Category Archives: baseball

MLB 2017 Postseason Wildcard Round Predictions

September 25, 2017 jeffcurry3 Leave a comment

It’s that time of the year again. Leaves changing colors, exchanging your t-shirt for cozy sweaters, but more importantly, the MLB playoffs are here. As the season comes to an end and the playoff pictures becomes clearer, let’s take a look at how each team matches up with each other.

American League

New York Yankees/Minnesota Twins vs Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are undoubtedly the hottest team in baseball right now, coming off of a historic 22-game win streak and winning 27 out of their last 29 games. In all facets, the Indians look unstoppable. With Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Ramirez leading their high-powered offense, and potential Cy Young winner Corey Kluber spearheading the league’s lowest ERA pitching rotation, the Indians are currently favorites to win the World Series.

The Yankees recently completed a three-game dismantling of the Twins, and all signs point to an Indians vs. Yankees wildcard matchup. No matter the winner of that game, neither team has the ability to matchup with the Indians in a five-game series. The Yankees, despite averaging a league second 5.31 runs per game, have some uncertainties regarding their starting rotation due to injuries and the shakiness of fallen ace Masahiro Tanaka. The Twins have a similar problem with a mediocre starting rotation but also a weak relief team.

Winner: Cleveland Indians

Boston Red Sox vs Houston Astros:

The Astros offense ranks first in the league in batting average, number of runs scored, slugging percentage and on base percentage. The talented offense, led by likely AL MVP Jose Altuve, is now coupled by a strong rotation of Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr. and new acquisition Justin Verlander. Despite the Indians being the favorite to come out of the American League, Houston is an extremely balanced team that can make a lot of noise this postseason.

One big question for the Red Sox will be whether or not they will be healthy enough to compete this postseason. Already losing Tyler Thornburg, Josh Rutledge and Marco Hernandez to season-ending injuries, the Red Sox also have third baseman Eduardo Nunez and second baseman Dustin Pedroia dealing with knee injuries as well as David Price still building up arm strength from his long stint on the DL. Additionally, the Red Sox lack power as they rank 27^th in number of homeruns hit, which can prove to be a huge issue, especially in the playoffs.

Winner: Houston Astros

National League

Colorado/Arizona vs. LA Dodgers

Colorado’s offense has been struggling as of late, scoring less than two runs per game in the past six games and batting a measly .233 during this stretch. However, the Rockies rank second in the league in batting average overall this season and their biggest weakness lies in their pitching, as they have very little clue as to what their playoff rotation will be. The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, are a team that nobody wants to face. Overshadowed by the division-leading Dodgers, the Diamondbacks are an extremely well rounded team led by a loaded lineup of Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb, David Peralta and J.D. Martinez and a pitching trio of Zack Greinke, Patrick Corbin and Robbie Ray.

While the Dodgers still hold the best record in baseball, they have gone a poor 9-21 in the past 30 games, including three losses to the lowly Philadelphia Phillies and three losses to the San Diego Padres. At one point this season, the Dodgers were 91-36 and will have to find that groove again against their potential matchup with Arizona, who they have lost their last six matchups to.

Winner: Arizona Diamondbacks

Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals

After an abysmal start to the season, the defending champion Chicago Cubs have really turned it around in the second half. With Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant leading the offense and star closer Wade Davis having an almost perfect regular season in terms of saves, the Cubs currently look poised to make another run at the title.

Cruising to first place in the weak NL East Division, the Washington Nationals’ biggest issues include their bullpen and Bryce Harper getting warmed up after his 40-game stint on the disabled list. Other than that, the Nationals have enough hitting power and starting pitching to make a run in the playoffs.

Winner: Washington Nationals

baseball

Umpires Need To Be Held Accountable Too

August 15, 2017 cprent34 Leave a comment

Just last month, Adrian Beltre became the 31st player in MLB history to join the 3,000 hit club, which basically punches his ticket into Cooperstown. He’s a guy who has always been one of the very best in the business for as long as he’s been in the MLB. This is exactly what makes what happened to him earlier that same week such a slap in the face. Take a look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbSKXQdQPaY

I go to A LOT of Major League Baseball games, and NO ONE stands in the damn on deck circle! It’s a “rule” that has no bearing on the ballgame. Additionally, this game was totally out of hand; the score was 17-5 at the time. So, in a 12 run game, Gerry Davis decides to make an example out of a future Hall of Famer? That’s a joke.

It even extends into the Independent League circuit. Check out this video (WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOZxT9MHAJU

Wally Backman goes bananas because his guy gets thrown out without saying a single word. I don’t blame Wally. I would’ve had a very similar reaction. These guys make a bad call, and then compound that mistake by throwing guys out. We can’t have that.

I coach high school basketball as well as baseball, and I can tell you that there is NOTHING worse than when an official gets too big for his britches and tries to become the star of the show. It’s even worse when they walk around on their high horse and won’t even have a discussion with you about what’s going on. That’s what guys like Gerry Davis and Joe West do. They think they run the show and they make sure that everyone who’s watching knows it. It’s brutal.

In a Cubs vs. Diamondbacks game at Chase Field in Arizona this past Saturday, the Cubs fell 6-2. While this scoreline initially makes it look like there was little competition between these two teams, the score was knotted at 0-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. The D-backs eventually jumped ahead to a 6-0 lead, but the Cubs weren’t ready to give up. They fought back to score two runs in the top of the ninth inning. They brought the momentum back on their side, only for it to get curtailed by a call from the umpire. The final out of the game was called a strikeout to 2B Ben Zobrist, who took a ball out of the strike-zone in a 1-2 count. Zobrist was furious and adamantly told reporters that this call shows the necessity for the league to enact an automated strike zone, citing the technological advancement and progress of all sports as reasoning. While the Umpire may have been adamant that he was making the right call, his decision overshadowed the game and put a terse end to a game that could have turned into a mini-Cinderella story. Oh well.

My point is, coaches are held accountable; players are held accountable. Why can’t umpires be held accountable? I don’t have a problem with bad calls. I really don’t. They are part of the game. But when you have guys going rogue and baiting players/coaches into ejections, there’s a huge problem. No one has ever gone to a game to watch someone officiate. Ever.