Blog Archives
Texas Rangers: How They Can Regain Their A.L. Supremacy
Thursday October 11th, 2012
Jake Dal Porto: The Texas Rangers were this year’s 2011 Boston Red Sox for the lack of a better explanation. After retaining the American League West lead and even the best record in the entire American League for the majority of the season, they hit a wall at the wrong time.
The final few days of the 2012 season for Texas was comparable to a blur. Their time from the best team in the A.L. to losing the sudden death Wild Card playoff game to the Orioles happened so fast, that it’s hard to unravel what the heck happened. But the answer is now clear thanks to some time to digest the events.
The Rangers’ wobbly pitching staff and Josh Hamilton’s woes both defensively and offensively can be deemed the two main variables in their collapse. Over the final ten games of the season, the Rangers’ staff as a whole posted a 5.83 ERA. That includes the bullpen corps as well. Texas’s starting rotation was never a dominant one per say. They had 11 different pitchers start a game due to injuries and struggles from several players. With that said, the only three pitchers the were reliable were Yu Darvish, Derek Holland, and Matt Harrison. Outside of that capable trio, the Rangers had a tough time piecing together anything consistent. Read the rest of this entry
Orioles vs. Yankees: Curse of Maier May Be Over
Wednesday October 10th, 2012
The last time the Yankees and Orioles met in Postseason play was in 1996. The Orioles lost that series, and a lot of fingers were pointed at the controversial home run caught young fan, Jeffrey Maier. The Orioles postseason fate may be different this time around against the Bronx Bombers.
Alex Mednick (Baseball Analyst and Writer):
The last time the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees met in the playoffs was in 1996 in the ALCS. Like in 2012, Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter were on the Yankees roster. The Orioles boasted a lineup that consisted of Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar, Cal Ripken Jr., B.J Surhoff, and Brady Anderson—who was having a career year. That lineup, along with a rotation consisting of Mike Mussina and Scott Erickson and Jimmy Key, gave Baltimore an imposing roster that the Camden Faithful could expect to make a playoff run.
15 years later we see a tale that is much more of a David and Goliath story. The Orioles have not been in the playoff’s since 1997 and have finished 5th place in the AL East for the last 4 consecutive seasons. The Yankees, conversely, have made the postseason 17 out of the last 18 seasons. After getting off to a hot start, the Orioles made a trade for future Hall of Famer, Jim Thome, to help add some pop and veteran leadership to their lineup. Even later in the season, when the team still found themselves in serious contention for October baseball, they called up 20-year-old phenom Manny Machado, who wasn’t even alive when Jim Thome took his first swing in the Major League. Now, Manny Machado finds himself playing on the same field as his childhood hero, Alex Rodriguez. Read the rest of this entry
Buck Showalter Is Spinning His Managerial Magic One More Time
Monday, September.17/2012
Showalter was never given a fair shake after the 1994 year. He had guided the Yankees to the best record in the AL during the 1994 Strike Shortened Season. After the 1995 ALDS loss to the Mariners, he was let go in favor of Joe Torre.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Buck Showalter has a knack of coming in when a franchise is down and rebuilding the team within 2-3 years after. He started with the struggling Yankees back in the early 90’s and almost brought them to the promise land a couple of times. The Players Strike cost him a chance in the 1994 season and he was on the back-end of a hot 1995 Seattle Mariners club, (who were left for dead and caught lightning in a bottle with the emergence of Randy Johnson.) Showalter was blamed for not being able to reach the stars on the club even though he was a master tactician with young players. Don Mattingly quickly retired and a new wave of young players were meshing with the old stars . The Yankees went onto hire Joe Torre, while Buck was left to view the club win 4 World Series in 5 years and make 6 out of 7 World Series Appearances overall. Showalter’s managerial record was 313-268 with the Yankees.
Joe Torre was a great manager, however I am of the belief that if Buck Showalter was given one more chance with the PinStripers, that he would have succeeded. So Showalter went to the Arizona DiamondBacks 2 years before the franchise was even playing so he could hit the ground running, From the get go, the D’Backs brass were willing to sign premier free-agents. In the second year of the club’s existence, Showalter took the team to a playoff appearance with a 100-62 record- and was was named NL Manager of the Year. He left the club after the 2000 season. Bob Brenly swept into the fray and reaped the benefits of all the hard work put forth by Showalter, by winning a World Series with the D’Backs in 2001. Showalter was left to watch from a distance yet again. Actually it was his two former teams in the World Series of 2001 as the D’backs ousted the Yankees in 7 games. Showalter left the Arizona franchise with a 250-236 record. Read the rest of this entry
Beltre and Hamilton Need to Carry the Rangers for a 3rd Straight WS Appearance
Tuesday, August.28/2012
Hamilton and Beltre need to carry the Rangers to their 3rd straight World Series Appearance. This feat has not been done since the Yankees went to 4 straight WS Appearances from 1998-2001.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024 It is Adrian Beltre Awareness Week! What is that exactly? I have adopted an idea to carry out on twitter-in order to provide the unheralded players of the MLB, their just credit. So far there has been Juan Pierre, Mike Morse , Jose Altuve Awareness Weeks and now it is Adrian Beltre’s turn. I decided on the Rangers 3rd base slugger because I believe that he is on a path for Cooperstown. Rather than bore you with details I have already written about before on the Reports, you can click here for my previous article on Beltre hitting himself into Hall Of Fame Consideration: click here.
Okay back to the point. It was right after Adrian Beltre’s 3 HR game that I started sending out my link on the article and hailing Beltre as a man worthy for Cooperstown if he keeps it up. I had many of my followers indicate they had never thought about him like that. In bullet point style here. Right after that he had a 3 hit game, in which he was a Triple short of the cycle. The next day he hit for his second career cycle. It made me feel really good about my stance on the guy. 5 HRs, 2 Doubles, a Triple and 2 singles is a month for some guys and Beltre accomplished this feat in 14 AB over 3 games. That is 29 total bases folks, a slugging percentage of over 2 and a .714 Average. The Rangers offense has several players that seem to blow up like this. Nelson Cruz had 8 RBI not so long ago. Beltre had that 3 homer game in the ALCS last year. Then there was Josh Hamilton and his 4 HR game. Hamilton has also had 3 games this year where he had collected 5 RBI or more.
The Rangers are a power house offense. They have guys like Mitch Moreland and Mike Napoli hitting 8th routinely. They are going to win the AL West for a 3rd Straight year. With all of this said, something doesn’t resonate with me in them making their 3rd straight World Series this year. That feat has not been accomplished since the Yankees made 4 fall classics in a row from 1998-2001. The Rangers are vulnerable and have weaknesses in their pitching. They don’t have C.J Wilson this year and Rookie Yu Darvish is slowing down after a great first half. I think with Darvish, it is the innings that are catching up to him. In Japan, they usually have 6 man rotations. This is new territory for the talented chucker.
Adrian Beltre Highlights!
The Underrated Greatness of Yoenis Cespedes: The Stats Don’t Lie
Monday August 20th, 2012
(Image Courtesy of Businessinsider.com)
Jonathan Hacohen: For all the talk of Mike Trout as the sure bet for this year’s A.L. ROY and possibly MVP awards, a name that does not get thrown around enough is that of Yoenis Cespedes. Heard of him? I’m sure you have. The Cuban sensation, who went almost overnight from a YouTube prospect star to the A’s best hitter. The baseball world has not forgotten about Cespedes. But it seems like for all the attention Mike Trout is getting, Cespedes is not getting enough baseball love. Given Trout’s numbers, it’s not hard to see why. The kid hailed as the next Mickey Mantle has delivered and then some. Trout leads the league with a .343 average. Scored 96 runs and stole 39 bases. Obscene numbers for any MLB player in August, let alone a 21-year old. What makes Trout even more incredible is that he is doing it at home and on the road. Check his splits- almost identical. But then Trout does get to enjoy the lineup protection of Albert Pujols, Kendrys Morales, Torii Hunter and the rest of the Angels lineup.
I am not even going to begin to try to compare Trout and Cespedes. Apples and oranges. Trout is much younger (6 years) and he clearly has the superior numbers. In any other year though, Yoenis Cespedes would have been the shoo-in Rookie of the Year in the A.L. and would have garnered MVP votes as well. But just because Trout is so good, we shouldn’t let Cespedes not get his time in the sun. The man has been a one-man wrecking crew for the A’s and the team’s overall record with him in the lineup is part of the proof of his greatness. Read the rest of this entry
2012 Waiver Deals: The First Wave
Friday August 3rd, 2012
Bernie Olshansky: Now that the trade deadline is over, teams will have a harder time making trades, but they can still be made through waivers. Over the past few hours, a couple trades have been made.
Joe Blanton to the Dodgers
The Dodgers claimed Blanton off waivers and decided to trade for him. They offered to pay the rest of his contract–$2.9 million, and send a player to be named later. After failing to land a big-name starter like Ryan Dempster or James Shields, the Dodgers went after Blanton. Blanton will bring his 8-9 record and 4.59 ERA to Los Angeles for the stretch-run this season. His best season ERA-wise was his rookie year in 2005 with the A’s when he went 12-12 with a 3.53 ERA. Since then, his lowest ERA has been 3.95. Before the 2010 season, he signed a three-year $24 million dollar contract with the Phillies—I think they overpaid. In those three years, Blanton has gone 18-17. He should give the Dodgers a slight boost, but this move isn’t a season-changer.
Yoenis Cespedes: The Cuban King of Oakland
Saturday July 28th, 2012
(Image Courtesy of Businessinsider.com)
Brendan Henderson: If you’re a baseball fan, you have heard the name Yoenis Cespedes. Recently, you have been hearing A LOT about his team, the Oakland Athletics. Just how much has Yoenis Cespedes helped the A’s this year and especially as of late? That is what I’m going to analyze below. Read the rest of this entry
Watch Out For the Oakland A’s: Top Pitching and Countless Walk-Offs
Wednesday July 25th, 2012
John Burns: Nobody would have told you prior to the season that the A’s would be 7 games over .500 in late July. With a 51-44 record the red-hot Oakland A’s have been one of the baseballs biggest surprises in baseball. Oakland is coming off a 4 game sweep of the AL East leading New York Yankees and that is when the A’s caught everyone’s attention. Oakland has a MLB-leading 11 walk-off victories this season. The A’s have the second lowest payroll in the league with $55 million and the New York Yankees who they just swept has a $200 million payroll. The A’s season so far has been basically a recap of the movie “Money ball”, how Oakland is having this success with virtually no superstar and such a low payroll is truly amazing. With the sweep of the Yankees the A’s are tied for a Wild Card spot. July has been a huge month for Oakland and they produced with a 15-2 record so far to show their GM Billy Beane they are serious. Add to that a 7-game winning streak. Still not convinced? Ask the Toronto Blue Jays and Ricky Romero. The A’s have taken 2-straight games in Toronto, including tonight’s 16-0 massacre. These A’s are a team to keep an eye on. Read the rest of this entry
Top Ten Stat of The Week: Team Wins Since The Start of the 2003 Season
Monday July 23, 2012
With only one World Series Win and a 2003 Loss to the Florida Marlins, it hasn’t stopped the Yankees from raking in wins every year. They have averaged 95 wins a season since 2003.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024)- This weeks installment is actually a top 11. I bent the rules a little to accommodate the A’s. It is hard to maintain a great franchise in today’s Major Leagues. Sure the heavy hitters like New York and Boston will always be sniffing around the top of the league with their huge payrolls, but most teams don’t have the luxury to spend like these two teams do because of their limited revenue streams. In the last few years, the Phillies, Angels and Tigers have entered the echelon of top spenders. Spending money doesn’t always equal great results. The Texas Rangers have only had success lately and were often victim to heavy payrolls and not great results. How many years did Peter Angelos try to buy a contender with Baltimore? He has dedicated himself back to the right way of building a team the last couple of years and it has worked through player development.
Minnesota and Oakland have been run incredibly well for a long time. If this list was for a five-year stretch, you would have seen the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the top 10. These are the small market teams that have been consistently playing well against the big boys. The Twins have only faded back in the standings in the last couple of seasons. The Atlanta Braves finally had their consecutive playoff years stopped in 2005 and they were only mediocre for a few seasons. Right now, they might be the best team in the National League. The Angels, Twins, Dodgers, Athletics, Dodgers and Braves did not make any World Series appearances since 2003. Out of these teams, the Angels have the most wins.
According to the movie ‘The Natural,’ losing is a disease, and like other diseases, (insert disease here) it is curable. Most of these teams have not even struggled in the last 10 years. The Yankees have only won one World Series in this time frame, despite dominating the win total every year. In fact, the last time the Yankees has a losing season was 1991. The Cardinals and the Red Sox both have won 2 World Series, and the Cardinals are the only team to have appeared in the Fall Classic 3 times during this stretch. Read the rest of this entry
ATR: Ask the Reports Answers Your Baseball Questions: TJ, Curse of the Reports, WBC, Japan Boycott, Morneau and Brock, Coors Effect and the Havana A’s
Saturday July 21st, 2012
Jonathan Hacohen: I know…you guys and gals want to talk trades. It seems that everyone is keeping a close eye on the July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline. The action has heated up in recent days. The Astros and Jays got together full a 10-player swap, on the same day that the Rockies and Royals swapped hurler Jonathan Sanchez for Jeremy Guthrie. Then today, the Astros were at it again- trading closer Brett Myers and a bucket full of cash to the White Sox for minor leaguers. What is it with these White Sox??!! They get star power onto their roster for little money or talent having to move the other way. Kenny Williams…we aren’t worthy. 2012 is becoming the Year of the Kenny. With only 10 days to go, what other moves will Kenny and the other Gms pull off? Keep a close eye on our dedicated page called “Rate That Trade“. We not only give you information on the latest baseball swaps, but also throw in our own two cents in the process…and who doesn’t love an opinion in baseball?
For our weekly Batting Stance Guy video, we feature today Gar’s 10 Step Bryce Harper Home Imitation Kit. BSG is hilarious and a genius. Never mind a novelty act. If I was a GM, I would consider hiring this man as my hitting coach. This man knows stances inside and out. If anyone can produce solid hitting and look good in the process, BSG can do it:
My final thought before jumping into questions is Dr. James Andrews. I have said your name so many times this year that people must think that we are either related or colleagues. Living in Toronto, your name is discussed with respect to the Kyle Drabek and Luis Perez operations. Now word is that Jason Frasor, a 2-time TJ survivor is off to see you on Monday with “forearm tightness.” I don’t think that Frasor will be going for a 3rd TJ, but man…this is getting scary. We have seen 30+ players (mostly pitchers) undergo this operation since March 2012 alone. Something doesn’t feel right. If I’m Major League Baseball, I am calling up a task force and getting a study on this. Pronto. Give me Dr. Andrews, Dr. Jobe, Tommy John, Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, Mike Maddux, Dave Duncan and every possible intelligent baseball/pitching/TJ mind there is and let’s discuss what is happening. Why is it happening. And most importantly, what can we do to prevent it. When we are coming to the point to say that nearly every MLB pitcher may undergo TJ surgery at some point in their career, I think that is a huge problem. We cuddle and baby pitchers. We bring them up slowly and limit their innings. We try to build up arm strength. Yet today’s MLB pitchers are breaking down faster than a Ford Pinto at a Nascar race. Check out our TJ Surgery Tracker. We update it weekly with new and old names found to have TJ surgery, and we have barely scratched the surface. You think the Jays have had it rough? Check out the Royals and Padres. This is one of the biggest issues going in today’s game. We intend to raise awareness and encourage the baseball community to find solutions. Some things are clearly not being done right. Why else are pitchers dropping at alarming rates? We are lucky that Tommy John surgery exists to save many of these pitchers’ careers. But let’s figure out why these pitchers are having TJ in the first place and try to keep them healthy and off the operating tables.
Now let’s get to your top questions of the week: Read the rest of this entry
ATR: Ask the Reports Answers Your Baseball Questions: Urkel in Baseball, Batting Stance Guy, Beane, Future of Dempster, Hamilton’s Speed, Gathright Released and Rating Prospects
Monday July 16th, 2012
Jonathan Hacohen: Ok, I am going to admit it. I am 110% wiped from last night’s sleepover. The Toronto Blue Jays, like many MLB squads hold yearly sleepovers on the field. The Jays had theirs last night. Second year in a row for me and I will admit, after playing catch on the field till 1:30a.m., I am still not recovered. Call it getting old, but sometime the body just doesn’t bounce back like we want it to. That being said, the show must go on. So with apologies I am a little late this week on ATR, but better late than never!
Before I jump into your weekly baseball questions, here are some of my random baseball thoughts:
I was watching Ben Francisco of the Toronto Blue Jays last night as he was signing autographs for the fans. I wasn’t sure 100% who he was right away. But damn, he looked familiar. I looked and I looked. Then I realized what Chuck Booth (one of our Lead Writers here on MLB reports) had told me earlier in the year. Jaleel White. Steve Urkel. Man Chuck, you were bang on. Take a look at the comparisons:
Ben Francisco:
THEN JALEEL WHITE:
Ben Francisco is not the Steve Urkel type nerd. Rather, he looks like the cool and sauve Stefan. Yes, I did enjoy TGIF’s Family Matters back in the day. Whatever became of Jaleel White? Is he Ben Francisco? Or is this just a baseball urban legend? And whatever became of Laura Winslow? If you locate either one, please let Ben know. Until then, I am fairly certain Jaleel White is playing ball in Toronto. Call him Stefan…see what he says!
If you are not howling with laughter at this point, I want to introduce you to a good friend of MLB reports. If you love baseball, you have seen his work on YouTube and throughout the internet. He is a published author and all-around good guy. To his friends he is Gar Ryness. To the rest of the baseball world, he is the one and only “Batting Stance Guy”. Here is a little clip from some of BSG’s most recent work:
How are you feeling now? I know…your ribs hurt, tears are streaming down your eyes. Yes, that is the magic of Gar. The man has the ability to duplicate any batting stance going. Watching his impressions is a baseball theatrical treat. The fact that he is hilarious is an added bonus. Over the coming weeks, I will bring you more magic Batting Stance Guy clips. If you want to learn more about him in the interim, check out his site: battingstanceguy.com.
Now let’s get to your top questions of the week: Read the rest of this entry
Top Ten Stat Of The Week: (Active Pitchers Winning Pctg-Min 100 Decisions)
Sunday July.15/2012
Lester had started his career 61-26 (.709) before he has pitched to a 20-15 record the last two seasons (.571). Lester still leads the active pitchers in Winning Percentage. Photo courtesy of http://www.bostonsportssu18.com
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)-Piching wins are given less importance all of the time by the sabermetric community. I am here to refute these findings. A won-loss category is still very important in a pitchers career. Yes there are definite exceptions. Nolan Ryan played for a lot of mediocre teams and that is why he is 324-292 all time. I would definitely say the modern pitchers Matt Cain 78-76 and Felix Hernandez have valid arguments why their won-loss percentages are way lower than they should be. Recent Cy Young winners were voted on more for other periphery stats such as: ERA, WHIP, OBA and WAR.
I often think of Jack Morris when I hear this. He had the situational pitching down perfect between 1983-1993. The man won 4 World Series with 3 different teams. Morris posted a 254-186 record (.577) and he has an ERA for his career at 3.90. At first glance you may scoff at the notion of a near 4.00 ERA before the steroid era. You had to watch his games to see where he was coming from. He was on great offensive teams and would have large run support from time to time. Jack Morris would challenge hitters by pitching to contact. Sometimes the hitters would get the better of him in these lopsided games. If you were a hitter, you were going to get no free pass from Big Jack. His 175 complete games were a testament to his duration. Morris also led the 1980’s in pitching wins. He was just as capable of pitching in a low scoring, close game as evidence by his 1-0 World Series 10 innings pitched win in-game #7 of the 1991 World Series versus the Braves. The gentlemen on this list all can throw complete games like Jack Morris did. All of these pitchers have logged huge innings at parts of their careers. Read the rest of this entry
The Future of the Oakland A’s: The Mustache Gang Meets the Bash Brothers – Revealing Billy Beane’s Master Plan
Saturday July 7th, 2012
Jonathan Hacohen: Baseball is a funny sport for many reasons. One particular reason is opinions. One minute a person can be a hero, the next a goat. A genius can turn into an idiot, seemingly overnight. In the world of Major League Baseball, we love building up our heroes. The next minute, we are cutting them down to the knees. An example of this the swing in popular opinion comes from out west. Famed baseball General Manager, the one and only Billy Beane. I have been thinking about Billy for some time. Ever since Moneyball the movie was due to be released, I couldn’t help but notice the reports that were coming out on the A’s GM. The man once hailed as a baseball genius, was now being mocked in many circles. Here he was, being immortalized on the silver screen by none other than Brad Pitt. Yet in real life, the 2011 MLB season was about to end and Beane’s team was near the bottom of its division, finishing a whopping 22 games out of first place. Had Billy Beane lost touch with the modern game? Did other teams catch up finally to his systems and tricks? Could a competitive team be impossible in the modern game on a shoestring budget? When Billy Beane should have been recognized in one of his finest professional moments, more questions than answers circled around. But in typical Billy Beane fashion, the A’s GM kept a low profile and stuck to his guns. He had a plan. This man always has a plan. He just wasn’t ready to share it yet with the baseball world.
If you read and/or watched Moneyball and followed recent Oakland A’s teams, you might think that you have the Billy Beane equation down. Great pitching and patching together a lineup/offense. But as the salaries climbed with the big pitchers, turnover and replenishing of the farm system became the norm. In recent years though, all those supposed great pitchers did not always pan out. Combine that with a line of prospects that were not panning out, and Oakland A’s fans started to cry out for relief. Attendance at the Coliseum has reached embarrassing levels in recent years. The stadium is considered aged and obsolete. The A’s have been trying to move to San Jose and without a new stadium, declared that they could no longer keep a viable team running past their designated salary structure. So seemingly until the new stadium would get approved, the star players would get moved out quicker and the A’s would become a glorified farm system for the rest of baseball. Remember the Montreal Expos? Good…so does Billy Beane.
The Expos in their competitive days, the peak coming in 1994, had a strong and balanced lineup and pitching staff. All of its young players came up at once and developed together into a dynamic superstar team. Moises Alou. Larry Walker. Ken Hill. Wil Cordero. Pedro Martinez. The team was stacked to say the least. If not for the cancellation of the playoffs that year, some people believe that Major League Baseball would still be in Montreal. Yes, that Expos team had a great pitching staff. But it also had an unbelievable young and powerful lineup. Somewhere in his mind, Billy Beane has kept a memory alive of that Montreal Expos team and the system that developed its players. Billy knows it because he is re-creating it right now in Oakland. Right under our noses and many of us are not even feeling it. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Reports Monthly Power Rankings: June 2012
Monday June.4, 2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)-We are going to bring you monthly power rankings every month of the season. There will be a few notes written for each team. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts. The Texas Rangers are the top ranked team yet once again, although teams are certainly gaining on the them in the last week. Look out for Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees to make their move towards the top this month.
June Power Rankings-Last Month Rank in Parenthesis
1. Texas-32-22 (1) The Rangers rode Josh Hamilton in the month of May-who enters today on pace for about 60 HRs and 170 RBI while hitting .354. Nelson Cruz is starting to heat up and the duo of Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler are steady as as ever. Yu Darvish is 7-3 en route to the leading the group amongst Rookie of The Year Contention. Joe Nathan is looking like his old self again out of the pen with an ERA under 2.
2. LA Dodgers 33-21 (5) Even with Matt Kemp out of the lineup again, the Dodgers are winning ball games with solid contributions from Andre Ethier and A.J Ellis on offense. The pitching staff has been anchored by Clayton Kershaw and a fast 7-1 start by Chris Capuano. Ted Lilly was 5-1 before a stint on the DL. It is too bad because Lilly is 125-104 since 2004.
3. Tampa Bay 31-23 (2) Hideki Matsui homered in two of his first 3 games back with the Rays. The team has had steady pitching to stay in contention. Carlos Pena has really struggled in the last month and will need to pick it up. Luke Scott with 35 RBI has good production numbers in spite of his .225 AVG. Fernando Rodney has converted 17 out of 18 saves to pace the club.
4. Cincinnati 30-23 (12) Joey Votto has hit .404 in the last 30 days and maybe the best all-around hitter in the National League right now. Jay Bruce has 12 HRs and 34 RBI and is living up to his all-star potential. Aroldis Chapman has 27 Strikeouts in just over 14 innings and has yet to yield a run while opponents are hitting a paltry .043 against him.
5. NY Yankees 29-24 (6) The Bronx Bombers have 6 players with 8 HRs or more, which is a good thing because with the exception of Derek Jeter, a lot of them are hitting under their career averages. The return of Andy Pettitte has helped the rotation with the loss of Micheal Pineda. Phil Hughes threw a complete game over the weekend and CC Sabathia is on pace for another 20 win season. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Should Investigate a Payroll/Geographical Look into Division Re-Alignment
Monday, May.21/2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- Despite being a Yankees fan, I admit the economics of baseball are way out of whack. I was talking with a few other fans about the MLB and thought of a radical new change in division re-alignment that may finally end the disparity between all ball clubs having a chance to make the playoffs each year. Much like soccer, it would kind of be a tier system. Scheduling and travel wise it makes a lot more sense as well. For those hardcore fans I would also make each team play at least 3 games against every other team in the Majors. Let’s see if you like what I have done.
The new AL would feature the bigger payroll teams. I know this break’s up 130 years of tradition but it is time to move into the new millennium. There would be 15 teams in each league so that would make for 1 Interleague series at all times. Under this format you could still keep your 2nd wild card berth. After you read these Divisions take a look at how I would break up the 162 game schedule-and then demo sampled the natural rivalries playing each other 12 or 19 times still. I believe this is the fairest and most accurate way to have competitive balance for all of the clubs. The National League would take a bit of a hit however they should change the All-Star Game to mean nothing for the World Series home advantage. The team with the best record overall in the regular season should have home field advantage when deciding the World Series and playoff round. There would be 50 interleague games for each team. This still only represents 30% of the games folks. With more teams rotating through the league, the games would remain fresh. They can still keep the American League and National League Stats separate like the NFL does. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Payroll Report: Rating the Value of Each club Per Win
Wednesday, May.16/2012
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- Once again the New York Yankees top the charts for payrolls in the Majors, although the other teams are definitely catching up a little. Now while the below charts tell us a story on value, obviously you are better off being one of the teams that spends more money. Tampa Bay, Toronto and Baltimore are amongst some of the best valued teams for payroll and wins so far. This bodes well for the competitive balance in the American League East long-term. What I am also seeing, is that teams that are on the bottom of the payroll scale are starting to invest money in their teams. One can only hope that the Houston Astros will start investing in the club once they shift over to the AL West. Oakland may be still playing ‘Moneyball’ as the top value for each win, however this concept will only carry them so far. The team still needs to find a long-term home so they can catch up with the moneys spent by the rest of the Major Leagues. Read the rest of this entry
Having Long Term Managers Produces Results
Monday February 20, 2012
Douglas ‘Chuck’ Booth: Let’s face it, we live in a right here, right now world. With this motto, baseball manager have great expectations for instant results. This rule even applies to managers who have a great track record. The template from yesteryear was simple, hire a manager that had been coaching in your organization for years. This way, it would be an easy transition into the Manager role. When the managers were hired, they were given years to shape the team. It wasn’t unheard of for managers to be with a Major League Team for 20-30 years, when you factored in coaching and Manager positions of elevation. Today we take a look at four skippers who personify this philosophy: Tommy Lasorda, Tony La Russa, Cito Gaston and Sparky Anderson. Read the rest of this entry
The Next MLB Commissioner: Who Will be Bud Selig’s Successor?
Wednesday November 2, 2011
Rob Bland (Baseball Writer – MLB reports): Allan H. Selig, or Bud, as he is known around baseball, will go down in history as the commissioner of baseball during one of its darkest times. Bud took over as acting commissioner for Fay Vincent in September 1992, and was almost immediately embroiled in controversy. With the collective bargaining agreement due to expire after the 1993 season, Selig knew that an agreement between the MLBPA and MLB owners was vital. The owners voted to implement a salary cap, eliminate salary arbitration and free agency would begin after four years instead of six. The MLBPA said that while this would solve parity problems in baseball, it would not benefit the players whatsoever. August 12, 1994 was set as a strike date by the players’ association if an agreement was not reached on the new CBA. When that day came, the players walked off the job. By September 14th, when no agreement was reached, the World Series was cancelled by Selig.
It wasn’t until most of Spring Training in 1995 was completed (with replacement players) that Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor issued an injunction against the owners. On April 2nd, the strike was over, which had lasted 232 days. This caused the 1995 season to be 144 games, as opposed to the regular 162 games. Baseball attendance declined by 20% in 1995, and it took a long time for fans to recover. Fans never recovered in Montreal, where their payroll had to be slashed due to losses and eventually the MLB took ownership of the team. The team was eventually moved to Washington for the 2005 season.
In 1998, baseball fans flocked to the baseball stadiums to watch a race of historic proportions. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were blasting balls into the stratosphere at alarming rates, and Roger Maris’ single season record of 61 home runs was being challenged. McGwire ended up with 70 and Sosa hit 66 as America and the rest of the world watched in awe as these two larger than life men hit prodigious home runs. Two expansion teams, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks proceeded to join the MLB.
Home runs over the next few years continued to climb, as in 2001, when Barry Bonds then broke McGwire’s record with 73 home runs of his own. Steroids were allegedly running rampant in the MLB and there was no legitimate testing protocol. In 2005, Selig met with US Congress on the issue. Amphetamines were also on the table to be banned. By March 2006, Selig appointed Senator George Mitchell to investigate the usage of performance-enhancing drugs in the MLB. The Mitchell Report, a 409 page document, was released in December 2007 after a 21 month investigation. It released names of many high-profile baseball players who used PEDs.
Because of this report, stricter policing and testing of PEDs has been put in place, as well as very strict penalties if players are caught. Selig has taken flak over the years for not being more proactive in the matter, however, early in the “Steroid Era”, it would have been almost impossible to know how widespread steroid use was.
Selig brought in two expansion teams, brought the MLB out of a dark time after the strike, has improved MLB’s PED testing and punishment policies
. Most importantly, there has been labor peace for 17 years.
Bud Selig never wanted to be the full-time commissioner, but he had been voted unanimously in 1998 when the acting commissioner title was changed to commissioner. In January of 2008, Selig wanted to retire, but after the owners begged him to stay, he signed a 3-year extension. His current contract is set to expire after the 2012 season, about a year from now. He has been adamant that this will be the end of his tenure as Commissioner of Major League Baseball. He will be 78 years old. Since there has not been a search party constructed to find his successor, it can only be assumed that a short list has already been created, or the owners plan to attempt Bud to stay. Many have been on record of saying that they wish he would stay as commissioner for life.
Major League Baseball must at least entertain the notion that Selig will not be returning as commissioner, and thus, must include these people on their list of candidates:
Andy MacPhail
He has the lineage to succeed in this role. His father Lee was the GM and president of the Baltimore Orioles from 1958-1966. He then became president of the American League and is enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Andy’s grandfather, Larry, was a chief executive with the Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees. It has been said he was one of the main driving forces of televising baseball games regularly as well as playing night games. Andy has 2 World Series rings as a GM with the Minnesota Twins, and was the president and CEO of the Chicago Cubs from 1994 to 2006, when he took a job as the President of Baseball Operations with the Baltimore Orioles. He recently stepped down from this role, and has been suggested as a man who could succeed as the commissioner. MacPhail understands the history of the MLB and the commissioner’s role, and has been involved in baseball in many different facets.
Tim Brosnan
Brosnan is currently serving as the Executive Vice President, Business of the MLB. He has been in this role since February of 2000. Tim’s roles with the MLB include licensing, broadcasting both domestically and internationally, and special events. Since the MLB is making every effort to grow globally, it should be noted that Brosnan began working in the Commissioner’s Office in 1991 as Vice President of International Business Affairs. His work internationally would include the many trips to Asia for teams, as well as directly working with the World Baseball Classic.
Derrick Hall
Derrick joined the Diamondbacks in May 2005 after working in the front office of the Los Angeles Dodgers for many years. In September 2006, Derrick was named President of the Diamondbacks and later added the title of Chief Executive Officer in January 2009.
The Diamondbacks are very fortunate to have one of the most progressive and dynamic baseball leaders at their helm. Derrick developed the “Circle of Success” mission statement, the foundation for the management of the Diamondbacks. A true ambassador to the game, Derrick Hall is a tireless worker in promoting and developing baseball in Arizona. Derrick is often mentioned by many baseball commentators as a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as Commissioner.
Rob Manfred
Selig’s right hand man’s role is Executive Vice President, Labor Relations & Human Resources. His main roles are to keep the peace between MLB and MLBPA, as well as HR work with the Commissioner’s Office. 17 years of labor peace as a direct participant in two rounds of collective bargaining with the MLBPA make him a great candidate for the commissioner’s position. He has also represented teams in salary arbitration and has provided advice to teams on salary negotiations with players.
Sandy Alderson
The New York Mets GM could potentially leave his current post to fulfill this role next offseason. Alderson has a career path unlike any of the other 
men on this list due to the fact that he has worked not only as a general manager, but has spent significant time working with the commissioner. Billy Beane’s mentor first began working for the Oakland A’s in 1981, and was the GM from 1983 until 1997. He then worked in the Commissioner’s Office as the Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations for 7 years. Most recently, after being the CEO of the San Diego Padres from 2005 to 2009, he was a liaison for the commissioner to address the issues of corruption in baseball in the Dominican Republic. Alderson is also a chairman of MLB’s Playing Rules Committee.
While Selig has been most adamant that he will be retiring at the end of the 2012 season, I believe that, once again, he will be convinced to stay on as commissioner. It would be in the best interest of baseball if he were to stay on, with a protégé being in place to learn the ropes from him. With Selig at the helm, the MLB owners have been happy, the players’ union has been happy, and the best product is displayed on the field. Baseball has been more exciting than ever, and I think we all owe a big thanks to Mr. Selig for being a big part of that.
A big congratulation goes out to Tony La Russa. On October 31, 2011, he announced his retirement just days after managing the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series title. La Russa will surely be a Hall of Famer after his 33 year managing career that saw him compile 2,728 wins with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. His teams reached the playoffs 14 times, and he won 3 AL pennants with the A’s, winning one World Series title. He also won 3 NL pennants with the Cards, winning two more World Series. Tony won 3 Manager of the Year Awards in the American League, as well as one in the National League. La Russa will go down as one of the greatest managers in the history of the MLB, and he went out on top. Congratulations, Tony, for a great career.
***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 Rob on Twitter.***
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