By DjackWith Yoenis Cespedes signing a 4-year deal with the Mets yesterday, that left some questions as to who will be remaining with the Mets in 2017. The Mets currently have 6 outfielders, Granderson, Bruce, Cespedes, Lagares, Conforto, and Nimmo. That's obviously an unnecessary amount of talent to keep on the bench. The Mets need to move someone or maybe multiple people because they don't have enough AB's to go around.
The more conventional approach would be, trade away either Granderson or Bruce since they're in the last years of their deals and they're both set to make well over $10 million. You can get more for Bruce than Granderson at this point in their careers, but I don't think the Mets should have any problem finding a buyer. Granderson is set to make $16 million, so it might be a little harder to dish him, and you'll probably get less in return. Regardless, someone needs to go because having 6 outfielders is downright unnecessary. Here's my master plan for what I think the Mets should do in this situation. Keep Conforto, Lagares, and Nimmo, have those three split time in right/center field. Trade Granderson for some mid tier prospects and maybe a decent lefty specialist for the bullpen. Trade Bruce for a catcher, anyone is better than D'Arnaud, I mean catcher is not the position you want your biggest question mark at, so address that issue by trading Bruce. Now you got your outfield situation cleared up, you have a better catcher, a nice little lefty specialist, a couple prospects, and most importantly you just freed up over $25 million in the budget. This is where I win the Mets the 2017 World Series, with the money you just saved from those guys now being off the roster it's time to make a big splash in free agency. Oh wait, all the position player spots are taken and the rotation is already 7 deep, who could the Mets possibly need you might ask. Kenley Jansen. The Mets pick up one of the best young relievers in baseball, creating their own three headed monster in the back of their bullpen with Reed, Familia, and Jansen. That'd be the best pitching staff baseball has ever seen and it'd be almost impossible for the Mets to not win the World Series with that starting staff and those monsters coming out of the bullpen to seal the deal. Sandy Anderson can thank me later, time for him to step up big time once again at the winter meetings, playing all his cards the right way, and pull off one of the greatest offseason moves in the history of baseball. By DjackMets fans can finally exhale, the big bat that makes the Mets offense flourish is back in New York for four more years. The deal includes a full no trade clause, $22.5 million the first year, followed by $29 million the following two seasons, and its capped off with $29.5 million in the final year. This signing is a big win for the Mets, you get back your big bat, you don't get suckered into an overly extensive 5+ year deal, and you keep it under $30 million a season throughout. Tip of the cap to Sandy Alderson for another job well done. The Mets lineup should be better than ever before, with Cespedes, Bruce, Walker, Duda, Wright all healthy, this Mets team just became a very legitimate World Series contender. People tend to forget the Mets were absolutely decimated by injuries last season, now they've added a bunch of pieces because of last years health issues, and they got the injured guys back. Mets now have a ton of depth both in the rotation with Gsellman and Lugo showing they can pitch effectively at this level, and in the field with guys like Reyes, Flores, and Conforto all available off the bench at anytime. The Mets are now prepared for the events that unfolded last season. They now have a legitimate backup, Jose Reyes, for when Wright goes down again in 2017, or just simply needs days off for his back problems. They now have 7 legitimate starters despite losing Bartolo Colon to the Braves this offseason, that's also assuming Wheeler ever pitches again because he's been out for a very long time. No team has young pitching like the Mets and the depth they have is actually unreal, could also be potential trade bait at the Trade Deadline if they want to make a move for somebody. The Mets could use some bullpen help, so look for Alderson to try to find some nice middle relievers in free agency to sign. I doubt the Mets will be signing anyone with a big name since they just signed Cespedes to a monster deal, but they could still add some low key middle relievers to come in and tighten up that shaky bullpen. All in all, Sandy Alderson got the most important offseason task out of the way, bringing back the Mets offensive engine, Yoenis Cespedes. Oh yeah, anyone that thinks this is a bad signing, please do yourself a favor and keep your idiotic opinion to yourself. The Mets are a .500 team without him in the lineup and a championship caliber team with him in the lineup, just look at the numbers, they don't lie.
By DjackWith Brian McCann off the the roster, the Yankees find themselves with a wide open spot for DH. Not much was thought of the McCann trade other than the fact that it freed up some space, so the young guys could get more at bats. Guys like Tyler Austin, Rob Refsynder, and Aaron Judge would all benefit from this move since the roster spots are limited with so many positions already filled. Those young guns shouldn't be getting too excited just yet because an old head might be coming for their job. Multiple reports have said there's some interest in bringing back Carlos Beltran, who before being traded away the day of the trade deadline was our best hitter. He batted .300, hit 20HR's, and drove in 60 RBI's for the Yankees last season. After we dealt Beltran not only did the team get better, but Beltran got worse, he clearly showed signs of himself slowing down, and I really couldn't tell you how effective he'll end up being this year. I'd take Beltran though, I'm all for it, he was my favorite Yankee player on the team last season before being traded, now Sanchez has taken that throne, but oh well doesn't hurt to have multiple players that you admire. Beltran wouldn't have to play the field anymore with the DH spot now open, that's huge because he's a total liability in the field. Beltran numbers won't be close to last years, I'm being realistic, if he can hit .270 with 20 dingers though, I'll be happy with him being our DH. No doubt he'd be a great veteran presence in the lockerroom, you'll never hear anyone complain about having a future HOF, and champion in the clubhouse to show the young guns the ropes. I'm all for this move, Cashman has pushed all the right buttons recently, so anything he decides to do I'm going to believe in. Cashman is setting up a dynasty, he wants a few more rings, Beltran won't be apart of that, but he will be apart of our current success, which Cashman is doing a great job of winning and staying competitive while building for the future. Take notes fellow GM's, Cashman is showing you all how it's done, except Theo, Theo keep doing you, it seems to be working just fine.
By DjackNo disrespect to Michael Fulmer, kid had a helluva rookie season, but how did the 'Baseball Writers of America Association' manage to screw this up so badly. Subconsciously I had a feeling this would happen, Sanchez only played in 53 games, so I knew some of these writers would be against him for that. For what reason, I could not tell you, the fact he only played 53 games makes his resume that much more impressive in my eye. Sanchez hit 20 homeruns, had 42 RBI's, batted .299, and posted a 3.0 WAR in just 53 fucking games, those are unheard of numbers. Now, Sanchez maintaining that insanely elite level of play for the entire season might be a little far fetched, let's say he did though, he would've hit 60 homeruns, 126 RBI's, and 180 hits. Obviously he wouldn't have put up those numbers, but in an extra 109 games he would've been able to get all those numbers way above what they were at, and they were already very impressive offensive numbers for a catcher. Yeah, let's not forget this kid is also calling the games, moving around like a cat behind the plate, and has a straight fire hose for an arm. I respect what Fulmer did, he had an outstanding rookie season, he won his team 11 games, but Sanchez got a .500 Yankees team to be in playoff contention despite trading away 3 of their best players at the deadline. Anyone that says Sanchez wasn't the reason the Yankees were able to be in the playoff chase for as long as they were, must have some sort of mental retardation if they didn't see the clear correlation between when he was hot we were winning, and when he wasn't hot the Yankees were losing. Fulmer somehow not only won the award, but he won by a landslide receiving 26 first place votes, meanwhile Sanchez received 4, so now they're trying to tell me that Fulmer was the clear cut winner without hesitation, that's bullshit. If they felt the need to cater to Mike Fulmer because he played basically the entire just name them Co-ROY's, don't screw over Sanchez cause you don't want to hurt Fulmer's feelings. I want to apologize to Gary Sanchez on the behalf of the douschebag baseball writers of America Association, you were unjustly robbed of what was yours, and I fully understand that you'll go on a tear in 2017, and prove that you should've clearly won the award by putting up huge numbers in your first full season. El Gary didn't need more motivation, he clearly is motivated to win multiple championships with the Yankees, but the El Gary revenge tour has begun, and all pitchers in baseball can thank those asshole writers for making Gary Sanchez do this to them. They can keep the ROY award, we'll see who finishes with the better career, I got my money on the guy in pinstripes. Here's a little refresher of how much a beast El Gary Sanchize is: By DjackThe 42 year old knuckleballer has decided to put off retirement for at least one more year, signing a one year contract with the Atlanta Braves today confirmed that. The Braves starting rotation is actually dreadful, the only name that's noteworthy is Julio Tehran, everyone else on the staff is very replaceable. Dickey isn't a huge upgrade by any means, he had a 4.40ERA with Toronto last season, pitching 169.0 innings, and he posted a record of 10-15. Now if he's posting a record of 10-15 with the Blue Jays, imagine what that record will look like without the heavy run support from a high powered Blue Jays offense. Dickey has been in the MLB 15 years, he's had 3 really good years, all with the Mets, and had a couple decent seasons with Toronto after that, but with the Mets he was an absolute stud. He won 39 games in 3 seasons with the Mets, let me also remind you the Mets were absolutely dreadful those years, and he won a Cy Young award with them as well. Will we see those glory days when he plays for another bad team like Atlanta, very very doubtful, but I'm all for letting fans hope before they get their hearts ripped out by the reality of the sport. Dickey's stuff just isn't what it once was, is that because he finally made his mark in the big leagues, he got paid so he lost all ambition, became content. I doubt all those things too, he's old, his elbow is probably shot, and although knuckleballers don't need to throw very hard Dickey tends to throw his knuckleball at a much higher velocity than most. Not sure exactly why Dickey decided to come back, was it for the love of the game, we certainly know it wasn't to play competitive baseball since the Braves will probably be the worst team in the NL east again, so I can't really put my finger on this, maybe he just wanted to keep collecting checks. I'm routing for Dickey though, this man has had a rough life, his baseball career took about 15 years to finally take off, so if he's just their to collect a check that's cool too, this man worked day in day out without so much uncertainty, and his gamble on himself paid off, he made a good MLB career out of nothing. Welcome back R.A. Dickey, I look forward to watching you shutdown the Mets several times this season.
By DjackToday, Brian Cashman told reporters that he has spoken to Aroldis Chapman along with some other free agents already about joining the Yankees. Cashman is looking at pitching this offseason since there's no real place for position places to be signed unless he makes a trade and opens up a spot for someone. The only thing is the free agent pitching market is very thin in the starter department, the reliever department is a different story, with the likes of Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen, and Mark Melacon all available this offseason. Hearing Cashman say that he has already been talking to Chapman meanwhile he was playing in the World Series just 4 days ago just shows how badly Cashman wants the flame throwing lefty back in NY. Getting Chapman back would be a huge upgrade to a bullpen that held together well for about 6 weeks after trading away Miller and Chapman for prospects, but struggled mightily down the stretch when they were needed most, adding Chapman back will elevate them back to one of the best bullpens in the league without a doubt. How much of an evil genius will Cashman look like if he can get Chapman back, trades him away to the Cubs for their #1 prospect Gleybar Torres, who might I add is killing it in the Arizona fall league, just to get Chapman back the next season. We probably wouldn't have made the playoffs anyways so sending Chapman to Chicago as a rental for their #1 prospect just to get Chapman back a few months later would be the ultimate robbery. Granted the Cubs did accomplish their goal of winning the World Series so they got exactly what they wanted out of this trade, but the Yankees could be getting the last laugh in the long run if Torres becomes the stud we expect him to be, and if the Yankees are able to sign Chapman back. Love seeing Cashman being so proactive this early in free agency, it's a sign of good things to come hopefully because lord knows we need a ton of help in the pitching department if we want to make a postseason run this year.
By DjackWhen you think of the Cubs and the World Series, you think of the billy goat, the black cat, and Steve Bartman. I had no problem with people using the first two as a scapegoat for the Cubs misery, but I always thought the whole Bartman scenario was way outta line and frankly disgusting. It was outrageous because the play itself had no impact on the game, Alex Gonzalez cost the Marlins that game forgetting how to field a ground ball, of course he didn't catch any of the blame even though he was actually on the field, the quiet kid just trying to enjoy his favorite team was the one that sabotaged the Cubs chances of winning that game right. I really find it so ridiculous, I get very emotional about sports, I'll be the first to admit sometimes I take it way too seriously, but on that night alcohol mixed with misery ruined the life of a young man. Ruining his life may be a little extreme to say, Bartman is a smart kid with a good head on his shoulders so I'm sure he's doing fine now, he's apparently a very happy guy, but the guy is still scared to be in public, and still gets death threats 13 years later. I'm sure that'll end now that they won, but seriously death threats, you gotta be fucking kiddding me, what kind of a person would kill another person over a baseball game, I'll tell you, a clinically insane person. All the fans that threw trash at Bartman that night, that yelled profane comments towards him, that sent death threats to his door step don't deserve this World Series championship, as a matter of fact they don't deserve to enjoy sports because they ruined that for this poor guy. This guy went into hiding because he was scared for his life, you ruined his public image, all because he was a normal dude reaching to catch a baseball, let me tell ya there was about 10 other hands up around him, the ball just so happened to hit his hands. Bartman after years and years of suffering seems to be doing just fine, he doesn't speak publicly or do interviews with any people of the media, but his lawyer Frank Murtha does release statements on his behalf every once in awhile. Most recently after the Cubs won Murtha said "he was just overjoyed as all Cubs fans were" and he also said that Bartman would not be attending the parade. He won't be attending the parade for the same reason he doesn't do interviews or ESPN 30 for 30's he's a humble man that just wants to live a regular life. Bartman never asked to be the most recent face of Cubs failure, he didn't want the fame, he just wanted to be able to fit in with the crowd at a Cubs game, and you wouldn't even let him do that. He doesn't want to take the attention away from the team and what they accomplished, I respect the shit out of that, Bartman is a true fan, unlike all you drunk fuckers who decided to ruin a good man's public image that day. Now all those same fans who bashed him have the nerve to ask him to come to the parade and throw out opening pitches, Bartman never asked for that, all he wanted was to enjoy a Cubs baseball game in peace, and now he'll never be able to do that thanks to a sour fan base. Congratulations Cubs fans you finally got your World Series championship, doesn't change the fact that you as a fan base ruined the life of one of your own.
By UppyThe Phillies have signed former outfielder and broadcaster, Matt Stairs, to be their new hitting coach. Stairs, who spent 19 years in the big leagues, spent the last three years after retirement as the Phillies color commentator for the TV broadcasts. As Stairs puts it, “Honestly, the last three years, by sitting in that booth, I can tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly of every swing. I was a hitting coach to the fans, now I’ve become a hitting coach to 25 players. I just love hitting. And I’m not tooting my own horn, but I know hitting. A lot of people might think, ‘He was the guy that swung from his heels to try and hit home runs.’ That was only later in my career. I can break down a swing.” And I can tell you from watching the broadcasts that this man knows hitting. His analysis and critique of the finer things in baseball were an absolute treat as a viewer. While I'm sad to see that he's out of the booth, I'm excited for the young guys coming up. Matt Stairs is gonna be a great hitting coach because this man has seen some shit over the years. He grew up a hockey player in Canada, so you know he's tough, eh. He played in Japan for a year and then 19 years in the bigs, with one of the biggest swings in Philadelphia Phillies history: The players already know him so he's not some new guy trying to change everybody's swings. Now if he can just teach Maikel Franco how to lay off pitches and go the other way then we're cooking with gas. Phillies World Series Champs 2017 you heard it here first. Mickey Moniak for MVP. Matt Stairs Hitting Coach of the Year.
By DjackThe Chicago Cubs, the lovable losers, have finally reached the pinnacle of baseball after 108 years of heartbreak, struggles, and curses. No more next year, the unthinkable has finally happened, the Chicago Cubs are the 2016 World Series champions, and yes I'm just as shell shocked as you. It's been about 18 hours now since Kris Bryant threw the ball to Anthony Rizzo to record the final out of the World Series, officially ending the longest championship drought in history. I wasn't necessarily rooting for either team in this series, although as the game was winding down last night I found myself rooting for the Cubs subconsciously, I guess a part of me wanted to witness the crazy historical moment that last night was. Generation after generation of Americans, some Cub fans, some just baseball fans in general, came and went in life without getting to witness the Cubs win a World Series. One of the more historical franchises in the history of the game, the Cubs longevity in the league, their iconic field, and their history of dramatic theatrics surrounding their franchise has transcended them into the category of elite baseball franchises despite not being able to win the World Series in over 100 years. Clearly I'm not going to do my usual run down of the game because I could never do justice to the magnificent piece of art last night's game 7 of the World Series was, if someone gave the best movie script writer in the world, so Quentin Tarantino, a piece of paper, and said write out the best game 7 possible, it wouldn't have come close to matching the emotional roller coaster that was last night's game 7. Last night was one of the crazy sports memories that makes you want to have kids and grandkids just so you can tell them the amazing story of the 2016 World Series. At least 5 times throughout this game I was like oh that's it the Cubs won, and then oh shit never mind the Indians got this, it was literally one of if not the best baseball game I've ever seen played. Not in regards to how the game was played because their was a bunch of errors and questionable managerial calls, but in terms of excitement and dramatics, last night takes the cake. You know a game is of a huge magnitude and has really captured the attention of the public when you have people that never talk about sports talking about last night's game, and that's all that was talked about at the water cooler today at work, or water fountain if your still in school. 2016 has been a special year in sports, one of the greatest finishes to a college basketball final ever, Cavaliers made one of the greatest sports comebacks of all time against a team that was arguably going to be the best ever, and the cherry on top was the Cubs breaking a 108 year World Series drought while winning in the most dramatic of fashions. For everyone that says baseball is boring, last night proved your an idiot that knows nothing about entertainment. Congratulations to the city of Chicago, the wait is over, the day is finally here, the World Series trophy finally returns to Wrigleyville tomorrow morning, and I expect that parade to be the craziest spectacle in the history of Chicago. 108 years of anticipation should lead to crazy events at the parade, if you thought the Cleveland parade was nuts, you haven't seen anything yet, I'll be shocked if Chicago is still in tact by the end of the day tomorrow. 2016 was a helluva year for baseball, with the Cubs curse headline now dead, I foresee baseball dying out a little more, but we shall see. Looking forward to the 2017 season already, only 4 more months till opening day!
By Djack2,466 games have been played in the 2016 MLB season, and it all comes down to the 2,467th game of the season to decide who the 2016 World Series champion will be. Game 7, there's nothing better in all of sports, one game to decide it all, anything can happen, Anthony Rizzo summed it up best last night after the game saying "if you lose, you go home, if you win, you're a hero." That's probably the best way to sum it up for these teams, the loser heads home with nothing to show for a hard fought season, and the winner will be forever idolized in their city, that's just the beauty of sports. The two longest World Series droughts in their respective leagues, one team's misfortune will finally have to change, and it will all be decided on a November night in Cleveland. As for last night, the Cubs weren't going home without putting up their best fight, and what they threw at the Indians last night was way too much for them to handle. The Cubs bats have finally come alive in these last two games, Kris Bryant,who has been the teams sparkplug all season, hit another home run in this game, his second in this World Series. As Bryant and Rizzo go, the Cubs go, so they needed Bryant to finally start coming around in this series, since Rizzo has been pretty hot since his bat change. The biggest hit of the game came in the 3rd inning from probably the smallest guy on the team, Addison Russell, not only was the biggest hit distance wise estimated at 435ft, it was a Grand Slam that would put the Cubs ahead 7-0, basically assuring all baseball fans of a game 7. Addison Russell, who has struggled mightily for the Cubs this whole postseason has stepped up in big spots, along with the Grand Slam he also had a RBI double earlier in the game, making his RBI total 6 for the game, tying the record for most RBI's in a world series game. Rizzo put an exclamation point on this game late with a deep blast to rightfield that drove in 2 making the score 9-3. Jason Kipnis was the only Indians player that really showed up for game 6, he had a homerun, a double, and scored 2 of the Indians 3 runs. Other than that, this game was all Cubs despite some moments when bases were loaded for the Indians and the Cubs were fortunate enough to get out of the jams unharmed. At the end of the day all baseball fans got what they wanted, one last game to decide the World Series champion. Will this be the year of Cleveland returning to the Mount Rushmore of great sports cities, or will it be the year that a curse is broken, that a 108 year drought is quenched, the year that Cubs finally return to baseball immortality, find out tonight when the Cubs and Indians face off in the 2,467th baseball game of the year.(No one fact check that math)
|
Details
AuthorDjack- Chief editor Archives
April 2018
Categories |