Jonathan Papelbon

Hello everyone, sorry I've been away and haven't posted in a while. The Whitecaps are hosting the Midwest League All-Star Game next week so we've been putting in some long days at the old yard. While I was out, the Phillies' closer Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 300th career save, a truly impressive feat (especially only at the age of 33) that puts him at 24th all time, tied with Jason Isringhausen and Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter. Papelbon, a southern boy who played his college ball at Mississippi State, has served for both the Red Sox and Phillies, winning the 2007 World Series with the Sox over the Rockies in what I call the most boring World Series of the last twenty years (until 2012 but we don't talk about that since the Tigers were in it and got swept). 

Papelbon's memorable reaction after the final out in Game 4 of the 2007 World Series. It was Boston's 2nd title in 4 years.

The 300-save plateau is an elite group of closers. It seems as if that is the magic number for closers in order to be inducted into the Hall of Fame - no closer with fewer than 300 has been inducted (with the exception of Smoltz when his time comes, but he was a hybrid starter/closer). That said, 7 of those 26 with 300 saves are ineligible for the Hall of Fame (5-year retirement period has not passed yet), and of the remaining 19, only 4 have been inducted. So there have been 19 players in history to record 300 saves but only 4 have ever been inducted. Take away the 4 Hall of Famers (Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Bruce Sutter), and out of those 15 players, only 4 have ever received more than 1% of the vote. Only 1, Lee Smith, has consistently received more than 5% to remain on the ballot (Hall of Fame voting procedure states that if a player does not receive 5% of the vote, he will not be on the next year's ballot)  - he's been on 11 years and has gotten 50.6% at the most. It's not looking good for him.

It's not looking good for many closers. But here's my case for Papelbon.

• He's still got a few good years ahead of him. Papelbon is only 33 years old and will not turn 34 until November. With 14 saves for the offensively anemic Phillies already, he is on pace for around 40 saves. For the sake of argument, if he notches 40 saves this year, he'll be tied for 14th with 326 saves (I didn't account for K-Rod or Joe Nathan moving up the ranks - too many moving figures for me to count right now). If Bruce Sutter got in with 300 exactly (and a losing record), Papelbon deserves it. Closers can usually last up to their 40th birthday, so he could keep climbing the ladder if his body permits.
• Okay, purely number of saves may not do it for you? How about accolades? He has a World Series ring, which only a handful of the top 26 have (Rivera has like 100). A ring isn't all he got though, he was named the 2007 World Series MVP, recording saves in Games 2, 3, and 4. He was also selected 5 All-Star teams, which may not seem like a lot but he was the rival closer to Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of all time. Typically, All-Star rosters only will hold 3 or 4 closers (they've been holding a lot more recently), so to be selected (not by fans, either) to 4 straight rosters alongside Mo says a lot about his talent. He was also the runner up in the Rookie of the Year voting to Justin Verlander in 2006.
• Fine, if the accolades aren't doing it for you either, I'll turn to his stat sheet. Papelbon has been one of the most consistent closers of the past 15 years, and frankly I was shocked at how really consistent he has been after looking at his BBR page. He has played between 59-70 games every year, his ERA has been under 3.00 every year except 2010, and has been under 4 every year of his career. After his rookie year, his WHIP has never been higher than 1.2. Even counting his rookie year, he's never been above 1.4 (4 years under 1.00). He's never allowed more than 8 home runs in a year and has yet to allow one this year. Other than 2010, he's never thrown more than 2 wild pitches in a season. Even after a change of scenery and change of leagues, he was not phased and still recorded 38 saves in his first year in a Phillies uniform in 2011.
• Bottom line, career stats: 35-27, 2.36 ERA, 1.035 WHIP, 300 saves. 

He stays out of trouble, he's generally well-liked around the league, and to be honest, except for this "I'm trying really hard to be intimidating" face, 

I really don't have much bad to say about him. 

Now, Pap has blown 41 saves in his career, but comparing to other closers, that isn't all that bad. Rivera blew 72 saves in 19 years, so Papelbon is a little off the pace, but not bad. Dennis Eckersley blew over 70 saves as well, and I think when all is said and done, Pap will be right around 80 blown saves, give or take a few. If he keeps pitching like this year, maybe not (he's doing really well this year). 

He also has never been a finalist for the Cy Young Award or the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award (now to be named the Mariano Rivera Award) for best reliever. Those are the big ones for pitchers and ideally, winning or even placing in the top 5 for the CYA or winning the MRA would really beef up his resume. 

I can't see the future, either. He could completely lose his touch and struggle recording saves like Joe Nathan this year. He also could rack up 50 saves a year if the Phillies offense can produce. 

Through 9.5 years, he has 300 saves. Typically closers last pretty long, so for the sake of argument, if we double his tenure to 19 years (same as Rivera and Trevor Hoffman), which is plausible given his track record of consistency and good health, he (theoretically) should record 600 saves. If he does that, then he's a lock.

It's a mandator skill of Hall of Famers to be able to smoke a stogie. 

Thanks for reading.

My NL All-Star Picks

I'm back for more. You seem like you're back for more too. After a beautiful day off, I'm ready to tackle the NL All-Star roster. The second round of voting came out today, but for the sake of consistency (put differently: I was too tired to write yesterday after a long day of painting in the sun), I'll be using the May 28th numbers as well. So here we go! (Disclaimer - there is no NL DH listed)

First Base

Who's winning: Adrian Gonzalez (.269/.347/.500)

Who should be winning: Paul Goldschmidt (.299/.354/.521)

The 32-year old Gonzalez is having an underwhelming season for the (let's be honest) underwhelming 30-28 Dodgers, hitting only .269 when he is a career .293 hitter. His OBP and slugging are pretty much exactly where his career numbers are, but his BABIP is about 20 points below the MLB average, showing that he has hit either a lot of "at 'em" balls or the gross amount of shifts are working. Staying in the NL West, 2013 MVP snub Paul Goldschmidt is having a solid year for the 23-36 Diamondbacks, hitting .299 and slugging right around his career average (nowhere near last year's outstanding number of .551). Going into play as of 6/2, Goldy is tied for the NL lead in doubles (22) and hits (70). I honestly think that since the Dbacks are doing poorly and that Arizona is such a smaller market than LA, Goldy is being left out in the desert. Freddie Freeman is a hot step behind Goldschmidt, hitting .297 and slugging .512.

Second Base

Who's winning: Chase Utley (.320/.381/.517)

Who should be winning: Utley

In my mind, this race is wrapped up unless Chutley decides to try hitting righty until July. Of the top 5 vote-getters at 2nd base, Utley is the only one hitting above .300. Furthermore, of those same top 5 vote-getters (Utley, Gordon, Phillips, Rendon, Walker), there a 50 point gap between he and the next highest average (Dee Gordon's, .280). The 2014 Phillies are like a 1995 Cadillac - great back in their day, but there are just better options now. But Utley has proven that he is more than just an old Caddy; he has aged quite nicely and so far this season has managed to stay healthy and is tied with Goldschmidt for the NL lead in doubles with 22. In fact, if the season were to end today, he would beat his career averages in BA, OBP, and SLG%. 

Shortstop

Who's winning: Troy Tulowitzki (.350/.450/.661)

Who should be winning: Tulowitzki

Okay I take back what I said about 2nd base being wrapped up. THIS is wrapped up. Tulowitzki should be starting for both sides in the ASG, that's how hot he is. He has been injury prone the last few years and we are finally seeing him play to his full potential, leading the NL in runs (45) and slugging, and leading the MLB in average, on-base percentage, and OPS.

I don't even know how to react to how good he is this year.

From a shortstop. Shortstops aren't supposed to be great hitters - and a shortstop is leading the most important offensive categories. He's on pace to have career records in about every single offensive category, except strikeouts. He is the hottest player in the game right now.

Third Base

Who's winning: Nolan Arenado (.305/.333/.489)

Who should be winning: David Wright (.293/.340/.397)

This was about a coin flip for me, I had a really hard time picking between he and David Wright. Arenado had that crazy 28 game hitting streak earlier this year but he doesn't walk much (see the OBP) and hits for very little power, especially at Coors Field. He is a bright young star but I'd pick Captain America. David Wright is tied for the NL lead in hits with 70, but has a lower average (.293) and slugging percentage (.397). That said, it is a heck of a lot harder to slug in a place like Citi Field versus Coors Field. I really don't know. I'd go with the vet in David Wright.

Catcher

Who's winning: Yadier Molina (.309/.354/.448)

Who should be winning: Yadi

Molina has come into his element as a hitter these past few years, posting a .313 average since 2011 while his career average is .285. Molina's slugging is way up this year compared to his career .406 and, as always, his handling of the pitching staff is second to none, as proven by Wainwright's incredible start. Lynn, Miller, and Wacha are also having great years, all posting ERAs below 3.50. In my NL predictions post from a few months ago, I praised Molina for his leadership and intangibles. He deserves an MVP and plays the catching position right - he should be the All-Star.

Outfield
Who's winning: Charlie Blackmon (.310/.347/.512), Andrew McCutchen (.307/.427/.470), Ryan Braun (.327/.367/.595)

Who should be winning: Yasiel Puig (.347/.437/.618), Giancarlo Stanton (.311/.407/.612), Braun

Pains me to write those. We know Braun is a liar and a cheat and I hate him for it, but he's not alone. Nelson Cruz took on a suspension last year as well and I selected him to start at DH for the AL. Braun is having a great year for the surprise Brewers - his slugging percentage is right where it was in his 2011 MVP season and you can't say no to that average. Stanton is just a machine this year in terms of home runs and hitting with RISP (he leads the NL in home runs and RBI), but his average is so much higher than it has been in the past that he has become even more of a weapon. Before, he was basically a longball threat, but now he is a doubles threat, a singles threat, etc. Wherever you pitch it, he is lethal (so is his wardrobe - check out the arm sleeve on Memorial Day). 

He has done so much for the Marlins that he deserves a start. And then we come to Puig. You all know I dislike Puig because of his attitude but there is no denying his skills. I wrote about him earlier in my Top 10 Under 25 post and he is having a heck of a year. The numbers agree. It hurts that 2 out of the 3 starters in the outfield are shady characters but the numbers do not lie. 

Pitcher

Johnny Cueto (5-4, 1.68 ERA, .76 WHIP). I can see arguments for Wainwright and Grienke, but Cueto's stuff is just filthy.

It's so filthy I want to reiterate how filthy it is with the Google definition of filthy.

He leads the MLB in K's (92), ERA (1.68), WHIP (.76 - wow), Batting average against (.151), complete games, and shutouts. The dude is earning his $10M salary this year and deserves the start despite his average record. When you lead in this many categories, you're doing something right. 

So there it is. Not a lot of arguing on my part except for the outfield. There are a lot of Rockies out there which goes in line with my NL West prediction post - they can hit the cover off the ball (first in the NL in team runs, hits, home runs), but pitching is shaky at best (2nd last in NL in ERA, last in K's), hence their 28-28 record. Honestly, if I were to make a call, I think the AL would win but Mike Matheny knows his stuff. I cannot wait for the ASG in the beautiful Target Field in Minnesota.

Hope your Monday was all you had hoped. Thanks for reading. 

More Predictions (Lucky You)

With the divisional races and postseason awards handed out, I think now is the time to determine the postseason. Here's what the scene looks like with my predictions right now:

AL East: Boston 100-62 (1 seed)
AL Central: Detroit 95-67 (2 seed)
AL West: Oakland 92-70 (3 seed)
AL WC 1: Cleveland 93-69 (4 or 5, depending on their head-to-head with Tampa in the regular season - for sake of argument, I think the Indians will be 4)
AL WC 2: Tampa Bay 93-69 (5; see above)

ALDS 1: Tampa over Boston, 3-2
ALDS 2: Detroit over Oakland, 3-2
ALCS: Detroit over Tampa, 4-1

I think Tampa will take the play in game. David Price in clutch situations is just too much to handle, unless Jason Giambi steps up big time and has yet another walk off home run. They're just deeper at every position except manager, and playing in a stronger division, they'll be battle tested compared to the Indians, who get 40 games against the White Sox and Twins.

The Rays made a compelling argument last year to beat the Red Sox in the ALDS but couldn't quite complete the upset. I think this year is their year - with Price back and now Grant Balfour at their back end - look out. On the other side, we'll see the third straight Tigers/A's ALDS and get another Tigers berth in a thrilling series. Detroit however is a much stronger team offensively than the Rays, making them my choice to go to the World Series. The Rays one win will come from Price.

NL East: Atlanta 94-68 (3 seed)
NL Central: St. Louis 102-60 (1 seed)
NL West: Los Angeles 98-64 (2 seed)
NL WC 1: Cincinnati 94-68 (4 seed)
NL WC 2: Pittsburgh 93-69

NLDS 1: St. Louis over Cincinnati, 3-1
NLDS 2: Los Angeles over Atlanta, 3-1
NLCS: St. Louis over LA, 4-2 
So other than the Wild Card game, this is identical. I really don't see this happening any other way, I mean maybe the Nationals can squeeze into a playoff spot but they won't get past the DS - they're too streaky, and it all depends on how hot they are at the end of the year. I'm not putting my money on anyone but the Cardinals this year.

World Series: 2006 rematch, Tigers vs. Cardinals. We don't know who will have home field advantage until July of this year, and I think that will play a big factor. If the Tigers want to have a shot, they'll need to have home field and win the first two in the Motor City. Without home field, it will be nearly impossible to win - last year, the Cardinals went 54-27 at Busch Stadium, the best home record in the MLB. 

My prediction: Cardinals over Tigers, 4-2
I'm a Tigers fan. This kills me to say, but the Cardinals are just too good. Flawless defense, deep hitting at every position, and a deep pitching rotation led by the unflappable Adam Wainwright. Sure the Tigers are great too, the best hitter in the game and 2 of the last 3 Cy Young winners, but their role players just can't quite get the job done. Especially in an NL park, the bench players need to be able to shine in a pinch - I don't have a lot of faith in Steve Lombardozzi or Andy Dirks with the game on the line. The Cardinals were two wins away last year.

The Tigers were four. 

If this matchup plays out, then expect very low scoring, toughly fought, gritty and scrappy baseball games. It will be a battle of two of baseball's oldest and most historic teams battling it out for yet another crown. St. Louis is looking to add to their NL record 11 championships, and the Tigers are seeking their first since 1984. It should be one of the most exciting ones in recent history. 

I'm excited, but also heartbroken by this. I hope I'm wrong. 

What are your thoughts? Thanks for reading!

2014 Predictions: NL Central

Holy cow, what a stacked division. I had a tough time figuring this one out. It seems that a lot of divisions are really top heavy, with two or three great teams, and then two or three...other teams, and the NL Central is no exception. Expect the Cardinals to be playing late into the season again. 

NL Central

1. St. Louis 102-60
I have no problem labeling the Cardinals as the only team to win 100 games this year. I think they have the top-to-bottom lineup, a young rotation, a smattering of veteran leadership, and an tactical wizard of a manager in Mike Matheny. The Cardinals didn't make a lot of offseason moves, but they made highly efficient ones. Some of you might be thinking "how is a move efficient, Bill?" Well let me tell you. With the trade of David Freese and Fernando Salas to the Angels for Peter Bourjos, they freed up a spot for rising star Matt Carpenter (.318/.392/.481) at third, allowing newcomer Kolten Wong to start at second. Despite his faux pas in the World Series, the Cardinals have put a lot of stock into him and see a bright future. If he doesn't work out, then Mark Ellis (free agent from the Dodgers) will do a good job filling in. On the other side of second base, shortstop Jhonny Peralta will make his NL debut. To many, Peralta is a delinquent and his 4 year, $52 million contract is a negative incentive for PEDs. I agree to a certain extent with that, but he's paid his dues and I think he knows not to do it again. Also, despite his increased power numbers, Peralta also went through a swing change in the 2013 offseason, creating more of a line drive swing, allowing him to hit .303 before his suspension. His range at shortstop isn't good but the balls he gets to are fielded perfectly; that's why it's smart to have a quick third and second basemen - maybe they can reach some things he won't. Back to the outfield: though seeing perennial all-star Carlos Beltran go to New York was hard, Cardinals fans and administrators have a secret weapon in Oscar Taveras, who is likely to start in right this year. If he doesn't, then Jon Jay will. Either one is a good bet; Jay is a career .293 hitter and has good speed on the base paths. Taveras is an overwhelmingly popular pick for NL ROY. So pick your poison Cardinals. As always, Yadier Molina will be the best catcher in the NL (arguably the whole league now that Joe Mauer is no longer a catcher) again, and lead the team deep into the postseason. The Boston Globe called him a player to build around, and I could not agree more; he's a tactician, a great hitter, and stays out of trouble.

I'll leave you to chew on this: the Cardinals had a run differential last year of +187. Second to whom? The World Champion Red Sox. Don't be surprised if they hit +200 this year. 

2. Cincinnati 94-68
I promise you, even though I didn't pick the people's choice Pittsburgh Pirates to be near the top again, I still have a heart and soul. I think the Reds made better moves to compete. First and foremost, they fired bunt happy manager Dusty Baker and hired pitching coach Bryan Price. Here's why I like this move: A) it's hiring from within so Price knows the system and the players. Chemistry won't be an issue. B) It's not Dusty Baker. Baker is a fine manager, but only in the regular season. He's been graced with some incredibly talented teams (2002 Giants, 2003 Cubs, 2012 Reds) and could only take one pennant in 20 years managing. Now even though they lost Shin Soo Choo, speedster Billy Hamilton is taking his place, and if his average stays healthy, he could make a run at ROY. Rounding out the outfield with Jay Bruce and Chris Heisey, they will be in good shape on both sides of the ball. The infield is defensively sound, but sometimes lacking offensively. 2010 MVP Joey Votto is exempt from that statement with his .314 average and consistently league-leading OBP. Brandon Phillips (Dat Dude)

is a supplier of power, but not a lot of consistency. Despite his trade rumors he will be back in Cincy this year. Cozart and Frazier, hitting .254 and .234 respectively last year, will be the everyday starters on the left side. Cozart went through swing reconstruction this offseason, and I am eager if he can reach his full gap-to-gap potential. Having just signed Homer Bailey to 6 years and $105 million, the Reds are looking into the future, eyeing a title not this year, but definitely before 2020. Surrounding him with Mat Latos, Mike Leake (fantasy steal), and Johnny Cueto makes for a dangerous rotation (good dangerous).

3. Pittsburgh 93-69
I don't even know if its statistically possible to have three teams win 90 games in a season in the same division, but it's happening. Mainly because these three will beat up on the other two remaining teams, but nonetheless, the Pirates are still a great team. Neil Walker is an under-the-radar stud (probably just because he's Don Kelly's brother-in-law), Clint Barmes is a good defender, and Pedro Alvarez broke out last year to lead the NL in home runs. He only hit .233 but that's not what he's paid to do, am I right? Of course I am, that's why you've read this far. Naturally, we will see Cutch produce out of his mind, and young Starling Marte will follow suit and learn a lot. Losing AJ Burnett will hurt, but the signing of Edinson Volquez will bolster that somewhat; last year Burnett went 10-11, Volquez 9-12. He will likely be the 3rd or 4th starter, behind Francisco Liriano (who emerged late in the season as a pitcher who means business), Jeff Locke, and 22-year old Gerrit Cole. Clint Hurdle is an excellent manager, taking a team that batted .245 and sending them to their first playoff seed in over 20 years. They'll be back on the cornrows of MLB '13 The Show coverboy Andrew McCutchen.

4. Chicago 69-93
The outfield in Wrigleyville will look different at the beginning of next season. Not the physical grass, but who's playing there. Last year, it was Soriano, DeJesus, and Schierholtz. This year it will likely be Ryan Sweeney, Junior Lake (who unfortunately sacrificed rookie status last year, otherwise he could have made a run at ROY), and Schierholtz. Chris Coghlan will be roving as a 4th outfielder. Lake is a young injection of energy. Good fielder (came up as a shortstop) and base stealer, but he strikes out far too often to be effective long term. In 64 games in 2013, he struck out 68 times, but he also hit .284. We'll see what hitting coach Bill Mueller has in store for him this year in Arizona. The infield will be the same: Valbuena, Castro, Barney, Rizzo: all defense, little offense. The four of them hit a combined .226, with only Rizzo showing decent power. Having "Bad Scrabble Board" Jeff Samardzija

back as the ace will help matters, otherwise 9-12 Travis Wood is the ace. Jake Arrieta will return from injury, Jason Hammel is a good four starter, with the heavy loser (8-18 in 2013) Edwin Jackson bringing up the rear. Jose Veras (3.02 ERA in 2013) is a great pick up; Cubs fans will enjoy not have Marmol come in to close games, and young Pedro Strop will do swell in the setup role. New manager Rick Renteria will most likely be on a pretty short leash; 4 managers in 8 years, 13 in the last 23 years.

5. Milwaukee 65-97
Last year, the Brewers went 74-88, which wasn't bad considering they lost their best player, Ryan Braun, for a hefty suspension. I do not foresee that being their fortune this year. 'But Carlos Gomez had a career year!' Exactly: a career year. Not a year to change his career. He's a career .255 hitter. Aramis Ramirez, if he stays healthy, will have a little bit of relief since Braun is returning to the clean-up slot. 23-year old shortstop Jean Segura is an incredibly bright spot, batting .294 last season (highest of the non-dopers). Scooter Gennett is another solid young middle infielder, and he'll likely take over for .209 Rickie Weeks, but how much will he be able to hold up throughout the entire season? The pitching staff did add Matt Garza, a much needed ace, but he'll be pitching most of his games against the aforementioned Cardinals, Reds, and Pirates, so his offense will have to show up (not likely). Lyle Overbay will take over at first, and as much as I'd like to say he'll repeat what he did in New York last year (which was still only .240), I don't think they'll get much production out of him. They aren't a terrible team, but they also lost Corey Hart and play in a wicked division. Unfortunately, I don't think Bernie Brewer will be sliding too much this year.

Thanks for reading! Almost done with the divisions!

2014 Predictions: AL East

With Spring Training in full swing now (pun-alicious), I think now is good of a time as ever to give my predictions for the upcoming season. This will encompass everything from team records, finishes, playoff brackets, and award winners. Last year at the All-Star break, I predicted Red Sox over Cardinals in 7 games in the World Series, Red Sox over Tigers in 6, Cardinals over Braves in 5. I was better in the AL than NL but I'm still proud of how close I was.

So here we go!

1. Boston 100-62

The defending champs are in a position to do exactly that: defend their championship. Many are picking Xander Bogaerts as the AL ROY as he takes over on the infield for the Sox. Though Ryan Dempster announced that he will not pitch in 2014, their rotation will still be tough to beat. Buchholz will be healthy, and Lester will be classic flamethrowing Lester. Napoli and Papi will be back, but they lost Ellsbury and Saltalamacchia. They did add veteran winners Grady Sizemore and AJ Pierzynski; Sizemore's health is always a huge if, but he could be an excellent coach for Jackie Bradley, Jr. The signing of Mike Carp (.296/.362/.523 in 86 games) will also be a great 4th/5th outfielder. 

2. Tampa Bay 93-69

This was a tough pick over the star studded Yankees, but I think they are better managed. Reigning ROY Wil Myers will patrol the outfield and have a .300/25/100 season, David DeJesus will supply great speed and get on base for a team that is foreign to stealing. David Price, my Cy Young pick if he stays healthy, is going into a contract year and will undoubtedly go back to his old self, much of what we saw late in 2013. Chris Archer will settle in nicely as a 3rd starter and Grant Balfour will calm many nerves that Rodney frayed during his stay.

3. New York 91-71

Arguably the most active this offseason on the free agent market, signing Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, and Masahiro Tanaka. They also are getting back Jeter, Teixeira, and Sabathia from annoying and nagging injuries that kept them sidelined. A-Rod is out of the picture now, so the team can focus on the field and not the clubhouse. They will be back to the Bronx Bombers we know and love to hate, but I don't think we'll see them past the play-in game. Here's why: they lost not only a closer, but the best closer ever and their only answer right now is David Robertson. I'm not putting a lot of stock in Tanaka yet, I'm guessing he'll be about where Yu Darvish is down the road, but his first year will be good not great. They have a lot of stars, but that's it - not a lot of good role players for backup. 

4. Baltimore 82-80

Though they are well managed behind Buck Showalter, the rotation is an area of concern. Though Chris Tillman had an All-Star season, how much can the rest of them hold up? Similarly, the bullpen is another worry. I know Jim Johnson had a down year compared to 2012, but now he is all the way across the country in Oakland which will do them no good. Balfour's physical fiasco held them up from getting a solid closer so when it comes ninth inning they'll be throwing question marks. Their offense is second to none, with Hardy, Machado, Weiters, Davis, and Jones, and I reckon that will be the source for most of their wins. Earl Weaver said the key to winning baseball was pitching, defense and the three-run home run. Seems like Showalter follows suit. 

5. Toronto 72-90

The Jays are not a bad team by any stretch of the imagination but because they play in the vicious AL East, I do not have high expectations. Josh Johnson and JP Arencibia left for warmer weather, Rajai Davis left for a similar climate but a different division, and Emilio Bonifacio is now in the Windy City. A lot of folks left, but they will also have the Joses healthy, Reyes and Bautista. Colby Rasmus is a solid player coming into his own, but unfortunately, I don't think the Jays will be competing this year. 

Player to watch: Masahiro Tanaka, NYY

Comeback player of the year: Derek Jeter, NYY

Thanks for reading! Next post will be the AL Central. Take it easy folks.

Roy Halladay, Pt. 2

With yesterday's post about Roy Halladay completed, I'll take a step back from that one awesome game in the 1998 season to examine his entire career and determine whether or not he will be in the Hall of Fame. Let's take a dive into it, shall we?

For the better part of his career, Halladay was known as a workhorse. In fact, one of the most impressive stats in his favor are complete games and shutouts. In an era of specific pitching skills and closely monitored pitch counts, shutouts are becoming a thing of the past. With the rise of the closer and set-up roles, pitchers are only asked to go six or seven innings. Going 9 innings is a rare feat and something to be celebrated, as opposed to a hundred years ago when if a pitcher did not go 9 innings, the start must have been really, really bad. Throughout his 16 year career, Halladay averaged 33 starts a year. If you do the math, out of 162 games, that's roughly a start every fifth day, so his durability was something of a hidden gem in addition to wicked control and a relatively new pitch (cutter) to the game. What's more impressive, though, is how many innings he would throw in a season and still be performing at a high level year in and year out. He was in the top 10 in innings pitched in 8 separate seasons, with a career high of 266. Similarly, he was in the top 10 in batters faced in 8 separate seasons. 

That's pretty good. This is even better: Halladay was in the top 10 10 times in complete games, 6 of those seasons he was first or second. 5 of those came at age 30 or later! Okay durability is one thing, but to go that late and be dominant is another. He had 4 seasons in the top 10 ranks of shutouts, including back to back #1s at age 32 and 33. Going the distance is awesome. Holding the opponent scoreless is also impressive. Combining the two made him a fearsome competitor. The only way to get to him was small ball and pray a ball finds a hole, because runners rarely stole and he rarely gave up home runs. 

Excluding his last two seasons, which were uncharacteristically sloppy, his career ERA was 3.23. He racked up 203 wins and only 105 losses. He rarely walked any batters (his strikeout to walk ratio led the league 5 times, with a career high of 7.30). 

Stats are great, but let's look at the big picture. He won two Cy Youngs, one in each league (one of only 5 pitchers ever to do so - Gaylord Perry, Pedro, Johnson, Clemens). He also finished in the top five in voting five other times (runner up twice). He was selected to 8 All-Star teams (6 AL, 2 NL). Another stat that I find particularly interesting is that he was the Opening Day starter for 10 straight seasons, 2003-2012. Had it not been for an injury plagued offseason between '12 and '13, he may have added one more.

He also threw two no-hitters (both in 2010, one of which was in the playoffs), just adding to the fact that he was a solid pitcher late in his career.

Now, that said, he never won a ring. Some of that could be blamed on playing in the best division in the game for the first 12 years of his career. The AL East, featuring the Yankees and Red Sox, and more recently, the Rays and O's, almost always sent two teams to the playoffs in the archaic 4-team format. During Halladay's tenure in Toronto, there were only three years in which the AL East did not send two teams to the postseason (some combination of Yankees, Red Sox, Rays). He did not have the supporting cast around him to make it happen - that's not a slight at the early millennial Jays, that's just a fact. When he switched to the NL, however, the Phillies made it to the NLCS in 2010, losing to Giants, and lost to the Cardinals in the NLDS in 2011. He does not have extensive postseason experience (3-2, 2.37 ERA with a no-no), but he was equipped with a better team around him to go the distance. 

He also gave up his fair share of hits throughout his career. While his strikeout to walk ratio and home runs per nine were awesome, his hits per nine was not. The average for his career was 8.7 and sometimes inflated as high as 14.2 for a season. He allowed over 200 hits every single time he pitched over 200 innings; his worst season (in terms of hits) suffered 253 hits. That was also his first Cy Young winning season. I'm not quite sure what to think.

I'd give him the nod if I had a vote. Pitching in the AL East, its impressive that he only had one losing season. Then switching to the NL East with the powerful Braves and rising Nats, again he only had one losing season (2013 in which his shoulder just said 'no more, Roy'). I think seeing pitchers this durable is so rare anymore, and for that reason I think he deserves to be remembered forever. 

So congrats, Harry Leroy Halladay, you have the approval of a 21-year old independent baseball blogger (woo!).

Thanks for reading, folks. Enjoy the heat wave.

Roy Halladay, Pt. 1

When Roy Halladay announced his retirement last fall, being the huge baseball fan that I am, I went directly to his Baseball Reference page, curious to see if he had the credentials to make it into the Hall of Fame. We'll get to that in a little bit but for now I want to highlight a special game in his pre-rookie season. We probably all remember Halladay for having inhuman stamina, rarely missing the strike zone, and even more rarely missing a start. But the way he kicked off his career should not be forgotten.

September 27, 1998, the 162nd game of the season. The Tigers entered the game 65-97, miles away from playoff contention, as were the Blue Jays. They entered the game 88-74, which is quite good and would have been good enough for a half game out of first in the Central, and tied for first in the West. However, since the Yankees went off for 114 wins, the poor Jays good season was for naught, putting them in third in the East. At this point in the season, both teams had nothing to lose, so the Jays decided to bring up 21-year old Denver native named Roy Halladay (I assume hundreds of people called him Holiday by mistake for a year or two). Halladay's Major League debut was good, not great, pitching five innings against the Devil Rays, giving up 8 hits and 2 earned runs. It was his second career start that set the pace for his workhorse of a career.

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon at 78 degrees in Toronto, actually a record warm for this late in the year. 38,000 fans filed into the Rogers Centre to see the finale of the 1998 campaign against the international rival Detroit Tigers. Doc began the game smoothly, striking out two of the first three batters, likely from his nasty cutter. On the other side of the ball, Tigers starter Justin Thompson also had a relatively smooth inning, walking leadoff man Shannon Stewart and then retiring the next three. The subsequent innings showed that Halladay meant business in the game of baseball. The top of second brought the heart of the Tigers order: Tony "Tall Glass of Water" Clark, Luis Gonzalez, and slugging Robert Fick. Two easy groundouts, and a strikeout looking on only 8 pitches. 

The rest of the start was much like the first two innings. Halladay was so dominant, he only had one 3-ball count. In fact, out of 29 batters faced, only six of them had an at-bat long enough to get to ball 2. Only three innings required more than 10 pitches to retire the Tigers. 

All in all, he racked up 8 strikeouts, 5 swinging, 95 pitches, 0 walks, and one hit.

It is that one hit that would prevent Halladay from achieving history. At 21 years and 4 months, he would have been the second youngest pitcher to throw a no-hitter in American League history, second to Vida Blue. He would have joined Bobo Holloman and Wilson Alvarez to be the only pitchers throw a no-hitter in his first two starts (Clay Buchholz would join that group in 2007).

It wasn't just any hit. It wasn't a third inning line drive. It wasn't a sixth inning bloop that would draw some disappointment from the more attentive fans. It wasn't an eighth inning bunt that would draw booing and jeering from the Toronto faithful. Oh no, it was an absolute dagger that resulted in sheer anger and exasperation: a ninth inning, two out, opposite field home run. 

In the top of the fourth inning, Jays second basemen Craig Grebeck was taken from the game and replaced with Felipe Crespo. Crespo botched the very first ground ball he saw, allowing Clark to reach first on his error. Had Crespo fielded this ball cleanly, Halladay would have had a bid at a perfect game going into the ninth. Instead, he had to settle for a no-hit bid. Ho hum.

Halladay was not phased; he struck out five more batters and allowed only two balls out of the infield from the 4th to the 9th innings. 

At this point late in the game, Halladay took the mound only three outs from history. The Tigers had 8-9-1 coming up to try to stave off the embarrassment of a no-hitter. Gabe Kapler lined out sharply to left fielder Shannon Stewart to lead off the inning.

One down.

Paul Bako, pinch hitting for the smiley and young Deivi Cruz, weakly grounded to second after a relatively respectable at-bat (he was one of the few to work a 2-ball count). 

Two out, and one more relatively easy out in Kimera Bartee who had already struck out twice and was only hitting .194 on the season. 

Manager Larry Parrish, grasping at straws for any type of offense, then called on Bobby Higginson to pinch hit for center fielder Bartee. Higginson was having a solid season, batting .284 with 24 home runs to this point. He had never faced this young stud in Halladay. None of the Tigers had, and boy did it show.

The lightly goateed slugger toed the plate and calmly served the first pitch he saw to the left field bleachers. All 38,000 fans at the Rogers Centre assumably sat down in disbelief that this kid had just been robbed of a golden opportunity to assert himself as one of the best rookie performances in history. 

I have scoured the internet to find any hint at how he reacted. The New York Times merely says the rookie pitcher was one out away from history. The free Detroit Free Press archives do not go back far enough to include this game. Similarly, the Detroit News archives begin January 1, 1999. In a postgame interview, the Toronto Star reported Halladay saying "I'm going to feel that there's a lot of pressure next year, probably some more expectations." Did he throw his glove down in disgust? Did he shake his head out of incredulousness or upset that he threw a bad pitch? Did he curse into his glove? Probably not, Halladay is a classy guy. But as a 21-year old, who knows. 

Knowing him, he probably shook his head, asked for a new ball from home plate umpire Jim McKean, and threw his nastiest pitch of the afternoon to nail Frank Catalanotto, who lined out to short on the next pitch to end the game. The game took only an hour and forty-five minutes. 

Jays 2, Tigers 1. Halladay's one mistake and Higginson's 379 foot rocket cost him a place in history. 

As always, thanks for reading. I'll do another post in the near future about his Hall of Fame credentials and why he was the last of a dying breed.

The Mid-Summer Classic

So this weekend I watched a little bit of the NBA All-Star Game and skills contests and the like. And if you ask me, a little bit was way too much. Sure it was fun to see some crazy windmill dunks and a ton of three point shooting, but being named an All-Star doesn't really mean as much as it does in the MLB.

Baseball is the only sport in which the All-Star Game carries some weight. It's also the only All-Star Game that hasn't been required to change its format because of lack of interest. The Pro Bowl recently switched over to the Rice vs. Sanders teams, no longer AFC vs. NFC. The NHL has done a similar format, with two team captains picking their teams (2012 was Team Chara vs. Team Alfredsson). The NBA still does East vs. West, but it's becoming such a spectacle of athleticism and just a showcase of outlandish skills that it's really not fun to watch. It seems this year that the NBA was more concerned with the dunk contest than the game itself, with the hashtag #SavetheDunkContest powering through the Twittersphere. Can you really take a game that has this seriously? I think Shaq is as hilarious as the next guy, but come on now.

The MLB All-Star Game is a thing of beauty though - because it means something. I'm not a huge fan of the rule that every team gets a representative, but I understand it. It goes hand in hand with the democracy of baseball. How else are the Astros fans going to watch the game? To see their boy Jason Castro get an inning behind the plate of course. 

The MLB All-Star game winner determines who gets home field advantage for the World Series, and I love that idea. It's not just a random break in the action of the summer to show off who has the fastest 60 yard dash speed, who has the best arm accuracy...the only skills competition is the Home Run Derby, but other than that the break is focused on the actual game itself. Weird, right? 

Yesterday, the final score of the NBA All-Star Game was 163-155. That's a total of 318 points, and when divided by the regulation game time of 48 minutes, that's 6.625 points a minute. That's approximately one basket every twenty seconds. Blake Griffin shot 19-23, a field goal percentage of 82%. This season, he's averaging a 54% field goal percentage, which is great. But to see almost a 30 point hike is absolutely no fun. It's not basketball anymore, it's more of a "Hey, you haven't scored in a while, take the ball and do something fancy." 

The 2013 MLB All-Star game was a nail biter. The AL won 3-0, with Jason Kipnis locking it up with an RBI double in the 8th and setting up Mariano Rivera for his last All Star save. These guys don't see this game as a break. Sure it's nice to have a few days off from the intense inter-divisional schedule, but the All-Star Game carries so much weight so they will hustle all the harder. I mean last year Prince Fielder got a triple, need I say more? 

I'm not arguing that baseball is a better sport in general (though that is indeed my personal belief). I am arguing that the MLB All-Star Game is the best of the four major sports because it means something. Being an All-Star starter is a huge honor because they fight for their league pride, not just to wear fancy shoes (like Bryce Harper) and go wow the crowd for awhile. Just ask Max Scherzer on his thoughts of what it meant to be the AL's staring pitcher. The All-Star Game is one of my favorite nights of the year, because it is the highest quality baseball you'll ever see, and it determines the fate of October. This past summer at the Hall of Fame we got to work a special event called the All Star Gala in which visitors could come and watch the game in a big theater on a 100-foot TV screen. I had the awesome opportunity to host and emcee the event and watch the game (where my Tigers all had a hit except Torii Hunter).  

To sum up my ramble, the other All-Star Games are mildly entertaining because you get to see players relaxed and show off their true athletic ability. But the MLB All-Star Game is truly special because of the weight it carries how big of an honor it is for a player to start. 

As always, thanks for reading. Don't fear the snow, folks. Baseball is back.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 34th birthday to Donald Thomas Kelly, also known as DK32, also known as my favorite player in the world. DK recently celebrated an aggressively average season, hitting .222, but he also hit the weights, blasting 6 home runs and 23 RBI's. He also only struck out 28 times in 112 games, which was a huge improvement from his 2012 campaign, when he struck out 22 times in only 75 games. 

This past year, DK was also honored with the 10th Man Award from the Detroit Baseball Society. Playing primarily as a sub for numerous players and positions, he honestly didn't really have much competition from the Tigers bench. Other subs that came to mind are Brayan Pena (one of the funniest guys to follow on Twitter, even if he's not on the Tigers anymore, @cuban2727), Ramon Santiago, Hernan Perez, and Matt Tuiasosopo. Pena was an awesome catching replacement, hitting a career high .297 in 71 games (one off of his career high). He also had a highlight reel of a game against the Yankees in the middle of the summer in which he had a home run and two singles. While Pena brought an offensive jolt compared to the free swinging, glorious facial hair growing Alex Avila, his defense was lacking. In terms of fielding percentage he was fine, but throwing out runners was not as good as the starter. For that reason, I think Pena was eliminated from competition for 10th man. Santiago and Perez, virtually spitting images of each other in all aspects, scuffled at the plate (Santiago had a higher average than DK, but shhh), hitting .224 and .197, respectively. They both are excellent fielders, but not as versatile as DK (in 2011, he played everything except second and short). Tuiasosopo, of whom I am a big fan, was hitting the cover off the ball at the beginning of the season, or at least until opposing pitching staffs realized offspeed pitching is his kryptonite. As of July 28th, he was hitting .301. Two months later, he was hitting .244. In an interview with mLive writer James Schmehl, Tui recognized that pitchers were facing him differently and that he needed to fix his approach. He admitted he was swinging at a lot of bad pitches in the dirt and then it threw off his mojo. Understandable, but not acceptable. Like I said, I'm a huge fan of Tui, and if he had made the proper adjustments, I think he would have been the right choice. 

DK is arguably the most defensively versatile player in the game today. He is the only active player to have played all nine positions. In 2011, he was brought on to pitch against the Mets in a 16-9 fiasco of a loss, where he got Scott Hairston to fly out to center on a 71 mph breaking ball. Yes, you read that right. His fastball hit 86. Not bad.

I love DK because he's a hustler. He gives 100% every day, regardless of what the skipper needed. He's a good example of hard work and dedication for young players. He went to an NAIA school and got drafted by his hometown Pirates, and recently signed his first million dollar contract with the Tigers. He's not a diva, he's not a prima donna, he just does his work. He might not always hit .350 with 45 home runs, but he comes through when he needs to. Prime example: August 6 against the Indians (right in the middle of the Tigers 10 game win streak against the Indians or something like that). The Tigers won 5-1 over Justin Masterson, thanks to DK. He went 3-4 with 3 RBI's and run scored. That was a big game with big implications for the AL Central. He stepped up when he needed to. 

So happy birthday, Deek. Not the most glamorous player, but certainly the hardest working. I mean, if anyone can pick up Prince Fielder, how can you not be the hardest working? 

As always, thanks for reading. 

O Captain, My Captain

Derek Jeter announced via Facebook yesterday (Feb 12) that he will retire from professional  baseball after his 2014 season. Those of you that know me well know that I absolutely worshipped Jeter throughout my childhood. When I was a wee tot and just broke into the ultra-minor leagues (7-year old little league), I was placed on the Yankees, so sorry folks, I am not a Yankee hater. Quite the opposite in fact. 

My first memory of Jeter was an All-Star Game. I cannot remember which year, but I remember recognizing the famous "NY" logo on his jersey and telling my dad that it was the same as mine! Jeter must have done something amazing in that game because I was hooked. I followed his career like a hawk (as much as a 7-year old can be a hawk). I sent him birthday letters, I got his jersey for Christmas like 5 years in a row. I wanted to wear #2 at every sport (I was #2 up until junior year in high school), just to be like him. I bought his Jumpman cleats sophomore year and still wore them my summer after freshman year in college just because of the symbolism. I wanted to play shortstop. I wanted to wear the pinstripes. I wanted to be the class act that he was and play baseball on the biggest stage for a living. To prove it, here's an incredibly flattering picture of me at my 12th birthday seeing a Tigers/Yankees game: Please note the tube socks, the pinstripe jersey combined with Tigers cap, and yes, I taped his baseball card to my incredibly colorful poster. 

Say what you will about the Yankees, but no one can deny Jeter's leadership. Despite having a .312 career average, 3,316 hits going into this year, and a career on base percentage of .381, to me, the most impressive thing about him is his 5 rings, and how convincingly he won them. Excluding the World Series that they lost, in the 5 successful endeavors, the Yankees never went past 6 games, and from '98-'00, they played 13 World Series games. It takes four wins to win a ring. 12 wins = 3 rings. And they only played 13. They were one game removed from three straight sweeps. The only game they lost was Game 3 in 2000, when El Duque (Orlando Hernandez) gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to the Mets, a deficit which the Yankees could not overcome. The Yankees would hold off the Mets for the rest of that series; a series in which Jeter was the MVP. Despite striking out 8 times in 5 games, Jeter hit .409, and had a crazy on base percentage of .480. 

In his postseason career as a whole, Jeter has hit .308, racking up 200 hits and 20 home runs in 158 games, four games short of adding an entire season on to his career. 

As long as Jeter has played professional baseball, the Yankees have never had a sub .500 season. In the 18 full seasons he's had, his team has only failed to win fewer than 90 games 3 times. He is the greatest leader I know in the sports world. I wouldn't go so far as to say he is a 5-tool player naturally, but he made himself one. He averaged 16 home runs and 22 steals a season, both really solid numbers for a shortstop. He's not a power hungry guy though; he rarely struck out, and the majority of his home runs were line drive shots that just snuck over the fence (a lot of that is due to playing in a band box of Yankee Stadium, but we won't go there). 

We'll all remember "The Flip" to Jorge Posada to nab Jeremy Giambi in the 2000 ALDS. We'll all remember "The Dive" into the stands against the Red Sox in July of 2004. We'll all remember his 3,000th hit which was a moonshot to left-center, a script that you couldn't write any better: in front of his home crowd, full count, off of Cy Young winner David Price. We'll remember his father-son type relationship with Joe Torre. But here are my two favorite things about Jeter (I won't count that he grew up in Michigan):

• He never won an MVP. I will go on record and say that he is the best non-pitcher of the MVP era to have not won that award. Others that come to mind: Al Kaline, Billy Williams, and Pee Wee Reese, but these guys are nowhere near the caliber of Jeter's career. I may be putting too much weight on the rings, but again, this is my personal opinion. But why does the lack of hardware make him great? It kept him humble. It kept him hungry. It kept him focused on the real prize of winning World Series and boy did he do that. Personal glory in terms of MVP's are great, but at the end of the day, why is the baseball world rocked by Jeter's departure? Rings. Other than his Rookie of the Year, his goal was to win it all. Compare this to Miguel Cabrera or Justin Verlander (winners of the last three MVP awards), despite their personal hardware and success, if you asked them, I'd guarantee they'd prefer a single World Series over 10 MVPs.
• He stuck with one team his entire career. In this day and age, players are looking for a big contract rather than team loyalty (Josh Hamilton, Robby Cano). Sure, it's easy to stay in the same place when you're making $21 million a year, BUT he loved the Yankees enough, in that harsh of an environment, to stay there for 20 years. Again, sure, it's easy to be loved by a crowd when you hit .300 year in and year out and bring the city a championship three years in a row, BUT he refused to go anywhere but New York when his contract was up. 

I grew up with Derek Jeter. My maturity as a baseball fan coincided with his career. As often as I watched the Tigers, I would also check Jeter's line to make sure my captain got a hit. I don't mind the Yankees, and I know a lot of people hate their guts, but Jeter is an exception. Back in the days before my house had cable and I could only watch postseason baseball, I had no choice but to watch the Yankees because they were there so often and I watched, emulated, noted, appreciated, and like I said earlier, worshipped Derek Jeter.

After he retires for real after 2014, baseball will feel weird. I don't know how else to put it, it's just going to be different because he has been around the same amount of time I've been a fan. My dad would always share stories of his favorite players, Gates Brown and Denny McLain. His dad would share stories with my dad of his favorite players, Rudy York and Schoolboy Rowe. I can't wait to share my memories of Derek Jeter.

Retiring Stars

This past week we've had a lot of baseball's elder statesmen call it quits with their baseball careers: Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman, and Derek Jeter. These guys were no average joes, they played the game well and saw a lot of success. Between the three of them, they have 6 World Series rings and another 4 pennants. They were huge names in the game, and I'll break down my favorite memories of them. Jeter will get his own post, but for now, enjoy some of the Killer B's.

Roy Oswalt
Well, whenever I think of Oswalt, I think of him in the context in one of the funniest moments in recent baseball, the robust clap of thunder that scared the pants off half the stadium in a Twins/Rangers game in 2012. More seriously, I remember Oswalt as a mechanics driven, no nonsense pitcher that got hurt more often than he threw a pitch. In the final three years of his career, he only pitched in 49 games (38 starts) and posted a 4.92 ERA, which is not great. Because I was never a huge mid-2000's Astros fan, I did not know Oswalt and his game super well, so when he came to the AL, I paid more attention and got a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak, after seeing him struggle. I remember telling my dad that he should just hang it up, but I neglected to appreciate the beginning of his career. If you remember my first post, I mentioned Beltre lives in Cabrera's shadow for third base domination, Oswalt kind of had the same problem. He was never a power pitcher, though he did have more than 200 strikeouts twice in his career, so I think he just got lost in the shuffle of Randy Johnson's four straight Cy Youngs from '99-'02 (!!!!!), Maddux's wicked control, and Clemens strikeout machinery. In five of his first six seasons in the league, Oswalt finished in the top 5 for Cy Young voting, which is impressive in itself. But imagine how frustrating it must be to a 23 year old rookie in the NL, go 14-3, a WHIP of 1.059 and be an afterthought. The poor guy didn't even win the Rookie of the Year because of this new kid on the block in St. Louis named Albert Pujols...ever heard of him? Here's his competition early in his years:

• 2001: Johnson (CYA, 21-6), Schilling (runner up, 22-6), Matt Morris (22-8), Jon Lieber (20-6)
• 2002: Johnson (CYA, 24-5), Schilling (runner up, 23-7), John Smoltz (55 saves), Eric Gagne (52 saves)
• 2004: Clemens (CYA, 18-4), Johnson (I think a lot of people just gave him the vote so he could have his 5th; 16-14)
• 2005 (the year the Astros went to the World Series): Chris Carpenter (CYA, 21-5), Dontrelle Willis (may his career rest in peace, 22-10)
• 2006: Brandon Webb (CYA, 16-8), Trevor Hoffman (46 saves), Carpenter (15-8).

Poor Roy. He had such an incredible start to his career (98-47, 3.02 ERA first 6 seasons, including two with 20 wins), but he was just lost in the shuffle of other great pitchers. Oswalt was the anchor for the 2005 Astros, or the Killer B's (they were called that because the absurd number of players names' began with B), rotation and eventually led them to the organization's first pennant. This star studded rotation featuring Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, and Wandy Rodriguez posted a starters ERA of 3.5, and Pettitte, Clemens, and Oswalt all tossed more than 170 K's. Heck of a rotation, and its too bad that they couldn't go all the way. Oswalt was also the MVP of the 2005 NLCS. 

One of the best moments of the 2005 season was the NLDS against the Braves. I remember coming home from school and being excited because baseball was on TV - it's never on TV right after school! We had just gotten cable that February too so I could watch the whole thing! I turned it on and saw that the Braves and Astros were deadlocked a 6-6 in the 12th inning, and it was just getting started. The game would eventually go 18 innings, with Chris Burke's bomb to left ending the Braves' season. I had never seen a game this long, and was mesmerized by Phil Garner's decision to bring in the Rocket to slam the door for 3 innings to get the win. Though Oswalt didn't play in this game, that's what sticks out to me from their run to the World Series - and that wouldn't have happened without Cowboy Roy. 

Lance Berkman

Alright let me get something off my chest right now: I hate that Berkman called himself the Big Puma and it stuck. Nicknames aren't something to be given to yourself; if they were, then people would still be calling me El Capitan Supreme. It just doesn't work like that. But this dude could rake, and for that reason, he reminds me of myself in high school. He was a good fielder, never won any Gold Gloves, but had a .994 fielding percentage at first base, and .979 as an outfielder, which doesn't make any sense that his infield percent is higher, but it is what it is. I sucked at fielding in high school, my hitting is what got me by, and so did Berkman. His bat kept him in the lineup. He led the league in doubles twice, RBI's once, and ended his career at a very solid .293 average. 

In the aforementioned 2005 NLDS marathon against the Braves, Berkman had a classic Berkman game, going 2-5 with a home run, a double, and 4 RBI's. He has something Oswalt never got though - a ring! With the 2011 Cardinals (sidenote, that was an exhilarating postseason beginning with Longo's walkoff), Berkman finally got the hardware to cap off his career. I never thought he would have a spot on that team with Beltran, Freese, and Craig, but he weaseled his way into the lineup and made La Russa's Hall of Fame career complete. 

Like Oswalt, Berkman was incredibly durable at the forefront of his career, but tailed off at the end, playing in 250 games in his final 3 seasons. I think had he gotten to the AL earlier, he might still be playing as a DH, like Papi is in Boston. But the chips fell where they did, and now you're reading about their retirement.

Congratulations on awesome careers, gentlemen. I don't think they'll make it to Cooperstown. Both were very good players, but as my boss at the Hall said, it's not the Hall of Very Good. It's the Hall of Fame, where 1% of all players make it. Oswalt, despite finishing in the top 5 in Cy Young Voting numerous times, probably needed to win an award to make a case. Same goes for Berkman; he was elected to 6 All Star teams and finished 3rd in MVP voting twice, but that's like a half of a baby step being too far away. He finished 6th in NL ROY voting (Rafael Furcal, Rick Ankiel, Jay Payton, Pat Burrell, Mitch Meluskey) in 2000, and just couldn't quite have that holy-crap-look-at-Berkman's-season-Dad season to win him a serious award. Both had illustrious careers and accomplished a lot. Don't let my little blog take away from all they've done. 

The D-Backs Offseason

Judging from the title, you probably thought this was going to be an analysis of the off-season moves of the NL West runners up, but no. Well I will in a little bit but their social media team is hilarious. They play constant trolls to the rest of the league, undermining and cracking jokes. Here are my two favorites:

Dodgers rookie pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu went to an LA school district where they brought out the reptiles. Ryu, the poor guy, freaked out, as you can see in the photo, and hid behind some shelves. They tweeted the subsequent picture and the sneaky D-backs jumped right on it. I'm eager to see how Ryu follows his rookie campaign, going 14-8 with an even ERA of 3.00. Against the Diamondbacks, he was 1-2 with an ERA of 4.65 in 5 starts. One of his starts against them was April 13, his 3rd career start, where he went 6 innings, giving up 3 runs and striking out 9 (including Miguel Montero, Martin Prado, and Goldschmidt). Ryu also smoked a double over the rightfielder Parra's head - with his parents watching! How fun.

But wait, the offseason clowning gets better. MLB Network is currently in the second round of their #FaceOfMLB challenge, and the Diamondbacks' Gold Gloving, Silver Slugging first basemen Paul Goldschmidt was matched up against the nearly identical (other than handedness) Joey Votto. Aside from carpetbombing the twittersphere with Goldy love, they fired some shots at the Reds. Check it out: 

Shots were definitely fired in the NL. I'm sure it was all in good fun. In 2013, the Reds won 4 of the 7 meetings between the two teams, despite being outscored 33 runs to 31. Mark your calendars for May 29, when the Reds fly out to the desert to face Gibson's squad. Expect the social media coordinators to be brawling.

As always, thanks for reading. Here's a link of the Great Wall robbing JP Arencibia of a home run last season: enjoy.