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Vargas/Morales Trade Fills Needs For Both Teams

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Friday, January.04, 2013

Kendrys Morales had a breakout year with the Angels in 2009, where he he hit .306 with 34 HRs and 108 RBI. He also clubbed 43 Doubles and carried an OPS of .924 for the year which propelled him to a top 5 AL MVP Finish. In 2010, he suffered an ankle injury celebrating a Walk-Off Grand Slam in Angels Stadium. His OPS was .778 in 2012, can he regain his previous form in Seattle?

Nicholas Rossoletti (MLB Trade Correspondent): Follow @NRoss56

It is rare in baseball that division rivals complete trades. Most of the time when it does happen, it is a lower end deal involving pieces that neither team is particularly worried will come back to haunt them. This is what makes the Jason Vargas for Kendrys Morales trade so interesting. It is a trade that makes incredible sense for all parties involved, but there is at least some likelihood that either or both players could make their former club regret the move in the short term. Let’s take a closer look at the players involved in the deal and why each club wanted to make this move.

On the Angels side, the team was in dire need of innings they could count on. After acquiring Tommy Hanson and his questionable shoulder as well as losing Zack Greinke to their cross-town rivals, the Dodgers, the Angels needed to find a starter who could give them guaranteed innings. Enter Jason Vargas. Vargas has been good for 190 plus innings over the last three season including over 200 Innings Pitched in 2011 and 2012. Vargas is a back-end of the rotation starter who has one terrific pitch in his arsenal, which is his change-up. Vargas’ change-up is an elite pitch. To help characterize how elite a pitch it can be, we can look to some statistical measures. Per 100 pitches, Vargas saved 2.25 runs over the course of 2012 with his change-up. To understand in comparison, Justin Verlander‘s curveball, what many would consider his “put-away” pitch saved 2.04 runs per 100 pitches in 2012. Now clearly, no one in their right mind is going to positively compare Vargas to Verlander, but in terms of Vargas’ change-up, I think it is important for everyone to understand that he does do something as well if not better than any other pitcher in the Major Leagues.

The Brutal Kendrys Morales injury after a Grand Slam Walk-Off HR:

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Posted in MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis, The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: @Nross56 on twitter, al mvp, AL West, albert pujols, American league, Arbitration eligible players, blake beaven, cliff lee, danny hultzen, james paxton, josh hamilton, justin smoak, justin verlander, la angels, la dodgers, michael pineda, mike zunino, MLB Hot Stove, nicholas rossoletti, peter bourjos, ryan madson, safeco field, sam evans, sean burnett, seattle mariners, tommy hanson, zack greinke

The Tampa Bay Rays: The Pitchers 1998-2012: Part 3 Of A 5 Part Article Series

Dec 28

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Friday, December.28, 2012

Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5.The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles section here.

James Shields ALL-Time so far. David Price may not take very long to surpass all of is Franchise Records James Shields has been the teams best chucker of ALL-Time so far. David Price may not take very long to surpass all of his Franchise Records with Shields heading to KC now

James Shields enjoys most of the Teams ALL-Time Pitching Records so far. David Price may not take very long to surpass all of his Franchise Records with Shields heading to KC now.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024

The Rays had several lean years of pitching before a starter really made his mark. Out of the gate, Roberto Hernandez had helped the team with closing at least. In the early years, the best pitching was done by Rolando Arrojo, followed by Victor Zambrano, before he was traded for Scott Kazmir. The Mets/Rays trade was the foundation for the pitching staff finally evolving. Soon James Shields was up with the big club. In 2008, the teams 5 starters towed the hill for all season in what would be an eventual World Series Birth. Newly acquired Matt Garza, joined Shields, Kazmir, Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine for double-digit wins and winning records.

David Price was next to join the staff in 2009 and he has not looked back since. Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore joined the pitching staff in the next few years after that. The stable of bullpen relievers keeps coming and going. J.P. Howell has been the biggest mainstay there. Even with departing starters of Davis and (the Franchise Leader in several pitching categories) Shields, the team is not bare at the kitchen cupboard. The Rays finished 1st in Team Pitching ERA last year for all of the MLB. The next closest team in the AL was the Oakland – at almost a third of a run more.

The Rays have been blessed with some great years recently out of lower salaried closers. Whether it was Troy Percival, Kyle Farnsworth, Rafael Soriano or Fernando Rodney, Andrew Friedman has had a knack for gluing together a bullpen on a shoestring budget. With David Price winning the Cy Young Award in 2012, the best pitching may be yet to come for the AL East Team. Honorable Mentions went to these players, but they were not the same caliber as everyone else: Esteban Yan, Andy Sonnanstine, Kyle Farnsworth SP/RP Rick White RP Lance Cormier and RP Jim Mecir.

Scroll Down past the Franchise Links for the Pitchers or click on the Read The Rest Of This Entry Icon just past the Video Clip.

Franchise Series Links:

Franchise History: The Tampa Bay Rays: The Franchise 1998-2012: Part 1 Of A 5 Part Article Series

The Hitters The Tampa Bay Rays: The Hitters 1998-2012: Part 2 Of A 5 Part Article Series

2013 Team Payroll Part 4 of 5: Tampa Bay Rays Payroll 2013 And Contracts Going Forward: Updated for Myers Trade Dec.11/2012

Tropicana Field Expert Part 5 of 5: An Interview with Tropicana Field Expert Kurt Smith

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Posted in MLB Historical Series, The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: 2008 world series', AL East, Al rookie of the year, ALCS Comeback Player of the year, ALCS MVP, ALL-Star Appearances Rays, American league, andrew friedman, boston red sox, Chuck Booth. fastest 30 ballgames, cy young, danys baez, david price, delmon young, dennis quaid, esteban yan, fernando rodney, Gold Glove Award, grant balfour, j, james shields, jeff niemann, jeremy hellickson, jim mecir, jim morris, kansas city royals, kyle farnsworth, lancer cormer, matt garza, matt moore, p. howell, philadelphia phillies, rafael soriano, rick white, roberto hernandez, rolando arrojo, roy halladay, scott kazmir, tampa bay ALL-Time Franchise Leaders, tampa bay devil rays, tampa bay payrolls, tampa bay rays, texas rangers, the movie "The Rookie", troy percival, twitter @chuckbooth3024, victor zambrano, wade davis, wil myers

The Tampa Bay Rays: The Franchise 1998-2012: Part 1 Of A 5 Part Article Series

Dec 20

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Thursday, December.20, 2012

Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5. The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles section here.

The many Rays Logo’s over the years. Is the best of this franchise yet to come?

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024

The Tampa Bay Rays Franchise can be summarized into two different categories: “The Devil Rays Days” and the “Rays Days.” The Devil Rays endured 10 straight losing seasons to start the club’s history. From 1998-2007, was a complete gong show (645-972) and last place finishes in a tough AL East every year, except for 2004, when they finished 4th, although they did stockpile several top Draft Picks based on their horrid regular seasons. In 2008, all of that changed when the ‘Devil’ was literally and figuratively knocked away from the Tampa Bay team. Their young stars finally saw their potential realized and they appeared in the 2008 World Series versus the Philadelphia Phillies. The Franchise would lose in 5 hard-fought, weather fulfilled games, however the team was now one of the model clubs in baseball. From 2008-2012, the club has gone 458-352.

The Rays have made the playoffs in 2010 and 2011 since, plus featured two other over .500 records in 2009 and 2012. The club has now had 5 winning seasons in a row. There is still a long way to go as they feature the worst winning percentage in MLB History, with a 1103-1327 Franchise Record (.454). The next worst team is the Padres at .463. The Arizona DiamondBacks were the NL Expansion cousins of the Rays and they feature a Win Percentage of (.498), which is second overall for the Expansion teams. The Arizona DiamondBacks also have made the playoffs 5 times and won the World Series in 2001. Still if you asked anyone right now, the Rays would gladly be the team everyone picked.

Franchise Series Links:

The Hitters: The Tampa Bay Rays: The Hitters 1998-2012: Part 2 Of A 5 Part Article Series

The Pitchers: The Tampa Bay Rays: The Pitchers 1998-2012: Part 3 Of A 5 Part Article Series

2013 Team Payroll: Tampa Bay Rays Payroll 2013 And Contracts Going Forward: Updated for Myers Trade Dec.11/2012

Tropicana Field Expert: An Interview with Tropicana Field Expert Kurt Smith

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Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: 2008 world series', @chuckbooth3024 on twitter, AL East, alex cobb, American league, andrew friedman, andy sonnanstine, arizona diamondbacks, at and t park, aubrey huff, b.j. upton, baltimore orioles, ben zobrist, Bobby Abreu, brandon backe, carl crawford, Carlos Pena, chicago cubs, Chuck Booth. fastest 30 ballgames, chuck lamar, danys baez, david price, delmon young, dmitri young, dough waechter, edwin jackson, elijah dukes, esteban yan, evan longoria, gerald williams, greg vaughn, hal macrae, heath bell, houston astros, jackie robinson, jake mcgee, james loney, james shields, jason hammel, jeff niemann, jeremy hellickson, jim mecir, Joe Maddon, john jaso, johnny damon, jorge cantu', josh hamilton, kevin stocker, kyle farnsworth, larry rothschild, lou piniella, manny ramirez, mark teixeira, matt diaz, matt garza, matt moore, matthew silverman, mike jacobs, mike pelfrey, mike scioscia, national league, philadelphia phillies, rafael soriano, randy winn, reid brignac, roberto hernandez, rocco baldelli, rolando arrojo, ryan fontenot, ryan raburn, safeco field, san diego padres, scott kazmir, seattle mariners, seth mcclung, st. petersburg florida, stuart sternberg, tampa, tampa bay devil rays, tampa bay rays, tampa bay rays payroll 2013, tanyon sturtze, texas rangers, toby hall, toronto blue jays, tropicana field, victor zambrano, vince naimoli, wade davis, wade leblanc, wil myers, willie harris, wilson alvarez, yunel escobar

What Is In Store For The 2013 Chicago White Sox: State Of The Union

Dec 18

Posted by bernieolshansky

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Tuesday December 18th, 2012

Bernie Olshansky (Baseball Writer): Follow @BernieOlshansky

If I had to describe the 2012 White Sox in one word, I would describe them as underperforming. Although they improved on their 2011 season, the White Sox still performed below expectations in the 2nd Half and it cost them a trip to the playoffs. In a division with the Detroit Tigers, who signed Prince Fielder last winter, the White Sox were not favored. They finished with an 85-77 record, which was not bad—I just expected better. After all, the Tigers ended up in the World Series.

I’ll start with Adam Dunn. Dunn had one of the worst seasons in baseball history in 2011, the year that he signed a Four Year deal worth $56 Million. He hit .159 with only 11 HRs and 42 RBI. He was poised for a great comeback in 2012. I guess you could call hitting .204 with 41 HRs and 96 RBI a comeback, but it still was not the normal Adam Dunn. The HRs and RBI were there, but the .204 average was well below what he hit in previous years. If Dunn were to have hit for a higher average, one might be able to say that the White Sox would have made the playoffs. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis

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Tags: @bernieolshansky on twitter, a.j. pierzynski, adam dunn, addison reed, al central, AL East, AL West, alejandro de aza, alexei ramirez, alexi ramirez, American league, athletics, blue jays, chris sale, dayan viciedo, detroit tigers, gavin floyd, gordon beckham, jake peavy, jeff keppinger, john danks, kansas city royals, kenny williams, los angeles angels, miguel cabrera, paul konerko, prince fielder, robin ventura, tampa bay rays, texas rangers, Tyler Flowers, victor martinez, yankees

The Nationals Signing of Dan Haren To A 1 Yr Deal: Why It Is Still A Bad Move For Them

Dec 17

Posted by Jake Dal Porto

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Monday December 17th, 2012

Jake Dal Porto (Baseball Writer) Follow @TheJakeMan24

Starting pitching is already an obvious strength for the Washington Nationals. If that not evident to you, well, I’ll provide some stats. As a unit, the Nats’ starters combined to post a 3.40 ERA, and a 3.46 Fielding Independent Percentage (FIP). Both marks led the National League. Therefore, starting pitching should be labeled as their best strength.

However, Washington’s rotation became a bit slimmer when Edwin Jackson decided to part to greener pastures. Yes, technically he is still a free-agent, and the Nationals could technically prepare an offer for him. But the likelihood of that happening is about as little as can be.

Why?

Because Rizzo signed Dan Haren to a one-year, $13 Million Deal instead. OK, Haren’s reputation is surely a bit more reputable than Jackson’s. He is a three-time all-star, and has finished top-ten in Cy Young voting twice in his Ten Year Career. Meanwhile, Jackson is known to get a wild hair every so often, but has ace-esque stuff when he’s clicking. It’s just that his command is inconsistent. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis

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Tags: @TheJakeMan24 on twitter, American league, angels, anibal sanchez, cy young, dan haren, edwin jackson, gio gonzalez, jordan zimmerman, Naitonals Park, national league, stephen strasburg, washington nationals, zack greinke

State Of The Union: What The Minnesota Twins Must Do To Compete in 2013

Dec 14

Posted by kholland13

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Friday December 14, 2012

Kyle Holland (MLB Reports intern): Follow @TheKHolland13

The last few years for the Minnesota Twins had been nothing more than atrocious. They have finished in last place in the AL Central both of the past two season finishing 63-99 and 66-96 respectively. The 2011 season was highly disappointing due to the fact the Twins finished first in 2010. They didn’t have Mauer for a good portion of 2011 due to injury so they were hoping for a strong comeback in 2012. He did not disappoint making the All-Star Game in 2012 and finished with one of the top Avgs in the American League. Justin Morneau played the majority of the season and is starting to come around offensively. While the team can’t count on him putting up AL MVP numbers again, he should be average amongst American League First Basemen.

So what exactly do the Twins need to do to get back to their success in the last decade prior to 2011? The simple answer to this question is pitching. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: 2012-13 offseason, @TheKholland13 on twitter, al central, American league, cleveland indians, Cole De Vries, edwin jackson, joe mauer, justin morneau, kansas city royals, Kyle Gobson, kyle lohse, liam hendriks, minnesota twins, scott diamond, tommy john, trevor bauer

The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 2: The Pitchers And Analyzing Mulder, Hudson and Zito Post Oakland

Dec 2

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Sunday, Dec.02/2012

A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A's in his 2012 Rookie Season. The A's will look for the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013

A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A’s in his 2012 Rookie Season. The A’s will look to the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024

Yesterday we talked about the hitters of the Oakland Athletics current roster and today we will talk about their pitching. This has been an organization that has thrived on brilliant drafting of young arms. In the early 2000’s, the team featured three ace pitchers in Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder. Billy Beane had to let each of them leave Oakland because they couldn’t pay them the kind of dollars needed to secure them long term. With the exception of this year, Barry Zito has not lived up to his 7 Years and 126 Million Dollar contract he signed with the San Francisco Giants since leaving the Athletics. Despite a 15-8 year for the SF club this past year, he holds a 58-69 (.447) record for San Francisco lifetime with a 4.47 ERA. He was 102-63 (.618) and a 3.55 ERA with the A’s before leaving at the age of 29. The guy made 18.25 Million in his Oakland days and has already pocketed 99 Million with SF.

Mark Mulder never was the same pitcher in the NL and was out of baseball four years after being traded to St. Louis. His A’s career had netted him an 81-42 (.659) record with a 3.92 ERA. He was only 22-18 (.550) and a 5.04 ERA with the Cardinals before retiring. As you will read in this article below, the franchise made a worthy trade in returns for this man. Mulder made 25.3 Million in his contract with the Cardinals after making only 8.4 Million with the A’s.

Tim Hudson on the other hand, has been one of the better pitchers in the NL for the last decade, still towing the hill for the Braves at the age of 38. He was 92-39 (.702) with a 3.30 ERA for the A’s. He has since gone 105-65 with a 3.52 ERA for the Braves in in 8 years. He definitely has been worth the $ invested (84.5 Million plus another 9.0 Million in 2013.) He only made 4.5 Million in his 6 years with Oakland. The sandwich pick they landed for Hudson’s Free Agent signing was Travis Buck. Unfortunately Buck only played 170 games for the franchise, hitting .250 with 18 HRs and 71 RBI in 571 AB.

Total Record for 3 other teams is 185-152 (.549) and they have made 208.8 Million away from Oakland, whereas they were 275-144 (.656) and made a total 33.15 Million Dollars with the Athletics. I would say, Beane made the right decision in not signing them.

The Future of the Oakland A’s: The Mustache Gang Meets the Bash Brothers: Revealing Billy Beane’s Master Plan click here.

For The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 1: The Hitters Click Here

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Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: 2012 ALDS, @chuckbooth3024, A.J cole, A.J. Griffin, a.j. Kirby-Jones, aaron cunningham, American league, andrew werner, andy parrino, arizona diamondbacks, barry zito, bartolo colon, billy beane, boston, brad peacock, brad ziegler, brandon mccarthy, brett anderson, brett wallace, carlos gonzalez, chris carter, Chuck Booth, collin cowgill, colorado rockies, connor robertson, craig breslow, dan haren, dan straily, dana eveland, daric barton, derek norris, detroit tigers, eric sogard, evan scribner, george kottaras, gio gonzalez, graham godfrey, grant balfour, greg smith, jarrod parker, jason kendall, jerry blevins, jesse chavez, josh reddick, Marco scutaro, mark Mulder, matt albers, michael taylor, Miguel Tejada, minnesota twins, MLB Amateur Draft, national league, o.co coliseum, oakland athletics, orioles, pat neshek, pedro figueroa, pirates, rob bowen, robert gillam, ryan cook, san diego padres, san francisco giants, sean doolittle, st louis cardinals, the fastest 30 ballgames, tommy milone, toronto blue jays, Travis Blackley, travis buck, trevor cahill, tyson ross

Is A Return to the Astros in the Cards For Lance Berkman?

Dec 2

Posted by Jake Dal Porto

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Sunday December 2nd, 2012

Lance Berkman spent from 1999-2010 with the Houston Astros amassing 326 HRs and 1090 RBI with a stat line of .296/.410/.959. With HOU moving to the AL West, will they make him a contract offer to possibly DH?

Jake Dal Porto (Baseball Writer):

With the move to the American League West, the Houston Astros are likely years away from contending in one of the toughest divisons in baseball. So basically, the Astros won’t be in the market for immediate impact players because that type of approach likely won’t get them anywhere in the standings. There’s one exception, though—Lance Berkman.

Berkman played with the Astros for 12 years before being traded to the Yankees in the midst of the 2010 season, and eventually signing with the Cardinals where he has spent the last two years. Given his age (36) and his derailed body, Berkman might choose to end his career with the team that drafted and brought him up. It would be bittersweet for both sides involved, and something positive for a struggling Astros’ organization.

The timing for the Astros and Berkman to reunite is seemingly perfect. See, if the Astros still played in the National League, it would be unlikely that Berkman could endure another year of wear and tear on his fragile frame. Well, he could, but the likelihood of him suffering an injury would balloon dramatically. Luckily, the Astros now have the benefit of the designated hitter. It’s like adding another hitter. This is where Berkman comes into play. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Player Profiles, MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis

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Tags: AL West, American league, Carlos lee, cbs sports, Houston, houston astros, jake dal parto, lance berkman, MLB Rumors, national league, NL MVP Voting, rice university, st louis cardinals, wayne graham

MLB Should Distribute More Games Against All Teams For Every Club

Nov 30

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Thursday, Nov.29/2012

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024

I wrote an article about 6 months ago that investigated a solution to a Payroll/Geographical Alignment that the MLB should consider in going forward for the next CBA discussions in 2016 here. Let’s be real and this will never happen. The idea of running any drastic re-alignment is probably too much for the folks at MLB to fathom. However, there is a growing trend that is starting to rear its ugly head in MLB Baseball. It is the bigger market teams really starting to throw down some serious dollars, while the lesser revenue teams can’t keep up with same kind of salary influx. Of course I have fought this fight on Twitter, Facebook and any other social media platform I have found. Sooner or later these big salaried teams will reel off a bunch of World Series Titles amongst themselves and it will leave the MLB having as much competitive balance as the NBA. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: @chuckbooth3024, al central, AL West, American league, baltimore orioles, boston red sox, bryce harper, Chuck Booth, cleveland indians, detroit tigers, giancarlo stanton, houston astros, kansas city royals, la dodgers, los angeles dodgers, miami marlins, Mike Trout, MLB CBA, MLB Divisions, mlb realignment, MLB Unbalanced Schedule, mlbpa, national league, nba, new york yankees, nfl, NL Central, NL east, nl west, oakland athletics, philadelphia phillies, safeco field, san diego padres, stephen strasburg, tampa bay rays, the fastest 30 ballgames, toronto blue jays

The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise Pitchers Part 4 Of A 7 Part Series

Nov 26

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Monday, November 26th, 2012

Roy Halladay won 148 out of his 199 career wins under the years he played for the Blue Jays. After struggling with his mechanics early in his career, he was one of the best pitchers in the AL for the years of 2002-2009.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024

The Toronto Blue Jays have had some incredible pitchers in their 35 years in the MLB. From Dave Stieb being one of the top 2 pitchers in the 1980’s, to the dominant closers like Tom Henke and Duane Ward be part of their playoff runs, to Pat Hentgen and Juan Guzman firing out of their career like a sprinter making a mad dash for the finish line, to David Wells, Jimmy Key and Roger Clemens tasting success, awards and leading the league in many categories. Finally, you had the premier pitcher in the American League with Roy Halladay in the 2002-2009 time frame. Yes there may be some competition from C.C. Sabathia for that last claim, however no one will argue that Halladay is not one of the best pitchers of this ERA. His being the Career Leader in winning percentage attests to that with 199 Wins versus 100 Losses (.666). So let us take a journey through the franchise and recognize all of the best hurlers that have towed the hill for the Toronto club. (Scroll Down Past the Links or Click the READ MORE OF THIS ENTRY ICON.)

Franchise Series Links:

Franchise History Part 1 1977-1993: https://mlbreports.com/2012/11/09/jays1/

Franchise History Part 2 1994-2012: https://mlbreports.com/2012/11/28/jay/

The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise Hitters: Part 3 Of A 7 Part Article Series: https://mlbreports.com/2012/11/16/torhitter/

Skydome Part 5 of 7 : An Interview with ‘Rogers Centre Expert’ and “MLB reports Founder” Jonathan Hacohen

2013 Team Payroll Part 6 of 7 : https://mlbreports.com/2012/09/10/tor/

Special Bonus Fan Blog Of 2013 Team Payroll Part 7 of 7: https://mlbreports.com/2012/09/12/torfanalex/

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Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: 1992 World Series, 1993 World Series, @chuckbooth3024, a.j. burnett, al cy young, AL East, Al rookie of the year, ALCS MVP, American league, Atlanta Braves, Billy Koch, Blue Jays ALL-Time Leaders, brandon morrow, Casey Janssen, chris carpenter, Chuck Booth, dave stieb, david wells, doyle alexander, Duane Ward, exhibition stadium, Graeme Lloyd, homer bush, j.p. ricciardi, jack morris, Jason Frasor, jim clancy, JImmy Key, john cerutti, jose bautista, juan guzman, kelvim escobar, los angeles dodgers, luis leal, mike timlin, new york yankees, paul quantrill, pedro martinez, Philadlphia Phillies, ricky romero, rogers center, ron guidry, roy halladay, Shawn Marcum, skydome, the fastest 30 ball games, todd stottlemyre, tom henke, toronto blue jays, World Series MVP

Florida Baseball and The San Juan Rays

Nov 15

Posted by mednickalex

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Thursday November 15th, 2012

Alex Mednick (Baseball Writer and Analyst)

Last week Jonathan Hacohen, the founder of MLBReports.com called to my attention that the Tampa Bay Rays are an anomaly. Ultimately, if you look at the way their team is structured and where their talent lays, and the kind of game that Joe Maddon manages the Rays are ultimately a National League team; displaced in the AL East. The Rays greatest strength is their depth of pitching that they can reach into the bowels of an amazing farm system ripe with young talent. But from there on out, they rely on an offense that generates runs due to other inefficiencies.

Joe Maddon might very well be the best manager in baseball. He possesses a unique approach to the game, that if had to be categorized, is definitely more national league style than american league. He has to be creative in how he manufactures runs, as his offense does not boast the big sluggers other AL East teams do. He does, however, have a plethora of pitching talent available.

With B.J. Upton leaving town, and Carlos Pena only a carcass of what he once was, there is ultimately zero power left in their lineup. Their DH for the past two years have been the likes of an aging Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Luke Scott. Ownership is constantly complaining about attendance and looking for bargain free agents like Johnny Damon to bring in at the end of their careers and hopefully attract some Yankees and Red Sox fans to the stadium.

At this point, the Rays power hitters are Evan Longoria, Matt Joyce and Ben Zobrist. They have an amazing nucleus of pitching talent, including David Price who just won the AL Cy Young, and they are mentioning trading almost all of their starting pitchers. This is understandable, as you have to dish out talent to bring back offensive talent that they are in great need of. But I still have major gripes with the way owner Stuart Sternberg has approached the past 4 seasons in St. Petersburg, and I will get into more detail about this in a little while. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis

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Contact Hitters and Pitching Are Keys to Winning In the MLB Playoffs: Bravo Giants! Attn: Yankees!

Nov 10

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Saturday, Nov.10/2012

The Giants GM Brian Sabean saw that his offense had significant holes from previous years and before 2012, dealt for Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan. Both are decent contact hitters, with decent power and speed. It also took for the emergence of Marco Scutaro and the renaissance play from Pablo Sandoval to show that teams that can make regular contact (and are armed with great pitching,) ultimately win in the playoffs.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024

I can’t believe I am going to utter these next few words, “I am starting to shift on the idea of eliminating the DH in the AL and also I am beginning to find the National League Brand of Baseball a lot better these days.” I am not just saying this because the National League has registered 5 World Series Wins out of the last seven years (STL x 2, SF x 2 and PHI vs BOS AND NYY since 2006.) I just find that the American League Baseball is becoming boring. If you have read my articles in the past, I hate teams that strikeout non-stop and when you put two of these teams together for a Series like the AL routinely does, the games are filled with heavy pitch counts, four-hour games and not much contact. This years ALCS represented an all-time low for fan excitement. Put aside that I am a Yankees fan for a minute, it was absolutely brutal baseball. In fact, last years ALCS was no picnic either. If the games continue on like this, they might as well scrap the DH, start having the umpires call more strikes on the hitters and have all AL Teams convert to a National League style of game.

The National League has seen the Cardinals give us thrilling moments and comebacks to epic proportions over the last 2 years. I honestly think that Mark McGwire is not receiving enough credit for molding that team into a bunch of contact hitters. You watch the 2013 offense of the LA Dodgers, they will all have a different approach. We will save the DH debate for another day, but lets just say that 2012 was the worst year for DH’s in some time if not ever. There are only about 3-4 decent DH’s left in the game and if David Ortiz is not in the lineup for the Red Sox, there are no more marquee guys that just hit and not field! The National League Teams plan on more contact for runs created out of necessity and it is always reflective by the competitive games we see them play in the playoffs.

In 2012, the Giants made 4 key acquisitions before and during the season to change their offensive demeanor. If you ask me flat-out as a baseball observer, there is no way the Giants win the World Series without Marco Scutaro or Angel Pagan at the top of the lineup. I also am conceding credit to Melky Cabrera’s hitting contributions as a contact hitter before being busted. Before Melky Cabrera was shown the door for PED’s, he was the same hitter as Scutaro in the 2nd half and postseason, in just hitting every single pitch that was thrown at him. To be honest here, Angel Pagan does strike out a fair bit as a lead off hitter, however he also has speed that makes him dangerous whenever the ball is contacted. It is all about a mixture of power, speed and contact hitters. To illustrate this fact, Hunter Pence (also picked up near the Trade Deadline) did not hit well in the regular season or playoffs for average, yet he was able to drive in a pile of runs because guys ahead of him were always on base. All he needed to do was to make contact for his RBI. Read the rest of this entry →

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2012 MLB Postseason Preview: Every Pitch Counts

Oct 4

Posted by mednickalex

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Thursday, October 4th, 2012

October is the time when there is a quiet current of electricity surrounding baseball. There is an intensity in every second between pitches, and the players really zone in. This is the reason they played 162 games through the regular season. They are all after one thing: A World Championship.

Alex Mednick (Baseball Analyst and Writer):

With the last games of the 2012 regular season being officially completed yesterday I get the same feeling I do every season…it’s a sickening pain in my stomach, that makes me want to hibernate and not wake up until April comes around. For baseball lovers, we are all very familiar with this feeling. We find solace in the fact that with the exception of the month of November, we can still follow baseball transactions all year-long. Furthermore, we cannot get too upset; baseball isn’t really over. In fact, some might argue that it is just beginning!

The boys of summer play all those games in the summer heat for one reason. The grueling 162 game schedule sees many ups and many downs, and all of these challenges are met with a firm resolve: to do whatever it takes to get to the postseason. October is the time when the weather turns cold, and ball players become unshaven warriors duking it out to be the victorious few who have the honor to take a championship ring home this offseason. Read the rest of this entry →

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Big Collapses in MLB (1964-2011) + NYY And TEX Are in The Playoffs But May Choke Away Divisions

Oct 3

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Wednesday, October.3/2012

The Athletics are 71-38 since June.2nd and have forced a winner take the AL West crown matchup tonight versus the Rangers. They once trailed the Rangers by 13 games at the 80 game mark.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024

In case you may have missed the standings of late, the Yankees and Rangers are in danger of choking away the AL East and AL West. If MLB had decided to not infiltrate this year’s extra Wild Card playoff birth, we could have been in line for another monumental collapse. Both of the Yankees and Rangers held sizable leads in their respective divisions over the Athletics and Orioles heading into the second half of the year. Now it has come down to Game 162 for each club to decide the divisions. If the perennial playoff teams of TEX and NYY end up losing their divisions, they still will have a playoff game against each other on Friday to see who moves on to the ALDS.

If you are a Yankees fan, you have to be elated the Raul Ibanez pulled a rabbit out of his hat last night, with a 2 run HR to tie the game vs the Red Sox-and then he won it with a single in the 12th. If the Yankees can win today versus the Red Sox, they will clinch the AL East division and best record in the American League. It is nice to have your own fate in your hands, but really it should not have come down to this. On July.18, the Yankees had a 10 game lead over the Orioles and were looking to cruise for the rest of the year. Ever since that day, the Orioles have ridden 16 straight extra inning wins to post a 46-24 (.657) stretch in which they have pulled to within 1 game of the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees have gone 37-33 (.529) in that same stretch. So it all comes down to the Yankees have a magic number of one. If New York wins, they clinch the division, if they lose and the Orioles lose, they win the division. If they lose and the Orioles win, it will force a one-game playoff Thursday in Baltimore in which the winner takes the AL East and the loser would play the AL West loser in the Wild Card Game Friday. The winner of the AL East will play the winner of the Wild Card game.

Amazing enough is all of the extra inning wins, now on the 162nd game of the season, the Orioles still have a chance to tie for the AL East crown with a win over Tampa Bay and a Yankees Loss to the Red Sox.

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A.L Wild Cards: The Playoff Picture Update

Sep 30

Posted by Jake Dal Porto

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Sunday September 30th, 2012

Jake Dal Porto: The added wild card spot wasn’t a particularly popular move when it was first announced. Now, however, it’s provided some late season drama for teams that probably wouldn’t be in the race without the additional spot. It’s a win-win for all parties involved.

However, everyone can’t jump in on the fun in the American League. Only two teams will get a shot at winning a one game sudden death playoff and moving on to the ALDS.

A.L. Wild Card Standings (as of Sunday morning)

Baltimore: 91-67 –

New York: 91-67 –

Oakland: 90-68 –

L.A. Angels: 87-70 2.5 GB

Tampa Bay: 87-71 3 GB

So, as you can see, the A’s and the Orioles or Yankees would play in a one game do or die if the season ended today. However, nothing is final yet. There are two more teams that stand legitimate chances at taking one of those two spots— the Rays and Angels. Or, the two teams that are expected to make the playoffs.

Let’s breakdown the chances of each team punching their ticket to the postseason: Read the rest of this entry →

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Wil Myers and Billy Hamilton Are MLB Ready Prospects: The 2013 AL and NL ROY?

Sep 16

Posted by samevans87

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Sunday September 16^th, 2012

Photo Courtesy of Giants fan: Crystal Ramos

Sam Evans: The consensus around baseball is that Billy Hamilton and Wil Myers are two of the top twenty-five prospects in the game. With Myers hit tool and proximity to the majors and Hamilton’s crazy speed, both are pretty solid bets to reach their potential. These two are likely going to be All-Stars for their respective teams in the coming years. Instead of comparing them to other prospects, let’s look at what makes Myers and Hamilton so special.

First of all, Wil Myers. Myers was drafted as a catcher in the third round of the 2009 Amateur draft. He had the talent of a first-round pick but he seemed like he might be going to the University of South Carolina. The Royals offered Myers $2 million, which was an offer that he smartly took and started his journey into professional baseball.

The Wil Myers catching experiment lasted all of two years. When he played in Wilmington with Salvador Perez in 2010, Perez made it clear who had the brighter future behind the plate. It’s a bummer Myers never got comfortable behind the plate because there aren’t many catchers in the majors that offer the kind of offensive production that Myers likely will. Read the rest of this entry →

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The Philadelphia Phillies Franchise Part 3 of 4: The Pitchers

Sep 1

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Saturday September.01/2012

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024 This team has played for almost 130 years. As such, they have a great deal of history, so there are going to be several more hitters than pitchers as is the case with most Franchises. For the first seasons as the Quakers, they had some decent pitchers. It wasn’t until Pete Grover Alexander joined the club, that Philadelphia Phillies fams got to see a Hall of Fame pitcher before their very eyes. From Alexander, to Robin Roberts and Curt Simmons, to Jim Bunning, Rick Wise and Chris Short, to Steve Carlton, Tug McGraw and Jim Lonborg, to Curt Schilling and Mitch Williams, to Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, the Phillies Pitchers have been improving in each generation.

Last year when the club won a record 102 games for the Franchise, they had the best 4 starters they had ever assembled in Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Roy Oswalt to take the mound. Having Kyle Kendrick and Joe Blanton as your 5th starter is an option most teams would love to have. The Phillies have been one of the best teams in the National League since 1975. They have appeared in 9 NLCS’s and 5 World Series while winning 2 of them. That is an impressive 36 year run. Going forward, the clubs pitchers still look solid. Cole Hamels just signed a 6 year extension, Cliff Lee is around for 3 more years and Roy Halladay still has 2 more years left after this. The club also signed Jonathan Papelbon up until the end of the 2015 season before 2012 began. Papelbon may have a chance to make this list when someone else chronicles the best pitchers in Phillies history one day 25 years from now.

If you ask me to have a Mount Rushmore of Pitchers it would be: Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, Grover Alexander and probably Cole Hamels because of his instrumental pitching since the 2007 season.

For Part 1 of the Phillies Article Series: The Franchise click here:

For Part 2 of the Phillies Article Series: The Hitters click here:

For Part 4 of the Phillies Article Series: Team Payroll and Contractual Statuses click here

For the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals Franchise 5 Part Series click here

Steve Carlton Highlight Reel:

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Dustin Ackley: What’s Gone Wrong For The Once Highly Touted Prospect?

Aug 18

Posted by Jake Dal Porto

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Saturday August 18th, 2012

Jake Dal Porto: Dustin Ackley has a lot to live up to with the Seattle Mariners. Anyone who is selected in the top five of any draft in any sport is expected to perform right from the get-go. The Mariners highly touted prospect was selected second in the 2009 draft, right behind Stephen Strasburg, and in the same draft class as the American League MVP frontrunner Mike Trout. Granted, Ackley barely has a year of experience under his belt, but it’s safe to say that the bar is set extremely high for him. And thus far, he’s crawling under that bar.

Last season, Ackley, 24, bursted onto the scene in mid June. Of course, the Mariners were far out of contention at that point, but he brought a much-needed spark to the lineup. He was one of the few reasons that made Mariners’ fans look forward to the future of Seattle. And he still his.

However, he has hit a massive dry spell. After hitting .305/.366/.534 is his first 36 big league games last year, he went on a downhill slide that has continued into his second year in the majors. To be specific, the tumble began on the 1st of August in 2011. From that point, he would hit for a triple slash of just .252/.338/.342 for the remainder of the season. And 2012 has followed a similar script. For the season, he’s hitting .225/.296/.330 in 113 games. Thus far, his best month was May, although the numbers he posted were nothing to write home about (.255/.333/.402). Simply, he’s yet to find success for a consistent period of time. Sure, he gets a few hits here and there, then he hits a dry patch.

So what’s going on with Ackley? Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: American league, baseball, Darwin Barney, Dustin Ackley, felix hernandez, ichiro suzuki, justin smoak, Mike Trout, mlb, mvp, prospect, seattle mariners, stephen strasburg

Manny Machado’s Impact on the Orioles

Aug 18

Posted by samevans87

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Saturday August 18th, 2012

Sam Evans: When the Orioles called up Manny Machado roughly ten days ago, reactions varied from overjoyed to disappointed. However, one thing was true of pretty much everyone’s reaction. We were all shocked. Machado, who had barely played one hundred games in Double-A, was now going to have to be relied on for the Orioles playoff push. So far, the Machado experiment couldn’t have gone any better for Baltimore.

At Double-A, Machado was having a tremendous season, despite what some of his numbers suggest. At the age of just twenty, Machado posted a 122 wRC+. While the question of whether or not he could remain at shortstop loomed, Machado received stellar reports of his range at the shortstop position. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: A.L. East, adam jones, AL East, American league, baltimore orioles, baseball, machado, manny machado, mark reynolds, matt wieters, minors, mlb, orioles, shortstop, third baseman, wild card

Top Ten Stat of the Week: Active Saves Leaders in the MLB (A Closers Role)

Aug 13

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Monday August.13/2012

Mariano Rivera holds the ALL-Time Record for any closer (active or retired) with 608 Saves. Will he come back in 2013 to add to his totals?

Chuck Booth: (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- To be a closer in today’s baseball game takes quite the mental fortitude. There is a lot of psychological warfare one could do to himself in preventing a successful run at saving games. While I am of the mindset that the relief pitchers of yesteryear seemed to be relied on more for lengthier durations, this does not diminish this stat in any way. It is hard to acquire the 90-100% save rate that most teams are striving for in a pitching staff. In any given seasons the average save opportunities average from 45-65 chances to lock a game down. A lot of this also depends on what team you play for. There have been several phenomenal stretches put forth by closers of the game in recent vintage. Who could forget Canadian born Erig Gagne? This man once saved 85 straight games from 2002-2004. He is the all-time leader in that category and beat out John Franco’s previous record by an astounding 30 games. Another incredible run was Brad Lidge‘s incredible 2008 season where he did not blow a save opportunity out of 48 games both in the regular season and playoffs.

Sure these guys don’t log 120 innings anymore, or throw for 3 inning saves like Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage did for many years. By the way, we can all thank Tony La Russa for the invention of specialists pitchers (Rick Honeycutt, Jesse Orosco anyone?) and the one inning save closers. La Russa perfected this scenario with former starter Dennis Eckersley coming out of the pen for the Oakland A’s during their powerhouse days in the late 80’s. Eckersley was so dominant every team tried to duplicate their own bullpens to mock the A’s.

Before this time had come, relief pitchers were all mostly comprised of young pitchers trying to acclimatize themselves into the Major Leagues first, before earning a spot as a Starting Pitcher. For example, David Wells was once a relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays first and then was promoted to a starting pitcher after he proved he could pitch in the Major Leagues. In today’s baseball world, relief pitchers are now being drafted out of college and high school as relievers whereas they used to all come from the position of starting pitcher. It also used to be that relief pitchers were players that graduated to a starter and then could not find success as starters and were sent back to the bullpen once again to stay. When it came down to it, you had only a couple of chances to perform as a starter. Maybe it was because there were bigger than life characters like Gossage that make remember these pitchers in such favorable terms. Maybe it was because we never saw them interviewed on a social media platform like today’s athlete is and the mystery surrounded them made them more feared, or maybe it is because we tend to admire things more when they happened in the past. I still love the closers role in today’s game and nothing has more drama in a baseball game than trying to nail down the last 3 outs!

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Top Ten Stat Of The Week: Active Career Stolen Base Leaders

Aug 8

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Wednesday August.8/2012

Juan Pierre was one of the most prolific hitters in terms of base hits in the last 12 years along with being the Active Leader for Career Stolen Bases. Pierre has 4-200 hit seasons in his resume.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on Twitter)- The game has been moving back towards speed, offense and athleticism since the adaptation of the steroid testing in the MLB. I think we will see a big emphasis on the Stolen Base in the coming years. We have Billy Hamilton coming in the near future and he could actually challenge a 100 Stolen Base in one season. 30 years ago there were several guys challenge or eventually succeed in stealing 100 bases. Rickey Henderson and Vince Coleman both hit the century mark 3 times, while Ron LeFlore and Tim Raines cracked the 90 SB plateau. Teams used to have several speedsters in their lineup. Jose Reyes has the most stolen bases in one year for the active players with 78 swipes in 2007.

I omitted Luis Castillo from the list because he has not played since 2010, (much to the delight of the New York Mets fans I am sure.) I am sure that Boston Red Sox fans are hopeful that he can regain his stolen base prowess very soon with him being only in the second year of a 7 YR/140 Million Dollar Contract. Johnny Damon also has foraged a great career to be on this list from sheer determination. Out of this top ten , Jose Reyes has the most steals per games played, while Omar Vizquel (who has played 2947 games) has the least amount of steals per game played. I was most surprised by Derek Jeter cracking this list because he has never stolen more than 34 bags in one year. I wonder how many bags Ichiro would have stolen had he arrived in North America earlier? Johnny Damon and Omar Vizquel making this top ten is a test to their long-playing careers. I figured Jimmy Rollins had more steals than what his totals came in as. Bobby Abreu has the most HRs on this list with 286 and Juan Pierre has the least. with 17.

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2012 Trade Deadline Update #4 7/27: Zack Greinke to the Angels – The A.L. West Just Got Wilder

Jul 27

Posted by bernieolshansky

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Saturday July 28th, 2012

Bernie Olshansky: Zack Greinke has just been traded to the Angels. It looks as if the A.L. West is turning into the A.L. East with the Rangers being the Yankees and the Angels becoming the Red Sox. Coming off two straight losses in the World Series, the Rangers signed regarded Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish in the offseason, who has worked out very well for them this year. The Angels got off to a rough start after signing Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, but turned their season around with the call-up of Mike Trout. With Colby Lewis needing Tommy John surgery, the Rangers are in need of another arm. Unfortunately for Rangers, the Angels just traded for one of the few quality pitchers left on the market. Zack Greinke is an ace and could turn out to be the difference maker in the A.L. West. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: AL West, albert pujols, American league, angels, baseball, Los Angeles, Mike Trout, mlb, playoffs, pujols, rangers, texas, trade deadline, wild card, zack greinke

Adam Dunn: 2012 American League Comeback Player of the Year?

Jun 19

Posted by johnburnsmlb

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Tuesday June 19, 2012

John Burns: What a comeback season it has been for Adam Dunn so far, as he leads all of baseball with 23 homers… and it’s not even July yet.

Dunn experienced a miserable 2011 campaign in his first season in Chicago, as he hit a career low .159 and was not showing his usual power numbers. After signing a 4-year, $56 Million deal with the White Sox in 2010, the expectations were huge for the slugger. 2011 was a season to forget for Dunn. After he underwent an appendectomy in April, Dunn’s productivity declined rapidly. Dunn broke the White Sox record for most strikeouts in a season by a hitter with 177 strikeouts in only 415 at-bats. Dunn’s 2011 campaign was by far the worst of his career. Read the rest of this entry →

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Posey or Wieters: Which Young MLB Catcher Has the Bigger Upside? The Friday Faceoff

Jun 1

Posted by Ryan Ritchey

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Friday June 1, 2012

Ryan Ritchey (Baseball Writer): A couple of years ago the Minnesota Twins were talking about moving Joe Mauer to first base, to save his legs. Since he was such a great hitter, the Twins were looking to preserve his bat. That never did happen and the Twins are going down really fast and so is Mauer. The only thing Mauer has been really good for lately is making commercials for Head and Shoulders shampoo and one-liners from video game ads. Joe Mauer has played 9 seasons in the majors and does not have 100 career home runs. Yes he hits for a very high average. But he was supposed to be a great overall hitter. In my opinion, this home-grown Minnesota boy stayed behind the dish too long and now he will never be the same offensive player that he was in ’09. Injuries have taken their toll and the Mauer decline began far sooner than most expected.

The big question for the next two big young catchers is whether they going to stay behind the dish, or undertake a postion change to save their legs…and bats. Buster Posey and Matt Wieters are no doubt the best young catchers in the game right now. Some will look at Mike Napoli, Brian McCann and Alex Avila for that title. But for actual youth, production and potential, Posey and Wieters are the next big things. The only thing is how long will they actually be catchers. If I’m in either the Giants or Orioles front office, I move them as soon as possible. The catcher position is one of the hardest positions in the game and leaving either Posey or Wieters behind the plate too long could prove detrimental. Just look at Joe Mauer as an example of what could happen if you wait. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: American league, baltimore orioles, baseball, buster posey, catcher, giants, joe mauer, matt wieters, mlb, national league, orioles, prospect, san francisco giants

The DH Tandem of Ibanez and Jones Are Providing Great Value Amongst the Position

May 28

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Monday, May.28/2012

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones might only be hitting about .250 as a combined DH unit, however they are providing some much-needed power from the DH slot for the New York Yankees. Ibanez is batting .260 with 9 HRs and 27 RBI in 137 AB, Jones is .227 with 5 HRs and 10 RBI in 66 AB. The two totals combined equal 14 HRs and 37 RBI in 193 AB. This is really good production in the power department. This puts the duo on pace for about 45 HRs and 120 RBI out of the DH slot. These numbers are comparable to Chicago White Sox primary DH Adam Dunn, who is .240 with 15 HRs and 35 RBI, and Edwin Encarnacion for the Toronto Blue Jays, who is .274 with 15 HRs and is second in the AL with 39 RBI.

There are factors that cancel out the production of both Encarnacion and Dunn. The Blue Jays first base position has killed any type of edge that Encarnacion’s start should have provided. Adam Lind hit himself out of the Majors with his under .200 average, thus negating the production that the position of 1B needs to have in order to compete along with a DH. Adam Dunn has racked up 74 strikeouts to add to his power numbers. While this has been a renaissance year for Dunn so far, the all or nothing philosophy does hurt in the clutch sometimes. I think the White Sox have to be happy with his production, plus Paul Konerko has been the best player in the AL outside of Josh Hamilton. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: adam dunn, adam lind, albert pujols, American league, andruw jones, angels, billy butler, blue jays, Chuck Booth, david ortiz, DH position, edwin encarnacion, eric hosmer, indians, jesus montero, john jaso, johnny damon, josh hamilton, justin morneau, kendrys morales, Luke Scott, manny ramirez, mariners, mark reynolds, micheal young, miguel olivo, nick johnson, oakland, orioles, paul konerko, prince fielder, rangers, rays, royals, ryan doumit, the fastest 30 ballgames, tigers, travis hafner, twins, victor martinez, vladimir guerrero, white sox, wilson betemit, yankees

Indians Off to Another Strong Start – But This Time, Will it Last?

May 27

Posted by Ryan Ritchey

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Sunday May 27th, 2012

Ryan Ritchey (Baseball Writer): The Cleveland Indians are off to a hot start for the second straight season. Last year it didn’t last… and the team ended up falling apart. What is going to happen this season? Will the pitching stay strong until the end of the season or fall off the map when it most counts? Asdrubal Cabrera has come down with a pulled hamstring in the past week and will be out. This could really end up affecting the team, or he could come back soon and be fine. The thing about a hamstring is that it can be a nagging injury, if it doesn’t fully heal properly. If I’m Manny Acta, I sit Cabrera until he is fully healthy.

To answer some of the above questions, I believe the starting pitching will last past the All-Star Break and the Cleveland Indians will have a shot at the AL Central crown. With Ubaldo Jimenez, Justin Masterson, and veteran Derek Lowe the Indians pitching staff is one of the best in its division. Or at least it should be on paper. Derek Lowe with a 3.25 ERA and 6wins has been a horse for the Indians. The biggest surprise thus far for this team is Chris Perez, who has 16 saves in 17 chances. With a sweep of the Tigers this past week, the Indians made a statement in the American League Central. They are ready to show that least year was no fluke and that Cleveland is ready to return to the promised land. The MLB playoffs. With another Wild Card added this year, the Indians have to like their chances at postseason glory. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: American league, american league central, asdrubal cabrera, baseball, carlos santana, chris perez, cleveland indians, derek lowe, justin masterson, manny acta, mlb, tigers, ubaldo jimenez

Jack Morris: It Is Time To Elect This Winner Into The Baseball Hall Of Fame!

Apr 22

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Tuesday, January.08/2013

Jack Morris led the Major Leagues for Wins in the 80's by posting a 162-129 Record (.556). He was a 5 Time ALL-Star and had 6 Top 10 Finishes for AL Cy Young. He also hurled 175 Complete Games. He won 20 Games 3 separate years, 16+ Wins in 9 Years and 15+ Wins in 12 of his 17 full years and 18 seasons overall.

Jack Morris led the Major Leagues for Wins in the 80’s by posting a 162-119 Record (.577). He was a 5 Time ALL-Star and had 6 Top 10 Finishes for AL Cy Young. He also hurled 175 Complete Games. He won 20 Games 3 separate years, 16+ Wins in 10 Years and 15+ Wins in 12 of his 16 full years – and 18 seasons overall.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024

The debate for whether or not Jack Morris belongs in the Baseball Hall Of Fame has heated up to an ALL-Time high with the big vote going down tomorrow. 575 members of BBWAA fraternity will decide whether or not the big man from Minnesota will enter one of the hardest Hall Of Fame’s to enter in pro sports (if not the hardest). Morris will need a 75% (432 Minimum Votes) of them to write down his name on their ballot for enshrinement into Cooperstown. Last year, Morris received 66.7 % of the writers votes in his 13th year of eligibility. He will have his name on a 14th ballot this year. He has been trending up in recent years, so if he can improve with the same amount of 2011-2012 jump of (+13.2%), then he will make it in. If he fails to reach the Hall this year, 2014 would be his last year of eligibility for the BBWAA Vote. He could still make it via the Veterans Committee after that.

Jack Morris was a winner, a true throwback pitcher who came after hitters with reckless abandon. He pitched based on what the score was – and had no personal regard for his own personal statistics. It is this very reason why the debate has hit epic proportions on social media hubs, amongst bloggers, former players, analysts, broadcaster and statisticians. I intend to prove the case for the guy in a manner that will have some similarities to other pieces you may have read, yet promote a big look into the numbers that I have been bouncing around in my head for months. I even have had a #JackMorrisAwarenessWeek on Twitter and have been having feuds with people on the other side who don’t think he belongs in Cooperstown- while I have been Retweeted by his biggest supporters. Let the battle lines be drawn!

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Tags: 1984 World Series, 1991 world Series MVP, AL East, alcs, ALL-Start Appearances, ALL-Time Innings Pitched Leader Pitching, ALL-Time Strikeout Leaders Pitching, ALL-Time Wins Leaders Pitching, All-Time Wins list, American league, andy pettitte, Atlanta Braves, baseball hall of fame, BBWAA, boston red sox, california angels, chicago white sox, Chuck Booth. fastest 30 ballgames, cleveland indians, cooperstown, CY Young voting, dave stieb, detroit tigers, ferguson jenkins, Greg Maddux, jack morris, jamie moyer, jim kaat, kansas city royals, metrodome, mike mussina, milwaukee brewers, minnesota twins, oakland athletics, randy johnson, roger clemens, roy halladay, seattle mariners, stephen strasburg, tom glavine, tommy john, toronto blue jays, twitter @chuckbooth3024, veterans committee, washington nationals

2012 MLB Home Run Leaders

Feb 24

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

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Friday February 24th, 2012

Rob Bland: The last two seasons have seen Jose Bautista lead the MLB in home runs. His seemingly out of nowhere run to being one of the top 3 hitters in baseball looks to continue in 2012. Can he continue to hit home runs at a ridiculous pace, or will he fall off? Will someone such as Curtis Granderson or Matt Kemp become MLB’s newest home run champ? I will take a look at some of the top choices to take over this title, as well as a few dark horses. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: al, albert pujols, American league, baseball, curtis granderson, home run, jose bautista, mark teixeira, matt kemp, mike stanton, mlb, prince fielder

Ricky Romero: Future CY Young Award Winner?

Feb 17

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

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Friday February 17th, 2012

Rob Bland: When Ricky Romero was taken 6th overall in the 2005 MLB Draft, ahead of the likes of shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, and outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Jay Bruce, I was shocked, and to be honest, a little bit angry. Romero was a good pitcher at Cal State – Fullerton, but he was raw; an unfinished product that still needed a lot of work. Tulowitzki was a tremendous defensive shortstop with plus power potential. He was bound to be a good Major League shortstop, whereas Romero was still very much a question mark. McCutchen is a superstar in the making in Pittsburgh, and Jay Bruce is really starting to come together, hitting 100 home runs in his first four seasons. While these three position players often come up in conversation that they will be perennial All-Stars or future MVPs, Romero has not quite garnered that attention. He was an All-Star in 2011, albeit after a number of players declined their invitation to participate. But will Romero ever gain notoriety as a potential Cy Young Award candidate? Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: al, American league, baseball, brandon morrow, brett lawrie, cy young award, jay bruce, mlb, ricky romero, shaun marcum, starting pitcher, toronto blue jays, troy tulowitzki

Ballparks Are Using Gimmicks to Attract Females and Children

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Monday February 6th, 2012

Douglas “Chuck” Booth (Baseball Writer)- At first you might say, what are baseball teams doing to our classic baseball parks? After a few minutes of thinking you will realize that your team is in business to make money just like every other multi-billion dollar industry. I am talking about ‘Gimmicks’ at the baseball yard of course. They are often there to attract more casual female fans and children into walking through the turnstiles. From a Ferris Wheel in Detroit, to increased kid/mom interactive coloring stations that are located in almost every park, these gimmicks give the casual fan something to spend their time doing at the ballpark. I consider myself a hard-core fan, so does this kind of thing bother me? Absolutely not… and I will tell you why.When I arrive at the ballpark, I am there to watch baseball only! I usually have traveled a long distance, spent a considerable amount of money, time and effort in order to watch these games from the stands. So what do I care if the stands are not full with people waiting for every pitch? To tell you honestly, I would rather the casual fans spend more time in the concourses occupying themselves, rather than disrupting anything in my realm of vision for the baseball game. Seeing kids throwing temper tantrums is normal in any public place, so if they are not in their seat while having a conniption fit- that is great.