Mets Still Struggling in MLB Season 2019

65. Nelson Cruz has had a great power hitting career, in Texas, he was a consistent hitter, hitting .268 and 773 hits, his average home run total in those seasons was 20 homers in 100 games played on average, when he got traded to Baltimore, he played 159 games and hit a major league leading 40 homers, a 100% increase. I don’t know why the Rangers traded him away, he was a good piece, but then Baltimore traded him away. In Seattle, he continued his hot hitting and hit even more homers than the year before but didn’t get the home run crown. Cruz has never had a great glove nor ever ran well but his hitting keeps him from being bad. I think he’s a really good piece for the Twins because that just adds more fire power to the Twins organization who already have great power hitters. He pretty much only goes for XBHs, doubles and homers, this year about 46% of his hits are doubles or triples. I think he should be where he is now.

64. Travis Shaw is that stereotypical utility men, really inconsistent, has power, some speed, his batter’s eye is good, his contact is OK and he could play every single position on the field except center and short. This season is horrible for him, 5 homers, 11 RBIs and 15 runs. Only 26 hits with a .167batting average, his WAR is disgusting for a player on the Brewers, -0.7. Last season was a really nice season for him, 32 dingers, 86 RBIs and 73 runs. His contact sucked, .241 average and his OBP and SLG% are .281 and .290 respectively. Only 46 total bases this season, now that just hurts, I think I have more total bases in 16 games in Little League than he has 46 games. He has 59 Ks, like, that’s really high and he struck out in about 33% of his plate appearances, it’s likes he plays for his opponent every time.  I have no idea what happened this year, he just crashed and burned this year. I think all die-hard baseball fans are cheering against the Al Capone of the NL (The Brewers), so if Travis Shaw turns it up, the NL is done. I think he should go all the way up maybe to the low 70s because he just sucks this year but his past backs him up a lot.

63. Here’s a player that I think shouldn’t even be on this list, Patrick Corbin is worse than a lot of the players behind him, he’s one of the 13 starting pitchers to throw 200 IP, which would be elite company in my book. He threw about 6 innings per start but his ERA last year wasn’t amazing, 3.15 ERA, his stamina is really good because even if he gets beat up, he could still go a few more innings. While playing on one of the most mediocre teams in NL, the Diamondbacks, it’s hard to pitch in the tough NL West while having little to no run support. Now, pitching on the Nationals, who are struggling not to fall into the pit of doom, 5^th place in the NL East. Corbin strikes out a lot of players, already has 94 Ks. He only gave up 75 hits in 85.1 innings. If he brings his run and homer total down, then he will qualify for last in the elite pitcher club in baseball. I think he should go down a few spots because of his run total.

62. Jean Segura was one of the best shortstops in the AL. I really like this guy, he’s exactly like the old type of shortstop, speedy, great glove with pretty much no power, but the good thing is, Segura has the power. His contact is great, his batter’s eye is good and his power isn’t the best but for shortstops, it’s good. He makes a great addition to the Phils. He only strikes out in 11.7% of his plate appearances and he hit an extra base hit in about 37.3% of his hits. He’s not a leadoff hitter, he’s more of a 2 hitter, getting a double or a single. His batting average led all shortstops last year, 11^th this year. His SLG% is in the middle of all shortstops in MLB. He’s never won a Gold Glove because there’s always been Andrelton Simmons and Francisco Lindor in his way. He doesn’t touch the plate a whole lot, only 41 runs this year, but in his whole career he only has one season with more than 100 runs (which was his best season) and he only had 102 runs that season. I think he’s good where he is.

61. Rhys Hoskins is only second to Pete Alonso among first basemen that make huge impacts in the first months of their career. Two years ago he came into the show with a quick 18 dingers in 50 games and having a .618 SLG% and a .259 BA, not great and hitting for average. The next year he exploded helping the struggling Phillies as much he can, 34 homers and 96 RBIs in 153 games. His speed isn’t horrible for a first baseman, 8 SBs in his career, speed never hurt anyone. He doesn’t go for singles, he’s more of an XBH hitter, 44% of his hits are doubles, triples or round-trippers. He’s one of the most modern hitter ever, double, homer or punched out. He’s the four hitter and he’s the only four hitter on the team. His OBP is improving every year and he’s already leading the NL in walks. He has 125 total bases which is isn’t a whole lot but now MLB hitters are getting a lot more than that. I think that he should move up into the high 40s.

The Mets are getting gradually better but still struggling. They’re not as bad as getting swept by the Marlins but not as good as sweeping the Yanks. The Mets are also battling injuries and they’re not playing bad teams, so they’ve been clutching out. I don’t know why Pete Alonso isn’t at least 3^rd on the list of NL first basemen, c’mon, he’s tied for second in the home run total for MLB. The Mets farm system isn’t that bad, their pitching is where they focus on for some reason but Brett Baty is on the MLB Draft Prospect lineup and they got him. They need to focus on more hitting and getting a good, young outfield. Wilson Contreras is definitely going to get the All-Star selection unless someone like Brian McCan or JT Realmuto are going to hit 6 homers every game and get a double cycle every game until the All-Star break. I’m really surprised Wilson Ramos is still getting votes, heh-heh. Josh Bell is the equivalent of Iron Man who just drank two shots of tequila. He’s an absolute god, in his past 30 games, he has 9 homers and 27 RBIs. He also looks like Iron Man. Anthony Rizzo and Max Muncy aren’t doing much this year which is really pathetic because they’re 2 and 4 in the voting. I guess all baseball fans just care about last year, maybe the Ghost of Baseball Past visited them, at this point anything works. I think every team wants Ozzie Albies or some guy like him, a power hitting speed burner who was great hustle and want to get a homer. He himself is like a gallon of Death Wish Coffee (The Most caffeinated coffee ever). Mike Moustakas is new in this category and he’s already killing it, he’s a power hitter with no speed and little to no contact outside of making Bernie Brewer slide down his slide. Now, this one I’m really excited about, NL third basemen, it’s crazy, Arenado has taken a very commanding lead, Kris Bryant and he hasn’t been tearing the cover off the ball lately, he’s not being full Bryant, only 14 homers and 37 RBIs. Arenado has been a little more Arenado with 17 homers and 57 RBIs. In the shortstop category we all know who’s going to win, c’mon, it’s Javier Baez. He’s leading by almost 600,000 votes, then there’s Dansby Swanson who’s put on an offensive show for his team this year, 13 homers (It’s not a lot for Barry Bonds, but it’s a lot for Dansby Swanson). Javy has 17 homer and 46 RBIs with only two SBs, he’s supposed to bring a little more charisma to his team. Cody Bellinger has gotten more votes than Christian Yelich who’s obviously been the better player this year. Bellinger focuses on speed, raw power and nice BA hitting with 22 homers, 7 bags and a baseball leading .358 BA. Yelich focuses on those three also but he adds in nice alley hitting in addition to a crazy good glove.  Harper is not going to get the selection because he’s just not lived up to regular Harper, what the Phillies wanted him to play like or his mega contract, just 11 homers and 46 RBIs. The Braves are going to get quite a few guys in for his All-Star Game, I think four guys, McCann, Swanson, Freeman and Acuna Jr. In the AL, Sanchez is going to get the selection with an AL leading 20 dingers. For first basemen, Luke Voit of the Yankees is in a heavily contested first, the next two guys, Jose Abreu and CJ Cron are within 107K of the lead. I want Cron to get the selection because he’s just been so good lately. AL second basemen is a completely rigged race, Jose Altuve will come out on top but in the last ballot update, Tommy La Stella of the Angels, this time, I know the Ghost of Cannabis came to visit all 487K baseball fans that voted for La Stella. Alex Bregman is the obvious favorite in this year’s third baseman race, he’s just too much for any third baseman in the AL. The shortstop race is gonna come down to a photo finish, Jorge Polanco is gonna make it one way or another but the rest of these guys are shaky, like Carlos Correa and Gleyber Torres are going to have to fight it out, don’t sleep on Tim Anderson either. It’s gonna be crazy. Mike Trout is obviously the best player in the AL, so, he’s going to make it. George Springer is 2^nd on the list but all he has is a nice bat with no running speed and pretty much no great glove or arm. Austin Meadows is showing himself in the big leagues, exploding with base hits and an occasional XBH. In other news, Shohei Ohtani is the first Japanese born player to hit for the cycle. Zack Greinke almost had a no-no in his back pocket and then in the seventh inning he gives up a single to Trea Turner. While Wilson Ramos was waiting on deck in the fourth inning against the Cardinals, what an ingenious idea by his wife Yely.  Brodie Van Waganen is flirting with the idea of trading Noah Syndergaard, I mean, he’s hasn’t been at his best this year, but I’m on the fence with this idea, it depends for who they get him, but, they can’t get a few trash minor leaguers, they need a decent to MVP quality player for him.

It’s only a Shallow Ditch

Mets fans are again suffering abandonment as the Amazins are losing more than winning and have dropped out of second place in their division. But have no fear, I think it’s not a slump but rather a shallow ditch. They’ll be back. But first …

70. Gleyber Torres gave the AL a shock last season when he came mid-season and put on a clinic with 24 homers and 77 RBIs in 123 games. He’s not exactly a speed burner on the base paths, with only 6 steals. He got the All-Star appearance but not Rookie of the Year. He had 42 walks, 207 total bases with 122 SOs. He managed to get 14 homers in 54 games this year, 31 RBIs, 3 SBs and 13 walks. He made a huge improvement in his power, his speed and his base hits. He has 60 hits, so that’s more than a hit a game; he has 16 doubles last year and 12 doubles already this year. He has a .545 SLG, .329 OBP and a .287 batting average. He’s showing improvement at shortstop for the Yanks, but they have Didi Gregorius there, now that Didi’s injured, he’s playing short but usually he’s playing second base. I think he should be around 50 because of his offensive explosion in his first season.

69. Marcell Ozuna was on the Marlins for a long time and he was playing really well there, especially in his last season, 37 homers, 124 RBIs, 93 runs and a .312 batting average. Then he got traded to the Cardinals. He’s still a big piece for the up-and-coming St. Louis team. He’s a great five-tool player, a key for any team that gets him. In Miami, he was improving every year, but in St. Louis, he just went all the way down. He’s better this year, hitting homers and getting on base, his strikeouts are low, he has as many hits as strikeouts, which is really ugly and his average isn’t good. He’s only a left fielder now, no more switching around the outfield. He’s the definition of a stereotypical left fielder, big and bulky, doesn’t run but hits bombs. I think he is perfect where he is.

68. Josh Donaldson is not good anymore. He was good, a power hitter, in six years, 173 homers. He was supposed to be something like a David Wright in his prime except slower. Again, he was good, he scored 122 runs, he got 123 RBIs, he hit 41 homers he won MVP. He was always a good fielder but right now, at 33, I think he should only pinch hit or if Brian Snitker is really feeling kind, he’ll let him play left, but that’s where Acuna is so I think Josh should be a pinch hitter because Austin Riley is tearing it up in the field and at the plate. He strikes out a lot and his OBP isn’t that good, he’s just too old, all good things have to come to an end. He was the cornerstone of the Blue Jays for a long time, everyone was afraid of him but now he’s just a guy that is just there. I think he should be moved back into the high 80s, low 90s.

67. Starling Marte probably had the peak of his career last year, 20 homers, 72 RBIs, 81 runs and 33 SBs. A .277/.327/.460 slash line, that’s pretty nice. He looks not that fast of a guy, but then the Pirates play you and he steals one or two bags and absolutely rakes. His eye is good, he’s a good fielder, I think that last year was the peak because he only has 9 stolen bases this year and a .307 OBP isn’t showing the Starling Marte we know. 36.5% of his hits are extra base hits, the only reason that is like it is because he only has 52 hits and 19 extra base hits. He struck out in 18.8% of his plate appearances, if you think about it, that’s good. His WAR isn’t good this year, but that’s not like other teams where they five or six outfielders, no, the Pirates have four!! They need to have him there even if he’s not performing because it’s either him or inexperienced outfielder Bryan Reynolds, who’s not playing well. I think he should go up to the mid-50s.

66. Mitch Haniger is one of those raw power guys that really help the struggling Mariners to get some quick runs. He’s not a fielder, he’s sort of a runner and he loves hitting. Last season he had 13 homers, he’s on pace for more homers this season than last. 38 doubles last year, 93 RBIs, 68 XBHs and 294 XBHs, he’s a hitter. He has a good eye, walking 70 times last year and 27 walks this year. After getting off to an amazing start in the beginning of the year, the Mariners have sank all the way down to the bottom of the AL West, from beginning 13-2, they’re now at 25-35, in 10 of the 12 wins that they’ve had since the 13-2 start, Mitch Haniger has gotten a run or an RBI, that’s a nice fact Haniger can brag and a fact you can use in your small talk with friends. I think he’s should go up to the high 50s.

The Mets have a hit a what I believe is a shallow ditch, losing a lot of games, but then coming back and winning a few. Let me say that Edwin Diaz needs to be more consistent, he’s lights out and then he gives up five runs. A closer shouldn’t have a 1-3 record, that’s just un-aesthetic. Pete Alonso tied the rookie home run total for June with 19, sharing the post with Mark McGwire. He’s on pace for 57 homers, which would be more than Aaron Judge, which would break the rookie homer record. I love Brodie Van Waganen because he’s not afraid to make moves and be aggressive in getting players and DFAing players and everything in between.

It’s crazy that a team hasn’t signed Craig Kimbrel or Dallas Keuchel. The Mets could use Dallas and there are so many teams that could sign Kimbrel because they need bullpen depth and a solid closer. Vlad Guerro Jr. is tearing it up in the bigs, (not as much as Alonso, but for someone who’s 20, that’s good) he has six homers, 27 hits and 11 XBHs. Carl Yastrzemski’s grandson, Mike, really defended this grandfather’s name yesterday, a triple and then a homer. Trevor Story had a huge night 5/31. Three hits, two homers, four runs and seven RBIs, so that means that he contributed 85% of the team’s runs yesterday, big game for him. One of the strangest things happened yesterday in college baseball (yes, I watch the students play ball when there are no MLB games on TV): Adley Rutschman got intentionally walked with the bases loaded as the Oregon State University Beavers were losing 5-2. It walked in a run to make it 5-3. If you don’t know, Adley is the best pure hitter in the MLB Draft. Barry Bonds was also walked May 28, 1998, and about 21 years later Rutchsman was walked with the bases loaded. The MLB draft is happening June 3, so you guys gotta watch the new pack of young, great players get drafted. The All Star Game is also creeping up on us, July 9, and you can already vote for All-Stars on mlb.com.

Are Human Umps Headed to Their 3^rd Strike?

“BALL OOONNNNNEEE,” that’s the sound of a baseball umpire calling a ball on a pitch that was on the outside corner.

The hitter thanked God, the pitcher is steaming red and the catcher is cursing his head off. This could also happen vice versa.

How can baseball reduce bad calls? Is it necessary or do boisterous arguments among umpires, ballplayers and managers add to the “charm” of the game? Does the answer lie in better training for “blues” or in nonhuman devices like robotic umpires?

The most visually challenged ump in the history of baseball is probably Angel Hernandez. He’s missed call after call after call and he’s just one of the umps that glasses won’t help.

I personally had this experience when I was catching a few weeks ago in Little League and our pitcher threw a 0-2 curve. The hitter was completely fooled and I knew it was coming. The ball bounced 2 inches to the right of home (catcher’s view) and I immediately knew it was drop 3rd strike and I quickly got up and picked up the ball and tagged the batter, TWICE!!

The ump didn’t say anything. I was confused so I looked behind me and he said, “No tag.”

So, our furious coach came out and started arguing with the ump, and I also joined the fray. No one realized the play was over until our third baseman yelled that he’s rounding second. Everyone saw that I tagged him, even the other team admitted that I tagged him.

Another instance in Little League (not the majors, Little League). I was on first and our hitter hit the ball to right field and the kid tried to make it look like he was Willie Mays and slid for the ball. Well, it worked for about a half a second. He caught the ball, and then he dropped it. The ump made no call and I was running to second thinking he didn’t catch it. Turns out, he caught it but the ump pretty much whispered “Out.” Then, I was caught in a rundown and was tagged out. Our team’s runner on third was also tagged out, a triple play.

Another piece of evidence for your consideration is that Boston University analyzed 4 million pitches and found out that MLB umpires made incorrect calls 20% of the time in 2018. Keep in mind that one-fifth could be the difference between getting into the playoffs or not.

When the batters had two strikes in the count, the percentage increased to 29%. (Credit: mlbmemes/ig).

I think that robotic umps will never make a bad call again; ejections will go down maybe 80% and the right teams will make it to the postseason. If the leagues and owners don’t want to do all of those things listed above, then using precise technology like Hawk Eye vision or camera’s at eye level to the catcher’s mit, may help reduce bad calls.

I must say, though, it is kind of fun watching Bryce Harper and other players screaming at umps and then getting ejected which add to the charisma of baseball, but, I am all for robotic umps. 

After Month-and-a-half, Mets Need Turnaround

But first to me player analysis …

75. Flame throwing Josh Hader is up next. Throw him in there in the eighth and he will get a six-out save. His arsenal of pitches is lethal to the hitters because he could twirl a curve that would look outside and then turn in, then throw a cutting slider for a strike, and then throw his unique fastball to finish off the batter. He hasn’t pitched like the Josh Hader in his prime with 2 losses with a 2.95 ERA with 6 walks in 18.1 innings and 4 hit by pitches. He has more than a strikeout per inning and gives up less than a hit an inning. He gave up 6 runs this year in addition to his control makes him a godsend for the Brewers with an okay bullpen. He strikes out about 60% of his batters faced and retires 79% of them. I don’t see any room for improvement for him and the Brewers should just let him grow. I think he should be in the mid to high 60s.

74. Chris Taylor. From being a bench warmer (no, that’s not the correct word, more like, bench burner) in Seattle to being a cornerstone of the Dodgers franchise (the Dodgers are like a Rectangular Prism, with 8 corners.) He posted a 17-homer season last year with 63 RBI and 85 runs. He’s definitely improving every single year. He needs to work on just making contact with the ball for hits. His .254 batting average is definitely not what I expected of him. He is a flexible guy that could play center, second, short, but he made most of his appearances as second and left this year with Corey Seager back from injury. He also needs to work on his batting eye, with 55 walks last year, ranking him tied for 68^th in the season. He’s always been fast, with 37 steals in his career, I think that he could exceed 17 steals (his season/career high) this year. I think that he should be in the low 50s.

73. Mike Clevinger is next but he’s not going to have a great year because he’s on the 60-day DL. He’s just not such a great pitcher. Last year he went 200 innings, amazing, only 13 pitchers did that, all of them not what you think of when someone says “elite pitchers.” His run totals are pretty high, 71 in all. He gave up 21 homers last year, which is a lot you might think, but last year, that’s actually tied for 54^th, crazy right? He gave up 164 hits last year with 67 walks. The Indians rotation is good and Mike is really a dark horse. He cruises through innings easily, averaging more than a strikeout per inning. His ERA is above 3, he retires around 80% of his batters faced, when you crunch numbers, you find stuff. I think he should be right where he is.

72. Now it’s Walker Beuhler turn. He’s 4-0 with a pretty high ERA, but let’s really get into his stats. He’s given up 21 runs in about 36 innings. He struck out 32 guys, not a big power pitcher. He strikes out only 22% of his batters faced. He likes to go around and get pop ups and grounders more. About 72% of the guys he faces, he retires. He’s given up only 4 homers and allowed 31 hits. Beuhler really proved himself in the playoffs last year where he emerged as a really good pitcher. In 23.2 innings, he struck out 29, he only gave up 16 hits and gave up only 10 runs, working mostly out of the bullpen. In the World Series, he started one game and pitched 7 solid innings giving up only two hits and striking out 7. He got the no decision and the Dodgers won their only game of the World Series. I think he should be in the 40s.

71. Up next is Brandon Nimmo. I think he’s a five-tool player, he just needs to expand on that and grow. His breakout year was last year, with 17 homers, his RBIs weren’t that great with 47 and 77 runs. He hit 8 triples and stole 9 bases. He walked 80 times with a .404 OBP and got beaned 22 times in 140 games. He hit 53 extra base hits and about 46% of his hits were extra base hits. He led off for the Mets 65 times last year, you could call him the leadoff hitter for the Amazins. He’s off to not-the-best start but I think he has potential this year. His fielding is amazing, he has four errors in his whole career. He makes great catches almost every night. I think he should be in the high 40s, low 50s.

The Mets need to pick it up, lost 5 of their 6, which is not that good. Jed Lowrie will stay in Syracuse for the weekend and then come back Monday. We’re playing the Marlins, a pretty easy opponent, so maybe here the Mets can start a winning rally. Albert Pujols made history and in some amount of style. He bombed a solo shot for his 2,000^th RBI, now, I want to do that. Jackie Bradely Jr. made a beautiful catch literally robbing Trey Mancini of a homer, not the first one he’s caught like that. Francisco Lindor is not off to a Francisco-Lindor-type of start to the season, only four homers, 7 RBIs and 9 runs. He’s stole 2 bags and only 4 extra base hits, rough start for him. Shohei Ohtani is back and he got his first hit and RBI of 2019 against the Tigers. Christian Yelich drank some sort of power drink when he went from Miami to Milwaukee (or maybe it was some good beer). He is raking it in Milwaukee, with winning MVP last season and hitting 16 homers this year with 37 RBIs. The Red Sox are coming out of the dumpster to being third place in the AL East at .500. Something really crazy happened, The St. Louis Cardinals scored 17 against the Pirates, usually, a team who scored 17 runs would’ve hit a home run, but no, they didn’t. Marcell Ozuna, who went 1-4, got 4 RBIs and 2 runs, somehow. Now, one of the most exciting times for baseball fans in the baseball season, the MLB Draft, June 3 to June 5, it’s gonna be lit. The Yankees somehow have the 4^th best record in the AL, some players are coming back, no more Wal-Mart baggers, but no one really good, but JA Happ allowed only 1 hit in 5 innings, what a pickup for the Yankees.

Have the Amazins Crashed?

But first: 80. Jameson Taillon is the first player for this week who I remember very distinctly because his debut was against the Mets. He pitched 6 times for the about .500 with the Pirates who are really struggling with offense. He’s given up a lot of runs in relation to his IP. Imagine only walking 6 guys in 31 innings, that’s crazy, Taillon has precision control. He just needs to throw the junk (or the speed) away to allow fewer hits and pitches right over the plate that lead to huge hits. Overall, I don’t see why Taillon can’t get an All-Star selection. I think maybe he’s high 60s on the list.

79. J.A. Happ is a veteran pitcher who pitching like he’s 27. In all of his pitches he feels confident as he should, all of them are really good. Hap doesn’t really go deep into games, he’s struck out 24 this year and he’s 36 years old, now that’s old. He gives up about a hit an inning, but his control is amazing, no wild pitches yet, only 8 walks, WOW. He relies on the strikeout to get about 17% of his batters retired and he retires about 70% of batters, I’m telling you, he’s good. With a few other pitchers in the AL, he’s another one that’s just consistent every time out there.  I think he should be in the low 60s.

78. Part of the Yankees, Aaron Hicks, who is a good, consistent extra-base hitter with speed and some pop. He is an amazing outfielder, except he has never won a Gold Glove, there’s always someone better, like Trout or Jackie Bradley Jr. He had a breakout season last year, with 27 homers, but not many RBIs for someone who has 27 homers, 79. His batting average isn’t good, his OBP and SLG isn’t really up to snuff. He had 224 total bases last year, above average for a player on the Yanks, fourth on his team. I would say he’s about in the top 7 on the Yanks for everything, he’s a crucial player for the Yanks to function, some might say Judge or Stanton or Gregarious, but no, it’s Hicks. I think he should be somewhere in the mid-60s or low 70s.

77. Here is a feel good, comeback story. Michael Brantley, a good contact hitter who was injured for a while but then came back and made a feel good story come true. To go along with that contact stuff, in a season where he played 100-plus games, his average has never been below .266, which, if you think about that, that’s good. The Astros signed him in the offseason realizing he’s a smart player and will lead your squad to success because he’s still got some gas in him (to play) and he will lead the young players to be better with charisma and tips. He has a .314 average with 33 hits and 5 homers. One third of his hits are extra base hits and that just proves that he’s in love with singles. I think he should stay where he is if not move up 10 spots on this list because he’s a dark horse in the AL and his talent is smothered by the rest of the amazing and talented ‘Stros.

76. Now here is a very dark horse to be this far down the list, very, very dark. Jack Flaherty didn’t seem no. 76 material, but then, after I did my research, the info reinforced my point. He allows a lot of homers, a lot of hits (more than a hit an inning), and faced 105 batters in only 24 innings. A 5.25 ERA. All of these factors don’t add up to being #76. One thing that I can dig up is that he strikes out a bunch of guys, about 30.5% of the hitters he faces. Only 1/3 of the guys he faces get on, anyway, those are two stats. He needs to work on his control and his precision accuracy not to put the ball right in the sweet spot for hitters. He’s dipped his feet into the water now he needs to put his head down and pitch the god!@#$ ball. He pitched a nice game last night, 7 IP, 4 H, 4 Ks, I mean, that’s a good outing. I think he should be in the high 80s, low 90s.

Ok, the Mets have officially burned out, they lasted about 20 games this year -- they lasted about 10 last year, they burned out. Pete Alonso is literally carrying the ball club now. 5-1 bottom 7d against the Brewers, Pete Alonso hits a three run dinger to put them within one. Then, top eight Jeurys Familia forgot how to play baseball. The ball was literally going foul, so, he picks it up and throws it to first, right when Yelich is about to step on the bag, run comes home and the Mets are within two, another run scores later in the inning, within three. The Mets never stopped fighting and bore down and scored a run, the game would’ve gone into extras if Familia hadn’t choked really badly. But, the Mets won today (4/28), OK, maybe we’re coming back.

Congrats to Albert Pujols on becoming 3^rd on the All-Time List of RBIs, passing the drug addict, but slugger Barry Bonds. Chris Sale is just horrible, making a French waiter just off the boat from France better than him (who knows nothing about baseball). The whole Red Sox organization is horrible, Mitch Moreland is leading the team in homers (7), but then he has only 18 hits, but then the hits leader, JD Martinez, who has 33 hits, has only 4 homers. Then five guys have either 14 or 13 RBIs. JD Martinez has 51 total bases, the leader of the Yankees piecemeal lineup which I will get to later, Luke Voit has 51 total bases. Then they only have five guys with over 40 total bases, then the sixth is 31. The consistency of this team is horrifying. The pitching staff has 109 SOs, only 109, Chris Sale is a 7 time All-Star, who has weirdly never one a Cy Young, this year he most certainly won’t win one now because he’s 0-5, he’s given up 19 runs in 23 innings, striking out 24. The lefty gave up 28 hits and surprisingly only 6 homers. Lucky for them, the Red Sox have a cushion under them, the cellar-dwelling Baltimore Orioles, who are just about saving them from going all the way down to last place. Cody Bellinger is a god, he’s leading or tied for first in homers, RBIs, runs and BA, hits, OBP, SLG and OPS. That is mind blowing, how can any hitter be that good? Brodie Van Waganen has decided to do some spring cleaning, oh yeah, designating Travis D’Arnaud for assignment, oh yeah, good move, Brodie. Now, Brodie has to get a good pitcher in Dallas Keuchel and Ervin Santana and his work is done until the Trade Deadline. The Yankees are 9-1 in their last 10 with a lineup in which I only know 3 guys, that’s insane. Well, a valid excuse is that they’re really only playing the bottom half of the AL, no one really good. 

Alonzo of The Mets knocks ‘em out of the parks

But first the sportswriters’ analyses.

85. Um, I think the SI writers were doing this at 3:36 AM on Monday already Tuesday. Khris Davis, 85????? Ok, fine, he’s batting .247 for five straight seasons, not exactly Ty Cobb but Ty Cobb didn’t hit 40 something homers a year, Davis does. When I think AL power, I think Davis or Judge, this season, Khris is leading the AL in homers, tied with Yelich. Ok, he’s not exactly a five-tool player so I can see where he’s coming from but he has crazy good power. He’s a clutch guy, he drives in runs one way or another. I can definitely see where SI is coming from now but I always love power. He’s only 30 and his power isn’t going down. He’s not 85, but I would put him at about mid-to-high 50s.

84. I can’t stress this enough, Dallas Keuchel has to be signed by the Mets. The Mets are struggling in their rotation currently and Keuchel will definitely smack them into shape. A veteran who will guide the young-guns and the ones who are struggling. He’s getting a little old but his reputation is still really good but I don’t know how he’s still a free agent. His command is still elite with only 343 walks in his whole career, he’s only beaned 21 guys in his whole career. He’s frikin 65 Ks from 1,000 srikeouts, I think he’s still able to compete at a great level and pitch in the NL for the first time since the Astros moved to the AL in 2012. I think he has more value than he is given credit for, amazing pitcher, he should be around high 40s.

83. Even at Buster Posey’s age, he’s still overrated, let me give you an over view. He had a good arm, he was a good hitter for OBP and batting average, he was a good power hitter, he never had speed. The Giants are looking to make a push for fourth place in the NL West or even (this is a long shot) third place, I know, high hopes for the Giants. He could play catcher or first base, he’s a smart player, a thinking baseball player and I can’t say that for everyone. He’s a veteran who will make way for young guys and will guide them to play at their best and mentor them to assess their weaknesses and strengths. He doesn’t have a homer yet this year and only 13 hits this year. I think his career, sadly, is almost over and baseball will lose a veteran.

82. Robby Cano, a Met who, at 36, can still hit like he’s in the prime of his career. Cano is just straight amazing, the Brodie Van Waganen somehow stole him with Edwin Diaz. I actually love Robinson Cano, everyone knows what he could do (hit XBHs and dingers) and he proved himself already in New York, so New Yorkers know him, that will boost his ego and his fanbase. But what Cano is known for is the sneaky good OBP and knack for getting on with singles, really nice, no one notices it but the stat line shows it. He could drive in runs as well as Bryce Harper, and I can’t stress this enough he has the ability to put the ball on the bat a lot, one way or another. He’s old for a second baseman so pulling him over to the NL wasn’t a good choice for him because he can’t play second, he’s not a good fielder anymore, I mean, he can still field the routine grounders but no more Gold Gloves. I love this guy, big part of the Mets and I think he can rap out a few more years in his career, I mean, Julio Franco was a middle infielder and he played until he was 48. Editor’s note: Julio played first and DH when he was in his 40s but was known as a middle infielder.

81. Elite closer Craig Kimbrel is next on this list and I am astonished that no one signed him yet, some teams’ bullpens are so bad, I think right fielders in a Tee-Ball Little League circuit could pitch better. He has lights out stuff that is just straight up cold, his fastball blazes past hitters and the rest of his pitches dance past the hitters and they will never see those pitches again. He has a career 1.91 ERA in nine years, not many pitchers, let alone closers who can brag that they have that stat. His walks are high for closers but for pitchers who throw so hard, it’s hard to have good control. He only goes out there for about one inning a game so you could pitch him for 5 or 6 days and then rest him for a day or two. He is really good and because he’s a free agent they put him so far back, no, that doesn’t matter, he should be somewhere like low 40s on account of being a good closer.

From the ballpark. The Mets’ Peter Alonso is going to win Rookie of the Year hands down, but it will be a tight race with Fernando Tatis Jr. But Alonso will win Rookie of the Year. Eight homers already, crazy, leading rookies in baseball this season and tied for sixth in the MLB this season, Alonso is a huge, lumbering man, 6’ 3’’ 245 lbs., he has 30.6 body fat which just adds more leverage and power to his swing. He doesn’t have much speed, but putting the fat part of the bat on the ball and driving that poor ball far is his specialty. Mets rookies are really good this year, Jeff McNeil, uh, he’s really good, fourth best BA in MLB, fastest to reach 100 hits as a Mets rookie, producing power and speed at the bottom of the lineup, exactly what the Mets need.

Just because I feel like it, here are my early season predictions:

AL MVP: Mike Trout, I mean, it’s pretty much routine now, Mike is the best player in baseball and he’s the perfect combination of speed, hitting and fielding. I don’t think Mookie Betts will repeat because he’s just underperforming thus far in the season, 4 homers, 8 RBI and 1 SB, knock knock, is anyone at home?

AL Cy Young: Really, all eyes are pointing towards Gerrit Cole, insane SO guy, one of the few guys now that are consistent in all their starts. Amazing control, could go deep into games and gives up less than a hit per inning and here’s the kicker, he’s only 28. I don’t think Blake Snell will win again because he only won last time because my dead grandmother could pitch better than the rest of the AL pitchers. His control was always good but the consistency needs to be better.

AL Rookie of the Year: I think I have to go with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. because his bulky size and crazy power that comes out of will surely power him through the Rookie of the Year competition.

NL MVP: I think it’s time for Nolan Arenado to win MVP, it’s definitely his year, first it was Bryce Harper, then Stanton, then Kris Bryant and Yelich, it’s his time. He definitely isn’t looking like it this year, but about getting a hit in about ¼ of his abs. Of course he’s a Gold Glover, could field anything hit at him and could probably nab someone from the second deck of Citi Field at third base, that’s how good his arm is. Only 8 Ks this year, OK, now that’s good. I don’t think Yelich will win again because even though he on pace for about 95 homers this year. Yelich will eventually choke in the middle of the season and homers don’t decide the whole thing, it’s a mixture of everything. Yelich is young, he will have a lot more chances to win and he probably will. I don’t know why so many people are saying Paul Goldshmidt, he is good but all he could do is hit for base knocks and homers, that’s it.

NL Cy Young: It’s not going to DeGrom, it’s not going to Nola, I think it might be going to Scherzer, routine, again, this year is kind of a routine year. Scherzer is leading MLB in Ks, Ks aren’t everything but he’s performed really well, his pitches are devastating. It’s not DeGrom because even though his first two starts were stellar, his last two were not, he’s also on the IL, not that that matters but I just wanted to throw that out there. Nola isn’t going to win, he’s 2-0 with a 6.84 ERA and he’s already allowed 30 hits and 20 runs in just 5 starts, 37% of his batters faced got on base, which seems like a little, but it’s a lot.

NL Rookie of the Year: Pete Alonso, scroll up for my reasons.

I gotta say, poor Yankees for so many injuries, 13 players on the IL, the newest one, slugger Aaron Judge, not a slugging season for him this year with only 5 homers and 21 hits, one third of those hits were XBHs. The Mets have officially burned out, they started off strong but now they’re 11-10, almost 500, not good. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. might be called up soon as the Blue Jays really need a big bat as they’re struggling in their division. A tale of two sluggers, in the bottom of the 8^th, Christian Yelich would’ve hit his 14^th homer of the year and that would’ve eventually tied up the game later in the 9^th, but no, Bellinger steals the homer from over the fence and then hits one of his own to put the Dodgers up 6-5, real nice.

See you next week.

Moving right along with the countdown

90. Next guy up is Carlos Martinez, who still hasn’t made his first start of the season because of a right shoulder cuff strain. Throughout his career, Carlos has loved pitching deep in games, about 700 innings pitched in the past four seasons. He’s started 110 throughout those four seasons, so, that’s like 6.1, 6.2 innings a game, now that’s good. His accuracy is OK, though could be better, 264 walks in those four main seasons of his career and only 30 wild pitches. That number is that low because of 9-time Gold Glover Yadier Molina behind the plate. I know what you’re thinking, catchers deal with passed balls but without Yadi behind the plate, that number would be 50. He only allowed 60 homers. OK, just register that for a few seconds, 60 homers in four seasons. That’s Cy Young quality stats that I just showed you, but the crazy thing about it is that he hasn’t even been in the conversation. Just two All Star appearances, even without the awards, those stats deserve to be higher up on the list. Maybe low 50s, what was SI thinking?

89. Scooter Gennett is the first man in the 80s. He’s also injured with a “severe right groin strain and will miss 8-12 weeks of action.” (quoted from Baseball Reference) His average is pushing .290 for his career, .310 last year. This guy is a really valuable player for the Reds as they’re trying to emerge from the basement. He is a five-tool player without the speed, so, a four tool player. He’s a power hitter with 20 homers or more in each of his last two seasons. More than 200 total bases in each of his last three seasons. Even with the limited action for “8-12” weeks, if he hits 20 homers or more this season, this guy is the best pure hitter on the Reds. 2018 was really his breakout year – no injuries, for the first time in his career, more hits than games played and if you really look into the stats, first or second most everything in his career. He is a mixture of everything and he is really underrated and he is should be higher up on the list, maybe high-40s.

88. Blake Treinen is the next player on this list and this elite reliever has posted a 0.87 ERA (He’s not qualified for the leaders of the ERA, but if he would be qualified, he would be second). He has broken through the ice of being a rookie in a hitting league and struck out 100, career high, last year. He faced 41 batters this year and only 7 of them got on base, 14 of 41 he struck out. He only allowed one run to score on him. He is an elite reliever who can close out games. He has five saves already, that’s half of the wins.  Bob Melvin trusts him to shut out a game, he knows even if he allows a run, the A’s dynamic offense will come back. His fastball is topping out at about 98 mph, which is the speed of a Little League pitcher compared with the new heat the closers are coming out with. I think he should be 99 or 100 or not even on this list.

87. Rockies “ace” Kyle Freeland is coming up next. He’s started four times this year already and pitched 21.2 innings and allowed 21 hits, consistent, if I do say so myself. He struck out 23 hitters this year, so everything is around consistent for the season so far. That’s why I put the quotation marks around ace because he’s not Sandy Koufax but he’s not a mop-up man in the back of the bullpen. He’s the best the Rockies have. He’s allowing about 4-2/3 batters per inning. He has a 5.40 ERA in his five starts; he’s given up 14 runs. Kyle Freeland right now is the best that the Rockies have, they need run support to bear down and power through as their record right now is 3-12, oof. He’s probably mid-90s in my book.

86. Elite closer Edwin Diaz follows. Alright fellas, the first Met player of the year. Let me just start of by saying, were the writers doing something when they were writing this but 57 saves doesn’t go to 86^th best, maybe 30^th or so best. 91 saves in 2017 and 2018 and in those two seasons, 139.1 innings pitched and 85 hits allowed and a 2.58 ERA and 213 Ks with a 13.8 K/9, with those stats, he’s maybe mid-20s. The scary thing is he’s only 25, so then he has a lot of potential and could be the best closer in baseball for many years to come. But man, what were they thinking.

From today’s ballparks – I want to start off saying Fernando Tatis Jr. is an actual stud, hitting for power, 4 homers already, same as Bryce Harper, average .250, speed, he hasn’t shown it yet but the stat lines from the minors do say it, fielding, flew maybe 6 or 7 feet just to catch a line drive and has an arm like every great shortstop should have. Hats off to German Marquez, a complete game and allowed only one hit and rung up nine guys. He had a no-hit bid through 7.1 innings, still no-one has a no-hitter this year. The second Mexico Series happened between the Cardinals and Reds, the last game was today and the series was tied at 1-1. Tim Anderson hit a Grand Slam against the struggling Yanks and they won today. CC Sabathia went five innings, allowed one hit and struck out three, which proves that the big old man can still do it. The Phils went all the way to 14 innings with Miami and then Jean Segura blasts a two-run bomb to send the Phils home happy, I gotta say, the Phillies are putting up a fight for first in the NL East, but the Phils did have a nice offseason and got nice players but on the other hand, so did the Mets. CHRIS DAVIS FINALLY GETS A HIT AND HAS A GOOD DAY, FINALLY!!! He went 3-5 with four RBIs, now, don’t boost your ego too much Chris, take it easy, don’t hurt yourself. Cody Bellinger is on an absolute tear, he is insane, leading the MLB in runs, second in homers, same with Jose Altuve, homer in five games straight, the Astros and the Dodgers really got a run for their money with these two. Ronald Acuna Jr., since Monday has three homers, 9 RBIs and 7 runs, Acuna is really good when it comes to hitting the baseball, he’s got a lot of better years coming up. The Yankees are still without have their lineup and now have signed two new players, the local bartender and that guy that runs the convenience store on the corner, yeesh, injuries really hit them hard.

If you have time, I invite you to follow @yulavhus on Instagram. 

Two Weeks after Opening Day

We’re through two weeks of baseball, and we’re definitely hyped for the rest of the 2019 MLB season.

95. Next on my list is the young stud pitcher Jose Berrios. He really only blossomed last year, pitching in 32 games, posting an ERA to forget, 3.84. He had a record better than the NL Cy Young winner, 12-11. He pitched about 192 innings and because so much pitching he gave up 25 homers and 159 hits, the hits were low, allowing less and he allowed about .83 hits per inning, which is good for a pitcher who just got the starting role. His walks numbers were a little high, averaging 2.9 BB/9. Not the best but hey, this kid’s got a promising career ahead of him.

94. David Price – a pitcher who was drafted in the first round for the Rays lived up to his drafting. Since about 2017, his value has went down, he hasn’t performed in the best way. He is 33, not too old but in the years that he’s been in the Cy Young discussion, he’s been voted at least top 6. Maybe what’s holding him back from being a good pitcher is his injury in 2017 that sidelined him for almost the whole season. His ERA has gone up a lot and he’s giving up a lot of runs. He was always insane at not giving up homers, over his career, he allowed 0.9 HR/9. I don’t know why he can’t have a good season, he has the stuff, he’s definitely got the run support, this could be a comeback season.

93. Miles Mikolas is an overall good pitcher. He had a great season last year but that doesn’t mean anything. He needs to be consistent, like Jacob DeGrom. He won Cy Young and followed up with 24 Ks in 2 starts. Miles, was voted sixth in NL Cy Young voting and was 18-4, most wins in the NL. He had a 2.83 ERA, not the best, but OK. He pitched 200 innings and gave up 186 hits, a lot for both categories. He led the NL in hits allowed. Before he went to Japan, he was throwing all over the place and was a mop-up man in the back of the bullpen. Then, he went to Japan for four years and they gave him a special potion or something and he is on point. This year he pitched 10 innings and has a 7.20 ERA and given up 12 hits. He will have a great career only if he is consistent.

92. This guy who I’m about to size up is an absolute beast when he steps up to the box. Jesus Aguilar is a slugger who just goes up to the box going double, homer or K. That’s literally him. He’s one of the best at what he does. His BA was never really high, a .274 last season, maybe trying to build himself into a more versatile player. He hit 35 homers last year and drove in 108. Probably the best XBH/power hitter on his team, not the best hitter though, that’s Yelich. He had 265 TBH, he doesn’t draw a truck load of walks so that just proves how insane he is at swinging the bat. His slugging percentage will only go up as this will be his breakout year, mark my words. I think he should maybe 40 spots higher on this list.

91. German Marquez was signed with high hopes by the Rockies. The Rockies need a solid ace and Marquez tried to fill that role but he hasn’t really. He struck out 230 batters, obviously a career high. For some reason, every pitcher I’ve written about has had trouble with control. Marquez had 57 walks and beaned 8 guys. His stamina is a weak spot, he should be able to go more innings and no complete games in his career. He has gotten better from 2017 to 2018 a lot. His winning percentage went down but last season he had more opportunities than the season before. He only had five more hits last season than the season before and he pitched 34 more innings, I’m speechless. Even though he’s improved, he deserves that spot.

As for this season’s highlights – Peter Alonso hit his first homer in the first four games as a Met, sounds like a normal stat, buuuuut, that’s the fastest in Mets history. David Wright did it in five, Michael Conforto in 7, Daryl Stawberry in 8. Also, Jacob DeGrom has hit as many homers as he allowed in his last 42 innings, the Mets are shaping up for this season. Let me just start off by saying that Cody Bellinger is an absolute god, leading MLB in homers, runs and RBIs, now that’s hard. Bellinger has probably a top five sweetest swings in baseball, ohhhhhh, that’s a nice swing. He has a .425 batting average, .452 OBP and a .950 slugging percentage (which is also leading the bigs). The Dodgers are going up and they will be the best team in baseball. Off topic though, I want to see the Phillies take on the Dodgers, I just wanna see that so bad. Bryce v Cody, Buehler v Nola, that’s gonna be a great game. Yelich had a great game, hitting his 100^th homer, what a season last season for the 27 year old, I think he will follow up with an even greater game. The beginning of what I’m about to say is a little weird, so just bear with me, new Red Derek Dietrich hit a 2-run homer in the second inning that went 436 feet. After he swung and made contact, he took a few seconds to admire the shot, Pirates’ pitchers Chris Archer didn’t like it. Next meeting between the two of them, in the fourth, Archer throws a pitch behind his back and then the benches clear, Puig obviously in the middle. Trout homered in the fourth straight game, Trout is really looking like the best player in baseball now. He was shaky in the first couple of games and then, four games, five homers including a grand slam. Gary Sanchez is back to looking like his usual self, hitting dingers, having a 3-homer game and becoming the AL homer leader. The Red Sox are really tanking so far this season. The World Series champs are 3-8, they have no one injured and they’re still losing. The Yanks, they have their roster injured but they won 15-3 against the Orioles with a Wal-Mart cashier, a kid on the street selling lemonade and a guy working at Burger King. Wait, Bryce Harper can steal, yeah, his first stolen base comes against the Twins and even if it’s Harper, it’s Willians Astuildo throwing, he’s a hitter, not a thrower.  

Good fight today Mets, never giving up and losing 12-9 after being down 11-1. Zack Wheeler and the bullpen didn’t perform at their best today but it’s ok as the Amazins have now won 2/3 of their games.

See you next week.

New Baseball Season 2019

I’m back. It’s a new baseball season. Lots of moves and great players signing with mega deals or extensions and making a huge impact on their teams early in the season. Bryce Harper hit a homer in his third game; Machado is 3 for 11 and made an amazing catch down the third base foul line. Jacob DeGrom went 6 innings, 5 hits, 10 SOs and no runs. Robinson Cano hit a homer in his first at-bat in his Mets debut. Somehow, just somehow, the Mets might have a good season with a 2-0 start, which now means they’re the best team in baseball!! (In typical style, that didn’t last long.) Harper’s cleats show Philly pride even though he wants the trophy to go to the nation’s capital. This season I’ll be starting at 100^th place and go to the front of the class to make it more interesting.

100. Insane rookie slugger Vladimir Guerro Jr., Vladimir Sr.’s son, obviously has got some genes from his daddy, except junior can hit more bombs. His minors stats don’t really show it, but if you were around any baseball news or social media, you would know about this kid’s power.  But, in 2018, in the minors, through four teams and leagues he bopped 20 homers and 78 RBIs. He finished with a mind-blowing 37 BBs and 38 SOs. He finished with an average of .381 and an OBP of .437. His career is only going up and potentially he could be hitting 40-110. Just because he’s a rookie and hasn’t even made his Opening Day team, I think he’s good where he is.

99. Jose Abreu is up next, the 32-year-old first baseman is trying to offensively hold the team together with some rookie help after the team failed to sign Manny Machado. He didn’t get much time to evolve after making his MLB debut when he was 27, but he did win Rookie of the Year. The two-time Silver Slugger hit only 22 homers, 132 hits and drove in 78 in 128 games, all four were career lows. This early/late in his career I think his main focus should be to take quality ABs and making hard contact with the ball to later drive it. I think this man will pull it together and lead his team to a better season with the help of Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jiminez and Tim Anderson. I think he deserves to be a few places higher.

98. Next is Charlie Morton, he had a good year last year with the Astros but I know why they didn’t sign him back, this man’s control is all over the place, 16 HBP, most in AL and 64 walks. He earned an All-Star spot with a 10.8 strikeouts per 9 innings, which is pretty good. He gave up 130 hits and gave up 18 homers, eighteen, WOW. He had a career low ERA which was 3.13, heh-heh. He also had the most wins in his career. I think Charlie is going to have a worse season than last, he is getting older and his statistics are going run wise, like ERA, even though he is below the MLB ERA average, his ERA is going up. He will still be productive for his team with Chris Archer. I think he’s good where he is.

97. A couple of years back, Madison Bumgarner was Cy Young caliber but there was always Max Scherzer and Kershaw and Arrieta, but, he was always a thorn in the side when he was pitching. He had a 3.26 ERA when he was 28, not his best season, not one he’d want to remember. He’s always been the best pitcher in the Giants organization, even when Johnny Cueto was there. He hasn’t allowed many homers, he gave up 14 homers. He walked 43 players and hit only five. He had limited time on the mound, 21 games and about 130 innings. In his Opening Day debut he had 7 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs and 9 Ks. I think he might have a good year and bring his team up a smidge. I think he deserves to be in the high 80s.

96. Good ol’ traditional centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., you know one of those, some power, insane fielder and has speed. He knows how to get on and produce runs to help his World Series winning team to score. He’s not a big power guy but he got 111 hits last year and 33 of those were doubles, I got you on the calculations: about 30% of his hits were doubles, which is 0.1 percent less than Alex Bregman, 2018 doubles leader if the number was rounded – the same for both. As I said, he’s not a power guy, but 13 homers and 59 RBIs isn’t 1 homer and 7 RBIs. He scored 76 runs and stole 17 bases. Now, if I were to give some advice to pitchers, even though they probably already know that, pitch him high and in or very low and in. I think he should go to the mid-70’s.

Now, the news. New season, new hopes for the Mets. The Mets are up a great start, I know that’s what they did last year but they got Edwin Diaz, an insane closer and two new hitters in Jed Lowrie and Robinson Cano. A rookie insane slugger who can hit XBHs for days, Pete Alonso, so I just have a feeling. I learned that Yoenis Cespedes is the 7^th highest paid player in baseball and what is he doing, he’s on the IL (used to be called DL), crazy. Christian Yelich is insane with four homers in four games, Yelich is looking for a MVP repeat, the fourth time in the NL. The Mets were stabbed in the back and then the knife got twisted in its back. They tied it up in the top of the eighth at 5-5 and then bottom of the ninth, bad choice on Mickey Callaway to keep in Chris Wilson in a tight game, Trea Turner hits a line drive walk-off home run. I know the Cardinals don’t look like a good team, but they’ve put together a nice lineup. Marcel Ozuna, Yadier (who’s getting old) Molina, Matt Carpenter, Paul Goldschmidt, Paul DeJong, Jedd Gyrko, Jose Martinez, Dexter Fowler and Kolten Wong. I see leadership, power, clutch and rookies, prove me wrong or add something. In the Dodgers blowout of the D-Backs, John Ryan Murphy was pitching, which I could understand because, you know, getting blown out, pitchers are tired, but Russell Wilson pitching for the Dodgers, who are winning 16-5, whaaaaaaaaaat? Yeah, true. Former Met Jay Bruce hit his first home run as a Mariner, making a smaller impact than some of the players on Opening Day. After a risky move starting Chris Davis, who hit 47 homers four years ago and 53 homers six years ago, strikes out three times on Opening day and then gets benched the second day. Remember he signed a 7 year/161 mil, 23 mil per year contract, so they’re stuck with them for four more years.

I’m sorry, I can’t write anymore for today, my mom wants me to get ready for school in the morning. See ya soon.  

Opening Day 2019 minus 95 Days

With the Mets hiring a new GM, Brodie Van Waganen, they’re hungry for new players and consequentially getting better with the correct trades.

The Amazins’ made a smart move today in signing veteran catcher Wilson Ramos for a two-year deal. The thirty-one year old backstop posted 109 homers, a batting average of .273 and having 426 RBIs in his career.

A couple of weeks ago, the Boys from Queens made another good move in signing slugger Robinson Cano and lights-out closer Edwin Diaz.

The Mariners, on the other hand, are going to get STACKED, they got Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, their #1 pick in the draft in Jarred Kelenic, Gerson Bautista and Justin Dunn. Cano will not produce as much as he did in his early career, but he will provide the hole in second base that the Mets could not fill and another experienced bat in the lineup.

Edwin Diaz is the spotlight in this trade because the Mets will destroy anyone with him late in the game.

In other news for the Mets – and yes, I will get to other teams too – their interest in Marlins star catcher, Realmuto remains real and they are seriously considering trading Syndergaard to the Yankees in a three-team deal. The Mets also want to sign DeGrom long term, the 30-year-old righty, who won the Cy Young award with a 1.70 ERA last season, which I think is a great thought.

So, now in other news, the Mariners are looking for new players because they traded the good players to the Mets. They landed Domingo Santana from the Brewers and now they have a great outfield, and well-rounded outfield – an outfield with Mitch Haniger, Jay Bruce and Mallex Smith is a great lineup. The Brewers landed Ben Gamel, the veteran right/left fielder is batting .269 with 13 homers in just three years which were cut short—all three of them. This is probably the biggest trade of the year and we definitely won’t see one like this one until the calendar turns the page to 2019.

The Dodgers landed Homer Bailey and a few prospects while the Reds got Matt Kemp, Yaisel Puig, Kyle Farmer and Alex Wood. An amazing deal.  I don’t know how Nick Krall managed that insane deal with the Dodgers, maybe Andrew Friedman was having a bad day, maybe he didn’t sleep at all that night.

The Cardinals got an amazing bullpen reinforcement in Andrew Miller, the outstanding lefty reliever who injured his elbow really badly during the season and he was out most of the season.  He still has 53 saves and a 3.98 career ERA. I think he will perform very, very well and will have his first taste of the National League.

Personally, I think pitching in the National League is much easier than in the American League, and one reason is that the American League has better hitter and the American League has the DH. It’s really your choice but you gotta face the facts some time.

While I’m writing this, I’m thinking that Yasiel Puig will actually look pretty good in a Cincinnati Reds uni.  The good closer Craig Kimbrel is still on the market somehow and I don’t know why. He’s a great closer and is completely cool even in the toughest situations. He is reportedly lowering his price so now maybe he will be sold a little faster.

The Padres are looking into signing Marcus Stroman to help their rotation. The young sparkplug righty had a injury-stricken 2018 season so he only pitched 19 games and posted an ugly 5.54 ERA over the season. The Padres already had a great infield with power hitters all over and a great infield coming up lead by Fernando Tatias Jr. But the Paders finalized the deal for the World Series winning second baseman to come west, Ian Kinsler. Kinsler had a season with 14 homers, a .240 batting average, second to lowest in his career and stole 16 bags with two teams. He’s the kind of guy who every team wants to have.

If Kinsler is reading this, do not and I repeat, DO NOT, take this personally. Kinsler is the kind of guy who doesn’t really make a difference to a team on the big picture, but if you look really closely, he has the speed, the amazing glove and has the pop to hit a few homers, so in my book, the perfect leadoff hitter. I read that the Dodgers made this deal just to make the outfield have only green grass, with Joc Pederson and Kike Hernandez grazing out there somewhere.

Harper wants a lot of money for someone to sign him, the worse the team the more the money, but for the Dodgers, Harper doesn’t want to say it. But everyone thinks he would fit best there, a team without Harper going to the World Series and losing, what will happen with Harper.

The Cubs are also looking for Harper but they don’t really have room unless they trade Schwarber, Heyward, Happ or Almora, one of the four and they got Harper.

While I was writing this, ESPN gave me a notification that the Mets signed Rajai Davis to a minor league contract and will hopefully get promoted to the majors sometime during the season. The veteran played 102 games and hit only 1 home run, power was never his strong suit, but he stole 21 bags and had a .224 average, so he didn’t have a great year last year. But we will all never forget that this is the man that hit the game-tying homer in Game 7.

The Mets signed another outfielder, Gregor Blanco from the Giants to another minor league contract, Gregor Blanco will be another guy that if someone gets injured, he’ll step in, if he’s playing well and the guy that’s injured comes back, Blanco will be hanging on by a thread, if he’s playing bad, he’ll get sent right back down.

The Mets have a great farm system, with Peter Alonso ready to get called up, next up is Andres Gimenez and Ronny Maurucio both shortstops who both performed well in ’18. Matt Harvey found a new home on Friday, Los Angeles, maybe he could set up a crime lab in LA and Robin will no longer be Robin, Robin will now be…… Seagull!!!!

Alfred will trade in the old tux for a swim suit, no, no, that doesn’t sound right, maybe one of those Hawaiian luau shirts, some shorts and flip flops. No longer Alfred Pennyworth, it’s Alfred Sunburnsworth.  His batterang will be a baseball now and his bat suit will be an Angels jersey.

Now, seriously, Daniel Murphy has signed with the Colorado Rockies for two years. Murphy was limited to only 91 games in 2018 due to injury. He was always a power hitter with a glove that needed work. He is excepted to play 1B there. Murphy will move Ian Desmond to center and that will shift the whole outfield a little.

To top it off, the Dodgers are expecting to make a Kluber trade, but this deal is being sidetracked by both teams, the players that being considered to be dealt is a bad idea, I think.

Baseball Quiz: Tweet my father the answer.

Who is the Twins winningest manager?

Who has the most career WAR with the Texas Rangers?

How many career stolen bases do  Jose Altuve and Pablo Sandoval have together?

How many saves do Fernando Rodney and Craig Kimbrell have together?

There are exciting things happening in the MLB in the countdown to Opening Day 2019.

It’s over.

The World Series is finally over (I know, finally) and if you didn’t hear your phone buzzzzzzing about it, I think you might live in a cave, the Red Sox won.

The World Series 2018 was really interesting.

The Dodgers came into this one obviously the underdogs facing the gruesome Red Sox who had an insanely strong year. The Bosox were used to the frigid cold but the kids from Capistrano Beach were definitely frigid to the bone and couldn’t hold on to the temperature nor their games, falling behind a pretty big deficit of 2:0.

They were then in hot LA, with the first game going to the Dodgers and it was one for the record books, twice the length of a regular game, 18 innings! With the sleepy Justin Turner slamming it outta here in the middle of the morning.

Then, with high hopes for the next game, the Dodgers lost again to the Sox, 9-6, a tough loss as the Dodgers tried to find some offense, but rather found the Red Sox team is out of this world. The Dodgers knew they were beat and probably everyone else knew that they were beat.

With a 3-1 series and the Red Sox winning, the Dodgers came onto the field, but the never-give-up attitude from Clayton Kershaw proved to be nothing compared to the champagne-ready Boston Red Sox. It was 5-1 with Manny Machado up at the plate, he swung on Sale’s menacing slider and then Machado walked the long way back to the dugout.

David Price allowed 3 hits and one run but Kersh could not hold on as the Boston Red Sox are the champagne-sprayed 2018 World Champions.

Overall, even though the Red Sox’s performance blew the doors off the season, I believe that the Dodgers could have done better, their pitching could have done better. I know their pitching isn’t the best but they did a lot better in the regular season. Rich Hill and Walker Buehler are the second and the third best on their staff (chef’s choice on which one is two and which one is three).

I think their hitting was the best it could be but the Sox pitching is the same level as the hitting of the Dodgers. The Red Sox hitting was fine, except I think they needed to hit more homers in the postseason. The Dodgers had the exact amount of homers that is healthy for them.

Overall, I think the biggest surprise was the Mets because they had such an amazing start and then they just crashed and really burned. Another big surprise were the Brewers and Dodgers, after an iffy start from the Brewers and a really bad start from the Dodgers they just came back bit us in the butt.

That’s it for the 2018 MLB Season. If I read or hear of something interesting, I’ll be back. Thanks for reading my first blog and I look forward to writing more next Spring.

See ya!