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2012 MLB Team Preview: Seattle Mariners

Posted by on 16 March 2012, 3:45 am

Seattle Mariners old-school logo.

It has been a long and rough 11 years for Seattle Mariners fans, as that was last time the team gave them anything to celebrate about in October.

And in 2011 the Mariners teased fans by staying in contention in the AL West until a 17-game losing streak put an end to any hopes of a surprise run in the division.

The team finished last season with just 67 wins, as the club scored the fewest runs, 556 in total, in the AL for the third season in a row. And the Mariners found themselves as the AL West bottom feeders for the sixth time in the last eight seasons.

Now the question is can the Mariners take the positive start from 2011 and stretch it all the way into October?

Let’s take a look…

THE POSITIVES:

The big off-season move was a trade to help elevate their weak offense so the Mariners gave away pitching phenom Michael Pineda for New York Yankees promising young catcher, Jesus Montero. Montero’s catching still needs a lot of work but the kid without a doubt can rake and will bring power to the middle of the batting order even if it is as a DH.

The Mariners pitching rotation doesn’t need an ace because they already have a king, in 2010 CY Young winner Felix Hernandez who is one of the best in the game today. King Felix is about to turn 26-years old and has pitched well over 200 innings in his last four seasons. In 2011 the King finished 14-14, with a 3.47 ERA, had five complete games and 222 strikeouts. His 90 earned runs were uncharacteristically high, 27 more than in 2010 but considering the Mariners anemic offense his numbers are quite stellar.

THE NEGATIVES: Continue reading ‘2012 MLB Team Preview: Seattle Mariners’ »

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Baseball Basics: What is the Rule 5 Draft?

Posted by on 2 December 2011, 11:08 pm

What is the RULE 5 DRAFT in Major League Baseball?

PURPOSE of the RULE 5 DRAFT:

The Rule 5 Draft was generated to stop MLB teams from stockpiling minor league prospects indefinitely in their farm system. With the Rule 5 Draft a player has an opportunity to be picked up by a team who is willing to play him in the Majors.

WHERE AND WHEN IS THE RULE 5 DRAFT:

The Rule 5 Draft happens in December at the annual Winter Meetings of all 30 MLB teams General Managers. This off-season’s Winter Meetings begin on December 5th, with the Rule 5 Draft scheduled for the last day of the Winter Meetings, which is on December 8th.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE RULE 5 DRAFT:

Any minor league player, who has been retained for three, (signed at age 19) or four years, (signed at age 18); and are still not on their respective club’s 40-man roster. Minor leaguers’ who are on the team’s 40-man roster before the fixed time expires are protected, or ineligible to be drafted under Rule 5.

MLB Teams with no open spots on their 40-man roster are not allowed to partake in the Rule 5 Draft.

The Rule 5 Draft allows for a team to steal a raw, top prospect from another club who deems the player is not close to Major League ready in terms of their team. These are diamonds in the rough and are rarely found, but one example of a successful Rule 5 drafted is two-time CY Young winner Johan Santana.

EXAMPLE OF RULE 5 DRAFT: Continue reading ‘Baseball Basics: What is the Rule 5 Draft?’ »

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New York Yankees: Granderson, Cano, CC, Tex, Houdini All On MVP List

Posted by on 21 November 2011, 11:38 pm
Justin Verlander

2011 MVP Winner..Justin Verlander Image via Wikipedia

Much to my dismay (click HERE to read why) , I obviously still extend my sincerest of CONGRATULATIONS to Detroit Tiger ace, and

recent CY Young receipt Justin Verlander for being named the 2011 Most-Valuable-Player.

There was no question that Verlander was the best pitcher across baseball this past season. Verlander finished the regular season 24-5 in 34 starts. He also boosted a 2.40 ERA, had four complete games and two shutouts during the 251 innings he pitched. Verlander gave up 67 earned runs, 24 home-runs, and 57 walks but managed to strike out a whooping out 250 batters of the 969 he faced. That explains why Verlander held opposing hitters to a .192 average and 283 total bases.

Not since Oakland Athletics Dennis Eckersley was named 1992 MVP has baseball given its most coveted award to a pitcher. Eckersley was just the 23rd pitcher in baseball history to win the MVP; and now after a 19 year drought, Verlander becomes #24.

The New York Yankees were represented with five players making the MVP final voting list: Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: Granderson, Cano, CC, Tex, Houdini All On MVP List’ »

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New York Yankees: MVP To Granderson, Honorable Mention To Verlander

Posted by on 21 November 2011, 4:57 am
Granderson Batting In 2011 ALDS Game 5 Vs. Tigers

2011 ALDS Game 5.

With the announcement of the 2011 AL MVP Award just hours away, the endless debate still continues about who is the rightful winner.

The  reason for all the hoopla is that Detroit Tiger, and recent crowned CY Young winner Justin Verlander has a good chance of taking the coveted annual award home later today.

So, everyone from baseball experts, MLB Players, and fans are weighing in with their own answer/opinion about pitchers winning the MVP Award over positon players…is it fair or not to give it to Verlander?

At this point, I have read a million answers from both sides of this argument, which at times have made me indecisive about my opinion in the matter.

Than after milling over pages and pages of stats and articles, here is why Justin Verlander is not the 2011 AL MVP and how New York Yankees Curtis Granderson is:

1999 Pedro Martinez vs. 2011 Justin Verlander

In 1999, Boston Red Sox’s ace Pedro Martinez was named the CY Young Award winner, just like Verlander was for this past season.

Both finished the regular season with impressive records, with Martinez going 23-4 in 29 starts; and Verlander going 24-5 in 34 starts.

The fact is the aces did not have comparable wins-losses; Martinez had an edge over Verlander due to making five less starts in 1999.

That is just one example of how Martinez edged out Verlander.

Now look at the two tables below to see that Martinez had a better 1999 season almost across the board in comparison to Verlander’s 2011:

All stats are courtesy of baseballreference.com

Martinez did not win the AL MVP in 1999; he came in second place behind Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees: MVP To Granderson, Honorable Mention To Verlander’ »

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CY Young To Verlander Honorable Mention To Sabathia, Rivera & Robertson

Posted by on 16 November 2011, 10:23 pm

Congratulations to Detroit Tigers Justin Verlander for his historic 2011 season. Verlander won the CY Young Award by a landslide, just as expected and well-deserved I may add.

Verlander went 24-5 in the regular season, posting a 2.40 ERA, 250 strikeouts and pitched 251 innings.

In all honesty, the rest of the CY Young voting is really irrelevant this season because Verlander’s performance was that superior, as he unanimously won across the voting across board. Still, even in a rare circumstance it is nice to acknowledge the other top pitchers around the American League for their hard work too, which included three Yankee arms.

Congratulations to all the nominees!!

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New York Yankees: Tuesday Night Belonged To CC

Posted by on 27 July 2011, 6:35 am

Yankees ace CC Sabathia came so close to perfection last night in the Bronx, striking out 14 Mariners and winning his 15th game of the season.

Sabathia looked unstoppable, until a 30-minute thunderstorm erupted in the sixth inning, the first of two. The ace came right back out to the hill following Mother Nature’s disruption but he didn’t strike out another batter that inning.

In the seventh inning, Seattle’s Brendan Ryan hit a single to break up Sabathia’s flawlessness but he went on the strike out his 13th and 14th batter to end the inning, a personal high for Sabathia.

Following the game, marking the 17th straight Mariners loss in a row, Ryan had this to say about-facing CC to the New York Daily News:

“He’s always got Sabathia stuff. But today, that was by far the best I’ve ever seen him pitch. I almost feel disrespectful saying that, because we all know what he’s capable of. But when you’re locating the fastball and the way he’s throwing that slider, stealing strikes with curveballs here and there, he’s absolutely filthy.”

Sabathia is undoubtedly building a case for the 2011 CY Young; as he already has racked up 156 strikeouts and pitched 168.2 innings this season; and there is plenty left to go. Sabathia is posting a 0.92 ERA for the month of July.

Following the game, I was on the phone with my mother (who is NOT a baseball fan at all) and she asked me what was so special about CC Sabathia.

The only thing that came to mind was a quote by Aristotle that depicts who CC Sabathia is as a player perfectly, so I responded to her using his words:

“We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

Look Sabathia’s reputation as an ace is founded on him being as close to perfect all the time as humanly possible.

GM Brian Cashman and the baby Steins should bend the rules this time and just hand Sabathia a blank check now.

I can’t conceive Sabathia not in Yankee pinstripes for the rest of his career. That means time for Cashman & Co. to drop the Grinch-act and grant us loyal fans a well deserved, early sigh of relief.

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New York Yankees Bartolo Colon Raises Questions Not Applause

Posted by on 2 June 2011, 11:44 am

Long gone are the days that a comeback story is one filled with admiration and leaving you with hope that anything is possible.

This is not just in baseball or sports, but also in anything these days as suspicion is taking over as our immediate reactions.

In baseball, there are plenty of reasons as to why everyone from the media to fans to players question any type of resurgence or sudden talent.

What else could be expected when the line between what was legal and what wasn’t regarding performance-enhancing substances was overlooked for so long? It was selfish and greedy, which coincides with everything else that involves making more money.

It is unfortunate as the affects from ignoring the ‘cheating’ have now hurt baseball’s reputation as America’s Pastime because now there is an asterisk.

So, after watching New York Yankees Bartolo Colon throw a complete game, shutout this past week against the Oakland Athletics, the questions pertaining how the hell he did it are getting attention again.

Just read Bob Klapisch’s latest article Bartolo Colon’s treatments inject controversy into his comeback. Klapisch might as well just accuse Colon of using HGH because it is hard to read where he didn’t insinuate it.

Maybe that is because in Colon’s case not shred of evidence has proven he is lying, actually all that has come out has backed up Colon’s words.

Just a note…. in my opinion concerning Jose Bautista’s “story” there are a lot more questions. Bautista has never shown a shred of a talent, not even the slightest bit to allow for anyone to comprehend his newly found skills. I am not saying Bautista is cheating or ever did, but the difference here is it came out-of-the-blue.

MY STORY:

In Colon’s defense, I am familiar with this procedure as I had surgery to repair my right elbow a little over a year ago.

Months prior and after over a year of all kinds of physical therapy, it was determined that surgery would be done and my father suggested Colon’s procedure.

My doctor, who is one of the most renowned in the country, said it was relatively new and had only been done to a few pro-athletes. He went on to say the procedure needed more fine-tuning. He agreed that my father was completely correct regarding its success, but it was a hit or miss meaning it either worked or didn’t.

In my case, actual surgery had better odds to repair my damage and torn elbow tendon. He certainly warned me that this type of injury that any surgery is avoided at all costs and is only done on 1% suffering from elbow issues.

Whether HGH was used or not was not mentioned, but the doctor did say the stem-cell injections could be the technique of the future.

The point is that this procedure is not coming out of left field at all since it was brought to my father’s attention two years ago. How he learned about it, I don’t know but I know he thinks anytime you can avoid going under the knife is worth asking about.

COLON’S SITUATION:

Colon is 37-years-old and the 2005 CY Young winner hasn’t looked this good in a years. As far as everyone knew Colon was finished because his overused pitching-arm was just that, worn out. Continue reading ‘New York Yankees Bartolo Colon Raises Questions Not Applause’ »

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