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Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – April 13, 2013

Tommy Hanson


On today’s episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast, I talk about the parity in the American League and why the Angels resemble a little league team.


Also, Andrew McCutchen, Shelby Miller, Justin Maxwell and Justin Masterson owned baseball.


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Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – April 12, 2013

I recorded today’s episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast in the parking lot of Trader Joe’s. Don’t ask. I hate bean ball wars and brawls in baseball. And I let me feelings known to all the shoppers today. Meanwhile Manny Machado, A. J. Griffin, Bryce Harper and Sergio Romo owned baseball on April 11, 2013. Subscribe on iTunes HERE.

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Arizona Diamondbacks First Week in Review

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Tuesday, April.09, 2013

The Diamondbacks will look to regain the the magic that aided them in winning the division in 2011.

The Diamondbacks have started the 2013 season off great at 5 – 2 – including a great kickoff series versus the St . Louis Cardinals at home – before sauntering into Milwaukee and brutalizing that club for a 3 game stanza. The Starting Pitching looks a lit like it did in 2011 – and the Bullpen has been good in playing at two hitter friendly parks thus far for full series.  They club has received contributions from everyone in their line up. The biggest impacts have been by Gerardo Parra, Martin Prado, and Paul GoldschmidtThe team lost the opener of the 3 game series vs Pittsburgh last night 5 – 3.

By Chris Lacey (Baseball Writer)

The Arizona Diamondbacks had a very good start to their 2013 baseball season. The Diamondbacks have managed to start the season 5-1, and they are tied for first in the National League West division with the Colorado Rockies.

The Diamondbacks just finished a series sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. This is also the first time they have swept their opening road series in team history.

The Brewers did not have Ryan Braun play at all in the series, and the Brewers slugging Third Baseman Aramis Ramirez was injured in the first game. The Brewers still played very well without their two best offensive players unavailable.

2011 NL West Champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Mature Lyrics – Parental Guidance Is Advised:

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“Who Owns Baseball?” An explanation for a subjective title.

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Thursday April.04/2013

Just how far can Bryce Harper improve during his 2nd season?  If he can improve by about 15 % might we see a 30 HR/ 30 SB, year with around 120 Runs Scored and 80 Extra Base Hits?  This would vault the 20 Year Old LF.  He hit 2 HRs on Opening Day - and is Walking and crushing regular hits as well.

Just how far can Bryce Harper improve during his 2nd season? If he can improve by about 15 % might we see a 30 HR/ 30 SB, year with around 120 Runs Scored and 80 Extra Base Hits? This would vault the 20 Year Old LF into MVP consideration. He hit 2 HRs on Opening Day – and is crushing regular hits as well.  Harper is 6 – 12 with 2 HRs and 3 RBI through 3 games.  The Nats swept the Marlins in 3 straight.

By Paul Francis Sullivan (Lead Baseball Writer/Personality):

On my podcast, The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast (available on iTunes), I have been keeping track of a title of my creation. It is the title of “Who Owns Baseball?” for a given day.

Essentially it is the star of the day, with an American League and National League hitter and pitcher being honored. Its origin stems from the Opening Day heroics of Bryce Harper and Clayton Kershaw. I wrote on Twitter that they “owned baseball today.”

And I thought why not keep track of that? Why not follow an entire season, as I am going to do anyway, and declare a pitcher and a hitter from each league as the “Owners of Baseball.”

Yu Darvish’s near Perfect Game:

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Granderson Is Out For 10 Weeks: What Can Cashman Do?

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Monday, February.25, 2013

Granderson has back to back 40 HR years with the Yankees. New York can ill afford to be without a productive LF for the 1st quarter of the year.  I believe they should make a trade to bolster their team.  When Granderson comes back, you could always have an extra player for depth still.

Granderson has had back to back 40 HR years with the Yankees in 2011 and 2012. New York can ill afford to be without a productive LF for the 1st quarter of this season. I believe they should make a trade to bolster their team. When Granderson comes back, you would always have an extra player for depth still.

Chuck Booth (Yankees Correspondent/Website Owner):

The start of the season is starting to look extremely bleak for the Yankees so far.  Derek Jeter is coming off of a broken ankle, A-Rod is out indefinitely with (insert whatever ailment here) until after the ALL-Star Game, Mariano Rivera is 43 – and trying to make it through one more season after tearing up his ACL last year, Phil Hughes is having back spasms, Joba Chamberlain seems healthy – (but you never what freak injury is going to happen to him next,) Michael Pineda is still recovering from shoulder Surgery, so what else was going to happen?  Add Curtis Granderson and a fractured right forearm to the walking wounded list.

This injury should alarm the Yankees and their fans.  The team is not strong depth-wise, as they have been in decades, so “The ‘Grandy Man’ not being able to play until early May should cause New York GM Brian Cashman to explore all of his options.  Like I have said in previous articles – ‘Financial Armageddon’ is coming for the club in 2014, plus the team is rapidly becoming older by the year.  It is safe to say that this year might be the last kick at a championship for some time.  What may the Yankees do to replace Granderson for the 1st quarter of the season?

Juan Rivera hits a Walk-Off for the Dodgers:

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Arizona DiamondBacks Roster In 2013: State Of The Union

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Saturday, February.16, 2013

The Diamondbacks will look to regain the the magic that aided them in winning the division in 2011.

The Diamondbacks will look to regain the magic that aided them in winning the division in 2011.

By Chris Lacey (Diamond Backs Correspondent)

Arizona Diamondbacks fans had some high hopes coming into the 2012 season after winning the division in 2011 and making their way back to the playoffs for the first time 2007. The 2012 off-season saw them bring in free agent OF Jason Kubel. The season started off great with a three game sweep of the San Francisco Giants, but when CF Chris Young went crashing into the wall to catch a deep ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates the team was never the same. The Diamondbacks are in tough division the NL West, which is known for pitching. They will have to rely on their young starters if they hope to compete with San Francisco Giants & Los Angeles Dodgers. The offense will have to get better with manufacturing runs and instead of depending on the long ball to score runs. They traded away RF Justin Upton and 3B Chris Johnson, but they brought in versatile player Martin Prado and pitching prospect Randall Delgado.

Game #7 of the 2001 World Series – Gonzalez Game Winner – Can the 2013 DBACKS get back to the WS?


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Arizona DiamondBacks Payroll In 2013: And Contracts Going Forward

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Thursday, February.14, 2013

Arizona has won 5 Division Titles in just 15 years of existence.  They could not get both of the hitting and pitching going at the same time in 2012 - will 2013 be any different?

Arizona have won 5 Division Titles in just 15 years of existence – including winning the World Series in 2001. The franchise consistently is rated as one of the top rated front office organizations – and routinely rank as the most fan-friendly team in the MLB.   The Franchise is 2nd amongst Expansion Clubs for Winning Percentage (.498) behind the Angels (.499.)  The DBacks are only 10 games below .500 for their ALL-Time record (1210-1220). Will they be able to compete with the Dodgers and Giants in future years by increasing Payroll?

By Chris Lacey (Diamond Backs Correspondent)

The Diamondbacks finished the 2012 season with disappointment as they struggled to get over .500 for much of the season. They lost the last game of the season to the Rockies that summed up what happened during the year. When they got good starting pitching, the defense would make a costly mistake, and then the offense would struggle to score any runs. The Diamondbacks enter the 2013 camaign with plenty of new faces on the club.

General Manager Kevin Towers has changed the makeup of this team these past two off-seasons. He has put an emphasis on players who can make consistent contact, rather than hitting the long ball. The Dbacks GM is always looking to improve upon the bullpen. He did this by taking a risk on Heath Bell who had a bad year with the Marlins, but Towers believes a change of scenery will help. Towers not only brought in bullpen help, but also signed some key players’ to long-term contracts that will aid the team to not only contend now, but for the future.

2011 DiamondBacks Post Season Highlights.  Lyrics May Contain mature content so Parental Guidance is advised:

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MLB Player Profile: DiamondBacks OF/DH Jason Kubel

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Jason Kubel is one of the better RBI OF/DH in the last 4 years with 343 RBI in only 1904 AB.  This works out to be about 108 RBI for every 600 AB.  This is great production yet he doesn't see that much respect.

Jason Kubel is one of the better RBI OF/DH in the last 4 years – with 343 RBI in only 1904 AB. This works out to be about 108 RBI for every 600 AB. This is great production yet he doesn’t see that much respect.  His 162 Game Average is 24 HRs and 94 RBI.  Kubel had a career high 30 HRs with the DBacks in 2012.  He also had a career best in Runs Scored with 75.

By Chris Lacey (Diamond Backs Correspondent)

Jason Kubel was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 12th Round of the 2000 Amateur Draft, after playing high school ball at Highland High School in California. Kubel received the call-up to the Majors in 2004. He would suffer a knee injury in the Arizona Fall League – that would cause him to miss all of the 2005 season. He would have his most productive season as a Twin in 2009, when he would have a Batting Average of .300, drive in 103 RBI and hit 28 Home Runs.  He has his best 3 – Slash Line for his Career at .300/.369/.907.  His efforts even saw him net 24th in AL MVP Voting.  That season also saw Kubel hitting for cycle against the Los Angeles Angels, and would do in dramatic fashion by hitting the go-ahead Grand Slam in the 8th inning.

Jason Kubels hitting mechanics:

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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

Should the Diamondbacks be Buyers or Sellers at the MLB Trade Deadline?

Thursday July 19th, 2012

Bryan Sheehan (MLB Writer): The Diamondbacks could be in a worse situation. Just four games under .500 and sitting third within the NL West, they’re in the middle of the road statistically for both hitting and pitching despite injuries on both sides of the ball. Both Justin Upton and Miguel Montero have gone through slumps but are still batting around .270 with potential to contribute offensively, and second baseman Aaron Hill is having a great season so far, hitting .301 with the projection of 73 RBIs if he continues on this pace. Outfielder Jason Kubel is having a great year at the plate and defensively, as he leads the MLB in outfield assists. Rookie pitcher Wade Miley has been a wonderful surprise this year, leading all rookie starters with a 3.13 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 10 wins. Keep in mind this is the team that won the NL West last year and didn’t radically change over the offseason.

That being said, they’re far from in the driver’s seat. 7 games out of the wild card, as well as 7 games from the NL West lead, they have some issues to attend to. While top prospect and 2011 draft pick Trevor Bauer has the potential to be an MLB starter, at 21 he’s a bit underdeveloped. In four starts, Bauer had a 6.06 ERA with a 1-2 record, rough enough to buy him a bus ticket back to Triple-A Reno. With ace Daniel Hudson out for the season because of Tommy John surgery, the D-Backs currently only have four starting pitchers. With the deadline fast approaching, Arizona has a tough choice: trade away prospects and make a run for the playoffs, or sell off their big names in return for a chance in 2013 (and beyond). Read the rest of this entry

Week 4 – MLB 2012 Season: Fantasy Baseball Report

Monday April 30th, 2012

Peter Stein (Fantasy Baseball Analyst – MLB reports): This offseason, I told myself (and others) to stay away from names like Matt Kemp and Josh Hamilton. It wasn’t even a question. There was no way Kemp could repeat his 2011 season (and his .380 BAPIP). But he appears to be on his way to surpassing last year and making a hard push towards the triple crown. Josh Hamilton, who I also intentionally stayed away from, simply cannot be counted on to play 150 games. Hamilton has had a Kemp-like start to the season and is also single-handedly carrying fantasy teams throughout the first month of the season. However, he did leave Sunday’s game with back tightness (out Monday as well) and this could be a start of a trend that we have seen in seasons past. 

On the pitching side, Jake Peavy was another guy who fell in the same category as Hamilton, having only made 39 starts in his 2.5 seasons with the White Sox. Furthermore, the results were poor in those starts as he transitioned from a pitcher friendly park in baseball’s weakest hitting division to the American League.  But even more of an afterthought in addition to the health concerns, was Peavy’s transition from the NL West and the most pitcher friendly park to the hitting friendly confines of U.S. Cellular Field. However, Peavy looks like the Peavy of old and is pitching like a number one type pitcher again.  But will that last? Are you prepared to take that gamble? Read the rest of this entry