Houston Astros - World Champions!

The Astros are the 2017 World Series winners after taking down the Los Angeles Dodgers in a fun seven game series.  I enjoyed the series that had plenty of young stars on both sides.  I was rooting for the Houston Astros since they had never before taken home the trophy.  For all the offense everyone spoke of neither team batted particularly well (Houston - .230/Los Angeles - .205).  There were plenty of dingers with the 'Stros launching 15 and the Dodgers hit 10 to keep us excited.  George Springer was definitely the star in this series for Houston.  How can you not enjoy seeing young stars doing great on the sport's biggest stage?  If my teams are not in the series all I can ask for is to be entertained and boy was I.  Game 7 was a bit of a snoozer but knowing someone would raise the trophy over their head at the end of the night still gave me plenty of anticipation. I love Jose Altuve as a player so it is nice seeing him reach the top so early in his career.  You never when or if  a team will win it again no matter how stacked they are (read:  90's Atlanta Braves).

It's also fun to see those who win their first championship after years in the league.  Justin Verlander is the most prominent of course and was nothing short of a beast after being traded to Houston.  Then there is Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Francisco Liriano as well as the familiar names on the Houston coaching staff and in the front office.  I'm happy for Nolan Ryan as well who while a front office guy he still gets to enjoy this.  Then there are the stories of Evan Gattis and city of Houston itself.  Houston and the Astros can enjoy this for a whole other year while the rest of the league tries to unseat them.  Though as currently constructed this may not be the last time we see the Houston Astros in the Fall Classic.   

 

And Verlander keeps on winnnig...

Matt Adams Excels - Freddie Freeman to Third Base?

Matt Adams

In May the Atlanta Braves traded for Matt Adams giving up a low level prospect.  Adams is filling in for Freddie Freeman while he is on the disabled list.  All indications were that Adams would be traded at the deadline once Freeman was available to return.  Adams has outperformed his past numbers putting up a .299/.354/.634 stat line in 34 games for the Braves.  You couldn’t ask for much more.  That said, this team is still not that good and will celebrate if they can hold on to second place in the division but they aren’t even looking like a .500 team yet.  I would think they’ll still be in “sell” mode come the trading deadline adding players who can provide help at need positions.     

But there are now rumors that Freddie Freeman may move to third base to allow Adams to stay in Atlanta and in the starting lineup.  This is where I get worried.  While Adams’ play is a big surprise, moving Freddie Freeman to third base seems like a huge risk.  He is a stud  on a long term contract and the face of the franchise.  Moving him to a position that is more difficult defensively makes me worry that any struggles he may have in the field would bleed over to his appearances at the plate.  He played the position in high school but that was some time ago. 

Atlanta really needs to think this through.  Is Matt Adams really the Braves have seen in limited time

Freddie Freeman

or is he the guy St. Louis traded away due to a .271/.315/.453 stat line while striking out every 4.3 plate appearances in 486 games with St. Louis?  It obviously puts the Braves in a bind.  You don’t want to get rid of a guy playing this well but I think they need to look at the possible consequence.  I have nothing against Matt Adams but I’d rather have Freeman at first and hitting well and use Adams as a nice trade chip.  There are plenty of needs on this team so there is no reason to keep him if he won’t start.  For now I’ll hope he keeps hitting and Atlanta can find a team needing a 1B or DH come the trade deadline. 

 

 

 

Albert Pujols Hits Homerun #600

Albert Pujols hit homerun number 600 for the Los Angeles Angels last night against the Minnesota Twins.  His grand slam put him 9th on the all-time list with a real chance of moving past Ken Griffey Jr. (630) for 6th place next year.  He also has a good chance of passing Willie Mays (660) during his career if he stays relatively healthy.  Living near St. Louis I'm very familiar with Albert Pujols.  Albert is one of the greatest right handed hitters of all-time.  That is a fact.

Unfortunately since joining the Angels injuries have limited what Pujols has been able to accomplish. Combined with a 10 year, $240M contract that has been criticized since he signed it and Albert is not looked upon as well as he once was. Pujols is 37 now and still has four years left on the deal.  He has had three years of 30+ homers with the Angels but his .265 batting average and .793 OPS shows he is not the Albert that came to prominence in St. Louis.

And it is shame.  Angels' fans have not embraced Pujols for the great hitter he is because they have rarely seen him play as well as they expect him too.  They see a huge contract and a player that is constantly hampered by injuries though he has played 152+ games in four of his five full seasons with the team.  The lack of coverage of his chase or 600 homeruns has in itself shown  how far Albert Pujols has fallen.  Him leaving the Cardinals was right for both sides.  St. Louis couldn't afford him at that price at his age and Albert could get so much more money with the Angels.  The Angels are seemingly the losers here.  Again it is a shame.  He was such a great, not very good, great hitter with the Cardinals and MLB and fans should be touting his rise up the charts.  Unfortunately too many things worked against him.  It is still a monumental achievement and I, for one, are more than happy to appreciate Albert for what he is in MLB history and enjoy his rise up the homerun chart. 

 

2017 Boston Red Sox Preview

Mookie Betts

The BostonRed Sox won the American League East in 2016 but were quickly swept from the playoffs by the eventual A.L. Champions the Cleveland Indians 3-0.  Still their season was a success as 93 wins is good no matter how you look at it.  David Ortiz is no longer with the team but the team added stud pitcher Chris Sales, reliever Tyler Thornburg and 1B Mitch Moreland to help keep the team atop the A.L. East.  The big news in the infield is the return of Pablo Sandoval to 3B.  He missed most of the year with an injury last year and has been a disappointment overall in his time with Boston. He must look more like his old self to help this team and stay in the lineup.  Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts are the anchors up the middle.  Both come off great years with Bogaerts looking like a player the team can build around for many years to come.  At first will be new guy Mitch Moreland and Hanley Ramirez who had an excellent bounce back year.  Moreland brings a decent glove to first but his bat is the classic homerun or bust type of swing.  Sandy Leon will be behind the plate.    

In the outfield I think Andrew Benintendi will get the left field job with the expectation he has time

Xander Bogaerts

to grow.  He did well last year but he is young and bumps in the road are to be expected.  Jackie Bradley finally had the year expected of the highly touted center fielder.  In right will be Mookie Betts who had 200 hits and scored 100 runs which was matched by Dustin Pedroia.  His career continues to skew upwards.  Bottom line is the lineup lost a huge piece with David Ortiz retiring.  Boston must also hope most players can continue to play as well as they did last year in his absence.  Many young players had break out years or others had rebound seasons.  Can they continue that trend?  Doubtful they all will but there is so much talent here that the lineup should be fine in the long run.

Chris Sale

The pitching staff also has plenty of talent though David Price’s injury is concerning.  Though he may be slotted as low as third in the starting rotation he is still a guy you counted on for 200 innings of quality work.  Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, Steven Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez will anchor the rotation until Price’s return.  Sale of course was the big catch in the offseason and automatically gives you an ace to throw out there every five days.  Porcello is the AL Cy Young winner while Wright put up a 13 win, 3.33 ERA season last year.  They should both be dependable at the top of the rotation.  Rodriguez must have a better year (4.71 ERA) as he’ll get work as the #4 guy when the season starts.  The fifth position is still up in the air with Drew Pomeranz and Kyle Kendrick in the mix.  Very solid group but it is a long season and the back end could prove to be the weak link if pitchers don’t step up.  Bullpen was tweaked some with Tyler Thornburg brought in to be the setup guy for Craig Kimbrel who must fix the walk issue he struggled with last year.   

Why wouldn’t the Red Sox have a 90 win season and again take the A.L. East?  They can only beat themselves.  I’m not discounting the Blue Jays, the Orioles or that New York could be much better but this team has a ton of talent.  Much of it is young.  So will it get better or digress?  Probably a mix.  Again way too much talent for them to fail.  I expect 90 more wins and hopefully they can make a deep run in the playoffs. 

Dustin Pedroia

 

 

 

2017 Atlanta Braves Preview

Freddie Freeman

The Atlanta Braves had a bad year in 2016.  They finished 68-93, fifth in the National League East.  That said they finished the second half of the season with a winning record of 37-35.  The trade for Matt Kemp seemed to give the Braves a much needed boost and the Braves have continued to retool during the offseason.  While I wouldn’t say they will contend this year it should be better year overall.

The starting staff added R.A. Dickey, Bartolo Colon, and Jaime Garcia to go along with Julio Teheran and probably Mike Foltynewicz.  Dickey and Colon should eat up innings and if we’re lucky will get Atlanta 12 wins each.  Garcia’s career numbers are good but he always seems to disappoint in the end.  I live near St. Louis and the Cardinal fans do nothing but laugh when this comes up.  Hoping for the best, he is another guy that can get ya 10 -12 wins.  With a little support Julio Teheran should get around 15 wins while Foltynewicz is a bit more of a wild card.  I don’t mind this starting staff.  It won’t wow you per se but it has more upside than what we saw last year.  Dickey and Colon are on one year deals so no huge loss if they struggle but who doesn’t like Bartolo Colon or the knuckleball?  Bullpen hasn’t changed much.  While Jim Johnson resigned to handle the closer duties, all hopes are that Arodys Vizcaino will eventually earn that job from him. 

Bartolo Colon

At catcher the club will go with Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki.  I think Atlanta is happy to go with a defensive minded replacement for now until a better option is available.  Stud first baseman Freddie Freeman returns anchoring the lineup as well as the right side of the infield.  Brandon Phillips was traded for after free agent pickup Sean Rodriguez was injured in the offseason.  I like this move.  Very aggressive even if it is for a veteran on the downside on his career.  Shortstop will again be manned by Dansby Swanson who has everyone excited with his potential.  Adonis Garcia will be at third.  His batting is below average and his defense isn’t great.  They are stuck with him until another option is obtainable. 

Ender Inciarte

The outfield returns Ender Inciarte who has been great in the field and had a very good second half of the season at the plate.  Matt Kemp will man left and I’m hoping he can hit something close to what he did after he was acquired last year.  Light hitting Nick Markakis will be in right.  He at least can get on base at a decent clip and stays healthy but he won’t really wow you otherwise.

Dansby Swanson

Atlanta did a good job in the offseason at least giving themselves a decent team to put out on the field.  Both the offense and pitching should be respectable.  Depth is still an issue so injuries could put a major hurt on them if they pop up.  No one will be expecting them to make a playoff run this year but I do think 70-75 wins is attainable assuming the pitching staff stays healthy and a few things go right for them.  No matter what happens Atlanta should be trending up.  They still have talent in the minors and a new ballpark which should provide more revenue and make them a destination worth looking at for future free agents.   That is the fun part about spring training.  We all still have hope.  And check out this funny five tool Bartolo Colon video hyping his coming to Atlanta. 

Brandon Phillips