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Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 27, 2016
SI: T. Tanuma –
I have often wondered which Negro League players and Cuban stars could have excelled in the big leagues. But what about Sadaharu Oh? What could HE have done in the major leagues?
That and more on today’s episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Dear Mr. Manfred: Shifts, Trying To Help Offense – How About 9 Fielders And 8 Hitters In Both AL + NL?
Under my proposed format of 9 fielders, with only 8 hitters – eliminating both the pitcher and DH from entering the box, having 8 batters only in every lineup would allow players such as Mike Trout a helluva lot more Plate Appearances in a full year. The National League would stand to gain almost a quarter of a run, and the American League would also knock off its worst hitter from each squad. So how do you do this with the players union? Offer a 26 man roster (with 25 activated for each game). Creating 30 new jobs would be a better way than having the NL adopt the DH into their game. That would not go well, and longtime would throw a conniption fit. The best way to uniform both leagues is to go with a lineup of 8 guys.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I like the way Rob Manfred came out blazing Sunday on heels of his 1st 24 hours as commissioner. I agree completely that we need more offense infused into the game.
Whether any of us like or not, the ;PED’ era while it was going, was at least fun to watch on the offensive side of it. I have even talked to fans that in my shop that would love for them not to be illegal – so we could see that HR’s creep up again. I can’t say I would go that far, but the recent trend of Runs scored on the decline is alarming.
I grew up in the 80’s, and if there were any season that has been similar to that timeframe, last season was. Pitching, speed, defense and clutch hitting was the key to winning in that decade, and there was a degree of parity that existed too.
I am still stunned that more people can tell the real reason why games take so long. How about Strikeouts at an ALL – Time rate? This is the biggest factor, and it is not even debatable. You add in the “Moneyball” concept of taking a pile of pitches, combined with tonnes of pitching changes, instant replay, TV time out, and players going through per pitch rituals that would make golf’s Sergio Garcia seem like a speed demon in contrast, and no wonder why games take forever. Read the rest of this entry
A Early Look at Future Hall of Fame Candidates
Craig Biggio finally got his “call to the hall” and should set an example for players who didn’t get that call on their first try. Other notable players are still on the ballot, and should receive legitimate consideration for induction in the future.
By Nicholas Delahanty (MLB Reports Writer) Follow @Nick_Delahanty
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The BBWAA elected four players into the Baseball Hall of Fame for the class of 2015: Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio. This is the first time that the BBWAA has elected four players in 60 years, as these four players truly exemplify what the MLB Hall of Fame is all about.
Now that the official results have been released, we can now take a look at not only some of the guys who will return on the ballot in the upcoming years, but also some future eligible players who present a very interesting case for their enshrinement into the Hall of Fame.
How All Of The Yankees Hitters Were Acquired: 2014 Roster Tree
How All Of The Yankees Hitters Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
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The success of most franchises usually occurs when a huge core is built up through a drafting system, and then the club can piece the rest of the club together.
The 2nd best way to create a winning squad is to trade for players with the organizational pieces you have supplanted in the Minors or Majors.
Then there is the Yankees way of doing things. Hiring Free Agents – and spend boatloads of dollars.
Out of the majority of their hitting roster in 2014, most of them came through the Free Agent route.
Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, Brian Roberts, Kelly Johnson and Yangervis Solarte were acquired through outright Free Agency.
Ichiro Suzuki and Brendan Ryan were both acquired in deals, then have since re-signed as Free Agents in the open market afterwards.
Alfonso Soriano, was brought over in a deal, and is in the last year of his current contract signed back in 2007.
Yes, he was originally signed by the “Pinstripers”, but the new chain of transaction, had the club giving away a pitching prospect for his services, even though he is still tied to A’Rod.
Derek Jeter, Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli stand alone as the only 3 players to have been drafted by the club – and have remained Yanks their whole playing time thus far. Read the rest of this entry
There is A Major Problem At MLB.com With Their Active Players List: Part 1
Bobby Abreu was traded from the Rays to the Phillies for Kevin Stocker and had 7 straight 20 HR/20 SB seasons for the ‘Fightins from 1999 – 2005. After playing for both of the LA clubs in 2012, he did not play for any other club in 2013, but has since said he plans to make a comeback in 2014. If he does, he would become the active ALL – Time Leader for Doubles in the MLB. After seeing that the website mlb.com called him active, I investigated a massive flaw.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
When starting to compile a list at http://www.mlb.com of current Extra Base Hits Leaders – I was unimpressed about the slowness of the webmasters.
I love the MLB, and the coverage/video highlights is fantastic at the site. Their updating the stat leaders for active players needs to be seriously addressed. so the top 10 list will be posted tomorrow instead.
Manny Ramirez, Ivan Rodriguez and Todd Helton are on this list.
Okay, I can give them a slight pass on Helton, however he has filed his retirement papers already, but Pudge and Man-Ram – c’mon.
Ortiz Is Almost Done Playing: Who Will Be The Next Great DH Among The AL Clubs??
David Ortiz has been the quintessential DH in the AL over the last 11 years. Boston is in contention perennially because he put up great #s compared to his competition. With all of the teams imploring several employees to scouting staffs – trying to find advantages to bring to Major League Lineups – why aren’t teams focusing on the DH position more. Ortiz has been a full time DH since joining the Red Sox, and has been instrumental in the club bringing home 3 World Series Titles. In fact, the only time the team has struggled in the last decade, was if “Big Papi” is hurt or struggling.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
There is no doubt in my mind that the Red Sox has won 3 World Series Titles in the last 10 years because they have had the quintessential DH in the American League.
While other teams have used the position as a rest stop for aging players, or stop-gap measure for players with defensive faulty, clubs have not seemed to have stressed emphasis on the slot in the lineup.
My question is why? With everyone always searching for an edge in today’s game, you have one sitting right in front of you, that equates to over 600 AB a year.
David Ortiz (Post Season Heroics 2013)
The Mets Signing Colon To 2 YRs/$20 MIL – Is Just Par For The Course Of Insane!
PED use or not, Stem Cell technology, and who knows what else has aided Colon’s body over the last 3 seasons of success. Yes he was 18 – 6, with a 2.65 ERA – finishing 6th in AL Voting, however the A’s went and paid someone else to fill his spot (Scott Kazmir), and usually they are not wrong on guys. The 40 Year Old from Dominican Republic, is also a gigantic man who decimated his hamstring during a routine PFP in 2011 with the Yankees. You have to think his lucky streak is numbered sooner or later. Whether it is another failed drug test, or he blows out a ligament running anything down, or just has father time come down on him, signing this man to a 2 YR deal, for a team not probably contending in 2014, is downright absurd.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twiter Follow @mlbreports
‘Stoking The Fire’ – Week 9
The Mets are like a gambling addict that has been clean for a few years, before suffering a serious relapse.
This club is just coming off a season where they doled out $18 MIL for Jason Bay (who they released – and still owe $3 MIL in 2014) and Johan Santana ($25.5 MIL and a $5 MIL Buyout for 2014).
These are guys that never played for you during the 2013 season. Oh yeah…They still contribute annually to the Bobby Bonilla ‘liquor fund’ – thanks to a long restructured contract from many moons ago.
So now that they have altered their club to don a new era of “Strike out Champs”, they have gone overboard in throwing down a 2 YR/$20 MIL contract for a 300 LB PED user like Bartolo Colon.
“It Was A Little More Than Stem Cell Technology”
Having A Great DH Can Mean Winning The AL Pennant: For Other Teams – The Position Is A Waste!
David Ortiz has been the quintessential DH in the AL over the last 11 years. Boston are perennial contenders because he put up great #s compared to his competition. Ortiz had a great 2013 campaign – where he 3 Slashed .309/.395./.959 – with 30 HRs and 103 RBI in just 137 Games Played. Ortiz is .292/.390/.962 in 11 Years with Boston, with 373 HRs and 1191 RBI. The Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007 with him at DH, and are looking to win again this year.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @chuckbooth3024
Watching the 2013 season, something really resonated with me while watching the American League: ‘Where have all the great designated hitters in MLB gone?’
It is surprising to me that teams haven’t figured out that having a dominant DH in the league could mean the difference in winning the AL pennant or not.
I also believe that players should be moved their earlier than in their mid 30’s. If they can’t play the field at all, or are not superior at offense, they should be made to Pinch-hit in the NL.
It seemed only a few years ago that every team had a bopper capable of hitting .300 with 30 HR’S and 100 RBI’s. Upon further investigation, I found out some interesting facts.
The NY Yankees Roster Tree Part 1: The Hitters Acquisitions For Each Player
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Follow @mlbreportsTuesday July.09/2013
Derek Jeter starts the 2013 year only 11 hits behind Eddie Collins for 10th place on the ALL-Time hits list. With a possible Player Option in 2014, – and maybe playing one additional year after – can he hit 327 base knocks to pass Stan Musial for 4th place on the list by that years end? Will he play beyond this year even? Derek Jeter was Drafted by the team in 1992 – and represents all that good drafting the team did prior to the new regime.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
At the MLB Reports, we intend to show you the Roster Tree for the Yankees – and how they assembled their current roster for hitting and Pitching. It will work in a six degrees of separation like format.
Once we figure out the origin of how many trades going back in time it takes to see where the tree started, it will be time to dissect how the team fared on the deals.
If a player has never left the organization at all, the tree will be easy – as it will just be the year they were drafted.
Florida Baseball and The San Juan Rays
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
MLB Reports Monthly Power Rankings: July 2012
Wednesday July.4, 2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)-We are going to bring you monthly power rankings every month of the season. There will be a few notes written for each team. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts. The Texas Rangers are the top ranked team yet once again, although teams are certainly gaining on the them in the last month. If this report was being done last week I might have put the New York Yankees in 1st and Texas in 2nd. A 7 game winning streak help preserve another month for Texas on the leader-board. There were superior months by Aaron Hill, Jose Bautista, Joey Votto , Jason Heyward and a new phenomenon was born with Jose Altuve. It was a great month for the MLB. With 20 teams within 5.5 games or less for the playoff races, we are sure to see some serious movements in the Power Rankings in the 2nd half of the season.
Standings taken before play Tuesday July.03/2012
July Power Rankings-Last Month Rank in Parenthesis
1. Texas-50-30 (1) The Rangers rode a 7 game winning streak to end up 18-8 for the last month. David Murphy, Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus all hit over .300 in the last 30 days. The Rangers were able to weather a slow spurt from Josh Hamilton, in which he hit .222 with only 4 HRs for the month. Matt Harrison has asserted himself as an ace on the staff with a 5-0 month with a 1.29 ERA, while leading the American League with 11 wins on the year. The Rangers have 6 players going to the ALL-Star Game including 3 starters. Yu Darvish can make a 7th if he is voted into the final roster spot with his rookie campaign of 10-5 so far.
2. NY Yankees 48-31(5) The Yankees have ridden good pitching and a hot bat from Robinson Cano to a 19-7 record over the last month, with a 5 games lead over their competition in the AL East. Cano hit .370 with 12 HRs and 24 RBI in the last month. Derek Jeter is hitting .298 overall but saw his average go from .389 in April, to .283 in May to .232 in June. He still tops a list of 4 Yankees heading to the ALL-Star Game including 23 HR homer man Curtis Granderson. Phil Hughes went 5-1 in the month with a 2.59 ERA and Ivan Nova won his 3 decisions with a miniscule 1.32 ERA. Rafael Soriano has converted 18 out of 19 save opportunities since taking over as team closer.
3. San Francisco 45-30 (9) The Giants went 16-11 in the month and saw a perfect game from Matt Cain, with a few other 1 hitters. The team shutout the Dodgers 3 games in a row in a series last week. The Giants have Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey and Melky Cabrera starting in KC next week. The Melkman continues to show that last year was no fluke with his .352 Average and he is leading the Major Leagues with 111 base hits. The Giants pitching staff has coped with the loss of Brian Wilson and the ineffectiveness of starter Tim Lincecum, by the rest of the staff having career years.
4. LA Angels 45-35 (12) The Angels have been really steady since the end of May. They just finished going 17-8 in the last 25 days on the backs of ALL-Stars Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo and resurgent Albert Pujols. Trout might be the most exciting player on the planet these days and is a lock for AL Rookie of the Year if he keeps this up. Trout hit .367 over the last month and has taken over the AL batting lead with a .342 AVG. Trumbo hit 10 HRs and drove in 28 RBI for the month and Pujols hit .337. to raise his average 40 points. C.J Wilson was good enough in June to be named as CC Sabathia‘s replacement at the ALL-Star game.
5. Washington 45-32(9) Mike Morse has returned to the lineup with a vengeance during the last week with a .484 average. Super Sub Tyler Moore has also hit .415 in the last 14 games with 4 HRs and 12 RBI. Ian Desmond had 16 Extra base hits for the month to go along with 20 RBI, while he made the ALL-Star game as a reserve. Ryan Zimmerman awoke from a season long slump to plate 17 RBI. Adam LaRoche still contributed 7 HRs and 15 RBI despite a paltry .191 average in June. Stephen Strasburg is 9-3 on the year with a 2.81 ERA and a league leading 122 SO. Gio Gonzalez is 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA. Both Gonzalez and Strasburg made the ALL-Star squad. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Reports Monthly Power Rankings: June 2012
Monday June.4, 2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)-We are going to bring you monthly power rankings every month of the season. There will be a few notes written for each team. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts. The Texas Rangers are the top ranked team yet once again, although teams are certainly gaining on the them in the last week. Look out for Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees to make their move towards the top this month.
June Power Rankings-Last Month Rank in Parenthesis
1. Texas-32-22 (1) The Rangers rode Josh Hamilton in the month of May-who enters today on pace for about 60 HRs and 170 RBI while hitting .354. Nelson Cruz is starting to heat up and the duo of Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler are steady as as ever. Yu Darvish is 7-3 en route to the leading the group amongst Rookie of The Year Contention. Joe Nathan is looking like his old self again out of the pen with an ERA under 2.
2. LA Dodgers 33-21 (5) Even with Matt Kemp out of the lineup again, the Dodgers are winning ball games with solid contributions from Andre Ethier and A.J Ellis on offense. The pitching staff has been anchored by Clayton Kershaw and a fast 7-1 start by Chris Capuano. Ted Lilly was 5-1 before a stint on the DL. It is too bad because Lilly is 125-104 since 2004.
3. Tampa Bay 31-23 (2) Hideki Matsui homered in two of his first 3 games back with the Rays. The team has had steady pitching to stay in contention. Carlos Pena has really struggled in the last month and will need to pick it up. Luke Scott with 35 RBI has good production numbers in spite of his .225 AVG. Fernando Rodney has converted 17 out of 18 saves to pace the club.
4. Cincinnati 30-23 (12) Joey Votto has hit .404 in the last 30 days and maybe the best all-around hitter in the National League right now. Jay Bruce has 12 HRs and 34 RBI and is living up to his all-star potential. Aroldis Chapman has 27 Strikeouts in just over 14 innings and has yet to yield a run while opponents are hitting a paltry .043 against him.
5. NY Yankees 29-24 (6) The Bronx Bombers have 6 players with 8 HRs or more, which is a good thing because with the exception of Derek Jeter, a lot of them are hitting under their career averages. The return of Andy Pettitte has helped the rotation with the loss of Micheal Pineda. Phil Hughes threw a complete game over the weekend and CC Sabathia is on pace for another 20 win season. Read the rest of this entry
The Future of Hideki Matsui
Sunday April 8, 2012
Bryan Sheehan (MLB Reports Intern): The MLB season has already officially kicked off, and yet there are still some veteran players looking for a place to play. The list is occupied mainly by former outfielders that may not have enough left in the tank defensively, including Johnny Damon, Vladimir Guerrero and, maybe most notably, Hideki Matsui. The 37-year-old, who played just 27 of his 141 games in left field hasn’t been a regular in the outfield since his 2007 campaign with the Yankees. Last season for the Oakland A’s, Godzilla hit a career low .251 with 72 RBIs and 12 home runs, and was not brought back by the club for 2012. The Yankees seemed to show interest in the 37-year-old slugger, but ultimately decided to sign Raul Ibanez instead. Read the rest of this entry
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