12 Thursday Feb 2015
Posted in MLB
Tags
Hey there. Below is a quickish preview and predictions piece for the 2015 MLB season. Instead of doing the breakdown by divisions I decided to split it by league. The rankings of teams are based on overall quality for the 2015 season and how I see each team finishing in the standings if broken out by league.
I also included postseason confidence which is a 1-5 scale with five being a near lock to make the playoffs and one being a team that has virtually no chance of making the playoffs.
30 Friday Mar 2012
Tags
2012, berkman, cardinals, carlos beltran, chris carpenter, freese, furcal, jaime garcia, matt holliday, mlb, motte, preview, rzepczynski, salas, st. louis, wainwright, yadier
One would think after winning the World Series an organization would come into the next season happy, confident, and with some momentum. I’m sure the St. Louis Cardinals organization still has some of that feeling after winning the franchise’s 11th World Series, second most all-time (*), but the offseason didn’t go as the organization or fans hoped. The team lost the “face of the franchise,” Albert Pujols, as he left for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and a ludicrous $240 million contract (**). The loss of Pujols left a mammoth sized hole for the front office to fill. Winning the World Series may feel like a distant memory, however, the Cardinals still have a roster capable of winning a lot of games. Continue reading
29 Thursday Mar 2012
Tags
2012, andrus, beltre, colby lewis, darvish, derek holland, joe nathan, josh hamilton, kinsler, michael young, mlb, moreland, napoli, neftali, nelson cruz, ogando, preview, rangers, texas
The Texas Rangers are currently in the most successful period in the organization’s 50-plus year history. After making three playoff appearances with zero series wins through 2009, the team has won the American League West in consecutive years and gone to the World Series both times before falling to the San Francisco Giants in 2010 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. In 2012, the Rangers return a strong group of players that is more than capable of making another run to the World Series with a chance to win it. At the same time winning the AL West will be tougher than it has been the past two years with an improved Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim team lurking and looking to overtake the Rangers. It will be far from easy, but the Rangers have the talent to claim Major League Baseball’s ultimate prize. Continue reading
29 Thursday Mar 2012
Tags
2012, aramis, axford, braun, brewers, corey hart, gallardo, gamel, greinke, lucroy, marcum, milwaukee, mlb, nyjer, preview, rickie weeks
The Milwaukee Brewers claimed its first division title since 1982 last season; it was only the second playoff appearance in that time period (*). The 2011 season was a great one for the club. Many thought they were primed for a possible World Series championship. Ultimately, the team lost in the National League Championship Series to the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. A season with the highest of hopes was nearly realized. The offseason did not bring what the organization was hoping for as Prince Fielder decided to move on and join the Detroit Tigers. The loss of Fielder hurts for a variety of reasons on-and-off the field but the team still has a decent group of players in a division up for grabs. Continue reading
28 Wednesday Mar 2012
Tags
2012, alex avila, austin jackson, boesch, delmon, detroit, fister, jhonny peralta, miguel cabrera, mlb, porcello, preview, prince fielder, scherzer, tigers, valverde, verlander, victor martinez
The Detroit Tigers semi-unexpectedly won the American League Central division last season. The team then beat the mighty New York Yankees in the first round of the playoffs before being taken out by the Texas Rangers for the AL pennant. 2011 was the organization’s first division title since 1987. In a weak division and with one big impact addition the Tigers are primed to repeat as division champions in 2012. Continue reading
27 Tuesday Mar 2012
Tags
2012, cliff lee, halladay, hamels, jimmy rollins, mlb, papelbon, pence, philadelphia, phillies, polanco, preview, ryan howard, thome, utley, victorino, wiggington, worley
Led by their four all-star caliber starting pitchers and a capable offense, the Philadelphia Phillies posted the best regular season record of any Major League Baseball team in 2011. Unfortunately for Philadelphia regular season success was not realized in the postseason as the team was bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual World Series champions, the St. Louis Cardinals. 2011 marked the fifth consecutive National League East division title for Philadelphia. In 2012 it will be more difficult for the Phillies to continue their stranglehold on the division. Miami and Washington are improved and Atlanta still lurks while Philadelphia is headed closer to the pack due to losses on the roster and age. Continue reading
23 Friday Mar 2012
Tags
2012, arod, brett gardner, cano, granderson, jeter, kuroda, mariano rivera, michael pineda, mlb, new york, preview, russell martin, sabathia, swisher, teixeira, yankees
The New York Yankees, Major League Baseball’s most successful franchise in history, continue to be a top-tier organization. Having a $200+ million payroll, about $40 million larger than the next highest team, certainly helps. But one has to give the Yankees some credit for spending their money well enough to field a team with a chance to win the World Series every year. In the past 17 seasons the Yankees have made the playoffs 16 times, winning the World Series five times. Recent years haven’t been as successful by Yankees’ standards. Since the Boston Red Sox epic comeback against New York in 2004 the team won one World Series (2009), but also missed the playoffs for the only time during that 17-year stretch and was bounced in the first round four out of six trips. Again, these are by Yankees standards, not a normal team. In 2012, the Yankees are positioned once again to make a playoff run. Continue reading
22 Thursday Mar 2012
Tags
2012, arizona, chris young, daniel hudson, dbacks, goldschmidt, ian kennedy, justin upton, kubel, miguel montero, mlb, preview, putz, ryan roberts, stephen drew, trevor cahill
Following consecutive last place finishes in the National League West, the Arizona Diamondbacks came out of nowhere to capture the division in 2011. The D-Backs had a 29 game turnaround with a team that was largely the same from the previous year. This wasn’t the first time the young franchise had done this. In its 14-year history, Arizona has won the division five times (and the World Series once). Four out of the five times the team won the division, it finished third or worse the year before. In 2012, the Diamondbacks will look to build off of an improbable run to the playoffs and repeat as division champions. NL West history tells us this will be tough. In the 17 seasons since re-alignment, only three teams have repeated as champions of the division. Arizona has a good enough team to do it but the competition should be improved from a year ago. Continue reading
21 Wednesday Mar 2012
Tags
2012, bj upton, carlos pena, david price, desmond jennings, farnsworth, hellickson, james shields, longoria, matt moore, mlb, preview, rays, tampa bay, zobrist
The 2011 Tampa Bay Rays went on an improbable run to the playoffs. The team began September 8.5 games out of a playoff spot. The Rays went 17-9 during the final month and, coupled with the Red Sox collapse, were able to pass Boston on the final day of the regular season to secure the AL Wild Card. Tampa Bay was then dispatched by the eventual AL champion Texas Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. The Rays are a young franchise with only 14 years of history. For a relatively recent expansion team with little money to spend in the toughest division in Major League Baseball, the franchise has been more successful than anyone could expect. The team finished in last place in the AL East nine times in its first 10 seasons; in that period the closest the team finished to first place was 18 games back while its average finish was 34 games back of first place. But the franchise turned it around in 2008 finishing in first place and winning the American League pennant. The Rays are one of the most well run organizations in MLB and have made the playoffs three of the past four seasons. In 2012, the team has a good chance to make it four playoff appearances in five seasons. Continue reading
20 Tuesday Mar 2012
Posted in MLB
Tags
2012, adrian gonzalez, andrew bailey, bard, boston, buchholz, carl crawford, david ortiz, ellsbury, jon lester, josh beckett, mlb, pedroia, preview, redsox, youkilis
The Boston Red Sox came into the 2011 season as one of the most hyped Major League Baseball teams in recent history. At the beginning of September last season the team found itself atop the American League East with an 83-53 record, 1/2 game ahead of the New York Yankees, nine games up on the Tampa Bay Rays. Then everything went wrong. The team had a 7-19 record in the month, finished seven games behind in the division and, more importantly, were passed up by the Tampa Bay Rays on the final day of the regular season thus missing out on the playoffs (*). The Red Sox collapse led to change throughout the organization (**). General Manager Theo Epstein left for the Chicago Cubs; Ben Cherington takes over. Manager Terry Francona was let go in favor of Bobby Valentine. The roster had a lot of turnover outside of its core players. Even with all the change in the offseason, Boston still has a strong roster. Continue reading
Wedge Hammer 