franchise player from Georgia in the process?
Will Dansby Swanson be the new John Smoltz?
It is long term/short term gain episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 8, 2015

Events at the winter meetings are going so quickly that they render doing a daily podcast almost an exercise in being incorrect.
Trying to make predictions during this winter meeting… an impossibility
It is an unpredictable episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 7, 2015

Elsa/Getty Images
The Dodgers had a devastating blow handed to them when Greinke left.
They need to make some moves and for some of them, quantity will matter as much as quality.
And by the way, BACK UP YOUR FILES!
It is a Bleed Dodger Blue episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 6, 2015

Winslow Townson/Associated Press
It is Sunday and time for The Sunday Request.
@sullybaseball Im curious to see players stop the no trade and opt out bullcrap ie David Price. Would make fans happy, Players Union nervous
— Ken Gura (@kengura51) December 5, 2015
No Trades and opt outs are not going anywhere soon. And fans should be happy about that.
It is a collectively bargained for episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Arizona Diamondbacks Payroll In 2016 + Contracts Going Forward

The Diamondbacks doesn’t have many long term contracts that carry out big $ – so they were able to throw a whole bunch of dough to sign Zack Greinke to the biggest Annual Average Contract in MLB History. Despite that deal, there maybe more signings and acquisitions on the way with the total team payroll still being under $100 MIL thus far for next campaign.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
So in one signing of Zack Greinke, the Diamondbacks effectively doubled their 2016 salary outlook for the year. There was a reason Arizona could make such an expensive deal – and it wasn’t just because of their recent TV contract.
The franchise has done a decent job in slashing payroll over the last few years. They also have the best value on the board with the Paul Goldschmidt contract through 2019.
The big lanky 1B finished runnerup for the MVP in the National League for the second time in 3 years during 2015 – and will only earn $40 MIL over the next four seasons. Only Andrew McCutchen’s 6 YRs/$51 MIL extension rivals the kind of value the club has received in the league.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 5, 2015

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
Did you predict Zack Greinke leaving LA for the Diamondbacks? If you answered yes, you are a liar!
The NL West is upside down and Johnny Cueto’s agent is loving it.
Snakes in the desert in this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 4, 2015

Fox Sports Arizona
With the Diamondbacks unveiling their new uniforms, I brought back Phil Hecken of Uni Watch to break them down.
It is a cluttered jersey episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Follow Phil Hecken on Twitter by clicking HERE.
Billy Beane’s Decision To Not Extend Mulder, Zito And Hudson Was The Right One: Money Ball At Its Best
Billy Beane will never spend a king’s ransom for Pitchers on long-term deals or for big $$ because of injuries like Tommy John crippling your salary infrastructure for the whole time a player may be out. Especially with smaller market teams, having too much invested with your pitchers can be catastrophic. Even though Jarrod Parker is out for the year with TJ surgery, and A.J. Griffin may not be out of the woods for it either, the club is not hampered long-term financially by their injuries. It hurts yes, but not as much as it could have. He was forced into realizing the effects from losing Mulder, Zito and Hudson because the team couldn’t afford to re-sign them a decade ago. But as you will read, it was a blessing in disguise.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner):
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This has been an organization…
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Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 3, 2015
.@Padres honor @USNavy, celebrate #ASG with new uniforms: https://t.co/ERcXJWDLef pic.twitter.com/Xd5vl6pqDM
— All-Star Game (@AllStarGame) December 2, 2015
The Padres unveiled their new uniforms and I brought back Uni Watch deputy editor Phil Hecken to break them down. Needless to say, we both had some strong opinions.
Welcome back the Taco Bell Hat on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Follow Phil Hecken on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Misael Virgen – San Diego Union Tribune
Odds To Win The 2016 MLB World Series: Price Is Right For Boston – But Not The Odds!

Strike while the iron is hot. The Red Sox have a ton of offensive talent that is under team control for many years. The way to compliment this is to add Free Agent aces. By adding Price to the staff, it takes the pressure off of the the rotation guys – so that they could compete in the next 3 – 4 years – with more suitable roles for the rest of the staff. With David Ortiz being in his last year of his career, the move made sense. Their quantum leap up the favorites board based on the signing is not a surprise. The Jays not losing their odd of +800 is.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
So with news of David Price signing with the Sox – this has changed the landscape of the AL East. The oddsmakers jumped them from +1600 last week – to now at +1000. That is a huge leap.
The Yankees dropped from +1800 to +2000, but yet the Jays kept up as the overall MLB favorite to win the Fall Classic in 2016. This is wrong without the Canadian franchise making another significant signing.
J.A. Happ and Jesse Chavez were decent moves, but with the loss of Price, and Mark Buehrle – are they better off than the team that ended 2015..Hell no..
One would say that Boston inking the Lefty Price has swung the momentum to their side like happened with Toronto this last year.
I would still be leery of wagering that much cabbage on the Boston squad early. There is not much value there yet. You are still talking about a club that finished last in the AL East – making a few moves, and now find themselves tied for the 3rd best off to win the World Series.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 2, 2015

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
David Price signed a contract to be the new ace for the Boston Red Sox. It cost my beloved team no players and no draft picks.
I decided to talk about this with (and rub it in the nose of) Yankee super fan Lisa Swan, co creator of the blog Subway Squawkers.
The Rivalry is alive and well in this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Follow Subway Squawkers on Twitter by clicking HERE
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – November 30, 2015

Photo – Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press
It is November. Thanksgiving is over. Can you believe baseball was played this month?
Plus the signing of Jordan Zimmermann by the Tigers will be felt by other teams throughout the winter.
Tis the season for more episodes of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – November 29, 2015
It is Sunday and time for the SUNDAY REQUEST.
@sullybaseball If you were a player with a no-trade clause to 6 teams, which teams would you choose to nix and why? #SundayRequest
— cubsfan (@cu8sfan) November 24, 2015
I had to break down the likely and unlikely teams a hypothetical Major League Sully would play for.
Some I would play for and NOT play for surprised me.
It is a call your own shots episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – November 28, 2015

AP Photo – Orlin Wagner
Perceptions are sometimes hard to break, even if all the facts in the world can be presented against them.
Many people are still making the argument that the same big budgeted teams win every year, even though the parity in baseball has never been better.
This leads me to talking about my high school reunion.
Trust me, it makes sense.
Shatter your preconceived notions in this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – November 27, 2015

Photo Credit – Brian Wilmer
We came so very close to having a major league team whose stadium was in South Carolina.
Their ballpark was built in 1990. By 1992, it was totally obsolete.
It is a parallel universe episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Canadian MLB Expansion Or: Should The Jays Play At Least 1 Series In Vancouver + Montreal Per Year?

Olympic Stadium was a building catastrophe from the get go. It was a contributing factor of the Expos leaving Montreal. Having said that, it would have been really cool if the MLB were to at least designate the Canadian stadium to host some regular season games in the next few years.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I must be out of my mind right?
Having the Toronto Blue Jays play in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver allduring a regular season – and re-brand the club to a national team in the MLB? But stop and think about this for a minute.
The club as drawn almost 100K total fans for the 2 exhibition games in Quebec during the last 2 years in exhibition series right before the season started.
Why not play some games in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver – and rename the club the Canada Blue Jays? Okay.. that is a little drastic here. Keep them the Toronto Blue Jays, but what would be wrong with selling 40K+ fans a game for 12 total games? Maybe 6 games in each city.
Since the MLB insists on having 19 Divisional games a year – with 3 series in each city, would it be that bad if the Tampa Bay Rays or Baltimore Orioles were to visit Montreal to play the Blue Jays a series?
Or how about and grow the brand on the West Coast by playing a 3 game set at BC Place Stadium followed up with Toronto heading down to Seattle right afterwards for another series? Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – November 26, 2015

Baseball Hall of Fame
Today I give thanks to the Pilgrims… specifically the Boston Pilgrims, whose victory in the 1903 World Series paved the way to baseball in its current state.
It is the Thanksgiving episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
San Francisco Giants Payroll In 2016 + Contracts Going Forward

The Giants have won the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014 recently. A lot of the core is still intact for 2016 – and they could add in Free Agency over the winter, while the Dodgers may not be as formidable in 2016 either. With some flexibility coming in the forms of finances, the San Fran club should spend what they can in 2016 – go for another few premiere players, before trying any form of rebuilding afterwards. The Giants finished the 2015 season a disappointing 84 – 78 – which continued their odd year curse.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Yep. The Giants are heading into an even year this decade – and will try for a fourth time in a row to become World Champions.
The 1st thing we look at when it comes to payroll is how much a team has in guaranteed contracts. So far for next year, this sum is $128.1 MIL for 11 players.
Jake Peavy, Angel Pagan, Santiago Casilla and Javier Lopez are on the last year of their individual pacts and are not on the payroll beyond this year. Read the rest of this entry
Tommy John Surgery Thursdays: David “Boomer” Wells

David Wells was the 1st Yankee to throw a perfect game since Don Larsen had thrown one in the 1956 World Series. It was the 15th perfect game in World Series history. This underrated Lefty was a 3 time ALL – Star and is 2 time World Series winner – and he also was the last player to have been carried off the field at Yankee Stadium. Wells led the American League in 1999 with 20 wins, had the best win percentage with the Yankees in 1998 (.818) – and had several years in which he led for Walks/Strikeouts Ratio, Complete Games and even had a year of each leading the league in Innings Pitched and Shutours wih the Yankee.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
David Wells is one of the most criminally underrated Left Handed Pitchers of ALL – Time. I put him right up there with Jamie Moyer for never being recognized for just how good they were. But it was almost not to be.
David Wells was about the 10th Pitcher to undergo the Tommy John Surgery ever. This was back in 1985 – before he even made it to the big leagues.
At just age 22, he was also one of the youngest ever to have the procedure done. Only Dwayne Henry of the Mariners was younger at age 20 at the time. Read the rest of this entry
Odds To Win The 2016 MLB World Series

The Twins finished 2nd in the AL Central and could be the Houston Astros type of 2015 club in 2016. If you think they can finish 2nd in the AL Central one more time, it may be enough to secure a Wild Card Spot. I think the AL East will beat each other up – and will only produce one playoff team in 2016. At +3500, there is enough off an odd to work with.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
So the offseason has started in the MLB – and the oddsmakers are doing their odds before any sweeping changes have occurred for clubs.
Some of the best bets you can do are based on your own speculation on how you think teams are going to do.
I don’t like many of the teams odds once you past the 25/1 barrier to win the World Series. The only club I would even stab at – to hedge later – is the Minnesota Twins.
Once again the 2015 Standings don’t seem to mean much for the AL Central. The Twinkies managed to finish second in the Division with 83 win – despite playing the 1st half without Ervin Santana and power slugging rookie Miguel Sano.
I am not suggesting the Indians don’t deserve to be the 2nd favorite in the AL Central either. It is just the discrepancy between the Tribe and the Twins is too far. Even the Tigers are at +2500 (which is about right). Read the rest of this entry
Figuring Out Miguel Cabrera’s Place ALL – Time When He is Done Playing: Can He Reach 4K Hits?

Whatever Cabrera ends up doing in the course of his next 8 – 10 years he is under contract with Detroit- he is already a Hall of Fame Player right now. He is a 2 time MVP, with 4 other top 5 finishes, and has won 6 Silver Slugger Awards. He has 11 100 RBI seasons, has won 2 Homerun Titles, and has won 4 Batting Titles in the last 5 years with the Tigers.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Miguel Cabrera just won his 4th Batting Title in 5 years in 2015. It was a year thaw saw him rack up his 400th HR and saw him reach 900 Extra Base Hits for his career.
Heading into 2016, Cabrera starts his 8 YR/$240 MIL contract with the Tigers, (with a few Vesting Options in 2024 and 2025). He will turn 33 about a week into the season.
Just how far will he go into the historical record books will be determined by the duration of this contract. Does he have a chance at 4000 Hits and 700 HRs?
The ALL-Time list he is capable of reaching (I feel) are the ALL – Time Extra Bases mark of 1477 set by Hank Aaron, ALL – Time RBI list (also held by Aaron) at 2297 and the ALL-Time Doubles mark of 792 held by Tris Speaker. Read the rest of this entry








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