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Who Owned Baseball June 29, 2017 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2016 #WOB Standings

 

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Ron Schwane/Getty Images

Corey Kluber set an Indians record with his fourth straight start with 10 or more strikeouts. He went 8 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 run while finishing with 12 K’s as the Indians topped the Rangers, 5-1.

Clayton Kershaw struck out 12 Angels and allowed no earned runs over 7 innings to earn the 6-2 decision for the Dodgers.

Carlos Correa reached base 3 times, including a pair of homers, drove in 4 and scored twice as the Astros made quick work of Oakland, 6-1.

Randal Grichuk went 3 for 4 with a homer, added a walk, scored 3 and drove in 5 to help the Cardinals come from behind against Arizona, 10-4.

They all owned baseball on June 29, 2017

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.

Who Owned Baseball April 23, 2017 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2017 #WOB Standings

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Ben Margot / Associated Press

Nelson Cruz got on base 3 times, homered and drove in 5 as Seattle bombarded Oakland, 11-1.

Gerardo Parra drove in 3 runs with a single and a homer to help the Rockies pound the reeling Giants, 8-0.

Marcus Stroman overcame early trouble to threw a complete game, allowing 7 hits, 1 earned run and 1 unearned run to give the Blue Jays a 6-2 victory over the Angels.

Ivan Nova pitched 7 solid innings against his former team, striking out 7 Yankees and getting the 2-1 win for Pittsburgh.

They all owned baseball on April 23, 2017 

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.

Who Owned Baseball April 21, 2017 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2017 #WOB Standings

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AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Corey Kluber threw a complete game 3 hit shutout, striking out 9 White Sox and earning the 3-0 decision for Cleveland.

Jeremy Hellickson allowed 3 hits and 2 runs over 7 innings to make the Phillies 4-3 winners over Atlanta.

Robinson Chirinos homered twice, walked and drove in 3 as the Rangers topped Kansas City, 6-2.

Bryce Harper got on base 3 times, homered and drove in a pair to lead the Nationals past the Mets, 4-3.

They all owned baseball on April 21, 2017 

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.

Who Owned Baseball April 5, 2017 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2017 #WOB Standings

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Photo: Tony Gutierrez/AP

Francisco Lindor reached base 4 times, stole a base, homered twice including a 9th inning come from behind grand slam to put Cleveland ahead of Texas, 9-6.

Matt Wieters reached base 4 times and drove in 2 to help the Nationals beat the Marlins, 6-4.

Chris Sale shone in his Boston debut, keeping the Pirates scoreless over 7 innings. He did not get a decision but set up the Red Sox 3-0 extra inning win.

Brandon Finnegan struck out 9 Phillies over 7 innings of 1 hit ball to earn the 2-0 victory for Cincinnati.

They all owned baseball on April 5, 2017 

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.

With No Top 50 ALL – Time Contracts Signed This Winter – Who Is Next To Make The List?

Signing Cespedes would not take care of all of New York's postional roster troubles, and injuries may ultimately ravage them again for the next campaign. Many of the Mets Starters are coming off health concerns in 2016. I am not sold they should be placed at such a valuable odd until they sign some players.

Signing Cespedes  has signed the biggest contract of the offseason thus far at 4 YRs/$110 MIL.  it is ranked tied for 60th ALL – Time even though the Annual Average Value is tied for 2nd ALL – Time among position players.  With power having been devalued and a firm new set of penalties for Luxury Tax Threshold Abusers, it may take until the winter of 2018 – heading into 2019 – for another player to ink a contract that places them in the top 50 ALL – Time Salaries.

The winter has seen a lot of great Free Agents sign like Yoenis Cespedes, Aroldis Chapman, Dexter Fowler, Kenley Jansen, Ian Desmond, Mark Melancon and Edwin Encarnacion, however none of them were historic by any means.

While Cespedes’s $110 MIL pact over 4 years is $27.5 MIL per year, which ties him for the  2nd best AAV ALL – Time for a position player with Alex Rodriguez, (trailing Miguel Cabrera‘s 8 YR/$248 MIL extension that started in 2016) – only brings him in for a tie for about 60th on the ALL – Time Biggest Contracts list.

To crack the top 50 list ALL – Time right now, you need to bring in a deal that makes at least $120 MIL for the life of the contract.

During last years offeseason, David Price ($217 MIL), Zack Greinke, ($206.5 MIL) Jason Heyward, ($184 MIL), Chris Davis, ($161 MIL), Justin Upton ($132.8 MIL) and Johnny Cueto ($130 MIL) all inked pacts in excess of that.

Early in the season, Stephen Strasburg shocked the world with his new 7 YRs/$175 MIL deal soon afterwards. Read the rest of this entry

New York Yankees State Of The Union For 2017: Stemming The Tide For Upcoming Seasons

The Yankees shocked the baseball world by contending for the last 2 months after dealing away Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran at the Deadline. With a the young '"Baby Bombers" on the way, tt will take a few good veterans to compliment the talent in order for the Yankees to become extremely dangerous once again. It all starts with the GM Brian Cashman.

The Yankees shocked the baseball world by contending for the last 2 months in 2016 after dealing away Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran at the Deadline. With a the young ‘”Baby Bombers” on the way, tt will take a few good veterans to compliment the talent in order for the Yankees to become extremely dangerous once again. It all starts with the GM Brian Cashman.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter 

I will be the first one to give credit to Brian Cashman for arranging the July Trade Deadline deal moves to free up a rebuild on the fly.  The Yankees rewarded their longterm GM by continuing their season streak of over .500 to 22 years.

The management has also been fortunate that Gary Sanchez fared so incredibly well – so they could sell Brian McCann to the Astros, and effectively free up another $10 MIL into their couch cushions.

As it sits right now the clubs projected roster is looking to be in the $167 MIL range for total team salary.  Unfortunately they are still on the hook to CC Sabathia for $25 MIL and Alex Rodriguez for $21 MIL in 2017. even though latter is not even on the roster anymore.

So what do the Yanks do this winter?  They are perennial abusers of the Salary Tax Threshold, and have been paying 50% of their dollars spent beyond the limit for the last several years. 

With the news of talks proceeding on that number potentially reaching $200 MIL or under the new CBA, the Pinstripers should definitely dole out some bread for Free Agents this offseason.

I would say that for the Bronx Bombers to be competitive for the AL East, they need to add at least $50 MIL in players salaries this winter in order to fight the Jays and Red Sox for the Division.

Read the rest of this entry

Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 9/10/16

P- Masahiro Tanaka (vs. Tampa Bay Rays): $10,800. Over his last six starts, Tanaka is 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA. That includes a start against the Rays which he gave up four runs over seven innings and struck out eight. While that start isn’t fantastic, Tanaka has pretty much dominated this team over his career. In 84 career at bats against Tanaka, the Rays’ offense is batting .179, with 19 strikeouts, and a .188 OBP.

P- Adam Wainwright (vs. Milwaukee Brewers): $8,100. It looks like Wainwright has finally snapped out of his funk. Over his last three starts, he has a 1-1 record, 3.71 ERA, and 15 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched. That includes a start against Milwaukee where he went seven innings, giving up only three hits, seven strikeouts, and one earned run. In 144 career at bats against Wainwright, the Brewers’ offense is batting .215, with 37 strikeouts, and a .245 OBP.

 

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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/12/16

P- Stephen Strasburg (vs. Atlanta Braves): $12,400. In two starts against Atlanta this year, Strasburg owns a 1.98 ERA. He is 15-2 on the year, with a 2.80 ERA, and 169 strikeouts. He is putting up a Cy Young caliber season and the Braves won’t stand in his way on Friday.

P- Joe Musgrove (vs. Toronto Blue Jays): $8,300. As many of my readers well know, I am quite a fan of Joe Musgrove. He is incredibly efficient on the mound, issues very few walks, and has an above average strikeout rate. Over the last seven games, the Blue Jays have struck out 70 times (4th worst in baseball) and have a .686 OPS (ranked 19th in baseball).

 

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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 7/17/16

P- Johnny Cueto (vs. San Diego Padres): $13,100. To say that Cueto has dominated the Padres this season would be an understatement. In his three of his starts against San Diego this year, Cueto has thrown a complete game in every one. In 116 at bats against the righty, the Padres’ offense is batting .259, with 31 strikeouts, and a .293 OBP.

P- Zach Davies (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $6,400. Over his last eight starts, Davies owns a 2.90 ERA. He isn’t going to put up elite numbers in daily fantasy, but he should be able to put up above average statistics against a below average Reds’ offense.

 

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Who Owned Baseball July 10, 2016 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2016 #WOB Standings

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Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Madison Bumgarner took a no hitter into the 8th and finished with a 1 hit, 14 strikeout, complete game shutout masterpiece, earning the 4-0 decision over Arizona for the Giants.

David Price threw like an ace, going 8 shutout innings against his former team, the Rays, striking out 10 and allowing 4 hits as the Red Sox won, 4-0.

Christian Yelich went 3 for 5 with an RBI to help the Marlins top Cincinnati 7-3.

Jacoby Ellsbury reached base 3 times, including a homer, driving in 3 and helped the Yankees finish the first half at .500 by taking a wild 11-7 slugfest in Cleveland.

They All Owned Baseball July 10, 2016

To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.

MLB DFS Daily Picks For FanDuel – 6/14/16

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Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

One of the biggest blunders made by many gamblers is betting against themselves.  We are going to simplify the process, so if you win, you can really win – none of this barely break even nonsense.

Our new Draft Strategy is now here.  Please read after the post.

Now here is what we are going to do for today’s MLB DFS FanDuel style.

We Will Give You – Daily

5 team stacking options ( We are going to draw most of our players from these 5 squads).

3 Pitching candidates (High level, midlevel and budget). Read the rest of this entry

Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings – 5/27/16

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Trey Rose (Featured BBBA Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) 

If you have any questions or comments about this article or fantasy baseball, please Tweet me. I post daily DFS lineups for Draft Kings everyday, so please make sure to follow my blog.

P – Max Scherzer (vs. St. Louis Cardinals): $13,000

P – Julio Urias (vs. New York Mets): $7,600

To view the rest of the picks, click the link below:

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MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 7 – May

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Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

Follow The MLBreports On Twitter

MAY 15, 2016

Well not much has changed from this week as compared to last week.  Detroit carried its free fall to 4th in the AL Central, the Yankees took 5 of 7 contests – and 7/10 in their homestand to save their season for now.

Miami and Philadelphia continue to stick around in the NL East, and the Giants and Dodgers finally had winning weeks to make the NL West Division Leader respectable.

Nobody looks scarier right now than the Boston Red Sox offense, who led by David Ortiz, Jackie Bradley JR. and Xander Bogaerts, plated 10 runs or more in 5 of the last 6 games, after going their 1st 32 games without doing so.

I am still awaiting for a Jays big winning streak.  Houston has not played winning baseball since the 1st 6 weeks of the 2015 – and are tending to resemble the 2007 Tampa Bay Rays more than anything.

All offense and little pitching and defense.

There is nobody struggling worse than Logan Morrison, Russell Martin, Carlos Gomez and the consortium of LF’s in Anaheim! Recently bouncing out of this list are Jason Heyward and Chase Headley.

We are nearing the quarter pole and rapidly approaching Memorial Day Weekend, so it is not early anymore.
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A Jay Bruce Trade To The New York Yankees Makes Sense

Jay Bruce

Trey Rose (Featured BBBA Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) 

As of right now, the New York Yankees are really struggling. They are currently in last place in the American League East with a record of 13-19. A large part of this extreme decline is because the Yankees are struggling to score runs.

They are currently ranked as the 24th overall team in Major League Baseball when it comes to run production. This is exactly why the potential addition of Jay Bruce could be a huge spark plug to the Yankees lineup.

The Yankees outfield is currently filled with Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, and a struggling Aaron Hicks. Jay Bruce could take over for Hicks and provide a lot of power potential for the Yankees lineup.

Over Bruce’s 9-year career, he is averaging 30 home runs per season. His left-handed power swing could be extremely dangerous in Yankee Stadium.

To see the rest of the article, click the link below:

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Stephen Strasburg Ties Felix Hernandez For 17th On The MLB’s ALL – Time Top 50 Contract List With Extension

 Ed Zurga/Getty Images North America

Ed Zurga/Getty Images North America

Chuck Booth (MLB Reports Majority Owner/Lead  Analyst)

Stephen Strasburg shocked he baseball world the other day – by inking a 7 year extension worth from $175 – $180 MIL.  It ties him for 17th All – Time with Felix Hernandez to start with, but he can earn an additional $7 MIL with $1 MIL per year bonuses for reaching 180 IP.

The deal pays him $15 MIL annually from 2016 – 2023, and then the deferrals kick in from 2023 – 2030, in 7 installments of $10 MIL each.

Some will say his deal is worth more like $162 MIL in present day dollars, however we do not operate our top 50 contracts list like that.  The deal is guaranteed at $175 MIL for now, and we will change it if bonuses are hit.

With this contract, the Nats have 4 current players that are on this ALL – Time List with Scherzer (10th), Strasburg (T 17th), Zimmerman (37th) and Werth (Tied 44th).

This signing is a great move to open a 3 year window for Washington, as they also have Bryce Harper under team control until after the 2018 season, however it also may seal the fate the of the young reigning NL MVP to move elsewhere for 2019.

Werth’s contract does end at the end of the 2017 year. but Zimmerman is still on the books until at least 2020.

It will be tough to come up with the dough necessary to drop a 11 – 13 years contract worth $35 – 40 MIL per annum when it comes to Harper.

Even with Scherzer’s and Strasburg’s deals both containing a ton of deferred money- all of them will still run simultaneously to Harper’s deal – even if they are not on the roster each after the 2023 season.

I think you couldn’t risk trying to outbid everyone for Harper’s services, yet to pay Strasburg market value makes sense.

This club could even save some payroll by trading Gio Gonzalez, as they have Joe Ross and Tanner Roark starting in the rotation for depth, and Lucas Giolito has not started his time service clock. Read the rest of this entry

MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 6 May

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Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

Follow The MLBreports On Twitter

MAY 8, 2016

Disclaimer:  We based these rankings on best strength to win the World Series.  Therefore some teams that have an easier division to play in, with the least path of resistance to the postseason overall may be ranked a lot higher than a club who is equally talented, yet may play in a juggernaut of a division.

Rank – Team Record (Last week rank) (Up down) (W – L Record Last week)

(1) (1)  Chicago Cubs (E) (24 – 6) :  A real bad day for the Cubs is battling with a team like Washington on Sunday, to see whether or not they are going to sweep them or go 3 – 1 in a series.

Yep, they swept the 4 game set in a 13 inning walk off HR by Javier Baez – to cap a 7 – 0 week. They are on pace for about 129 wins right now.

Depth of the Starting Rotation is looking solid with Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jason Hammel (Killer J’s) and Kyle Hendricks.

Hector Rondon is not even needed in most leads, with the team almost at a +100 differential through 30 games,

(2) (3) Chicago White Sox (+1) (22 – 10) ( 4 – 2):  Chris Sale is 7 – 0, and may go Ron Guidry (circa 1979 on us).  If anyone will win 25 games in a year, it would be him or Jake Arrieta.

Bob Welch won 27 games in 1990 for the A’s was the last guy to do that.

Has anyone noticed that Brett Lawrie has an OBP closer to .400 – than his usual .310 – .320?

Jose Quintana is finally receiving some run support.  If Todd Frazier and Jose Abreu start hitting for BA, than look he the hell out.  We could see a “Windy City” World Series for the 1st time since 1906. Read the rest of this entry

Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For Draft Kings 5/6/16

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Trey Rose (Featured BBBA Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) 

If you have any questions or comments about this article or fantasy baseball, please Tweet me I post daily DFS lineups for Draft Kings everyday, so please make sure to follow my blog and my Twitter for updates.

P – Noah Syndergaard (vs. San Diego Padres): $12,900. This is a no brainer, even at this steep price. Syndergaard is one of the best pitchers in baseball and he is facing the worst offense in baseball.

To top it all off, he is facing this offense in a pitcher’s park. In his first 5 starts, he has thrown 32.1 innings, with a 2.51 ERA, 44 strikeouts, and only 6 walks. Keep an eye on this game though because there is a good chance of rain.

Syndergaard is averaging 26.1 points per game on Draft Kings this season.

P – Danny Salazar (vs. Kansas City Royals): $8,800. Salazar’s price has dropped, but his value continues to rise. He will be facing the Royals offense on Friday, but they haven’t been great this season.

They currently rank as the 16th best offense in the Major Leagues. Also, the weather is in Salazar’s favor. There is a 10 MPH wind towards home plate, which means baseballs should stay in the park.

In 175 at bats against Salazar, the Royals’ lineup is only batting .234, with 42 strikeouts. Salazar is currently averaging 21.6 points per game on Draft Kings this season.

Click the link below to see the rest of the picks:

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MLB DFS Picks For FanDuel – 4/22/16

Longoria has bashed 6 HRs in 64 career AB vs CC Sabathia, and is the bargain of the night at just $2900 on FanDuel.

Longoria has bashed 6 HRs in 64 career AB vs CC Sabathia, and is the bargain of the night at just $2900 on FanDuel.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

Coming off a No hitter in Cincinnati on Thursday, I love the Cubs to continue their dominance over the Reds this weekend.  While I would say that Chicago will win the game handedly, the prices are just too high for some of the hitters.

I love picking Bryce Harper in any lineup right now.  You always know he will walk even if he doesn’t club the ball out of the yard.  I am calling for a stack against the Twins Kyle Gibson.

I also went with 3 Baltimore Orioles vs Chris Young in KC – who is yet to his stride this year.

Chris Davis has got to be the best play in the Majors besides Bryce Harper tomorrow.  He should get some lemons to hit over the wall.

I love playing Matt Moore against the struggling Yankees lineup.   Their Left Handed hitters like Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner should have a tough time.

The Rays chucker has not allowed a HR to New York’s hitters through 54 AB.  Meanwhile, the Rays should be able to score versus an aging CC Sabathia.

Evan Longoria has feasted on the man, and Logan Forsythe has a great short history versus him as well. Read the rest of this entry

How Many Years Will It Take Of The AL Clubbing The NL In Interleague (On A 12 Year Win Streak) Before Things Change?

AL vs NL

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter 

With a modest 4 – 3 lead in the season series heading into yesterday’s action. the National League was in foreign territory by leading the Interleague yearly contest.  You see that have not won a yearly series vs the AL since 2003.  Houston tied the current campaign series at 4 with a 6 – 4 win Satuday.

The Junior Circuit has won the last 12 years of play, and own a decisive .552 win percentage since 2004 (when the 1st 8 years were split 4 – 4 in the seasons, with the NL holding a 30 games wins lead) in that time frame.

I am a bigger fan of the American League game over the National League, yet I am torn because if these splits continue for more seasons, we will never have more Interleague ever. We may stay the same – or god forbid, eliminate Interleague altogether if expansion leads to 32 clubs (16 in each league) and negating an odd amount of teams per league, not necessarily needing to play it anymore.

Right now there are 20 games for each club against the other League. It boils down to just one division playing another division, and then in most cases, a natural geographical rivalry.

Determining how many games there ought to really be, I turn to the “Team Fatigue card” a lot of my fellow westerners have expressed in so much out this way over the years.

I am close enough to see both NL and AL parks play, but there are several cities that are without a league park of the other for hundreds of miles (like Seattle, Arizona, Colorado, Minneapolis), then KC and St. Louis to a lesser extent, but far away enough to classify a full road trip should you partake in a journey to see.

You can add Texas and Houston, with Tampa and Miami in that mix as well. Read the rest of this entry

Baseball’s Biggest “Get Out Of Jail Free Cards” For Financial Contracts Over The Last Few Years

Several player have either retired for variou reasons, or have served suspensions in which their organization has receeived an unexpected benefit of salary relief for it. This will need to be addressed in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement to be forthcoming after this next season.

Several players have either retired for various reasons, or have served suspensions in which their organization has received an unexpected benefit of salary relief for it in recent years. This will need to be addressed in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement to be forthcoming after this next season.

Hunter Stokes (MLB Reports Part _Owner – Chief Writer) 

Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter 

Before I go into this fully, this is a bit different of an article than “Hoodini Acts” pulled by GM’s in getting out from under horrible contracts, such as the praise for former Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos fleecing the Angels to take Vernon Wells, and being lucky enough for the White Sox to claim Alex Rios

Those moves paved the way for Toronto to sign Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion to replace those crappy deals with awesome ones, so there is a note of credit to AA.

The new CBA forthcoming should be addressing on how player contracts work towards team salaries when it is due for suspension or retirement.  Last week’s sudden packing in the cleats from Adam LaRoche will actually benefit the White Sox with $13 MIL in salary relief.

It is not the 1st time a guy has retired during a contract, and it is the latest where a team may be drawing a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t even the 1st instance of the winter.  Earlier this off year, Mets OF Michael Cuddyer retired with one year of service left on his deal.  This move led the Mets to have a few extra dollars in their seat cushion to re-ink Yoenis Cespedes to a 1 Year $27.5 MIL deal

Cuddyer was still expensive for New York with a 1sr RD Draft pick forfeit, but at least he only cost the club $8.5 MIL on 1 season, as opposed to an additional $12.5 MIL this upcoming campaign.

If the Mets are still under contract with this guy it makes re-signing Cespedes a tougher deal.  Not only cash wise, but it was also clogging up another spot on the Roster if  New York had to keep the under-performing former Rockies and Twins player.

Instead, all of the fans wishes were granted when Cespedes came back to Flushing Meadows, and you can add the fact they also re-upped with Bartolo Colon for another year as yet another extension of the Cuddyer decision. Read the rest of this entry

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast Archives Dec 1, 2015 – Dec 31, 2015 (Episodes 1134 – 1164)

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Paul Francis Sullivan (please call him Sully) does a podcast 365 days a year – unless it is a leap year – then he will do another 1. He has done a show everyday since Oct.24/2012. This to date represents a streak of 1235 days consecutively!

Past the CLICK TO READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY are episodes 1134 – 1164 of the Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

We will also archive all of his podcasts to date (in coming weeks) so they are easily accessible for all his fans. Check out all his Archived info here.

Our website followers have grown larger each year for his podcast.

Follow Sully Baseball On Twitter

To subscribe on iTunes, click HERE.

To subscribe on SoundCloud, click HERE. Read the rest of this entry

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast Archives Dec 1, 2014 – Dec 31, 2014 (Episodes 769 – 799)

sunkenDFiamond

Paul Francis Sullivan (please call him Sully) does a podcast 365 days a year – unless it is a leap year – then he will do another 1. He has done a show everyday since Oct.24/2012. This to date represents a streak of 1235 days consecutively!

Past the CLICK TO READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY are episodes 769 – 799 of the Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

We will also archive all of his podcasts to date (in coming weeks) so they are easily accessible for all his fans. Check out all his Archived info here.

Our website followers have grown larger each year for his podcast.

Follow Sully Baseball On Twitter

To subscribe on iTunes, click HERE.

To subscribe on SoundCloud, click HERE. Read the rest of this entry

Sully Baseball Daily Podcast Archives Dec 1, 2013 – Dec 31, 2013 (Episodes 404 – 434)

sunkenDFiamond

Paul Francis Sullivan (please call him Sully) does a podcast 365 days a year – unless it is a leap year – then he will do another 1. He has done a show everyday since Oct.24/2012. This to date represents a streak of 1235 days consecutively!

Past the CLICK TO READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY are episodes 404 – 434 of the Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.

We will also archive all of his podcasts to date (in coming weeks) so they are easily accessible for all his fans. Check out all his Archived info here.

Our website followers have grown larger each year for his podcast.

Follow Sully Baseball On Twitter

To subscribe on iTunes, click HERE.

To subscribe on SoundCloud, click HERE. Read the rest of this entry

New York Yankees Payroll In 2016 + Contracts Going Forward

 

With almost $100 MIL tied up in contracts for Sabathia, A-Rod, Teixeira and a potential Tommy John Surgery candidate in Masahiro Tanaka, this New York squad is in some deep trouble for next season. Despite the recent playoff misses, and injury prone players brought in by Brian Cashman, the club saw fit to grant him a 3 year extension last month. It may take a small miracle for them to make a playoff spot next campaign..

With almost $100 MIL tied up in contracts for Sabathia, A-Rod, Teixeira and a potential Tommy John Surgery candidate in Masahiro Tanaka, this New York squad is in some deep trouble for this season if injuries occur.  It may take a small miracle for them to make a playoff spot next campaign again without spending some cash.

Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead  Analyst) 

Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter 

Brian Cashman can finally see some relief from some exorbitant contracts plaguing him from the last several years.

2016 sees the last year on deals for Aroldis Chapman,  C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and Carlos BeltranAlex Rodriguez is still on the book for one more year after this.

Sabathia does have a Vesting Option for $25 MIL if salary guaranteed if he 1) does not end 2016 on the disabled list with a left shoulder injury, 2) does not spend more than 45 days in 2016 on the disabled list with a left shoulder injury or 3) does not make more than six relief appearances in 2016 because of a left shoulder injury.

The Yankees can’t guarantee this will happen. Therefore the club must treat this contract as part of their deal for 2017 as well.  The Buyout would be $5 MIL.

Sabathia’s drinking aside, they are paying for the good years right now, and he is no better than a 5th Starter – and at 36 years of age with 3000+ IP logged for his career, there may be not much left in the tank. Read the rest of this entry

Odds To Win The 2016 MLB World Series

The Cardinals continued their great play in the MLB since the turn of the milennium - with an MLB best 100 wins in 2015. The organization has transitioned to the next core of young nucleus, while still holding on to a couple of capable veterans. Considering they have plenty of depth, and lots of payroll flexibility coming forth, the franchise could orchestrate a blockbuster trade soon. St. Louis could always sign 1 - 2 Starters via Free Agency as well. As it stands right now, the club has a payroll of around $133 MIL In 2016 listed. They can afford to add about $15 - $17 more million without batting an eye.

The Cardinals continued their great play in the MLB since the turn of the millennium – with an MLB best 100 wins in 2015. The organization has transitioned to the next core of a young nucleus, while still holding on to a couple of capable veterans. Considering they have plenty of depth, and lots of payroll flexibility coming forth, the franchise could orchestrate a blockbuster trade soon.  While I would favor Chicago over them slightly for the NL Central, the RedBirds, Mets, Dodgers Tigers and Mariners have the best value, while the Angels, Giants, Padres, Red Sox and D’Backs have the worst on the board this week.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

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I was all set to pounce on my 1st American League bet for the Fall Classic in 2016 earlier this week – when the O’s were at +5000, and presumably bringing both Dexter Fowler and Yovani Gallardo into the stable. 

With Fowler opting back to Chicago, the odd also dropped to +4500 in the meantime (also following the Gallardo wait time for the physical fiasco), and the value is no longer there. 

Baltimore is a low 80 wins team in my view, and will not have enough for the postseason.  Fowler would have added a few W’s for sure.

Of course with the chaos that has ensued,  the Cubs have gone from +700 to +650 prohibitive best odd.  There is no doubt in my mind they should be the consensus favorite. 

One of these years the #1 seed will capitalize and win.  I am still not plunking down cabbage at that clip though.

If I were to do my year end picks right now, I would still have Chicago ending their World Series 108 seasons drought – but I can’t place them as twice the favorite as the St. Louis Cardinals.

Still not sold on the Cubs Bullpen either, and I think Jon Lester can be had in the postseason.  The Mets also line up favorably versus Chicago based on pitching matchups.  New York has the better odds to wager with.

I am currently writing a faceoff piece between the Cubbies and Cards that I will post over the weekend.  The difference is not a whopping 8 or 10 games like ‘FanGraphs’ and ‘PECOTA’ say.  St. Louis should still be in the mid 90’s for victories on the campaign.

I have them as one of my best bets again this week.

New York Yankees have been taken off the best odds list with their injury to Brett Gardner.  It is absolutely paramount that he and Jacoby Ellsbury set the table this campaign – and stay healthy. 

All of the incoming help with Starlin Castro, and internal improvement from Didi Gregorius will be for not.

Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran and Alex Rodriguez also will not hit a combined 79 dongs this year like in 2015.  The club is also substantially thinner in the Starting Rotation. 

They are a 85 win club as presently constituted, which should have them in the race for a Wild Card, but it is not worth betting at the +1600 odd. Read the rest of this entry

New York Yankees Need To Go Full Bore To Start 2016: Seek Reinforcements Midway Through If Need Be

The Yankees were almost flawless in their 1st 33 games to start the 2015 campaign. Quick starts by Teixeira and A-Rod fueled the offense, while Miller and Betances did not yield a run in this stretch either. Pineda was 5 - 0, Tanaka was healthy, and their duo of Ellsbury and Gardner were hitting north of .300

The Yankees were almost flawless in their 1st 33 games to start the 2015 campaign. Quick starts by Teixeira and A-Rod fueled the offense, while Miller and Betances did not yield a run in this stretch either. Pineda was 5 – 0, Tanaka was healthy, and their duo of Ellsbury and Gardner were hitting north of .300.  The club was able to coast for the last 129 games of the year when injuries and age caught up to them.  Considering they spent no real money in the winter, they should go for bore early in the season, and then bring in a boatload of people late via trade  to compensate for injuries that will probably occur to their roster.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) 

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On May.11, 2015 – the New York Yankees had just finished an 11 – 5 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Rays – and this led to a record of 21 – 12 to start their first 33 games.  It would be important on so many levels in completing the campaign.

You see – in the next 129 games the club would go just 66 – 63 to secure the 1st Wild Card Berth.

Mark Teixeira had clubbed 11 HRs over the wall with 27 RBI.  Alex Rodriguez had 8 big fly’s with many of them giving the Bronx Bombers a shot in the arm for victory.

Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances both had not yielded a run to that point. Michael Pineda was a brilliant 5 – 0, and that was about the time that Masahiro Tanaka began having health issues.

You throw in Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner both hitting well over .300 – and it was easy to see how the Pinstripers had taken off to a great start. Read the rest of this entry

Will New York Yankees LF Brett Gardner Remain A Valuable Commodity?

It was a tale of two halves for the man though. With a .861 OPS before the ALL - Star Break, he made the American League squad in Cincinnati for the Yanks. His .592 OPS post ALL - Star Break was a main reason the club struggled in the second half of the year. Gardy did battle a wrist injury in the second half. He is signed for the next four years. I believe the club may go as far as he and Ellsbury. His average dipped all the way to .259 after starting the season near .300

It was a tale of two halves for the man though. With a .861 OPS before the ALL – Star Break, he made the American League squad in Cincinnati for the Yanks. His .592 OPS post ALL – Star Break was a main reason the club struggled in the second half of the year. Gardy did battle a wrist injury in the last few months. He is signed for the next four years. I believe the club may go as far as he and Ellsbury in 2016. His average dipped all the way to .259 after starting the season near .300

Christopher Carelli (Featured Baseball Writer/Founder – yankeesunscripted.com)  

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It’s a business and the New York Yankees believe outfielder Brett Gardner is a valuable commodity. All the same, it will be interesting to see if Gardner’s value as an asset grows or diminishes during and after the 2016 season.

Is this the final season in Gardner’s contract that his performance will considerably influence his worth to the club as a trade piece?

READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY

Chris Davis (Tied For 20th) + Justin Upton (38th) Join The Top 50 All – Time Salary List

Losing Chris Davis and his 45+ HR power would have been very difficult to replace. The O's have their man with a creative deferral payment plan that will see them pay Davis $119 MIL from 2016 - 2022, and then pay out $42 MIL over the next 15 years in deferrals.

Losing Chris Davis and his 45+ HR power would have been very difficult to replace. The O’s have their man with a creative deferral payment plan that will see them pay Davis $119 MIL from 2016 – 2022, and then pay out $42 MIL over the next 15 years in deferrals.  The $161 MIL has him tied for 19th ALL – Time in MLB Player Contracts with CC Sabathia.  The Orioles slugger led the league with 47 HRs (2nd time in 3 years), and has clubbed 126 HRs (led all of the MLB) in the last 3 seasons despite being levied a 25 game suspension for his medication in Sept of 2014.

Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead  Analyst) 

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Chris Davis, 30 in 2016,  and Justin Upton, 28,  are now in the 9 figure club and among historical contracts of ALL – Time.  Davis inked a 7 YR deal for $161 MIL – while Upton is at 6 Years for $132.75 (distributed evenly throughout.)

The Big 1B/OF for the O’s will make $119 MIL from 2016 – 2022 paid evenly by $17 MIL per year before the crazy deferral program kicks in.  From 2023 – 2030, Davis will earn $3.5 per annum for another $31 MIL.  The deal then goes from 2031 – 2037 at a 1.4 MIL per annum clip.   All told it is $161 MIL spread over 21 years. Read the rest of this entry

New York Yankees State Of The Union For 2016

The 2015 New York started off extremely strong at 21 - 12, before they finished the last 129 Games at just 66 - 63. With surprising years from Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, the club still made the Wild Card Game with 87 wins. The club has done a couple of nice winter moves in picking up Starlin Castro and Aaron, however the Bullpen is weaker, and the Starting Rotation has many health concerns. New York will need to address those before the season opener.

The 2015 New York Yankees started off extremely strong at 21 – 12, before they finished the last 129 Games at just 66 – 63. With surprising years from Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, the club still hosted the Wild Card Game with 87 wins. The club has done a couple of nice winter moves in picking up Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks for backup players, however the Bullpen is weaker, and the Starting Rotation has many health concerns. New York will need to address those before the season opener.

Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead  Analyst) 

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Okay so one of the things that happens when you own a website is you lose some of the hardcore enthusiasm for the team you love the most.  This is my story with he Yankees.  Don’t get me wrong, they are still my favorite club, it is just I cover all 30 MLB teams a lot more than I used to.

Having said this, I have been railing on the Yankees for a long time on how they have conducted themselves.  I traced it back to 2014, when they could have reset the Luxury Tax Threshold by trading Ichiro Suzuki, Hiroki Kuroda and Brett Gardner at the Deadline.

Instead, the club went for a half ass attempt to make the playoffs with Derek Jeter in his last season as Shortstop.

I do give Brian Cashman some credit in 2015 for the club making the postseason.  I maintain that his building of the team was still flawed.

Bullpen withstanding, he has known his Starting Pitching situation has been in health peril since  Masahiro Tanaka was diagnosed with a UCL injury in July of 2014.

Joe Girardi squeezed every ounce of the Veteran Lineup that he could last year.  Who would have predicted the squad would have had 30+ Homer years from Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira?

That helped the club jump out to a fantastic start, and then coasted with a .500 record for the last 4 plus months to the 1st playoff Wild Card spot.  They lost to the Houston Astros in that game at Yankee Stadium.

Read the rest of this entry

Giants Ink Johnny Cueto: It’s Tied For The 37th ALL – Time In MLB Contracts

Johnny Cueto is 97 - 70 (.578) career with a 3.30 ERA however he has put forth a 2.71 ERA since the start of the 2011 year. Much like his new team, Cueto has performed better in the even years of this decade, where he finished 2nd in Cy Young Voting in 2012 and 4th in 2014 Cy Young Voting.

Johnny Cueto is 97 – 70 (.578) career with a 3.30 ERA however he has put forth a 2.71 ERA since the start of the 2011 year. Much like his new team, Cueto has performed better in the even years of this decade, where he finished 2nd in Cy Young Voting in 2012 and 4th in 2014 Cy Young Voting.

Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead  Analyst) 

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The landscape of the NL West just changed again. As of right now I give the Giants as equally a shot to win the NL West as I do the LA Dodgers.  Signing Johnny Cueto is an awesome move.

Even better than the 6 YRs/$130 MIL deal is an opt out clause after 2 years, when Cueto can forego the final 4 years of the pact – leaving the San Fran club with $84 MIL on the table.

The current contract also calls for a Team Option for a 7th year.

Cueto, who is 30, most likely will opt out after 2017 if he can put up great back to back seasons as good as his 2.71 ERA since the start of the 2011 campaign, – only bested by Clayton Kershaw in that time frame.

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