Blog Archives
MLB’s Flawed 2 – 3 – 2 Format Exposed Again In 2015 World Series

The Royals had home field advantage in the 2015 World Series, yet played 1 less game at their park than the Mets, who they defeated in 5 games. Since the ALL – Star Game deciding which League would host more games, the winning team has actually had their park be the home venue for 2 less dates than the loser. There is a culprit in this fiasco, and that is the 2 – 3 – 2 format. I am proposing a 3 – 3 – 1 format or 2 – 4 – 1 change to the Fall Classic, Because of travel they would never do the 2-2-2-1 format ever again. ALEX TRAUTWIG/GETTY IMAGES
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Now while the team winning the ALL – Star Game is 8 – 4 overall in the World Series itself, only 2 teams have actually had to use Game #7 for home field advantage. That was the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals and the 2014 World Series – where the visiting Giants took down the Royals.
There have been 4 Sweeps, 3 series ended in 5 games, 3 series in 6 games, and only two series in 7 games.
In 2003, the Yankees had the best record and they both played 3 games in each others field.
In 2004, Each club played 2 games each in their home park.
In 2005, Each club played 2 games each in their home park.
In 2006, Detroit had home advantage – but were split by the Cards in Detroit, before St. Louis swept them in The Show Me State! Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – September 29, 2015
I am 100% for people using their devices at a baseball game. Checking and reading things are part of the experience of being at a game. Plus the people recording events and sharing them are doing us all a service.
Log into your device for Episode 1,072 of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Max Scherzer, Matt den Dekker, Marco Estrada, Jackie Bradley Jr., J. A. Happ, Andre Ethier, Yordano Ventura and Prince Fielder all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball
Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – June 18, 2015
Jamie Kelly, the creator of The Scoop and radio host on KTSR joins the podcast to talk Texas Rangers.
The Rangers are one of the biggest surprises of the year, and perhaps an embracing of young bats and 20 something arms has led to a revival in Arlington for 2015.
It is a Lone Star Episode 967 of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Billy Butler, Todd Frazier, Tsuyoshi Wada, Felix Hernandez, Madison Bumgarner, Freddy Galvis, John Danks and Matt Joyce all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball?
Follow Jamie on Twitter by clicking HERE
Follow The Scoop by clicking HERE
Read the rest of this entry
Confessions Of A Ball Park Chaser – 2015 Edition Part 2: Why I will See 220+ MLB Games in 2015

This was taken for a news paper article. It was in June of 2008. I was in the best shape of my life mentally and physically..
We finished off earlier in the week about the chance for me to play NCAA Baseball that was foiled by knee problems and concussions. Looking at reconstructive knee surgery in late 1994, I was seeking a second and third opinion on the matter. If you have to read that blog to catch up it is available right here.
On a night in Sept of that year I was in the wrong place at the wrong time helping a friend move. I was a victim of a serious home invasion. It was truly a life or death situation at points. It ended with all of receiving baseball bats to the back of the head before they left.
In the minutes after it was over, I was on an adrenaline rush, so I never realized how much damage had been done with the impact. I did go to the hospital that night, but we never wanted to divulge that much information about what happened to us. I was given some painkillers, and I passed a quick eyeball test with the doctor in the emergency room.
I stayed up for almost 2 days straight. Previous head injuries had told me not to sleep that much if all. I drank alcohol and took painkillers. at will.
When I went to work 3 days later, I knew I was in trouble. I started having vision problems and felt nauseous. Within 3 months – I stopped working entirely and didn’t want to leave the house at all. I never went to my knee appointments, as I had gone through similar symptoms with my brain after a concussion at 16. Worse part of the whole ordeal, was not demanding a CT scan on the night of the incident. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 16, 2014
Talking Royals, SF Symphony and answering an e mail from Michael Reisman.
The Giants are also only 1 win away from becoming the team of the decade, and it is only 5 years old.
San Francisco keeps scoring runs without actually getting hits. Insane… All of that and more on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Alcides Escobar, Yusmeiro Petit, Buster Posey, Jason Vargas, Ryan Flaherty and Kolten Wong all owned October yesterday
NLCS Preview: Cardinals vs Giants In A Battle For Decade Supremacy!

It’s all about the Pennants in the LCS Round, The Cards are competing in their 4th straight NLCS, and 9th out of 14 years, while the GIants are in the series for the 3rd time in 5 years, and have never lost a playoff series under head coach Bruce Bochy.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I am not going to preview this from an analyst angle because our “Lead Podcast Personality” Paul Francis Sullivan ‘AKA Sully’ does a brilliant 20 minute podcast that he does daily, and he has described this matchup beautifully.
I will post the podcast at the end of the article.
Instead, I am looking at this series as a professional handicapper sense.
Opening Odds
STL -135
SF, +115
I have to give the nod to the Giants for value on this one. If you go down the rosters, the St. Louis franchise is a smidge better on the talent level, however how can you bet against San Francisco when they have won 8 straight playoff series from 2010 – 2014.
The Giants have also won 4 of 5 games in this year’s playoff. Read the rest of this entry
Odds To Win The 2014 ALCS + NLCS In The MLB

Camden Yards will see home games in the ALCS for the 1st time since the 1997 season. Buck Showalter has a decisive edge in the managerial department over the Royals skipper Ned Yost. The O’s are the new owners of home field advantage all the way throughout the postseason now, as the top seed left in the American League.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Dog Days Of October
The 4 teams in the League Championship Series were all underdogs in the last round.
When you also factor the Wild Card Games were both won by the Giants and Royals, (both not being the favorite), it marks the 1st 6 rounds of this postseason go to the “Dogs”.
Baltimore defeating the Tigers was probably the least surprising as the other clubs winning against their opponents. Again via a sweep of the 3 straight Cy Young Winners is impressive though.
The Nationals and Cards losing to the Giants and Cardinals had a lot to do with playoff pedigree with the teams moving on, as they handled the pressure better than the two upstart clubs. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – September 9, 2014
There is a real possibility that the Angels and Cardinals could meet in the World Series.
If that happens, my advice to Texas Rangers fans is DO NOT WATCH!
It is a missed opportunity episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – September 6, 2014
Ron Washington stunned the baseball world by resigning suddenly on Friday. Not only was his leaving the team unexpected, but there is a slight aura of mystery regarding why the beloved manager is walking away.
To help make sense of it all, I brought in Texas Rangers fan and creator of The Scoop, Jamie Kelly, to talk about Wash’s legacy and her reading between the lines of the press conference.
It is an emergency and STOP THE PRESSES episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

How All Of The Red Sox Hitters Were Acquired: 2014 Roster Tree – Updated For Cespedes + Craig + Johnson Deals

David Ortiz is incredible based on the consistent numbers he has put forth since everyone thought his career was winding down several years ago. The 38 Year Old DH continues to bash homers, win games, and now with a flurry of trades, the organization has given him some reinforcements in the 1 -9 lineup for a few years.
How All Of The Red Sox Hitters Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Boston Red Sox are smart enough to realize a retool was in order.
To kickstart the festivities, the club made a pair of moves that includes Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes to Oakland for Cuban OF Yoenis Cespedes, followed by dealing Jon Lackey to the Cardinals for 1B/OF Allen Craig and SP Joe Kelly.
These deals have helped the Red Sox be better balanced on offense, and has freed up roster spots for their young prospects to thrive. Read the rest of this entry
How All Of The Texas Rangers Hitters Were Acquired (2014 Roster Tree)

The Rangers had back to back World Series Appearances in 2010 and 2011 – and have 4 straight seasons of collecting 90+ Wins – with 370 victories overall. 2014 has been an injury plagued season, robbing the club perhaps of putting forth a 5th consecutive 90 win campaign. Despite this, the organization has done spade work to be mentioned as a top franchise over the last 5 years. This Roster Tree proves a little of this.
How All Of The Rangers Hitters Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Rangers set up their franchise for years to come in 2007, when they pulled off a trade of ALL – Star Mark Teixeira – to acquire several players in the franchise that they are still seeing solid returns.
My absolute favorite transaction tree is finding out the Michael Choice branch of trades.
It dates back to the team signing Todd Van Poppel as a Free Agent before the 1998 season.
Out of all of the players the team currently has, only Leonys Martin, Mitch Moreland and Rougned Odor and Jurickson Profar are composed of team draft picks – with the latter being hurt right now,
The rest of them were picked up via another route. Read the rest of this entry
The Cardinals Struggles In 2014 So Far Might Point To Accumulation Of Roster Changes Since 2011

After St. Louis won the 2011 World Series, they lost their world class 1B Free Agent player in Albert Pujols. It was the right move (10 YRs/$250 MIL is too much), and Michael Wacha was the compensation pick, so one wouldn’t even make the trade for the Cardinals former legend. However much like the Mariners in the late 90’s lost Johnson, Griffey and Rodriguez, that team had a league record 116 wins in 2001. The Cards have back to back NLCS Appearances, and lost the World Series in 2013, however despite being chalked with young talent, is that they still have lost several key components to their team in the last 3 years. Somewhere the franchise might have to slow down for a brief spell.
In no way am I going to slag the best run franchise in the MLB. We are talking about the quintessential template of how to run your team in the modern world of baseball.
All I am projecting in this article is that every team goes through a stretch of play where they may not be performing to capabilities.
Some of these problems may even persist for a whole campaign.
The 2011 Cardinals won the World Series, and then after losing their future hall of fame legend in Albert Pujols, were able to bring in Free Agents Carlos Beltran to help offset the power headed out the door.
The move paved the way for another final four finish. In fact, St. Louis held a 3 – 1 NLCS lead before the Giants won 3 straight.
2013 saw their young players come to fruition at the same time, and it mixed perfectly with their cagey Veteran core.
The organization had 6 players in the top 100 prospects as listed by http://www.mlb.com – and most of them have seen time with the big club thus far. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – April 25, 2014
Adam Wainwright continues being a dominating pitcher. How many more years does he have to be an elite pitcher to start thinking of him as a Hall of Fame pitcher?
How much does closing out the 2006 World Series add to his lore?
How much does missing the 2011 Series take away from it?
That and more on today’s episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Josh Donaldson, Carlos Ruiz, Corey Kluber, Bartolo Colon, Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon Cumpton and Dayan Viciedo all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball.
How All Of The St. Louis Cardinals Roster Was Acquired: 2014 Season

The Cardinals Roster Tree has been the easiest to do by far. This organization has Drafted so incredibly well, that there has been no real need for trading of late. We will still see how drafting J.D. Drew has turned into Adam Wainwright, and how Albert Pujols signing with the Angels, made for the Cards to select young phenom Michael Wacha. St. Louis is made to their 8th NLCS in the last 13 years, and 4th World Series Appearance in the last 10, with a multitude of young stars coming in the horizon. They are going to be players in the National League for some time to come.
How All Of The Cardinals Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @chuckbooth3024
At the MLB Reports, we intend to show you the Roster Tree for the St. Louis Cardinals – and how they assembled their current roster for hitting and Pitching. It will work in a six degrees of separation like format.
Once we figure out the origin of how many trades going back in time it takes to see where the tree started, it will be time to dissect how the team fared on the deals.
If a player has never left the organization at all, the tree will be easy – as it will just be the year they were drafted or signed.
St. Louis Cardinals State Of The Union: 2014 Preview

2013 was a stellar year for the Saint Louis Cardinals, just falling short of capturing the franchises 12th World Series title. Though St. Louis may have arguably lost their best offensive power hitter of 2013, Carlos Beltran, St. Louis is well armed and poised to return to the Fall Classic for the 2nd straight season an 5th Fall Classic Appearance since 2004. The franchise has also been to 8 NLCS’s since the turn of the millennium.
By Steven Hines (Guest Cardinals Writer view his website here): Follow @hinesis2nd
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Much like the offseason of a year ago, St. Louis made little moves. Despite little deals made, big changes are coming to the way this team operates in 2014.
Just because the Cardinals will look different does not mean you should expect less success than that of their World Series run of 2013.
In fact, expect the 2014 Cardinals to capture their 12th World Series Championship this season.
Bold prediction or reality, you decide. Read the rest of this entry
Which Manager’s Seat Is The Hottest In The MLB – 2014?
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
There are many expectations in 2014 for a lot of the MLB clubs.
Realistically, only the Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins could be ousted from playoff contention before we even play in the American League.
The National League has several more teams with improbable chances to post a postseason berth in 2014.
The Mets, Marlins, Twins, Cubs and Padres are the longest shots on the board to nail down play in October as well.
Out of those teams, Chicago just hired Rich Renteria, and the other 5 teams would likely let the year play itself out before thinking of a skipper’s switch.
With those teams listed, I highly doubt the current bench bosses will remain in position by the time the clubs become good. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 23, 2013
Shin Soo Choo signs an insane contract with the Rangers than can only be justified if the Rangers win it all. No pressure.
And I do the worst Grant Balfour impersonation EVAH on today’s episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
To subscribe to The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast on iTunes, click HERE.
To subscribe on SoundCloud, click HERE.
Cards State Of The Union – Fall 2013: John Mozeliak + STL Brass Are Baseball’s Best ‘Rounders’

The Cardinals are the model NL Franchise, having gone to 8 out of the last 13 NLCS Matchups. They also stand to benefit that the highest revenue teams in the MLB like New York, Boston, Los Angles (x2), Detroit, Texas and San Francisco do not reside in their Division. Their team has been run the best in the MLB for over a decade. At a just north of a $115 MIL payroll, they slightly hover over the Reds for highest team salary in the NL Central. if the Cards continue to display “Rounding techniques” in player acquisitions, they will keep contending every year with the other big boys across baseball. When you add the fact that the brass knows how to run a club like the Oakland A’s and Tampa Bays Rays do, but also have money to spend, then you can see how dangerous this organization has been since 2000.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
What is not to like about this team?
The club has appeared in 4 World Series in the last decade, 8 NLCS series since the turn of the millennium, and now with brilliant drafting and trades, the club is in outstanding position to keep it up for the next decade.
While I hated the fact they recently signed Jhonny Peralta, I understand the move because it was so smart.
This franchise addressed their two top needs this offseason, without surrendering any of their top young Pitching prospects, or even Oscar Taveras for that matter.
Did I also mention that when Carlos Beltran signs somewhere else – the club receives another pick?
Michael Wacha Tosses 8.2 IP Of No – Hit Ball 9/24/13
Texas GM’ Jon Daniels Needs To Step His Game Up! Rangers State Of The Union Fall 2013

The Rangers have cobbled together 370 wins over the last four years, however they are now 2 years withdrawn from being a solitary strike away from winning the World Series. They have done a great job assessing their club over the last few campaigns, and with a great winter, the club’s competition window should be reset for many years to come. With Nolan Ryan leaving the franchise, the heat will be on Jon Daniels to administer such a daunting task. The Rangers have great attendance, and more National TV dollars are also being kicked their way for 2014, it is time to go and lure the top Free Agents in the game of MLB towards The Ballpark in Arlington!
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twiter Follow @mlbreports
Jon Daniels is more like the “Lone Ranger” now with the brass over in Arlington being astonishingly diminished by Texas native Nolan Ryan leaving.
He is effectively on the “hot seat” now.
His team is now 2 years removed from back to back World Series Appearances, followed up with an epic collapse down the stretch in 2012, and just falling short of the playoff bar in 2012.
The Rangers actually had a pretty decent season in 2013 at 91 – 72 (losing the play in game to Tampa Bay), when you consider they lost Mike Napoli and Josh Hamilton‘s services – and really only replaced them with “Fat Elvis” AKA Lance Berkman, who like Presley, has eaten themselves out of their careers at times.
Nelson Cruz Highlights Before Suspension 2013
St. Louis Cardinals Current Roster Tree: How All Of The Team Was Acquired

The Cardinals Roster Tree has been the easiest to do by far. This organization has Drafted so incredibly well, that there has been no real need for trading of late. We will still see how drafting J.D. Drew has turned into Adam Wainwright, and how Albert Pujols signing with the Angels, made for the Cards to select young phenom Michael Wacha. St. Louis is in their 8th NLCS in the last 13 years, with a multitude of young stars coming. They are going to be players in the National League for some time to come.
How All Of The Cardinals Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @chuckbooth3024
At the MLB Reports, we intend to show you the Roster Tree for the St. Louis Cardinals – and how they assembled their current roster for hitting and Pitching. It will work in a six degrees of separation like format.
Once we figure out the origin of how many trades going back in time it takes to see where the tree started, it will be time to dissect how the team fared on the deals.
If a player has never left the organization at all, the tree will be easy – as it will just be the year they were drafted or signed.
For all of the Rosters, Depth Charts, State of the Unions and Salaries that we do, please visit our dedicated page link here.
Carlos Beltran Steals Game #1 of the 2013 NLCS for the Cards
How All Of The Red Sox Hitters Were Acquired Onto The Roster + Analysis: Fall 2013

Ben Cherington pulled off the biggest salary dump in MLB History in 2012, with his clearing the deck of Gonzalez, Crawford and Beckett. He replaced them with saavy, playoff tested Veterans – on lower value, and year contracts. His club won the 2013 AL East with the revamped squad – that improved almost 30 Wins from 2012. So how did the entire roster of hitters all come to be Boston Red Sox Property? We will now tell you.
How All Of The Red Sox Hitters Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @mlbreports
At the MLB Reports, we intend to show you the Roster Tree for the Boston Red Sox – and how they assembled their current roster for hitting and Pitching. It will work in a six degrees of separation like format.
Once we figure out the origin of how many trades going back in time it takes to see where the tree started, it will be time to dissect how the team fared on the deals.
If a player has never left the organization at all, the tree will be easy – as it will just be the year they were drafted or signed. Today, we will cover the Hitters.
For all of the Rosters, Depth Charts, State of the Unions and Salaries that we do, please visit our dedicated page link here.
David Ortiz Talks Up The Boston Crowd After The Boston Tragedy – Warning: Explicit Word Used – Parental Discretion Is Advised
Texas Rangers: Different Year Than 2012, Or Same Result?

Yu Darvish, Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler, and Jurickson Profar are just a few of the great players up and down their roster. Last season they lost the American League West to the Oakland Athletics on the last day of the season. Will the same happen this season, or will their be a different result? With 25 Games left to play, and identical 79 – 58 records in the AL West, The A’s and the boys from Arlington are embattled in a tightly Division Race in 2013.
Ryan Ritchey (Featured Baseball Columnist): Follow @baseballaddicts
Follow @mlbreportsThe 2012 season didn’t end as planned for the Texas Rangers. They had a five game lead over the Oakland Athletics in the American League West with nine games remaining and lost the division. It was crushing for the team and the fans.
Losing the division put them in a one game playoff with the Baltimore Orioles. Coming off the shock of losing the division, the Rangers lost to the Orioles 5-1 at home.
Will this season be the same for the Rangers, or will there be a different result? Here are three reasons why it could be the same and three why it could be different…
Yu Darvish Dominates Diamondbacks with 14 K’s:
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – July 19, 2013
The image above is of Eric Hinske playing in a Red Sox/Yankee game.
That is appropriate because today’s edition of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast focuses on the upcoming Red Sox/Yankee series and the accomplishments of Eric Hinske.
No games were played yesterday, so nobody owned baseball.
To see the up to date tally of “Who Owns Baseball?,” click HERE
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – July 19, 2013
Subscribe on iTunes HERE.
Five Cardinals Named To The National League All-Star Team
Like us on Facebook here
Follow @mlbreportsSunday, July 14th, 2013

All five of these Cardinals are absolutely well deserving of the honor to be called National League All-Stars. These five players are crucial to the success of the St. Louis Cardinals have lived up to the pressures that lie with being a St. Louis Cardinal. They always seem to find a way to get the job done and be respectable leaders in the club house. With these guys around, the future of the St. Louis Cardinals is very bright. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game can be seen on FOX, Tuesday night at 8:00 PM ET.
By Landen Crouch (Cardinals Correspondent) Follow @LandenCrouch
One week ago, Major League Baseball released the rosters for the 2013 MLB All-Star Game, which will be held in New York City. On the roster for the National League are five members of the St. Louis Cardinals, the most representatives by any single team for the 2013 mid-summer classic.
Catcher, Yadier Molina; First Baseman, Allen Craig; Second Baseman, Matt Carpenter; Outfielder, Carlos Beltran; and Pitcher, Adam Wainwright were among those selected to represent St. Louis Cardinals.
So far, 2013 has been a phenomenal year for the Cardinals, heading into the All-Star Break with the best records in all of baseball. So, obviously, some things have gone right for this team.
These five players have been crucial to the success of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 and are well deserving of their spots in the game.
National League All-Star Team Announced:
The Cardinals And Pujols Will Be On The Same Field Again
Like us on Facebook here
Follow @mlbreportsMonday, July .1st 2013

Albert Pujols led the St. Louis Cardinals in nearly every statistical category for over a decade. He was well on his way to being touted the greatest Cardinal of all-time, which would be a substantial honor given the history of the franchise. But all of that changed when the man from Kansas City shocked the baseball world and packed his backs for Anaheim, California on December 8th, 2011. Since signing the 10 Year Deal with the Angels, Pujols has regressed both years in OPS (.859 in 2012, .752 in 2013 – which pales in comparison to his St. Louis Career OPS of 1.037 – or even his 2011 campaign of a .906 mark. It looks like letting Prince Albert go was a great decision!
By Landen Crouch (Cardinals Correspondent) Follow @LandenCrouch
After a year and a half, 243 regular season baseball games, and 13 Postseason games, the time has finally arrived. The St. Louis Cardinals and Albert Pujols will finally be on the same baseball field again.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will host the St. Louis Cardinals at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night at 10:05 ET.
I believe that at this point, Cardinals fans have moved on from the sting of the Pujols situation. This is not the same level of hatred as the LeBron James saga in his return to Cleveland. But, in a way, it is similar.
Pujols signing with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (of California of the United States of North America of the Northern Hemisphere…etc) shocked everyone. No one saw it coming. It was literally as if he packed his bags and snuck out in the middle of the night.
Pujols tells reporter “[St. Louis] is where I wanna be.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.