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Baltimore Orioles State Of The Union For 2016
The Baltimore Orioles needed a 5 game winning streak at the year’s end just to crack .500 last season. Now they might lose the reigning AL HR king and Wei Yin Chen from last years squad. Dan Duquette needs to be diligent with his roster over this winter otherwise the club could start a free fall back down the AL East Standings circa 1998 – 2011.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Baltimore Orioles are in serious jeopardy of falling back into a tailspin in the AL East if they don’t turn around their winter.
Last year you could at least fathom that they had 3 players coming back from injury in Manny Machado, Matt Wieters and Chris Davis that they could rebound and repeat as AL East champs
Buck Showalter saw his team scramble for a .500 record – yet the season was a massive disappointment from the previous 3 years.
Now the club might lose Chris Davis, Wei-Yin Chen and Gerardo Parra to Free Agency. The management stopped the bleeding a little with the recent re-signing of Darren O’Day. Read the rest of this entry
Why The Royals Can’t Sit Back After 2014: KC State Of The Union For 2015
Kansas City finally lived up to their expectations, and far exceeded beyond that, being just one swing away from calling themselves World Championships. With the success the team had, it also creates pay raises, roster turnover, and tough decisions from the brass on who to replace the outgoing cast. Dayton Moore must be aggressive with some of the changes, and realize this core group of players have about a 2 – 3 year window to win before everyone becomes too expensive. The time to strike is still now!
Why The Royals Can’t Sit Back After 2014 AL Pennant
Jordan Gluck (Featured Writer): Follow @jgluck777
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
First congrats to the San Fransisco Giants organization for winning a 3rd championship in 5 years!
Now for the losers who captured Americas heart, and why the Royals can’t sit back and do nothing all offseason.
Frequently after a team wins a championship (for almost any sport) and has that breakthrough season that team tends to try and retain its team from last year while making no additions.
Save for LeBrons Miami heat we haven’t had a team repeat in any sport since the 2004 Patriots and not in baseball since the 2000 Yankees.
Lets not forget that while the Royals did eventually get to game 7 of the World Series they barely got the wild card clinching the spot a couple games above the Mariners and winning that game late.
Here are recent examples of Championship teams who really made very few additions and flopped or performed less than expected the next year.
The 2013 Red Sox who basically retained the same team and suffered from injuries and substandard performance from players like Clay Buchholz and David Ortiz.
The biggest example might be the 2010 and 2012 San Francisco Giants who just retained their teams while making no additions and ended up making frantic moves such as trading for Carlos Beltran at the deadline to fill the holes.
They missed the 2011 and 2013 postseasons. When they made changes such as trading for Hunter Pence and signing Mike Morse they ended up winning it all again. Read the rest of this entry
Baltimore Orioles State Of The Union For 2015
By Nicholas Delahanty (MLB Reports Writer) Follow @Nick_Delahanty
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Even with some key players being out of the lineup for long periods of time (due to injuries/suspensions), the Baltimore Orioles still found a way to win 96 games during the 2014 regular season, and advanced to the ALCS after sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS.
Unfortunately, the Orioles’ World Series hopes were crushed by the Kansas City Royals in the Final Four, as the O’s struggled mightily against this year’s “Cinderella story.”
It turned out to be an ugly end for a great season, but the Orioles now need to look forward to the off-season.
With some key players heading towards free agency and arbitration, the Orioles need to make some moves in order to put themselves in contention to compete once again come 2015.
Based On The World Series Odds Today – Bet The Royals To Win
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By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
We said it before the World Series started, if you were going to bet KC for the “Fall Classic” wait until after Game 1, when a loss to Madison Bumgarner was well within the realm.
The Royals jumped from a -120 favorite, to a +170 underdog on the completion of last night’s game. Clearly the website is working out formula’s without human’s listing the odds before this series began.
It still baffles me how the Giants weren’t favored to win this series to begin with.
Having said this, the time to bet the American League Champions is right now if you were going to bet them at all. I still believe the Giants will win the series, however the odd has jumped so far in their favor, it doesn’t have enough value to throw some cabbage down on.
Tonight’s matchup (Jake Peavy +106 @ Yordano Ventura -116) favors Kansas City slightly. But it is more than that.
The young flamethrowing rookie (Ventura) has great hit and miss stuff, and has never faced the Giants lineup, this ultimately is in Ned Yost squad’s favor.
Peavy on the other hand, spent numerous years and season series opposing the Royals as a member of the Chicago White Sox formerly. He has struggled mightily, owning a 5 – 7 record, with a 4.97 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 14 game starts against Kansas City lifetime.
Billy Butler has had a field day on the RHP. Hitting .500 with 3 HRs for his career versus the former Red Sox champ. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 21, 2014
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Every team that made the playoffs has heart
Every team that made the playoffs has desire.
Every team that made the playoffs has a sense of camaraderie.
At this point at the eve of the World Series, making predictions is futile. It is all coming down to chance.
It is a recorded in the parking lot of Trader Joe’s episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Odds To Win The 2014 MLB World Series (Kansas City Vs San Francisco) + Prediction Time
Kansas City is making the most of their 1st playoff appearance since winning the World Series in 1985. The club has won 8 straight games over 3 series, and have shown they have power in their lumber, homering in most of their games. They have a slight advantage with their Relief Core, and must amp up their speed game again versus the Giants in order to win the 2014 Fall Classic. KC has home field advantage with the AL having won the ALL – Star Game. I personally think this is a hinderance, based on the way the team plays on the road. Whatever I feel, the oddsmakers have listed them as the Favorite.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I awoke this morning to a text stating that the Giants were the longshots in the MLB World Series this year at +100 when I placed my wager.
Kansas City was a -120 Favorite in the early morning Friday.
I exclaimed ‘yes’ because I was hoping for a nice odd for the NLCS Champs.
Chuck Booth and I stand to win $1477.50 on KC to win the World Series based on a $20 (50/1 Bet) and a $6 (80/1 Bet).
San Francisco was also the subject of my 1st bet on the Fall Classic to start the year. It was a 25/1 Odd back in January of this year, and we threw down $14 each.
Now since we could win $1477 on the Royals, and just $389 on the Giants, came the hedge bet for $500 on SF at Even money.
So we can win $1389.00 each on the Giants, and now $1477 still on KC.
The difference being, that we only had to wager $25 aggregate on the ALCS Champs.
The bet assures us of over $1000 each profit for the year.
Already, since the morning line, the odds have shifted to SF -105, to KC -115. I am not surprised, as the Sharps have spoken.
Who Owns October In MLB Playoffs 2014? (#WOO) Tallies Updated For NLCS Game THU Oct.16, 2014
San Francisco Chronicle
Each winning team for every post season game gets a pitcher and a hitter who earn a full WOO (Who Owns October.)
And at my discretion, I award a 1/2 WOO’S to a worthy player on the losing team.
For a full explanation, click HERE
From October 16th NLCS Game:
Receiving 1 WOO’s.
Travis Ishikawa hit the dramatic, pennant clinching 3 run homer in the bottom of the 9th to down the Cardinals and send the Giants to the World Series, 6-3.
Madison Bumgarner gave the Giants 8 strong innings, allowing just 5 hits and 3 runs. He didn’t get the win but set up the Giants 6-3 clincher over the Cardinals and earned NLCS MVP honors.
Receiving 1/2 WOO’s
Jon Jay collected 2 hits, including a double, drove in a run and played solid defense in the Cardinals 6-3 loss in San Francisco.
Adam Wainwright was excellent over 7 innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs, striking out 7 and left with the lead. The bullpen would blow the game and the Giants would eliminate St. Louis, 6-3.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 16, 2014
Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports.
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
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 12, 2014
Fox Sports 1 did some creative work in their broadcast of the NLCS last night. It shows that maybe some different thinking can be used in showing baseball as MLB embraces the digital age.
It is a thinking outside of the Idiot Box episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Madison Bumgarner, Pablo Sandoval, Lorenzo Cain, Greg Holland, Jon Jay and Adam Jones all owned October last night.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 11, 2014
The Royals outslugged the Orioles?
The Orioles outran the Royals?
The Royals have home field advantage after winning their FOURTH extra inning post season game?
How about instead of trying to predict this post season, we just let it unfold whatever way it does. Nobody has been able to predict it yet!
I recorded today’s podcast while driving past every ballpark the Giants have called home in San Francisco.
It is going with the flow episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Alex Gordon, Wade Davis and Ryan Flaherty all owned October last night.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 10, 2014
Ed Zurga/Getty Images
I haven’t had baseball for 2 days? ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
The ALCS starts today. What do I want? I want a 7 game epic series with a mindboggling finale. What will happen? I am guessing a Baltimore party.
It is an ALCS preview episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
2014 ALCS Preview: O’s Vs Royals
This year’s 2014 ALCS matches up two teams that not many people predicted to get to this point, but as arguably the two hottest teams in baseball, the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals definitely will be a fun and exciting series to watch.
By Nicholas Delahanty (MLB Reports Writer) Follow @Nick_Delahanty
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It’s been a while since the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals have found themselves in the American League Championship Series, but the wait for these two fan bases is finally over.
These two teams will open up a best-of-seven series at Camden Yards on Friday night.
Although it isn’t the usual suspects we see in the series (such as the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox of the world), baseball fans should definitely keep an eye on this series, as two of the hottest teams in baseball will face off to determine who represents the American League in the World Series.
The Royals Or O’s Winning The Title Would Be Good And Bad: MLB Payrolls Part 2
Kauffman Stadium was newly renovated about 5 years ago. It is a nice visual display of a ballpark, however it is far being in the top venues in the Majors for earning money. The Royals fans saw the club struggle to finally end a 3 decade long playoff drought this year. It is imperative that the MLB work with ‘cost control’ in the upcoming ‘Collective Bargaining Agreement. Both KC and Baltimore had to endure lengthy stints of losing campaigns, before compiling enough top-level draft picks to compete in their respective divisions. Hopefully other small to mid market teams will not have to be bad for that amount of time in the future to obtain success finally.
Yesterday I addressed the Dodgers potentially winning the World Series in the next few years while bringing more attention to the inequities of the big and small market clubs.
Even with LAD losing today and being eliminated, it doesn’t change the fact they will be playoff contenders for years to come based on their talent level, and super imposed revenue stream to outspend every team in the National League.
I identified the last several lower revenue teams that have had success, and pointed out that it took them big stretches of poor campaigns in order to collect on some good.
This is the biggest reason why baseball needs to adopt a salary cap – in order to leveling off the field.
Kansas City and Baltimore are perfect examples of this. The narrative is great here Franchises that haven’t appeared in the Fall Classic since 1985 and 1983 respectively, when both organization won their last Titles.
The Royals 29 years since that has been tough to stomach. The later George Brett years, the core from the championship had aged or moved on by the time he hung up the cleats.
After the 1994 strike/1995 lockout, the Royals found themselves at the bottom of the division for years. Read the rest of this entry
Current Odds (AL/NL) To Win The MLB League Championships In 2014
The American League has a lot more parity than the National League this year – with about 12 teams in contention for the playoffs, as opposed to about 8 realistic chances for the NL. The Tigers should be the ultimate favorite for this odd with the chance of the Angles catching the A’s, but overall, they accessed decent odds across the board in the junior circuit. The wheelhouse for value is within the middle teams like the Royals, Indians, Rays and Orioles.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
As you will see in the odds at the end of this point, the NL top 5 teams are not worth betting for the League Odds, but rather the World Series.
I alluded to this earlier in the year.
For example, the Dodgers are +700 to win the World Series, but are favored at just +275. This is almost 2.5 times the amount. In essence, you would need the Dodgers to pay +140 in the Fall Classic, to make the same as winning the LCS, than betting them for the WS.
LA would probably be a great matchup versus any of the AL teams, and likely favored against all except for the Tigers. The pitching staff is too strong.
The AL has 3 teams totally eliminated from even thinking about playoffs in my view, with the White Sox on the cusp of the threshold.
Give me the Orioles at +1000 any time, as they may have an easier time winning the AL, than in a World Series matchup.
I also love the value of the Indians and Royals, as both teams are within earshot of the 2nd Wild Card leading Yankees and Blue Jays. and just behind the Mariners.
Like we have discussed so often, the AL Central should have the easiest strength of schedule down the last 60 games or so. Read the rest of this entry
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