Where in the Majors Will Manny Go?

Hello, baseball friends!  It's been a while since I've posted, because the month of May was crazy with birthdays, graduations, track meets, band concerts, a prom, Mother's Day, out-of-town visitors, family events, parties, and all sorts of things that filled every single space in my old-fashioned paper calendar.  Now that everyone has settled into their summer routines, I can finally take a few minutes to jot down some baseball-related thoughts.

Most importantly, where is Manny going to go?  Yes, the Orioles' Manny Machado is on the trading block, and before the July 31st trade deadline, he's no longer going to be wearing orange and black.  This makes us locals a bit sad, because we watched Manny start out with our single-A Frederick Keys and blossom into an all-star.  At only 25 years old (I know, can you believe he's that young?), he's currently batting .305 with 18 home runs and transitioned nicely from third base to shortstop this season (despite my hesitation early on.  Good thing no one listens to me!).  So why get rid of him?  Well mainly because the Orioles suck big-time this season, so they might as well get a few guys in exchange for Machado, who will be a free agent at the end of this season anyway.  Where would he go?  The Arizona Diamondbacks, who currently lead the NL West, have shown some interest, mainly because their shortstop and third basement have been a bit disappointing this year.  The Dodgers, who are in second place in the NL West, have also shown interest.  I predict Manny will be a Diamondback by the end of this week, because I don't like the other rumors that the Os will trade Adam Jones instead (Adam just bought Cal Ripken's old house; don't make the poor guy relocate!). 

And what's up with the Yankees?  They're 48-22 (the second-best record in the Majors after the Houston Astros), despite none of their players batting above .290.  But relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman has 21 saves (and one of those contagious smiles that makes you think he's a nice guy), so I guess it's partly his fault that the Yankees are one game in front of the Red Sox.  Ugh.  That's all I'm going to say about that.

Then there's Mike Trout.  This season, he's being called "outrageously consistent," "best player ever," and "ridiculously great," yet many complain that he's not getting the attention he deserves.  Last year, every human being knew about Aaron Judge, because he's 7 feet tall, a very humble guy, and a member of a NY team (a city where the media has a conniption any time a player in pinstripes opens his mouth, swings a bat, or farts).  Mike Trout, the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year and six-time All-Star, has a career batting average of .307 and is leading the Majors this season in almost every category (home runs and on-base-percentage are just a couple).  He is the picture of consistency, finishing every season with a batting average of .287 or higher.  He always hits home runs.  He always gets on base.  He visits sick children and has a charitable foundation.  He has been the AL MVP twice, has won five Silver Slugger awards, and has been the Overall Defensive Player of the Year.  So why don't more people know about him?  Because the Angels haven't been in the World Series?  Because his contract goes until 2020 so there's no talk of him going anywhere?  Because he always seems to have a dumb look on his face?  Because the LA media focuses on the Dodgers and Kardashians too much?  I don't know, but people better start paying attention, because this kid is on his way to being the GOAT; the Serena Williams or Michael Jordan (or LeBron James, for you young people) of baseball.  He will continue to produce, he will be great for a long time to come, and I can say I saw him make a catch in the outfield at Oriole Park several years ago that seriously left me speechless (yes, me, speechless!).  Pay attention to Mike Trout, people!

Finally, we have to talk about my Nationals, because they're not in first place like everyone predicted they would be.  No need to panic, because the surprisingly good Braves aren't all that (except for Freddie Freeman, who is awesome).  So what if Bryce Harper isn't hitting (his average is .213) and Stephen Strasburg is on the Disabled List (again!)?  The Nationals can still hit (Trea Turner and Anthony Rendón), Max Scherzer is still the best pitcher this season (he already passed 150 strikeouts this season), and their rookie manager, Dave Martinez, hasn't royally screwed anything up yet (and hopefully won't).  He's doing a fine job putting together a roster despite all the injuries to key players, and he's not as quick as Dusty Baker was to take a pitcher out of a game when his defense fails.  So I'm not going to worry for now; I just hope the Nats can make it to the playoffs without having to  play a Wild Card game, and that no one else ends up on the Disabled List this season.

So there you go - these are some of the baseball-related things that have been on my mind this past month (I didn't even mention Robinson Canó's PED-induced suspension, Yadier Molina needing emergency surgery after getting hit in the "privates," or how Jacob deGrom is rumored to be traded by the Mets), but I'm thoroughly enjoying this baseball season.  Take some time to watch a game or two, don't forget to vote for your favorite all-star (I have yet to do that, but I'll get to it soon), and keep an eye on that Trout kid - I hear he's going to be pretty good! :-)

New Year, New Trades, and New Opinions

Happy New Year, baseball fans!  I took it upon myself to write a blog post today because it's a gazillion degrees below zero and I needed to think warm thoughts.  Realizing that Spring Training starts in less than 40 days instantly warmed me right up with thoughts of pitchers casually tossing to catchers, rookies seeking advice from veteran players, and Adam Wainwright in a Speedo - I mean, in a uniform.  So what has happened baseball-wise during the off-season?  It hasn't been as exciting as in years past, but it has definitely been productive.  Here's a run-down of who has been traded, who has been signed, and who is still unemployed.

The biggest news of the off-season was the signing of Japanese "phenom" Sohei Ohtani.  This kid can both hit and pitch, so he was annoyingly being called "the next Babe Ruth."  Don't do that, people - there's only ever going to be one overweight, difficult-to-get-along-with, womanizing alcoholic who was amazing on the field but an absolute mess in his personal life.  I didn't fall for the Ohtani craze, because I think the kid has a lot of "proving himself" to do; not that Japanese baseball is inferior to Major League Baseball talent-wise (their players are just as good), but just because you kick ass in one league doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be the best in another one.  The rumors of which team would sign Ohtani were all over the place - the Mariners need someone exciting, the Cardinals and Giants could use him as a pitcher who could actually hit, the Tigers could use him as a Designated Hitter... The kid ended up surprising everyone and signed with the Los Angeles Angels, so now he will team up with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols to provide some excitement to the American League fans in LA (by the way, do any of you still refer to this team as the California Angels or Anaheim Angels?  I know - I'm old!).  I'm OK with Ohtani being out west and I'm probably not going to see much of him because of it; I just hope he stays healthy, easily adjusts to life in the US, and if he really is as wonderful as they say he is, I hope it gives the sport of baseball a positive and uplifting boost.

Let's see... what else?  Oh, Derek Jeter decided to become CEO and part owner of the Miami Marlins, and he's not being well received by the Miami media, the fans, or the players themselves.  Those Marlins are going to be really really good... twenty years from now.  To say that this will be a "rebuilding year" for the Marlins is quite the understatement - they got rid of MVP Giancarlo Stanton (welcome to the Yankees, Giancarlo!), second baseman Dee Gordon is now a center fielder for the Mariners, and Marcell Ozuna was sent to the Cardinals.  Next on the trading block?  Rumors point to Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto, and many Marlins players (current and former) have let their disapproval of these trades be known (gotta love when athletes tweet!).  So who will make up the Marlins' roster this season?  Let's hope they have a lot of young talent coming up for Spring Training, otherwise they'll have to ask one of the hot dog vendors at Marlins Park to grab a glove and play the outfield for a game or two.  I personally think that Jeter secretly wants to come out of retirement as a Marlin and is getting rid of all his players in order to make room for himself.  I say bring back Ozzie Guillen as manager, but I think I'm the only human being who wants that.  Hey, Ozzie was a passionate guy - there's no denying that!

Then there's the soap opera of Manny Machado.  The Orioles' best third baseman since Brooks Robinson is rumored to be either a Yankee or a Red Sox - both "Public Enemy Number One" teams of the Orioles.  The Yankees claim that Machado wants to to be on a contending team, and the Red Sox just want him because the Yankees do.  Machado reportedly wants to move to shortstop, but will Orioles fans allow him to achieve greatness at the position that will always belong to Cal Ripken?  Here's another issue:  Machado will become a free agent at the end of the 2018 season.  What does that mean?  Well, if I was the Orioles' GM, I would keep Machado at third base, trade him before the July 31st deadline to a contending team (since the Orioles have no pitching to contend and their closer, Zack Britton, ruptured his Achilles tendon last month), and get a bunch of prospects for him (so that us Frederick Keys fans have some up-and-coming players to watch in the Minors).  I'm not bashing the O's season before it's even started; I'm just trying to be realistic.  And Machado can be like Yu Darvish was this past season with the Dodgers - go to a contending team for a couple of months, play in the World Series, and then use your free agency to get yourself a hefty contract with another team right after that.

Oh wait!  Yu Darvish is one of those free agents who hasn't been signed yet!  He joins pitchers Jake Arrieta, Lance Lynn, and Alex Cobb, as well as J.D. Martinez, Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer, and Mike Moustakis in the list of top free agents who have yet to be signed by anyone.  And for those of you who think that free agents never re-sign with the last team they played for, pitchers CC Sabathia and Brandon Kintzler signed to continue with the Yankees and Nationals, respectively.  And rumor has it that the Nationals want to keep Bryce Harper even after he's eligible for free agency at the end of the 2018 season.  So there you go - "franchise" players are still a thing!

Still unsigned and therefore unemployed are old men Jayson Werth and Ichiro Suzuki.  Now, as much as I like Werth (my son dressed as him for Halloween one year, bearded mask and all), it's time for him to go and enjoy retirement (but don't drive too fast, Jayson; remember how that landed you in jail for a couple of days several years ago!).  But Ichiro?  Really?  No one wants a 44-year-old right fielder who batted .255 with 3 home runs in 196 at-bats for the Marlins last year?  Hey, the Marlins don't have ANYONE in the outfield - they may want to take this guy into consideration!  If the Marlins don't want him, then someone should sign him just so he can retire with dignity and every team he visits can give him a proper farewell.  Come on, Seattle Mariners - show some love to the guy who brought fans to your ballpark for many years and is likely to wear your cap in Cooperstown!

So there you have it, my friends - a recap of what has happened and what is to come for the 2018 baseball season.  If Manny Machado ends up with the Yankees, make sure to check back with me because I will surely have plenty to say about that.  In the meantime, stay warm, and please continue to pray for the people of Puerto Rico, who still suffer from plenty of power outages almost 4 months after hurricane María ripped through the island.  Gracias, amigos! :-)

My Current Baseball Crush ("An Ode to Max")

No matter how many baseball games you have watched in your lifetime or how die-hard of a fan you are, occasionally a baseball player comes around who amazes even us extreme baseball nerds.  We know Mike Trout is awesome (especially since he's coming back earlier than expected from thumb surgery), we appreciate Yankees rookie Aaron Judge and all the home runs he's hitting, and we acknowledge that the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw is part alien because there's no way someone could be that consistently good.  We become accustomed to elite players being exceptional, and we expect perfection every time we watch a game (especially when we remind ourselves of the millions of dollars that these guys make).  But once in a while, a player comes around who takes our breath away, gives us goosebumps, and reminds us why we like the game of baseball so much.

Such is the case for me currently with Washington Nationals' rightie pitcher Max Scherzer.  Now, back in 2015, when Scherzer joined the Nats, I blogged about how the Nationals had some nerve starting Scherzer on Opening Day, especially after Jordan Zimmermann had finished the 2014 season with a no-hitter.  Who were the Nationals to think that a guy who had just joined the team deserved such a prestigious honor?  Well I went to that Opening Day game, and I remember realizing that Scherzer had a no-hitter going into the sixth inning, and my dislike for the guy went away instantly, because really, how many times do you get to witness a no-hitter? (his no-hitter ended shortly after I realized I might actually be present for one, but Scherzer has gone on to pitch two no-nos since.)

For the past two-and-a-half seasons, I have come to really love this guy.  So much so that he is now officially my baseball crush (not because he's cute, like Iván Rodriguez was, but because he's the most badass pitcher I have ever seen).  Let me share some impressive facts about Max with you so you can appreciate how cool this guy is.  A two-time Cy Young Award winner, Scherzer became just the sixth pitcher in Major League history to throw two no-hitters in a single season in 2015.  He has been to the All-Star Game, is the third-fastest pitcher to reach 2.000 strikeouts, and speaking of strikeouts, he punched out 20 batters in one game.

But it's not just Scherzer's numbers that make him fun to watch.  It's his presence on the mound - he is the most visibly competitive athlete I've ever seen, And the longer he stays in a game, the more fierce he gets.  He stomps the pitcher's mound like he's preying for his next meal; he grunts with every pitch; he stares down batters like he's going to annihilate them.  He is fierce, intimidating, and one of his eyes is blue and the other is brown (he has that condition where your irises are two different colors; didn't David Bowie have that too?).  According to Max, "strikeouts are sexy," so People magazine needs to have him on their next "Sexiest Man Alive" cover, because he's always in the top two or three for strikeouts every season (so far he's leading the National League in this category).  

Just recently, Scherzer had one of the most memorable outings for me - it was more intense than watching his two no-hitters and just as stressful.  It was not his best pitching performance at first, since he hit two batters due to lack of control of his inside pitches.  But as the game got going, Max starter getting loose and becoming more dominant.  The Mets' Yoenis Céspedes was up to bat with two outs in the eighth inning, and Scherzer was already at 107 pitches.  He was looking tired, like he had just emptied his tank and was just running on fumes.  But he was determined to get Céspedes out, and it was one of the most epic at-bats in recent memory.  After ten pitches to the Mets' slugger, each looking labored and followed by a grunt of desperation (like Scherzer was thinking that if he grunted, the ball would actually reach the plate), Céspedes struck out swinging.  My husband and I celebrated that strikeout like if it was the seventh game of the World Series, and Scherzer himself gave a fist pump of relief.

I have not been this excited about a pitcher since Nolan Ryan in the 80s and 90s.  And Scherzer doesn't just show up every five days to do his job - in his off days, he has a rigorous workout routine that includes distance running (to improve his endurance and help him make it through the later innings of a game) and sprinting (to help him with his fielding and split-second defensive plays).  He is a workhorse, but luckily his pitching style (throwing sliders to righties and curveballs to lefties) makes him less dependent on the fastball (which hopefully means he can avoid the dreaded "Tommy John" surgery).  Nolan Ryan pitched a boatload of innings in his career and never needed elbow surgery either, so all those haters who say that Max is the next big pitcher to go under the knife can just shut up and enjoy watching him pitch.

So as we approach the halfway point of the regular season (I know; can you believe it?), check out the Nationals games on MASN or MLBTV, because every fifth day, you are sure to get a treat watching badass Max Scherzer putting on a pitching show.  And don't forget to cast your ballot for the All-Star team - if we could vote for pitchers, you know Max Scherzer would be at the top of my ballot.

"The Perfect Ballplayer"

I started this blog six years ago out of impulse.  Major League Baseball was seeking volunteers who wanted to spend the entire 2011 baseball season living in a "fan cave" in New York City watching baseball games and blogging about them.  The occasional baseball player would stop by and hang out at "the cave" with the residents and you and your "cave-mates" would be on TV and the Internet talking baseball.  What red-blooded die-hard baseball fan wouldn't love that opportunity?  All you had to do was apply online and submit a writing sample.  Knowing full well that I could not conceivably (and in good conscience) leave my husband, kids, and job for six months, I applied anyway.  But a writing sample?  I hadn't written anything since my graduate thesis on the history of baseball litigation, and even I thought that was too much of a snoozer to submit.  So I created this blog so I would have some baseball stuff to submit, and of course I wasn't chosen (surely not because of the caliber of my writing - probably because it wouldn't look cool for a forty-something-year-old female to live with some twenty-something-year-old men). 

I started out writing almost daily, reporting scores from the previous day's games and piping in my opinions on certain occurrences here and there.  Then life got busy, my job got more demanding, and I blogged less frequently, focusing on baseball in general - the rules, the players, and of course, my opinions on just about anything baseball-related.  Now that I own my own business (a kitchen store in Frederick, Maryland called "The Kitchenette" - stop by and say hello if you're in the area!), I barely have time to cook a decent meal, let alone write a well-thought-out blog post.  But just because I write less frequently doesn't mean my passion for baseball has faded - I still scour the sports pages daily, check the MLB app on my phone constantly, and count the days until the start of the regular season (just seven more to go!).  But if something majorly important, super-exciting, or rather controversial is happening in the Majors, I will certainly find some time to write about it and give you my take.

The most recent blog-worthy event in baseball was the World Baseball Classic, which ended last week with Team USA beating Puerto Rico 8-0 in the final of what was an exciting and much-talked-about series that started out with 12 teams from all over the world - a true "World Series."  Unfortunately, long nights spent watching WBC games and busy days tending to my business and family did not allow me the opportunity to share my excitement with you (good thing, because I was downright obnoxious rooting for "Team PR"), and many news outlets have already reported on the WBC's playoff-like atmosphere, the national pride, and the fact that blond hair color was sold out all over Puerto Rico because all the PR players (and most of the residents of the island) chose to color their hair blond as a sign of team and island unity).  Even The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck, whom I have criticized here in the past, wrote a nice piece about how the WBC games brought so much enthusiasm to fans and players from all over the world.  In media standards, the WBC is old news - why keep talking about it when Gonzaga is going to the NCAA Final Four and the Washington Wizards and Capitals will both be in their respective playoffs?

But today's blog post is not about the WBC - I want to talk a bit about baseball history (please don't yawn!) and what makes "the perfect ballplayer."  When you ask a non-baseball fan to name a famous baseball player from the past, they may come up with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, or Joe DiMaggio (around these parts, people may mention Cal Ripken, Frank Robinson, or Earl Weaver).  Ask someone who follows the game and they might name Pete Rose, Reggie Jackson, Roger Clemens, or Derek Jeter.  Then of course there's Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier and is deservedly one of the most respected athletes of all time.  Ask any Puerto Rican, whether or not they currently live on the island, and he/she will inevitably mention Roberto Clemente.

Now, I've mentioned Roberto Clemente many a time in my blog - in seventeen different posts, to be exact.  But like current Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Beltrán mentioned in a 2016 article he wrote for "The Players Tribune," Roberto Clemente's legacy is something that is taught as part of the history curriculum in all schools in Puerto Rico.  Unfortunately, as baseball continues to evolve and the years pass, more and more people (including baseball players) go through their entire lives without knowing the impact that Clemente had both on and off the baseball field.  As more players reach the 3,000 career hits milestone, Clemente gets pushed lower and lower down the list of all-time hiters, now sitting at 30th with Adrián Beltre surely pushing Clemente to 31st sometime this season.

So why is a guy who has 29 other guys ahead of him on the all-time hits list considered to be "the perfect ballplayer?"  This is not a quote from a regular Puerto Rican person - it was actually said by a former player, an African-American Hall-of-Famer by the name of Willie Mays.  I know Willie is super-old and may not currently have all his faculties, but he said this a while ago, and the fact that he picked Clemente instead of his godson (Barry Bonds) says something.  Sportscaster Bob Costas likes Clemente too, but I don't like Bob Costas, so he's not worth mentioning further.  And if you ever visit Pittsburgh, those fans know their baseball history, and they know the former Pirate like he was one of their own.

Need some numbers to convince yourself that Roberto Clemente was the best baseball player ever?  Here are a few numbers to note: 1966 Most Valuable Player for the National League, NL batting champ (1961, 1964, 1965, 1967), World Series MVP in 1971, eleven-time Gold Glove winner, 12-time All Star, and National League leader in triples in 1969.  Oh, and he has an award named for him - the Roberto Clemente Award, which is given every year to a player with outstanding baseball playing skills who is personally involved in community work.

Oh, this Clemente guy did stuff for charity?  Don't many baseball players do that?  Yes, they do (and they should).  But Clemente went above and beyond to help those in need throughout his career, providing sports equipment to the needy, offering free batting clinics in his native Puerto Rico, and taking relief supplies to Nicaragua after a devastating earthquake on New Year's Eve, 1972.  Well, actually, he and the supplies never made it to Nicaragua, because the plane carrying Clemente was overloaded with too many supplies, had an incompetent flight crew, and crashed into the Atlantic ocean off the coast of Puerto Rico.  So yeah, poor Clemente died without finishing his baseball career - had he played for another year or two, he would probably be between Tony Gwynn and Alex Rodriguez at 19th of all time. 

So was this guy better than Ruth, Rose, or Rodriguez (Iván, not Alex - you all know I truly dislike A-Rod!)?  Yes.  Not only did Clemente have impressive career numbers and was a great humanitarian, but he demanded respect, let his bat and glove do the talking, and made a permanent impact on the game and how to play with intensity, discipline, and dedication.  He's the type of guy who, when mentioned to baseball experts, elicits an instant sigh of admiration not given to current stars.  They use words like "hero," "legend," and "class act" to describe him.  They don't argue that he was the best right fielder ever.  And his legacy needs to be explained to all current baseball players - this is how you play, this is how you behave, this is how you help others (except for the plane crash part). 

Alright, friends; thank you for letting me rant about "the perfect ballplayer."  Some people think I'm too "rah rah Puerto Rico," but this is my blog and I can write about whatever I choose.  But seriously, the 2017 season is getting ready to start, and I'm looking forward to writing about great baseball players - whatever country they're from and whatever team they represent.  Watch out for the Houston Astros, the Boston Red Sox, and yes, the Chicago Cubs (again!).  This promises to be a season of milestones, magic, and lots of home runs (Trout, Stanton, Machado...).  So keep checking in - I will do my best to keep you updated on all things 2017 - including Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in July (gee, did I mention who is being inducted?), Adrián Beltre's chase for 3000 hits, and maybe the coming of a new "Perfect Ballplayer."

Phew! I'm Back!

Mercy me!  It's hard to believe that I hadn't blogged in over a month!  May was utterly crazy with 3 family birthdays, my daughter's 8th-grade graduation, my son's hectic and unpredictable baseball schedule, and house guests.  Now that life has settled down a little and my husband and I have returned from our vacation in Italy (sans kids - it was just terrible!), I can finally take a breath and focus on my blog.


A lot happened in Major League Baseball during my hiatus - the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw no-hit the Rockies, Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn passed away, and my husband and I went to Nationals Park to watch the Nats gets their butts kicked by Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers.  But hey, my Nationals are in first place in the NL East, so there's that.


One thing I've neglected to do this season, which I usually do in May, is to submit my All-Star ballot.  Since it's better to do it late than not do it at all, I went ahead and voted earlier today (it's Primary Day here in Frederick, so why not vote?).  Some of my usual players are there (Miggy, Canó, Yadier) and some are new (Blackmon, Prado, Perez).  Here are the players who got my vote and the reasoning behind my selections:


AMERICAN LEAGUE
First base:  Sorry, Orioles fans; the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera always gets my vote.  Until he decides to have a crappy year or switch to DH, he will always get my vote over Chris Davis.


Second base:  I could have voted for José Altuve, but just like with first base, Robinson Canó always gets my vote.  He is just bad-ass, especially since he's no longer a Yankee.


Shortstop:  Alexei Ramirez of the Chicago White Sox gets my vote this year.  Not voting for Derek Jeter should come as no surprise to you if you've read my blog in the past.


Third base:  I really wanted to vote for Manny Machado, but since he was out for the beginning of the season, I had to go with the Rangers' Adrian Beltre.  He's batting .309 so far this season, so there.


Designated Hitter:  As much as I hate the DH, I forced myself to vote so I would have a full ballot.  No, I did not vote for "Big Papi" or for the Tigers' Victor Martinez - the Orioles' Nelson Cruz got my vote, because he has proven that you can come back from a drug suspension and still kick butt.  Not that I think he should have taken PEDs in the first place, but if MLB is going to give him a second chance, he has certainly made good lemonade out of his lemons.  Plus I had to vote for an Oriole.


Outfield:  This is the hardest category by far.  I wanted to vote for six players, but I had to cut it down to Alex Gordon of the Royals and the Blue Jays' Melky Cabrera and José Bautista.  That left out Nick Markakis and Adam Jones of the O's and Mike Trout of the Angels.   Sorry guys; I can't vote for EVERYONE!


NATIONAL LEAGUE
First base:  I voted for Adam LaRoche because he can play a mean first base and he's leading the Nationals in batting.  He'll probably be named as a reserve player, but at least I can say I voted for a Nationals player.


Second base:  I had to vote for the Pirates' Neil Walker even though I love Anthony Rendón of the Nationals, because Walker is just having a better year and Rendón has been playing at third base lately.  Chase Utley is having a good season too, but I don't vote for Phillies players, so he's out.


Shortstop:  Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies, hands down!


Third base:  I chose Martín Prado of the Arizona Diamondbacks because Chipper Jones and Mike Schmidt are retired.


Catcher:  Sigh!  Jonathan Lucroy of the Milwaukee Brewers is having a great season, but I had to go with my Puerto Rican heart and vote for the Cardinals' Yadier Molina.  He's kind of trashy, but he's the best catcher in the game today.


Outfield:  I left out the three "P"s who are playing well - Angel Pagán, Yasiel Puig, and Hunter Pence - and voted for three players who are playing better:  Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies, and Carlos Gomez of the Brewers. 


So there you have it - now I have to wait and see how many of the players I voted for end up making the All-Star team.  So much of it is a popularity contest, but I like to think that I actually put some thought into my voting.  Enjoy the last 3 weeks of the first half of the season, and don't forget to watch some World Cup soccer too!

"Gettin' Jiggy" with Miggy :-)

Opening Day is finally here, my friends!  Actually, the season began last night with the San Diego Padres hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers in a game that was blown by Brian Wilson (you know, the hairy guy who has been struggling for the past couple of years).  The Padres scored 3 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat the Dodgers 3-1.

Before the season gets too far underway, I want to address two topics that I've been asked to write about and express my opinion (yes, someone out there is actually reading this blog regularly and wants my expert opinion on a few things!).  First is the $292 million contract that Miguel Cabrera signed with the Detroit Tigers through 2023, and second is my predictions for the 2014 season.

As many of you know, I am a big fan of Miguel Cabrera, and seeing him play in Cleveland last summer was a highlight for me.  The 2012 Triple Crown winner and 2013 MVP is one of those players that only come around once in a lifetime - that kind of player that you tell your grandkids about and whose baseball cards will be worth a lot of money someday.  But Miggy is also getting bigger (now reportedly up to 260 pounds), slower, and more prone to injury (last season he missed several games with back issues).  Ten years is a LONG time for anyone to commit to a player, especially one who is already over 30 years old.  It makes me think of the long-term contract that Alex Rodriguez signed with the Yankees a while back - I forget how that one turned out!  Then there's Albert Pujols - how did he do last year again?  The amount of money the Tigers want to pay Miggy doesn't bother me since baseball players are overpaid anyway; it's the number of years in the contract that I think is excessive.  Yes, he can prolong his career as a designated hitter, but 10 more years?  Really?  A little much, if you ask me.

Now as far as my predictions for this season, this may come as a shock to you, but I don't think I'm going to make any.  I know, it's kind of a cop-out, but with 162 games in a season, anything can happen.  Yes, I would love to say that the Nationals will win the NL East and the Pirates will reach the playoffs again, but so much can happen between now and September.  Look at the Atlanta Braves, who played so well last year and are now starting their season with half of their players on the Disabled List.  And how about the Toronto Blue Jays, who were supposed to be the be-all end-all last season - will they fare any batter than last year?  And without Mariano Rivera, will the Yankees suck this season?  Well they got 4 key players during the offseason - Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltrán, Brian McCann, and Masahiro Tanaka; but they only look good on paper at this point.  I could pull out all sorts of rankings and statistics and SABR-metrics numbers to support my predictions, but all I can do is tell you which team I would LIKE to see in the playoffs - not necessarily the teams that the bettors in Vegas are picking.  And really, after seeing our NCAA basketball brackets ruined after the first round of March Madness, can statistics really tell us everything?  So here are the teams I like and my un-scientific reasons for liking them.

AL EAST:  I'm going to root for the Baltimore Orioles.  They were a mess in the off-season and didn't get their act together until early March, when they signed a bunch of last-minute players and made some impromptu trades.  Yes, Manny Machado is starting the season on the DL, but we all know that one guy does not a team make, so why not root for the team that played so well during Spring Training?

AL CENTRAL:  I want to see the Kansas City Royals play in the postseason.  Really, I do.  They went 86-76 last year, and if it hadn't been for the 12-game losing streak they had, they would have contended.  I'm picking the Royals and I'm not changing my mind.  Sorry, Tigers and Indians!

AL WEST:  This is one division about which I never really cared.  I guess I'll pick the low-budget Oakland A's even though the Mariners now have Robinson Canó and the Angels have hottie Mike Trout.  They have great pitchers and very good defensive players, so they should do well.

NL EAST:  I don't know if this is jinxing my team, but I'm going to go ahead and pick the Nationals.  The Braves annoy me, the Mets are a mess, the Marlins have no one except for José Fernandez, and the Phillies might as well turn their clubhouse into a nursing home.  The Nationals have a solid pitching rotation (even with Doug Fister starting the season on the DL), guys who can hit, and a feisty new manager.  And we're going to 5 games this season, so they better play well!

NL CENTRAL:  How can you not root for the Pittsburgh Pirates?  Those of us who are sick of the Cardinals have embraced the Pirates and their never-give-up attitude.  Plus they're opening the season against the Cubs at home, so what more of a confidence boost does a team need?

NL WEST:  I am determined to not pick the Dodgers (since everyone else is), so I'm going to go with the San Diego Padres.  I don't think they will win their division outright, but I believe they can get a wild-card spot and make the playoffs with their decent pitching.  Now if they could only get rid of those ugly camo uniforms that they wear on Sundays during home games!

As you can see, my picks are purely based on my shallow opinions and do not carry any statistical weight whatsoever.  It took me exactly 20 minutes to come up with my selections - this way if I totally blow it, I won't feel like a total failure who spent way too much time analyzing data.

All I know is that it's finally time to play ball.  Time for seventh-inning stretches, racing presidents (and sausages), and injury reports (short ones, hopefully).  Enjoy the season, and keep checking in for my thoughts, insights, and of course, my unfiltered opinions.  Let's go Nats! :-)

Baseball 101? I'll Teach It!

Spring Training is in full force, my friends – a time for tweaking your batting stance, working on your curveball, and writing a research paper.  The latter is what 19-year-old Josh Hart of the Baltimore Orioles had to do earlier this week.  Hart, an outfielder who was selected 37th overall in last summer’s amateur draft, was introduced to Hall of Famer Frank Robinson during a Spring Training practice, and Hart did not know who Robinson was.  So Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter told Hart to write a one-page paper on Robinson and have it on Showalter’s desk the next day.  Hart complied, and is now vastly knowledgeable in all things Frank.

With this story fresh in my mind, I decided to do my own little study to see if kids approximately the same age as Josh Hart had any knowledge of who Frank Robinson is.  I asked several students at Governor Thomas Johnson High School, and was disappointed to see that most of them had no clue.  18-year-old Jacob, a very smart Senior who wants to attend Duke University to study engineering, said “The name sounds familiar, but I don’t think I know who he is.”  Mickey, 17, asked “What class does he teach?”  The closest was one of our military academy hopefuls, who said "He's what that movie '42' was about."  To the defense of my students, some of the kids I questioned admit to not following baseball too closely, and they’re not being paid crazy amounts of money to wear a uniform and play 162 games a year.

So how important is it for current Major League baseball players to know the history of the game and the names of the greats?  I think if you’re going to have a job with such a high-paying salary, you should have an idea of who came before you, stood on the same field as you, and had a locker in your clubhouse that could even be the locker that you’re currently using (especially if you play in one of the older ball parks, like Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, or Dodgers Stadium).  These millionaires need to feel humbled by the greats who played before them.  Guys like Bryce Harper and Mike Trout need to appreciate the leaping catches that Kirby Puckett made in center field.  Sluggers like Miguel Cabrera and Michael Cuddyer should feel small next to Pete Rose and Joe DiMaggio.  Jacoby Ellsbury and Eric Young should take base-stealing pointers from Rickey Henderson or Lou Brock.

Here is what I think Major League Baseball should do:  They should have the annual player draft in Cooperstown, NY, so that prospective players and their families can tour the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and get a lesson in baseball history.  Most of these guys haven’t been to the Hall, so they haven’t seen the majestic room full of inductees’ plaques, the museum with the Babe Ruth room, and the movies and interactive displays that take you from the game’s beginnings to the record-breakers of the modern era.  Cooperstown is in the middle of nowhere, so your typical draft candidate probably hasn’t made the trip there before, but if he has the potential of being signed by a Major League team and can learn a thing or two about the game’s history, you bet he’ll take the trip to New York!

You don't like that idea?  Then how about Major League Baseball send me to visit all 30 teams so I can give the players a history lesson?  I can have Power Points and handouts and trivia questions and everything!  I like that idea better!

I know a lot of the current young players were born in the 90s, a decade full of PEDs and not much excitement.  They probably looked up to guys like Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire, and maybe even great players like Greg Maddux, Wade Boggs, and Ken Griffey, Jr.  But just like high school students have to learn about what happened in history 200 years ago, current baseball players should have some basic appreciation for the men who played before them.  They don’t need to rattle off the names of all the baseball commissioners (not even I can do that without some deep thinking and a check on Wikipedia), but they should have a general knowledge of the players from the past – Cobb, Ruth, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Clemente, Koufax, Seaver, Aaron, and Robinson (both Frank and Jackie). 

Who's Bad(ass)?

After watching tennis player Serena Williams win her 17th Grand Slam tournament this weekend, I commented on my personal Facebook page that I thought Serena was a "badass."  My friends at Merriam-Webster define "badass" as "1. ready to cause or get into trouble : <pretending to be a badass gunslinger — L. L. King>2 of formidable strength or skill <such a badass guitar player — N'Gai Croal>"  I was referring to Serena with the second meaning of the word - she is an extraordinary tennis player who can out-play and out-last anyone; someone you just couldn't imagine yourself beating no matter how good you were (like Hussein Bolt on the running track or Lebron James on the basketball court - sheer dominance). 

So that got me thinking...  Which baseball players, past and present, qualify as "badasses?"  Here is my list, divided into three parts:  The past, the present, and the wanna-bees (my top five in no particular order).

BADASSES OF THE PAST:

Roberto Clemente - Hello!  Who showed "formidable strength or skill" more than this guy?  No one dared to try and score from second or third base knowing Clemente was in right field.  He was about as formidable as they get.

Pete Rose - Yes, he made stupid decisions in his personal life, but at the plate, on the bases, and on the field he was quite the man.  They didn't nickname him "Charlie Hustle" for nothing!

Randy Johnson - At 6'10, "The Big Unit" just had to stand on the mound to look intimidating.  His 100-mile-an-hour fastball and hard slider were ridiculous, and he didn't win five Cy Young Awards for being sweet and charming.

Jackie Robinson - Who said badasses had to be flamboyant and arrogant (insert picture of Rickey Henderson here)?  #42 got the job done quietly and professionally, and was the classiest badass ever.

Nolan Ryan - He just exuded "badass-ness."  He had no problem hitting batters on purpose, throwing no-hitters (7 of them) or striking out bazillions (5,714 in his career, with no one even close to that record).  He may look old and haggard now, but he was pretty fearless in his day.

BADASSES OF TODAY:

Ichiro Suzuki - Ichiro is the most badass current player, hands-down (despite being a Yankee).  He can still hit, throw, and run with the best of them, and recently hit his 4.000th hit as a professional (counting his years playing in Japan).  Derek Jeter can't even say that (yet).

David Ortiz - He may seem more like a big teddy bear, but "Big Papi" is definitely badass.  He knows how to get his teammates and fans worked up and excited, and his passion for the game and charitable work off the field make him one cool dude.

José Fernandez - Who?  This guy has such an interesting story that he definitely makes my list.  He unsuccessfully tried defecting from Cuba three separate times and spent time in jail after each attempt.  On the fourth try, his mother fell overboard in turbulent waters and he jumped in to rescue her.  He is my pick for Rookie of the Year, especially since he one-hit the Nationals recently. 

Mike Trout - Last year's Rookie of the Year in the American League, Trout has not suffered from the "Sophomore Slump."  He's currently batting .338 with 23 home runs and 32 stolen bases, and can make a leaping catch in the outfield to steal a home run off anyone.  Seeing him make one of those amazing catches was the highlight of my trip to Camden Yards this season.

Yasiel Puig - Another Cuban defector (though his story isn't nearly as heartwarming as Fernandez's), Puig became the first player in major league history to record at least 34 hits and seven home runs in his first 20 games and set Dodger records for most hits through 20 games.  Some people say he's not very friendly, but since this is not a list of guys I'd like to see become the next Pope, I have to include him.

WANNA-BE BADASSES:

Bryce Harper - Bryce has the potential of being one badass baseball player, but his season has been plagued with injuries, so he didn't make the cut.

Prince Fielder - Yes, he's one big dude, but he just doesn't do it for me.  He also doesn't look very smart.

Derek Jeter - Sorry, Derek; you're too goody-two-shoes to be considered a badass.  I still like you though!

Jayson Werth - Looking like a member of the Duck Dynasty doesn't automatically get you on my list.  He's having a great second-half of the season, but has been to inconsistent in the past couple of years to make the list.

Then there are the guys I had to leave out.  They're pretty awesome but just not badass enough for me:  Justin Verlander (too quiet), Chris Davis (he needs to be this good for a few more seasons), Andrew McCutchen (my favorite current Pirate), and Mariano Rivera (one classy, superhuman guy) - all players I respect and would love to meet, but I had to draw the line somewhere. 

Notice I left out Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Roger Clemens, and Lenny Dykstra - all of them linked to steroids or performance-enhancing drugs.  That, in my mind, does not make you a badass.  And Ryan Braun?  Even when we didn't suspect him of taking PEDs, he wasn't all that in my opinion.

So there you have it - my just-for-fun list of badass baseball players.  Feel free to comment (you know who you are!); I would love to see if you agree with me or not.