Adding a Sports Venue

This is my new football blog. I am expanding my blog to include both football and baseball. The baseball blog will be written regularly as usual. I adding weekly football news and other things of that nature.

Just to put a cap on the 2019 MLB season, Jacob DeGrom of the Amazins won his second Cy Young award. “DeGOAT” has won amazing back-to-back Cy Youngs. He wasn’t as amazing as last year but he was amazing enough to get the award. He had a 2.43 ERA, an 11-8 record and NL-leading 255 Ks. If you think about it, that’s really good. Congrats, “DeGOAT.”

In Week 10, the 4-4 Raiders took on the 4-5 Chargers. Both teams are not living up to expectation, but Josh Jacobs is tearing it up. I actually lost twice because of him in fantasy football. Philip Rivers played well, with 204 yards but three picks. If I was the Chargers, I would consider tanking and getting a good college QB in the draft, a Jalen Hurts or a Sam Ehlinger if worse comes to worst. The Chargers running game is what they have to rely on if they want to win a game but that’s not what I would recommend. Their run game is probably the best in the NFL. Everyone knows Austin Ekeler can carry his load when Melvin Gordon was holding out, Ekeler was amazing, but now he has to share the load with Gordon. I don’t like the Chargers receiving crew, Keenan Allen is obviously the number 1 wideout but I would want Hunter Henry to get involved more. I would prescribe the same thing for the Raiders and Derek Carr, they need to get a good QB, like Jake Fromm or a Steven Montez if they get a have decent record. Josh Jacobs is amazing but wasn’t so good this game, 71 yards on 16 attempts, not amazing. The Raiders wide receivers are really bad, the number one is Jalen Richard or Hunter Renfrow, they have to trade for a good receiver in the offseason or before the trade deadline. The Chargers D wasn’t very good, only three sacks and no picks. The Raiders D lit it up with 5 sacks and 3 interceptions.

I’m proud of my Jets, but they are 2-7. They took on their rivals, the Giants. Daniel Jones was amazing, 4 TDs, 304 yards in passing, but he did this with the Jets’ amazing D. The Jets run D is amazing, 3 yards per carry, which is 1^st in the NFL, 88 run stuffs, also first, 81.9 rush yards per game, 2^nd in the NFL, these are very surprising numbers for a 2-7 team. They lived up to their numbers for this one, only 23 yards rushing on 17 carries among three different guys. Their number one, amazing runner, Saquon Barkley was held to only 1 yard on 13 carries, no, not a typo. For the Giants receiving squad, three guys had above 40 yards. Golden Tate and Darius Slayton both had two touchdowns. The Giants D was atrocious, two sacks and no picks, not their usual numbers. Sam Darnold went 19/30 for 230 yards and one touchdown, very mediocre. The guy that all the hype was around before the season started, Le’Veon Bell had 34 yards rushing and 1 touchdown, on the season, 3.1 yards per carry and 4 touchdowns, very bad. The Jets receivers were a little better than their rushing game, 2 guys over 80 yards and Jamison Crowder got the touchdown. The Jets D was more than anyone could ask for, 5 sacks, no picks but two fumbles. Jamal Adams could possibly be one of the best defensive players in a few years.

The Dolphins and Colts played, the Colts were sure to win but then, whoops, Marlon Mack choked, Jacoby Brisset was injured and everything went bad. Ryan Fitzpatrick was regular old Ryan, 169 yards and one pick. Kalen Ballage turned into their number one running back which was a very smart move in trading away Kenyan Drake for someone and still having a good running back. He had 43 yards on 20 carries. Devante Parker had 69 yards, their top WR. Allen Hurns had 32 yards, with Mike Gesicki had 28 yards. The D stepped up, 3 picks and 1 sack, which is not good for any other team, but for the Dolphins – that’s amazing. Brian Hoyer was really bad, 204 yards, 1 TD and 3 picks, that’s a very bad performance. Marlon Mack had 74 yards on the ground, on 19 carries. The speedster Nyheim Hines had 14 yards but 30 yards receiving. Eric Ebron had a better game than projected, 56 yards and Jack Doyle had 44 yards plus 1 touchdown. Darius Leonard had the INT, one sack and 11 tackles, he went crazy. Two sacks for the rest of the defense and no more picks.

The Packers-Panthers game was a thriller; Kyle Allen had a good game, 307 yards passing, one passing touchdown and one pick. The Panthers have a very conservative running game, a Pro-Bowl running back and a scrambling QB, 12 yards on the ground with him. Christian McCaffrey had 120 yards and one touchdown. DJ Moore is the tough guy who doesn’t care for his body and just keep on running. If he gets a dot, he’ll run which will give him 100+ yards each game, like in this game, 120 yards to be exact. Greg Olsen is who everyone thinks is very old and not good anymore, he’s actually very good, a lot of possession catches, old school type. Two sacks and no picks for the Carolina D. Aaron Rodgers played vintage Aaron Rodgers just minus the TDs. 233 yards and 19 completions, no picks and no TDs. Aaron Jones is amazing as usual, 93 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns, that’s insane, he’s insane, he’s really good. Devante Adams had 118 yards receiving, he’s always been good, but no receiving touchdowns for anyone one.  Jimmy Graham is their secret weapon; he can do anything, especially catch and hold onto the ball, 59 receiving yards on two receptions. The Packers D wasn’t too good, 3 sacks and one pick. The final drive for the Panthers was a good one, Kyle Allen moving the chains. He made a few rookie mistakes but converted on an important 4^th down but they lost by inches, literally, Christian McCaffrey didn’t do this job or the DL of the Packers was that good.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the LA Rams played, it was fun. The Steelers are having a Cinderella story, they have all the pieces, they just have to start fitting the puzzle. Jared Goff had a reverse career game, absolutely horrible, 243 yards, 2 picks, and a fumble, it was just funny. Todd Gurley played alright, 73 yards on 12 carries, better than I would’ve thought. Robert Woods was good, but the Rams receivers aren’t that good. He had 95 yards, then Gerald Everett had 68 yards, Josh Reynolds had 49 yards. The Rams D is average and was average last week, 3 sacks and no picks. The Steelers have to trade for a young QB, they have to. Big Ben is too old, Mason Rudolph is just bad, they need a lot of help there. Jaylen Samuels had 29 yards on 14 carries. The Steelers run game is not advanced what so ever. James Washington and Diontae Johnson, two speedsters got 154 receiving yards. Juju needs to step it up in order to have a chance at a wild card berth. The Steelers D went crazy, 4 sacks, 3 picks, and one fumble, Minkah Fitzpatrick had a nice game, 3 tackles, 1 pick and 1 fumble recovery.

Kirk Cousins is an amazing story, he is bad, no one can argue with that, but his past few weeks have been MVP type play. 220 yards passing and two touchdowns with no picks against the good Dallas secondary for Mr. Cousins. Everyone wants Dalvin Cook, he is amazing, I don’t have him on my fantasy team, but he was an absolute steal for everyone. He had 97 yards rushing and 86 yards receiving and 1 touchdown. If Adam Thielen comes back Week 14, then the Vikings are making the playoffs. Stefon Diggs had 49 yards and Kyle Rudolph had 14 yards but two touchdowns. The Vikings D wasn’t too good, 1 pick and 1 sack, their D needs to step up in order to get the team really good. Dak Prescott is really good, everyone says he’s overrated, really? Look at the stats, especially in this game: 397 yards in the air, 3 touchdowns and 1 pick, against the Vikings D, that’s Hall of Fame quality. Ezekiel Elliot has to step up, they are about to get kicked from the playoffs, they need to expand the running game, Dak’s going to do his job, Zeke needs to carry his load. Amari Cooper has 147 yards and one touchdown (he’s gonna kill me this week in fantasy) Randall Cobb and Michael Gallup had 182 yards plus two touchdowns. Dallas’ D also has to get better, no picks and 1 sack, even with the Vikings not-so-good offense.

This game was probably my favorite game of this week: Seahawks and 49ers. Russell Wilson didn’t play vintage Russell Wilson, 232 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 pick. Chris Carson had 89 rushing yards and one touchdown, he has been a workhorse for them, but they don’t need him as much as some other teams because they have a great quarterback. DK Metcalf has been a revelation had 70 yards, Jacob Hollister 62 yards and one touchdown in this game. Tyler Lockett was bad in this game, only 23 yards, not very good. The Seahawks D was good, 5 sacks, 1 pick and 2 fumble recoveries. Jimmy Garopollo had 248 yards in the air and 1 touchdown and 1 pick. Tevin Coleman took hold of the ship of the run game in this one, 40 yards; Matt Breida had only 18 yards. Deebo Samuel went off in this game 112 yards, but no touchdowns, Kendrick Bourne had 32 yards receiving and 1 touchdown. A lot of underdogs in this game were good. Five sacks and one pick for the 49ers D, they continue to demoralize any opponent.

Thanks for reading. Be patient while I finish re-positioning and redesigning my blog.

2019 Season Comes to an End

The World Series was a complete crazy turnaround, Cinderella, underdog, feel-good story.

The Nationals, a Wild Card team, forced seven games and eventually beat the Astros in the World Series. Fueled by Juan Soto and Anthony Rendon, and an absolute mastermind in Dave Martinez, this is the winning potion as the Nats won their first ever World Series. Game 7 was a nice one: Yuli Gurriel started off the scoring in the last game, with a deep shot to left over the railing of the huge wall. Then it was smooth sailing for both sides for about 2 ½ innings, when Carlos Correa hit a single that put Houston up, 2-0. In the 7th, Washington lit up, Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick let fly with solo shots and then the Nats swarmed and stung. Juan Soto gave them the lead in 8th off of Roberto Osuna with a single. Then Adam Eaton put the cherry on top, hitting yet another single off of youngster Jose Urquidy, with two runners scoring. The rest is history: Daniel Hudson (some people might’ve not even known who he is), shut down the electric Houston’s lineup 1-2-3, getting Michael Brantley swinging for the final out.

Baseball America names Pete Alonso Rookie of the Year. Above is the magazine's page 12 with the Polar Bear batting one out of the park.

I am very pleased to have read that Baseball America, the world-famous baseball magazine, has named Pete Alonso, the Rookie of the Year and named him to the All-Rookie Team and the Both-League All-Star Team. Numerous times, the editors said that he was a big part of developing the team chemistry. He also contributed a lot to the Mets’ season and engraved his name into the record books. I think that he should be named Rookie of the Year and a finalist for the MVP ballot, if not the actual MVP. 53 homers, 120 RBIs, 85 XBHs, 348 total bases and improving his glove work significantly is what absolutely no scout had on the horizon for Pete Alonso. Congratulations, Polar Bear!

Pete and his Mets teammates will be under the helm of Carlos Beltran, the newly appointed Amazins’ manager. Do not get me wrong, I love Beltran and I will tell you why, but, I would’ve much rather had Joe Girardi, who was snagged by the Phillies. Carlos Beltran has many plusses with the Mets: he had a great career with them, 149 homers, 559 RBIs and 551 runs isn’t a bad, 7-years. He knows most of the guys on the team, he is good friends with the front office, and I think he’s fine with working hand-in-hand with GM Brodie Van Wagenen for a playoff berth. I support the decision made by Brodie to get Carlos.

I am also announcing that I will be starting a whole new department of my blog, a football blog. I will write the news of the week’s games and give my predictions like I do in this blog. I also will be continuing my baseball blog as usual. 

The 2019 MLB Season Heads toward Final Games

What a treat for a Mets fan. Walking on the Lower Eastside with my dad, we came upon this store on East Ninth Street called Mr. Throw Back so we went inside and I tried on a vintage 1980s Mets jacket. Not bad, eh?

The 2019 MLB playoffs are almost over and all fans are focusing on the final games of the World Series.

The NL Wild Card Game was pretty fun, it was 3-1 going into the 8^th, then, Juan Soto hits a single with a bunch of errors which scores 3. That changed the outcome of the game by 58%. Then, the Nats’ bullpen thankfully shutout the Brewers offense, which is surprising knowing how their bullpen has been the whole season. The AL Wild Card Game between the Rays and the A’s was the same, with the Rays winning, 5-1. The score was cruising normally the whole game with short gains here and there but those gains made the difference. Avisail Garcia of the Rays made the biggest difference with a two-run shot in the bottom of the second off of Sean Manaea of the A’s.

The Divisional Series were much more fun. However, the Twins and the Yankees were the least fun, with the Yankees sweeping the Twins and soundly defeating them in each of the games, with Gleyber Torres being my MVP. The Astros and the Rays played the second ALDS. It looked like a surefire sweep to everyone, but the Rays were determined and they tangoed for 5 games, with the Astros coming out on top, and Jose Altuve the A’s being my MVP. In the NLDSs, the games were a little more interesting. The Cardinals and the Braves played and again, the Braves looked like a surefire win, but no, the Cardinals win in 7, probably the most exciting series in all of the playoffs so far, with Marcell Ozuna of the Cardinals being the MVP for me. The Dodgers and the Nationals played and everyone who knows baseball would know the Dodgers would smoke the Nats in 3, but no, the Nats fought their hearts out, the series going back and forth until Game 5. Then, Howie Kendrick of the Nats, who’s having an electric postseason so far, smacks a ball for a Grand Slam off of Joe Kelly and the Nationals continue their Cinderella story. The Nats’ Anthony Rendon is my MVP.

The Championship Series weren’t projected to be very fun or interesting, however they were for sure. The Nats and the Braves weren’t too interesting, with the Nats winning 4-0 in the series, with the offense fighting and being crazy good. The series MVP is Howie Kendrick leading his team in almost all categories. The American League Conference Series was interesting as ever. The Astros eventually won the series in 6 games but it was soooo fun to watch. It was 3-1 in the series, in the last game in New York. James Paxton was really good in that game, in 6 innings pitched, only 4 hits allowed and only one run allowed. The Yankees looked like favorites in this game, going back to Houston, but it took till the 9^th to define a winner. With the Yankees’ lights out reliever Aroldis Chapman on the mound, everyone was thinking extra innings was bound, with two outs, Houston’s Jose Altuve steps to the plate. With a 2-1 count, Jose sends a ball to deep left-center field to send the Astros home. GAME!!!!

Now onto the World Series between the Nats and Astros, which is tied at 2 games apiece.

Sharing Thoughts on Baseball with a Professional

For a budding baseball writer, I had the unique privilege of spending some time talking with a baseball expert, Mr. Gary Green, Chairman, and CEO of the publication Baseball America. Not only was I able to pose questions about baseball but from time to time I managed to express my opinion and share thoughts about America’s pastime with Mr. Green. The wonderful interview took place in his Manhattan home on September 30 of this year.

Gary Green of Baseball America answers Yulian’s questions about baseball.

Yulian: What do you do on a day to day basis as the CEO and the Publisher of Baseball America?

Mr. Green: I'm not the publisher; B.J. Schecter is the publisher and the editor. He was the editor at Sports Illustrated, so he’s much more equipped than I am to do that. I oversee business operations and make strategic decisions but when it comes to decisions on editorial, I leave it to them.

I tried, but I couldn’t recommend stories because I have a personal baseball opinion and agenda so I feel it’s better to create a wall between me and the editorial, otherwise it would be all Mets and Royals. 

Yulian: I think the 2015 World Series must’ve been really bad for you.

Mr. Green: I wish they would have made it in different years, it was torture. It was torture because I’m friends with the Mets and I’m friends with the Royals.

Yulian: Why is it that in your magazine you mostly focus on the younger aspect of baseball like prospects and college?

Mr. Green: There’s a lot of coverage of MLB, everybody writes about MLB. There’s not a lot of coverage about the minor leagues and high school. That’s our niche. 

Yulian: What sports do you follow and what are your teams?

Mr. Green: I love the Giants, the Rays, the Royals and, obviously, the Mets, and the teams that we’re affiliated with.

Yulian: The Rays have the lowest payroll in baseball, it’s like Moneyball. 

Mr. Green: We can talk about that. And the Giants. And the Knicks. I don’t care for the owner. I think he’s one of the worst owners in sports and made no moves. I think that the team wasn’t able to get any players because of the way James Dolan handled Charles Oakley, I think there’s some racism there. I refuse to go to a game and put $1 in Dolan’s pocket because he’s such a bad person to the fans. He’s in recovery, he’s a recovered alcoholic. My experience is that when you have people that are in recovery, they’re very humble. The people that have been down and out in their lives, when they come back up, they’re good people. He’s the rare occurrence of a horrible person who, obviously, was down and out, but he’s just so entitled and, and he’s a spoiled brat. And then as far as hockey, I used to love the Islanders in high school. I don’t really follow hockey anymore.

Yulian: What are some of the jaw-dropping perks that you receive in your position?

Mr. Green: I like that, “jaw-dropping.” My favorite players growing up were George Brett and Darryl Strawberry. I see Darryl a lot, probably, every month or two. He checks in on me every couple of weeks. Being able to be close friends with him and pick up the phone whenever I want to call him is kind of cool. And George Brett, I’m not as close with, but whenever I see him, he always gives me a big hug and knows who I am. A couple of years ago, we had Royals cocktail party and Darryl came with me and George was there and it was just really cool to hang out with both of them at the same time. I also was being able to meet with Warren Buffett half a dozen times. People pay $3 million for that meeting and I had it for free about half a dozen times. That was cool, probably it was my most awesome moment, my couple awesome moments. I'll give you my top three: one was when we dedicated a statue to Bob Gibson in front of our ballpark, because he’s from Omaha and I was able to speak and share the podium with Gibson, Joe Torre, Warren Buffett, Bud Selig, the governor of Nebraska and Tim McCarver, so that was cool. The other great moments are we won the National Championship two years in a row and to watch, like you do, the players pouring champagne on their heads. But to be able to do that three or four times with a different playoff series and then the championship – I never thought I’d be able to do that. So those are the great moments.

Yulian: What baseball team do you think is going to come out on top this year?

Mr. GREEN: I think Houston.

Yulian: Yeah, they’ll crush Yankees in the championship series.

Mr. GREEN: I don’t like the Yankees. I hope the Twins beat them.

Yulian: Where did your love for baseball come from?
Mr. GREEN: My dad was always a Little League manager for me and my brothers. I remember him throwing groundballs to us all the time in the backyard. My dad was a Brooklyn Dodger fan. When the Dodgers left Brooklyn, Dodger fans and Giant fans became Mets fans.

A Mets player, Tug McGraw, was our neighbor, so we went to the Mets games with Tug’s family and I was waiting outside of the locker room to get autographs. I think Tug McGraw and my dad are two of the main reasons why I love baseball.

Yulian: Tell me, please, about your Little League seasons and other baseball playing.

Mr. GREEN: I played Little League every year. I think I started when I was seven. Also, I played Hardball Tournament into my forties. I went to a Mets fantasy camp and to a Reds-Red Sox 75-year-old World Series fantasy camp. That was so cool to hang out with guys like Pat Zachry, John Stearns, Duffy Dyer and Doc Gooden.

Yulian: Do you think that the statistics are taking over the baseball world?
Mr. GREEN: From a fan’s standpoint, I think it’s too much. I don’t like it at the game when they show me the miles per hour off the bat of a groundball. If you want to show the miles per hour off the bat of a home run, that’s one thing. But I don’t need to see it on every pitch. I do like seeing the WAR rating that they put up at Citi Field. I think that’s cool. Watching StatCast at home is different. I don’t mind all the numbers, but watching it at the game, too many numbers, it’s just too much.

And as far as the stats that have taken over the game, I feel that you have to have numbers of people, there are certain GMs that are more instinct focused. I think Brodie Van Wagenen brought the analytic department to the Mets and they had the smallest analytics department in baseball.

Yulian: Brodie brought in 36-year-old Robinson Cano and he was suspended for half the year last season and they brought him in. He played average all this year.
Mr. GREEN: He got hurt. I think he should have taken a year to assess their minor league system. He should’ve known that this kid Kelenic was going to be the number 14 prospect in baseball.

Yulian: They kept him because they need a center fielder. I think they were like this offseason and they should bring in Lorenzo Cain then finish his career with the Mets and then they should’ve brought up Jarred Kelenic.

Mr. GREEN: Is he a free agent this year?

Yulian: No, I think they could’ve worked out a trade.

Mr. GREEN: Well, the Brewers are doing well. They should’ve have taken a year. I think that under Sandy Alderson they had the smallest analytics department in baseball. He did bring in Yoenis Cespedes, but you can’t act on hunches anymore. There are certain GMs that have been successful in the past that are going to be losing their jobs over the next couple of years. They don’t have the numbers people, they’ve worked on instinct, and they’ve done very well with it. But the game has changed now.

Yulian: If you created a baseball team, who are the first five players you would take? Reasonably speaking, not like Max Scherzer and Mike Trout. What would be the first five players?
Mr. GREEN: Well, you mean the current players? I'd say Trout, Alonso, of course. deGrom. I know Mookie Betts didn’t have a good year this year, but I’d still put him in there, he’s number 4. What would be your number 5?

Yulian: deGrom, Trout, Baez, Alonso.

Mr. GREEN: Not Betts?

Yulian: I want to see who else I can get. Oh, Yelich. We forgot about Yelich. Include him too.
Mr. GREEN: How about Bellinger?

Yulian: I like Yelich more because he has more speed and a better arm. I really would’ve wanted to see a 50-30 season. Do you think team chemistry is important for a team to have and why?
Mr. GREEN: That is the best question you’ve asked so far. Yes and no. I feel that when a player gets up to bat and he’s facing somebody who’s throwing 90 to a 100, I don’t think that he’s thinking about liking the guys on the bench or not. He’s trying to hit a ball. In the field, the chemistry works really well and I think it matters. And, if you can create an environment where people are having fun and they are happy, I feel like hitters will go up to bat in a better, positive frame of mind, so you have a team like the Mets who I’m sure when they were losing, the chemistry wasn’t great. And when they started winning again, chemistry became great.

I played in a Hardball Tournament in Cooperstown. We started out the tournament 0-4. Nobody liked anybody. It was brutal. And then we won the next six games and we won the championship and the chemistry changed – overnight. So I think it’s hard to find great chemistry in a losing team but a winning team doesn’t always have great chemistry, but it certainly increases for sure.

Yulian: Winning increases team chemistry. I love Alonso. He’s a rookie and I love and how he created LFGM and he’s just such a leader.
Mr. GREEN: Yes, he is and the way he handles it is right.

Yulian: What makes a good player in your mind?

Mr. GREEN: Athleticism. When they’re athletic, and if they train themselves properly, they get hurt less as opposed to a guy like Prince Fielder who got hurt. He was too big. When you carry too much weight on your structure, more than you’re supposed to, I think your body breaks down like Mark McGwire.

Yulian: I think hustle. As a coach, you love to see hustle in a player.

Mr. GREEN: That’s a great answer.

Yulian: Do you think Pete Alonso is a flash in the pan or will he do the same thing?
Mr. GREEN: I think it’s unreasonable to expect him to hit 53 home runs every year. I spoke about this with Darryl the other day. If he could hit 35, 40 or something like that every year and put up 120, 110 RBIs, I think that’s more realistic. But then again with these new baseballs rules that have changed the seams, the seams are lower. It’s more aerodynamic. The numbers that we’re used to spitting out like I just did, maybe those numbers are thing in the past. Maybe the expectations should be 45 to 50 home runs because of the ball. We saw in Minor League Baseball, they made us switch to the major league ball this year. Homers are up 60%. I feel that more home runs add more excitement to the game. MLB owns Rawlings. Major league baseball’s probably behind the better ball, the more aerodynamic balls.

Yulian: I would rather go to a game where it’s 11-10 rather than 1-0 or 2-1.

Mr. GREEN: I think most fans do.

Yulian:  What are your hopes and dreams for baseball?

Mr. GREEN: That the game perpetuates and evolves so that the younger generation can carry the torch. What MLB is attempted to do in MILB in current negotiations can potentially strip affiliated baseball from 40 cities in the U.S. MLB can’t say they want young people to grow the game while doing something like this.

Yulian:  I am sure I will have more questions for you in the future as baseball is living thing. May I contact you again for another interview?

Mr. GREEN: Of course!

Yulian: Thank you for your time and a great interview.

Mr. GREEN: It was my pleasure!

Thrill of a Lifetime – Meeting Baseball Legends

Baseball season is still in full swing. We still have a few weeks before the final game and I would like to share with you, my readers, a very memorable experience of the season 2019.

Going to a baseball game is exciting but no biggie. It is a biggie when you’re sitting in a luxury suite.

That’s Gary Green with me in his Citi Field suite.

On Saturday, September 14, my parents and I were invited by Gary Green to his private suite in City Field, to watch one of the best Mets games of the season. Mr. Green is Chairman and CEO of the publication “Baseball America” and a very affable and interesting person, a baseball lover and a Mets fan. This game was a pitcher’s duel between two Cy Young contenders, Jacob DeGrom and Hyun Jin-Ryu. Then, in the eight, the relievers came in and the Mets did their magic (all because of my rally cap). They loaded the bases and then the most unlikely candidate for this kind of a hit came up to the plate. Rajai Davis broke open the stalemate with a double laced down the left-field line to clear the bases. It was a magical night and I was lucky to see the Mets win on such a great ending.

Bobby Valentine and me.

Also, I was lucky during the game to meet two baseball legends: one of them was Bobby Valentine, "Bobby V,” a former American professional baseball player and manager of the Texas Rangers, the New York Mets, and the Boston Red Sox.

Baseball legend Tommy Lasorda and me.

The second legend was Tommy Lasorda, a former Major League Baseball pitcher, coach, and manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers for two decades. Mr. Lasorda celebrated his 92nd birthday and I sang Happy Birthday for him and shared slice of his birthday cake.

A few days later I had another unique opportunity – to sit down with Mr. Green and talk baseball. First time in my life – and I am just 12, going on 13, I talked about baseball with a businessman, who sees this sport from different angles and gave me the information first hand. That interview will appear next in my blog.

I hope I will have another opportunity to continue the conversation with Mr. Green as I got new questions to ask! 

MLB Update – Exciting Trade

The Trading Deadline was exciting, but not exciting enough for the likings of a lot of people including me. The headline deal is Zack Greinke, he went to the Astros, for a couple of top prospects. Another buzzer beater deal was Nick Castellanos going to the Cubs that really gives the Cubs some depth in the corner outfield positions and in the infield and a lot of power there. Another big one was the Indians getting absolutely jacked on offense, acquiring Franmil Reyes and Yasiel Puig, both absolute barrels and great at hitting, for this, the Padres improved their minor league system (I mean they really needed more good young players). That about tops out the trading deadline, there were other ones, like Jesus Aguilar to the Rays, which will help bolster the offense. Marcus Stroman, who the Mets shocked everyone with acquiring will help the Mets rotation be pretty much the Avengers.

The Mets are kicking up a notch, only a game out of the wild card and they’re really hot, one of the hottest players, Robinson Cano is out with a torn hamstring and will not need surgery but will be back in a couple of weeks. The Mets have amazing team chemistry and they just keep on winning in the most clutch situations. Their offense is working like a really-well-oiled machine, their starting pitching has been great (like always) and even their bullpen stop having their woes, except for Edwin Diaz. Right now they’re putting in Seth Lugo who is good, don’t get me wrong, but Edwin Diaz and burn in up there at about 101 MPH and he has an above average slider, I think he’s just in a hole and will obviously get out of it. Pete Alonso is tied with Cody Bellinger’s 39 in 2017 for the NL Rookie HR record.

First I want to start off with the rookies, Yordan Alvarez has been a literal god-send to the Astros, as if they need more power (My saying is, there is never too much power). Yordan has literally hit three homers in a game and has 17 overall, in his first 46 games, that’s amazing, but what’s more amazing is Aristides Aquino has hit 9 taters in his first 13 games a big leaguer, I’m telling you right now, the Reds are looking at 2020 and they’re prepared. Ronald Acuna Jr. is really good, when he first came up, I thought he was going to be an above average left/center fielder with speed and power. He has become to be so much more than that, he joined the 20/20/20 club (In case you’re wondering, that’s the 20 homers, 20 bags and 20 doubles), he’s also two bags away from getting into the 30/30 club and he might have his sights on the 40/40 club. The Rookie of the Year for 2018 is the outfielder that everyone would want, durable in the field, (he hasn’t gotten injured yet and he hasn’t missed a game either), power and speed. What I think is crazy is that Pete Alonso has been pushed to second place in the Rookie of the Year voting, Alonso has 19 first place votes but is somehow in first place and shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. who probably has the most swag in baseball behind, shortstop Javier Baez. What was probably the most clutch hit of the night, Carlos Santana hit a walk-off homer against the Red Sox to put the Indians in sole possession of the AL Central Division.  This stat is just getting funny, Gleyber Torres has hit 13 homers against the Orioles which is half his home run total right now (26). This guys is just a really big slugger, who can hit for contact, power and he has a lot of speed. The Yanks still play the O’s twice more so maybe Gleyber can beat out Lou Gehrig’s 14 against Cleveland in 1936. Elite closer who’s had a bunch of speed bumps Greg Holland has signed with the Nats. His baseball in saves in 2017 with 41 and never really got his elite stuff back.

Meet the Mets …

Art Shamsky and Erik Sherman with me.

On August 1 I had the privilege to go to the Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair, NJ, for a book signing by former Met and 1969 World Champion Art Shamsky. He and fellow author but not former Mets player Erik Sherman wrote a book titled After the Miracle. All in about a half hour he explained the chemistry of the Mets in ’69, how he wrote the book and took questions. Later we had a chance for them to autograph our book and any other things that we have. I took a picture with the duo and asked after that they gave me a tip, “Don’t practice bad habits in practice because it will translate into your game.” It was a great experience.

Nelson Figueroa, Tim Teufel and me.

Then, on August 10 my family and I went up to the Long Island Arena near Hofstra University where they play all kinds of sports. There we met Nelson Figueroa and Tim Teufel, if you’re hearing those names for the first time in your life, Nelson was a pitcher for the Mets from 2008-09 and is now the host of Mets Pregame Show with Gary Apple. Tim Teufel was a player for the Mets from 1986 to 1991 and was a third base coach and now is the infield coach for the minor leagues. They explained how they got to the bigs and gave us motivational speeches and made us ready to run through a brick wall. Then we did batting, pitching and hitting clinics which gave us some tips and just some practice. I think it was really cool.

Analyzing Ballplayers …

50. Noah Syndergaard literally is Thor to all of the hitters. He throws his fire ball at them and the hitters are scared silly. His prowess has lessened this year than his crazy good four seasons before it. He finished 4th in Rookie of the Year voting in 2015 and in 2016 he was an All-Star and finished 8th in Cy Young voting. He was 14-9 in that season and, 9-7 before that and 13-4 last year, each year finishing with an ERA of 3.25 or lower. In the seasons beforehand he had a 2.93 ERA, struck out a mind-blowing 573 guys in 87 games. This season, he strikes out about a batter per inning, in his career, he’s striking out 1.08 guys per inning (718 Ks/666.1 IP). He didn’t get traded at the deadline. I think that the Mets shouldn’t deal him but deal Wheeler and get a hitter for him just because they just got Marcus Stroman so that will provide a nice starting rotation for a few years to come. I think he should move up to the high-30s.

49. Xander Boegarts of the Boston Red Sox is highly, highly underrated. I think he’s a really good player, offensively and defensively. A .302 BA, with 25 dingers, 88 runs batted in, 91 runs and a .547 SLG which ranks 8th in the AL. Defensively, he has 10 errors in 117 games and has 119 putouts which isn’t too bad for a  shortstop, it ranks 10th in the AL, which is actually really good for an offensive shortstop. The All-Star has also improved his batter’s eye, he’s one walk past his career high – and he’s played 39 games less. I think he’s also going to have the highest batting average of his life (.302 – right now, .320 career high), he’s also two past his career high in homers. He strikes out in 19% of his PAs, which isn’t too high, but he needs to bring everything up (or down) a notch if he wants the Red Sox to win the Wild Card or the division.  He has 66 XBHs which is tied for fourth in MLB with Christian Yelich. I think that he should be at 45.

48. George Springer, probably the most reliable player on the Astros, they have a great team overall but the most reliable is Springer. Springer doesn’t get injured very much, has a hit per game, he has so much raw power, he has more dingers that doubles, a reliable leadoff man, he has a .384 OBP but the only flaw in Springer is that he has no speed. He only has 5 bags stolen and three triples, he needs to improve his speed to be one of the best players in the league. It’s not like the Astros aren’t contenders, so George doesn’t really need to have speed, but where do the ‘Stros have speed? Jose Altuve? That’s one guy, even the Mets have more speed and they’re really slow. He was injured this year, but 45% of his hits (103) are XBHs (46) which is impressive. He strikes out in about a fifth of his plate appearances which isn’t up to snuff if you’re on such a great team, I’m not saying George is gonna get traded but he has to pull his weight. His walks numbers also lessened, he’s only walked 46 times and last year he walked 64 times and his career high is 88. I think he should go to the high-50s.

47.  Blake Snell is next and if I were to rank two players that were alike so much and the skill level being the same or almost the same, I would say that Chris Sale and Blake Snell are so much alike. They’re both tall, both have last names that start with the letter “s”, both have probably the most wicked slider in the AL, probably behind Brad Hand (I know, this will cause a lot of controversy), they both are great pitcher, but, where Snell is better is that he has won a Cy Young and Sale has come close, but has never won one (but this year is looking bright). Unless you’re an AL East Team, or fan, or member of the Rays organization, you never heard of him until last year. He was drafted in the first round out of college, spent 5 years in the minors and then made his debut in 2016, played two seasons as a starter and then win the Cy Young, seems unreasonable, right? His WAR last year was a gleaming 7.5, which was 5th in baseball and 1st in the AL for pitchers. He has 136 Ks this year, he’s 6-7 with a 4.89 ERA, not likely to win this year. He’s out until mid-September with a really gruesome injury, he had surgery for a loose body in his throwing elbow. I think he should stay where he is.

46. I think Trevor Story is the shortstop everyone wants, he’s got power, he’s got contact, he’s got speed,  he’s got elite defense and he’s got a pretty good eye. He’s got 27 homers, 126 hits and a .288 batting average. He has 16 stolen bases and 5 triples, not exactly Ricky Henderson but also not Kendrys Morales. He has only 7 errors and 127 putouts in 106 games, him and Arenado probably make the best all-around left side of the infield in baseball.  The first round pick out of college strikes out in 25% of his plate appearances, which is bad, he’s always had that flaw with too may strikeouts, he lead the league in Ks with 191 in 2017. He might win a Gold Glove in his time, I think definitely a Silver Slugger, his OPS is staggering, a .919 with a .568 slugging percentage. He hits an extra base hit in about 59% of his hits, which accounts for his 249 total bases, (which will smoke his career high) which means that he’s definitely a modern player. I think he has 35+ homer power with 40+ plus double power with 30+ bags speed, that’s kind of what makes a really good ball player.  He’s on pace for the most amount of walks ever in his career and he’s played in 50 less games than last year. He has a 4.9 WAR this year which means he really helps his team and last year he had a 5.6 WAR, which is nice. I think he should move up a few spots.

See you next time!

The Amazins are still Strugglin’

55. Cody Bellinger is a homerun masher and he was throughout this season and his past two, but somehow they put him in 55^th place. He is versatile in the field, he could play right field, first base and has a cannon for an arm. He’s first in homers in MLB, first in runs and first in total bases. This guy likes the XBH but can also hit singles and for average (he’s second in MLB in that category). He and his sweet home run swing aren’t all hits, he improved on his batter’s eye over his career and he’s on pace for his career high in walks (99), which smokes his previous record of 69 that broke his record of 64. Remember, he only came on the scene two and a half years ago and he already has 98 homers and he’s going to break 100 and all MLB fans and associates think that he’s going to win MVP. I think he should be in the 10s, around 13 or 14.

54. All-Star Whit Merrifield is next, he’s a 1930s type player, I’m sorry Royals fans, maybe you agree with me, maybe not, but he is. Only 12 homers this year, a .316 batting average and 15 steals (last season he had 45, leading the majors). For Merrifield, people think he doesn’t hit extra-base-hits, but no, he has 207 total bases, leading the AL and he has 47 XBHs. Last year, he beat out Jose Altuve for most hits in MLB, this year, he’s also leading this year by 7 hits, beating Boston’s Rafael Devers. Though the Royals’ playoff chances are very slim, Whit is doing everything to keep them alive. For a little guy like him, he has a .511 slugging % and he’s getting career highs in almost all batting categories. His batter’s eye isn’t too shabby, he’s not on pace to set a career high there but 32 walks isn’t too bad. I think he should be in the late 30s to mid-40s.

53. Kyle Hendricks is next and he has a few good games, like throwing a complete game shutout with only 89 pitches and then he completely bombs the next game. The 6-year veteran won an ERA title with a 2.13 ERA in 2016, but this year he has 3.46 ERA. He always pitches a lot of innings and this year he already has about 100 innings which isn’t that much this year but in past years he was around 200 innings. He gives up about a hit per inning and what’s crazy is that he only gave up 39 earned runs. He’s 7-7 and he gives up a mediocre amount of homers, 12, his strikeout numbers aren’t too appealing but it’s acceptable, he strikes out 21% of his batter’s, eh. He’s somewhat dependable to give you a good game, like starting the World Series (I’m not saying they’ll make it) or a playoff game but no Cy Young for him in his career. I think he’s good where he is.

52. Veteran journeyman Justin Upton is next. This guy actually knows that his skill level does not supply 35 bombs, 100+ RBIs and stealing 15 or so bags and so does the rest of MLB and the fans and the coaches. He’s only played 20 games this year, which produced 74 ABs. He gets a hit in about a fourth of his plate appearances but this year isn’t looking so good for the left fielder. He has 4 homers and 8 RBIs this season and only 1 stolen base. He was the most amazing in his years in Atlanta and San Diego, the face of the franchise for both teams. Over that stint, 82 dingers, 253 RBIs, 35 bags, 256 runs scored and a .262 batting average, not too bad. Last season was probably his last good one, 30 homers, 85 RBIs, 80 runs and a .257 average. His batter’s eye is actually pretty good, 706 walks over 13 years is about 54 walks a year, not the best but certainly not the worst. I think he should go up to the mid-60s.

51. Gary Sanchez is next. The power hitting catcher only knows how to do…… power hitting! When he came to the big leagues 4 years ago, he hit 20 homers and everyone thought that he would be the new face of the franchise, but then, the Yanks threw a wallet at their problems (as usual) and the problems got solved so Gary Sanchez didn’t go exactly unnoticed but he kind of faded into the crowd. Then, next year, he hits 33 homers, drives in 90 and gets 131 hits and the Yankees slowly start noticing the flaws of Gary Sanchez. He is a well below-average defender but a well above average offensive player, there’s no one to match him this year in the Silver Slugger chase but he’s never going to win a Gold Glove. He strikes out too much, but nowadays, players either hit the ball out of the playing field or whiff. Sanchez is the only good catcher that the Yankees have and they will stick with him all because of his offense. I think he should be in the mid-40s.

IN OTHER NEWS, Pete Alonso won the Home Run Derby, Jake deGrom pitched a 1-2-3 scoreless inning and Jeff McNeil got his at-bat with a wrong name on the board but he made a catch in the outfield. The AL wins again, I personally thought that the NL would win because of the abundance of hitters and power hitters, but, no. The Mets were on a 4-game win streak, but in the 16^th, Alonso hits a go-ahead dinger and then in the bottom of the inning rookie Chris Mazza gives up two runs for the Giants win.

The Trade Deadline is coming up but as we’re 12 days away, not much action is going around the majors, I hope the Mets get a decent hitter and a bullpen piece; we need Van Waganen to be really aggressive. The rest of baseball isn’t going to be that hot in trading, not too many big name free agents next year to trade but everyone likes a big trade. Aaron Boone got really heated yesterday when he thought the ump missed a call and he just exploded, he said that “My guys are savages!” Yes that is true, the red hot Yanks are real savages, they mow down every team in sight and hit homers to flatten their opponents some more. Chris Sale had a nice outing after a very, very rocky start to the season, he blanked them with only allowing 2 hits over 6 frames striking out 12 and walking only 2. Sale is 4-9 this year (again, the very poor start to the season) with a 4.95 ERA and 160 Ks. What really sucks about the Trade Deadline is that Zack Wheeler suffered the biggest shoulder impingement of his career, so, I don’t know why the Mets didn’t trade him before and this will certainly worsen his trade value. Brad Hand isn’t talked about as much as he should be. He is probably the most unhittable closer in baseball because of his filthy, dirty stuff, curveball, slider, changeup all really nasty and last night, he got the save, which is 1^st in the AL, second in baseball behind San Diego’s Kirby Yates. He has 60 Ks in 39.1 IP and a 2.29 ERA which is very good. The NL MVP race is heating up by a lot, Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich are head to head in this one, they both hit dingers, they’re both fast but I think Yelich is going to win it.

What Makes a Team Great?

OK, in addition to runs?

Bad team chemistry can make a team fall apart, even for a team with 20 MVPs on it.

However, good team chemistry can help a team in any sport win a championship even a bad team. You need a little skill to win some games, ok, your team needs a lot but team chemistry is the dark horse in the bag of elements that experts believe creates a championship-caliber team.

Here’s what some pros have said about teamwork in sports:

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth, even though he wasn’t the friendliest teammate to play with.

“The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven.” – Legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne.

“Teamwork is what the Green Bay Packers were all about. They didn't do it for individual glory. They did it because they loved one another.” – World famous NFL coach Vince Lombardi.

To have good team chemistry you must have a captain, eg. David Wright, a sparkplug, eg. Jose Altuve, and a coach who promotes good vibes (I know I sound like a flower child) and brotherhood, eg. Casey Stengel who said, “Finding good players is easy, getting them to play as a team is another story.” No kidding, look at the 1962 Mets, 40-120.

I know this from personal experience. Last year, in Little League, we had sluggers up and down the lineup, great fielders, fast runners, but 6 or 7 of those guys put everyone down for the smallest errors, leaving the other 4 of us in our own world. We only had 5 wins in a 16-game season.

This year, we had a good season, only 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the batting order produced, who were our catcher (me), pitcher, shortstop and first baseman. They were our pitching staff, but we had great chemistry and we won 9 or 10 games.

Team chemistry is better than talent because if you have a whole team of moderate players, and they make a few mistakes, strong team chemistry will pick them up, give them confidence and good vibes (Don’t tell me, I sound like a flower child again, I know) will project the team into winning.

The 2015 New York Yankees had bad team chemistry. A little stroll down memory lane: Babe Ruth and his Yankee teammates, (but mostly him) had absolutely horrible chemistry, Alex Rodriguez was suspended for allegedly using drugs, which worsened the spirits of the clubhouse in 2014 that carried on to the next year. What’s more, the 2015 Yanks were without their captain and great shortstop, Derek Jeter, for the first time in 20 years. You would look to Alex to fill the role, he sort of did, but no one ever compares to DJ. Also, they came in the 2015 season with sky-high hopes, Yankee fans were hoping the 27-time champs would make it 28 (like they do every year), but they only made it to the Wild Card game, ultimately losing to the Astros.

Winning is the thing that improves or fixes team chemistry and GMs usually fiddle with team chemistry because they don’t understand how important it is for their players to get along. If someone gets traded away, that makes the player sad and the whole team plays half-heartedly. If the team chemistry is bad from the beginning and the players are angry at each other, that’s the worst. Then you just pray for the best.

All in all, I think team chemistry is a very important virtue in the clubhouse and that certainly improves how the team performs.