Blog Archives
ATR: Ask the Reports Answers Your Baseball Questions: MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline, Tommy Toledo, Ichiro to Yanks, Greinke, Billy Hamilton, Jeff Niemann, Pavano and Colby Lewis
Sunday July 29th, 2012
Jonathan Hacohen: Two days folks. That’s all the time that is left in the MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline. All baseball eyes will be on news wire as we expect many more trades to go down by the deadline. I have set the over/under of the number of moves to happen since the Giants got Marco Scutaro at 20. What is your pick?
Many of the big names that were rumored to move have been dealt with. Zack Greinke is an Angel. Scutaro a Giant. Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante are Tigers. Brett Myers and Francisco Liriano are members of the Whit Sox. Hanley Ramirez joined the Dodgers. But Cole Hamels stayed in Philadelphia, while Huston Street and Carlos Quentin remain in San Diego. Who are the next big names to move? Will Ryan Dempster finally go to L.A. or Atlanta? Will Matt Garza move despite not being healthy? Josh Beckett? Aramis Ramirez? Shane Victorino? Does Houston even have anyone left to trade now that even Chris Johnson has been traded? We will get the answers to all these questions over the next 2 days.
From our prospects file, a name to keep an eye on is Tommy Toledo. No- he is not a rock star or adult movie actor. Tommy is a pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers system. He gets my vote for the best baseball name. Think about- what a name for a closer. Now pitching for the Brewers, #13…..Toooommmyy…..Tolleeeeedoooooo….. Yes, just a great ball name and yes, he can pitch too. Tommy tore up A-ball this year, pitching for Wisconsin of the Midwest League. 7-1 in 21 games, 1.95 ERA, 6 saves, 0.838 WHIP and 31/11 SO/BB. Standing 6’3″ and weighing close to 200 lbs, the 23-year old Tommy Toledo is a baseball prospect to follow. His Twitter handle is @TommyToledo13. Follow him, say hello…and make sure you say that the Reports sent ya!
For our Batting Stance Guy featured video of the week, we present Gar’s look at the New 2012 MLB Batting Stances. BSG at the start of the season took at look at some new stances that will have you laughing all the way to the batting cage:
Now let’s get to your top questions of the week: Read the rest of this entry
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 2012 World Series contenders?
Thursday July 19th, 2012
John Burns: The 2012 season for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim looks like it might be getting saved by a 20 year-old named Mike Trout. The L.A. Angels had a record of 6-14 before they called Trout up from Triple-A, and has a 44-27 record since the call up of Trout. Mike Trout leads the A.L. and is 3rd in baseball with a .353 batting average and is tied with Dee Gordon for the MLB lead in stolen bases with 30. Trout is almost a lock for the A.L. Rookie of the Year. But if he keeps this up and leads L.A. to the playoffs, he could be the A.L. MVP. Read the rest of this entry
Ask the Reports: ATR Answers Your Baseball Questions – May 12th, 2012
Saturday May 12th, 2012
Let’s get to your top questions of the week:
Q: (a) What are the chances of the indians moving; and
(b) Josh Hamilton obviously, Matt Kemp too, but after that Im not sure(maybe Bruce,Braun, etc). Who do you think will be the contestants this year? Robert
JH: Two questions for Robert this week. A great way to kick off ATR! Now I am getting many messages on the Indians moving, so it is time for some clarification. I had tweeted a couple of weeks back on the hypothetical scenario on “if your team was to relocate or contract, which team would you start to follow and why.” Completely hypothetical and never intended to be more than that. The Indians came up with Larry, MLB reports’ #1 fan (his fave team)…and based on that discussion, the whole concept of the Indians moving was born. Now digging through the attendance figures for last season, the Indians were ranked 24th with approximately 1.8 million fans. Good…but certainly not great. Just to compare, both the Yankees and Phillies draw approximately 3.6 million fans as the top gates, while Oakland was the worst at 1.476 million. The Marlins and Rays were both very close to the bottom, with the Marlins now having a new stadium and the Rays desperately needing one. If the Rays and A’s don’t get new parks, expect to see these teams move in the next five years. The Indians though are not going anywhere. Not in our lifetimes at least. The Indians as a major league team were formed in 1901 in Cleveland and formally became the Indians in 1915. Translation: too much history and tradition. Still a very popular team. This team is not going anywhere. Progressive (formerly Jacobs) Field opened in 1994, so it is still relatively new. A beautiful park and a loyal fan base that loves their team, the Indians are here to stay.
As far as your second question, I will say this on the MLB Home Run Derby. It’s time is starting to run out. Last year, Ortiz and Fielder were the captains for the event. Contestants included Cano, Bautista, Adrian Gonzalez, Weeks, Kemp and Holiday. Cano ended up winning it, which was suprising considering that he wasn’t even a considered candidate by many. By Rickie Weeks? A little weak in my book. Many players do not wish to participate anymore, given injury risks and the issues it can create with their swings. Remember Bobby Abreu back in 2005? He was never the same after that one. I think we will see more and more young players participating. I think the old guard has had enough, with the young players still looking forward to the event. I would love to see Cespedes, Bruce, Napoli all join in the fun. I think Kemp will want a year off from this one, but Major League Baseball would love to see him and Hamilton duke it out. It boils down to politics vs. players’ preferences. I would expect to see some established stars, but more of the prospects as this event continues to grow. The captains idea was a good one- allowing more players input into the event. Hopefully Major League Baseball can continue to grow and evolve the Derby. Read the rest of this entry
Cubs and Angels Closers: Who Deserves the Job?
Wednesday May 9th, 2012
Sam Evans: Today’s two franchises haven’t been able to find a consistent pitcher to close out games this year, and it has resulted in sub .500 starts for both teams. The Cub’s headed into this year with their closer since 2009, Carlos Marmol, expected to have another season closing out games for their team. Jordan Walden, the twenty-four year old who closed out thirty-two games for the Angels last year, was named the Angels’ closer early in Spring Training. Now, only about thirty games into the season, and both of these pitchers have lost their jobs. Both teams secretly want their former closers to regain the job, but neither pitcher has had a successful year so far. Let’s look at what went wrong for these two pitchers and who took their place.
Carlos Marmol has always had the potential to be one of the best closer’s in the history of the game. His repertoire features a 93 MPH fastball, a changeup that he throws at around 86 MPH, and one of the best pitches in the game, his slider which is anywhere from 80-83 MPH. These pitches, the slider in particular, have led Marmol to record some the highest strikeout rates the game has ever seen. In 2010, Marmol’s 16 K/9 set a MLB record for a single-season (for pitchers with more than fifty innings pitched). However, Marmol has always had one thing holding him back from being the best closer in the league, walks.
In 2010, Marmol walked fifty-two in seventy-seven innings. In 2011, he walked forty-eight in seventy-five innings. In 2011, Dan Haren threw 238 innings and only walked thirty-three batters. Marmol has never seemed to realize that if he would let hitters put the ball into play, he would become a much better pitcher. Especially late in ballgames, walking insane amounts of hitters isn’t going to help you close games, no matter how much movement your pitches have. Read the rest of this entry
Ask the Reports: ATR Answers Your Baseball Questions – May 6th, 2012
Sunday May 6th, 2012
Let’s get to your top questions of the week:
Q: Watching Jamie Moyer tonite wondering if he reaches 300 wins (2-3 more yrs of pitching). Will that make him HOF bound? Old Man Mack (via Twitter)
JH: OMM. We are starting of ATR with one of your questions…and of course, it is a Jamie Moyer one. This is the 3rd Moyer question that I recall receiving from you. He certainly is a great story in baseball and you are on top of this one! Moyer is turning 50 this November. His current records sits at 1-2, 4.01 ERA and 1.663 WHIP. He is 32 wins away from 300. How can I put this nicely…it ain’t happening! As much as all of us would love to see Moyer reach the magical 300 plateau, he would need to win 10+ games for the next 3 years. That would have him pitching until 52. A neat story, but the odds are certainly against that happening. In my estimation, Moyer will be done after this year. He came back, proved he could pitch until 50…and then ride off into the sunset. At his age, we are asking a ton from his body to be able to grind out 3 more years. Plus, he would also have to be effective at such an advanced age. Not impossible…but nearly. Moyer has a career 4.23 ERA and 1.319 WHIP. He was never a true #1 starter and the best among his peers. A good pitcher, but not a great pitcher. Cooperstown is supposed to be reserved for the elite, the best of the best. While Moyer’s story deserves to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, his statistics do not. Even if Moyer reaches 300 wins- I don’t see a Cooperstown plaque in his future. Sorry my man- that’s just the way it goes! Thank you for the great question and your support of ATR and MLB reports. We very much appreciate it!
Q: They should fire Scioscia for how he handled Napoli. I seriously thought Napoli must have slept with Scioscia’s wife for a while. Mike (Via Twitter)
JH: Probably one of the funniest tweets I have received in some time. I agree with you that the Angels did not handle Mike Napoli well. I can’t speak on his relationship with Mike Scoscia…but certainly, it did seem strained. Unless you have been living under a rock, you would know that I firmly believe that the Angels and Jays blew it by not hanging on to Napoli. The Great Napoli had a season for the ages in 2011. In only 113 games, Napoli hit .320 for the Rangers, with a .414 OBP, .631 SLG (1.046 OPS), 30 home runs, 75 RBIs, 72 runs, plus 58/85 walks/k’s. In other words, Napoli is a beast. This year, Napoli already has 7 home runs in 24 games, with a .241 AVG- but .330 OBP and .506 SLG. I called Napoli the “Next Bautista” when the Jays acquired him and when you look at his numbers since 2011 over a full season, it is pretty darn close. How great would Napoli’s bat look right now in a slumping Angels lineup? What about at first base for the Jays or catcher over Lind and/or Arencibia?
Now would you like to hear some irony? Here it is. The Angels dumped Napoli in the Vernon Wells trade, really moving his salary and writing him off. In the process the Angels kept Jeff Mathis. How did Mathis do in 2011? In 93 games, he hit a whopping .174 avg, .225 OBP, .259 SLG and 3 home runs all year. That’s how many Napoli hits in many weeks! Mathis had 15 extra base hits all year in fact. Now where is Mathis you ask? In Toronto, of course. The team that couldn’t find a spot for Napoli, now is following the Angels twisted plan of succession. Funny though- how Mathis has played well though in Toronto. In 8 games, Mathis has 2 home runs, .250 AVG, .400 OBP and .650 SLG. Looking at him at the plate, you think Mathis should be a slugger. But it never developed. When the trade was made to the Jays, I thought Mathis could hit 15-20 home runs…if the Jays were able to get him on track. Still could happen, but I see Mathis moving back closer to his career average of .195, .259 OBP and .306 SLG. Now for Mathis’ replacement in Anaheim? Chris Iannetta, a Mike Napoli-clone as I call him. In 23 games, Iannetta has popped 3 home runs, hitting .220 with a .324 OBP and .441 SLG. Good numbers, but certainly not great numbers. If that was the kind of production though Anaheim wanted, why not just hold onto Napoli and let him explode at the plate? That is certainly the question. So we will never know the truth behind Mike Scioscia’s thinking in wanting Mike Napoli off the Angels. But if Anaheim and Toronto could go back in time, I’m sure they would have done things differently. For the future, they may want to read up on MLB reports before making another blunder like that again! Read the rest of this entry
Mike Trout vs. Bryce Harper: Who is the Biggest Prospect in Baseball?
Thursday May 3rd, 2012
Bernie Olshansky: For prospect watchers, last Saturday was one of the most exciting baseball days in a long time. Not only was Angels prospect Mike Trout (20) making his season debut against Cleveland, but Bryce Harper, the Nationals prospect and teen-wonder at only nineteen also made his highly anticipated major league debut against the Dodgers. Amazingly, two of Baseball America’s top three prospects debuted on the same day. Harper’s first and second at-bats were a couple to forget, but his third was one to remember. He roped a hard line drive over Matt Kemp’s head in center for a stand-up double. Trout’s debut was nothing special, but after hitting .408 in the minors this year he’s bound to get it going. Read the rest of this entry
Looking Back at Albert Pujols’ First Week with the Angels
Friday April 13th, 2012
Sam Evans: When the most advanced hitter in the history of the game switched teams this past offseason, it shook up the baseball universe. Albert Pujols leaving the Cardinals weakened the N.L. Central and made the A.L. West one of the best divisions in baseball. So far Pujols hasn’t gotten off to an amazing start. Still, we’re only a week into the season, so it doesn’t really matter. Let’s take a up-close look at what Pujols has done through his first six games.
First game: In his regular season debut, Albert Pujols was 0 for 3 with a walk. Despite a crowd that was desperately waiting to go crazy after Pujols did something special, Pujols struggled against Royals starter Bruce Chen. In his first at-bat, Pujols lined into a double play. Next, Pujols popped up to Royals third basemen Mike Moustakas. Later, facing the flame throwing Aaron Crow, Pujols struck out on just three pitches.Finally, Greg Holland intentionally walked Pujols in the ninth inning. Read the rest of this entry
Interview with Baseball Artist Kyle Morrissey: Baseball is Addictive Art Work
Saturday March 31st, 2012
MLB reports – Jonathan Hacohen: For another first on MLB reports, we charter into new waters. The Art World. While I would rather sit at Yankee Stadium for three hours than a museum, I have to admit that art has always fascinated me. A great painting can move people in many ways. It can tell a story and make different people draw many conclusions about the piece. They create conversations and discussions, while getting put up on our walls to be admired. So combining art with baseball is a logical step in my estimation. Today we feature on of the hottest young artists on the scene. While he does draw more than baseball, I found Kyle Morrissey through his love of the Angels. Kyle has prepared countless works of art for Angels’ players, as you will see featured throughout this interview. We learn about Kyle and his venture known as “Addictive Art Work”. I found it extremely fascinating to get to know a baseball artist for this features. For all lovers of baseball, you will enjoy Kyle Morrissey and his art. Here is a little bio about Kyle and my feature interview with the artist himself: Read the rest of this entry
Alex Rodriguez vs. Albert Pujols: Which Slugger is Tops?
Thursday March 29th, 2012
Bryan Sheehan (MLB Reports Intern): There is no doubt that Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez are the most prolific sluggers in the MLB right now. Pitchers fear them, teammates love them and opposing fans hate them. Both have tremendous power, huge career numbers and legions of fans that argue who is more dominant. Pujols supporters argue that his career .328 batting average, 445 home runs and two gold gloves make him the most elite in the game, while fans of A-Rod counter with 629 home runs (the most of any active player), 104.6 WAR (the third best of all time) and 1,893 RBIs; beat that Albert. Read the rest of this entry
AL West: Value Picks, Up-and-Coming Players and Red Flags in Fantasy Baseball
Friday March 9th, 2012
Peter Stein (Fantasy Baseball Analyst – MLB reports): While the Angels and Rangers should battle for first place and eclipse 90 wins each, the Mariners and Athletics will most likely lose ninety games apiece. Despite this dichotomy, from a fantasy perspective, the American League West might the most intriguing division in MLB. The Angels and Rangers are loaded with fantasy studs, although many come at a risk, while there a number of undervalued and up and coming players on M’s and A’s roster that need to be targeted in fantasy leagues in 2012.
VALUE PICKS:
Colby Lewis is easily one of the most undervalued pitchers in baseball. Most people are quick to credit his 2010 return to the major leagues as a fluke. Although a slight drop in velocity last year, his 2011 numbers were very similar to 2010. He is a safe bet for a dozen wins an ERA around 4 and strikeout rate around 8K/9. He is not going to blow hitters away, but he is an attractive start against division foes Oakland and Seattle and should be available for a relatively cheap price. Read the rest of this entry
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