Blog Archives

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – July 10, 2015

 (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Andy McPhail has come on board to help turn around the Phillies. I am not going to tell him how to do his job but… ok, I am going to tell him how to do his job,

That and the up coming Red Sox and Yankees series on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

Jeff Samardzija, Zack Greinke, Brett Gardner, Yasiel Puig, R. A. Dickey, Kole Calhoun and Chris Johnson all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball?

 

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Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – June 28, 2014

Jim McIssac - Getty Images

Jim McIssac – Getty Images

The Red Sox lost to the Yankees best (Vidal Nuno, read with sarcastic tone) pitcher yesterday. It might be time to declare this World Series defense dead.

That might be what saves the 2015 season.

It is a glass half full AND empty episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

Jose Abreu, Freddie Freeman, Johnny Cueto, Chris Tillman, C. J. Cron, Adam LaRoche  and Tyson Ross all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball.
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2013 MLB Playoff Predictions By MLB Reports

In my view, Evan Longoria could end up being the MVP of the entire playoffs.  I am predicting the Tampa Bay Rays are going to win the World Series versus the LA Dodgers, in what should be a classic Pitching duel of some of the best Starters in the game of baseball today.  Wil Myers and Ben Zobrist help pitching in will also be Paramount.  Picking up proven playoff performer Delmon Young (HR'd last night - and is .266/.328/.887 - with 9 HRs and 16 RBI In 109 AB was also a good move by the Rays brass.  If these guys hit, the Pitching should do enough.

In my view, Evan Longoria could end up being the MVP of the entire playoffs – with his penchant for being clutch in the last games of years. I am predicting the Tampa Bay Rays are going to win the World Series versus the LA Dodgers, iIf Wil Myers and Ben Zobrist help bashing the ball around, then this team is scary. Also picking up proven playoff performer Delmon Young (yes that guy) (HR’d last night – and is .266/.328/.887 – with 9 HRs and 16 RBI In 109 AB) was also a good move by the Rays brass. If these guys hit, the Pitching should do enough.

By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner):

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Okay, now that the Wild Card Games are over, I am 2 – 1 this week in predicting the outcomes of games.  I had both Rays wins and lost with the Reds.

For those that have been reading my gambling pick posts, will also see that I have been discussing some of the odds posted for the playoffs.  Check out those here.

I am not going with the masses this year, however I am picking 2 favorites and 2 underdogs in the 1st Round. 

Really, I think the matchups are a lot more even than even some of the biggest betting industry odds are suggesting.

I may have also taken the Athletics all the way to the World Series if Cespedes wasn’t hampered by his injured Right Shoulder.

Yoenis Cespedes HR Derby Mashing

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Red Sox Mid-Season Update: (Pitching)

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 Thursday. July.11/2013

I think it's safe to say that Clay Buchholz is the best pitcher on the Red Sox staff. He was looking like a strong candidate for the 2013 AL Cy Young Award until he was injured. Now he is on the road back as he threw his 1st bullpen Wednesday, and his 2nd is scheduled for Friday. Then he is set to start a rehab assignment if all goes well. I'm fine with him taking his time though. He NEEDS to be healthy for the playoffs.

I think it’s safe to say that Clay Buchholz is the best pitcher on the Red Sox staff. He was looking like a strong candidate for the 2013 AL Cy Young Award until he was injured. Now he is on the road back as he threw his 1st bullpen Wednesday, and his 2nd is scheduled for Friday. Then he is set to start a rehab assignment if all goes well. I’m fine with him taking his time though. He NEEDS to be healthy for the playoffs.

By Ryan Dana (MLB Reports Writer and Red Sox Correspondent): 

The MLB All-Star game is nearly upon us, and technically we are already passed the halfway point in the season, so it seems like a good time to do an update on where the Red Sox stand at this point.

The Boston Red Sox currently hold a record of 56-37. They still sit in 1st place in the AL East, 3.5 games ahead of the 2nd place Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox have led the division for most of the season and continue to exceed all preseason expectations.

In the early part of the season, the Red Sox were winning with pitching and hitting that was statistically at the top of the MLB. That is no longer the case. Their offense is still near the top, but their pitching has fallen off.

The Red Sox currently lead the MLB in Runs (484) and OPS (.802) showing their offensive prowess. However, their pitching staff currently sits in 17th in the Majors with an ERA of (3.96), 17th in K/BB ratio (2.43), 24th in WHIP (1.35), and have the 6th most Blown Saves (14).

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Top Ten Stat of The Week Special Trade Edition! Boston Red Sox: Payroll 2013

Thursday, Aug.30/2012

As the longest-serving Red Sox Offensive Player under contract, Dustin Pedroia needs to return to his MVP like form of a few years back for Boston to be in contention next year.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): – In one fell swoop, the Boston Red Sox went from a team with no payroll flexibility at all for years to come, to a team that only has 4 players under contract for 57.2 Million Dollars next year.  It is actually around 43 Million Dollars for Dustin Pedroia (10 MIL), John Lackey ,(16 MIL) John Lester (11.6 MIL) and Clay Buchholz (5.8 MIL.)  Now since they are paying about 15 Million to the Dodgers as part of the trade it takes the total up to about 57 Million.  So how does the team look going forward?  Not that bad actually.  The have about 25 Pre-Arbitration to Arbitration Eligible Players to re-sign.  A lot of them are under club control or will not fetch that much of a boost in pay.  Jacoby Ellsbury will probably get a bump from the 8 Million he received this year and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will also be due a raise from the 2.5 Million in 2012 with his breakout power year.  Daniel Bard is a “Super 2” Arb Eligible Player and should not be that hard to resign considering  his ineffective year.  The most pressing thing to do is to resolve the David Ortiz matter and then to grab a couple of free agent pitchers and a power hitting First baseman or an outfielder.

Judging from my best estimate, it looks like the Boston Red Sox will have about an 100-110 Million Dollars for all of their Arbitration players, plus the guys already signed.  This leads me to David Ortiz.  He should be given a 2 or 3 year contract as soon as humanly possible at 15-16 Million Dollars a Year.  He was the only player in the AL to have an OPS over 1 still going into tonight.  Yes he has been hurt, but ‘Big Papi’ is not finished in the MLB.  Yes he will be 37 heading into next year but he has been the best DH in the AL over the last 3 years.  Ortiz had said earlier this year-that he would be open to playing for other teams so the brass better make him feel wanted or he will walk! He genuinely likes Pedroia so I am sure Ortiz could be persuaded to come back.  You have to at least find this out early as it will let you know how to proceed on the Free Agent Market.

Here are some David Ortiz highlights.  THIS VIDEO CONTAINS CLIPS COPYRIGHTED FROM MLB ADVANCED MEDIA. MLB REPORTS  DOES  NOT OWN THESE CLIPS.

For Part 1 of the Trade Breakdown: The LA Dodgers 2013 Top Ten Payroll click here .

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MLB Reports Monthly Power Rankings: August 2012

Monday August.6/2012

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- It has been a crazy month in which teams have stockpiled some heavy talent at the trade deadline to get ready for the playoffs.  Amongst the biggest gainers for the rankings this month were: the Athletics, Reds, Braves, Tigers, Dodgers (because of the deals) and Mariners while the Mets, Red Sox, Indians and Royals saw brutal months all but seal their playoff fates.  I do think that Boston has a punchers chance but that all is dependent on David Ortiz returning to the lineup swiftly.  The power of the best teams is definitely leaning to the National League right now where several teams are playing great baseball.  With one-third of the season left we are all in for a treat as baseball fans.

I will have one more regular season Power Rankings month of September (to be posted on Labor Day Weekend,)  before I also provide a playoff style ranking of the 1-10 seeds right before the Wild Card Teams play the play in game.  It certainly has been awesome to follow how the trade deadline has effected the Monthly Rankings this time around.  I think it is safe to say that this years deadline provided more interest and following-from even the casual fan more than any other year before.  I also believe that the Non-Waiver Trade Deadline is now the best Trade Deadline in all of sports.  Social Media has a lot to do with this but so does parity.  The 2nd Wild Card spot has also created more teams willing to trade prospects in lieu of going for it. Read the rest of this entry