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oldtimefamilybaseball · 5 years ago

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I’ve become very good at playing pretend recently. I always thought that I was good at it, but I realize now I was merely pretending to, uh, pretend. I wasn’t fully embracing a reality of my own creation.

Sure, that paragraph reads like a new age manifesto, or like someone whose quarantine has pushed him a little too far. And sure, there’s probably something to that, too.

But no, I’ve become very good at tricking my brain into thinking it’s 2017, or 2011 or 1982.

I was never someone that would go and watch classic games, or even past favorites of mine. In the offseason, I might pull up a random game from the past simply because I like the sounds or maybe I’d see something funny that everyone had forgotten about, but really, I didn’t see the point. Sports were of the moment, they are these communal things that bring us together and the action rises and falls across a single game and across a season. How could one simply just go back?

Turns out, during a global pandemic, you can.

Over the last few years, I’ve become a huge Boston Bruins fan and I was looking forward to them mounting a Stanley Cup run this spring. Since that’s not happening, I’m now watching every game from the 2011 playoffs (which I did not watch as it happened). Sure, I know the final, final outcome, but every night I’ll put on my Bruins jersey and sit down and watch as if it’s happening all at once. Sometimes, for just a few minutes maybe, my mind will forget this was in the past and life feels good again.

It’s the same for the daily MLB.com game. Friday featured Rich Hill’s no-hitter that was spoiled by Josh Harrison’s 10th-inning home run. I had even watched this one live as it was happening, but at some point in the middle innings, I found myself so frustrated that the team wasn’t hitting I had to catch myself and realize: This is all pre-ordained.

I even found myself incredibly invested in a dice baseball game I played with a friend online. (It’s super simple and super fun: You can thank Pirates beat writer Stephen Nesbitt and his father for this one. You’ll need an Athletic account, but it’s worth it.)

Playing as the Reds, this pen-and-paper version of Nick Senzel became a lifelong favorite when I (he?) cracked a two-run home run while I was predicting that he (me?) would simply ground out.

And when Joey Votto hit a three-run homer to take the lead, I whooped and hollered more than I had in weeks. My wife had to come in from the other room to remind me that we had neighbors.

But for a few minutes, playing make believe made up for ... all of this (gestures wildly.)

Anyway, here are a few things I wrote this week about baseball that will hopefully give you something fun to read for a few minutes:

Ken Griffey Jr. was nearly traded to the Mets in 2000. I traced all the insane things that would have happened if the trade went through. (Griffey himself may actually have the smallest impact.)

If you’ve been here for a while, you may know that I love Toad Ramsey. Well, I wrote about the man who invented the knuckleball and the pint of whiskey in a pitcher of beer.

Who will be the best players in baseball in a decade? It’s almost impossible to know. So, I asked a baby and a guy named Ken Rosenthal to answer the question. The art Jenny Goldstick made for the post also makes me laugh a lot.

Oh and here’s one weird fact for every big league team.

Here are also a few things I didn’t write, but that I demand you read:

Grant Brisbee has the investigation you need to see: Barry Zito is on the Masked Singer.

Andrew Simon remembers the great friendship between Adrián Beltré and F��lix Hernández. It’s the kind of feel-good article we could all use right now.

Friend and amazing writer Eric Nusbaum has a new book out called “Stealing Home,” that you should all go purchase. It’s about the building of Dodger Stadium and the people who were displaced because of it. He was set to go on a nice little tour for the book when all this went down, so maybe go buy a copy for yourself to read in quarantine?

Stay safe and healthy.

(art by Tom Forget)

#baseball #top bar #mlb

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joeyvottofacts · 7 months ago

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Joey Votto Fact: this is why joey votto has been unable to play in the 2024 MLB season

#joey votto #joey votto facts #baseball

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joeyvottofacts · 3 months ago

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joey votto is afraid to google the acronym "rpf"

#joey votto facts #joey votto #baseball

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thesportssoundoff · 5 years ago

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Playoff Droughts And Who Can Break Theirs

Joey

Baseball season is approaching and in the interest of breaking up the monotony of what figures to be a LONG and painful spring training, I wanted to take a peek whimsically while looking backwards. There's no more enjoyable story than when a team that's been excluded from the postseason dance for quite some time gets their invite. Sometimes it's years of hard work and team building and other years its due to ownership just throwing money around and sometimes? It's just a fluke luck circumstance not to be repeated for quite some time. For the sake of doing something of a bit of a project, I decided to take a brief look at teams that have not made the playoffs in over five years. I chose five years arbitrarily I suppose because to me five years or more without a playoff run is a genuine drought whereas four or less just feels like a lull regardless of expectations. Yankees fans may consider three years without the playoffs to be a drought whereas that's if anything a lull or a break in tradition. Teams that have been out of it for five years or more are teams that are either mired in long term BAD baseball or embracing mediocrity at best and so five years just felt right. Also I wanted to do it since the invent of the two game wild card but then it would be literally just three teams and nobody wants that.

Of the eight teams who have missed the playoffs for five years straight or longer, who are most likely to break that streak and join the dance? Well...

1- Philadelphia Phillies Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Last year's darling picks, the Phillies have been out of the playoffs since 2011. For fun facts, 2011 was also the first year of the Chromebook, snapchat and the release of Elder Scrolls: Skryim. If you read this space for MMA? 2011 was the year Jon Jones beat Shogun for the LHW title, the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix started and Alistair Overeem's UFC debut. It's been a while and to the credit of Philadelphia, they've tried a multitude of ways from riding out the final years of aging veterans to rehauling their farm system to spending and spending big. It's not for a lack of trying they haven't made it back to the playoffs! Last year they seemed armed to roll through a perceived weak NL East with big names and big money across the board. Of course little did we know the Nationals would be better without Bryce Harper and the Phillies wouldn't even crack the top two of the division. Out goes Gabe Kapler and in comes Joe Girardi who will be tasked with VETERAN MANAGING his way through this ultra talented and underachieving roster that has added the likes of Zach Wheeler, Didi Gregorious as well as Andrew McCutchen who was lost early into 2019 with a torn ACL. The Phillies boast an insane line up as if Didi and Cutch are healthy and productive then you've got a core of Jean Segura, JT Realmuto, Didi, McCutchen, Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper. The rotation is pretty damn spiffy (health permitting) with Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin and Jake Arrieta plus flostam as a fifth if need be. The Phillies are always going to be a team that has slumps magnified and streaks glorified (such is life with Bryce Harper) but I can't see them not cracking the playoffs in some form or fashion this year. If they don't make the playoffs, we may need to try and discuss if there's some kind of a curse out there on the Phanatic.

2- Cincinnati Reds Last Playoff Appearance: 2013

Gotta admit I had no idea the Reds had a playoff cameo back in 2013. Guess that's just one of those years lost to time. Fun facts of 2013? Grand Theft Auto 5 came out that year, Yahoo purchased this hell site and the UFC brought women into the organization for the first time ever. The Reds spoke openly about wanting to spend a bit in the offseason and so they did, flexing some financial muscle with deals for Mike Moustakas, Shogo Akiyama and Nick Castellanos to help out a lineup featuring the likes of Joey Votto, Nick Senzel and Eugenio Suarez. If the Reds are going to make a serious run of things, it'll likely be on the arms of a rejuvenated Sonny Gray, mercurial Trevor Bauer and the league's best kept secret to casual fans Luis Castillo. There's obviously going to be concerns about a team that hits a lot of dingers but strikes out a bunch and a somewhat unheralded bullpen but the Reds have power, they've gotten better and they've got a cadre of arms to flex at any time. Also? The NL Central figures to be up in the air as the Cubs seem to coast with the core they have until the rebuild comes around, the Cardinals and Brewers underwent massive changes and the Pirates figure to be flat out bad. There's never been a more clear path for the Reds to make some October noise.

3- Los Angeles Angels Last Playoff Appearance: 2014

The year is 2014. In the real world, Colorado legalizes the purchase of wacky tobacky, selfies became "a thing" in need of forever going away and the occulus rift creates a youtube grift genre. Sports wise? The MLB struggles through record rating woes, the Cowboys finally break through in the Jason Garrett tenure with a 12-4 record, the UFC is undergoing massive upheaval as stars retire or are suspended for PEDs, Bellator hosts its first PPV which in turn leads to the ousting of Bjorn Rebney for Scott Coker and LeBron James leaves Miami to go back where it all began in Cleveland. That's the last time the Angels saw a playoff game and it's been beaten to death at this point. "WHY DON'T THE ANGELS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS DURING MIKE TROUT'S PRIME?!" is tired and done to death but for those of you who feel the same way, 2020 marks the BEST chance for that to become a fad question (or perhaps just morph into "WHY CAN'T THE BEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL WIN THE WORLD SERIES ON HIS OWN?!") since the Angels are pretty damn loaded for bare. With the Astros about to endure a pretty weird season and the A's always lurking, the Angels will roll into the year with three bonafide superstars in Anthony Rendon, Shohei Otani and Mike Trout. The pieces around them aren't bad shakes either as Andrelton Simmons is a defensive whiz, David Fletcher is one of those solid under the radar types and the rotation isn't flashy but it should be competent with minor league depth to make moves if they see a big fish out there. The Angels would've been higher up had they gotten Ross Stripling and Joc Pedersen in a deal but since that fell off, I feel like 3rd behind the Reds and Phillies is a fine spot to put them in.

4- Chicago White Sox Last Playoff Appearance: 2008

2008 will probably best be known as the year of change headlined by the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. It was the year Fidel Castro stepped down in Cuba. China got the olympics in Beijing and people were TOTALLY cool about that with nary any controversy whatsoever. Beyond that? 2008 was the year I got into MMA and that was a special time, dudes. It was also the year where the White Sox saw their last real sustained succeed with its last postseason appearance. The White Sox feel like they've been in a rebuild since pretty much the end of the Ozzie Guillen tenure and despite multiple managers, multiple attempts to figure it out, rebuilds aplenty and some damn good talent coming through the organization, it's been a rough go of it for the majority of 2010 to 2019. Put it this way, the LAST time the White Sox made the playoffs, Chris Sale was a 22 year old rookie and Paul Konerko was still an active player. They've got a chance to kick off this next decade as a bit of a sleeper team in the Central. This team can hit and one can assume that another year of development for phenom talents like Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jiminez can only help. Tim Anderson for better or worse has a style and swagger that generates attention but it is fair to remember that for at least one half a season, he was a phenomenal player worthy of the acclaim. The White Sox have tried hard to secure elite free agents (Manny Machado and Zack Wheeler) but it's been a bust so at this point it's going to be up to them to draft, develop and trade for it. It would not surprise me if the White Sox are good enough in June and July to make a big deal to try and push them over the hump and chase for the second wild card.

5- San Diego Padres Last Playoff Appearance: 2006

The Padres last made the playoffs in the year of the Nintendo Wii. Floyd Mayweather hadn't even come up with his Money Mayweather gimmick yet! Lost to baseball obscurity, the Padres had at the very least an interesting team out west. The likes of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr, arguably the worst defensive outfield in the history of the universe and freakishly good young arms like Chris Paddack and Joey Luchessi at least made them fun to watch. They weren't "good" but this is a team that was still struggling to balance expensive veterans with clout (Machado, Eric Hosmer, Will Meyers) with really good young talent trying to figure things out. The Padres figure to be better with a full season of Tatis Jr, more production from guys like Hosmer and Machado plus improvements in the outfield with Tommy Pham and Trent Grisham (hold your jokes, Nats fans) figure to give this team a chance. There's a pretty good bullpen (Emilio Pagan is a sneaky nice pick up) and plenty of talent in their 26 man roster. The NL West has so much legit top talent with the D-Backs and Dodgers figuring to be really good that it's hard to make an argument for the Padres to be a playoff contender but they figure to try and trying is truly half the battle.

6- Miami Marlins Last Playoff Appearance: 2003

It's kind of a bummer that we didn't get our decennial Marlins "The fuck?" World Series win but they made up for it by giving us Jeffrey Loria and David Samson fucking things up for most of the decade leading to Derek FUCKING Jeter opting to get into the management game much to the chagrin of most folks on all sides. The Marlins are in the midst of rebuilding....again. Don't expect them to compete but they've got some good talent to at least want to see play. Brian Anderson, Caleb Smith, Jorge Alfaro and a bundle of veteran signings that will at the very least make the Marlins a fun trade partner in July will keep this team relevant. Wouldn't surprise me if the Marlins flirt with a 20 win swing from where they were last year.

7- Seattle Mariners Last Playoff Appearance: 2001

My god man. The Mariners were SO close in 2018, winning 89 games and finishing a few spots out of a Wild Card spot. As if they decided that this core couldn't do it, the Mariners went to work tearing their team apart and were rewarded with a pretty blegh squad that was once again picked apart at the deadline. To their credit they have some spiffy talent worth watching, namely the infield duo of JP Crawford and Shed Long. They’ve also got some fun young arms who might take the next step. Just don't expect them to win many games.

8- Detroit Tigers Last Playoff Appearance: 2014

The Tigers are aways away from being contenders. They're not trying to be contenders. They're in the midst of what could best be described as a multiple year rebuild after riding out the end days of the core from the start of the 2010's. They will be bad but god bless 'em for embracing it.

#MLB #playoffs #baseball

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intothetr33s · 3 months ago

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Almost accidentally posted this to joey votto facts btw. Like I'm sure he would agree with me but wrong format!

2 ibuprofen you are my friend my lover you will always be famous and beautiful

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matts-take · 3 years ago

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Matt’s Take

Dead Period…

We have now had a full week without Cincinnati Bengals Football. I still haven’t stopped thinking about that holding call or processed the fact that we made it to the Super Bowl and lost by 3 points. While I am a big College Basketball fan, something that typically helps with this dead period is MLB Spring Training. Unfortunately, Spring Training this year has been cancelled. Having a degree in Human Resources and working in HR, I certainly understand the challenges that negotiations can present for both parties. This is currently what is going on between the MLB and the MLBPA. Instead of talking about Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Nick Senzel, and discussing wherever Nick Castellanos decides to take his talent to, we are in a “dead period” of negotiations that could even delay the start of the regular 2022 MLB season. After 15 minute “walkout” negotiation meetings and little to no progress being made, the MLB and MLBPA plan to meet daily beginning February 21st. There are reportings of “urgency” being felt, which we all hope to be true, as I can’t imagine a summer without Reds baseball.

Opening Day

As of right now, Cincinnati Reds Opening Day will take place on March 31, 2022 against the Chicago Cubs. The Findlay Market Opening Day Parade is scheduled to take place this year. This is one of my favorite days of the year, as the entire city becomes a large celebration and “red” fills Cincinnati streets and businesses. While we aren’t even sure of our final roster before the season begins, you can almost guarantee that Luis Castillo will be taking the mound that day. It will be weird not seeing Barnhart behind the plate on Opening Day this year, but the future of Tyler Stephenson will be exciting to watch, as he takes over the main catcher responsibilities. The resurgence last season of Joey Votto hopes to continue this year, as the future Hall of Famer at age 38 plans to take the field once again as one of the most dominant first baseman in the National League.

Nick Castellanos

Where Nick Castellanos will end up is the biggest mystery in baseball free agency. While many seem to believe he has nearly “zero chance” of returning to the Reds, I am still remaining optimistic. His relationship with Jonathan India outside of baseball makes me want to believe that he could still see himself in Cincinnati. The negotiation issues may even factor into Castellanos just wanting to take a deal quickly after the CBA agreement. Last year, Nick batted .309, with 38 doubles, and 34 homeruns. He managed to do this with a few injuries and 531 at bats. The right fielder has proven himself as a top tier right fielder and quickly became a “fan favorite.”

ATOBTTR

I am looking forward to hearing “ATOBTTR” many times this summer and spending many nights at Great American Ball Park. Let’s hope they come to an agreement soon, as a summer without Reds baseball sounds a lot like the time we are in right now…a dead period.

-Matthew McAdow

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beersfromthebleachers · 7 years ago

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Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2018

For the first time since my rookie fantasy baseball season, I suffered a set back after being a dominant threat year after year. And, like the Chicago Cubs, got cocky and had a “hangover” and got carried away with being a stay-home again in the league. Ignorance is bliss, I have carried on my original ways of being in a better state of mind before the Cubs were dominant and I had a healthy mind set as well. I have learned from my mistakes not to get over zealous and take favorite picks over a quality team that could have won me the the damn championship last season. As a result as punishment, this year’s top-12 fantasy players DO NOT have a single Chicago Cub in it; and between you and the average rookie getting into fantasy baseball, not a single one do this season. Let’s go ahead and jump into this years list:

1. Mike Trout, OF Los Angeles Angels – Here is what’s familiar: every year Trout is a favorite to win the MVP of the American League and he has been the top pick in drafts, consistently ever since he has shown up. Here is what’s different: there now is a loaded line up in the mix for Trout with new additions including Ian Kinsler, Zack Cozart, and Shohei Ohtani; not to mention the veteran leadership of Justin Upton and what is left in the tank for Albert Pujols. The Angels are just a season shy of snagging some quality pitching talent and making a legitimate title run, just in time for Trout to bring that swagger to the highest caliber and making the team attractive enough to be a destination in the future. This is a no brainer for stats in all league formats to take Trout first in drafts for baseball.

2. Jose Altuve, 2B Houston Astros – Enter the current reigning AL MVP, reigning World Series champ, and recently contract extended to remain the franchise star in Houston. Jose Altuve is coming off the biggest year of his career and he is not stopping anytime soon. Him and his band of mates in Houston are making the AL West look something like a cowboy western with the talent being stacked against them, and this man loves competing at that high-level pace. To expect the same stats from last year from Altuve is not far from a long shot, but they are considered favorites to repeat as World Series champs. It’s a no brainer taking Altuve as the second overall pick.

3. Nolan Arenado, 3B Colorado Rockies – It pains to admit that the best third baseman in baseball is not Kris Bryant, just like I also hate admitting the best first baseman is not Anthony Rizzo either. Both personal opinions are irrelevant, because Nolan Arenado is getting stronger and hitting more long balls year after year. Not to mention that even though he kills it in a hitter friendly park and great line up supporting him with Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story. Aside from collecting RBIs, I’m expecting him to hit 40-plus home runs this season playing in a competitive National League West. Although, he will not be the only high home run hitter on this list.

4. Max Scherzer, SP Washington Nationals – Considering the fact that Clayton Kershaw was ranked higher last year than Max Scherzer was only due to Kershaw’s favoritism to win it all last season. Now with back-to-back Cy Young awards and tying Kershaw with his third time winning it, it is safe to assume that Scherzer is the best pitcher in baseball right now. The Nationals continue to compete, and this year looks to be the most competitive season that they will face with a recovered New York Mets and a fully loaded Philadelphia Phillies team; Scherzer wants to own that competition and remain dominant in his division. Lately in mocks and my personal drafts I started seeing pitching go early this year. Pitching wins championships, and Scherzer can definitely bring you one on your fantasy squad.

5. Giancarlo Stanton, OF New York Yankees – There are three more outfielders that are ranked higher than Giancarlo Stanton on most of cheat sheets for fantasy baseball rankings and that includes Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, and Charlie Blackmon. My case for Stanton does not include his NL MVP year last year with hitting the most home runs in the league or his new team he happened to be traded to. The major concern with Stanton is health, and last year was his first complete season without injury since 2014. The depth the Yankees have in the outfield also gives Stanton the head role of designated hitter for the squad, which he will split time with his former home run competitor; Aaron Judge. The downside of coming to New York means more competitive pitching in the AL East, and expecting him to hit as many home runs as he did last year will be difficult. However, every Yankees starter in their line up is expected to hit 20-30 plus home runs this season and Stanton is going to collect more RBIs than he ever has in his career starting this season. This is as much as a reach pick snagging Scherzer early in drafts.

6. Joey Votto, 1B Cincinnati Reds – a guy I left out of last year’s top picks in the fantasy talks was Joey Votto due to favoritism to Anthony Rizzo (also, sorry not sorry). Granted Paul Goldschmidt has consistently always been ranked higher than Votto, last year his numbers were insane at the dish and made him one of the best hitters in baseball collecting 100 RBIs and 106 runs. What is even crazier is that he is projected to repeat those numbers last year and up his home run count. Votto is also seeing red and that’s not because of his uniform, he wants to compete and bring his team closer to a championship; the downfall that comes with that is that he is stuck in Cincinnati. Regardless the idea is Votto is ever traded from the NL Central, he is a guaranteed hit machine and a solid first base pick in a loaded depth at the position thanks to the blow up of talent at the same spot last season.

7. Bryce Harper, OF Washington Nationals – last year I had Bryce Harper outside the top ten, and this year he made more progress to be promoted a couple spots where he was last season. His value puts him higher for a few reasons, first being that this could potentially be the last year Harper spends in a Nationals uniform. The Nats don’t find themselves as World Series champions at the end of the season, you can count on Harper to be on a more competitive team next season; we can all agree he is going to play his heart out to compete for a ring or a contract. Second, the offense has powered up around him with the emerging Trea Turner, the hard-hitting Anthony Rendon, and the career returning Ryan Zimmerman; there as many good pieces around Harper as there are for Stanton and Trout. Finally, one thing I have finally observed about Harper’s performance is that he’s maturing more as a player as he continues to develop more and more each season. Expect great things from Harper if he is your first-round pick in the draft.

8. Mookie Betts, OF Boston Red Sox – I have probably pissed off more than enough baseball writers, fantasy fanatics, and Red Sox fans to have Mookie Betts fall further than where he is ranked in all league formats and cheat sheets. There is more to this than numbers and it is more of a team effective reason than a solo blame on Betts. For starters, even Betts admitted that his best season was 2016 and he could never produce numbers like that ever again; however, that harsh truth is even harder to swallow when you become the man in Boston the year after Big Papi leaves. As for the team effort, the entire Red Sox line up hit under .300 struggling to keep up against opponents that was demonstrated on full display after an early exit from the playoffs last season. Now, this season considering that they will be fighting for a Wild Card spot with the division being favored towards the Yankees; the odds are favored against Betts this season. This is a guaranteed pick in the first round, but there will be competitive hitting in Boston’s line up this season. Build your team wisely behind Betts.

9. Carlos Correa, SS Houston Astros – Last year I had two reigning champs in the top picks of the first round, but this one makes a hell of a lot more sense despite my stay-home favoritism. Carlos Correa is another huge bat from the World Series winning Astros that can crush the ball and hit as many home runs as Altuve if not more. Aside from the hiccup of the injury in the second half of the season, Correa went on a tear and put the majority of the competition to shame at the same position, besides rising star Trea Turner. In recent mocks, he is also being taken before other big names at shortstop, like Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, and Manny Machado (who is now playing the position over third base. Another factor that weighs above all mentioned players is that he is the youngest shortstop despite coming into the league the same time as Lindor, Seager, and Turner. If this was a keeper or dynasty building league, this is a safe pick for you to build your team around.

10. Clayton Kershaw, SP Los Angeles Dodgers – Despite all the talent that the Dodgers have, their biggest star still is Clayton Kershaw. There are too many factors to hone in on for Kershaw, so I will try to keep them brief. Kershaw is another player that has the option to walk away from a team after this season if the Dodgers do not win a title, but we all are more than confident he would never leave the team as their ace. After playing in his first World Series, he continues to get closer to his end goal in winning his first title and sealing his destiny of becoming a future Hall of Famer. In most mocks or ten-team leagues, Corey Kluber and Chris Sale are pitchers to go before Kershaw. The difference amongst the three is that Kershaw will most likely be back in the pennant again for the third season in a row, and Kluber’s chances are better than Sale’s. Surprising factor: Kershaw went first overall in my league, let that sink in.

11. Trea Turner, SS Washington Nationals – So that’s a record for most players from one team in the top fantasy picks this season, just goes to show Washington is not screwing around. Carlos Correa will be the dominant shortstop in the AL, and Trea Turner will make himself a household name in the NL. If we pretended that Harper goes to another team this season or the next, we could be looking at the franchise star of the Nats that is not named “Max Scherzer”. Turner has emerged as a star over the past two seasons and his numbers are growing after each season. As a huge contributor to the offense of the Nationals, he will be collecting a great deal of runs and RBIs. Although he is not a big home run hitter, his consistency to remain a .300 hitter is exceptional. Taking him over Correa is not a bad move if you are building quality hitters over power.

12. Corey Kluber, SP Cleveland Indians – This was tough call making the decision between Corey Kluber and Chris Sale, so the only way I can make this case of making Kluber the guy, I’ll go ahead and compare the two. Despite Sale’s lead in strikeouts last season, Kluber held the competition with the lowest ERA in the entire league. Sale had 17 wins, Kluber beat him by one at 18. Despite being neck and neck for the Cy Young of the AL, Sale had a miserable last month of baseball giving the award straight to Kluber. If we consider what will happen this season, Sale has to pitch against a loaded Yankees squad more times than Kluber does; and his only competition are the Minnesota Twins who happen to load up on talent than their run last season. The Indians will most likely win their division this season, and the entire rotation is projected to be one of the best in baseball. Taking Kluber as your first pitcher will make more than a positive impact on your roster.

What do you think about the list? Agree or disagree? Would love to see criticized comments or replies on the matter if I left out any players or players that should not be included on this list. I hope everyone is as excited as I am for Opening Day! I will definitely be loading a great deal of photos from Marlins Stadium to show the first two games between the Marlins hosting the Chicago Cubs in Miami.

Happy drafting anyone, good luck, and cheers!

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drinktouch05-blog · 5 years ago

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MLBits: Mariners Complete Two Big Deals, Roberts Extension, Rizzo v. Hosmer, Portland’s Ballpark, Votto, Bauer, More

Although they might’ve otherwise snuck into a Lukewarm Stove, some official deals need reporting …

The Mets acquisition of Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz is finally complete (that was a long one!). Cano and Diaz will head to New York along with $20M, while Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, Gerson Bautista, Justin Dunn and Jarred Kelenic will head out to Seattle to witness an epic teardown from the inside:

Speaking of the teardown, that’s not the only Mariners deal we need to report. Also official: Seattle will send reliever Juan Nicasio, shortstop Jean Segura, and reliever James Pazos (reported later) to Philadelphia for Carlos Santana and J.P. Crawford. If no money is exchanging hands in this deal, the Mariners will be sending roughly $67.5M worth of commitments to the Phillies while taking on just $36M in return (all back-of-the-napkin calculations), which sure looks like a bit of a salary dump … of a pretty darn good player in Segura. And that’s just not a good look.

Don’t get me wrong: as bad as it is for the sport as a whole, tearing down and tanking is still a good way to win in the future. HOWEVER, a big(ish) market team like the Mariners should NEVER prioritize money over returns. If anything, that should be their biggest advantage (i.e. cover as much money as you can to get the best possible return, i.e. buying prospects). Shame.

Earlier today, we discussed another potential Mariners deal, wherein they’d attach Dee Gordon and/or Kyle Seager to someone like Mitch Haniger – potentially to the Cubs or Cardinals, even.

Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts has agreed to a four-year extension – adding three new years to his current deal – with the Dodgers. And despite the two World Series losses, that feels like a good decision for everyone involved. Just don’t tell Joe Maddon’s son:

I’m not particularly familiar with Tom Shieber, but the investigation he lays out to identify this otherwise never-before-seen image of a baseball game from the early 20th century is downright impressive:

Sunday’s notes at FanGraphs are full with plenty of interesting conversations and tidbits, including the public’s general disgust with Bill Madden’s choice to include Placido Polanco’s name on his Hall of Fame ballot (people love to be “different”). But one little fact I found particularly interesting and surprising was about one of our favorite Chicago Cubs: “Anthony Rizzo is 29 years old, broke into the big leagues in 2011, and has 635 RBIs. Eric Hosmer is 29 years old, broke into the big leagues in 2011, and has 635 RBIs.”

Relatedly, I found these two graphs rather interesting, as well (NOTE: Not for any particular reason, other than just how good and relatively consistent Anthony Rizzo has been over the past several years, even compared to other (historically) good players like Eric Hosmer):

And yet … Anthony Rizzo is probably not the hitter Joey Votto has been throughout his career (and Rizzo has been VERY good):

According to ESPN (further detailed here at FanGraphs): “A group seeking to lure a Major League Baseball team to Portland announced that it has signed an agreement in principle to develop a 45-acre waterfront site.” The deal was announced on Thursday and was revealed alongside artist rendering of a new ballpark. According to FanGraphs, the site could be the destination of one of the long-anticipated expansion teams *or* it could serve as an alternative for a team to move (the Diamondbacks, Mariners, and Angels are/have all recently dealt with stadium disputes). My guess is an expansion team, but either way. If you get a chance check out the renderings at FanGraphs, because the stadium concept and details look really cool.

And finally … this poor guy never stood a chance:

… which is probably why he fell down!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I KNOW. I KNOW. I’LL BE HERE ALL WEEK.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/2018/12/03/mlbits-mariners-complete-two-big-deals-roberts-extension-rizzo-v-hosmer-portlands-ballpark-votto-bauer-more/

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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