Blog Archives

Alex Mednick (Blue Jays Fan and Writer for MLB Reports): Gibbons May Work Out!

Tuesday November 20th, 2013

Note from Lead Writer Chuck Booth: Just to be fair on this whole John Gibbons hire, I am posting this article written by my fellow colleague/Baseball Writer at the MLB Reports) in order to give a different vantage point. Alex is a Blue Jays fan, so he has a passion for the team. His thoughts are of his own and while I may not agree with his opinion, that is okay. That is why we all have our own minds and are not all sheep! So here is his article (based on a question he answered on my previous piece this morning.)

The Blue Jays have not qualified for the Playoffs since they won Back to Back World Series in 1992 and 1993. Only Pittsburgh and Kansas City and Toronto have not made a playoffs appearance since the 1994 strike. Will 2013 be any different with OLD/NEW MGR John Gibbons?

Alex Mednick (Baseball Writer and Analyst):

I responded to our Lead Baseball Writers Message about not liking the Gibbons hiring in this article earlier today here.

It was, frankly, my initial reaction as well..I was not pleased when I first read this news about Gibbons. I think AA also realizes the consequences of spending his bosses money and then making a poor decision. If it does not pan out, it could mean his job…AA is not untouchable, even though there has been a demi-god status applied to him. Bosses don’t like when you squander their money…period.

But for some reason I am intrigued by this hiring. I was absolutely fed up with the Ricciardi/Gibbons regime, and thought that they should have been fired 2 years before they were. But Gibbons acted largely as the puppet of an egotistical, and nonsensical J.P. Ricciardi, which I can attribute to a lot the reasons he was criticized. There is no doubt, even though managers do not take any at bats themselves, they have a large impact on the team. Look at Bobby V and Boston.

I think that Gibbons was a stooge for JP Ricciardi and that is part of why he is so attractive to AA. AA actually stated during the hiring process he was looking for someone who could fall in line with his and the organization’s theory. Farrell was the opposite of that, a free thinking executive type, who also seemed disinterested in the organization as a whole. He didn’t take the job seriously.

“At first, I was not happy with the signing, having thought about it a little more, lets give it a shot.” Alex Mednick

Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

4 Comments

Tags: alex anthopoulos, alex mednick, bengie molina, Brendan Morrow, brett lawrie, Chuck Booth, colby rasmus, Gibbons Hire, j.a. happ, j.p. arencibia, Joe Carter, john gibbons, jose bautista, jose reyes, ricky romero, roberto alomar, shea hillenbrand, ted lilly

Hiring John Gibbons Is A Huge Mistake

Nov 20

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Follow @mlbreports

Tuesday, Nov.20/2012

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024

I am in complete shock that the Jays hired John Gibbons as their recycled coach. For a guy that has largely supported Alex Anthopoulos on many moves since he has taken over the helm, I can’t believe he pulled this guy off the scrap heap for managers. Gibbons managed the Blue Jays from 2004-2008 and held down a mediocre 305-305 record. While he did post back to back winning seasons in 2006 and 2007 in a tough AL East, he also had some talented players to work with. Roy Halladay was the premier pitcher in the American League from 2005-2008 and would give a 11-13 games over .500 clip just by taking the hill every year. In the 3 full years that Gibbons had Halladay, he was 44-16 (.733) in 72 starts, so if he had been healthy for 96 starts in this time frame, he would have won about 59 Games versus only 24 losses. In Gibbons best year as a manager, he was 87-75 with the 2006 club. Halladay was 16-5 (11 Games over .500).

I would never want to re-hire a manager that has 0 playoff appearances when the current club is going to be graded on exactly that. The Jays will have a serious ‘PR’ nightmare if this hire does not work out. No one would have faulted AA for hiring a manager with playoff experience. If those guys aren’t available as your top choice, at least bring in someone fresh that has not tasted failure for the club.

Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

11 Comments

Tags: 2012 Douglas "Chuck" Booth- (Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- Today's expert is Kurt Smith. Kurt will be the interview subject of the following parks: Citizens Bank Ball Park, alex anthopoulos, Cito gaston, ernie whitt, j.p. arencibia, Jays Managerial Job, jim riggleman, jim tracy, john farrell, john gibbons, jose bautista, ozzie guillen, philadelphia phillies, roberto alomar, roy halladay, sandy alomar jr, shea hillenbrand, ted lilly, twitter @chuckbooth3024, wbc

ATR: Ask the Reports Answers Your Baseball Questions: Major Announcement on MLB reports and Melky Cabrera Special Feature

Nov 17

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

Follow @mlbreports

Saturday November 17th, 2012

Posted every Weekend: Your top baseball questions from the past week are answered. E-mail all questions to mlbreports@gmail.com, message us on Twitter, post on our Facebook Wall and leave comments on our website! There are many ways to reach us and we will get to your questions from all social media outlets!

Jonathan Hacohen:

The World, it is changing. It’s a fact of life, it’s something we can’t avoid. Change is inevitable.

Remember when the Chicago White Sox announced a new management structure? Long time General Manager Kenny Williams was promoted to Executive Vice President, with Rick Hahn being the new GM? We are experiencing a new management similarly here at MLB reports. I have been fortunate for the past couple of years to wear many hats at MLB reports. After founding the site and being the Lead Columnist, I was also the Editor responsible for content, updating the website and social media. I have spoken with many of you on Twitter. Yes, that was me.

So today I am thrilled to announce that MLB reports has now changed that structure. Chuck Booth, Lead Writer for MLB reports will now be taking over my role. Chuck, in addition to his weekly columns, will now be the Editor and looking after our social media. Chuck has been very active behind the scenes on MLB reports for some time and we have decided to evolve our roles. As partners in MLB reports, I have been very fortunate to be able to work side-by-side with a great baseball mind like Chuck Booth. This man is a Guinness World Record Holder, having viewed baseball games in all 30 stadiums in only 23 days. How does he do it? The man is a baseball legend.

Going forward, when you are reading our daily tweets, that will be Chuck. When you converse with MLB reports on Twitter, that will be Chuck. The great baseball articles that come every week from MLB reports? Chuck will be the Editor and responsible for all content on MLB reports. So where does that leave me you ask? I guess you could ask Kenny Williams that same question. While Kenny had the passion to have more time for scouting, I have the same passion for writing. There is much work that goes into being an Editor and social media. While I loved those roles, I ultimately want to spend more time writing. I will also be working behind the scenes, focusing on growing the MLB reports brand. It’s change…and change is good.

Not to worry, you will still be able to find me and converse baseball anytime. I am blowing the dust off my twitter handle @jhacohen – be sure to follow me, say hello and most importantly, let me know that I sent ya!

Now for the next announcement. You didn’t think that was it, did you? I certainly hope that you enjoy this edition of Ask the Reports, as it will be the last one that I will be producing. With hot stove season in full force, Chuck and I have decided to put ATR on hiatus for the offseason to concentrate on other baseball areas. The WBC qualifiers are currently going on, with the tournament itself starting in March. Free agency season has begun (which will the topic of today’s ATR). So please continue to send in your questions, we love to hear from you! While we will continue to write back on our site in the comments section, on our Facebook wall and Twitter, we will say goodbye to ATR for the winter months. This has been a weekly feature that was a baby for me. I loved conversing with each of you and featuring your questions. Thank you for taking the time each of you to sending in your questions, we really appreciate it. We look forward to continuing to talk baseball with all of you 24/7 through social media and our site. Send in those questions people, keep sending them in!

In today’s edition of ATR, I focus on the signing that shook the baseball world. Fresh off their major trade with the Marlins, the Blue Jays announced that they signed free agent outfielder, Melky Cabrera. We all know the story- All-Star Game MVP, batting leader with the San Francisco Giants. Gets busted for PEDs, tries to cover up with a fake website, requests to be removed from the batting leaderboard in the NL, does not play in the 2012 playoffs and wins a World Series ring. The sordid tale of Melky Cabrera. Now for a fresh start, Melky is banished to Canada. Ok, I kid. Heck, Chuck and I are both from Canada! But with less pressure than say New York or Boston, Melky gets a fresh start in 2013. My e-mail box has exploded with your Melky Cabrera questions over the last 24 hours. As a result, I have devoted this week’s ATR to your most popular Melky Cabrera questions. This is our Melky Cabrera Special Feature, ATR edition.

So enough talking- more asking! It’s time for Ask the Reports.

Now let’s get to your top Melky Cabrera questions of the week: Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

1 Comment

Tags: ask the reports, atr, baseball, colby rasmus, jose bautista, jose reyes, josh johnson, mark buehrle, melkman, melky cabrera, mlb, mlb reports, san francisco giants, toronto blue jays

The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise Hitters: Part 3 Of A 7 Part Article Series

Nov 16

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Follow @mlbreports

Friday, Nov.16/2012

Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5.The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles section here.

Tony Fernandez leads the Blue Jays Franchise for Hits and Games Played ALL-Time. At the age of 37, he flirted with a .400 average for half of the season in 1999. In his first go around with Toronto, he was part of the BlockBuster Trade that saw he and Fred McGriff go to San Diego for Joe Carter and Robbie Alomar at the GM’s Meetings in Dec of 1990. -Photo Courtesy of Sports Illustrated.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024

I like that this franchise series is right dab smack in the middle of the biggest Franchise trade since Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff went to San Diego for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter in 1990. A Toronto Blue Jays fan can only hope for the same result that came down afterwards to repeat itself in the next few year. The early days of the Jays hitters (late 1970’s provided some long-term reliable guys,) however it wasn’t until Jesse Barfield won a HR Title and George Bell came home with the 1987 AL MVP, that the rest of the MLB started to take notice on the hitters of this Canadian Team. As soon as the club moved into SKYDOME, the hitters had a field day. Not to say that Exhibition Stadium didn’t aid some homeruns and nice averages in its day, it is just that SKYDOME is a hitter friendly park.

From George Bell and the outstanding other 80’s OF trio of Barfield and Lloyd “The Shaker” Moseby, to Tony Fernandez and Ernie Whitt, these guys all played a huge chunk of their careers with this Canadian Club. Fred McGriff routinely hit towering shots off of the Windows Restaurant and led the AL in HRs during the 1989 Pennant Winning Season. In 1991, when Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar arrived onto the scene, the offense just clicked on all cylinders. Devon White was gracefully stealing bases and striding into runs with those gigantic high knee kicks of his. John Olerud walked right out of College and added one of the best ‘natural’ swings that any of us have ever seen. Veterans Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor bashed their way into Jays hearts with their limited time with the organization en route to back to back World Series Titles in 1992 and 1993. After the Strike/Lockout, the team then saw Shawn Green and Carlos Delgado routinely destroy pitchers and be amongst the league lead in several power categories.

There is a ton more on this article just past these links or by clicking the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON.

Here are the links for the article series.

The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise 1977-1993 Part 1 Of A 7 Part Series Click Here:

Franchise History Part 2 1994-2012: https://mlbreports.com/2012/11/28/jay/

The Hitters: The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise Hitters: Part 3 Of A 7 Part Article Series:

The Pitchers: The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise Pitchers Part 4 Of A 7 Part Series

Skydome: An Interview with ‘Rogers Centre Expert’ and “MLB reports Founder” Jonathan Hacohen Part 5 of 7

For Part 6 of the 7 Part Series: Blue Jays 2013 Team Payroll Click here:

For Part 7 of the 7 Part Series: Blue Jays 2013 Team Payroll: A Readers Thoughts, Click Here:

Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

6 Comments

Tags: aaron hill, adam lind, al mvp, Al rookie of the year, alex ríos, alfredo griffin, brett lawrie, carlos delgado, Chuck Booth. fastest 30 ballgames, Cito gaston, dave winfield, Devon White, dominican republic, ed sprague, eric hinske, ernie whitt, exhibition stadium, frank catalanotto, fred mcGriff, george bell, gold glove, greg zaun, Hank Aaron award, j.p. arencibia, jesse barfield, Joe Carter, john mayberry sr, john olerud, jose bautista, jose canseco, jose cruz jr, jose reyes, jp ricciardi, kelly gruber, lloyd moseby, mike timlin, pat borders, pat gillick, paul molitor, paul spoljaric, rance mulliniks, reed gonzalez, roberto alomar, roy howell, shannon stewart, shawn green, Silver Slugger, skydome, tony bautista, tony fernandez, toronto, toronto blue jays, twitter @chuckbooth3024, vernon wells, willie upshaw

Dissecting The Blockbuster Trade Between The Blue Jays And The Marlins

Nov 14

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Follow @mlbreports

Wednesday, November.14/2012

Jose Reyes is a .291 Career Hitter and has averaged 55 Steals and 110 Runs Per 162 Games Played. He should have no problem scoring runs with Encarnacion and Joey Bats hitting in the middle of the lineup for Toronto.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024

I think you can safely say that the off-season has truly begun! I was writing on my computer yesterday when the big trade blew up on twitter. I live in White Rock, British Colombia, Canada, so you can only imagine how excited the whole country of Canada was to talk about baseball on the big media Social Website. Within minutes, it was clear that the Marlins and Jays were talking about a huge deal. There is a remarkable quality that I have admired about Alex Anthopoulos for a few years now. That his organization is pretty tight-lipped about their negotiations with any MLB team, just as it was with the Marlins on Tuesday. I waited a few minutes and then…..WHAM! A Blockbuster trade came right down the PIKE! Here is the trade in case you have been living under a rock for the past 24 hours.

To visit the 2013 Updated Version of the Toronto Blue Jays 2013 Payroll Blog I did click here

To the Blue Jays 2012 Stats:

SS/2B Jose Reyes .287 11 HRs 57 RBI, 86 Runs, 40 SB

SP Josh Johnson 8-14 3.81 ERA 191.1 IP 165 SO

C John Buck .192 12 HRs 41 RBI

2B/ss/3B/ Emilio Bonifacio .258 1 HR 11 RBI, 30 Runs, 25 SB in 244 AB

SP Mark Buehrle 13-13 3.74 ERA 202. IP (12th straight year of 200 IP+)

4 Million Dollars Cash

To the Marlins:

SS Yunel Escobar .253 9 HRs 51 RBI

2B/SS Adeiny Hechavarria .254 2 HRs 10 RBI, 126 AB

C Jeff Mathis .218 8 HRs 27 RBI, 211 AB

SP Henderson Alvarez 9-14 4.85 ERA 187.2 IP

Also Prospects:

SP Justin Nicolino:

RP: Anthony DeSclafini:

OF: Jake Marisnick Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

2 Comments

Tags: 2013 Blue Jays Payroll, 2013 Miami Marlins Payroll, adeiny hechavarria, anthony descalfini, anthony gose, blue jays, brett cecil, brett lawrie, chris coghlan, Chuck Booth. fastest 30 ballgames, colby rasmus, drew hutchison, emilio bonifacio, free agent, giancarlo stanton, greg dobbs, hanley ramirez, henderson alvarez, j.a. happ, jacob turner, jake marisnick, jeff mathis, jeffrey loria, john buck, jose bautista, jose reyes, josh hamilton, josh johnson, justin nicolino, justin ruggiano, kyle drabek, logan morrison, Mark buerhle, miami marlins, mike redmond, nathan oevaldi, prince fielder, rajai davis, Reyes Trade, ricky nolasco, ricky romero, tommy john, toronto, travis d'arnaud, twitter @chuckbooth3024, yunel escobar

The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise 1977-1993 Part 1 Of A 7 Part Series

Nov 9

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Follow @mlbreports

Friday, Nov.09/2012

The Blue Jays have not qualified for the Playoffs since they won Back to Back World Series in 1992 and 1993. Only Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Toronto have not made a playoffs appearance since the 1994 strike. At the time they were around the top of the MLB Payroll for all teams.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024

In sifting through 35 years of history with the Toronto Blue Jays as a franchise, it is sad that since 1994, only Pittsburgh, Toronto and Kansas City have not made a playoff appearance in the Major Leagues. They have been battling the Red Sox and Yankees powerhouse clubs since the 1994 player strike/1995 Lock-out. This baseball interruption of play was also a deciding factor on the Montreal Expos losing their franchise, however one could say that this has had a profound effect on the other only team North of The Border. The Jays were a model franchise all the way through the 80’s. From 1983-1993, the team carried out 11 straight winning seasons, 5 Pennants and back to back World Series Wins in 1992 and 1993.

Pat Gillick had been with the baseball club from the get go, and after finishing in dead-last for the first 5 years of existence, the Jays rode the backs of several budding stars that were drafted by the man. From the early pitching stars of Jim Clancy and Dave Stieb, to the young outfield that flourished as a core for years in: Lloyd Moseby, George Bell and Jesse Barfield, the team showed that drafting and trading for young players was the way to build an organization. It took until 1985 for the teams first Pennant, barely edging the Yankees by 2 games for the AL East. Playoff disappointment followed from 1985-1991. The team soon would find the promised land as the top team in 1992 and 1993.

Franchise History Part 2 1994-2012: https://mlbreports.com/2012/11/28/jay/

The Hitters: The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise Hitters: Part 3 Of A 7 Part Article Series

The Pitchers: The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise Pitchers Part 4 Of A 7 Part Series

Skydome: An Interview with ‘Rogers Centre Expert’ and “MLB reports Founder” Jonathan Hacohen

For Part 6 of the 7 Part Series: Blue Jays 2013 Team Payroll Click here:

For Part 7 of the 7 Part Series: Blue Jays 2013 Team Payroll: A Readers Thoughts, Click Here:

Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

6 Comments

Tags: AL East, al leiter, alan trammell, alcs, alfredo griffin, Atlanta Braves, barry bonds, Bill Mazeroski, bob macdonald, Bobby Cox, bobby mattick, boston red sox, brian hunter, carlos delgado, charlie leibrandt, chicago whitesox, Chuck Booth. fastest 30 ballgames, Cito gaston, cliff johnson, curt schilling, cy young, damaso garcia, danny cox, dave collins, dave stewart, dave stieb, dave winfield, david cone, david wells, dennis lamp, derek lowe, detroit tigers, Devon White, doug ault, doyle alexander, Duane Ward, ed sprague, ernie whitt, exhibition stadium, fred mcGriff, garth iorg, george bell, glenallen hill, greg myers, jack morris, jays drafting record, jeff blauser, jeff kent, jeff musselfman, jesse barfield, jim abbott, jim acker, jim clancy, JImmy Key, jimy williams, Joe Carter, john cerutti, john olerud, jose bautista, junior felix, kansas city royals, kelly gruber, larry andersen, lenny dykstra, lloyd moseby, Lou Whitaker, mike timlin, minnesota twins, Mitch Williams, mlb expansion, montreal expos, new york yankees, oakland athletics, orlando palmeiro, otis nixon, otto velez, pat borders, pat gillick, Pat Hentgen, pete vuckovich, pittsburgh pirates, rafael belliard, rance mulliniks, randy knorr, rick cerone, rickey hednerson, rickey henderson, rico carty, roberto alomar, roger clemens, ron fairly, ron guidry, roy halladay, roy hartsfield, roy howell, rule 5 draft, rupert jones, ryan thompson, scott erickson, seattle mariners, shawn green, Sid Bream, skydome, steve karsay, todd stottlemyre, Tom Cheek, tom henke, tony fernandez, toronto, toronto blue jays, twitter @chuckbooth3024, willie blair, willie upshaw, woody williams, world series

The Blue Jays Won The John Farrell Trade With The Red Sox

Nov 6

Posted by Jake Dal Porto

Follow @mlbreports

Tuesday November 6th, 2012

Jake Dal Porto: OK, maybe it’s not big deal that the Boston Red Sox pulled a fast one on the Toronto Blue Jays, in a trade where they acquired ex-Blue Jays’ manager John Farrell. This whole conundrum is minor in terms of the impact it will make on both teams. But the Jays could have done a lot better in terms of the talent they received back, to say the least.

According to multiple reports, the Red Sox craved John Farrell deeply. So with that in mind, you would have to think that they would have gone above and beyond to snatch him from Toronto. Yet, they did not need to use maximum effort to obtain him, trading just Mike Aviles in compensation.

Aviles isn’t an entirely blank asset. He complied a .663 OPS in 2012, including a career-high 13 home runs and 60 runs batted in. On the same note, he is far from a star, which is precisely why the Blue Jays should have set their sights a tad higher. If Boston really wanted Farrell at the helm, they would have probably been willing to exchange a player (or players) with higher ceilings. Or more simply, a player with room to grow, instead of a veteran whose best years are most likely behind him, a la Aviles. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis

7 Comments

Tags: baseball, Bob Melvin, boston red sox, buck showalter, carl crawford, davey johnson, david ortiz, Esmil Rogers, john farrell, jose bautista, josh beckett, kelly johnson, mike aviles, mlb, toronto blue jays, trade

The Toronto Blue Jays Payroll 2013 and Contracts (Updated For MIA Trade Nov.13/2012)

Sep 10

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Follow @mlbreports

Monday, September.10/2012

The Blue Jays have not qualified for the Playoffs since they won Back to Back World Series in 1992 and 1993. At that time, they were around the top of the MLB Payroll for all teams. How much will they spend in 2013?

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024

It has been a disastrous season for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012. Only the Boston Red Sox can usurp them in the AL East for being more disappointing. It is not entirely anyone’s fault, injuries to many key pitchers-plus the loss of Jose Bautista just after the All-Break, crippled the team’s ability to compete. Just chalk up the season to unlucky. Fortunately for the Blue Jays, Alex Anthopoulos has kept the team flexible with the payroll going forward. I still think that getting out of the Vernon Wells and Alex Rios contracts was the biggest ‘Houdini Act’ of the New Millennium. Since he got out from under those contracts, only Joey Bats makes more than 10 Million Dollars now on the club. To contend in the AL East, the Jays will need to spend at least 100-110 Million Dollars. The core of the team is intact for a couple of more years. From 2013-2016 is the clubs best window to make a charge at the playoffs and have some success.

Perhaps the best move that the Blue Jays GM did this year was to lock up Edwin Encarnacion to a 3 YR/27 Million Dollar contract before he hit the Free Agency Market. In a downtrodden year, EE could have requested an arm and leg for his services and been obliged. He left between 8-10 Million Dollars on the Table in my opinion. The keys will be to lock up a couple of their young player to long-term contracts. The catching looks solid (Arencibia and Mathis) for years to come with some more prospects filtering through the Minor Leagues (Travis D’arnaurd.) Trading away Eric Thames and Travis Snider paved the way for the club to lock-up Colby Rasmus long-term-and maybe take a run at a power hitting Outfielder. The team’s starting pitching must heal up from multiple Tommy John Surgeries and come back to be relevant. The team should definitely be players for free agent pitchers.

For Part 1 of a 7 Part Article Series: The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise 1977-1993, click here

For Part 7 of the 7 Part Series: Blue Jays 2013 Team Payroll: A Readers Thoughts, Click Here:

Josh Johnson brings a career record of 56-37 (.602) to the Blue Jays lineup in 2013. With one year and 13.75 Million Dollars left on this current deal. will Toronto try and extend him or wait to see if he can stay healthy all year.

Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

12 Comments

Tags: 30 for 30 series, aaron laffey, aaron loup, adam lind, adeiny hechavarria, AL East, alex anthopoulos, alex ríos, arbitration, baltimore, baltimore orioles, boston red sox, brad lincoln, brandon lyon, brandon morrow, brett cecil, brett lawrie, carlos villanueva, Casey Janssen, Chuck Booth. fastest 30 ballgames, colby rasmus, darren oliver, dustin mcGowan, edwin encarnacion, emilio bonifacio, eric thames, henderson alvarez, j.a. happ, j.p. arencibia, Jason Frasor, jeff francis, jeff mathis, Jeremy guthrie, jesse litsch, john buck, jose bautista, jose reyes, josh johnson, kelly johnson, kyle drabek, maicer izturis, Marco scutaro, mark beuhrle, new york yankees, rajai davis, Rick Ankiel, ricky romero, robert coello, ryan ludwick, scott richmond, sergio santos, skydome, steve Delabar, tommy john, toronto blue jays, travis d'arnaud, vernon wells, willie bloomquist, yunel escobar

ATR: Ask the Reports Answers Your Baseball Questions: WBC, Pascucci, MLB Standings, Bonds, Clemens, Pedroia, Bautista and Wild Cards

Sep 3

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

Follow @mlbreports

Monday September 3rd, 2012

Jonathan Hacohen: I have some baseball thoughts on my mind. Ok…I have baseball thoughts seemingly always on my mind! Call it what you like. A gift. A curse. I am what I am. And I do love baseball a ton. So before we jump into your weekly questions, here are three topics that I wanted to throw out to the baseball world:

1) In my respectful opinion, the organizers of the World Baseball Classic should be ashamed of themselves. Yes, I said it. Two of the qualifying groups have their games being played this month before the end of the regular MLB season. How does that make any sense? Firstly, you lose MLB players who still have their games going, who otherwise would have been eligible and possibly participated. For a country like Canada, that is a huge blow which could mean to elimination before the tournament itself even begins next spring. Add to the fact that coverage of the tournament has been literally non-existent, and people need to ask themselves what exactly they are doing. If marketed right, the WBC should be big. Huge in fact. But it’s not. With the addition of 12 new eligible countries in the qualifiers, there should be a huge amount of hype going into the games. But now, people don’t know when these games are being played, where, rosters and even that these games even exist. If we are going to promote baseball to the world, let’s do it right. There is no baseball in the Olympics, so let’s get the WBC to be a bigger global stage. Until that happens, the WBC will not fulfill its potential. Ever. Groups 3 and 4 are playing their qualifiers in mid-November. Now that makes sense.

Quite frankly, I don’t care about excuses on timing, locations etc. There are thousands of ballparks around the world. The games could all have been played much after the World Series and had its own captive baseball audience to shine. I certainly hope that is considered in the 4th edition of this great tournament.

2) Valentino Pascucci: Big Val (@PoppaValentino) on Twitter, is a huge guy. 6’6″ and 255 lbs. to be exact. He recently passed the 250 home run mark in the minors. Pretty big stuff. In 14 minor league seasons (8 of them in AAA), he has a .269 AVG, with a .390 OBP and .484 SLG. After representing Italy in the 2009 WBC, I expect to see Val back there in 2013. Glad to see that he will get to represent Italy and play at one of the highest levels of the game in the world. Whenever I think of Val, I always wonder why the man never truly got his “shot”. He got into 32 games with the Expos in 2004 (Expos??!!) and 10 games with the Mets last year. Even hitting 34 home runs in 2007 (AAA Marlins) didn’t do the trick. Could Big Val had become the next Big Papi if given his shot? We will never know. You can never have too much offense in baseball. I wish teams could have seen that and had tried Valentino Pascucci on their team one year. Who knows what could have resulted – 20-30 bombs, 70+ walks. But rather than thriving in the show, Valentino Pascucci will likely one day retire as one of the top home run hitters in the history of the minors. I wanted to take a moment and salute a great hitter in this game. Mr. Pascucci, whether the 2013 WBC will be your last or you stay in the game for another season or two, thank you the home runs and having one of the greatest baseball names we will ever hear. Well done sir.

3) If you were sleeping under a rock and looked at the MLB standings today, your jaw will drop on the floor. Yankees in first place in the AL East, with the Orioles only 2 games back. In September! White Sox and Tigers in a dead heat in the Central. Rangers on top of the West, but the A’s only 3 games back. The NL picture is a little more certain though. The Nationals (is that possible) are on top, ahead of the Braves by 6.5 games. While most of us have accepted the Nationals dominance this season long ago, someone new to the picture would still be doing a double take. Let’s not forget that this was once a losing franchise not so long ago, that just recently put it all together. In the Central, the Reds are close to becoming champs with a stranglehold 9.5 games on the Cardinals. And that is significant considering St. Louis is 10 games over .500! In the West, it’s the Dodgers and Giants, with San Francisco enjoying a 4.5 game lead. Two wild cards per league? If the season ended today, Baltimore and Oakland would meet in the sudden game playoff. If you had bet that in Vegas during spring training, you would be a millionaire soon. But the Wild Card race in the AL is far from done, with the Rays, White Sox/Tigers and Angels all in shooting distance. With much baseball to be played, anything can still happen. In the NL, Atlanta and St.Louis have the Dodgers and Pirates to contend with to clinch their respective Wild Cards. Yes, it has been an unbelievable season thus far with lots more ball to be played. Care to make your predictions at this point? Watch out. As last year taught us, it ain’t over till it’s over.

For our Batting Stance Guy featured video of the week, we bring you Gar’s recent contest: Who Takes Most Steps Out of MLB Batter’s Box? This one is fun and damn funny:

Now let’s get to your top questions of the week: Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

Comments Off on ATR: Ask the Reports Answers Your Baseball Questions: WBC, Pascucci, MLB Standings, Bonds, Clemens, Pedroia, Bautista and Wild Cards

Tags: ask the reports, atr, barry bonds, baseball, baseball questions, dustin pedroia, jacoby ellsbury, john farrell, jose bautista, mlb, mlb standings, roger clemens, valentino pascucci, wbc, wild cards, world baseball classic

The Fantasy Implications of the Red Sox and Dodgers Blockbuster

Aug 27

Posted by pwstein87

Follow @mlbreports

Monday August 27th, 2012

Peter Stein (Fantasy Baseball Analyst): Follow @PeterWStein

The blockbuster trade between the Red Sox and Dodgers certainly shifted the balance of power in the NL West and marked the end of a tumultuous season in Boston. With such an unprecedented type of deal, fantasy owners, in late August nonetheless, were greatly impacted by this waiver wire trade. I, for one, lost Carl Crawford, Jose Bautista, and Adrian Gonzalez in my AL only league in the matter of a week. My first place lead will soon slip from my grasp, as I am left without any opportunity or options to improve my team this late in the game.

With the waiver wire deals we have seen over the last few years, it no longer makes sense to lineup a fantasy trade deadline with the non-waiver deadline of July 31. In reality this blockbuster only truly impacts AL and NL only leagues, but each of the players traded to the Dodgers should have a boost in value down the stretch when owners most need it.

Needless to say, Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Beckett finally have something to play for and have the benefit of a fresh start. Crawford, not knowing he would soon be traded to a contender, may have thought twice about electing for season ending surgery had he been able to predict the future. Still, despite his productive play while injured, the surgery was necessary and it sets him up for a more successful 2013 campaign.

Let’s take a look at each of these players’ values- not only for this season, but moving forward as well: Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in Players: Fantasy Baseball Articles

Comments Off on The Fantasy Implications of the Red Sox and Dodgers Blockbuster

Tags: adrian gonzalez, allen webster, andre ethier, baseball, billy butler, boston red sox, carl crawford, david ortiz, james loney, jerry sands, jose bautista, josh beckett, los angeles dodgers, matt kemp, mlb, nick punto, rubby de la rosa

Moises Sierra Has a Future in the Majors: A Blue Jays Work in Progress

Aug 26

Posted by samevans87

Follow @mlbreports

Sunday August 26th, 2012

Sam Evans: When Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos traded away both Travis Snider and Eric Thames at the trade deadline, it created an opportunity for unheralded twenty-three year old outfielder Moises Sierra. Sierra has a chance to show Toronto that he should be part of their future in these final couple months of the season. With his 70-grade arm and his ability to produce runs at a solid pace, Sierra could have a job in the majors for years to come. However, Sierra has a lot of work to do to become a candidate for playing time at Rogers Centre in 2013.

Moises Sierra was signed by the Blue Jays out of the Dominican Republic back in 2005. This was before the Blue Jays dominated the scouting world, so Sierra has never been an “Anthopoulos guy”. From 2006 to 2008, Sierra had some rough numbers for different teams, but he showed enough to be promoted from the DSL, in 2006, to earning a starting job in High-A for the 2009 season. Sierra had a 122 wRC+ at High-A in 2009, but he missed most of the 2010 season due to a stress fracture in his leg and a couple of other minor injuries. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in On the Verge: MLB Prospects

Comments Off on Moises Sierra Has a Future in the Majors: A Blue Jays Work in Progress

Tags: AL East, baseball, blue jays, brandon morrow, brett lawrie, edwin encarnacion, eric thames, jose bautista, milb, minor leagues, minors, mlb, mlb reports, moises sierra, outfield, prospects, ricky romero, sam evans, toronto, travis snider

Washington Nationals Heading to the Playoffs: Is Jayson Werth the Answer?

Aug 11

Posted by Jake Dal Porto

Follow @mlbreports

Saturday August 11th, 2012

Jake Dal Porto: The 2012 season has been full of surprising teams. From the Orioles to the Pirates, new teams that have always had the potential to be contenders appear to be taking the next step foward. However, no team has taken that vast step quite like the Washington Nationals. Led by a starting rotation that leads the National League in ERA (3.23), and opponents’ batting averages (.232), the Nationals have put together a magical season. Even though Washington’s offense hasn’t be as stellar as their pitching staff, a healthy lineup might change that. More importantly, a healthy Jayson Werth.

Jayson Werth, who was signed as a free agent by the Nationals prior to the 2011 campaign, has been a disappointed thus far. In his first year as a National he posted a 2.5 WAR. In three straight years with the Phillies before becoming a free agent, he posted WAR averages of plus five. Per FanGraphs, his 2011 season was worth about $11.5 million, compared to his actual salary $13 million. That $13 million will be the lowest mark of his contract, as his annual salary will steadily be on the rise over the next few years, eventually making the leap to the big $20 million plateau. However, the pressure will continue to amount if his production continues to slip. If he wants to prove his worth, there’s no better time for him to do so than now, when the Nats boast the best record in the National League and crave a veteran presence such as Werth. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Player Profiles

Comments Off on Washington Nationals Heading to the Playoffs: Is Jayson Werth the Answer?

Tags: adam laroche, albert pujols, baseball, bryce harper, davey johnson, jayson werth, jose bautista, Michael Morse, Mike Rizzo, mlb, mvp, playoffs, ryan zimmerman, washington nationals, world series

MLB Reports Monthly Power Rankings: August 2012

Aug 6

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Follow @mlbreports

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 →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

4 Comments

Tags: a.j ellis, a.j. burnett, aaron hill, adam dunn, adam jones, adam laroche, adrian gonzalez, albert pujols, alex gordon, alex ríos, alexei ramirez, alfonso soriano, anaheim angels, andres torres, Andrew McCutchen, anthony rizzo, aramis ramirez, arizona diamondbacks, aroldis chapman, Atlanta Braves, austin jackson, baltimore orioles, ben revere, billy butler, blake beaven, boston redsox, brandon inge, brandon moss, brandon phillips, Brian McCann, Bronson Arroyo, buster posey, Carlos lee, carlos ruiz, carlos santana, carlos villanueva, chase headley, chase utley, chicago cubs, chicago white sox, chipper jones, chris davis, chris sale, cincinnati reds, clay buccholz, cleveland indians, cliff lee, colorado rockies, corey hart, craig kimbrel, dan haren, daniel murphy, dave robertson, david murphy, david ortiz, david price, david wright, denard span, derek jeter, derek lowe, detroit tigers, doug fister, edwin encarnacion, felix hernandez, freddie freeman, garrett jones, gerardo parra, giancarlo stanton, gio gonzalez, hanley ramirez, homer bailey, houston astros, hunter pence, huston street, ian kennedy, jason kubel, jeff keppinger, jered weaver, jesus montero, joe blanton, joe mauer, johnny cueto, johnny gomes, jon lester, jonathan broxton, jordan zimmerman, jose altuve, jose bautista, jose reyes, josh beckett, josh hamilton, josh johnson, josh willingham, justin morneau, justin ruggiano, justin upton, kansas city royals, kevin youkilis, kyle seager, la dodgers, lorenzo cain, Luke Scott, mark teixeira, mat latos, matt kemp, melky cabrera, miami marlins, micheal brantley, Micheal Mckenry, Micheal Morse, miguel cabrera, mike fiers, mike napoli, Mike Trout, milwaukee brewers, minnesota twins, Monthly MLB Rankings, neil walker, nelson cruz, new york mets, new york yankees, nick markakis, oakland athletics, pauil maholm, paul goldschmidt, pedro strop, philadelphia phillies, pittsburgh pirates, prince fielder, r.a. dickey, rafael soriano, rickie weeks, ruben tejada, ryan braun, ryan dempster, ryan howard, ryan vogelsong, ryan zimmerman, sam dedundo, san diego padres, san francisco giants, scott diamond, scott feldman, scott hairston, scott rolen, seattle mariners, seth smith, shane victorino, shin-soo choo, st louis cardinals, stephen strasburg, tampa bay rays, team rankings MLB, texas rangers, Torii Hunter, toronto blue jays, travis hafner, ubaldo jimenez, washington nationals, wie-yin chen, willie bloomquist, yasmani grandal, yu darvish

Toronto Blue Jays: 2012 Trade Deadline Predictions

Jul 13

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

Follow @mlbreports

Friday July 13th, 2012

Alexander McWilliams (MLB reports Intern Candidate): As of yesterday, the Toronto Blue Jays and their fans can completely throw out the idea of trading the surging Edwin Encarnacion at the trade deadline on July 31^st. General Manager Alex Anthopoulos locked up the 1^st basemen/Designated Hitter to a 3-year deal worth $27 million, with a club option in 2016 worth a reported $10 million. With this deal taking place some 19 days before the trade deadline, what can fans expect to happen with their beloved Blue Jays? Many say they will be sellers, and others say buyers. Buy why can’t they be both?

The Blue Jays have developed, arguably, the best farm system in the MLB ever since Alex Anthopoulos took over as GM. Not only do they possess some of the best pitching prospects, but position players as well. All teams across the league are more than aware of the injuries that Toronto has suffered over the past few months, and could look to exploit said farm system in order to provide an immediate need for the team north of the border. Names such as Justin Upton, Carlos Quentin, Matt Garza, and Cole Hamels are the big names being talked about by a lot of teams these past few months. All are huge impact players which could benefit any team that acquired their services, but at what cost? Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis

4 Comments

Tags: adam line, adeiny hechavarria, AL East, baseball, blue jays, brandon mccarthy, brandon morrow, carlos quentin, cole hamels, edwin encarnacion, james shields, jose bautista, justin upton, las vegas 51s, matt garza, mlb, prospect, toronto, travis snider, yunel escobar, zack greinke

MLB All-Star Break: Second Half Fantasy Baseball Targets and Flops

Jul 11

Posted by pwstein87

Follow @mlbreports

Wednesday July 11th, 2012

Peter Stein (Fantasy Baseball Analyst – MLB reports):

As we sit at the All-Star break, the first half of the season brought with it many fantasy busts and surprises. This is a great opportunity to buy low on many players, as well as sell high on the players that cannot sustain their strong first half of the 2012 season.

SECOND HALF TARGETS:

Edwin Encarnacion’s power surge appears to be legit, very similar to the manner of his teammate Jose Bautista. Combine the second half of 2011 with the first half of 2012, and you are looking at 34 home runs 94 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases. Try and pry Edwin if an owner is looking to sell and acquire a more household name. Edwin continues to improve his approach the plate and is not overly benefiting from inflated BABIP or ISO numbers.

Carlos Santana had a miserable first half and with a high stock coming into 2012, many fantasy owners have been left devastated. The truth is that he ahs been consistently banged up with injuries, including a concussion, and really hasn’t been able to establish any rhythm. His stock is at an all-time low and he has the ability to produce like a top-3 catcher in the second half. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in Players: Fantasy Baseball Articles

Comments Off on MLB All-Star Break: Second Half Fantasy Baseball Targets and Flops

Tags: aaron hill, alex ríos, all-star break, baseball, c.j. wilson, carlos gonzalez, carlos santana, edwin encarnacion, fantasy baseball, flops, ian desmond, jake peavy, james mcdonald, jason kipnis, jose bautista, melky cabrera, mlb, prince fielder, robinson cano, second half, targets

The Prince is Crowned Yet Again! Fielder Wins Another Home Run Derby Title

Jul 10

Posted by johnburnsmlb

Follow @mlbreports

Tuesday July 10th, 2012

John Burns: Kauffman Stadium was electric Monday night from the top sluggers in baseball putting on an absolute home run clinic. Detroit’s Prince Fielder won his second Home Run Derby by beating Toronto’s Jose Bautista 12-7 in the final round. Fielder got off to a slow start with 5 homers in the first round which barely advanced him over Carlos Gonzalez and Andrew McCutchen who both had 4 home runs in the first round. After the first round it was all Prince Fielder. Prince hit 23 homers in the final two rounds and became only the second player to win multiple titles in the Home Run Derby.

Matt Kemp and Robinson Cano were the captains for their respected leagues and picked 3 sluggers to represent the NL and AL. The first round results for the sluggers were: Robinson Cano (0 homers), Matt Kemp (1 homer), Andrew McCutchen (4 homers), Carlos Gonzalez (4 homers), Prince Fielder (5 homers), Mark Trumbo (7 Homers), Carlos Beltran (7 homers), and the leader in the first round Jose Bautista with 11 homers. Robinson Cano, Matt Kemp, Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Gonzalez were all eliminated after the 1^st round. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

Comments Off on The Prince is Crowned Yet Again! Fielder Wins Another Home Run Derby Title

Tags: all-star break, all-star game home run derby, american, Andrew McCutchen, angels, baseball, bautista, cardinals, cargo, carlos beltran, carlos gonzalez, dodgers, home run derby, homerun, jays, jose bautista, Kansas city, ken griffey jr, mark trumbo, matt kemp, mlb, new york yankees, pirates, pittsburgh pirates, prince fielder, robinson cano, rockies, royals, sluggers, state farm home run derby, tigers, toronto blue jays, yankees

2012 State Farm MLB All-Star Home Run Derby Preview

Jul 8

Posted by Ryan Ritchey

Follow @mlbreports

Sunday July 8th, 2012

Ryan Ritchey (Baseball Writer): The Mid-Summer Classic is upon us and this is the time for some of the best players in all of Major League Baseball to show what they got. The National League will face the American League in the State Farm Home Run Derby on July 9th. There will be four players from each league. The captain for the National League is Matt Kemp and for the American League it will be Robinson Cano.

The National League squad brings four guys that can just straight rake. Those four guys include Matt Kemp, Carlos Gonzalez, Carlos Beltran and Andrew McCutchen (a last minute replacement for the injured Giancarlo Stanton). This is a team that has a great chance to win this event with having two right-handers, a lefty and a switch hitter. Kauffman Stadium is a stadium that can see balls flying out of it completely. Beltran is going back to where his career began and where the fans hated that he left. This could become a warm welcome back for Beltran, or it could become a disappointment if he doesn’t do well.

The American League is bringing some heavy sluggers of its own to the show. Team captain Robinson Cano selected Mark Trumbo, Jose Bautista, and Prince Fielder. Cano also picked a lefty like himself and 2 righties. This could turn out to be one of the best Home Run Derby’s EVER! So much power in one place, it could cause a power outage close to Kauffman. Cano the reigning champion has a great chance to win. I don’t believe he does though.

My predicted champion of the 2012 State Farm Home Run Derby is Carlos Beltran! Beltran coming back to Kansas City has a breakout day and wins by 4 homers. In a close second is Jose Bautista making up for his performance last season. The National League ends up winning the challenge as well. The underdog to keep an eye on is Mark Trumbo. This guy has some serious power and could end up making a believer out of many. But first-timers tend to get a little nervous, especially the young ones. With poise and experience, look for Carlos Beltran to have some home run fun on Monday night.

Ryan Ritchey is a Baseball Writer & Reds Expert for MLB reports. I am a freshman at Spalding University, Assistant Baseball Coach and plan on studying sports journalism. I am a huge fan of Barry Larkin and Brandon Phillips. Have been a baseball fan my whole life and have been writing about baseball since my freshman year of High School. You can reach me on Twitter (@baseballaddicts)

Please e-mail us at: mlbreports@me.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us onTwitter and become a fan on Facebook. To subscribe to our website and have the Daily Reports sent directly to your inbox, click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Follow @mlbreports

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

Comments Off on 2012 State Farm MLB All-Star Home Run Derby Preview

Tags: baseball, carlos beltran, carlos gonzalez, giancarlo stanton, home run, jose bautista, mark trumbo, matt kemp, mlb, prince fielder, robinson cano, state farm home run derby

The Top-10 MLB Home Run Hitters Going Into the All-Star Break

Jul 4

Posted by bernieolshansky

Follow @mlbreports

Wednesday July 4th, 2012

Bernie Olshansky: As the All-Star Break is upon us, we begin to reflect on the first half of the season. While there has been some very strong pitching including multiple perfect games and no-hitters, there has been no shortage of the long ball. Here’s my top-ten list of first-half home run hitters:

10. Giancarlo Stanton (19), MIA

The only surprise about having Stanton on this list is why he’s so low. He got off to a pretty slow start but eventually turned it up. Many speculated that the spaciousness of the new Marlins Park would take away some power due to the deep power alleys, but Stanton has proved those speculations false. He hasn’t had a problem launching balls deep over the left field fence and has taken advantage of the away games. Expect this imposing figure to keep up his performance and possibly even reach 40.

9. Robinson Cano (20), NYY

No stranger to this list, Cano also had a slow start but had a ridiculous month of June hitting 12 homers. Cano plays in about the exact opposite environment as Stanton in Yankee Stadium. With a right field porch only 314 feet away, Cano has no problem putting up big numbers. Cano, too, will undoubtedly put up big numbers in the second half.

8. Carlos Beltran (20), STL

Beltran is probably the most surprising member of this list. He seems like he got rejuvenated after signing with the Cardinals this offseason. Beltran got off to a great start this year and has kept up his performance for the most part. He’s done more than enough to fill the gap left by Albert Pujols’ signing with the Angels. I wouldn’t count on Beltran to keep this up due to his age and his past health issues. Cards’ fans should just ride out this wave and hope it keeps rolling into the post season. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Player Profiles, Players: Fantasy Baseball Articles

Comments Off on The Top-10 MLB Home Run Hitters Going Into the All-Star Break

Tags: adam dunn, adrian gonzalez, all-star break, baseball, carlos beltran, curtis granderson, david ortiz, edwin encarnacion, giancarlo stanton, home run, jose bautista, josh hamilton, josh reddick, mark trumbo, miguel cabrera, Mike Trout, mlb, prince fielder, robinson cano, ryan braun, yoenis cespedes

The Return to Glory of Jose Bautista

Jul 3

Posted by johnburnsmlb

Follow @mlbreports

Tuesday July 3, 2012

John Burns: Jose Bautista has returned to his power hitting ways this season, with a MLB leading 27 homers.

The slugger did start the 2012 campaign very slowly. In his first 25 games this season, Bautista was hitting just .180 with four homers, 12 RBIs and a .659 OPS. Albert Pujols struggles got most of the media’s attention, but Bautista who led all of baseball in the previous season with 43 homers was struggling himself.

Many people believed that the bad start to the season meant that Bautista was starting to become a declining player. That was until June rolled along, when Bautista batted .271 (26-for-96) with four doubles, 14 home runs, 30 RBIs, 22 walks and 24 runs scored in 27 games. With those numbers he was named the American League Player of the Month for June. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Player Profiles

Comments Off on The Return to Glory of Jose Bautista

Tags: all-star game home run derby, baseball, brett lawrie, colby rasmus, edwin encarnacion, jose bautista, mlb, playoffs, toronto blue jays

Paul Konerko is Playing Like An MVP in 2012

Jun 20

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Follow @mlbreports

Wednesday June.20/2012

Paul Konerko is having his best season ever so far, can he keep his White Sox in contention all year and challenge for the batting title? Photo courtesy of beyonderstv.com

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- Paul Konerko is a professional hitter. One day he will have his number retired from the Chicago White Sox at US Cellular Field. Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers 13th overall in the Amateur 1994 Draft, the 6 foot 2 slugger had lofty expectations by the time he made the Major Leagues. For the Albuquerque Isotopes in 1997, he hit .323 with 37 HRs and 127 RBI. The Dodgers ended up trading Konerko to Cincinnati for Jeff Shaw in 1998. The Reds then turned around and traded the man from Rhode Island to the Chicago White Sox for Mike Cameron.

Paul Konerko in his early days with the LA Dodgers, the team decided to trade him because they already had Eric Karros. Photo courtesy of bleacherreport.com

There may be no more underrated player in the MLB over the last 14 years. All that Konerko has done is hit 402 HRs with the Chicago White Sox in that span and plated 1270 RBI. He currently sits 2nd all time in both categories on the club for the all time list, trailing only Frank Thomas . At age 36, Konerko seems to become better at the plate each year. He has hit .300 and clubbed 30 HRs and 100 RBI in both 2010 and 2011. If he keeps up this years pace, he will do it again, but this time he may challenge for an average title and possibly an AL MVP.

Paul Konerko enters today’s action with an AL Best .357 AVG and a .431 OBP-in leading the team to a 35-33 start, which trails the Cleveland Indians by just a half game. The team had started off slow before Konerko went absolutely beserk in May and had raised his average to .399 at one point during his torrid streak. To date this year, he has hit 13 HRs and added 38 RBI. In my opinion, he will be selected to his 6th all-time ALL-star game in Kansas City next month when they unveil the roster. Now Konerko still has a chance to catch Prince Fielder with the fan voting with only being a few hundred thousand votes behind the Tigers 1st baseman.

Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

Comments Off on Paul Konerko is Playing Like An MVP in 2012

Tags: a.j. pierzynski, adam dunn, adam jones, al mvp, alex ríos, all-star gae, all-star game, cincinnati reds, cleveland indians, don mattingly, eric karros, frank thomas, jeff shaw, jose bautista, josh hamilton, keith hernandez, la dodgers, mark trumbo, miguel cabrear, mike cameron, paul konerko, prince fielder, tigers, white sox

The Yankees Should sign Vlad Guerrero

Jun 13

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Follow @mlbreports

Wednesday June.13, 2012

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- The events that happened yesterday with the Blue Jays and Vlad Guerrero are strange and totally warranted for further review. In my opinion, the Blue Jays dropped the ball on this one. Guerrero lit up the Minor Leagues for a couple of weeks and should have been called up when Edwin Encarnacion was hurt on June.4th. It was the perfect opportunity to have Vladdy come up and replace EE in the lineup. It should have prompted a return to first base for Encarnacion when he came back from his injury just 5 days later.

The top average on the team actually belongs to EE, who is hitting .281 currently. Vlad Guerrero has never hit worst than .290 in the last 15 years. He tore it up in the minor leagues, and was said to have showed up in decent shape. The Blue Jays had to know that Vladdy would be upset when he was bypassed on in favor of David Cooper or Yan Gomes. I give full credit to the agent for Guerrero in this case, he negotiated a verbal contract with Alex Anthopoulos that the slugger could opt at any time and request to be released from his player contract with the club. In the only thing that makes the Jays look okay on this, they never had to go through with letting Vladdy out of this contract. Really it is a shame that the two sides could not work out something to have Vlad stay with the club. It may actually work out better for both sides in the long run.

Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

1 Comment

Tags: alex anthopoulos, alex rodriguez, andruw jones, blue jays, brett gardner, brett lawrie, brian cashman, Chuck Booth, colby rasmus, curtis granderson, david cooper, derek jeter, edwin encarnacion, jose bautista, mark teixeira, new York, nick swisher, raul banez, russell martin, the fastest 30 ballgames, vladimir guerrero, yan gomes, yankees, yunel escobar

MLB Reports Monthly Power Rankings: June 2012

Jun 4

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Follow @mlbreports

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 →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

3 Comments

Tags: a.j ellis, adam dunn, adam jones, adam laroche, adrian beltre, albert pujols, all-star game, andre ethier, andy pettitte, angel pagan, arizona diamondbacks, aroldis chapman, Atlanta Braves, baltimore orioles, barry zito, boston red sox, brandon beachy, Bronx Bombers, bryce harper, carlos beltran, carlos gonzalez, Carlos Pena, carlos zambrano, Casey Janssen, cc sabathia, chicago cubs, chicago white sox, chipper jones, chris capuano, chris carpenter, chris sale, Chuck Booth, cincinnati redds, cincinnati reds, clayton kershaw, cleveland indians, colorado rockies, Coors Field, dan uggla, daniel hudson, david ortiz, david wright, dayan viciedo, derek jeter, derek lowe, detroit tigers, dodgers, edwin encarnacion, Felix Doubront, fernando rodney, freddie freeman, giancarlo stanton, gio gonzalez, grady sizemore, hanley ramirez, hideki matsui, houston astros, ian kennedy, ian kinsler, jake peavey, jason kipnis, jay bruce, jered weaver, Jim Leyland, JJ Hardy, joe mauer, joe nathan, joey votto, johan santana, john macdonald, jose altuve, jose bautista, josh hamilton, josh johnson, josh reddick, josh willingham, justin morneau, justin upton, justin verlander, kevin youkilis, kirk nieuwenhuis, kyle lohse, la angels, lance berkman, lance lynn, lucas duda, Luke Scott, Mark buerhle, mark trumbo, matt cain, matt kemp, melky cabrera, mendoza line, miami marlins, michael pineda, Micheal Morse, miguel cabrera, mike scioscia, Mike Trout, minnesota twins, MLB rankings, mlb reports rankings, nelson cruz, new york mets, nick markakis, NY Yankees, oakland a's, pablo sandoval, paul goldschmidt, paul konerko, phil hughes, prince fielder, r.a. dickey, rafael furcal, rangers, rookie of the year, ryan doumit, san francisco giants, Scott Achison, st louis cardinals, starlin castro, stephen drew, stephen strasburg, tampa bay rays, ted lilly, terry collins, the fastest 30 ballgames, tim lincecum, todd helton, toronto blue jays, travis hafner, vladimir guerrero, washington nationals, will middlebrooks, willie bloomquist, yeonis cespedes, yu darvish

Vladdy will help the Blue Jays in 2012

May 14

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Follow @mlbreports

Monday, May.14/2012

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- Vladimir Guerrero is a professional hitter. During the last 15 seasons, he has never hit less than .290 and has hit over .300 during 13 different seasons. Sure he may not be able to hit his lifetime average of .318, or even duplicate some of his power numbers that had him a perennial 30 HRs and 100 RBI guy. Vlad Guerrero will definitely help the Blue Jays. Heck, if he can hit .290 like last year, then that would be leading the current version of the 2012 Blue Jays. The team has had great production out of Edwin Encarnacion at the DH position. Although a move to first base for EE would free up that position for Guerrero. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

2 Comments

Tags: adam lind, AL East, andy pettitte, baltimore orioles, boston red sox, brett lawrie, brian matusz, cc sabathia, colby rasmus, david price, edwin encarnacion, eric thames, jon lester, jose bautista, jp arencibia, kelly johnson, matt moore, new york yankees, rogers centr, skydome, tampa bay rays, texas rangers, toronto blue jays, vlad guerrero, yunel escobar

MLB reports Monthly Power Rankings: May 2012

Follow @mlbreports

Tuesday May 8th, 2012

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)-We are going to bring you a monthly power rankings every month of the season. There will be a few verses for each team. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts.

May Power Rankings

Texas (19-10) Josh Hamilton is clubbing the ball at his 2010 like AL MVP clip. Yu Darvish appears to be the real deal. Mike Napoli hits 8^th on most nights. Michael Young might be the most under-appreciated hitter in the last decade. Ian Kinsler is on pace for 162 runs. If Nelson Cruz starts hitting and or Nathan rounds into form, than this team may blitz by every one.
Tampa Bay (19-10) The pitching staff is incredible right now. David Price is asserting himself as one of the premier left-handed pitchers in baseball. Strong starts from Evan Longoria, Luke Scott and Carlos Pena have helped. Joe Maddon may be the best ‘in-game manager’ of baseball now with Tony La Russa out of the Majors.
Atlanta (18-12) The reason I have Atlanta rated so high is they are not even having a good year from Tim Hudson yet and Jair Jurrjens has been atrocious. Still they sit near the top of the standings. Chipper Jones has 21 RBI and Freddie Freeman has taken the next step so far with 26 RBI. Last year the team had a lot of players with career worst years and they were only eliminated on the last day of the season. This year may be different.
St. Louis (18-11) You lose a franchise player like Albert Pujols and you spend half the money for Carlos Beltran and Rafael Furcal, who are finally hitting the numbers like the back of their bubble gum cards from 5 years ago. Are we giving enough credit to Mark McGwire here? Lance Lynn has morphed into Chris Carpenter with his 6-0 start.
LA Dodgers (19-10) Matt Kemp is the best player in baseball right now and may walk away with the triple crown this year. Andre Ethier has matured into the RBI guy he needs to be. Solid pitching by Clayton Kershaw, Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly have this team looking solid. Dodgers look good in the future when the new ownership takes over. (more…)

Posted on May 8, 2012 | Image

The 2012 Toronto Blue Jays: Need a Big Bat to Contend in the A.L. East

May 2

Posted by lorimartinibelieves

Follow @mlbreports

Tuesday May 2nd, 2012

Rob Bland: Much has been said about the quiet offseason that Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos underwent. After the uproar that was caused by the media in the Yu Darvis bidding process, and the Prince Fielder free agency, fans became upset that Anthopoulos was just sitting on his hands. The fact that Anthopoulos stated numerous times that they would not be major players in free agency seemed to fall on deaf ears. Anthopoulos has been adamant about building this team with young and athleticism, the latter of which is something that Prince Fielder doesn’t necessarily embody. That’s no knock against Prince, because he is paid to mash, not steal bases.

The question is asked, do the Jays need a big bat or another arm to take that final leap into contention in the American League East? Now, I could answer this a few different ways. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis

Comments Off on The 2012 Toronto Blue Jays: Need a Big Bat to Contend in the A.L. East

Tags: adam lind, alex anthopoulos, anthony gose, baseball, brandon morrow, brett lawrie, edwin encarnacion, john farrell, jose bautista, kyle drabek, mlb, prince fielder, ricky romero, roy halladay, toronto blue jays, yu darvish

2012 MLB Home Run Leaders

Feb 24

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

Follow @mlbreports

Friday February 24th, 2012

Rob Bland: The last two seasons have seen Jose Bautista lead the MLB in home runs. His seemingly out of nowhere run to being one of the top 3 hitters in baseball looks to continue in 2012. Can he continue to hit home runs at a ridiculous pace, or will he fall off? Will someone such as Curtis Granderson or Matt Kemp become MLB’s newest home run champ? I will take a look at some of the top choices to take over this title, as well as a few dark horses. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Player Profiles

Comments Off on 2012 MLB Home Run Leaders

Tags: al, albert pujols, American league, baseball, curtis granderson, home run, jose bautista, mark teixeira, matt kemp, mike stanton, mlb, prince fielder

MLB Third Basemen in 2012: Fantasy Strategies

Feb 8

Posted by pwstein87

Follow @mlbreports

Wednesday February 8th, 2012

Peter Stein (Fantasy Baseball Analyst – MLB reports): Third base is one of my favorite positions in fantasy baseball, mainly due to the fact that most owners do not have a wise approach in this area come draft day. Third base is clearly one of the shallowest positions in baseball and contains a plethora of high-risk players. However, third base is also the home of some of the games top players, most notably Miguel Cabrera– who looks to regain eligibility in 2012 after the Tigers’ acquisition of Prince Fielder.

Clearly, Cabrera changes the dynamics of the position. He was already my top rated first baseman, so eligibility at third base, along with Fielder’s production, makes him even that much more valuable. Just be sure you understand your league’s eligibility rules, but it appears that Cabrera will at least be playing third base a couple times a week. After Cabrera, Jose Bautista is the clear number two, followed by Evan Longoria, Adrian Beltre, Ryan Zimmerman, and David Wright. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in Players: Fantasy Baseball Articles

2 Comments

Tags: alex rodriguez, aramis ramirez, baseball, brett lawrie, david freese, david wright, emilio bonifacio, evan longoria, fantasy baseball, jose bautista, kevin youkilis, mark reynolds, miguel cabrera, mlb, pedro alvarez, prince fielder, ryan zimmernan

Ask the Reports: Your Baseball Questions Answered – Sunday February 5th, 2012

Feb 5

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

Follow @mlbreports

Sunday February 5th, 2012

Jonathan Hacohen: Posted every Weekend: Your top baseball questions from the past week are answered. E-mail all questions to mlbreports@gmail.com, message us on Twitter and post on our Facebook Wall!

Let’s get to your top questions of the week:

Q: I know you are a Jays fan. What’s your opinion on Joey Bats? How can he go from 15 HRs to leading the league 2 years in a row? Joe

JH: I am??!! I have been accused of many things, but a Jays supporter is not one of them. Being based in Toronto, many people naturally assume that I am a Jays fan. Plus we have many Jays readers and followers, so their team often comes up in conversation. Here is the scoop on many Jays fandom. If you have to categorize me a particular “team fan”, then the Tigers will be that pick. Only since AA has taken over the team have I been excited about the Jays prospects. JP did a masterful job of destroying the Jays farm system and creating a mediocre Jays squad for years. AA has swooped in and created a team that looks like they are on the verge of contention for years to come. I am a fan of the game overall (obviously). I like what the Jays are doing and see a bright future ahead…and that’s all I have to say about that.

As far as your Jose Bautista question, I see where you are going with it. Here are my thoughts. Back in August 2008, I was horrified when the Jays traded Robinson Diaz for Bautista. A young catcher with upside for a limited utility player? No thanks I said. From there, I was mortified when Bautista proceeded to become the home run king. I have heard the whispers of steroids/HGH/PEDs and how Bautista became a star overnight. I also heard the talk that Cito Gaston fixed his swing and got him to become more aggressive instead of swinging late. I think the latter, rather than the former are true. With drug testing in full swing, I would like to think that Bautista would have been caught had he been “juicing”. Can I guarantee? Absolute not, considering the Braun scandal. Some players do figure it out late in life and Jose Bautista appears to be one of the lucky few. Unfortunately, our cynical society does not allow us to be 100% confident in many of our modern athletes, with the amount of PEDs that have apparently flowed in the game. I would like to believe in Bautista. I really do. Let’s stick with the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ mentality and give him his due. Unless proven otherwise, Jose Bautista figured it out and turned into one of the best all-around players in the game. I am prepared to give credit where credit is due.

Q: Arbitration hearings have started. Is there a count of how many have been heard, how many left to hear and winners/losers? Old Man Mack

JH: A shout-out to the final people over at MLB Trade Rumors, as Tim, Ben and the gang do some fine work in providing the latest transactions in the world of baseball. If you haven’t visited it already, they have a dedicated page called Arbitration Tracker which will answer all your arbitration questions. You will be able to see all the figures submitted by both players and teams, the mid-point and the award amounts. By my count there are still 19 players left with scheduled arbitration cases (who could still settle beforehand). I have seen 2 cases heard and the players are 0-2 (Lannan and Niemann both lost their cases). A fascinating process, in my opinion most of these cases should be settled before arbitration. Likely a lot of hard feelings can be achieved but little else from going through arbitration. But budgets are budgets and money is money. Welcome the business side of baseball.

Q: Is Brett Lawrie in the top 100 (fantasy players)? Forrest

JH: Now that is interesting. Hmmmm….is Brett Lawrie a top-100 fantasy baseball right now? My answer off the cuff is…no. Maybe one day. But not today. Reason? There are thirty MLB teams. I can think of the top of my head at least 3-4 players per team that are better than Lawrie in fantasy terms right now. Don’t get me wrong, Lawrie is a stud. He is good and will get better. But we only have a very small sample size for him thus far in the big leagues. With his blazing start in 2011, you have to expect a bit of regression this year. It’s called the “sophomore jinx”. Will Lawrie fall victim? Maybe. Possibly. It also depends on your league. Lawrie to me is a strong player to have in a keeper league, while being less valuable in a non-keeper league. Right this minute, I would rather have players like Youkilis, Verlander, Fielder, Halladay, Rivera, Strasburg, Cabrera, Avila, Choo, Gallardo, Weaver, Haren, Mauer, Hernandez…and the list goes on. Lawrie is not far off and would make my top 120 or 130. Give him another year and you could be seeing a top 50 player…or higher!

Q: Do you think the Miami Marlins will Contend in the NL East this upcoming Season? Marty

JH: Contend- yes. Win- no. The Marlins are definitely improved, no doubt. But they have not done enough in my mind to take them over the top. The Phillies are still the team to beat, with the Braves being close behind. The Nationals? With their improved rotation, I would be very nervous about them. Reyes will bring excitement and Buehrle/Zambrano will help stabilize the rotation and Bell solid as the closer. But I just see some of the other teams being too strong. At best, I see the Marlins in 2nd place. But at worst? A 4th place finish. They are still missing a big bat and need all their key players to stay healthy. Too many if’s for my liking.

ATR: Who will enjoy being stretched out in 2012: Feliz, Sale, or Chapman? Justin

JH: Looking at the crystal ball, I am seeing clear visions. Neftali Feliz and Chris Sale are both headed back to the bullpens by June at the latest. Both have enjoyed success in the bullpen and I can see each being ok but not great starters. They could develop over time, with the White Sox having more patience than the Rangers. But in a sport with a “win now” mentality, both will be relievers if they cannot succeed early on. Chapman on the other hand, I am seeing a different vision. With Ryan Madson entrenched as the closer, I can see Chapman being needed more in the rotation. With his stuff, he would be a very dangerous starter if he could learn some control. That could come sooner rather than later, as early as 2012. At the very least, Chapman could be a fine 4th or 5th starter. He will go 5-6 innings per start and rack up a ton of K’s. So yes to Chapman, no to Feliz and Sale right now. Especially Feliz- as he will turn one day (if he hasn’t already) into a Papelbon lock-down closer. But if the Rangers aren’t careful, they could be hurting his long-term growth if they continue this see-saw back and forth like the Mariners did with Brandon Morrow some years ago.

Q: Who do you think will be in the World Series? Ethan

JH: I was discussing this with a reader the other day. He predicted the Dbacks and Tigers. I have to like those picks. If I had to look at the top-4 teams, I am seeing the Tigers/Angels in the AL and Reds/Dbacks in the NL. The Yankees, Rays and Rangers will still be strong, as will the Red Sox. The Phillies, Cards, Brewers and Giants will provide a challenge in the NL. But I can’t get over the look to the Angels and I am sensing good things coming out of Anaheim this year. The Dbacks look very powerful and have built a team that will contend for the next several years. But the Reds are a strong force and manager Dusty Baker should be able to get the most out of that squad this year. I would like to say Tigers and Dbacks as well- that would be my heart pick. But looking at the crystal ball, I am seeing Angels and Reds right now. I can’t say why. The crystal ball says what it says. If it changes in picture, I will let you know.

Q: What do the Nats gain from banning Phillies fans??? Tammy

JH: If this is not THE dumbest thing I have ever heard, it definitely comes close. For those that are not familiar, the Nationals are trying to block Philadelphia fans from buying tickets to Phillies/Nats games by curbing where you reside when buying single game seats. Silly. Silly. Silly. Firstly, the Nats have enough of an attendance problem as it is, so they certainly should not be limiting ticket sales. Secondly, by discouraging Phillies fans at the stadium, it will create a hatred type mentality for those fans that do make the games. Baseball is about the love of the game. Rather than discouraging certain fans, the Nats should encourage all fans to buy tickets to their park. This new idea will have the effect of creating a bitter rivalry between the two teams every time they play in Washington, which might actually be a good thing. But the issues and conflict that it could create in the stands between opposing fans is a negative one. Let’s not forget what recently happened between Dodgers and Giants fans when hatred becomes spread. People can become injured or even yet, have a risk of life. Let’s spread baseball love- not hatred people.

Q: Are the Tigers done? And not will they do this or not, but your thoughts on Jeff Francis for Detroit’s lefty problem? J Raddy

JH: They are not done. The Tigers are never done. With the addition of Prince Fielder, the Tigers are even more serious World Series contenders in 2012, despite the loss of V-Mart. When you have Verlander and Fister in the rotation, Avila behind the plate and Cabrera/Prince in the heart of the lineup- you are going to be winning a ton of baseball games. Jeff Francis, or a Francis type pitcher is not the answer. Firstly, he was already signed by the Reds. But secondly, too many question marks surround him. If the Tigers can score a true #3, like Roy Owalt- they will be unstoppable (if they aren’t already). The more likely scenario is the team going with what they have, with a tweak or two. Turner could be the #5 if he has a strong spring, with the club picking up a Fister type pitcher at the deadline. If no Oswalt, the Tigers could sign 1-2 veteran pitchers to minor league contracts and invite them to spring training. Near the end of spring, come cut time, they could then pick someone up to start the year. Dombrowski is a smart guy and knows what he doing. By the time October rolls around, don’t expect the exact same Tigers roster that you see today.

Q: Realignment 2013 Proposal: Dennis

al east nyy, bost , tap b, Miami. and balt

al central detr . min, chic w, torn, and clevel

al west tex, oak, sea, laa, and houst

nl east phil, atl, nym, wash, and pitts

nl central milw, stl, cin, chic c, and kann

nl west arz, sd, sf, col, and lad

play 4 divisional teams 18 games each and other 10 league teams 7 games each and one divisional of the league 4 games each. would only need to play 2, 2 games series in interleague play against the same team home and away all other series would be 3 or 4 games series. Only houst , kann, and miami would change leagues, and only Pittsburgh and Toronto would change divisions.

JH: Very ambitious my friend. Very ambitious indeed. I prepared an article on MLB realignment back in May 2011 that you should check out. I caught a ton of flack for it, but many people have a tough time with change. It is interesting the route that you have gone. Currently, only the Astros are moving (to the AL West), with the rest of the teams staying put. I agree that the current divisional alignments don’t work and need a shakeup. Ultimately, I would like to have 2 more expansions, bringing the total amount of teams to 32. I think only upon expansion will you see a true realignment in baseball. It’s not that I don’t like your plan- it has merits. But I am not sure geographically and with team rivalries why some of the changes would be implemented. KC and St. Louis in the same division is a no-brainer, as is Miami and Tampa Bay. We can definitely agree that more realignment is needed, but perhaps a shift in the number of divisions or the format on playoff seeding needs to shift as well. For now, we will have to live with Houston in the AL West in 2013 with 2 more likely added Wild Card teams for now.

ARCHIVE: Click here for Past Issues of Ask the Reports

Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan onFacebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Jonathan Hacohen is the Lead Baseball Columnist & Editor for MLB reports: You can follow Jonathan on Twitter (@JHacohen) Follow @mlbreports

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

Comments Off on Ask the Reports: Your Baseball Questions Answered – Sunday February 5th, 2012

Tags: arbitration, aroldis chapman, ask the reports, baseball, brett lawrie, bud selig, chris sale, detroit tigers, jeff francis, jose bautista, miami marlins, mlb, mlb reports, neftali feliz, NL east, philadelphia phillies, prince fielder, realignment, robinson diaz, roy oswalt, texas rangers, toronto blue jays, washington nationals, world series

Looking Ahead to the 2013 Hall of Fame Ballot

Feb 4

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

Follow @mlbreports

Saturday February 4, 2012

Rob Bland: When Barry Larkin was elected into the Hall of Fame, it was obvious going in that he would likely be included. As it turned out, he was the only player voted in by the BBWAA in 2012. Larkin received 86.4% of the vote, a jump from 62.1% the year before, when he had the highest vote total of those who did not receive the requisite 75%.

The 2013 class boasts 13 players who received less than 75% but more than 5% of the vote to remain on the ballot. There are also 32 new players on the list. Players must have played in at least 10 MLB seasons, and have been retired for 5 full seasons to be eligible for the ballot. Of returning players, the most notable are Jack Morris (66.7%), Jeff Bagwell (56%), Lee Smith (50.6%), Tim Raines (48.7%), Mark McGwire (19.5%) and Rafael Palmeiro (12.6%). It’s hard to imagine that two of the best home run hitters of all time (McGwire and Palmeiro) could garner less than a quarter of the vote, in McGwire’s 7th year on the ballot and Palmeiro’s 3rd respectively. However, due to steroid usage and their laughable performances in a congressional hearing, this is the case.

2013’s ballot gets a whole lot crazier when you add baseball’s all-time home run leader, and possibly best player in history, one of the most prolific strikeout pitchers of all time, the best slugging catcher of all time, and a guy who hit over 60 HR THREE times, and totalling 609 blasts.

Barry Bonds. Roger Clemens. Mike Piazza. Sammy Sosa. All four of these players have in some way or another been connected with steroids, whether it is pure speculation, or blatant proof. Knowing what we know about McGwire and Palmeiro’s statuses in the Hall of Fame voting, 2013 could prove to be the most heavily debated election year ever. Many believe that players who used steroids should never be elected in the Hall, and all records should have asterisks beside them. Many others believe they should let them in, and that because steroids and PED usage was so rampant in the “Steroid Era” that it doesn’t affect the way they vote.

Jack Morris’s case for the Hall has been so widely discussed that it bears not repeating. He was a good pitcher on some very good teams that scored a lot of runs. Bagwell put up tremendous numbers and has never been proven to be linked to PEDs but is kept out of the Hall because some suspect him of it. Raines is inching closer to being elected, and Lee Smith is nearing the end of his run on the ballot. Since I have already given my vote for 2012, and my opinion has not changed on any of those players, I won’t go into too much detail, other than the fact that I believe Morris will be elected in his 14th year.

Bonds and Clemens would have been first ballot Hall of Famers, no doubt about it. But because of this cloud of PED usage hanging over their heads, it could be a while, if at all.

Bonds’ CAREER OPS 1.051 is higher than every player in the MLB not named Jose Bautista in 2011 alone. His peak season in OPS+ was 268 in 2002. 268! Career OBP of .444. 514 stolen bases. He holds the record for most career home runs with 762. Bonds was a 7-time National League MVP, 14-time All-Star, 8-time Gold Glover, and 12-time Silver Slugger. Simply put, steroids or not, Bonds was a once-in-a-lifetime talent, and should be treated as such. He should be in the Hall, but may not be elected for many years due to his links to PEDs, his perjury charges, and his overall sour disposition when it came to dealing with the scrutiny of the media.

Clemens was one of the top 3 pitchers in a generation dominated by hitting, along with Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson. He has the highest fWAR of any pitcher (by a landslide) with 145.5 Wins Above Replacement. His 8.56 K/9 ranks in the top 10 all time for starters with over 250 GS. At age 42, (albeit possibly aided by PED) he went 13-8, 1.87 ERA, 185K/62BB, and ERA+ of 226. Clemens won 7 Cy Young Awards while attending 11 All-Star Games and even winning the AL MVP Award in 1986. Clemens was always known for his military-style workouts and his bulldog mentality, but as with Bonds, his links to PEDs will taint his legacy.

Mike Piazza is another case where others have implicated him, and there has been no proof of his taking any PED. Highest career slugging of any catcher in history; .545. #1 in ISO; .237. 7th in fWAR; 66.7. 1st in HR; 427. If these stats don’t make Piazza look like the best offensive catcher in history, I don’t know what else to say. Maybe his .308 AVG and 140 wRC+, 9th and 1st all time for catchers, respectively, will convince you. A 12-time All-Star, Piazza also won the 1993 NL MVP award with the LA Dodgers. He also won 10 Silver Slugger Awards and was voted in the top 10 for the MVP 7 times. Piazza should be voted in the first ballot as well, but, like Bagwell, will likely wait many years even though there has not been a shred of credible evidence that he took a PED.

Between 1998 and 2001, Sammy Sosa hit 243 home runs. 60.75 home runs per year. In the history of the MLB, there have been eight seasons where a player has hit 60 HR. Sosa owns three of them. With 609 career home runs and an OPS of .878, it is no wonder Sosa was regarded as one of the best power hitters of his generation. Sosa played in 7 All-Star Games, won the NL MVP in 1998, and was voted in the top 10 six other times. He also won 6 Silver Slugger Awards. Sosa tested positive for PED use in a 2003 supposedly anonymous survey. Also, not helping his reputation as a cheater is that he was caught using a corked bat on June 3, 2003.

Curt Schilling needs to get a long hard look as well. He was able to amass only 216 wins, but his career 1.13 WHIP and 128 ERA+ are very good. Schilling also compiled over 3100 strikeouts while walking only 711 in 3261 innings. If Jack Morris gets into the Hall of Fame with much lesser career numbers, but gets in on the merits of his Game 7 victory in the 1991 World Series, Schilling should be elected in his first 3 years of eligibility. Before Game 6 of the ALCS in 2004, in which the Red Sox were down 3-2 to the Yankees, Schilling tore a tendon sheath in his ankle. Doctors built a wall of stitches in his ankle to hold the tendon in place so that he could still pitch in the game. Schilling went 7 innings, all the while blood oozed out of the wound through his sock. He gave up 4 hits, no walks, and struck out 4 batters, and gave up 1 run. The Red Sox won the game, and won the series the next night. The game will forever be known as the Bloody Sock Game. Schilling’s performance on one leg was one of the gutsiest events I have ever witnessed in this game.

There are so many other notable names of good to great baseball players, but none should have a real chance of being elected into the Hall of Fame this year…with most likely never getting in. These players include Craig Biggio, Jose Mesa, Roberto Hernandez, Kenny Lofton, David Wells, Shawn Green, Julio Franco, Sandy Alomar, and of course, Jaret Wright. Remember that guy?

2013’s ballot is littered with guys who SHOULD be in, but won’t be elected. Not now, and maybe not ever. Personally, I vote Bonds, Clemens, Piazza, Sosa and Schilling. Due to their PED connections, the first four won’t get in, and Schilling may take a few years to pay his dues through the process.

***Today’s feature was prepared by our Baseball Writer, Rob Bland. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Blandy on Twitter***

Follow @mlbreports

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

3 Comments

Tags: barry bonds, baseball, cooperstown, craig biggio, curt schilling, hall of fame, jack morris, jeff bagwell, jose bautista, lee smith, mark mcgwire, mike piazza, mlb, pedro martinez, pitcher, rafael palmeiro, randy johnson, roger clemens, sammy sosa, starting pitcher, tim raines

Wins Above Replacement (WAR): Analyzing MLB Statistics using Sabermetrics

Jan 11

Posted by pwstein87

Follow @mlbreports

Wednesday January 11th, 2012

Peter Stein (Fantasy Baseball Analyst – MLB reports): Although WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is not the best of the sabermetric stats for fantasy baseball purposes, it has certainly transformed the way in which we can truly understand a given major league baseball player’s contribution (or lack there of) to his team. WAR attempts to epitomize a player’s total value in one sole statistic, taking into account both the offensive and defensive aspects of the game. FanGraphs (the sabermetrics bible) aptly describes the essence of WAR: “If this player got injured and their team had to replace them with a minor leaguer or someone from their bench, how much value would the team be losing.” A player is measured in “Wins” for a season (i.e. 3.4), while an average full-time player is worth 2 wins and a replacement player represents 0 wins. Furthermore an average staring pitcher is worth 2.0 WAR, while 1.0 WAR represents a strong season for a relief pitcher.

Here are the 2011 leaders in WAR:

Batting

Jacoby Ellsbury – 9.4
Matt Kemp – 8.7
Jose Bautista – 8.3
Dustin Pedroia – 8.0
Ryan Braun – 7.8
Ian Kinsler – 7.7
Miguel Cabrera – 7.3
Curtis Granderson 7.0
Alex Gordon 6.9
Joey Votto 6.9

Pitching

Roy Halladay – 8.2
C.C. Sabathia – 7.1
Justin Verlander – 7.0
Clayton Kershaw – 6.8
Cliff Lee – 6.7
Dan Haren
C.J. Wilson – 6.4
Jered Weaver – 5.9
Doug Fister – 5.6
Felix Hernandez – 5.6

The statistic actually defines a player’s value, something that MVP (Most Valuable Players) voters should perhaps consider come each October. For batters, the stat itself is calculated by taking into account two stats: wRAA (Weighted Runs Above Average) and UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating), which represent a batter’s offensive and defensive values, respectively. Pitching WAR replaces these two sabermetric stats with FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), a stat that normalizes ERA for the “uncontrollable,” in conjunction with numbers of innings pitched. The Uncontrollable refers to what happens after the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand, because obviously pitchers have almost no control over the balls that are in play. They are ultimately at the mercy of their defense.

Fangraphs site the formula for FIP as the following:

FIP: ((13*HR)+(3*(BB+HBP-IBB))-(2*K))/IP + constant

If you are unfamiliar with Sabermetrics and WAR, this should feel like a mix between learning a foreign language and a calculus problem. However, don’t let this intimidate you. Spend some time on FanGraphs (It’s okay take it slowly) and it will change the way in which you think about the game of baseball. Please note that Baseball Reference has a slightly different formula/method to calculate WAR.

The beauty of WAR, however, is that it not only takes in account a player’s defensive skills (using UZR), but also the difficulty of the position. Therefore, someone like Dustin Pedroia at second base is significantly more valuable than a slugging Prince Fielder, at the first base position where power and production is demanded. Perhaps that is why Fielder is still fielding offers and has not landed a contract within his desired range. Not too shabby of statistic for a General Manager, huh? My hope is that this analysis paints the complexity of WAR and the many factors used to determine the number of wins that a player is ultimately worth to his team.

Let it be clear that by no means is WAR perfect. From a rather cynical standpoint, the very philosophy of WAR, which is calculated with so many components, professes that you cannot use one sole determinant to measure a player’s value. Furthermore, the positional adjustment numbers are the most arbitrary difficult to calculate. Can we really determine that a Center Fielder, due to difficulty to play the position itself, is worth 1.5 more wins than a first baseman? It is also difficult to determine the UZR for a first baseman, a position in which success is defined less by range and more by the ability to field throws. Paul Konerko certainly does not have great range, but he is universally regarded as one of the league’s top defensive first baseman, most likely saving Alexei Ramirez a handful of errors each season. Likewise, you cannot measure range for catchers, which use the fielding component of Stolen Base Runs Saved (rSB). We also know that much of catcher’s true value is related to his ability to call a smart game (which cannot be measured by any given statistic).

However, from a fantasy perspective, we do not care about defense, and therefore wRAA is a more accurate indicator of offensive output. FIP can be used as well. For example, if a pitcher’s FIP indicates that his defense is frequently letting him down, and said pitcher joins a top rated defensive team; you have acquired knowledge about a player’s ability not represented by the generic stats out there. This is how you will earn surplus value and land the “surprises”, the “bounce-back” players, and avoid the “busts”.

I admit, when I first familiarized myself with FanGraphs, I felt like I was cheating in my fantasy baseball leagues. However, after joining more competitive leagues and with sabermetrics entering the mainstream, I have learned that this only provides a slight advantage. Just as it holds true for every other aspect of life, it is impossible to predict the future in the world of baseball. However, in a game of numbers- only the slightest advantage is needed to set your team apart from the competition.

WAR is a one of a kind stat. It helps us more thoroughly examine a player’s worth, especially when compared to their salary. Ultimately, the stat serves as a good building block to work back from to understand the intricacies and essence of sabermetrics.

***Today’s feature was prepared by our Fantasy Baseball Analyst, Peter Stein. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Peter on Twitter (@peterWstein).***