Dustin Pedroia drove in runs in the first, second, third and seventh inning, sparking the Red Sox to an 11-4 drubbing of the Rockies.
Chris Sale allowed only 3 hits over 8 innings, striking out 13. The bullpen prevented him from getting a decision but he set up the White Sox 5-4 walk off win against the Mets.
Rickie Weeks went 3-4 with 2 homers, a double and 4 RBI as the Brewers blasted the Cubs 9-3.
And Kyle Kendrick let up only 2 runs over 8 innings, walking none, as the Phillies came from behind to beat the Padres 6-2.
They all owned baseball on June 25th, 2013.
My explanation for “Who Owns Baseball” can be found here.
At the end of the year, we will tally up who owned baseball the most individual days and see how it compares to the final MVP and Cy Youngvote.
To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON.
To View The List of just the nightly winners (WOB dedicated Page) starting from Mar.31/2013 – today click hereRead the rest of this entry →
On today’s show, brought to you by MLB Reports (www.mlbreports.com) & The Bench Warmers Show (thebenchwarmers.podomatic.com), I started by paying respects to a follower of mine on twitter (the great late Kiley) Follow @jeterfan_02 who passed away last week…not only she was a great Yankee fan who loved Derek Jeter – but also was the most sweetest giving person ever, R.I.P….
I start to talk about the Subway Series then I interviewed my first guest Derek Jackson (10 Minute Mark – 20 Minute Segment. Follow @djaxmlbreports who is a fantasy expert for MLB Reports! We talked about which callups to watch midway through the season,a look at the rookie crop of players & second year players…check out his latest fantasy article hereRead the rest of this entry →
Although Middlebrooks is 24 Years Old and has shown the ability to be productive in the Majors already, he should still be given a time to continue developing. He was drafted in ’07 out of High School where he was a Shortstop/Pitcher and also spent a lot of time playing football. Then he didn’t start playing in the Minors until ’08 in which he played just 59 Games so he has actually progressed pretty far in a short period of time.
By Ryan Dana (MLB Reports Writer and Red Sox Correspondent): Follow @ryandana1
Entering his second season in Boston, Will Middlebrooks is coming off a productive rookie season despite the turmoil on the team and a season ending wrist injury in which he had to endure.
He hit .288/.325/.509 in 2012 with 15 HRs and 54 RBI in 75 Games. So far in 2013 he has been experiencing the dreaded “Sophomore Slump”. He has hit .208/.243/.423 with 8 HRs and 20 RBI thru 44 games so far this season.
Middlebrooks’ numbers will improve over the course of the season, of this I am certain. However, it is concerning for the Red Sox as they really don’t have any other options at Third Base.
Middlebrooks’ struggles bring to light one of the reasons Jose Iglesias is getting some experience at 2nd and 3rd in Pawtucket. Will Middlebrooks’ job isn’t in jeopardy by any stretch, but it is vital that he performs because he is all they have.
The Padres have played great baseball since they plugged Chase Headley back in the lineup. Players like Yonder Alonso, Will Venable, Everth Cabrera and even Kyle Blanks have bashed the ball around. Since a lot of the NL West clubs have not run away with the Division, the San Diego club has entered the picture for the Division Race.
The Rangers are #1 again based on the Division lead they currently possess, plus the fact they play all of these teams a total of 76 Games this year.
The Braves (rose their division lead to 2.5 Games with a 4 – 2 week), and Padres (18 – 13 in their last 31 Games and have been clubbing the ball lateley) were the biggest movers up for the week standings by climbing 6 spots apiece.
The biggest drops were the San Francisco Giants (hate their Starting Pitching right now – except for Madison Bumgarner) and the Baltimore Orioles (late inning magic might be dying – and still need a DH + a Veteran Starter or 2).
The Los Angeles teams keep losing ball games – and the Blue Jays lost 2 straight versus the Yankees just when they looked to be on track.
Cleveland is still ranked outside the top ten because I don’t have faith in their strength of schedule in the next month starting May 21st: 2 vs DET, 4 @BOS, 2 vs CIN, 2 @CIN, 2 vs TB, 3 @NYY, 3 @DET, 3 @TEX, 3 vs WSH and finally 3 vs KC. If they are above .500 after this stretch, I will be impressed.
Miguel Cabrera has hit 332 HRs, 398 Doubles and 13 Triples in his 11th year in the Major Leagues. With 1170 RBI, and just barely being 30 Years of age, the man has a serious chance to chase the ALL – Time RBI record of 2297 By Hank Aaron. After his 3 HR night on Saturday, he has a 2013 – 3 Slash of .387/.457/1.116 (all lead the AL). He has added 11 HRs (tied for 2nd) and 47 RBI (1st in the MLB). He could challenge a 2nd straight Triple Crown in 2013. Something that hasn’t happened since Honus Wagner in the 1920’s.
DH on our home site pages – Stands for Daily HR Hitters in the Majors.
We are going to run the gauntlet on the previous days HRs for all MLB Players.
I loved it when MLB XM Radio used to do a running total every night on their Roundtrip with Mike Ferrin (Laser Show). So I am bringing it every day on this website. To view every nights big boppers for the whole year (from May 8th on) visit the DH page!
Click beyond the Youtube link or click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON to see who hit yesterdays big flies.
Matt Harvey with his stellar outings so far this season – may have just become the New York Mets “ace”. Harvey is now 4-0 with a 1.66 ERA. Harvey has pitched 40.1 innings – only given up 21 hits, 12 Walks for a League Leading WHIP of .0818. For his awesome 5 weeks – we name him the MLB Reports NL Pitcher Of The Month
The time has come for the 1sy May Power Rankings. There will be one each for May, June, July, August, September – and then a special playoff edition Power Rankings will be done in October.
I will not do a weekly Power Rankings during this weeks, because in essence, these are the weekly rankings done on a much larger scale.
These Reports are done with a heavy thought to how the teams project by the end of the season – along with how the clubs have fared so far.
I will point out who has had great months for the all 30 MLB Teams. I reward the good performances in these rankings – and leave the poor ones for the Podcasts or future articles. CLICK THE READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON
The Red Sox dumped about $250 Million in player salaries during the 2012 campaign and have put it to good use. The remarkable thing is, not only did they dump all that salary on the Dodgers, but they also acquired some solid arms that are now honing their skills in Pawtucket. The Red Sox payroll looks much better than it did a year ago.
By Ryan Dana (MLB Reports Writer and Red Sox Correspondent): Follow @ryandana1
As it stands now, the Red Sox payroll is at about $157 Million. Below I will show a list of player salaries which comprise most of the budget.
We must also remember that last summer’s blockbuster deal/salary dump on the Dodgers holds Boston responsible for $3.9 Million of the salaries in 2013 of players they traded away.
On top of that there is about $10 Million that must be figured in for benefits/incentive purposes. This list will be in descending order of salary (average annual salary to be more specific) among players on the Red Sox payroll.
David Ortiz: This Is Our —— city – Mature dialogue so Parental Guidance is a must.
Dustin “Laser Show” Pedroia is the most vital part of this Red Sox team if not for his play on the field, for the hustle and tenacity he plays every game with. Hopefully Don Orsillo is yelling “to the moon” a lot this season. The man has started the year with a 2 Slash Line of .318/.400/.764 with 7 hits in the 1st 5 games. The 2008 AL MVP has a Career 3 Slash of .303/.369/.830. His average season (per 162 Games) is 194 Hits, 17 HRs, 43 Doubles and 77 RBI. His most important stat of this column is his 106 Runs Scored mark for a full year.
By Ryan Dana (MLB Reports Writer and Redsox Correspondent):Follow @ryandana1
I dare you to find a more exciting way to start a season than facing your bitter rivals? Taking 2 of 3 games from them on their field is even better. The start to the 2013 Boston Red Sox season has been good all things considered; much better than the starts to their past 2 seasons.
They spent the start of 2012 getting swept by the Tigers in 3 games, then losing 2 of 3 to the Blue Jays (This was before the Blue Jays had talent on their roster). The year prior, in 2011, the Red Sox came in with high expectations only to start the season 0-6 with series sweeps at the hands of the Rangers and Indians.
To take a quote from rap legend turned sports agent, (hint: he just stole Robinson Cano away from Scott Boras, uh-oh) “moral victories is for Minor League coaches.” Yes that would be Jay-Z.
In the Major Leagues it is all about where you stand in your division. After the 1st series of play for Major League teams the Red Sox were tied with Baltimore atop the AL East. I know I’m getting carried away; it is after all, only 3 games into the season, (Now a little bit further). In the end a win is a win, and a loss is a loss.
However, I want to look at how the Red Sox won (and lost). I want to do this because I think it sheds light on what they are poised to do in 2013.
By Saul Wisnia, Red Sox Correspondent (Read his blog ‘Fenway Reflections’ here): Follow @SaulWizz
Maybe you caught the ad on RedSox.com. A determined-looking David Ortiz stares out on one side of the page as a message flashes across the other:
“162 CHANCES…TO RESTORE THE FAITH” “SUMMER TICKETS…GET YOURS NOW”
It’s starting to look more and more like Ortiz and his aching achilles will not be there for the first of those 162 chances, but there are plenty of other players who are helping get fans excited again this spring training after the worst stretch of Red Sox baseball since Billy Herman and Pinky Higgins.
Terry Francona played for five different teams in his playing Career. His best year was in 1984 – where he hit .346 during his 218 AB. He played as a 1B/OF/PH. His only Post Season action was with the 1981 Montreal Expos. He hit .333 in the NLDS but went 0-2 in the NLCS versus the eventual World Series winning LA Dodgers. He has had much better success as Manager.
Terry Francona was hired as manager of the Cleveland Indians on October 6, 2012 – and officially took over the team on October 8th. He will be returning to the dugout after a one-year hiatus of managing in baseball and doing sports broadcasting duties. After Manny Acta was let go as manager of the Indians, only two candidates were interviewed. Francona was picked as manager over Sandy Alomar Jr, who has stayed on as Bench Coach under the veteran skipper.
Before we decide if Francona was the right choice as manager of the Indians, we have to look at who the man is. Francona was born April 22, 1959 in South Dakota to former MLB player Tito Francona, (who played from 1956 to 1970). Tito ‘Jr’ played in the Majors himself from 1981 to 1990, including one year with the Indians. During his ten years, Francona played in 708 Games – with a BA of .274, 16 Home Runs and 143 RBI as a utility player . After Francona’s playing days were over, he went on to become a Minor League coach, before finally becoming manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1997. During his four years in Philadelphia, his team never finished above fourth place, but Francona helped develop some young players into stars that have turned the Phillies franchise into the winning seasons in 11 out of the 12 years since his departure.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024To say that this year has been a good year for baseball is an humongous understatement. I thought after last years finish, that nothing was going to duplicate the experience. Everyone forgets (or maybe not) that there should not even have been many races last year with Atlanta and Boston having such substantial leads on playoff spots. The Red Sox and Braves collapsed like a couple of bowling pins with King Kong Bundy splashing down on them!
This year, there are 15 teams still vying for 10 playoff spots. So far the only probable locks are Washington for a playoff spot-and Cincinnati to probably win their division The player races for all of the categories is almost as fascinating. Will Andrew McCutcheon catch Melky Cabrera for the Batting title? Or will 2012 be forever cemented in baseball folklore by a stained player like Cabrera? He could still end up determining who wins the World Series in the Fall Classic by his Testosterone filled antics in his MVP ALL-Star Game. The big question is, will the San Francisco Giants fans cheer for him if he comes back in the playoffs? They cheered for another league leader before when it was obvious he was guilty. Right now if you are the Giants, you will take an opportunity to boo or cheer for Cabrera because that means you would be in the playoffs.
Will the spending happy Dodgers have to wait another year to capitalize on their new plan to make the playoffs? If they ultimately miss the playoffs outright, are they going to buy every player they can in the off-season? I sure hope Magic knows that there are Luxury Tax penalties for spending over 178 Million Next Year. 1st year fine is 22.5%, 2nd year is 30%, 3rd year and beyond is 40%. So if they plan on having a 250 Million Dollar Payroll in 2013 (by adding 2 or 3 more top Free Agents) will the Dodgers just forego the worry of any financial penalties on a yearly basis– just to dominate the whole National League (plus baseball for that matter.) Every other team has to consider the urgency in cashing out a World Series right now while the Dodgers have not had a full off season with the new management yet. Can Oakland and their ‘New Money Ball philosophy’ make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2006?
The Best Players over the last month were: Buster Posey, Prince Fielder, Giancarlo Stanton, Adrian Beltre, Josh Hamilton, Yovani Gallardo, Kris Medlen, Adam Wainwright, Aroldis Chapman and Felix Hernandez. The best teams have been Oakland, Washington, San Francisco, San Diego, Baltimore and Texas. The worst teams have been Houston (at least its better to go down hard and stockpile #1 Draft Picks guys.) I have a feeling you will be there for a while with the division you are heading into and may even challenge the 120 Loss Single Season Record. At least you are not going into the NL West to compete with the LA Dodgers! The Cleveland Indians have fallen to an epic drop-off as well. Toronto misses their top sluggers. What has happened to the Minnesota Twins? The Mets have ownership and payroll problems, so at least they have an excuse. Plus they lead the world in guys being hurt. When David Wright has been your healthiest player, you know the season has been backwards! So sit back, get your notebook and popcorn ready for this Month’s Rankings!Read the rest of this entry →
Posted every Weekend: Your top baseball questions from the past week are answered. E-mail all questions to mlbreports@gmail.com, message us on Twitter, post on our Facebook Wall and leave comments on our website! There are many ways to reach us and we will get to your questions from all social media outlets!
Jonathan Hacohen: I have some baseball thoughts on my mind. Ok…I have baseball thoughts seemingly always on my mind! Call it what you like. A gift. A curse. I am what I am. And I do love baseball a ton. So before we jump into your weekly questions, here are three topics that I wanted to throw out to the baseball world:
1) In my respectful opinion, the organizers of the World Baseball Classic should be ashamed of themselves. Yes, I said it. Two of the qualifying groups have their games being played this month before the end of the regular MLB season. How does that make any sense? Firstly, you lose MLB players who still have their games going, who otherwise would have been eligible and possibly participated. For a country like Canada, that is a huge blow which could mean to elimination before the tournament itself even begins next spring. Add to the fact that coverage of the tournament has been literally non-existent, and people need to ask themselves what exactly they are doing. If marketed right, the WBC should be big. Huge in fact. But it’s not. With the addition of 12 new eligible countries in the qualifiers, there should be a huge amount of hype going into the games. But now, people don’t know when these games are being played, where, rosters and even that these games even exist. If we are going to promote baseball to the world, let’s do it right. There is no baseball in the Olympics, so let’s get the WBC to be a bigger global stage. Until that happens, the WBC will not fulfill its potential. Ever. Groups 3 and 4 are playing their qualifiers in mid-November. Now that makes sense.
Quite frankly, I don’t care about excuses on timing, locations etc. There are thousands of ballparks around the world. The games could all have been played much after the World Series and had its own captive baseball audience to shine. I certainly hope that is considered in the 4th edition of this great tournament.
2) Valentino Pascucci: Big Val (@PoppaValentino) on Twitter, is a huge guy. 6’6″ and 255 lbs. to be exact. He recently passed the 250 home run mark in the minors. Pretty big stuff. In 14 minor league seasons (8 of them in AAA), he has a .269 AVG, with a .390 OBP and .484 SLG. After representing Italy in the 2009 WBC, I expect to see Val back there in 2013. Glad to see that he will get to represent Italy and play at one of the highest levels of the game in the world. Whenever I think of Val, I always wonder why the man never truly got his “shot”. He got into 32 games with the Expos in 2004 (Expos??!!) and 10 games with the Mets last year. Even hitting 34 home runs in 2007 (AAA Marlins) didn’t do the trick. Could Big Val had become the next Big Papi if given his shot? We will never know. You can never have too much offense in baseball. I wish teams could have seen that and had tried Valentino Pascucci on their team one year. Who knows what could have resulted – 20-30 bombs, 70+ walks. But rather than thriving in the show, Valentino Pascucci will likely one day retire as one of the top home run hitters in the history of the minors. I wanted to take a moment and salute a great hitter in this game. Mr. Pascucci, whether the 2013 WBC will be your last or you stay in the game for another season or two, thank you the home runs and having one of the greatest baseball names we will ever hear. Well done sir.
3) If you were sleeping under a rock and looked at the MLB standings today, your jaw will drop on the floor. Yankees in first place in the AL East, with the Orioles only 2 games back. In September! White Sox and Tigers in a dead heat in the Central. Rangers on top of the West, but the A’s only 3 games back. The NL picture is a little more certain though. The Nationals (is that possible) are on top, ahead of the Braves by 6.5 games. While most of us have accepted the Nationals dominance this season long ago, someone new to the picture would still be doing a double take. Let’s not forget that this was once a losing franchise not so long ago, that just recently put it all together. In the Central, the Reds are close to becoming champs with a stranglehold 9.5 games on the Cardinals. And that is significant considering St. Louis is 10 games over .500! In the West, it’s the Dodgers and Giants, with San Francisco enjoying a 4.5 game lead. Two wild cards per league? If the season ended today, Baltimore and Oakland would meet in the sudden game playoff. If you had bet that in Vegas during spring training, you would be a millionaire soon. But the Wild Card race in the AL is far from done, with the Rays, White Sox/Tigers and Angels all in shooting distance. With much baseball to be played, anything can still happen. In the NL, Atlanta and St.Louis have the Dodgers and Pirates to contend with to clinch their respective Wild Cards. Yes, it has been an unbelievable season thus far with lots more ball to be played. Care to make your predictions at this point? Watch out. As last year taught us, it ain’t over till it’s over.
For our Batting Stance Guy featured video of the week, we bring you Gar’s recent contest: Who Takes Most Steps Out of MLB Batter’s Box? This one is fun and damn funny:
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): Follow @chuckbooth3024– 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 .
Jonathan Hacohen: Posted every Weekend: Your top baseball questions from the past week are answered. E-mail all questions to mlbreports@gmail.com, message us on Twitter, post on our Facebook Wall and leave comments on our website! There are many ways to reach us and we will get to your questions from all social media outlets!
It’s 4:00a.m. on Saturday night/Sunday morning. While most of the baseball world sleeps- the Reports doesn’t sleep. Or at least this particular insomniac. Maybe it’s the excitement over the qualifiers of the 2013 World Baseball Classic coming in 24 days. Perhaps I can’t stop thinking about the Dodgers/Red Sox swap and analyzing in my mind who won/lost that trade. Whatever be the case, I’m about to jump into your weekly baseball questions. Some really good ones folks. Keep them coming every week! Tweet, e-mail, post on Facebook or comment on our site. Whatever you have to do, get your baseball voice heard on MLB reports 🙂
For the Batting Stance Guy video of the week, we present “Batting Stance Guy Impresses Manny Ramirez“. With all the insanity around Boston this season coming full steam ahead to this weekend’s monster trade, we thought it would be fun to go back in time and remember a kinder and gentler Manny Ramirez. Enjoy!
Jonathan Hacohen: Posted every Weekend: Your top baseball questions from the past week are answered. E-mail all questions to mlbreports@gmail.com, message us on Twitter, post on our Facebook Wall and leave comments on our website! There are many ways to reach us and we will get to your questions from all social media outlets!
This week we are going to do things a little differently people. We have been receiving hundreds of e-mails and social media messages on the Boston Red Sox all season long. Red Sox/baseball fans are trying to figure out what went wrong with the team; where is the team heading; and how can the Red Sox be fixed. I have been compiling your questions in preparation for this feature. I was originally going to prepare a featured report titled “How to Fix the Boston Red Sox”. But instead, this week’s edition of ATR will cover all of the issues that you, the readers, feel face the Red Sox. It is a little different, perhaps even scary. Given the number of times we have received each question, I will present the major ones as the “issues” followed by my proposed solutions. Let’s face it…whether you love or loathe the Red Sox, you need to know: What will happen next…
In today’s special edition of ATR, you are about to find out!
Before we jump into analyzing the “Red Sox Issues”, we present or our Batting Stance Guy featured video of the week. Keeping with our Red Sox theme, Gar brings us “9 Things Red Sox Nation Misses About Youkilis”. The end of the Youkilis Era really cemented the downward spiral of the Red Sox in my mind. But keeping Kevin Youkilis close to our hearts, enjoy this little BSG clip:
Now that we have your hearts pumping and motors racing, let’s get right into “Fixing the Boston Red Sox”:
Issue: How much do you blame the Red Sox owners on the team’s current problems?
JH: I am definitely not a person shy about passing the blame. Taking a look at the Red Sox head honchos, we see that the team is led by John Henry, Larry Lucchino and Tom Werner. While I have not seen Werner’s name tossed around much, I certainly have seen Henry and Lucchino prominently in the news. My thoughts are that a good owner should not be seen or heard from. They can pay the bills, approve/veto major transactions- but otherwise, let the professionals run the show. The fact that there was even the idea of the owners meeting with key players of the team to discuss the state of the franchise is disturbing to me. Look, Henry and Lucchino clearly have money in their pockets and the right to do as they wish. I would never take that away from them. But there is no doubt that key personnel/management decisions have their fingerprints all over them. Who really hired Bobby Valentine? Who really decided to trade away Kevin Youkilis? Lucchino/Henry or Cherington, the GM? Nobody knows for certain, but many of us have an idea. Remember the comments by John Henry in the offseason that essentially showed the displeasure of signing Carl Crawford? Exactly. If you are going to go into the kitchen and start messing with the meals that are being produced, you are going to have to take responsibility. The Red Sox ownership may be very smart individuals. But as long as they continue to meddle, they will have to shoulder at least part of the responsibility of the misfortunes. Long-term, I would recommend getting the right GM/manager/management in place and starting becoming more hands-off. As long as we continue to see the names Henry and Lucchino in the news when it comes to the Red Sox, I see the same patterns continuing to emerge. Read the rest of this entry →
John Burns: It is easy to say that Robinson Cano is the best all-around second baseman in baseball right now. Cano has been the top second baseman for a couple of years now. What makes Cano so great is his ability to just flat-out hit and his much improved defense at second base. Cano is having another great season with the Yankees. With a .316 average and 24 homers, Cano has been one of the most feared hitters in the stacked Yankees lineup.
At age 29, Cano has very impressive career numbers, including a .309 average with 168 career homers. Since being called up to the Yankees in 2005, Cano has been a 4x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger Award Winner, 2009 World Series Champion, 2010 Gold Glove Winner, and he even won the 2011 Home Run Derby. Now that is a very impressive line for a 29-year-old 2nd baseman! There is much more in store for Cano in the future as well in my opinion. Cano is not only the best second baseman, but I strongly believe that he is the best player in baseball. He does it all: he will consistently 25-30 homers a season and is almost a lock to hit .300 every season. Combine his bat with gold glove defense and you have one of the best all-around players in the game. Cano has been criticized in the past about being “Lazy” which I find absurd; As Derek Jeter has said before: Robinson Cano plays the game very smoothly and has one of the best work ethics around. Personally, I will take Jeter’s word at face value. Read the rest of this entry →
With only one World Series Win and a 2003 Loss to the Florida Marlins, it hasn’t stopped the Yankees from raking in wins every year. They have averaged 95 wins a season since 2003.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024)- This weeks installment is actually a top 11. I bent the rules a little to accommodate the A’s. It is hard to maintain a great franchise in today’s Major Leagues. Sure the heavy hitters like New York and Boston will always be sniffing around the top of the league with their huge payrolls, but most teams don’t have the luxury to spend like these two teams do because of their limited revenue streams. In the last few years, the Phillies, Angels and Tigers have entered the echelon of top spenders. Spending money doesn’t always equal great results. The Texas Rangers have only had success lately and were often victim to heavy payrolls and not great results. How many years did Peter Angelos try to buy a contender with Baltimore? He has dedicated himself back to the right way of building a team the last couple of years and it has worked through player development.
Minnesota and Oakland have been run incredibly well for a long time. If this list was for a five-year stretch, you would have seen the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the top 10. These are the small market teams that have been consistently playing well against the big boys. The Twins have only faded back in the standings in the last couple of seasons. The Atlanta Braves finally had their consecutive playoff years stopped in 2005 and they were only mediocre for a few seasons. Right now, they might be the best team in the National League. The Angels, Twins, Dodgers, Athletics, Dodgers and Braves did not make any World Series appearances since 2003. Out of these teams, the Angels have the most wins.
According to the movie ‘The Natural,’ losing is a disease, and like other diseases, (insert disease here) it is curable. Most of these teams have not even struggled in the last 10 years. The Yankees have only won one World Series in this time frame, despite dominating the win total every year. In fact, the last time the Yankees has a losing season was 1991. The Cardinals and the Red Sox both have won 2 World Series, and the Cardinals are the only team to have appeared in the Fall Classic 3 times during this stretch. Read the rest of this entry →
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- There is only so much one can read in an article, otherwise I would make these lists up from the turn of the 20th century. If you gave me enough time as a reader, I promise to backdate this topic with another article featuring the best teams dating back further in years. Eventually, all of the years may be dissected and we can have a healthy debate on some of my selections. I really started watching baseball in the early 1980’s. As I became older and discovered ways to research the history of the game, my knowledge and curious mind grew for more information. I have studied and read baseball stat books and breezed through the odd Bill James novel. If I ever take a break from writing or baseball park chasing, I may find some time down the road to watch the 9 part PBS documentary that Ken Burns did on baseball’s history.
Baseball lends itself more to the history than any other sport because of how it has been chronicled throughout their past. Writers, announcers, former players, parents etc.. have always carried on with the stories of America’s favorite pastime. I will never be sold that NFL is the greatest pastime in sports right now. NFL is the greatest gambling sport presently. It is my firm belief that the only reason why the NFL draws in more cash from its sport is because of the gambling factor. If you took that aspect out of it, I believe baseball is the #1 sport. Can you imagine how much attention we would pay to baseball if there were only a 16 game schedule? Enough with that rant, let’s get down to the list. Who were the best teams at any specific time period for the last 32 years? We will start with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1980-1983. Read the rest of this entry →
The Yankees pay at the rate of +190 to win the American League and +375 to win the World Series. They are actually the 2nd favorite in the MLB for both to Texas. These odds are not flattering to throw any money down on either team.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024)- I thought we would try a different top ten today with the ALL-Star Break here today. This morning I did some research on the odds of what http://www.bet365.com thinks will happen for the rest of the MLB Year based on their gambling futures. Gambling is an increasing industry like no other entity in the world. The NFL is better suited for ‘punters’ to throw down some bucks at Vegas. They have only one game a week and the gambling experts think that baseball is easier for the bad teams to beat the good teams. I will tell you as one of these ‘so called experts’, they are completely right. The worst teams in baseball usually can still beat the best teams 1 out of 3 games in a series. This makes normal gambling for a regular season game really hard to make any money, or minimize losses. I do think that betting who makes the playoffs and who wins it all has some good value picks.
Y0u have to search for the value in anything. I never like to play the #1 favorites of each league because they simply don’t pay enough of an odd. Right now, Bet365.com has the Texas Rangers at +175 to win the AL, or The Yankees at +190. I love these two teams to probably represent the AL in the World Series, however these odds are not good at all. As I list all of the odds for each league first, then the World Series, I will make some notes up. I have two teams in the NL that I have already wagered with and I am coming up roses on them so far. It is time for Gambling 101.Read the rest of this entry →
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)-We are going to bring you a monthly power rankings every month of the season. There will be a few verses for each team. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts.
May Power Rankings
Texas (19-10) Josh Hamilton is clubbing the ball at his 2010 like AL MVP clip. Yu Darvish appears to be the real deal. Mike Napoli hits 8th on most nights. Michael Young might be the most under-appreciated hitter in the last decade. Ian Kinsler is on pace for 162 runs. If Nelson Cruz starts hitting and or Nathan rounds into form, than this team may blitz by every one.
Tampa Bay (19-10) The pitching staff is incredible right now. David Price is asserting himself as one of the premier left-handed pitchers in baseball. Strong starts from Evan Longoria, Luke Scott and Carlos Pena have helped. Joe Maddon may be the best ‘in-game manager’ of baseball now with Tony La Russa out of the Majors.
Atlanta (18-12) The reason I have Atlanta rated so high is they are not even having a good year from Tim Hudson yet and Jair Jurrjens has been atrocious. Still they sit near the top of the standings. Chipper Jones has 21 RBI and Freddie Freeman has taken the next step so far with 26 RBI. Last year the team had a lot of players with career worst years and they were only eliminated on the last day of the season. This year may be different.
St. Louis (18-11) You lose a franchise player like Albert Pujols and you spend half the money for Carlos Beltran and Rafael Furcal, who are finally hitting the numbers like the back of their bubble gum cards from 5 years ago. Are we giving enough credit to Mark McGwire here? Lance Lynn has morphed into Chris Carpenter with his 6-0 start.
LA Dodgers (19-10) Matt Kemp is the best player in baseball right now and may walk away with the triple crown this year. Andre Ethier has matured into the RBI guy he needs to be. Solid pitching by Clayton Kershaw, Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly have this team looking solid. Dodgers look good in the future when the new ownership takes over. (more…)
5. Chase Utley: Utley, thought of as the hands-down best second baseman just a few years ago, makes this list after coming off an injury that caused him to have arguably the worst season of his career. Chase has seen a downward trend offensively since 2009, and his history of downplaying and withholding information about injuries to get more playing time and avoid the DL has in fact hurt his play. Though an amazing show of his dedication to the game, Utley’s willingness to play hurt has limited his hitting, as evidenced by his total 109 RBIs over the last two seasons. Coming into 2012, though, Chase seems 100 percent healthy, and may bring some of his 30 plus-home run power back with him. Add this to the fact that his all-star caliber fielding hasn’t shown any decline, and Utley stacks up as a great player.
4. Brandon Phillips: Speaking of defense, how about the two-time defending NL Gold Glove winner, Brandon Phillips? A complete monster in the field, Phillips committed just six errors in 2011, boosting his fielding percentage to a great .992%. But the Gold Glove was not the only hardware Phillips brought home last year: his .300 average and 82 RBIs helped him win the NL Silver Slugger at second base. The biggest part of Phillips’ game may be his consistency, as he is the only player to have at least a .260 average, 15 home runs and 10 steals in each of the last six seasons. When looking at Brandon, it is pretty much assured that he will bring contact, gold-glove fielding and a bit of power and speed to the Reds in 2012. Read the rest of this entry →
Peter Stein (Fantasy Baseball Analyst – MLB reports): Although WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is not the best of the sabermetric stats for fantasy baseball purposes, it has certainly transformed the way in which we can truly understand a given major league baseball player’s contribution (or lack there of) to his team. WAR attempts to epitomize a player’s total value in one sole statistic, taking into account both the offensive and defensive aspects of the game. FanGraphs (the sabermetrics bible) aptly describes the essence of WAR: “If this player got injured and their team had to replace them with a minor leaguer or someone from their bench, how much value would the team be losing.” A player is measured in “Wins” for a season (i.e. 3.4), while an average full-time player is worth 2 wins and a replacement player represents 0 wins. Furthermore an average staring pitcher is worth 2.0 WAR, while 1.0 WAR represents a strong season for a relief pitcher.
The statistic actually defines a player’s value, something that MVP (Most Valuable Players) voters should perhaps consider come each October. For batters, the stat itself is calculated by taking into account two stats: wRAA (Weighted Runs Above Average) and UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating), which represent a batter’s offensive and defensive values, respectively. Pitching WAR replaces these two sabermetric stats with FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), a stat that normalizes ERA for the “uncontrollable,” in conjunction with numbers of innings pitched. The Uncontrollable refers to what happens after the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand, because obviously pitchers have almost no control over the balls that are in play. They are ultimately at the mercy of their defense.
Fangraphs site the formula for FIP as the following:
If you are unfamiliar with Sabermetrics and WAR, this should feel like a mix between learning a foreign language and a calculus problem. However, don’t let this intimidate you. Spend some time on FanGraphs (It’s okay take it slowly) and it will change the way in which you think about the game of baseball. Please note that Baseball Reference has a slightly different formula/method to calculate WAR.
The beauty of WAR, however, is that it not only takes in account a player’s defensive skills (using UZR), but also the difficulty of the position. Therefore, someone like Dustin Pedroia at second base is significantly more valuable than a slugging Prince Fielder, at the first base position where power and production is demanded. Perhaps that is why Fielder is still fielding offers and has not landed a contract within his desired range. Not too shabby of statistic for a General Manager, huh? My hope is that this analysis paints the complexity of WAR and the many factors used to determine the number of wins that a player is ultimately worth to his team.
Let it be clear that by no means is WAR perfect. From a rather cynical standpoint, the very philosophy of WAR, which is calculated with so many components, professes that you cannot use one sole determinant to measure a player’s value. Furthermore, the positional adjustment numbers are the most arbitrary difficult to calculate. Can we really determine that a Center Fielder, due to difficulty to play the position itself, is worth 1.5 more wins than a first baseman? It is also difficult to determine the UZR for a first baseman, a position in which success is defined less by range and more by the ability to field throws. Paul Konerko certainly does not have great range, but he is universally regarded as one of the league’s top defensive first baseman, most likely saving Alexei Ramirez a handful of errors each season. Likewise, you cannot measure range for catchers, which use the fielding component of Stolen Base Runs Saved (rSB). We also know that much of catcher’s true value is related to his ability to call a smart game (which cannot be measured by any given statistic).
However, from a fantasy perspective, we do not care about defense, and therefore wRAA is a more accurate indicator of offensive output. FIP can be used as well. For example, if a pitcher’s FIP indicates that his defense is frequently letting him down, and said pitcher joins a top rated defensive team; you have acquired knowledge about a player’s ability not represented by the generic stats out there. This is how you will earn surplus value and land the “surprises”, the “bounce-back” players, and avoid the “busts”.
I admit, when I first familiarized myself with FanGraphs, I felt like I was cheating in my fantasy baseball leagues. However, after joining more competitive leagues and with sabermetrics entering the mainstream, I have learned that this only provides a slight advantage. Just as it holds true for every other aspect of life, it is impossible to predict the future in the world of baseball. However, in a game of numbers- only the slightest advantage is needed to set your team apart from the competition.
WAR is a one of a kind stat. It helps us more thoroughly examine a player’s worth, especially when compared to their salary. Ultimately, the stat serves as a good building block to work back from to understand the intricacies and essence of sabermetrics.
***Today’s feature was prepared by our Fantasy Baseball Analyst, Peter Stein. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Peter on Twitter (@peterWstein).***
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