Blog Archives
Who Will Win and Who Should You Root For in October: Locked on MLB – October 1, 2019
I make my postseason picks for 2019, plus I figure out reasons to root for each post season team. Yes, including the Yankees.
Also, Joe Maddon has choices for his new job, and they are all in California and south of Los Angeles.
This is the Locked On MLB Podcast. I am your host Paul Francis Sullivan. Please call me Sully.
To listen to the episode, click HERE
Surging Brewers and Joe Maddon’s Fate: Locked on MLB – September 23, 2019 ( @lockedonmlb )
The Cubs can’t win. The Brewers can’t lose. And Joe Maddon should be looking at San Diego.
This is the LockedOn MLB Podcast with your host Paul Francis Sullivan. Please call him Sully.
And remember to check out the other baseball podcasts on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.
To listen to the episode, click HERE.
Avoid Dumb Losses and the Fate of Joe Maddon: Locked on MLB – August 15, 2019
For teams locked in the mediocre NL Wild Card race, there is no room for a dumb loss. Meanwhile Joe Maddon could be the most interesting free agent manager in decades if he is let go. He will be.
This is the Locked On MLB Podcast. I am your host Paul Francis Sullivan. Please call me Sully.
To listen to the episode, click HERE
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast -March 16, 2017
Doug Benc/Getty Images North America
What managers are currently worthy of making it to the Hall of Fame? Which managers will get over the hump if they win the 2017 World Series?
It is a resume padding episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Top 5 Projected Holds Leaders For The MLB In 2017
It is one of the harder stats to predict every year, and we are talking about the category of Holds. Last season the New York Yankees disrupted the flow of the entire landscape.
Since the New York club traded both Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman, this affected the chances of Dellin Betances winning the year, with him moving to Closer.
Miller himself finished 2nd in the Majors having worked setup for Chapman – and then predominantly clearing the deck for Indians Closer Cody Allen.
Falling into the same atmosphere was perennial winner Tony Watson coming into the 9th inning role once Mark Melancon was dealt to the Washington Nationals. Read the rest of this entry
Top 5 Projected Save Leaders For The MLB In 2017
Aroldis Chapman appeared in 31 Games for the Yankees in 2016, holding 20 Saves and a crisp 2l01 ERA and WHIP of .867. This was done in just over 3 months. With the Yankees kickstarting him up from Spring Training, and without the aid of Andrew Miller as a fallback option, I expect the flamethrowing southpaw to have one of his best seasons ever out of the pen in 2017.
What a scene it will be at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW in he District today where Aroldis Chapman and Joe Maddon will reunite to celebrate their 2016 World Series Championship.
The big Lefty Cuban should be the favorite to win the 2017 Saves Title for the entire MLB. It is not that the Yankees will lead the league in wins – heck they may finish 4th in the AL East. I just believe that with the pop gun offense (say for Gary Sanchez) that the victories will all be closely contested.
I highly thought of Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel for this honor as well, however I like their managers to give them the odd day off ans Save Opportunities.
As of today, we have the Cubs nearing the 100 in plateau again, but just like the aforementioned players above, I think Maddon will use several guys to register Saves for Chicago in 2017 – like Wade Davis, Hector Rondon and Carl Edwards JR.
The reigning World Series Champs are also a lot more prone to blow out teams in a weakened National League where 6 clubs may lose 90 Games or more.
For the sake of preserving arms and fatigue, I would also not be surprised to see a few more SVO’s going to Andrew Miller in lieu of Cody Allen for the AL Pennant winners Cleveland.
(RELATED – Top 5 Home Runs Hitters Projected For The MLB in 2017) Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 25, 2016
Jamie Squire – Getty
Taking a very late night drive, I stay awake by talking about the World Series and the Hall of Fame legacies of some of the players and specifically the managers.
It is stay awake while driving episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
For the up to date standings of Who Owns October, click MLB Reports.
What is “Who Owns October”? Click HERE for an explanation.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 22, 2016
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times
Sure there are long suffering Cub fans. There are also long suffering Dodger fans. And they suffered tonight.
Meanwhile Joe Maddon’s decision to celebrate Chapman made me turn off the game.
It is a trade one pain for another episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
For the up to date standings of Who Owns October, click MLB Reports.
What is “Who Owns October”? Click HERE for an explanation.
2016 MLB Playoff and Yearly Award Predictions
With only about a month left in the season, it’s time to take a look at playoff and yearly award predictions. These are obviously subject to change, but below are my predictions. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @dynasty_digest.
Playoff Prediction
AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Texas Rangers
Wild Card: Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers
SEE THE REST OF THE ARTICLE
MLB Power Rankings: April 2016
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
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.
Yesterday won’t change much for the rankings. Although it kicked off interleague with the Royals beating the Mets 4 – 3, and starts the Junior Circuit looking to win the AL vs NL competition for a 13th straight year.
Pittsburgh also beat the Cardinals. I have them both ending the year win 91 victories, but these squad’s really intrigue me.
There are a multitude of reasons why I have picked the Cubs as the #1 team. I explain them in the writeup.
Each Monday, we will post a new set of power rankings and go over the week that was. Read the rest of this entry
Odds To Be The 1st MLB Manager Fired In 2016: Who Is On The Hotseat?
Hunter Stokes (MLB Reports Part Owner – Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Every year there are certain managers that have a ton of pressure to win. This is always a tough process to think of who will be nixed first.
On one hand, many clubs that should be in contention for the playoffs will see an axe come to their tenure, however sometimes clubs are so bad record wise (even though they were projected to be) that the franchise will just slay the field general in the name of mercy.
As far as under the gun goes. guys like Brad Ausmus, John Farrell and John Gibbons. are tops on the list.
Ausmus doesn’t have a track record of any postseason series wins like the latter two here, so he is going to be the #1 favorite out of this group of skippers that could go fast with playoff aspirations if their team struggles out of the starting block.
Gibbons did a great job with Toronto in 2015, but a slow start would really put his name on the block. Say if they are 6 or 7 games behind the playoff bar near Memorial Day.
Farrell has put up back to back 5th place finishes in the AL East after winning the World Series Title in his 1st year of being the skipper in 2013.
Then there is a perennial bad losing club that have long tenured coaches like Walt Weiss and Robin Ventura. I am not sure they should not have been shown the door following last years campaigns.
Weiss has losing years for every year under his belt, and Ventura rode out 2013 with his late season collapse, but his club has underachieved in every other year.
Still the two most managers on the hot seat are Fredi Gonzalez of the Braves on top of the favorite list at +331, followed by Bryan Price at +441. But I hate putting money on either of these gentlemen with their clubs both being on track to challenge for the worst record in the Majors this year.
Heck, Gonzalez’s predecessor Bobby Cox was the well into his 3rd decade with the “Tomahawk” Choppers when he finally stepped down to a front office job. Gonzalez at least had the Braves in the playoffs in 2012.
Price can’t really be expected to do anything with this anemic Pitching Staff, and all veterans except for Votto may be available for trade at any point.
Cardinals Extend Kolten Wong
Jen Rainwater (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – www.bbstmlb.com) Follow @OakAsSockGrl
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
In an offseason where the St. Louis Cardinals tried to sell their city to every free agent out there – including outfielder Jason Heyward.
Heyward spurned the Cardinals, who acquired him before the 2015 season from the Atlanta Braves.
The team and its players immediately began talking the team, the city and the fans up to Heyward in hopes that the soon to be free agent would want to re-sign with the team.
In the end Heyward decided to take less money to go to the Chicago Cubs. A lot of MLB free agents did the same this year including super utility man Ben Zobrist and most recently outfielder Dexter Fowler.
Perhaps it’s the Cubs’ young talented core and their good chance to finally win a World Series or two after a century-long drought. Perhaps it is that they like manager Joe Maddon‘s style.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – February 23, 2016
Rick Scuteri / USA TODAY Sports
The Cubs are the team to beat.
Read that sentence again. It seems strange to think about it, doesn’t it?
But seeing that they are the team to beat, don’t be surprise of someone beats them!
It is a don’t mention the Billy Goat episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – January 30, 2016
Janette Pellegrini/Getty Images North America
Anthony Rapp, actor and the original Mark Cohen in Rent, joined the podcast to talk about his beloved Chicago Cubs and his faith in Joe Maddon.
It is an episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast that is far shorter than 525,600 minutes
Follow Anthony Rapp on Twitter by clicking HERE.
Subscribe to Anthony’s podcast, The Clubhouse Podcast, by clicking HERE.
Part 2 of my conversion with Anthony Rapp
Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – December 10, 2015
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
I know it is only December. But MAN the Cubs look like the team to beat in 2016!
They have been filling in their holes while the other NL contenders have bigger question marks.
Dare Cub fans dream?
It is a tempt the fates episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 22, 2015
Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images
I made my predictions before the LCS games and gave my thoughts afterwards. I feel badly for Cub fans, elated for Met fans and happy that we have playoff baseball this weekend.
We are almost at the third anniversary for this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast!
Lucas Duda, Marco Estrada, Troy Tulowitzki, Steven Matz, Salvador Perez and Jorge Soler all added to their totals of Who Owned October.
Kris Bryant Can Only Look To Himself Why He May Not Be On The Opening Day Roster
Kris Bryant is about as sure of a prospect there has been in the last 5 years. Will the Cubs let him start the year in 2015, or will they send him down until the middle of April to save service time?. The young slugger had 43 HRs in the Minor League’s last year – and has also smacked 6 big fly’s in Spring Training so far. But there are things to suggest that starting him off in the Minors is not such a bad idea. The 23 Year Old is not the slickest fielder, has already experienced shoulder fatigue, and the team will play its 1st 9 games in cold weather too. (Hosting 6 games at home, and playing the other 3 in Coors Field.) But really. he might have sealed his fate for the opener by having Scott Boras as his agent.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
So the talks continue to mount on the Kris Bryant Opening Day watch. With each passing day he hits a HR, or shows himself ready for the big leagues, the question will become even more serious. But if he is ultimately not pulled up to Wrigley Field on Sunday Apr.5th vs Division Rival Cards, he has no one to blame by himself.
By having Scott Boras as his Agent, it has pretty much implanted in the Cubs brass, that the prize prospect will never sign an extension, and when his service time has him approaching Free Agency, he will indeed hit the open market and look for the top bidder.
I don’t even blame Boras for this. He is a phenomenal representative of his players, and always seems to get the max dollar for the highest percentage of the time compared to other agents.
Perhaps it will serve as a deterrent to future awesome young studs, that Boras has been sticking it to team owners for years. Maybe they should opt for a different agent, as this man has shown his playing cards on too many occasions. The executives all know Boras will lead his client to the open market.
Even having said this, if the man was not under the direction of the Boras Corporation, the Cubs should not start the clock on him anyway. The talk of the Cubs contending in 2015 is much over-hyped in my view. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings March 2015
Once again, the National League is very top-heavy. with the Nationals, Dodgers and Cards reeling in 3 of the first 5 rankings spots. The American League has more parity in the league this year. and could feature several new entrants into postseason play. This includes the two longest playoff drought teams in the Toronto Blue Jays (the last team to make the playoffs since the Strike/Lockout in 1994 and 1995 – and the M’s haven’t since their 116 win campaign in 2001. The Marlins own the longest such dry spell in the NL<- with their last playoff berth coming in their 2003 World Series win. You also have many young franchises like the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins having several of their young studs coming into the fold, and teams like the Rangers trying to be relevant again following a league record for DL Stints in 2014. This will mean there are no easy wins on the J’unior Circuit’ this campaign.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
1. Washington Nationals – This team is so far above the rest of the MLB, they should be everyones unanimous pick to win the best record in the MLB. Their Division is weaker the NL West, and the teams in the NL Central are a lot closer in parity.
2. LA Dodgers – Too many changes will take the club time to gel. Emphasis on Joc Pederson to do well may be too much to ask. Not enough is being said about the club losing the offense of Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez. Any club with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke as their top 2 starting pitchers will never be to far from the top ranking.
3. Detroit Tigers – This is all based on the American League Central. While I believe the team is not as strong as last year in the pitching department with Max Scherzer, they may be better in the lineup with Yoenis Cespedes. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – March 1, 2015
AP
Remembering Minnie Minoso and his legacy.
Plus it is Sunday and time for The Sunday Request.
@sullybaseball Sunday request: There are 6 new MLB managers in 2015. Which one(s) will have winning record(s)?
— Peter Sonski (@29sonski) March 1, 2015
These new manager are so anonymous that I had to look them all up to remind me who the hell they are, except for Maddon of course.
That and more on today’s episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Baseball News Of The Week, Baseball News Of The Weak, Baseball News That Wreaks
Joe Maddon signing with the Cubs to skipper the club for the next 5 years/at $5 MIL per annum is the biggest story of the hotstove season so far. He is also the clubhouse leader of adult beverages bought, although we will still give the consumed adult beverage lead to Madison Bumgarner.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Welcome to the new offseason segment. I will try to do this once again. It has been a slower winter than the previous two years, however it is starting to pick up.
Anybody miss the live action yet? Yes there is still the Japan exhibition series and the Arizona Fall League, but for the people like myself, I live and die for the major league action.
I would much rather watch Major League Baseball any day of the week. It is not that I begrudge anyone for attending Minor League attendance, heck in some campaigns, the Minor Leagues have outdrawn the MLB.
This will be sort of like the good, the bad and the ugly from (insert show here). Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – November 11, 2014
Getty Images
Why haven’t the Rays hired Dave Martinez to be their manager yet?
And where the hell are they going to wind up playing?
It is a Tampa centered this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – November 10, 2014
Gary A Vazquez – USA Today Sports
I believe the Cubs tampered to sign Joe Maddon.
I have knowledge that the Mets have lost their damn minds with the Michael Cuddyer signing.
It is a discussion of belief versus knowledge in this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
My latest for The Scoop Sports can be found HERE.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – November 3, 2014
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Can Pablo Sandoval re-sign with the Giants? All year long I said “No, it makes no sense.” But I might be changing my mind.
Talking Panda plus Joe Maddon and Michael Cuddyer on this episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – November 1, 2014
AP Photo, The Canadian Press – Fred Thornhill
Joe Maddon looks like he is heading to the Cubs. Why didn’t the Dodgers back up the Brinks truck and offer him the sun, moon and stars?
They will regret this for the rest of the decade.
The off season is beginning in earnest on The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – October 28, 2014
(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Tonight is Game 6 of the World Series.
Those words can bring up so many different memories. Who will be the Reggie Jackson, Carlton Fisk, Don Denkinger, Bill Buckner, Kirby Puckett, Joe Carter, Tom Glavine, Josh Beckett, David Freese or Nelson Cruz of the night?
Meanwhile I all but beg Joe Maddon to take over the Dodgers.
It could be a memorable night that is previewed on The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Total AL Plus/Minus Of BB/SO On Offense + Pitching
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Baseball is a game full of stats and numbers. Sabermetrics aside, one thing that I fully believe takes to win baseball games is superior pitching, and still having some plate discipline.
Of course it you can compensate for a lack of patience at the plate, with some big Home Runs, than you still may make out just fine.
While doing some research on the Oakland A’s, I looked at AL offensive and defensive Walk to Strikeout totals on both sides of the field.
I believe this is a relevant look at how good a team is faring.
Right away, the Rays and Orioles stick out in this blog, because the Rays were number 1 for this category, and the O’s are 14th, yet have the 3rd best record in the AL, and lead the AL East by 5 games currently.
MLB Trade Deadline Breakdown 2014 + The August Aftermath
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It was a flurry of action that baseball really needed. Half way through the day, I was amazed their was actually day games.
Oakland and Detroit pushed all of their chips in, and you have to think they are pretty much done with transactions, although one of them doing an August deal could prompt the other to do the same.
I am holding back reservations for judging the Pirates, Blue Jays and Royals….however they all must be the “MLB clubhouse leaders” in August acquisitions to challenge for playoff slots.
Although KC better have a better idea than having Raul Ibanez take regular AB at 1B..That is horrible..
It wasn’t like the club didn’t know Eric Hosmer was injured badly.
I am also about throwing Ruben Amaro‘s career about 10 second from a toe-tag (and those ten seconds are August), for standing pat on his 47 – 60 aging core.
Like I have said so many times on twitter and social media outlets. Someone teach this man some basic economics.
Take a lesson from Boston, and trade-off assets, to receive younger ones in the process, then you can turn around and spend every red cent in Free Agency in the offseason.. Read the rest of this entry
30 MLB Team Power Rankings: Week 15 – 2014
The Atlanta Braves were hovering around .500, and in serious jeopardy of watching the Nationals blow by them with a healthy roster. Instead, they are the biggest mover of the week, riding a 9 game win streak. All of this coming on the heels of losing Evan Gattis for awhile.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
*** Denotes Division Leaders
Records are before play Thursday July.06, 2014
RK Team Last Wk Rnk () Current Rec – Last 10 Days Rec
1. ***Oakland A’s (1) 54 – 33: 6 – 3 The A’s are the only team that has an above .600 Win Percentage.
What is not to like. They have the best record since 2012, are even better over the last 2 years (July 2012, July 2014, about .615 Baseball), have won 2 AL West in a row as well.
Added to the fold is a great trade bringing in Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, and not yielding anything from the current MLB Roster in return.
2. ***Detroit Tigers (2) 48 – 36: 6 – 4: Tigers beat the better teams, and have troubles with the lesserlites.
Emergence of J.D. Martinez is a major bonus for a team starving for OF help. Still need more Bullpen arms.
Great division for opponents down the 2nd half. Read the rest of this entry
Gambling In Baseball, Hedging Your Bets + Value Plays: MLB Reports Picks Of The Year
Get set for another season of throwing some cash around when it comes to baseball. MLB Reports will have you ready with what we are looking at as well.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Staked with an initial bankroll of over $1000 thanks to a nice NFL Parlay in the 2013 – 2014 year, I set out to make some bank trying make luck at placing some moolah on the game of baseball.
I head to Vegas frequently enough that I have thrown down almost all of it already, but have a great chance of making my $ back and then some.
Before the year began, I placed a wager for each of the Texas Rangers (Yikes), Tampa Bay Rays (Or should I say Devil Rays?), but they best maneuver before campaign was to slot a $14.44 wager on the Giants at 25/1 odds for the World Series.
That pays about $380.00.
I then followed the Tampa Bays advice ticket Chuck Booth laid out for all of the website. Even though it will break even as a wager, I would do it every time.
The skinny of that was that I bet $120 on the Tampa squad to lose under 88 games, and I used the potential profit to bet on the team to win the AL East, the ALCS and World Series.
The whole caveat was that I was virtually guaranteed to make my money back if Joe Maddon‘s club struggled, but could make substantial amounts of profit if the organization had a long October run. Read the rest of this entry
With Moore Out For TJ Surgery – The Rays Should Hold Onto Price Through 2015
Matt Moore finished 17 – 4 with a 3.29 ERA in 2013, but was off to an even better start in the 1st half before he had some elbow soreness. Losing this LHP to TJ Surgery hurts the club, however the team was deep with Price, Archer and Cobb still manning the 1 – 3 slots in the rotation. That was, until Cobb went down with an injury himself. The squad will have to weather the storm for a few months with some organizational players that might include the players: Erik Bedard, Nate Karns or Cesar Ramos. With the teams projected #2 Starter being down for the next 12 – 18 months from his very best, the franchise should not trade Price at any cost in 2014 and 2015.. Moore is under Team Control through the 2019 year, and when he comes back to the fold at 100% in 2015, hopefully the Rays will be vying for another postseason berth in the second half.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Lets face it. The Tampa Bay Rays have had an incredible run at it. The Florida squad trails only the Yankees for wins since the start of the 2008 season in baseball.
The club has made it to the postseason 4 out of the last 6 years, and possess 5 out of 6 years with 90+ Wins.
All of this with a shoestring budget, and incredible use of stretching dollars on player talent.
Every year, Andrew Freidman finds a bargain Free Agent that becomes an ALL – Star once he dawns the blue and purple. Read the rest of this entry
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