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Cards + White Sox Eliminated From MLB Shutout Survivor 2016: ALL AL Central Teams Are Also Gone
The Cardinals were shutout 5 – 0 by NL Division rival Chicago last night (in the 1st game of a 19 game head versus head this season). At least the RedBirds prevented them from scoring 3 runs, and completing the MLB Runs Scoring Survivor last night. The Cards could still finish in the top 15 depending on some outcomes coming up.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024 Follow @mlbreports
The teams are putting up zeroes faster than Vegas casino’s are padding their bottom lines now.
St. Louis couldn’t handle ex teammate John Lackey. and were effectively knocked out of the contest via a 5 – 0 loss.
The Angels wiped out the White Sox for a 7 – 0 victory on Monday night. In doing so, every club in the AL Central is now gone from MLB Shutout Survivor 2016.
Meanwhile the Padres are the squad that has been vanquished in the NL West by a Shutout so far. Yes, and they are making up for the other clubs by taking the egg-shaped number 5 separate times already.
There are only 5 teams left in the American League, and now there are 9 clubs still alive in the NL.
I am contemplating going all the way back to 1918 – in order to figure out who won this competition every year. That would be a lot easier than running through game scores for all of the seasons of MLB Runs Scoring Survivor.
With only 8 teams in play Monday night – there wasn’t much action in the MLB Runs Scoring Survivor. The only note was that the Cubs didn’t capitalize on their fist chance to complete the journey. They have another chance tonight against St. Louis (the magic number of runs is 3). Read the rest of this entry
Tigers/Indians + Cubs Eliminated From MLB Shutout Survivor 2016: But Cubs Have 10/11 Variations Complete In MLB Runs Scoring Survivor
The Cubs may have been eliminated from MLB Shutout Survivor yesterday. however they have run through an incredible 10 of the 11 differentrun variations ( 0 – 10 runs scored) though just 12 games.. They just need to score 3 runs in a game to complete the category. It could sow it up as early as tonight when they face the St. Louis Cardinals in a NL Central showdown.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024 Follow @mlbreports
So I said last at the end of the last week that the Cubs were poised to win the MLB Runs Scoring Survivor competition, and now they are just 1 run variation short (they need 3 runs in a game).
They could win the category tonight when they renew their NL Central rivalry with the St. Louis Cardinals.
This is all possible because they were blanked 2 – 0 by Tyler Chatwood at Wrigley yesterday, coupled with 2 Nolan Arenado Homers.
Cleveland was eliminated by a 6 – 0 shutout on Sunday as well. The New York Mets took 2 of the 3 games in the Interleague series. Since the Tribe has played so few games, they were assigned the 18th place finish already.
Finally, the Tigers were bageled 1 – 0 by Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros. Detroit is also tied for last place in the MLB Runs Scoring Survivor – with owning 5 different results with the Padres, Rays and Jays.
Quite surprising with their potent offense, that Toronto has not tallied 8 runs in a game yet, it is believable they have not scored zero or runs though. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Schedule For Week 2 Of 2016: April 18th to April 24th (96 Games)
Fenway Park will host its annual 1105 AM start time for Patriots Day tomorrow. Make sure you get your fantasy picks in, and to also figure out your viewing schedule as well to accommodate the time.
MLB Scheduling 2016
Day + Date Away and Home, Times Start In EST
Week 3
Monday Apr.18 ( 8 Games)
D’Backs @ Giants 10:15
Rockies @ Reds 4:10
Angels @ White Sox 8:10
Brewers @ Twins 8:10
Blue Jays @ Red Sox 1105 AM. (Patriots Day)
Nats @ Marlins 7:10
Mets @ Phillies 7:05
Cubs @ Cards 8:15 Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 2 – April
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_Hunter21
Follow The MLBreports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Disclaimer: We based these rankings on best strength to win the World Series. Therefore some teams that have an easier division to play in, with the least path of resistance to the postseason overall may be ranked a lot higher than a club who is equally talented, yet may play in a juggernaut of a division.
The Cubs will top our list for a second straight week despite losing 2 out of 3 games to the Rockies at Wrigley Field this weekend. The biggest reason is the pitching.
Jake Arrieta is 3 – 0, and has picked up right where we he left off in 2015, and Jon Lester has thrown awesome too. The Bullpen has also been good.
The bats are too solid not to come around and gel as the season moves along. They are playing .750 baseball after a 4 – 2 week still.
Bryce Harper is the best player on the planet, and has homered in 6 straight contests at Citizens Bank Ball Park (4 overall in a row for the MLB this year.) Just were a Jonathan Papelbon last minute meltdown from going a perfect 7 – 0 for the week.
Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg. Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy are their top players – and all performing like it, the rest of the club is following through in their secondary roles. This team is scary.
I have the Royals as the top American League club. This squad is 8 – 1 in games that are not started by back end of the rotation man Chris Young.
The reigning 2 time pennant winners have company on the top of the Division to make it interesting, however this team has the better pedigree the last few years.
Some may say with a weekend series win – that the Dodgers should be put in front of the Giants, yet they are still only one game ahead of San Francisco.
With the Giants – there is no real weakness, while with the Los Angeles team, the Bullpen is not giving everyone confidence in the back half of games.
The Dodger Blue is still in the top 5, so I am high on them. Kenta Maeda could be the steal of the winter with how this guy is throwing so far. Reinforcements are starting to come back. Read the rest of this entry
The Week That Was In Audio/Video Casting In The BBBA
The BBBA is a growing collection of baseball bloggers with the general purpose of collaborating on projects or being a reference for each other – and especially in terms of promoting in social media like Twitter, Facebook and Podcasting. Click the Contact Us Page at the link given at the end of the article If You wish to join.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The 2nd week is well underway, and we had some great shows to listen to over the last week – courtesy of the following BBBA shows.
Sully Baseball talked about weather concerns, the A’s ballpark issues, a shortened season, the Hector Olivera fiasco, Pablo Sandoval, MLB’s hat maneuvers – and if it is too early to panic about certain clubs?
Hall Of Very Good Interviewed former MLB’er Dmitri Young (Da Meat Hook).
“BBA Live” Broke down the weeks worth of action – and wondered about the NL East – and about the Mets and Nats starts.
Jays From the Couch wants all the fans to calm down after a rough losing streak, and wonders if a current Jay will be the 2017 Red Sox DH.
Pirates Breakdown is taking the “Lets take it Juan Day at a time” approach after a slow week
Gateway to Baseball Heaven are loving the Cards young players, but are worried about Adam Wainwright
MLB This Week thinks Chase Utley is just a dirty player.
You can either click all of these links for the individual shows, are just scroll down past to listen to them on this post.
To see all of the updates live as they happen every week click here.
Brew Crew + Rays Eliminated From MLB Shutout Survivor 2016 – (19 Teams Left): Cubs/Rangers Step Closer To Win MLB Runs Scoring Survivor 2016
It is no surprise to our website that the Rays are struggling offensively, and were finally knocked out of the Shutout Survivor competition. How does that Infield look now – with Brad Miller and Logan Morrison hit under .100 – and barely hitting the ball at all? We said they lost their 3 best Batting Average players last year (where they still finished 14th in total team offense), and also spoke of the Starting Pitching and Bullpen being overrated – and suffering talent losses as well. We are right thus far, but we will await the rest of the year.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I said it yesterday that last year the clubs were dropping more like flies than this year. Yesterday two more clubs were zeroed off by opponents, and thus eliminated from the MLB Shutout Survivor.
The Brewers were clipped 7 – 0 by Jaime Garcia, and Danny Salazar coupled with some brilliant late inning relief, carved up the Rays for a 6 – 0 bagel. We are still awaiting outcomes for teams that were shutout in Game 8 and Game 9 – as the Tribe is only at 7 games played themselves.
The Padres are clubhouse leaders for Shutouts against for the whole MLB, and are making history in doing so. They are the first club to score jack squat in 5 of their 1st 10 contests. Good news was they played some games at Coors Field last week – or it could have been worse.
Frankly I am amazed this squad lasting so long in this competition with what kind of lineup their putting forth on a daily basis. Milwaukee did start off the 1st 2 series at hitter friendly – Mlller Park. They were handled to the tune of just one hit yesterday in their loss by Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals – who tossed a Complete Game Shutout.
Braves Get Blanked In 8th Straight Loss: 21 Teams Left In 2016 MLB Shutout Survivor + MLB Runs Scoring Survivor Update
The Braves had themselves a bad day as an organization in the District yesterday. Not only the whole Hector Olivera situation, but they fell to 0 – 8, were eliminated from the MLB Shutout Survivor contest, and face Stephen Strasburg today.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
So the Braves have 8 straight losses to begin the year (as do the Twins) -but yesterday marked the 1st time they were bageled in those contests. Can either of the Braves or Twins take a run at the 1988 Baltimore Orioles run of 21 straight defeats from the start of a season?
Out of the 9 clubs that been zeroed in the MLB, only 3 have come from the Senior Circuit (Mets, Braves and Padres, but San Diego has seen a donut 4 times on their scoresheet already.)
6 teams have suffered a Shutout in the AL, including the Yankees and Blue Jays – who I thought may have stuck around a long time. Overall shutouts are way down compared to other years. Read the rest of this entry
2016’s 30 MLB Park Home Openers Results: Fans Go Home Disappointed 19 Times
Best home win for all 30 clubs in winning 10 – 1 over the Milwaukee Brewers Monday Apr 11, 2016 9 runs difference was the best run differential for the home clubs.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It was a bad year for the home clubs in MLB Season Openers in 2016. The road clubs won 19 of the 30 MLB Park openers. The worst defeat was at Petco Park (where the Padres lost 15 – 0).
The Cardinals featured the best win for the home side, working over the Brewers for a 10 – 1 win yesterday.
Of note, it was the last home park openers for David Ortiz and the great Vin Scully announced the lineup for his last Dodger Stadium opener, in what was the 30th home opener on the itinerary.
The American League went 5 – 10 and the National League went 6 – 9.
Baltimore, San Francisco, Chicago Cubs and Detroit were the only four clubs that won openers, that also won another home opener to which they were on the road.
The Cardinals had the most lopsided win at home winning 10 – 1, the Giants scored the most runs with 12, and the biggest loss and defeat for a home squad, was San Diego being bageled 15 – 0 by the Dodgers in Game 1 at Petco, in what turned out to be a 3 game home series where they were shutout in all games and outscored 25 – 0.
To end the stats here, the NL Central was the only winning division at 4 – 1, where the Brewers lost the only contest at Miller Park to the Giants.
Odds To Win The 2016 MLB World Series
The Tigers had a nice week of 3 – 1 to start the year. Miguel Cabrera and he offense looked good. The Starting Pitching was given a massive lift with Jordan Zimmermann doling out a Shutout on the Comerica Park opener Friday. In a competitive AL Central, the Motown Boys should still be in contention for a playoff spot all year, and be given respect. Instead, clubs are ahead of them in the AL that shouldn’t be. At +2200 they are a bargain. They are the best bet on the board this week. Having them ranked tied for 14th right now is not where I would put them at.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
After the 1st week of action the gamblers have spoken. The Cubs are solidifying their status as the favorite. Despite a slow week – the Jays are still tied with the Royals for the favorites in the Junior Circuit.
They finally have pegged KC at the right mark. In fact, I have no problem with the top 5 odds listed at all.
The first place I have found value is with the Nationals. They went 3 – 1 in the 1st week. and will throw both Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg 2 times each this week versus the Braves ( 4 game series) and Phillies (3 game series). I could see this team winning at least 5 games, which would put them at 8 – 3 or better after next Sunday. Bet them now before their odd jumps to +800.
To begin the year the NL East was rail thin in difference. and with Washington jumping out to a bit better of a start than New York – coupled with the cupcake schedule this week. they are a great value on the board.
Detroit is going to my favorite selection of the week. They win 3 of 4 games, have solid offense – and yet maintain their same odd from last week, when all of the AL West clubs did not have a winning record except for the A’s, and the AL Central and AL East had the usual culprits only playing okay (in addition to Baltimore).
While I received better value at betting the O’s to win the American League Pennant in my preseason picks (At +2800, which is now what they are listed at for the World Series following their 5 – 0 start.) Listen I am happy I made those picks, and the ALCS win was the way to go versus the +5000 bet they had – as I think all AL clubs would be underdogs in the Fall Classic against the top 5 favorites. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Schedule For Week 2 Of 2016: April 11th to April 17th (94 Games)
To Start the Year, All Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays all carry 15 games after the 1st week (all 30 teams) and at least 1 interleague series. Monday and Thursday the games are varied, and there doesn’t have to be AL vs NL.
BOLD Red is Interleague Play
MLB Scheduling 2016
Day + Date Away and Home, Times Start In EST
Week 2
Monday Apr 11 (10 Games)
Pirates @ Tigers 1:08
Orioles @ Red Sox 2:05 (Fenway Park Home Opener)
Padres @ Phillies 3:05 (Citizens Bank Ball Park Opener)
White Sox @ Twins 4:10 (Target Field Season Opener)
Brewers @ Cards 4:15 (Busch Stadium Season Opener)
Royals @ Astros 8:10 (Minute Maid Season Opener)
Marlins @ Mets 7:10
Reds @ Cubs 8:05(Wrigley Field Season Opener)
Angels @ A’s 10:05
Rangers @ Mariners 10:10 Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 1 – April
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Disclaimer: We based these rankings on best strength to win the World Series. Therefore some teams that have an easier division to play in, with the least path of resistance to the postseason overall may be ranked a lot higher than a club who is equally talented, yet may play in a juggernaut of a division.
Team – Rank (W – L Record) (Last week ranking in parenthesis)
(1) Chicago Cubs (5 – 1) (1): The Cubs weathered the loss of their slugging OF Kyle Schwarber this week – by taking 5 of the 1st 6 games played, and all on the road. After these 6 contests – the squad is outscoring their opponents 42 – 15.
Love the idea of setting the table with Dexter Fowler, Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist 1-2-3 prior to the boppers coming after in Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant.
Having the 2015 NL ROY may help Rizzo win the NL MVP this season. He had 10 RBI this week – including a 6 RBI effort.
Jake Arrieta is already 2 – 0, and this team shows no signs of slowing down.
(2) KC Royals (4 – 1) (2): This club just knows how to win with the dominant Bullpen and clutch hitting. They have only yielded 11 runs thus far, and this team has not even hit huge strides on offense yet.
The AL Central is better in 2016 there is no question, however KC will be ready to take them on. There may not be a more filthy Late Inning Reliever right now than Wade Davis. Edinson Volquez has picked up right where he left off in 2015 as well. Read the rest of this entry
How Many Years Will It Take Of The AL Clubbing The NL In Interleague (On A 12 Year Win Streak) Before Things Change?
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
With a modest 4 – 3 lead in the season series heading into yesterday’s action. the National League was in foreign territory by leading the Interleague yearly contest. You see that have not won a yearly series vs the AL since 2003. Houston tied the current campaign series at 4 with a 6 – 4 win Satuday.
The Junior Circuit has won the last 12 years of play, and own a decisive .552 win percentage since 2004 (when the 1st 8 years were split 4 – 4 in the seasons, with the NL holding a 30 games wins lead) in that time frame.
I am a bigger fan of the American League game over the National League, yet I am torn because if these splits continue for more seasons, we will never have more Interleague ever. We may stay the same – or god forbid, eliminate Interleague altogether if expansion leads to 32 clubs (16 in each league) and negating an odd amount of teams per league, not necessarily needing to play it anymore.
Right now there are 20 games for each club against the other League. It boils down to just one division playing another division, and then in most cases, a natural geographical rivalry.
Determining how many games there ought to really be, I turn to the “Team Fatigue card” a lot of my fellow westerners have expressed in so much out this way over the years.
I am close enough to see both NL and AL parks play, but there are several cities that are without a league park of the other for hundreds of miles (like Seattle, Arizona, Colorado, Minneapolis), then KC and St. Louis to a lesser extent, but far away enough to classify a full road trip should you partake in a journey to see.
You can add Texas and Houston, with Tampa and Miami in that mix as well. Read the rest of this entry
Yanks Get Blanked To Be Eliminated In MLB Shutout Survivor (With B Lineup) + MLB Run Scoring Survivor Update
I get that the Bronx Bombers will need to rest their veterans on certain days, but to not have Beltran and A-Rod in the lineup at the same time is not cool. Why not switch days they were not playing on Friday and Saturday? New York was blanked 4 – 0 by the Tigers and Zimmermann yesterday. Dustin Ackley made a critical mental error at First Base, and he and back up OF Aaron Hicks both went hitless in the matchup.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Yankees became the 4th club to be blanked this year yesterday afternoon in Detroit. While some teams have not played their 4th games already. their placement could be higher than 27th. however this was to be expected.
I hate the fact they cashed it in as a fan. Sitting Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran all in the same game – just four games into the schedule is pretty dumb.
I have no problem with the guys excusing A-Rod with a pass versus the tough right hander in Jordan Zimmermann, but really the club could have started Mark Teixeira at First Base and had Beltran as the DH. Are they really that frail that they can’t even make it through half a week?
At worst, why not rotate who takes the contest off. They better all be in the lineup today against Mike Pelfrey.
It is completely understandable for Joe Girardi to give the veterans the day off, no worries there, but to field a lineup that possessed Dustin Ackley and Aaron Hicks is ridiculous. They should have just thrown CC Sabathia in this match if they were putting out the “B” lineup.
Regardless here – the Yankees are gone from this competition. At least they crossed off another variation in their MLB Runs Scoring Survivor. Read the rest of this entry
BBBA Audio/Video Casters Week In Review:
The Baseball Bloggers Alliance is not only a membership for writers, we also support podcasters/videocasters and vloggers. We have many talented people who are doing an awesome job covering the game of Major League Baseball. If you know a show that is good and think they should be on this page, check out our contact information and send us a note.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
We have an outstanding amount of baseball fans that are doing audio and video presentations for the game of baseball that are not even being paid for it.
I would put the content of these shows up against a lot of the paid professionals of the MLB – or any other entity that possesses the wherewithal to be able to do that.
If you want to keep scrolling down, all of the information listed below is all of the shows for the week from all, or maybe you have a favorite, then you can just click on one of the highlighted shows.
In this opening week we had Sully Baseball talk a lot about the Pirates, D’Backs, Cubs and the Cardinals in opening week. He keyed on where Tim Lincecum may end up, and the opening start for Zack Greinke. Like everyone else, he also submitted his yearly predictions.
Sully also delivered an emotional podcast where he implores everyone to love their extended family more on April 2, 2016 – because you don’t know when you may lose some one.
BBBA Audio/Video Shows
The “BBA” Live guys talked about the opening week, and a lot about what the NL East will look like this year.
The Hall Of Very Good Interviewed Kato Kaelin.
The Jays from the Couch guys continued to kill it on their coverage of Canada’s only team.
The Pirates Breakdown was happy to see their club begin 3 – 0 after sweeping the Cards after giving their predictions.
Seamheads (Gateway To Heaven) wondered if anyone was going to make it through the week for St. Louis in light of the Tommy Pham injury.
MLB This Week went through their season picks – and also talked about some of the technology of the game as a fan.
Past here is how to subscribe and listen to these shows.
Odds To Win The MLB Divisions In 2016: Best Value Bets
It seems about once every 3 years Ubaldo Jimenez puts together a Cy Young caliber type of year. If he can find all the stars aligned in the right direction he could throw like a suitable #1 pitcher in the league. The problem with the rotation is that Jimenez and Tillman are up and down – while Gausman and Bundy are unproven at the big league. At least the potential is there for one year. Decent Innings were thrown by both starters this week, and Bundy worked a nice frame out of the Bullpen last night.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
So less than a week of play has occurred and we are seeing some early trends. They jumped from +1300 to +900 in 3 games, and I still believe that is great value.
1st impressions are I am glad I bet a lot of money on the Baltimore Orioles for the Division and the American League Pennant overall. Yes they swept a Twins club at home, and have yet to play on the road, but the pitching looks decent.
Chris Tillman and Ubaldo Jimenez look decent in their limited work, and the offense has come up clutch.
If the O’s are able to get that Cy Young caliber type of chucker Jimenez seems to wharf into for half a year (for once every 3 seasons), than maybe Baltimore has a fighting chance to win the AL East in 2016.
Baltimore was 47 – 31, and played one of the weirdest home games ever in front of no fans after the Baltimore riots. For those scoring at home too, the Rays hosted 3 games with the civil unrest, and that is why there were only 78 games played at Camden Yards in 2015.
The Orioles were 34 – 50 on the road. If they are able to win some games away from home cooking, they will compete. Read the rest of this entry
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – April 7, 2016
JOE SARGENT/GETTY IMAGES
The Pirates are off to a great start. I know it is only three games in, but they were important in terms of a quest for 95 wins.
It all adds up in episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
Kenta Maeda, DJ LeMahieu,Steven Souza Jr., Sonny Gray, Carlos Rodon, Carlos Correa, Aaron Nola and Angel Pagan all added to their total of Who Owned Baseball.
See the updated listing of WOB on MLB Reports
Read the rest of this entry
2016 MLB Shutout Survivor (KC Eliminated) + MLB Runs Scoring Survivor Update: 4 NL West Clubs With 10 Runs Or More, TB in Trouble
Eliminated from 2016 MLB Shutout Survivor last night.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Noah Syndergaard was filthy yesterday in the Mets 2 – 0 blanking of the KC Royals. They are the third team to be eliminated – however plenty of clubs are playing the second game of their schedule, and could be beat up worse than 2 – donut today.
San Diego officially places 30th in the tourney. and LAA was 29th.
Speaking of SD. For the second straight day “The Friars” were bageled by the Dodgers. They are seeing more zeroes on the scoreboard than Bill Gates estimated net worth so far this campaign.
They are also the only club in the NL West not to plate ten runs thus far in the season.
In MLB Runs Scoring Survivor – the Tampa Bay Rays scored 3 runs for the 3rd straight contest in their controversial victory against the Toronto Blue Jays last night. Repeating the same run total this early in the year is a big way to fall back in this competition.
Colorado and the Chicago Cubs scored 6 runs in their second game. and are the only team with 2 contests to have 2 variations north of 5. Read the rest of this entry
2016 MLB Shutout Survivor (LAA + SD Eliminated) + MLB Runs Scoring Survivor Update (LAD, SF + COL All With 10 Runs Or More
It something small yes, however it took 49 games for the 2014 Los Angeles Angels to be shutout in that campaign. They won this competition. As of right now, they will finish 29th for this category, with being on the back end of a 9 – 0 drubbing in Interleague courtesy of the Chicago Cubs at Angel Stadium last night in Anaheim.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It almost always happens in Game 1 for at least a few clubs. Last night the Cubs blanked the Angels 9 – 0 and San Diego was massively speedbagged 15- 0 behind the brilliant pitching effort of Clayton Kershaw.
With the Tigers, Marlins, Red Sox, Indians,. Astros and Yankees all yet to play – it would take a 16 – 0 score or higher today for San Diego not to be the loser of this contest.
On the other side of the Survivor Pools was a bunch of high scoring games in the NL West.
The Dodgers, Giants and the Rockies all plated at least 10 runs or more, with the totals of 15, 12 and 10 respectively in their games. Scoring 10 or more runs is the second hardest mark to acquire in the contest for the 11 variations of 0 – 10+.
The Cubs racking up a 9 spot on the Angels bodes well for them to complete the quest early. Scoring 9 men in a game is the single hardest amount. Read the rest of this entry
Odds To Win The 2016 MLB World Series
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Answer me a question bet365.com? The Dodgers were a +1500 odd when the start of Spring Training commenced, are without Corey Seager, Howie Kendrick, Yasmani Grandal, Brett Anderson, Andre Ethier as of right now on the big roster, and you saw fit to move them to +1300. Wrong. They automatically go to a poor wager from a good one just weeks ago.
The Jays have also jumped from +1000 to +800 but since I have them and the Cubs winning their respective leagues. the odds are about where they should be.
Previously I had the Giants on the bad odd list, however with the recent rash of injuries to Los Angeles, and a horrible break for A.J. Pollock of the D’Backs, confidence is at an all time high for the Giants to take the NL West.
The Kansas City Royals have a lower win total on the year over/under than Cleveland. but have a +1300 odd to win the World Series. Baffles me guys.
The Cardinals lose just one game and now are on par with the Pirates as the 10th best favorite to win. Love the odds for both of these clubs.
Detroit was a good bet last month at +2500, but are now properly pegged, as are Cleveland.
With the Angels having such a thin roster it surprises me that they are sitting up with the Mariners for value, as opposed to being near the A’s,where they probably should be. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings: April 2016
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Disclaimer: We based these rankings on best strength to win the World Series. Therefore some teams that have an easier division to play in, with the least path of resistance to the postseason overall may be ranked a lot higher than a club who is equally talented, yet may play in a juggernaut of a division.
Yesterday won’t change much for the rankings. Although it kicked off interleague with the Royals beating the Mets 4 – 3, and starts the Junior Circuit looking to win the AL vs NL competition for a 13th straight year.
Pittsburgh also beat the Cardinals. I have them both ending the year win 91 victories, but these squad’s really intrigue me.
There are a multitude of reasons why I have picked the Cubs as the #1 team. I explain them in the writeup.
Each Monday, we will post a new set of power rankings and go over the week that was. Read the rest of this entry
National League Rookie Of The Year Odds In MLB 2016 Action
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Corey Seager is not even in the lineup to open the season but he is the overwhelming favorite to the win the NL Rookie Of The Year Award in 2016 MLB Action.
Update: I was wrong, Seager is was in the lineup for the opener. Having said this, there is no value to bet on him at the odd given, even though he is the overwhelming favorite.
Like we said the American League odds list, there is never a real need to play a whole season to win this award. That is unless you have to compete against a 2015’s winner in Kris Bryant, who was brought up in mid April last year.
Really this is Seager’s spot to lose.
I hate the odds for a guy who is injured to begin the campaign, nonetheless he would still be my pick for the Award.
Steven Matz has dubbed the 2nd favorite – along with Kenta Maeda. Both of these guys broke camp with the big club, and could make 26 – 30 starts this year.
I love the odd better for Maeda, who is slotted higher in the rotation than Matz. These odds are not glamorous to wager on either.
Perhaps the most intriguing guy on the list is Trevor Story. He is the starting shortstop while Jose Reyes is still on the inactive list – awaiting a resolution (suspension) for his part in a domestic dispute in Hawaii over the winter.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – April 4, 2016
LG PATTERSON/MLB PHOTOS
I check in throughout the day as the season officially began for three times, did not for two more and was blacked out for the finale.
It is a “Let’s Get Things Started” episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
Francisco Liriano, Marcus Stroman, Gregory Polanco, Eric Hosmer, Michael Conforto and Evan Longoria all added to their totals for Who Owns Baseball.
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2016 MLB Reports Staff MLB Predictions
Despite having a top heavy league – where I have predicted 7 teams will 90 games or more, the National League also has 6 clubs that will challenge 100 losses with Cincinnati, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, San Diego and Colorado all tanking it this year – and possibly providing all the talent for the Trade Deadline in July. The last two months of the year for these teams could be brutal record wise.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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One could argue that the top 6 teams (NYM/CHC/SF/WSH/STL/PIT) in all of the Majors reside in the NL right now, and you then you can counter that by saying they have the 6 worst squads as well (PHI/ATL/MIL/CIN/SD/COL).
The funny thing about this whole ordeal is that the AL is absolutely going to cream the NL in Interleague this forthcoming season. On a 12 year win streak already, I am predicting a 178 – 122 W – L for the games between both leagues. The AL speedbags the National League in my view.
Last year, the American League held a 167 – 133 mark over the National League so that prediction up there is not foreign by any means.
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Who Will Win All Of The MLB Divisions Polls In 2016? Your Chance To Cast Your Vote
It is different when you are the ‘hunted’ instead of the ‘hunters’ and Chicago has many players that could suffer from a sophomore slump in their second go around the Senior Circuit. These guys are still favored heavily to win the NL Central, and are by the far the biggest consensus Division winner pick among experts.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
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All Of The MLB Reports Placed Bets Updated for 2016 MLB: Big On The NL Value for WS, Nice Value On O’s For AL
I take my betting style from a philosophy used from a few decades of research. This book was one of the templates followed for success.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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Disclaimer: All bets were made in the State Of Nevada, or via Canada (by Chuck Booth) where bets are legal online.
So I have let my profits ride on this winter heading into futures betting in 2016 MLB. I thought I would take you into a little look on what I have thrown down so far – and what got me here over the last few seasons.
We have always fully disclosed our picks prior to the actual games being played. The track record is way above industry standards, so I hope our selections this year don’t get thrown into the woodchipper at the ends of the year.
In 2014, I made 3 over/under selections (Washington over 91.5 wins, Kansas City over 81.5 Wins, and the Padres under 79.5 wins). Made a nice profit of a few hundred dollars for that – sporting a perfect 3 – 0 clip.
For my initial World Series picks in 2014, I wagered the Rangers, Rays but I was smart enough to take a +2500 preseason SF Giants selection.
Halfway through the season I plunked down some money on the Royals when they were near .500, talking of firing Ned Yost, and running at an +8000 odd to win the World Series.
I also was able to win money on the Orioles for the AL East Division, and at +5000 to win the World Series, I was able to hedge bet both KC and BAL in the 1st round of the postseason, and also the World Series. Read the rest of this entry
As the Pirates Lurch Forward Towards Opening Day, The Debate Over The Everyday Lineup Continues
Jason Rollison (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – pbcbreakdown.com) Follow @pbcbreakdown
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With John Jaso now seemingly entrenched at the top of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ lineup, coupled with Andrew McCutchen pointed towards remaining in the number two slot, many observers now wonder what the rest of the batting order may look like against the Cardinals on April 3rd.
Despite the focus on the top of the order, it may be the bottom of the order that can take a step forward for the club.
In 2015, the seventh and eighth hitters for the Pirates performed reasonably well.
There are a couple of interesting notes when considering the Pirates’ performance form the bottom two spots in the order.
First, the 114 rating for wRC+ (weighted runs created +) led the NL from the seventh spot (100 is considered an “average” score). This will likely continue for 2016, as we will see shortly.
From the eighth spot, the wRC+ rating of 93 might seem underwhelming, yet only two teams in the NL had a rating of 100 or more. The St. Louis Cardinals were far and away the most productive in this regard, with a 110 rating.
2016 will likely be another story completely, as the changes at the top have ramifications that will be felt all the way through the order. While Pedro Alvarez‘s free swinging ways often led to his insertion in the lower third, his departure and a re-focusing on quality at bats results in a case of addition by subtraction.
If spring batting orders over the past week are any indication, Jordy Mercer, Gregory Polanco or Josh Harrison could be reliable bats at the 7th spot.
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Odds To Be The 1st MLB Manager Fired In 2016: Who Is On The Hotseat?
Hunter Stokes (MLB Reports Part Owner – Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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Every year there are certain managers that have a ton of pressure to win. This is always a tough process to think of who will be nixed first.
On one hand, many clubs that should be in contention for the playoffs will see an axe come to their tenure, however sometimes clubs are so bad record wise (even though they were projected to be) that the franchise will just slay the field general in the name of mercy.
As far as under the gun goes. guys like Brad Ausmus, John Farrell and John Gibbons. are tops on the list.
Ausmus doesn’t have a track record of any postseason series wins like the latter two here, so he is going to be the #1 favorite out of this group of skippers that could go fast with playoff aspirations if their team struggles out of the starting block.
Gibbons did a great job with Toronto in 2015, but a slow start would really put his name on the block. Say if they are 6 or 7 games behind the playoff bar near Memorial Day.
Farrell has put up back to back 5th place finishes in the AL East after winning the World Series Title in his 1st year of being the skipper in 2013.
Then there is a perennial bad losing club that have long tenured coaches like Walt Weiss and Robin Ventura. I am not sure they should not have been shown the door following last years campaigns.
Weiss has losing years for every year under his belt, and Ventura rode out 2013 with his late season collapse, but his club has underachieved in every other year.
Still the two most managers on the hot seat are Fredi Gonzalez of the Braves on top of the favorite list at +331, followed by Bryan Price at +441. But I hate putting money on either of these gentlemen with their clubs both being on track to challenge for the worst record in the Majors this year.
Heck, Gonzalez’s predecessor Bobby Cox was the well into his 3rd decade with the “Tomahawk” Choppers when he finally stepped down to a front office job. Gonzalez at least had the Braves in the playoffs in 2012.
Price can’t really be expected to do anything with this anemic Pitching Staff, and all veterans except for Votto may be available for trade at any point.
Pittsburgh Pirates Pitcher, Juan Nicasio, Is The Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Everyone Is Looking For
Trey Rose (Featured Fantasy Baseball Writer/Owner – dynastydigest.sportsblog.com) Follow @dynasty_digest
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No one has ever questioned Juan Nicasio‘s ability to pitch, but after posting a 5.03 ERA through four seasons in Colorado, the outlook was not bright.
The Dodgers decided to take a chance on him in 2015 and it paid huge dividends. As a reliever in the Dodgers organization, he threw in 53 games, totaling 58.1 innings, 65 strikeouts, 32 walks, 3.86 ERA, and a 2.83 FIP.
These numbers are impressive, but his low FIP suggests that his ERA should be even better than it was. The Pittsburgh Pirates took notice of Nicasio’s successful 2015 campaign and decided to sign him to a one year/$3 million contract for 2016.
To read why Juan Nicasio is one of the best sleepers in fantasy baseball, click the link below to read the rest of the article:
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Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – March 28, 2016
Stacy Revere/Getty Images North America
Sure the Cubs are the consensus pick. But why is everyone discounting a team that nearly won 100 games last year? The Pirates could be making some in house moves that can only help Andrew McCutchen’s numbers.
It is a spoil the party episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast
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