It’s finally here. Summer, that is. Now I can fully concentrate on baseball.

Indians’ long-awaited sluggers, Edwin Encarnacion and Mike Napoli. Encarnacion is a serious slugger. When Mike Napoli got released a few weeks ago, Encarnacion was not supported, Napoli was a power hitter, but he and Encarnacion were a great duo. All pitchers were scared of them. With Napoli being the guy with the .257 batting average and 28 homers and Encarnacion with a .290 average and 35 dingers, the duo always getting clutch hits at the right time. Then Napoli got traded away to the Indians. So Encarnacion got Jose Ramirez (19 HRs) and Francisco Lindor (14 HRs), two sluggers, Francisco Lindor is also a really good fielder, so, now I understand why Indians made it to the World Series two years ago. Edwin moved over to the DH position to be the 3rd or 4th place hitter with Lindor leading off and Ramirez batting 2nd or 3rd. Edwin Encarnacion has a nice piece of hitting doubles, his talent of hitting doubles is like the smell of a raw cinnamon stick, ever so slight. The lineup card can show 3B, 1B or DH. The diversity of his position playing shocks me, with only Marwin Gonzalez plays more positions than him. The Indians and Terry Francona lean on him for the power of this team.

Daniel Murphy made probably the worst error of the Mets’ playoff career and he should go down to Little League. He let a ball go under his glove by like 6 inches, then it just went south for the Mets in 2015 in the World Series. He is a pure-batted power hitter with just raw power, not trained power, he just has normal power, born with it, it’s sad that the Nats can’t use the power because he got micro-fracture surgery and has already begun baseball activities but no one knows when he’ll make his season debut. He is mostly a 2B, but could play some LF and could move over and play the corners at 1B and 3B. He concentrates and knocking it down and making an out, doesn’t have to be a double play. He has a lot of power and THAT’S what puts him in front of the other players and should move down to mid-60.

Ervin Santana was a beast when he came into the bigs in 2005, strike out totals were moderately high, playing in the division of AL West, a really good division, then all-of-a-sudden, they didn’t want him so the Angels got a minor leaguer who didn’t even make it to the majors, at all, and the Royals got Ervin and some cash. I guess The Show-Me State didn’t like him and shipped him in a crate to Atlanta where he dominated the east, striking out 179 in 198 innings, then he was a little hot and the Twins Fed-Exed him to Minnesota where it was cold but he was hot, with three shut-outs last year and five complete games, which lead the AL, pitching 211.1 innings which is the fifth-most innings he’s ever pitched in 13 years. He doesn’t throw hard or tries to finish his slider away and way out of the zone, to finish as a poor, poor batter chasing for the pitch or trying to make his sinker the golden egg in a basket of only white eggs. He is just mediocre, right smack mediocre. Just a plain good pitcher, a two-time All-Star and finished in 6th place and 7th place in Cy Young voting. He should move up just a few spots, maybe 7-10 spots.

Brandon Crawford was a baseball-loving, bench-warming kind of guy, with some pop but didn’t hit for average in 2011-14. Then, in ’15, exploded with 21 homers and he was a Silver Slugger, a Gold Glover and an All-Star. In ’16 he turned on the jets and got 11 triples, leading the NL. He’s not a power hitter, but when the Giants need him, he produces; he’s always been probably the best, if not the best fielder on the team. He is reasonably fast, his short little steps that produce speed which is crucial for the Giants because they have a huge chance for the NL West and entering june 18, they are 10th in the Wild Card. He has his weak spots so he should go back some 4 spots.

Jose Quintana is next and he has a devastating sinker which is accompanied by a changeup, a fastball and a curve. Over his career, his SO totals have gone up and his innings have gone down, in my baseball writing career, I have never seen a person with those kind of numbers. His ERA too, has gone up as last year his runs have been the highest ever. His strikeouts per 9 innings (SO/9 IP) but miraculously enough – his hits are the lowest ever in his full seasons. He has allowed the tied-most HRs in his career. I don’t know, looking at his numbers, is he good or is he bad. Last year, looking at the trade that the White Sox did with the Cubs, I thought the Sox were crazy and this is the best thing that happened to the Cubs pitching-wise. This year he has not been good or bad, so I guess I would put him where he is, don’t move him.

And on this year’s diamond …

So now there’s this buzz about the Orioles playing Manny Machado at short and third to raise his trade value which is pretty much kind of bad for the O’s because if they do end up trading Machado, they don’t have anyone to play at short or third, they do have Jace Peterson oooorrrrr Danny Valencia or their no. 2 prospect, Ryan Mountcastle. They have THREE third basemen, and the prospect is only in AA. They have two shortstop prospects, both are in A level. I mean they could trade Machado to the Mets where they would probably get Andres Gimenez, no. 1 prospect for Mets, or Amed Rosario, or someone like Ronny Mauricio.

Speaking of trades to the Mets, Mets are sooo desperate, yes, I’m saying desperate, that they need to accept any trade offers for bats. The Mets actually got out of their slump, a three-game winning streak starting with Brandon Nimmo, in the middle with Nimmo homering against the D-Backs and then leading of the game against the Rockies and launching an inside-the-park homer and running from home to home in 14.7 seconds. This is the fastest home to home time all year this season, then firing another one into the Rockies bullpen, I guess that’s why they call it a hitter’s ballpark aaaand also because hitters hit the most homers here than any other ballpark.

Devin Mesaraco also helped the Mets with his own homer and the Mets annihilated the Rockies, 12-2, DeGrom was on the mound and of course the Mets had to win while racking up 12 runs. So, right now the AL has been blessed with rookies Gleyber Torres, the beast of all beasts, Miguel Andujar - a stud at third base and at the plate providing everything from much needed walks to extra-base hits to round-trippers.  Also, the AL had a two-way phenom in Shohei Ohtani, to hitting bombs in Angel’s stadium to pitching triple digits on the mound, I don’t think he’ll win Rookie of the Year, but he has a good chance to help the Angels win the AL West or at least win the Wild Card.

The Astros are on fire, winning 12 straight. Their rotation is worthy of winning a World Series on their own led by Justin Verlander and finished by Charlie Morton. With all their catchers raking and demolishing the ball right now and Evan Gattis being the best catcher in June so far. Jose Altuve is the beast he is at number two in the game and Alex Bregman grinding those hits from the top of the lineup and Carlos Correa putting on a show at shortstop diving to save singles and getting doubles and homers to keep the cleanup spot occupied for the Astros.

Tony Kemp is the real player in the lineup that really gets the least amount of love, he sprints full speed on the base paths and on the field just to get a single or run down a ball that would be foul anyway. Jake Marisnick and Josh Reddick both are fighting for a spot in the lineup and both don’t know how really good they are. George Springer took the leadoff spot to can-you-catch-me level with hitting a homer on the first pitch of the game almost every game. No doubt their streak will extend.

I think Matt Kemp is from a fairy tale land, everyone thought that he will be DFAed, but really, he has been leading the voting for CF, if you want to check out the leaders in the All-Star voting go ahead and Google or Safari it and it will show you. The real Cinderella story this season is by far the Seattle Mariners. They’ve gone from 0 last season to second place in the AL WEST, a really tough division. I hope they’ll keep it up with the big help from Mitch Haniger and more pieces from the bullpen and the starting rotation and the lineup.

I don’t like the trade that the Nats did with the Royals, Kelvin Herrera???!!! They already have Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson, two great closers, now they want to add a third? So will Madson be moved to the seventh inning man???!!! J. Who needs a seventh-inning man? Who will be the closer, Doolittle or Herrera. Or moving Herrera to the rotation all together. Oyyoyoy, the Nats have a lot on their mind including the pickle that they ran themselves into and trying to stay alive in the NL East. 

Thanks for reading. I’ll return soon.

Welcome back, baseball fans.

Sorry about my silence but I had projects for finish for school. Imagine!

The Space City legend Dallas Keuchel, who they take real good care of, I mean, if they could, they would give him 7 to 9-day rest, but, they can’t because the Astros are a game behind the Mariners. Wait, the Mariners? Wow, I thought they were like third or fourth or even last in their division. They also limit his innings (which they shouldn’t), to limit his arm so he can go longer the next game or so he could put a little more something on his pitches. He has 142.2 innings which is low and 125 SOs which is low for a guy like him. He has a 2.90 ERA and only allowed 50 runs last season over 23 games. Keuchel faced 518 batters and 116 got a hit and 19.9% of batters got a hit. Max Scherzer had a 16.1% of batters getting a hit. He is getting old, and he should be pushed over to a better spot despite his 23 games and 14 wins against only 5 losses, which is stupendously good for a 30-year-old.

Next is, Kyle Hendricks, wait, who is he again? Oh, right, he’s the Cubs’ new guy. That was 2014, well now he’s one of the Cub’s aces (and they don’t have any except for Jose Quintana and that’s stretching it) with 139.2 innings. Hendricks could have had more but his innings were stabbed in the back and the knife was twisted by injuries. Just keep in mind he is pitching in the really tough NL Central, which gives him a really hard time to be good. But he is surviving, he is one of the aces of the NL too, but, not as good as DeGrom or Scherzer. He has a lot of work left ahead of him, he should get a spot closer to the best.

Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays is the next up, he is one of the youngest, shortest best starting pitchers in the AL East, with his short delivery and frame. He played in 33 games last year, pitching 201 innings, 13 wins, 164 SOs, giving up only 21 HRs. If your brain wants to chew on something….chew on this, Marcus Stroman allowed 21 homers last year which is the same amount of dingers as Corey Kluber, and one LESS homer than Max Scherzer, those two players that I compared Stroman to, they won the Cy Young for their leagues last year. Those stats speak for themselves. 201 hits, 82 runs. He only plunked six batters and has the occasional bad outing but not as much as most mediocre-to-good pitchers, he should get a spot in the 40’s.

Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is next and is more than a AL East superstar, he is a AL superstar, he is getting short bursts of hits and could get consistency out of himself. Somehow his average isn’t that high, he could slug too, with a .402 slugging percentage and 118 hits and his rare pop of speed with 8 stolen bases  and has five already in 2018 and he beat out three triples last year and has one this year. To tell you the truth, he could legit fly up to last year until he got a small injury, he could still fly like crazy, just not as much. He got to the offseason, and then rehabbed and he will fly, I bet that this year he will get more SBs than he got last year. He should work on the power, the only thing he should look at is and fix is his power. Last year, John Farrell trusted him so much that he put him in the lead-off spot which is really good, but then you look at this year, batting ninth every single day, it doesn’t mean that he’s bad, it just means that Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi are just better than him (maybe not Andrew). He should stay where he is or move up a very few spots.

The next champ is the greatest Baltimore second baseman that baseball has seen, Jonathan Schoop, who has remarkable power with that really, really upward swing of his bat and the ball has nowhere else to go but out of the park. He was first on his team with WAR and RBI and second in Ruthian Blasts with 32 homers last year and 67 extra base hits, the same with fellow second baseman, Jose Altuve also had 67 XBHs, Altuve had a higher average and more stolen bases, but Schoop had more dingers and more RBI, who’s better? I really don’t know. It’s obviously Altuve but Schoop is not far behind. He could drive in runs with 105 RBIs which is tied for twelfth in MLB last season and was first among qualified second basemen. He can also hit for average with a .293 which is 5th among second basemen, he also has the trained power of plate discipline. These days, who has natural plate discipline? (Weird, natural, really, never heard of it)  He waited for a career high of 35 BBs, and he is really showing to the baseball world that he is one of the most powerful infielders in the major leagues.

As for this season’s diamond …

So the Red Sox DFAed (designated for Assignment which means that the team that has 10 days to trade him or else, he gets released). With Wilmer Flores going to the shelf to join the party that’s not playing and not helping the Mets try and win a game, what do the Mets do? Well, their general manager, can I even call him a general manager, more like a couch potato that gets paid to sit at his desk and watch his team drop “rock bottom” as Mickey Callaway said, from a very high place in his office. He should sign Hanley to play first and you CAN’T let Adrian Gonzalez play every day and Jay Bruce playing first is like letting Mike Trout be the catcher, let Bruce play his natural position in right field (I’m thinking about playing Bruce in left field. Maybe, just maybe.) Adrian Gonzalez not playing every day, but play and put Hanley somewhere because the Mets NEEEEEEEED a bat, any bat and right now, Hanley is their Numero Uno choice.

The Mets lose again, wow; they get swept by the Cubs in a FOUR-game series, wow. I went to the game on Friday with my class and they lost. So you know one of those T-shirt cannons at games, well, I was talking to two of my friends and then BLAMMMOOOOOOOOO, I get hit with a T-shirt flying 50+ mph in my neck, then guess what, the shirt fell down to the people below me and my classmates. Crazy, right? Just crazy and funny.

Back to baseball. Javier Baez actually stole home against the arguably worst pitcher on the Mets, Steven Matz, so when Wilson Contreras played the worm on the hook and Matz throwing to pick him off, Baez in the meantime was sprinting home at full speed and guess what? The throw is a little late, by maybe a millisecond, but Kevin Plawecki pretty much didn’t want to put the tag on him and Baez took advantage of it and swiped home. Wow, the Mets really and I mean really suck on defense.

Most people know that Danny Farquhar had a brain aneurysm, so, Danny came to Guaranteed Rate Field and threw out the first pitch, little off, but he’s a pitcher. I don’t know if it’s just luck or are the Cardinals the super team right now, they have walked off 2 of their last four, Ozuna had a grand slam on June 3 and homer no. 100 on 6/2 and Michael Wacha actually took a no-hitter in to the ninth inning and then Colin Moran singled as a pinch-hitter.

Right now: You can vote for the 2018 All-Star team right now at MLB.com (there are many more cool things on MLB.com than you think, lots and lots of cool stuff every day.) and you click on it and then you can vote and each person that votes could win a RV, pretty nice, the 89th All-Star Game will be on June 17, 2018, at Nationals Park in Washington DC and it will be broadcast on FOX. When Giancarlo Stanton hit his 12th home run of the season on June 2, it landed right in a bachelorette party at Camden Yards, right there, he crashed a bachelorette party, but he wasn’t even there. On June 4, the 2018 MLB Draft will be in Secaucus, NJ, at 7 PM and will airing on MLB Network.

So my question is: How many All-Star appearances plus Silver Sluggers times Gold Gloves did Ivan Rodriguez have in his career? (All-Star + SS x GG=) That’s my question.

Thanks for reading.

Greetings baseball fans!

Houston Astros' right fielder, Josh Reddick is up next. He is really consistent, a rare quality for this day and age, but he is not really the best, he doesn’t really get starts, only pinch-hitting. He had 13 homeruns and 82 RBIs in 2017, and still has speed for a 31-year-old with 7 stolen bases. When I mean consistent, I mean he has a .314 average and has 150 hits, 34 doubles and 4 triples as a plus 30 year old. He could really dig when he tries and cuts first. He could also slug a lot with a .484 slugging percentage. As he is getting older, his stats and starts are sliding away from him and he got ranked flaw fully because to be at 66^th, you gotta have some starts (and I’m not saying that he doesn’t) and some at-bats under your belt. He has six dingers.

Evan “Longo” Longoria of the San Francisco Giants is 67^th and he has 20 home runs, 86 RBIs and a .261 average which is really low for third-basemen except for the RBIs, he’s sixth in that. He won Rookie of The Year in his first year and I gotta hand it to him, he’s really good with his glove, winning three Gold Gloves in 10 years, mustering three All-Star appearances and somehow powering one Silver Slugger and that came in 2009 when he was still good (and “good” is pushing it a little too far). With 33 dingers and 113 RBIs, I would put him closer to the best…. but there are other players and not only third basemen that are better than him.

The Twins have been looking for a player like Byron Buxton for a long time and got Aaron Hicks, but he’s not as good as Buxton. Hicks only had the limited power due to not playing at various injuries with only 20 homers and 26 stolen bases. They had Pedro Florimon for two sad years, with only 10 home runs and 18 stolen bases playing in 177 games posting a .220 average with 119 hits and 596 plate appearances, but the only characteristic both of them have that Byron has is speed and both of them got traded and are now playing somewhere else, not really needed there either. Byron Buxton even has more-than-limited power, with 117 hits, 6 triples, 16 home runs, 51 RBIs, .253 average and going back to the speed 29 stolen bases, as a rookie. He was 18^th in MVP voting last year and won the Gold Glove. You really don’t need glasses or a genius to figure out that he is going to the cornerstone phenom that the Twins should build on in the future.

Next is another rookie talent in Alex Bregman, he really took the spotlight last year in the hitting and fielding column in an already great Houston Astros’ lineup up and down. He took the full-time position of third baseman and gave Marwin Gonzalez some lee-way to play other positions. Last season, he was expected to play better than he did with maybe 26 HRs, 94 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, 40 doubles and a .291 BA, he played exceptionally well by hitting 19 homers, 71 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, 39 doubles and a .284 average. But the ‘Stros and MLB expected much better from him in his first full season and he didn’t give it, he did slug a lot and field very well, but he should move back a few spots, he tries, the Astros need a third-baseman, they don’t need the power, but there is no such thing as too much power.

Jon Lester of the Chicago Cubs is the next up. He could really pitch, even now when he’s old, but his stats are fading away. Take for example last season, when he had 180.2 innings and 180 strikeouts and gave up 101 runs, the second-highest it’s been in his whole career, though he had 8.97 SOs per 9 IP and he pitched the least he ever had which will create more time for him to pitch his Cy Young caliber way, he has some good spots, but not all, he should be moved back, maybe to 75^th.

Around the baseball diamond … 

Sorry, Phillies fans, I didn’t talk about your phenom, Odubel Herrera, he had a 45 game on-base streak going until on 5/20 his streak got stopped by the Braves and he went on-base less. So, unlike really any team in the Expansion era doesn’t have a whole list of absolutely GREAT leadoff hitters like the Phillies do: Pete Rose, Lenny Dykstra, Jimmy Rollins and now Odubel Herrera, who has pop, speed hitting for average, XBH power, and he could sprint for balls in the gap that even Kevin Pillar wouldn’t and when I say that Kevin Pillar won’t go for them, no one will except Odubel Herrera. Can Herrera help the Phils get better and possibly beat out the Braves for first place in the NL East, will he? He can help them a lot, but not as much as young studs as Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Mike Soroka and Dansby Swanson can help the Braves be the best in the NL East. Can the Phils win the Wild Card and who will win the Wild Card? The Phillies have a more than perfect shot at winning the Wild Card or at least making it to that level, who will win it? I honestly don’t know but right now it looks something like the Cubs playing the Phillies in a game where both teams have been in existence for over 135 years. Pretty interesting, right?

Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez are the sluggers in the American League, no sarcasm there, really big and powerful guys. Betts in a third-year baby while Martinez is a veteran. What is really crazy is that they’re on the same team, the Boston Red Sox, the super team of 2018. That makes them even more unstoppable.

So the Mets are out of their funk, at least for the time being. They just swept one of the best teams in the NL, the Diamondbacks. Amed Rosario, not one of the Mets’ boppers, would you say, no round-trippers yet this year, no four-baggers in 200 straight at-bats going back to late last year, then, he hits two, on two consecutive pitches and the second one came right after Asdrubal Cabrera came out of the bench warming job for the day with Jose Reyes and Philip Evans helping him and Callaway summoned him and he rocketed one over the fence with Tomas Nido on first, back-to-back home runs. Sad news for the day, Sandy Alderson designated Jose Lobaton for Assignment, sad to see him go, but the Mets need more players so hopefully the Mets will dig up a trade. To tell you the truth, Tomas Nido is NOT ready for the big leagues in my opinion, and even if Alderson calls him up, it really never hurts to have a backup catcher just in case, even though I think he is not ready for the majors. This is what I think, Devin Mesaraco in the starting role and Lobaton backing him up with Nido is they need him. Now it’s going to be tight, Mesaraco starting with Nido backing him up with no one to follow, in history, the Mets are injury-stricken over the past few years, so they shouldn’t designate him for assignment. It’s really good for Nido because he’s getting full-time now in with the Mets in the big leagues.

One of the best bullpens in the game, the Arizona Diamondbacks and high and mighty, so they were, until the Mets squeezed the juice out of them two days in a row, crushing them, so will they be so big, strong and scary in their next series against The Brewers on 5/20/18? I dunno. So, Sergio Romo actually started a game, no, two consecutive games in 11 seasons, 2.1 IP in all, six punch-outs, pretty good if I was a coach, I’d put him in a starting role. Jordan Hicks is the new, right-handed Aroldis Chapman, he threw 105, 103,104,105,104 mph to poor Odubel Herrera, poor, poor, Herrera, and it was like someone shooting at him, with legit bullets. I still don’t know what really happened, but after Amir Garret struck out Javier Baez. Baez got heated and then the two of them exchanged some words and then the benches cleared and they were at it, maybe it was some history from 2014, when Anthony Rizzo had some words to Aroldis Chapman and the benches cleared, maybe it wasn’t that history, maybe something else, no one knows.

This is going to make your mind explode; baseball has royal connections, Meghan Markle had a great-great uncle that actually played in the Show, Happy Evans. He was in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1937, and he was pretty good. Kendrys Morales actually pitched an inning and he got Jonathan Lucroy to fly out to end the inning, not to be mean, but he’s a little too big to be on a mound, you’re statement is as good as ours. I know it’s not even August but I still want Sandy Alderson to get a good jump on getting great players this offseason, on the trading block are players like Bryce Harper to Manny Machado, just wishes, just wishes. You fans could answer this one just in your head or leave a comment. In his career, how many times did Jimmy Rollins steal over 40 bases?

Page views of my blog have topped 700 in two months. Thanks for your support. Glad to enjoy my blog. Have a hot dog on me.

Welcome back, baseball fans!

J.D Martinez of the Boston Red Sox had topsy-turvy seasons the past few years going from Houston to Detroit to Arizona and now finally to Boston to join the Red Sox and try to have more success in the position of LF or DHing almost every day. He really reinvented himself to be a slugger with 45 homers, 104 RBIs and a .303 average to rank himself among the best in the AL East. Coming into 2018, he will have to partly carry the team and with help from Jackie Bradley Jr. (A veteran), Rafael Devers, veteran-to-veteran help from Eduardo Nunez and Dustin Pedroia, he is a big upgrade for the already great Red Sox lineup. As I see the Red Sox fight through the tough conditions of contending for the playoffs, the cornerstones of the club are veterans, well, most of them. He should get a better spot because a lot of players that are 30+ can’t hit even 25+ HRs.

I know what made the LA Dodgers lose the World Series, their bullpen, with only superstar Kenley Jansen as the closer, they need middle relievers, with a 3.1 WAR and 5 wins (pretty high for closers these days), 1.32 ERA and 41 saves. He has a combined 124 saves the last three full seasons. With 109 K’s and 293 the past three seasons – this is remarkably high for closers these days. He was an All-Star and was 5th in the Cy Young voting, only him, Zach Britton, Shawn Tolleson and Andrew Miller were in the Cy Young voting the past three years, mostly starters. I don’t know what the quartet of people writing this thought say; but he is one of the best, if not the best closer in the game though Greg Holland is good. He and Jansen were tied for second most saves in 2017.

Next up is also one of the elite closers in the game, Craig Kimbrel – Red Sox relief pitcher, who can close out a game no matter how hard it is to do it. He does it in my mind as the 2nd toughest division to do it in (The first is the NL West), he has the Bronx Bombers on one hand and Manny Machado on the other. He has other small power hitters like Hanley Ramirez, J.D Martinez, Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaegarts, Josh Donaldson, Kendrys Morales, Justin Smoak and Justin Schoop. He has 126 SOs, 35 saves, 5 wins (high for relief pitchers (The 126 SOs are the most out of any closer in the game (Again!!) and a 1.43 ERA. He is not trying to be a power pitcher with heat and lots of breaking balls. Kimbrel just is, and he looks for strikeouts opposed to groundouts or fly outs. He is not as good and consistent as Jansen but is certainly getting a spot in the 40s in my book.

Chris Taylor was meant to be the back outfielder that would only pinch-hit and play when someone was injured badly with the Dodgers, when he was with Seattle, no one even knew he was there, just playing 86 games there with no injuries in 2 and a half seasons there, only playing shortstop with no home runs, if he ever played. When he came to the Dodgers as a mid-season trade, he jumped right into the spotlight playing almost every game in the short time the season had left. Last season, he had 140 games, 148 hits, 21 HRs, 72 RBIs, 17 SBs and a .288 average, even racking up NLCS MVP for 2017. I don’t know what is in store for 2018 with five home runs already, but we don’t know him that well, he earns his spot well this year.

Ian Kinsler who has always tried to be a superstar at second base and it’s working and it’s going to work, because of his trade to Los Angeles. Now he could be the leadoff hitter for them and really produce. He isn’t really the consistent power guy a team like the Angels need but has some pop with 22 homers and the Angels really don’t need speed, and he and Mike Trout are the only 5-tool players (Ian Kinsler is kind of a 5-tool but when he leaps or steps on the gas, he’s really good.) that they have, he also has stolen base power in him and moderate doubles with 14 SBs and 25 doubles. He has 130 hits and the Angels are looking for a dependable lead-off hitter and finally they found one, for the Angels, he is really, really, really good, but for SI’s Top 100 baseball players, he doesn’t go that close to one, so he should get a spot a few spots before him.

And on to this season’s baseball diamond. 

The Dark Knight is in Gotham City and pitching woefully. Oh, wait, not any longer, he got traded to Porkopolis, Cincinnati, to meet the Reds. So he pitches four innings, allows one hit and got two strikeouts. Wow, now the trade is looking really bad, but not for the Mets, they got veteran catcher Devin Mesaraco, who is really overlooked. He might look a little heavy but he could save a lot of passed balls and has a huge swing for a 6-1 guy. He mostly has an upward swing that causes him to miss a lot of good pitches instead of driving them for base hits. When he finally hits one, he drives one either out of here or a pop out to the left fielder. Sorry, I’m a little late on this one, Albert Pujols joins an exclusive club, 3,000 hits, 600 home runs, with three other members: Alex Rodriguez (On route to Hall of Fame), Willie Mays (In the Hall of Fame) and Hank Aaron (In the Hall of Fame). What does that tell me? Well, Albert is going to Cooperstown.

The Amazin’ Mets actually batted out of order. You think this is a joke, or I misstated the real Mets for some Little League team? No, the New York Mets actually batted out of order, Wilmer Flores and Asdrubal Cabrera flip-flopped and Jay Bruce got called out, weird-but true. So the myth that Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge will hit more than 115 homers. They’re off to a slow start, 21 four-baggers in a little more than a month, will they? They already had 27 last season at this time.

When announcers or people on SportsCenter say that baseball is played a lot with young talent lately, they’re mostly focusing on the Braves, who have seven players age 25 and under, and four of them are in the lineup almost every day and three of them are pitchers. Robinson Cano is on the disabled list with a broken hand when he got hit with a pitch, hard, I saw it, it hurt when I saw it. Fransisco Lindor actually put on the wrong gear when he went up to bat, the wrong helmet so that his ear was prone to get hit.

Charlie Morton and the Astros’ pitchers are just really good, 14 strikeouts, Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers Jr., well, now I understand why they won the World Series and what is really crazy is that Carlos Correa is only 23 years old. Sean Newcomb is pitching great for the Braves and they were dead last in that crazy division two years ago, and the second place team: the Philadelphia Phillies were dead last year.

This division is crazy, but what is really crazy is that Miami, was second last year and now is last, hopefully, the Mets or the Nationals win the division because this division WILL get sent to the psychiatric hospital.

One last thing before I go, I know that home runs win ball games, but strikeouts and HRs have gone up, way up, not because of juicing, because of launch angle and a more upward swing, causing the hitters to miss really good pitches to drive for doubles and maybe triples. Now all players are focusing on home runs and even the new trend has got to me, I'm repairing my swing to be more base hits, and drive into the alleys like my coach says. This is exactly what Devin Mesaraco does to his swing and he makes contact either a round tripper or a routine flyout to left field.

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Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees is one of baseball’s shortest players, but he can really hit for a little guy like him. In that case so can Jose Altuve. Gardner is also really fast, so is Jose Altuve, but I see something in Gardner, I see real potential, and that potential is mustering career years when he’s getting older. He stole 16+ bases in all of his years (125 games+) – one of the fastest players in the AL East. Gardner has a heck of a lot of pop and I stress that his skill makes career impressions late in his career and could lay out in his short frame to save the Yankees a win as John Sterling would say, “Yankees win, the Yankees win.”

Next is according to a lot of sources (Including me!!!) is the strongest man in the world, Yoenis Cespedes of the New York Mets. He is 32 this year (still really good) and can still hit absolute bombs and by bombs I mean things that went over satellites and almost hit the moon. He can hit to all fields (mostly to the left) and has a lot of RBIs and can run for the catches that he usually never makes and could walk moderately. Cespedes is one of the only players that age who does not make the stats lesson. Last year, he had an injury-stricken season, playing only 81 games and still pulled off 17 HRs, 42 RBIs, 17 doubles and a .292 average. He really deserves a spot in the 30s to 40s, at most 45, and his throws are just crazy, better than Parra.

Ender Inciarte of the Atlanta Braves is a really good outburst and a centerfielder that the Braves need and have been looking for. They have 3 other rookies that keep on stunning the fans. He started in 2014 as the centerfielder in Arizona and no one was sure of really not getting the coaxing power to coaches to pick him up or start him, going on and off the bench. But last season Brian Snitker was so trusting that he made Inciarte the starting centerfielder. He is one of the fastest in the NL East and he has one of the best averages in the NL East and MLB, and a few fix-it-up spots here and there. He deserves his spot well. Also in 2018, he picked up his second Gold Glove and his first All-Star appearance.

Next is the Yankees flame-throwing rookie pitcher, Luis Severino, with his fastball that Aaron Boone adores – his 2.98 ERA, 33 games and 230 SOs, which are really good for AL rookies and players his age. He is still getting 14 wins and 31 games and in his first full season he gave up 150 hits which is less than Chris Sale last season. He still has low innings through 31 games and is allowing too many runs but his ERA is good. He deserves his spot even though he was the Opening Day starters.

In 2009, the Texas Rangers had stars in Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, and Marlon Byrd, they needed a reliable shortstop so they called up Elvis Andrus, and he really made a difference in the lineup and in the team’s fielding, then the team’s 3 stars got traded. So now with the position of the best player, Elvis Andrus had to carry the team through the tough AL West. Playing the part of the Lone Ranger for two years, Adrian Beltre shot up and helped out and then all of a sudden, Beltre was the Lone Ranger and Andrus was Tonto, and then they got Mike Napoli with power that any normal pitcher would be scared of. In 2013, with the sudden pop-up of Kinsler and with Cruz still on the team and with the acquisition of Leonys Martin, Andrus was left in the dust despite his 168 hits, 42 stolen bases, and .271 BA. Then in 2013 they fell down, the strong Texas team, went down, Andrus was not as good as he was and Kinsler and Cruz traded but now they were hopeful with Robinson Chirinos and Adam Rosales. The 2015 season came along and Andrus prospered with 7 homers, .258 average and 25 SBs the Rangers were in first place. Last season Elvis had 20 homers, 88 RBIs, 25 stolen bases and a .297 average, after the comeback he’s made, he is more than worthy of a better spot.

As for news from this season’s diamond, here’s a breaking one: Matt Harvey too good at his role (at least in his mind) so he gets designated for an assignment. Wait, that’s not what it said, it said, “Harvey got designated for assignments after refusing to go to the minors.” Mets GM Sandy Alderson and Mickey Callaway decided that because it was to help him, to make him better if he ever could. The Dark Knight era is over, sad, but now a new era is coming on for the Amazins’, lots of young and new prosperous prospects and the MLB Draft coming up on June 4. Jose Bautista got his first at-bat for the Braves and he doubles. Gleyber Torres hit his first career home run as the Yankees are routing or routed the Indians. Nomar Mazara doesn’t homer a lot but when he does or gets on a streak, he’s almost as good as Bryce Harper. He hit the longest home run of 2017 and he homered for 4 consecutive games this year. Davey Martinez helped his team more than anything, putting Bryce “Big Kid” Harper batting leadoff and that really, really helped the Nationals. He has been leading off since May 1 and slugged 4 homers so far in 4 games. Really killing it. Mookie Betts is a sneaky MVP candidate with 13 home runs already and 2 3-homerun games so far. MLB and three home run games have been crazy with 5 already. There weren’t even 5 last year, only 2 all season. Ichiro Suzuki is being moved to a front office instead of the front field, he was a baseball icon and he will be remembered as a true hero. Wilson Contreras got married on his off-day, good luck to the couple. Hopefully, the Mets get their groove on against the Colorado Rockies as it’s a slugfest there right now, 3 home runs already.

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Returning to my critique of Sports Illustrated top 100 baseball players, for No. 51 SI listed the Cardinals centerfielder Tommy Pham who is a rookie wonder. Also, think logically, a superstar like him only hits an XBH 34.6% of the time, which is awkward for a rising star so that sucks him down the garbage chute. He had a .411 OBP and he struck out 22% of the time which is really good for centerfielders and taking into account that Mike Trout is MLB’s best player and he only struck 17.7% (which is phenomenal because there is only SO 4.3% difference in between them) of the time. So Trout is just better. No doubt Pham is getting better and will get a better spot no doubt next year.

At 52^nd is Jake “Snake” Arrieta of the Philadelphia Phillies. Let’s just be honest. He’s hanging by a thread to be in this game. If his next few starts suck, then he’s going to be sent to the bullpen or out of baseball all together because no team will even think about signing him. Arrieta is nervous when he gets out on the hill and tosses a few innings. He had a 3.53 ERA (good for him), just under 170 innings pitched and the only thing he does half good is he keeps his hits down. Arrieta has come from a gum stain on the floor to winning the Cy Young Award and, coming in 6th in MVP voting only 2 years ago, he should go back and possibly switch with Dallas Keuchel.

Now comes the story of a guy who thought he would have a life in “The Banner State,” but at the end of the trade deadline of last year, he gets traded to sunny Los Angeles, where they really don’t appreciate his awesomeness and then gets traded to the north side of The Windy City to the playoff-going Cubs. Then he went downhill because of all of his crazy moving around. He went from a 2.83 ERA to a 3.44 ERA, a total of 10 wins and 12 losses and never had a lot of awards except All-Star selections. If he wouldn’t have gotten traded from Texas then he may have a chance of his spot, but not now with his just 186.2 innings, even though Joe Maddon at No. 53 knows that he just got a very good weapon and he trusts him, he gets by hitters by just junk, not his usual heat. If he could try a little harder (I’m not saying that he’s not trying.) he will almost be MVP, very close Cy Young, he may be worthy of all of it, but for now, at least 75th.

Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox is 54th on the list. When he was a rookie, don’t get me wrong, he was really good, he won Rookie of the Year and the Silver Slugger award for the 4th time in history to win both awards in the same year but then all of MLB forgot about him for about two years. And then he explodes in the 2017 season with 33 homers and a cycle, the most he ever had since his rookie year. He had 102 RBIs, also the most he had since his rookie year and 3 SBs, the same he had in his rookie season. He’s like a clone of his rookie year. He deserves a better spot in the Top 100 because of his stats, (check them!!!!) and speed and Rick Renteria can put him almost anywhere on the field including DH, he deserves 37th.

A.J Pollock of the Arizona Diamondbacks at 55^th is the guy who thought he is one of the best centerfielders in the NL (they don’t have much to choose from in the NL). Pollock should face reality, blink and rub his eyes a few times. He is not really good, he’s okay. 14 HRs, 40 RBIs and 20 SBs, he could carry the team, hmmm, half-way, hmmm, 18.289734520894% way, with Paul Goldschmidt doing the rest and that’s normal for any player especially (especially him) for a centerfielder. He is really fast too and could occasionally sneak into Sports Center Top 10 Plays, I think he deserves his spot.

As for my latest dugout thoughts:

Alright so, I think the news of the Mets is all over the world by now. The same record as the Yankees, loss to the Cardinals in extras by a walk-off single by Dexter Fowler, OK, enough of a very, very sad team that is going to lose until tomorrow when they win and going to go to the World Series. Wait, way too many fantasies, but, it’s possible. Ronald Acuna Jr. had his loooong awaited debut, one of the fastest already, second game, third on 4/27, already; launch angle too, first homer and the fans went nuts, he went crazy, he is officially craaazy. Speaking about Yu Darvish, he threw a sleepy 64 mph pitch to strike out Manny Pina. Albert Almora Jr.’s catch was off the charts, he was better than Kevin Pillar on that catch. It’s official, we have baseball’s first no-hitter in 2018, who threw it, wait, who is that S-s-s-Sean M-m-m-a-n-e-a-Manea, the A’s rookie sensation, threw not a perfect game, but just a no-hitter, still good.

So now that the games and the teams are settling in, the Wild Card still didn’t start. I won’t do a challenge now, oh, maybe I will, who are the top 5 fastest players in baseball, right now.

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Next in the “SI” list is the veteran Nelson Cruz of the Seattle Mariners, who isn’t at all fit to play any kind of field position and he never was. When he was with the Brewers, Rangers, and Orioles he could hit balls that could have hit satellites if there were 3 more feet to them and all the pitchers would be scared out of their wits because of him. Occasionally he could make a highlight reel catch in right field and steal 20 bases in a year sometimes but I think the foursome who did this is really missing the point: HE’S GETTING OLD. He hit 40 dingers, leading baseball 4 years ago, that’s really good, yes, he hit 39 home runs and 119 RBIs last season but that’s not as many as he hit a few years ago. Even last year he hit more and 1 stolen base is a lot for him. I think the “Boomstick” should go to 53^rd and switch with Yu Darvish. But don’t get me wrong, he is really good, like hitting everything outta-here-good.

Justin Upton of the Los Angeles Angels is 47^th on this list and is one of those guys who gets traded around almost each year and has a great few years and then gets traded away again. That started in 2012 when he was in his last year as a Diamondback and then got traded away to the Braves and it goes down the slippery slope down the trading block. Sure he still has the speed of almost Trea Turner and some of the power that remains in him and is a Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star and 5-tool player all in the same year, but right now almost every good team has one, but still, he is one of the best in the Western division.

Next up is the last of the Bombers’ threats, Gary Sanchez, the very young catcher for the Yankees, who could block the passed balls that no one but him would block but went through a slump – blocking pitches wise and could hit for average with a .278 (more of a power hitter) and for power with 33 Ruthian blasts but doesn’t have the speed the Yanks are looking for. Oh, jeez, I forgot to talk about his arm. This guy’s arm is the best arm I’ve seen since Ivan Rodriguez which is great. There is actually nothing wrong with this guy, how could the writers of the “SI” article have put Sanchez at 48 – he had 33 HRs, 90 RBIs, .278 average and a .531 slugging percent which would put him near the top 25, which is where he should be put.

The Cardinals’ number 1 weapon for pitching Carlos Martinez is next. His curves break so fast and his sinkers break at the last moment which is kind of weird, his fastballs never had the life they had flying at an average speed of 96 mph, a changeup of 87 mph, a sinker at 93 mph, a slider at 84 mph and a curve of 79 mph. His 3.64 ERA, 12 wins, 31 games started, winning records, and 205 innings posted in 2017 put him in the position of top 30.

Marking the half of “SI’s” genius list is Michael Fulmer of the Detroit Tigers who was the Mets’ top prospect until the Mets got Yoenis Cespedes for Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa and the Tigers sent him up to the majors a year later which was a good deal, also Jeff Jones in his last year with the Tigers worked with him so hard that in his debut against The Twins he went 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 SO, 1 BB, 2 ER, and got a win against the power+speed lineup. His 3.83 ERA and 10 wins and 12 losses and innings is really good for a second year player. Fulmer was first in homeruns per 9 IP, 5^th in complete games, 6^th in WHIP, BB per 9 IP and fielding independent pitching. He is great at everything he does and great at his pitches and variety, he should get his spot well next year in the same spot.

Now to this season’s diamond.

There is nothing more to say about the Mets, they lost again and this time by a walk-off bunt single by Ender Inciarte and they just eluded a loss to the Atlanta Braves by a, drum roll please, a rain delay. Yeah, a rain delay, so, okay, down to business. The Yankees are just plain cruising, calling up two minor leaguers in the same week, Miguel Andjuar and Gleyber Torres, Andjuar is on top of his game, a 4-hit game on 4/22 and helping the Yanks power through the Blue Jays. Johnny Cueto got his ERA down to 0.35 as the SF Giants beat the Angels and Brandon Belt had a 21-pitch at-bat versus Jamie Barria, he homered later in the game. Also in that game, Mike Trout finally beat Bryce Harper for the MLB-best leading 9 homers, which I really like, I don’t like his cockiness to the sport. The Red Sox are finally mortal; they lose two in a row against the A’s, the A’s, and wow. Sean Manea no-hit the Red Sox, ok, maybe they’re turning into the Met’s clone. Kris Bryant got hit in the helmet and when I saw that, I was like, “No, no, that’s not right.” So, he did it, but no sign of concussion around him. Carlos Gomez is still a true superstar. The 32-year-old actually walked-off the Twins, he never stopped being a great player, he’s still good, still has speed.

Now for my next challenge, name five 5-tool players in baseball. Please do it this time.

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Greetings baseball fans. It certainly seems like there’s no joy in Mudville nowadays. But I’ll get to that later. First, about the top players.

Brian Dozier of the Minnesota Twins who as B says is 41st and is one of the second basemen in the MLB and had 34 HRs and 94 RBIs and 16 SBs in his age 30 season. It’s not like anyone to make an age 30 season into a career year. He is one of the elite stars that doesn’t shine as much as the best of the best do, if you think about it. Dozier only averages about 32 dingers a year, but what makes him elite is that he is good in delivering a day-for-a-lifetime for The Twins and then go 2 for 4 with 2 RBI the next day. No matter how he does it, he always finds a way to polish up his beautiful golden statue by producing for The Twins.

Kyle Seager of the Seattle Mariners is the older brother of Corey Seager who should have some really good baseball genes from the family and I think even though Kyle Seager is aging and can get into slumps and can get into big streaks with his homers and moderate hits to all fields, dazzle the crowd with his occasional burst of speed and the occasional snags he puts up on the hot corner, he is an All Star caliber player. However, he is a big fix-it-up job especially when the Seattle Mariners are merely fighting for a play-off spot (They kind of really don’t have a chance, but who knows, it’s baseball). He was ranked perfectly in The Top 100 Players.

At 43^rd place is Tampa Bay Rays centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier, who is one of the more powerful centerfielders (all-round wise) in the game and is one of the more all-out kind of guys who jumps for balls that no one else would (except Kevin Pillar). Kiermaier could still steal a moderate amount of bases and was 15th among centerfielders in HRs and SBs, could get triples (he got 3 last year) and still hits to all fields and only is 27, which is MVP class but there are better players than him in the AL, he should definitely switch with Lorenzo Cain for 37th.

Next is Jacob DeGrom of The Mets, he could have a complete game, one-hitter or go 5 innings allowing 9 runs and 17 hits. This guy is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when it comes to his pitching. His 3.53 ERA, which is right smack in the middle, 15 wins which is way above average and 31 games started which is also right smack in the middle. The stats that he posted in 2017 are one of the best among 4-year players like him. The mere thought of him winning the Rookie of the Year dazzles my mind when there was a half-decent class of first years in there with Billy Hamilton, Kolten Wong and Ken Giles, he is a MVP, Cy Young, All-Star caliber player, which only a few pitchers ever qualified for those three words in the same sentence about them. He might even start being in the same thought as Pedro Martinez and Nolan Ryan.

Marcell Ozuna of the St. Louis Cardinals is one of those players where you have a couple of decent years at your team, then have a huge break out season like he had in Miami last year with .312 average, 37 HRs and 124 RBIs, all three of them being career-highs and he got to be an All Star, Golden Glove and Silver Slugger all in the same year. Then he gets traded to the Cardinals with a 1-year $9 million contract, which doesn’t sound promising and even less promising looking at what the Cardinals outfield looks like this year. He deserves his spot well and let’s see what kind of a show he brings on this season when he’s already slugged two this year.

And now to Mudville. 

The Mets are in a slump – no doubt about it. Like all great streaks, this one had to end someday and all people knew that this one would end too. But hopefully they’ll bounce back against the Braves on 4/19 and Asdrubal Cabrera will continue to feast on pitchers. He’s fourth in the NL in batting average. Yoenis Cespedes is also in a slump, getting only whiffs as the pitchers start their grand festivity by feasting on him a lot. But, as always, the Mets will return to grandness because of their elite pitching (and some hitting in there too). I think it’s nice what the Indians and Twins are doing in Puerto Rico, playing a 3-game series and I think it’s fairytale-like that Frisco’s Lindor homered in his hometown. The A’s gave away free tickets on Wednesday, 4/17; so, the way to get the free tickets is that you have to sign up on a form online, you get free tickets including parking for that Wednesday, and they routed by the White Sox 10:2 which I think is good, I mean, you get free tickets and then you see your favorite team lose. That’s just sad. So the A’s tried extra hard to win and they did. Also, the Cardinals just called up what I think is the strongest guy in baseball, Tyler O’Neil, and, I mean, check this guy out, he’s ripped, I mean, his father was a bodybuilder too, so, that’s no surprise that he should be one too. Also, this just in earlier today, the Braves signed Jose Bautista to a minor-league contract to play the hot-corner (third base). Eric Thames, I thought he cooled down after his breakout season last year, but no, hit two 2-run homers two days straight to beat the struggling Reds, WOW, this guy keeps on amazing. The Blue Jays are also off to a hot start, sweeping the Royals in a three-game series that’s good. Clayton Kershaw is not being Clayton Kershaw, well, I mean, the Dodgers aren’t being the Dodgers either – they’re in a bigger slump than the Mets, sheesh, hopefully, their bats and cannons can pick it up a little. On 4/18, Dixon Machado and the Tigers walked-off the O’s at Comerica today. The two weird things about it is that Machado doesn’t have that much power, mostly speed and fielding, but hey, everyone has a breakout season. The second weird thing is that Jose Iglesias was kicking off the celebration with his feet, if you watch the video you’ll see. Also, today I heard talks that maybe Aaron Boone will drop Giancarlo Stanton down in the order because of his Big-Apple slump (Copyright, Trademark Yulian Avhustyn).

Well, baseball fans, I will have to say one more thing to you before I leave – Watch your shirt, the mustard might drip, so where was I, oh right, your challenge for today, if you want to do it, there weren’t any of you who did the challenge last time, so, Take 2, what is the fastest player in all the divisions. Also, do you like Big-Apple Bad Time or The City That Never Sleeps Slump for Giancarlo Stanton and Yoenis Cespedes’ down-hill slides? 

Greetings baseball fans across the land!

Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants is 36^th!!!! He could thrash the best sluggers of which he is one. He could make his pitches have given up only 148 home runs in his 9-year career. He has so much stamina that in 2016 he went the distance of 9 innings 4 times. The bad spot is that the Giants will be worse this year because they don’t have him regularly due to a hand injury. He averages 184 Ks in his qualified seasons. He also doesn’t allow that many hits and he could smell the no-hitter’s aftershave almost every time he goes to the hill. He should be 25^th pushing everyone back a spot.

At 37, Lorenzo Cain of the Milwaukee Brewers, the veteran center fielder, has gone north to the Brewers from the KC Royals that are in a rebuilding stage. Cain used to be in the same sentence with Jarrod Dyson and Billy Hamilton. Well, not anymore. He still has a heck of a lot of speed which means that he stole 28 bases last year – when he was 31. No one has ever done that except Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson (No surprise there). He can still hit liners and bombs over the fence in Miller Park. In my book (Which is definitely not SI’s book) Cain just made the 5-tool player list. He is really good, but judging by what players that are in front of him, he is good where he is.

Next is another speedy phenomenon, Trea Turner of the Washington Nationals, is by far the fastest player in the National League (maybe Billy Hamilton is also), and is one of the best shortstops in the MLB. As a rookie, he’s not sarcastic that he got the SS position which is good, but he also has depth in the outfield at center to be precise. I think he has accumulated as much power as he could because he’s focusing on fielding and speed and he could hit them out of the park with 11 in ‘17, but the Nats are not lacking long balls. He hasn’t learned the way of the best swing either. But, I think he is quite worthy of his position or even a better one and in the coming years, he should be put closer to number 1.

Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers has never appeared in an All-Star game and never in the postseason which I think is astonishing but he’s only 26. Yelich and the Brewers have a serious chance of making the postseason. He is an incredible center fielder and he steals bases. He walks well, hits to all fields moderately and is still a slugger with 18 dingers last year, when he was with the Miami Marlins but the Brewers also had Marcell Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton. He had 56 extra base hits (XBH) last year and has 118 XBHs over the last two years which is the third-most XBHs by a Marlin in the past two years.  I think Cristian Yelich will be one of the top Brewers’ sluggers and they have many this year. He should get a position closer to one even this year.

At 40^th SI has Cody Bellinger, the rookie first baseman for the Dodgers who hit 39 HRs last year, won Rookie of the Year and was an All-Star – all in the first year of his life in the Show. He shows has some sort of speed in those legs of his and is a rare quality in first basemen these days. He has really good fielding for his age. He can vary by taking grounders himself and flipping it to the pitcher. Like every single player, he makes errors. What I don’t like about him is that I don’t think he tries as hard in the field as he does at the dish, thinking that the hitting will cover up for my decent-to-good fielding, which right now is the case, Dave Roberts sees that and puts him at DH almost every game for Bellinger’s own sake.

With the MLB season coming into about the 15^th game, the Mets are a sizzling hot, record breaking 11:1 and tonight they’ll play the Brewers, a pretty good team. Steven Matz is starting for the Amazins. I think the Mets best hitter is Asdrubal Cabrera who just beat Yoenis Cespedes for the No.1 spot. The best pitcher is Jacob DeGrom – he has the ERA and strikeouts and keeps his hits low over an average of about 6 IP per start. Todd Frazier hit his first two homers in the same game as the Mets get their 11:1 record in a 9-game winning streak. Tim Anderson is still leading MLB in stolen bases, which now is not that big of a surprise for me. Gerrit Cole just keeps on stunning the opponents with a 14 SO game and another win for the slow start for the Astros. Going back to the Mets, they might have just hit a roadblock – Travis D’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki are both out with injuries, so they’ll call up Jose Lobaton and Thomas Nido from the Las Vegas 51’s. I always knew that Aaron Hicks was really fast, but he also has some big pops, an inside-the-park-homerun, and another homer later with the Yanks cruising into another win. Shohei Ohtani is taking the baseball world by storm which as the Non-American Babe Ruth he is really good, I think he’s better at the plate than on the hill. He’s going to win Rookie of the Year in the AL, he is a 4-tool player – without the speed even though he has some. Yoenis Cespedes had a marvelous night in left, he first made a leaping catch to rob Jesus Aguilar of a double and then gun down Lorenzo Cain at third. Mookie Betts is a complete 5-tool player, he threw to second last night to get Adam Jones going for a double and he’s leading the majors in runs. He’s going to be elite this year and is supposed to lead the Sox in greatness and karma.

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Greetings Baseball Fans!

The weather outside is still cold but the games are hot.

Carlos Carrasco of the Cleveland Indians earns his spot to a point, he still has the wins and the innings but the ERA and most of all – the stuff, but in the AL he faces far better hitters than he ever would and he also faces the DHs that he would never face in the NL. That puts a coffee stain on his white tuxedo. He is a really good hurler to be in the top 15 pitchers, but not yet, not unless he shows that he’s maybe even close to Kershaw.

Andrelton Simmons of the Los Angeles Angels is a really good player and an even more amazing fielder but he never had the talent of hitting well. Simmons has the usual power of a player with great fielding and a lot of speed, you know what I’m talking about, triples, stand-up doubles, the occasional stand-up triple and an inside the park homer. I think I could compare him with Orlando Arcia of the Milwaukee Brewers.  Simmons’ average is good, actually really good, now that I think about it. He and Arcia have a lot in common – but Simmons’ power is not up to snuff but his speed tells the press “Don’t say anything about my power because I got speed and a lot of it and I’m good at fielding.” That’s a white lie. Simmons is good going back to the average – he hits a good .280 every season and steals 19 bases and hits the triples, but he is really underrated in the hits column, he really has a lot of hits – 164 last season.

Anthony Rendon of the Washington Nationals definitely does not deserve 33rd but rather a worse spot like 43rd or so. Sure he whooped the Mets’ butt last year with 3 Hrs and 10 RBIs and had another really good game later in the year and finished the year with a .301 average, 25 Hrs and 100 RBIs, highest it’s ever been in his whole career. He is in a rebuilding mode and he’s doing the best job I’ve seen in MLB. He used to not smoke the balls over the fence and he’s rebuilding his legs, but even the fastest – always lose a step or two in their later years. But he can now hit for average, he has moderate to beefy power, has limited speed but his speed does not put a blotch on his team because of the speedsters Trea Turner and Adam Eaton, and he can field. I think the most under-rated aspect of him is his hair…

Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners is an All-Star caliber performer with 30+ homers and 110+ when he was with the Yankees, then the first two years on the Mariners and he still has 20+ HRs and 85+ RBIs and he could steal bases – something  like two a day. The average is still there because, I mean, he’s Robinson Cano, one of the players that age doesn’t deteriorate. He deserves a better spot in the 25 range because, I mean, he’s Robinson Cano, he’s good, the best, well not now.

Noah Syndergaard of The Mets is next. Let’s be honest, his fastballs are absolute fire and heat and his breaking balls have so much whip (because of his heat) and he could fool even the best and most experienced players – his hair helps too. I’d feel so scared if I’m facing him because this is no fast pitcher, this is fire and it’s Syndergaard. He has the strikeouts, but he really doesn’t need them. Most of his strikeouts are catching the batters looking because it’s like a deer in headlights.

Turning to this season … The Mets are playing right now and Todd Frazier is a joke, he’s like in his mind, “I’m just going tip up my cap and cost the Mets their 3-run lead on an error.” Frazier is good at hitting but his fielding is catastrophically horrible. Justin Bour just hit his first dinger of the year, I thought to myself, if he just hit his first homer, then – he’s not going to the Home Run Derby this year. I’m a Mets fan, I usually protect them, but this is not the case, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a no-doubt HR and then does a very flamboyant, annoying bat-flip that I think deserved some words from the Caleb Smith, but he didn’t say anything. So now that Xander Bogaerts is the head-honcho of the Red Sox, leading them in hitting, in karma and in confidence.

Leave a comment if you think this is wrong and we’ll discuss it next time: Bogaerts is the best Red Sox overall player. He is on the DL and they’re playing the Yankees, which is a huge boost, because this year, they are absolutely horrible. The Mets (8:1) and Red Sox are tied for the majors’ best, and, hopefully, the Mets will regain that title. At first, Tim Anderson didn’t seem too fast, I mean, he seemed like a power-hitting shortstop, with some speed but not a lot, but now he’s leading the majors in SBs with Trea Turner.

This week was interesting but not the games I was hoping for – I mean walk-off wins and huge wins and high-scoring wins. I repeat my first challenge, this will become a regular thing – Who do you think is the best player in all the divisions (NL East, NL Central, NL West, AL East, AL Central and AL West), leave the answers in the comments sections.

While you’re thinking, finish that hot dog and don’t forget to wipe the mustard of your lips.

Welcome back, America’s pastime fans!

Stephen Strasberg, pitcher with the Washington Nationals, should place beyond 25, perhaps even 30 or farther. Strasberg is the third best pitcher in the NL East and maybe the sixth best in the whole NL. He’s pretty good, I’ll say that, but his ERA was a 2.52, which is OK, but the Nats need Ks for the new power-hitting players of the NL East like Todd Frazier. He is a good and consistent pitcher but now hitters are starting to figure him out and he’s getting easier to hit off of.

Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians showed himself really well during the 2017 and 2018 postseasons. He slugs HRs and has depth at infield apart from first and he could play DH. Ramirez is the fastest third basemen/infielder/DH that could do 17 stolen bases, 6 triples and wait for it – 56 doubles and was 1st in stolen bases among third basemen last season. He was a silver slugger, All-Star and 3rd in MVP voting in ’17 behind Jose Altuve, the winner, and Aaron Judge, who came in second. He is an MVP caliber player and this 25 year-old could win the title during his career.

The Houston Astros’ George Springer is better that 28^th. Everyone saw him during the World Series last year, making great catches to help the ‘Stros and hitting in the clutch with homers. Also, on the first pitch of the Astros’ season, he went yard. In my book, he is the fifth best outfielder in the MLB. He is one of the few centerfielders that are slow the base paths – but on the field, he’s super-fast. The hitting covers up for that pretty well and the catchers don’t have to worry about him stealing bases. He should be where he is in the rankings.

The Colorado Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon is one of the best centerfielders in the game and illuminates the National League with his home runs – four already, speed – 14 stolen bases and 14 triples and flowing hair. He is the reigning BA champ in the NL last year. He is a really good centerfielder and I’ll say that he is the second best centerfielder in the MLB right behind Mike Trout. He should get a better spot because he is a two-time All Star and a two-time Silver Slugger and came in 5^th in the MVP voting in 2017. No doubt about it, he will get an MVP award in his career and would’ve gotten a Gold Glove in center field if Juan Lagares hadn’t been in his way in 2014.

Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants is NOT the 29^th player. Yeah, everyone knows he is great at fielding but to win, in the catcher’s position, the catcher can’t pass the ball behind him but you also have to score runs and to score runs 97.3849034% of the time you must hit the ball preferably far. That’s his weak spot, but in 2015 and 2016 he was the best catcher and now he’s not (Check the stats!!). But he’s in the top 10 among catchers. He’s still got the power to drive it, but not out of the park – something like doubles, singles and 2 triples.

The Texas Rangers’ Adrian Beltre, YAY! He got 3,000 hits and people are going to start worshiping him, yes, you should, he’s really good – don’t check the stats. He got his hits and homers in, but fielding, he’s not someone like a Gold Glove though he used to. I think he should take it down a couple of notches trying to win World Series, and if he doesn’t the Rangers’ lineup will get a big smudge because they will lose him. I think he’s good and he has a good spot this time ‘round.

The Mets are officially the tied-for-second best team in baseball right after they whooped the Nationals today 3-2. Bryce Harper hit a dinger and Asdrubal Cabrera hit a double to drive in a run. Yoenis Cespedes isn't really being as good as he should be and the Mets little guys are stepping up and making a push to be higher in the lineup. but as history goes, no matter how horrible the “big power hitter” is in a span of a few games, he always hits 3rd or 4th.

So on that high and not-so-modest-on-the-little-guy's note I will talk about just MLB. Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies had a great span of about four games but now he went from “adored great hitting center fielder with speed” to just “starting center fielder.” I think he will come back to an elite player.

The Phillies scored 20 runs against the Marlins, OK, I'll tell you this, I am really not surprised, because the team from South Beach is supposed to be not so good. And by “not so good” I mean bad. Also, two grand slams by the Phils.

OK, so the Astros-Padres game just ended or whenever you're reading this and the game ended on April 7 and – I think this is a joke – by a pop-up single to first base and wait, who is this – D-d-d-d-derek F-f-f-fisher scored, wait, yeah, Derek Fisher scored. I'm not saying he’s bad, he's OK, he’s good, five dingers, in only 53 games last season. Orioles actually went into extras with the Yankees on Friday and Pedro Alvarez hit a go-ahead grand slam to help the O’s win which was exciting. Alvarez actually knows my fifth grade teacher and Albert Pujols and Mike Trout, which I think is really cool. On Saturday the Dodgers and Giants are in the 14th when I'm writing this which is surprising that the Giants are handling against the Dodgers this well – I'm really surprised. Buster Posey hit his first home run today, so that’s what helped the Padres hold up against the Dodgers. Today and yesterday were some good days for rounding the bases and some good games.

Also, I had my first Little League game and I went 1 for 2 with a double and a RBI and I played second base. The Millers are 1 and 0 with many more wins to come.

Grab another hot dog on the way out.