Blog Archives
Who Owned Baseball – August 4, 2019 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVPs) + 2019
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Let’s see owned baseball on August 4, 2019
Earning Full WOBs:
Shane Bieber threw a complete game victory, striking out 8 Angels while only allowing 2 runs to earn the 6-2 decision for Cleveland.
Shin-Soo Choo reached base 5 times, scoring 3 and driving in another to help the Rangers top Detroit, 9-4.
Sonny Gray threw 7 shutout innings, holding Atlanta to 4 hits. The Reds bullpen would blow the lead but the bats would come to the rescue in extra innings for the 6-4 final.
Max Muncy went 4 for 5 with a homer and a walk off 2 run double in the bottom of the 9th to give the Dodgers a wild 11-10 victory over San Diego.
Earning 1/2 WOBs:
Randal Grichuk went 4 for 5 with 2 doubles but Toronto fell to Baltimore, 6-5.
Brad Keller threw 7 innings, allowing 2 runs and striking out 7. But the Royals were blanked by Minnesota, 3-0.
Donovan Solano hit a pair of homers in the Giants 6-2 loss to Colorado.
Adam Wainwright pitched into the 6th innings, allowing 3 runs and striking out 7 Oakland batters but was on the wrong end of a 4-2 decision for St. Louis.
For an explanation of how WOB works, click here.
To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.
Who Owned Baseball – May 30, 2019 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVPs) + 2019
Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Let’s see owned baseball on May 30, 2019
Earning Full WOBs:
Adalberto Mondesi reached base 4 times, including a homer, scoring twice as the Royals doubled up Texas, 4-2.
Charlie Morton threw 7 strong innings, holding the mighty Twins to 4 hits, 2 runs and no walks as the Rays rolled to a 14-3 finish.
Mike Moustakas got 4 hits including 2 homers to slug Milwaukee past Pittsburgh, 11-5.
Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched a shutout into the 8th, finishing with 7 2/3 scoreless innings, 4 hits and 7 strikeouts as the Dodgers blanked the Mets, 2-0.
Earning 1/2 WOBs:
Shin-Soo Choo homered and singled in the Rangers 4-2 loss to Kansas City.
Eduardo Escobar singled and homered, driving in 3, but the Rockies walked off against the Diamondbacks, 11-10 in 10.
Mike Minor struck out 8 Royals in 5 innings but the Rangers came up short, 4-2.
Jason Vargas was solid over 7 innings, allowing 1 hit and striking out 6 Dodgers. But he took the hard luck 2-0 decision for the Mets.
For an explanation of how WOB works, click here.
To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.
Who Owned Baseball July 30, 2018 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2018 #WOB
Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times
For an explanation of how WOB works, click here.
James Paxton threw 7 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits and struck out 8 as Seattle blanked Houston, 2-0.
Shin-Soo Choo homered twice, driving in 4, in the Rangers 9-5 win over the Diamondbacks.
Will Smith struck out all 4 batters he faced to first keep the game tied and then to clinch the 12 inning 5-3 victory for the Giants in San Diego.
Matt Carpenter reached base 4 times, driving in 2 to help the Cardinals top the Rockies, 5-4.
They all owned baseball on July 30, 2018
To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.
Who Owned Baseball July 15, 2018 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2018 #WOB
Jim Young – AP
For an explanation of how WOB works, click here.
Yoan Moncada walked, singled, homered and doubled to lead the White Sox offense to a 10-1 thrashing of the Royals.
Lucas Giolito pitched shutout ball into the 7th, finishing with 6 1/3 scoreless frames, striking out 6 Royals to earn the 10-1 victory for the White Sox.
Brian Anderson went 3 for 5 with a homer and a double, driving in 3, as the Marlins doubled up the Phillies, 10-5.
Julio Teheran pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings, striking out 6 Diamondbacks, earning the 5-1 decision for the Braves.
They all owned baseball on July 15, 2018
To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.
Who Owned Baseball June 18, 2018 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2018 #WOB
AP
For an explanation of how WOB works, click here.
Brandon Nimmo led off the game with an inside the park homer, added a standard homer and 2 singles, driving in 4 to help the Mets rock Colorado, 12-2.
Trevor Williams allowed 1 hit over 7 shutout innings as the Pirates blanked Milwaukee, 1-0.
Shin-Soo Choo homered to lead off the game and got on base 5 times during the game as Texas doubled up Kansas City, 6-3.
Trevor Bauer held the White Sox scoreless over his 7 innings, striking out 8 and earned the 6-2 decision for Cleveland.
They all owned baseball on June 18, 2018
To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.
Who Owned Baseball June 8, 2018 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2018 #WOB
Isaiah J. Downing, Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
For an explanation of how WOB works, click here.
Paul Goldschmidt went 3 for 5 with a pair of homers, driving in 3, as the Diamondbacks topped Colorado, 9-4.
Khris Davis homered twice in the A’s 7-2 win over the Royals.
Mike Montgomery allowed 1 run over 6 innings to lead the Cubs past Pittsburgh, 3-1.
Trevor Bauer threw 8 strong innings, allowing 1 run and struck out 12 Tigers to earn the 4-1 victory for Cleveland.
They all owned baseball on June 8, 2018
To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.
Who Owned Baseball April 26, 2017 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2017 #WOB Standings
AP Photo/Paul Sancya
James Paxton pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits and striking out 9 Tigers as Seattle rolled to an 8-0 final.
Shin-Soo Choo got 3 hits, including a homer, driving in 3 and scoring 3 as the Rangers blew out the Twins, 14-3.
Julio Teheran pitched into the 7th, allowing 2 runs and getting the 8-2 Braves win over the Mets.
Maikel Franco got 3 hits including a key Grand Slam to lead the Phillies past the Marlins, 7-4.
They all owned baseball on April 26, 2017
To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.
Who Owned Baseball April 16, 2017 (Daily #MLB AL/NL Pitcher + Hitter MVP’s) + 2017 #WOB Standings
Katherine Frey/The Washington Post
Bryce Harper got 3 hits, 2 of them homers, the last one was a 2 out, 3 run, come from behind walk off homer in the 9th that gave Washington a thrilling 6-4 win over the Phillies.
Bartolo Colon let up an early solo homer and nothing else as he threw 7 innings of 1 hit, 1 run ball and earned the 9-2 decision for Atlanta over San Diego.
Trey Mancini homered twice and added another hit, driving in 4 as the Orioles clubbed Toronto, 11-4.
Ian Kennedy pitched 8 shutout innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 10 Angels. He would not get the decision but set up the 1-0 Kansas City walk off win.
They all owned baseball on April 16, 2017
To view the Yearly Leaders for Who Owned Baseball Standings, plus see who gained 1/2 WOB’s – Click the READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY ICON OR SCROLL DOWN.
With No Top 50 ALL – Time Contracts Signed This Winter – Who Is Next To Make The List?
Signing Cespedes has signed the biggest contract of the offseason thus far at 4 YRs/$110 MIL. it is ranked tied for 60th ALL – Time even though the Annual Average Value is tied for 2nd ALL – Time among position players. With power having been devalued and a firm new set of penalties for Luxury Tax Threshold Abusers, it may take until the winter of 2018 – heading into 2019 – for another player to ink a contract that places them in the top 50 ALL – Time Salaries.
The winter has seen a lot of great Free Agents sign like Yoenis Cespedes, Aroldis Chapman, Dexter Fowler, Kenley Jansen, Ian Desmond, Mark Melancon and Edwin Encarnacion, however none of them were historic by any means.
While Cespedes’s $110 MIL pact over 4 years is $27.5 MIL per year, which ties him for the 2nd best AAV ALL – Time for a position player with Alex Rodriguez, (trailing Miguel Cabrera‘s 8 YR/$248 MIL extension that started in 2016) – only brings him in for a tie for about 60th on the ALL – Time Biggest Contracts list.
To crack the top 50 list ALL – Time right now, you need to bring in a deal that makes at least $120 MIL for the life of the contract.
During last years offeseason, David Price ($217 MIL), Zack Greinke, ($206.5 MIL) Jason Heyward, ($184 MIL), Chris Davis, ($161 MIL), Justin Upton ($132.8 MIL) and Johnny Cueto ($130 MIL) all inked pacts in excess of that.
Early in the season, Stephen Strasburg shocked the world with his new 7 YRs/$175 MIL deal soon afterwards. Read the rest of this entry
The Texas Rangers’ Outfield Has a Ton of Questions With 2017 on the Horizon
If the general premise of this sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve talked about this before.
On the heels of the Texas Rangers returning to the playoffs in 2015, I noticed they had similar roster uncertainties in advance of 2016. All they did once Opening Day rolled around was win the American League West with ease by posting an AL-best 95-67 record.
While they proved to be masters of winning one-run games, having just a +10 run differential made some wonder if they’d be able to hang in the playoffs. And before there was an answer, they were packing up for the winter after getting swept by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS.
The 2017 season is fast approaching, and the AL West will be interesting to follow. After all, Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto won’t stop making trades and the Houston Astros are doing whatever they can to make Sports Illustrated look like a bunch of geniuses.
The Rangers still have some roster questions to answer ahead of Spring Training — like, is this Mike Napoli reunion happening or not? — but one area that’s set is the outfield.
Texas will go to battle with 21-year-old Nomar Mazara in left, Carlos Gomez in center and Shin-Soo Choo manning right. This looks good on paper, but it’s far from a sure thing judging from each player’s recent history.
MLB Teams Taking A Powder In 2017 So Far
Some MLB Teams have had a tough winter so far, and we take a look at why this is. We understand that not all clubs have to be in win mode, and some maybe rebuilding, however the process and mindset is what we are questioning here. For a team that is not going all in and should be based on their limited window of winning opportunity, we also call them to the carpet. Stop taking a powder in 2017 and give your head a shake!
MLB Teams Taking A Powder In 2017 So Far
There are certain clubs who have done a nice job improving their clubs year over year, some that have done nicely in maintaining, well, and there are teams that are not looking so hot in 2017.
Let me also qualify this in saying that the Toronto Blue Jays are dangerously close to falling into this pegging themselves. You guys can’t seriously think that you can enter into the 2017 campaign with the Outfield trio of Melvin Upton Jr., Kevin Pillar and Ezequiel Carrera can you?
Give Jose Bautista a 1 Year Deal worth $15 MIL – with a 2nd year Team Option of $19.4 MIL – or a Buyout Clause of $2.2 MIL The Player could also opt out if he wants to after 2017. You may risk losing a Draft Pick at all with the way this is going Toronto.
With the 1st ED pick attached to Joey Bats. and the looming future QO’s never receiving as much again, how could a team justify losing that high of Amateur Draft Selection for an aging 36 year old slugger.
Here is the thing though Blue Jays brass: You need him..Both at the turnstiles and in the lineup. He doesn’t cost you anything but money – and the guy still carried out a .815 OPS despite a rough down year.
With a chip on his shoulder, I think he will bounce back big time. You can defensive replace him every night if you wish, or use Kendrys Morales at First, and let Justin Smoak ride pine for some DH AB to open up for Bautista.
Losing Edwin Encarnacion, Bautista and Michael Saunders is not made up by Morales and Steve Pearce fellas! You drew 3.4 Million Fans in 2016. Toronto will keep the faith if you bring back #19 for one more year. Read the rest of this entry
Texas Rangers State Of The Union For 2017: Jon Daniels Must Counter To Houston/Seattle’s Early Moves
The Texas Rangers won an American League best 95 games last season – to win their 2nd AL west Division. and to make the playoffs for the 5th time since 2010. The winter has not gotten off to a good start, as they have watched the Astros and Mariners all add depth to their teams – while Texas has lost players from their own year end roster. The team has to get involved right now to change the course of this offseason. The time to win is now with Yu Darvish and Jonathon Lucroy in walk contract years – while their ALL – Star Veterans like Cole Hamels and Adrian Beltre become another year older.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Follow @stokes_Hunter21 @mlbreports
The Rangers have been one of the better teams in the MLB since the 2010 season. Back to Back AL Pennants, and now back to back AL West Division wins have seen them reach the playoff 5 times out of the last 7 campaigns.
For those who like pitching – the franchise has 2 number one aces for at least one more year in Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels.
Simply put, the development of all of their Draft Picks, domestically or international, coupled with the management’s keen eye for talent, have the club still in the conversation for another few years.
Here is the thing though….The Astros and Mariners have been the two busiest clubs in acquiring talent thus far in the winter. Both of these teams have closed or narrowed the gap on Texas already,
Houston has signed Free Agents Josh Reddick and Carlos Beltran – with also dealing for Brian McCann. This will not affect their 2017 squad as both didn’t require anybody from the Major League Roster to get it done.
Seattle has not made as big of a splash like Houston, but has shored up some depth, and have nicely added Jean Segura (who was an ALL – Star and top 15 NL MVP in 2016 – without losing anything of note.)
Texas has signed Andrew Cashner and lost Beltran for sure…yikes.. Read the rest of this entry
6 MLB Teams That Will Benefit The Most By The New CBA
The Toronto Blue Jays have had to contend with the overspending in the last 25 years by the Yankees and Red Sox. With stiffer penalties now imposed on the higher payroll clubs. coupled with their recent back to back ALCS Appearances, the franchise draws enough to spend more money on total team salary in the next few years. It will come down to the management’s ability on player personnel that should determine their success for the next 5 years and not sheer finances.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Tomorrow we will point out the clubs that were hurt most in the short term. today we talk about the winners of the new deal.
I am calling the Nationals, Mariners, Astros, Jays, Cardinals and Giants the immediate victors under the new format.
When i was thinking about more the past two days, the new structure seems to favor mid level payroll teams more than the lower or higher payroll clubs.
With the new penalties for spending way more money than the Luxury Tax Threshold, the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Tigers are going to find that the impact will run pretty steep on their roster decisions for the next 5 years.
Being that that all of those franchises are still going to dole out the kind of money on player contracts they are, I am not calling them losers for the new CBA either. Read the rest of this entry
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/11/16
P- Jameson Taillon (vs. San Diego Padres): $8,600. Taillon has been the definition of consistent. Over his last five starts, he has thrown exactly six innings, with a 2.40 ERA, and 28 strikeouts. Each one of those outings led to a quality start. He will be facing the Padres on Thursday, who doesn’t have a very impressive lineup.
P- Matt Garza (vs. Atlanta Braves): $5,700. In 120 career at bats against Garza, the Braves’ lineup is batting .217, with a .280 OBP, and a .331 slugging percentage. Garza has been very effective in his last three starts, which is a great sign for hopeful success against the Braves on Thursday. Over those starts, he is 2-0, with a 3.12 ERA, and 10 strikeouts.
SEE THE REST OF THE ARTICLE
Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/6/16
P- Aaron Sanchez (vs. Kansas City Royals): $10,800. Over the last seven games, Kansas City has struggled at the plate. They have a .202 batting average, .251 OBP, and a .300 slugging percentage. Sanchez has been dominant all year long and it shouldn’t be any different on Saturday as he faces this mediocre Royals’ offense.
P- Jose Berrios (vs. Tampa Bay Rays): $7,100. Tampa Bay’s offense has been lackluster in 2016. Berrios has struggled in his rookie season, but he continues to rack up the strikeouts. In 2016, the Rays have struck out 971 times, which is ranked 26th in baseball. Berrios has the potential to put up a huge game on Saturday if he can stay ahead in counts and keep the Rays lineup off balanced.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 7/4/16
Due to the holiday weekend, I will not be posting explanations to all players. If you have a specific questions, you can direct them to my social media, which you can find listed later in the article. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I hope everyone has a great July 4th weekend!
P – Archie Bradley (vs. San Diego Padres): $8,500
P – Jerad Eickhoff (vs. Atlanta Braves): $8,400
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 7/1/16
P – Michael Fulmer (vs. Tampa Bay Rays): $10,900. Fulmer has been dominant this season. In 63.2 innings pitched, he owns a 7-2 record, 2.54 ERA, 50 hits against, 60 strikeouts, and 24 walks. The Rays offense has struggled quite a bit in 2016, so Fulmer should be able to take care of business. Prior to Fulmer’s last start, he threw 33.1 consecutive scoreless innings.
P – Tanner Roark (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $9,800. Roark struggled his last time out against the Reds, but he has been spectacular for the rest of the 2016 season. In 16 starts, he owns a 7-5 record, with a 2.96 ERA, 90 hits against, 89 strikeouts, and 32 walks in 100.1 innings pitched. The Reds offense has been miserable over the past seven games, which is a great sign for Roark.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 6/25/16
P- Madison Bumgarner (vs. Philadelphia Phillies): $14,000. Bumgarner has not allowed more than two earned runs in his past 12 starts. He is now 8-3 on the season, with a 1.83 ERA, and 115 strikeouts. In 62 career at bats against Bumgarner, the Phillies’ offense is batting .210, with two home runs, 20 strikeouts, and a .239 OBP.
P- Brandon Finnegan (vs. San Diego Padres): This month has been great for Finnegan. He is 2-1, with a 2.96 ERA, and he has gone six innings while giving up fewer than two runs in three of the last four starts. On the season, he is 3-5, with a 3.81 ERA,with 59 strikeouts.
To view the rest of the picks, click the link below:
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MLB DFS Daily Picks For FanDuel – 6/14/16
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Follow @stokes_Hunter21 @mlbreports
One of the biggest blunders made by many gamblers is betting against themselves. We are going to simplify the process, so if you win, you can really win – none of this barely break even nonsense.
Our new Draft Strategy is now here. Please read after the post.
Now here is what we are going to do for today’s MLB DFS FanDuel style.
We Will Give You – Daily
5 team stacking options ( We are going to draw most of our players from these 5 squads).
3 Pitching candidates (High level, midlevel and budget). Read the rest of this entry
Stephen Strasburg Ties Felix Hernandez For 17th On The MLB’s ALL – Time Top 50 Contract List With Extension
Ed Zurga/Getty Images North America
Chuck Booth (MLB Reports Majority Owner/Lead Analyst)
Follow @chuckbooth3024 Follow @mlbreports
Stephen Strasburg shocked he baseball world the other day – by inking a 7 year extension worth from $175 – $180 MIL. It ties him for 17th All – Time with Felix Hernandez to start with, but he can earn an additional $7 MIL with $1 MIL per year bonuses for reaching 180 IP.
The deal pays him $15 MIL annually from 2016 – 2023, and then the deferrals kick in from 2023 – 2030, in 7 installments of $10 MIL each.
Some will say his deal is worth more like $162 MIL in present day dollars, however we do not operate our top 50 contracts list like that. The deal is guaranteed at $175 MIL for now, and we will change it if bonuses are hit.
With this contract, the Nats have 4 current players that are on this ALL – Time List with Scherzer (10th), Strasburg (T 17th), Zimmerman (37th) and Werth (Tied 44th).
This signing is a great move to open a 3 year window for Washington, as they also have Bryce Harper under team control until after the 2018 season, however it also may seal the fate the of the young reigning NL MVP to move elsewhere for 2019.
Werth’s contract does end at the end of the 2017 year. but Zimmerman is still on the books until at least 2020.
It will be tough to come up with the dough necessary to drop a 11 – 13 years contract worth $35 – 40 MIL per annum when it comes to Harper.
Even with Scherzer’s and Strasburg’s deals both containing a ton of deferred money- all of them will still run simultaneously to Harper’s deal – even if they are not on the roster each after the 2023 season.
I think you couldn’t risk trying to outbid everyone for Harper’s services, yet to pay Strasburg market value makes sense.
This club could even save some payroll by trading Gio Gonzalez, as they have Joe Ross and Tanner Roark starting in the rotation for depth, and Lucas Giolito has not started his time service clock. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Power Rankings 2016: Week 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
Texas Rangers Facing Same Roster Uncertainties In 2016 As They Did In 2015
Jim Cowsert, USA TODAY Sports
Matt Musico (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – chinmusicbaseball.com) Follow @mmusico8
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
With a shaky starting rotation and a rookie manager leading the way, few MLB analysts picked the 2015 Texas Rangers to make noise in the American League West…especially following a disastrous 67-95 record.
Their perceived postseason chances only sunk lower once Yu Darvish was lost for the year due to Tommy John surgery.
That’s why they play the game, though.
Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo bounced back from injuries, the starting rotation held together long enough before trading for Cole Hamels, and before we realized it, this team was crowned division champs with an 88-74 record.
Despite this unlikely turnaround and most of the same guys coming back for another year, both FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus project them to finish with a record below .500 in 2016.
These projections were released before Ian Desmond signed to be their left fielder, but it’s doubtful there’d be a significant change.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast Archives May.1, 2013 – May.31, 2013 (Episodes 190 – 220)
Paul Francis Sullivan (please call him Sully) does a podcast 365 days a year – unless it is a leap year – then he will do another 1. He has done a show everyday since Oct.24/2012. This to date represents a streak of 1219 days consecutively!
Past the CLICK TO READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY are episodes 190 – 220 of the Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
We will also archive all of his podcasts to date (in coming weeks) so they are easily accessible for all his fans. Check out all his Archived info here.
Our website followers have grown larger each year for his podcast.
Follow Sully Baseball On Twitter Follow @sullybaseball
To subscribe on iTunes, click HERE.
To subscribe on SoundCloud, click HERE.
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Texas, You Are Dreaming If You Think The Current Starting Rotation Will Be Good Enough In 2016!
The Rangers rose from the AL West ashes in 2015 and won their first Division Title in 4 years. It came off the heels of 2 injury riddled seasons that plagued any chance to make the playoffs. The club has about $150 MIL worth of salaries to pay in 2016 but should consider spending out another $10 – $15 MIL for one more piece in the rotation. They have a need for a Starting Pitcher and could use a breakout campaign from either Joey Gallo or Jurickson Profar to add depth for a mid year trade to acquire a proven playoff Starter. The club will also hope Yu Darvish can come back at full strength.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I am quite perplexed on the thought process of the Texas Rangers this offseason. I mean, talk about resting on your laurel’s fellas!
This club was quite lucky to have run down the Houston Astros in 2015 when it did for the AL West. It took renaissance years from Shin-Soo Choo and Prince Fielder, and a hot Adrian Beltre over the last few months to get it done.
While I praised them big time for the addition of Cole Hamels at the Trade Dealine in 2015, I am giving them guff now for not surrounding him with ample playoff caliber pitching this winter.
Yu Darvish is a world class talent, but he is just coming back from Tommy John Surgery, and may take at least 6 weeks to begin the year.
Derek Holland is slated up high on your staff even though he has towed the hill just 13 games over the last 3 campaigns.
Read the rest of this entry
Chris Davis (Tied For 20th) + Justin Upton (38th) Join The Top 50 All – Time Salary List
Losing Chris Davis and his 45+ HR power would have been very difficult to replace. The O’s have their man with a creative deferral payment plan that will see them pay Davis $119 MIL from 2016 – 2022, and then pay out $42 MIL over the next 15 years in deferrals. The $161 MIL has him tied for 19th ALL – Time in MLB Player Contracts with CC Sabathia. The Orioles slugger led the league with 47 HRs (2nd time in 3 years), and has clubbed 126 HRs (led all of the MLB) in the last 3 seasons despite being levied a 25 game suspension for his medication in Sept of 2014.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Chris Davis, 30 in 2016, and Justin Upton, 28, are now in the 9 figure club and among historical contracts of ALL – Time. Davis inked a 7 YR deal for $161 MIL – while Upton is at 6 Years for $132.75 (distributed evenly throughout.)
The Big 1B/OF for the O’s will make $119 MIL from 2016 – 2022 paid evenly by $17 MIL per year before the crazy deferral program kicks in. From 2023 – 2030, Davis will earn $3.5 per annum for another $31 MIL. The deal then goes from 2031 – 2037 at a 1.4 MIL per annum clip. All told it is $161 MIL spread over 21 years. Read the rest of this entry
Giants Ink Johnny Cueto: It’s Tied For The 37th ALL – Time In MLB Contracts
Johnny Cueto is 97 – 70 (.578) career with a 3.30 ERA however he has put forth a 2.71 ERA since the start of the 2011 year. Much like his new team, Cueto has performed better in the even years of this decade, where he finished 2nd in Cy Young Voting in 2012 and 4th in 2014 Cy Young Voting.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
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The landscape of the NL West just changed again. As of right now I give the Giants as equally a shot to win the NL West as I do the LA Dodgers. Signing Johnny Cueto is an awesome move.
Even better than the 6 YRs/$130 MIL deal is an opt out clause after 2 years, when Cueto can forego the final 4 years of the pact – leaving the San Fran club with $84 MIL on the table.
The current contract also calls for a Team Option for a 7th year.
Cueto, who is 30, most likely will opt out after 2017 if he can put up great back to back seasons as good as his 2.71 ERA since the start of the 2011 campaign, – only bested by Clayton Kershaw in that time frame.
Jason Heyward Signs With The Cubs For The 13th Highest Contract In MLB History
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
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It has been announced that Jason Heyward has just inked an 8 YR deal with the Chicago Cubs for $184 MIL deal. The contract calls for a player opt out after 3 years, but for now he is tied with Joe Mauer for 13th overall in total dollars during a deal.
Whether Heyward is worth that kind of dough in AAV is beside the point. At 26, he was one of the youngest Free Agent players of all time that could garner that type of cash.
No question about the man’s defensive prowess being unique in the game right now. He has also cut down on the amount of Strikeouts from early in his career. Read the rest of this entry
Texas Rangers Payroll In 2016 + Contracts Going Forward
The Rangers rose from the AL West ashes in 2015 and won their first Division Title in 4 years. It came off the heels of 2 injury riddled seasons that plagued any chance to make the playoffs. The club has about $140 MIL worth of salaries to pay in 2016 but should consider spending out another $10 – $15 MIL. They have a need for a Starting Pitcher and could use a breakout campaign from either Joey Gallo or Jurickson Profar to add depth for mid year trade to acquire a proven playoff Starter. The club will also hope Yu Darvish can come back at full strength. While they have 5 of the top 46 contracts of ALL – Time on their salary, 3 of them came via trade where the former team is picking up some of the dough.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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The Texas Rangers have 5 of the top 50 MLB Contracts of ALL – Time on their roster with Prince Fielder (10th), Cole Hamels (32nd), Shin-Soo Choo (37th), Josh Hamilton (42nd) and Elvis Andrus (tied for 46th).
Yes 3 of them came over via trade after chunks were already off, and their former team is still subsidizing some of the money going forward as well, but the Rangers are still already at over $120 MIL already committed in total team salary for 2016.
We have also heard grumblings that the team will look to extend Adrian Beltre this week in order to have him finish out his potential Hall Of Fame Career in Texas. This won’t hurt the bottom line in 2016 – but will also put some dough on the future of the teams finances should it occur. Read the rest of this entry
Greinke Signs With Arizona: 12th Best Deal ALL – Time Of 50 MLB Richest Contracts.
Zack Greinke opted of his deal (6 YRs/$147.6 MIL) after this last season with the Dodgers, even though he will still nearly $26 MIL per year left on his deal running through 2018. The 32 Year Old has been dynamite since moving to Los Angeles, featuring a 60 – 17 (.779) record with a mid 2 ERA since he was dealt to the Angels in mid 2012 from the Brewers. He just inked the most lucrative deal ever signed for the MLB in AAV at $34.42 MIL per year.
Chuck Booth (Owner/Lead Analyst) Follow @chuckbooth3024
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A collective haymaker punch has just been thrown at the rest of the National League West. The Diamondbacks have inked Zack Greinke to a 6 YRs/$206.5 MIL pact as of last night.
This is the 3rd richest Pitcher contract ever signed behind David Price‘s 7 YRs/$217 MIL deal – and Clayton Kerhsaw’s extension of 7 YRs/$210 MIL.
It is also the highest Average Annual contract ahead at $34.42 MIL per season, edging out both Price and Miguel Cabrera at a clip of $31 MIL each a campaign for their respective deals.
Greinke, 32, who finished 2nd in NL Cy Young Voting with an incredible 1.66 ERA in 222.1 IP worth of work in 2015 had opted out of his 6 YRs/$147.5 MIL deal with the Dodgers after just 3 years.
The Right Handed Pitcher left 3 years and $77.5 MIL on the table – and this was the right move as he was slated to earn just under $26 MIL a season for that contract.
This is the 12th richest deal of ALL – Time in the Major Leagues – and is also the 12th player to crack the $200 MIL+ barrier.
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