"Welcome Back"
Another baseball off-season brings
another year of jumbled players around the league. Jose Reyes to Miami, Albert Pujols signs 10
years in Anaheim, Prince Fielder has a hop-skip-and jump to his father’s old
stomping grounds in Detroit. Oakland
continues to unload while Washington started spring training with seven possible
starting pitchers. Mat Latos goes from
his comfy pitcher’s ballpark in San Diego to the Great American Ballpark in
Cincinnati where the ball flies out on a check-swing at times. Ryan Braun was suspended for 50 games then
somehow miraculously fought back against the MLB and had the suspension
removed. John Papelbon takes his “serious-face” look to Philly and Mark Buehrle
is no longer a Chicago White Sox.
Ahhh yes, another
baseball off-season passes bringing positivity to the Bronx and more headaches
to Queens. On one hand you have the
greatest team organization in sports and on the other you could have, at worst,
a dying franchise. This is all happening
in the biggest city in America and it’s affecting all five boroughs. Brian Cashman has a ton of leeway for himself
to help the Yankees and the Steinbrenner’s look as good and competitive as
possible. He has been very successful in
doing so for a number of years. Sandy
Alderson walks into year two with bad twitter jokes and 50 million dollars less
than last year to work with on a fading Mets squad. Apples and oranges, apples and oranges my
friends. The Mets this year declined its
payroll by a record amount and have a questionable #1 starting pitcher and a
lingering rib cage situation with their best hitter in David Wright. Things look bad, and Sandy is not hiding the
fact. In mid-March Yankee fans are
sitting up straight and once again ready to embark on a strong hard fought
season in the AL East as the Mets fans see their NL East division grow even
more competitive as confidence sits by their feet.
In
2011, the Yankees lost in the Wild Card round against the Tigers in five games
which was disappointing, but non-the-less an exciting series. The weather played an important part in the
short series and screwed with both teams pitching rotations, but when it came
down to it Jim Leyland out coached Joe Girardi.
It was such captivating television watching the old man sign and call
every pitch for every batter in every inning…becoming a little more relaxed
when his “Ace” and AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander was on the
mound. Regardless of this series outcome
it was the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals who made an exciting 2011 World
Series with David Freese taking home the huge MVP award and helping the
Cardinals when needed the most. The red
birds were one out away of handing Texas their first ever World Championship,
but FREEZE Rangers…hold on a minute! The
birds fought back and took another Championship home to the city with the Arch
downtown. Happy trails for one of their
biggest stars in Albert Pujols as he played his last game as a Cardinal,
winning the biggest game of the year.
NEW YORK METS
For the
past few years the AL East has been the most competitive division in MLB, now
the tides have changed a bit. The NL Central became tighter, the NL West had
four out of five teams competing for the top spot and now the NL East has
shaped up to be quite a division on its own. The Phillies we know could win 100
games again. Atlanta has very competitive pitching with their starters and
bullpen, but the offense is excruciating to watch. Miami is revamped themselves
with the new stadium like the Heat in the NBA and Washington has grown into a
competitor. This is all bad news for one team that has suffered it’s fair share
of setbacks…
The New York Mets are all set to
start 2012 tied for 1st place until the season officially kicks off
on Thursday April 5th, after that well I’m not sure they’ll see that
position in the standings again.
In the offseason the Mets dropped
the ball. They decreased payroll by a record amount by slashing players and
signing no one. They gave up on a young outfielder in Pagan and took in an
older man in Torres. Did they even save money? Not really. They also signed
aging pitcher Frank Francisco to close, who hasn’t closed in Texas on a
consistent basis in three years and has a lifetime ERA of 3.72. Not your top
decision I suppose, but why not let young flamethrower Bobby Parnell work
through his problems? So what about his future? Ah, fuggetaboutit. Daniel
Murphy will attempt his third chance starting at 2nd base. Ruben
“bad-visa” Tejada will take over for Jose Reyes at SS and will never come close
to what Mets fans expect…well maybe for I don’t think you all are expecting
much. David Wright missed every game of the Spring so far with a bad ribcage.
It makes swinging the bat pretty difficult. Lucas Duda is a fun name to say,
but power promise sounds just as good as a Madoff promise. Ike Davis might have
a rare disease called “vally fever”, well, like…I don’t know…that like totally
sucks man.
The pitching has it’s own problems
with a faint glimmering hope Johan Santana stays healthy, which won’t win him
more then 14 games anyway. (Possible trade bait for more money relief in June
or July) would help the Wilpons and the Wilpons only. Mike Pelfrey is a wash.
R.A. Dickey is a bore to watch and Niese is so inconsistent, if he was a
carpenter the house he would attempt to build would look great on each side and
a pile of shit in the middle. Right where everyone looks. Continuing with this
trend Dillon Gee was looking like a prize at the bottom of a Craker-Jack box
last year until he pitched on a downward slope into September. That’s when the
Corvette the Mets had him driving turned into a Saturn…lame.
2012 will not be fun or funny (to
quote Billy Crystal). It will be sad and long and as a Pirate fan for 25 years
I can only say, “Welcome to the club”. I don’t smile when I say it, I just shrug my
shoulders and smirk a bit because there isn’t much a fan can do besides wait to
hold off our heartaches as much as we can.
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Probable Lineup
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No.
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Player
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Pos.
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1.
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CF
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2.
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2B
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3.
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3B
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4.
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1B
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5.
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LF
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6.
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RF
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7.
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C
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8.
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SS
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Probable Rotation
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No.
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Player
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Throws
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1.
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LH
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2.
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RH
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3.
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LH
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4.
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RH
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5.
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RH
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Closer
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RH
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New York Yankees
Once again moves were made and progress seems to be the conclusion, as
the Bombers get primed for 2012. CC got an extension, A.J. Burnett and his
after 5th inning struggles has flown over to Pittsburgh and many
options appear for the DH position with the signings of Raul Ibanez, Russell
Branyan and the re-signing of Eric Chavez and Andrew Jones. The one negative is
the loss of their prospect Jesus Montero to Seattle especially since Jorge
Posada’s long-time run behind the plate is officially over and Russell Martin
continues to grow old. However, the
Yankees traded a young player for a young player, which is rare in Yankee town.
At 23 years old he sizes up like Big Daddy CC packing 270 pounds in a 6 foot 7
body. A monster some would say, but he really only has two pitches in his
repertoire. Still all in all he will be billed as a #2 or #3 starter and should
be worth the risk. Although he’s been having trouble with his velocity in
Spring Training it’s going to be interesting to see how he deals with the New
York media when he enters the season with a 91 mph fastball instead of his
usual 97mph he fired across the plate last year. Pineda was 9-10 for a bad Seattle team with
173 K’s and only 55 walks in his
One other addition that I like to the team this year is
the man who will probably be the #2 starter in Hiroki Kuroda. He played real
well for the Dodgers awful offense and it reflected on his record 41-46 with a
3.46 ERA in his career. He looks to improve and the Cathedral is a great place
to do so…well not exactly since the HR rate is ridiculous at Yankee stadium, but
none-the-less at least run support should be a given.
Now to the rest…
So A-Rod is a year older and most certainly not living up
to his paycheck, (ask the Angels as they get through Albert’s new deal) as
organizations are paying too much for an impossible amount of time. Derek Jeter
is not the spry SS he once was and to end the old man category, Mariano Rivera
is most likely entering his final year at the age of his jersey number putting
a period on his inevitable Hall of Fame career. He is the only baseball player
I can talk to my kids in the future as my grandfather told me his stories of
past greats. I saw Rivera’s entire MLB stint and it still leaves me in awe. So
honestly, take in his last year and watch him pile up his stats to add to his
already amazing lifetime resume.
Once again I see a very good year for the Bronx Bombers
with a ton of familiar faces. They are getting older and injuries will play a
factor within the course of the season to make things exciting. Big Tex, Cano,
Granderson, Swisher and the rest of the pinstripes will do what the do best and
tally up runs and blast homeruns. Their starters will eat innings and keep the
team in striking distance 90% of the 162 games. If they don’t Girardi always
has the sick one-two-three punch in Soriano, Robertson and Rivera to stop the
bleeding or hold on to a victory. The only factor that could hold this team
back is the length of the season, but that’s a stupid sentence to say…so I’ll
end the Yankee piece here.
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Probable Lineup
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No.
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Player
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Pos.
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1.
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SS
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2.
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CF
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3.
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2B
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4.
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3B
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5.
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1B
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6.
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RF
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7.
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C
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8.
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DH
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9.
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LF
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Probable Rotation
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No.
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Player
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Throws
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1.
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LH
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2.
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RH
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3.
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RH
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4.
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RH
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5.
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RH
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Closer
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RH
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ADAM
HAMMER’S “Loose Lips”
- The
Pirates have determined that the extra wild card team has increased their
chances of making the playoffs by 13%. This has raised their overall odds of
playing in October from -11% to 2%
- Joba Chamberlain's career, and life is in serious jeopardy after he suffered an "open dislocation" on his ankle. Google that, throw up and then come back for the punch line.....
.....
.....
The doctors at the hospital started him on a long, slow effective rehab program. After thinking it over, they accelerated his rehab to quick, short more often workouts. They changed their minds again and switched back to slow program, hoping to condition him better. Despite success with the slow program, the doctors have once again switched him back to the short and frequent rehab schedule.
The Mets have decided to play baseball this season. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xECUrlnXCqk
Ryan Madson needs Tommy John Surgery and will miss the entire 2012 season. Upon realizing Dusty Baker would be his manager, Madson's UCL committed suicide.
- Joba Chamberlain's career, and life is in serious jeopardy after he suffered an "open dislocation" on his ankle. Google that, throw up and then come back for the punch line.....
.....
.....
The doctors at the hospital started him on a long, slow effective rehab program. After thinking it over, they accelerated his rehab to quick, short more often workouts. They changed their minds again and switched back to slow program, hoping to condition him better. Despite success with the slow program, the doctors have once again switched him back to the short and frequent rehab schedule.
The Mets have decided to play baseball this season. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xECUrlnXCqk
Ryan Madson needs Tommy John Surgery and will miss the entire 2012 season. Upon realizing Dusty Baker would be his manager, Madson's UCL committed suicide.
Fantasy 1-2-3
I soiled my pants last year in Fantasy baseball and
it’s mainly because I’m too scared to drop players that used to be good. I sit
and wait…first in my starting lineup for a while, then on my bench taking up
room for a new young buck that’s circling the bases every night. I’m fixing to
get out of this habit I’ve tended to live by and start making moves on the hot
and lucky that fill the league each year. As George Clinton from the P-Funk
All-Stars would say, “I’ve got to get over the hump.” (Whether he said that on
of off crack it’s true) Mediocrity has gotten me no prize money in over two
years.
Now we all know about Pujous and Cabrera or Verlander and
Halladay, but in this issue of Fantasy 1-2-3 I will give three options at each
position that can be worth the risk at a lower price or a later round (pick
your poison) in a snake draft without losing too many points. You all want All
Stars of course, but odds are you will be playing against 9 to 11 other
managers.
REMEMBER:
These are “fillers” for your roster.
C
Yadier Molina STL – Consistency is gold.
Matt Weiters BAL – Power, contact, young and he plays almost every day.
This makes me believe he will improve on his 20+ HR season in 2011.
Devin Mesoraco CIN – This pick would’ve been KC’s Salvador Perez until
he got hurt after signing a long term contract. Jesus Montero was another
choice until I saw people drafting the former Yankee prospect way too high, so
I’ll take my chances on this prospect instead.
1B
Eric Hosmer KC – Made his debut on May 6th last year and never looked back.
Paul Goldschmidt ARI – If he is anything close to what he did last
September call-ups, then the stock is up at a low low price.
Michael Cuddyer COL – A consistent hitter with decent power moves to the
mother of all HR ballparks deep in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.
2B
Brandon Phillips CIN – Tough position to fill if you don’t have Cano,
Kinsler or Pedroia. Wait on this guy and you won’t take such a big hit compared
to anyone else.
Ryan Rayburn DET – With OF and 2B eligibility this guy seems to be
getting better with age. Plus he is tearing the cover of the ball through 18
Spring games.
Dustin Ackley SEA – What can I say? No one believes in this team
especially their lineup, but if he hits .260 with 17 HR’s, it’s a win at this
position.
3B
Ryan Zimmerman WAS – New contract, better team. If he stops getting hurt
he is just as good as Longoria.
Martin Prado ATL – Fell off huge last year in every category, but he
didn’t fall off the Earth like some think.
David Freese STL – World series MVP…can he bring something into 2012?
SS
Cliff Pennington OAK – 20+ steals and a fantastic 2nd half last
year batting .303 has his stock rising in a Billy Bean world.
Alexei Ramirez CHW – Don’t sleep on a multi-tool player. People forget
quickly, but you can get by with this guy. He is as skinny as the Grimm Reaper
who still powers the ball out of Cellular Field.
Ruben Tejada NYM – Don’t laugh! It’s all up to Ruben himself. He will
play every game and if he can muster up three quarters of what Jose was, points
can accumulate.
OF – American League
Nick Markakis BAL – Contact hitter in a very friendly ballpark.
Lorenzo Cain KC – Cheap and/or late in the draft. 1st year
playing everyday.
Peter Bourjos ANA – Tallied up 12 HR’s, 72 Runs and 22 SB’s in his 1st
full year in the biggs. Not too shabby Peter. Better lineup could improve this
kid.
OF – National League
Chris Young ARI – Priced between $15 and $20 dollars in any fantasy magazine
and I got him for $6…sounds like a steal no matter how many times he strikes
out. A 20+ HR hitter with quick feet.
J.D. Martinez HOU – Houston’s best player under the aging “El Caballo”.
Yonder Alonso SD – Tough ballpark, yes, but he’s a lefty and Adrian
Gonzalez was able to become a star.
P –
American League
Derek Holland TEX – Looks good, don’t tell anyone. (Not even his creepy
mustache)
Yu Darvish TEX – He’s having control problems here in the Spring, but even if he raises
his ERA two whole points from what he’s done in Japan he would still be in the
mid 3’s. Not bad and only 25 years old.
Jake Peavy CHW/Brandon Morrow TOR – I swear you can get Peavy in the final two
rounds…and I also swear that this will be the last time I put him on any list.
Thank God I don’t write the Disabled List. Woka, woka!
Morrow on the other hand I
had to put him on year even though he’s number four. I think Peavy will be
great value for the half season he plays then Morrow can continue striking
people out for you. Am I blind? Maybe, nut Brandon is certainly worth a late
round pick. Toronto will score for him.
P – National League
Cory Luebke SD – Great pitchers park, but run support will be like pulling teeth. Love
this kids promise. With 154 K’s in 139 innings you see promise my friends.
Adam Wainwright STL – Take the chance, I dare you…but not too early or
too much.
Edinson Volquez SD – It is do or die for this dread-lock. *Also see
comments for Cory Luebke about ballpark.
BOMBS AWAY!
Mat Latos CIN – This one hurts me to write because I like the guy and the run support would
make you think all will be well in help to improve, however bombs are sent out
in the Great American Ballpark nightly from my friend Louisville Slugger.
Asdrubal Cabrera CLE – Played way over his head last year.
Mike Napoli TEX – ^ See above ^
NEXT
ISSUE
- possible and
probably rule changes
- Houston in the
AL?
- 2012 Predictions
Follow Dr. Kas on Twitter
@boroughbaseball
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