The Atlanta Braves are the Luckiest Team in Baseball

The Atlanta Braves are the Luckiest Team in Baseball

 

 

The Atlanta Braves started the year on a red hot pace. Justin Upton was crushing home runs (despite almost all of them being solo shots) and looking like one of the better acquisitions of all time. Evan Gattis, or El Oso Blanco (The White Bear) as he was affectionately called in Venezuela, was also crushing home runs and filling in for Brian McCann better than anyone could have expected. Then everything came to a screeching halt. The whole outfield along with second baseman Dan Uggla became automatic outs. Andrelton Simmons, while wonderful defensively, showed that he could not be an everyday leadoff hitter. Since starting 12-1, the Braves have played just above .500 at 33-32. Yet, with all that being said, the Braves own a 6 game lead in the NL East.

The NL East was once always mentioned at the top of the list for most competitive divisions in baseball. This year was supposed to be no different. The Nationals were coming off the best record in baseball and were the World Series favorites of almost all writers. The Braves were coming off a playoff appearance and with the Upton brothers coming to town, were poised to follow it up with many more. The Philadelphia Phillies had the best three headed monster in the game with Lee, Halladay, and Hamels. The NL East was going to provide drama and suspense for the entire season. Fate had different plans for the division though.

The Nationals were hit with injuries and a case of the yips becoming one of the worst defensive teams in baseball. The Phillies dealt with injuries to Halladay, who looked like the worst pitcher in the game, as well as Utley and Howard, derailing their season out of the gate. The Braves rode a hot start to a huge division lead, and despite the cold bats, have held on to that lead thanks to the problems in the rest of the division.

The Braves have the potential to be the best team in baseball. All season their pitching has been spectacular, but there are two disappointments that come with that. The first disappointment being that cold bats lead to no run support, and the second being that Fredi Gonzalez is the manager. Never one to fear running arms into the ground, Gonzalez will put this team in more danger come playoff time even if the bats do heat up with the summer temperatures. Already this year Johnny Venters and Eric O’Flaherty, two major bullpen arms, have had to be shut down and needed Tommy John Surgery. Having to rely so heavily on the pitching staff if the bats do not come around will be the death knell for this team due to Gonzalez.

They may have been fortunate to skate on mediocrity thus far and possibly for the rest of the regular season, but come playoff time they will be one and done. Odds are they would have to face one of the three NL Central teams in the playoff hunt, and considering those three teams have three of the best records in baseball, they would be waiting in anticipation to face a team that can’t hit and has tired arms. Things need to turn around quickly or it will be a long winter in Atlanta and Gonzalez will find his head on the block ready to be tomahawk chopped.

Stay Classy San Diego: These Aren't Your Padre’s Padres and They Could Steal The NL West

Stay Classy San Diego: These Aren't Your Padre’s Padres and They Could Steal The NL West

Champ Kind has had a lot to be happy about lately when it comes to the hometown Padres. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are the hottest team in baseball this side of the Canadian border. Doing all of this while recently being hit with the injury bug is astonishing. The funny thing is though, despite the injuries, they could very well walk out of the West and into the playoffs.

The Diamondbacks sit in first place, and the Dodgers, who are in last, are only 8.5 games back. If the Padres have dealt with injuries the Dodgers have dealt with the plague. They have been unable to field their complete team in who knows how long, yet only sit 8.5 games back, which is not insurmountable at this given time despite what some may tell you. The mediocrity in the division figures to last all season as I don’t see any team being able to pull away from the pack, even at their healthiest. Every team is flawed in some way and that will lead to an exciting finish.

So how exactly have the Padres been able to do this? The answer is simple. They succeed in three key areas. They win at home, they play solid defense, and they have a very good bullpen. Their starting pitching should be much better, though in fairness, has played to potential lately. Edinson Volquez needs to step his game up, Clayton Richard should be one of the better lefties in the game, and Andrew Cashner needs to develop his secondary pitches to go along with an electric fastball. The one guy in the rotation who has exceeded expectations and is leading the staff with his play is Staten Island’s favorite son, (as seen here:My Favorite Player is Jason Marquis) Jason Marquis. Under the tutelage of Bud Black Marquis has had somewhat of a career renaissance. Most believe he will fall back toward the median as the season progresses but if the rest of the staff can keep up the change in play it will not affect the team much.

Another big key for the Padres and a playoff push will be getting Everth Cabrera back and playing as well as he was before his injury. Not too many people know who he is other than his connection to the steroid scandal, but he has built upon his great 2012 campaign and played even better in 2013. Chase Headley is another player who doesn’t get much publicity on the East Coast but having him and his stellar defense back will help strengthen an already impressive bunch of gloves. Jedd Gyorko at second was justifying the hype that the team and insiders attached to him, but the injury bug and a DL stint have hit him as well. If he can come back and not miss a beat it will put the Padres in a good position and brighten not only the present but the future as well.

As previously stated the rest of the division is flawed. The Diamondbacks, who no doubt have the most talent, are far too inconsistent. San Francisco cannot be a run scoring juggernaut, and its pitching is showing the effects of the innings load deep into the last few postseasons. Colorado has to deal with a devastating injury to Troy Tulowitzki, and the Dodgers as mentioned, have dealt with the plague when it comes to injuries. As the season winds down the race will only get more exciting but the Padres will be looking to put a whammy on the rest of the division.

 

 

 

New York Sees its Future and its Past All at Once

New York Sees its Future and its Past All at Once

 

Today is a special day in the city of New York. We, as a city, get the rare chance to simultaneously see the future and the past. Most other fans that are not native New Yorkers will overlook today’s significance and not even give it a second thought. We however, will remember this day for years to come.

In Atlanta, the Mets face off against their bitter rivals, the Braves. Chipper may be gone but the rivalry lives on. The Braves are in first place and in no danger of losing that spot to the Mets, but the Mets come equipped today with something they haven’t had in a long time, hope. They travel down Badstreet USA to Turner Field feeling optimistic and hopeful for what’s to come. In Game 1 of the doubleheader the ace of the staff and guaranteed All-Star Matt Harvey will look to continue his amazing season. Sports Illustrated recently christened Harvey “The Dark Knight of Gotham” due to his ability so far to dominate both the competition and headlines in a town where the Mets are second fiddle. Some expected this success from Harvey and some didn’t but there is no denying the Mets have found their number one starter, their Batman.

If Harvey is Batman then in game 2 of the doubleheader the Mets and their fans will get a glimpse at Robin. The partner in crime and the other half of the Dynamic Duo is Zack Wheeler. Making his Major League debut tonight in front of a hometown crowd, Wheeler will provide the team will a crystal clear look into its future and the top of its staff. One thing that is constantly mentioned when it comes to Wheeler is that he is unfazed by pressure and won’t let the hype get to him. That’s a good thing considering he will make a career in New York.

To quote the phenomenal movie which lends its name to Harvey, “The night is darkest just before the dawn.” Well, tomorrow morning Met fans will look out into the horizon and see the sun starting to creep up into the sky.

On the other side of town on 161^st Street in the Boogie Down Bronx, the Yankees Batman returns to Gotham for the first time since 2007. Don Mattingly’s place in Yankee history doesn’t need to be explained. The love the fans will show him tonight, despite wearing a uniform that doesn’t include pinstripes, will be matched only by the ovation Derek Jeter will one day receive when he takes his place in Monument Park. That is of course, unless Mattingly exacts his revenge and takes the job of the man who took it from him in 2007. Mattingly never got to experience the joys of winning a championship like Jeter or Girardi, but that has only made the love and support for the “Hitman” even stronger.

Whether it is welcoming back a legend or watching potential future ones, The City That Never Sleeps will be buzzing tonight with excitement and anticipation. Whether you love or hate the teams, take notice if you’re a baseball fan because a night like tonight doesn’t come around often.

In Praise of the Macho Man

In Praise of the Macho Man

We’ve all been hearing a lot lately about how Manny Machado needs to be included in the conversation along with Mike Trout and Bryce Harper when talking about the best young players in the game. So that isn’t what I will be doing. I don’t need to convince anyone he belongs; any hardcore baseball fan knows he does. What I want to do, and despite the fact that it pains me to do so, is praise this guy for what he has been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time.

The most important thing to take into consideration when discussing Machado’s success is the fact that he is playing out of position. The guy is a shortstop who was forced to play third because of J.J. Hardy, and play the hell out of third he has. He leads the American League in fielding percentage and has by far been the best third baseman in the entire league with his range and ability to make all the throws. He is well on his way to earning his first Gold Glove Award. He has started every game for the Orioles thus far and has only made three errors. When the time comes for a move to shortstop to be possible, the Orioles would really have to give it some thought and may honestly be crazy to do it.

Machado may very well be a defensive whiz but when speaking of his game from an offensive standpoint he is just as accomplished. This guy is no Brendan Ryan or Casey Kotchman, excelling with the glove but severely lacking with the bat. Machado leads the league in at bats, hits, and doubles. In fact, ESPN Stats & Info tweeted out a gem last night discussing just what kind of prowess Machado has when it comes to hitting doubles. Through 68 games (the number of games the Orioles have played this season), in an under 22 season, only three guys have hit 30 doubles. Those guys are Manny Machado, Joe DiMaggio, and Ted Williams. That’s some pretty legendary company.

Machado is accomplishing all of this while hitting in the two hole for the Orioles, a prime spot in the order, one usually occupied by the best hitter on the team these days. Chris Davis and Adam Jones are having fantastic seasons as well, but Machado is as much a reason for that as anything else. His ability to get on base is giving them prime opportunities to drive in runs and help the Orioles achieve the third best record in the American League. Machado also leads the American League in WAR, (Wins Above Replacement for those unaware) so you know you’re having a great season when you rank ahead of Miguel Cabrera in a statistical category.

As a Yankee fan, playing against Machado and seeing him develop even further into one of the best players in the game scares the hell out of me. When he is able to accomplish all this in such a short amount of time, there’s no telling how high his ceiling is. Fans of all the other AL East teams better start doing whatever they can to help them sleep at night because the monster from Charm City will be haunting all of our dreams for the foreseeable future.

Underestimating St. Louis is a Cardinal Sin

Underestimating St. Louis is a Cardinal Sin

The New England Patriots have always been the benchmark for sports franchises looking to sustain excellence and put a winning product on the field not just now, but in the future as well. They have a smart front office, an owner willing to spend money and take chances, and a coach who knows how to put it all together in order to get the best results.

In baseball there is a team who does all those same things but doesn’t get nearly enough credit as deserved. That team is the St. Louis Cardinals. Unlike the Patriots, who have had one owner, general manager, and coach during their run of excellence, the Cardinals have had two each, which speaks volumes of their ability to maintain consistency.

This season the Cardinals are running through league en route to the best record in all of baseball. Mike Matheny, who is only in his second season managing, is the front runner for Manager of the Year. Allen Craig, who has the enviable task of succeeding Albert Pujols at first base, is among the league leaders in RBI. Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter are number one and number four respectively in batting average. Carlos Beltran is fifth in the National League in home runs. Offensively there is not an easy out on this team, and despite a deficit, they are never out of a ballgame. The team is batting .339 with runners in scoring position which is absolute unheard of and will surely come back to Earth, but for now, this is a team to be reckoned with. However, despite all these offensive accolades, pitching is what makes the Cardinals the team to beat.

Despite injuries to Jake Westbrook and Jaime Garcia, two guys penciled into the starting rotation at the beginning of the season, the Cardinals have not missed a beat. St. Louis ranks at the top of the league in wins, ERA, shutouts, and have given up the least amount of walks. They have gotten great contribution from rookies Shelby Miller and Michael Wacha, Miller a top candidate for Rookie of the Year, and second year player Trevor Rosenthal has helped stabilize the back end of the bullpen and been one of the top relievers in the game.

All this being said and we still haven’t gotten to Matt Adams or Oscar Taveras. Adams sees limited playing time because of the depth of this team but he is a big masher capable of 30 home runs in a season if given steady at bats. Taveras, who may very well be the best hitting prospect in all of baseball is still in Triple-A because of a lack of room at the major league level.

The scouts for this team do amazing work not only recognizing talent, but also character. See, not just any player can put on the Cardinal uniform. You never hear stories of bad character guys or clubhouse cancers being a part of this organization. The days of Jocketty, Duncan, and LaRussa may be gone but the winning ways continue and show no signs of slowing down. Get ready for another winning summer in St. Louis, it’s the Cardinal way.

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

If you grew up a sports fanatic, which I will go ahead and assume most of you did as you probably wouldn’t be reading this otherwise, you dreamed of being the guy to hit the game winning shot, score the game winning touchdown, or get the walk off hit ensuring victory for your team. That’s just human nature, we’ve all done it. No one is dreaming of being the guy that passes the ball to the open teammate, the guy who sets the block, or the guy who draws the walk, and in turn gives someone else the glory. We dream of being the superstar that everyone talks about and envies, making more money than we could even imagine and thinking about how great our lives would be. We’re sports heroes with deep pockets, fan adulation, and not a worry in the world; what could be better than that? A funny thing happens though on the way to making those dreams a reality. We realize either we aren’t good enough and sports isn’t in our future, or we realize that after having a taste of the good life, we will do anything we can to sustain it. This brings us to the impending investigation and likely suspension of 20 Major Leaguers for their part in a performance enhancing drug scandal.

Guys like Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun, they’ve had these same dreams as you and I but they are part of the lucky few who actually get to realize the dream and see it become reality. They’ve had people telling them for years how good they are, how talented they are, how bright their futures are going to be. The dream is fulfilled they’ve become big leaguers; but a startling realization sets in. Not everyone is achieving this success and fame naturally. They struggle with the thought of being like everyone else and artificially gaining an edge. They know it’s not the right thing to do and it’s a mistake but then the justification sets in. If they don’t do it, someone else will, and that person could take their spot. Everyone else is doing it, why can’t they? If they don’t do it they won’t be successful and all these dreams they’ve had will never come true. At the same time though, if they get caught, people will crucify and vilify their names, knowing they had the natural talent to get to the mountain top, they didn’t need to take the shortcut. Their Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions sure, but the execution is flawed.

Everyone likes to talk of baseball as if it is the Holy Trinity of sports. It’s the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost all rolled into one. It spans generations, bringing families and people of all backgrounds together because it’s America’s pastime. What everyone fails to realize though is that kind of thinking is just as delusional as the thinking of the athletes using performance enhancing drugs. Steroids have been the elephant in the room for years, we all know it’s there; we just never want to talk about it. We continue to watch and cheer for these guys despite what we know or believe to be the reason for the success. In the end, we as fans are just as much to blame as the athletes are. We drag them down for their bad decision making, even if their intentions are good. We crucify guys for doing something they shouldn’t, when five minutes ago we suspected it and cheered anyway. We want to celebrate championships and milestones by any means necessary because it gives us the bragging rights that our team or our guy is better than anyone else’s. Who cares how we get to Heaven as long as the end result is standing in front of the pearly gates. Just don’t be shocked when God tells you despite your good intentions, Hell is that way.

What Exactly Are We Witnessing?

What Exactly Are We Witnessing?

Transcendent- extending or lying beyond the limits of ordinary experience

Otherworldly- of, relating to, or resembling that of a world other than the actual world

Superhero- a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers

 

Miguel Cabrera has always been one of the best hitters in baseball since his arrival on the scene with the Florida Marlins. However, since the start of last season, he has done things that are unexplainable, supernatural, mythical, etc. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you won’t even read that last sentence and think its hyperbole. The man is not human and does things that others are incapable of.

It all started last season. Cabrera began the year slow by his standards (stats most players would dream of through that point in the season), but then something happened. Cabrera’s abilities shifted into another gear and he went on a tear not seen by mere mortals in ages. Cabrera finished the year with a .330 average, 44 home runs, and 139 RBI, good for both the MVP Award and the first Triple Crown since 1967.

Summer is synonymous with a lot of things but two that stick out for the purposes of this writing are baseball and blockbusters. See, summer is when the movie studios release their big money making movies, and baseball is all about the boys of summer.

Last season the script was simple. Our hero (Cabrera) was faced with a challenge from a rookie the likes of which no one had ever seen. Like our hero, he did things others were incapable of. He also had speed and defensive abilities which no one could argue our protagonist was lacking. This aquatic nemesis known as Trout was not only a threat to the Triple Crown but there were some who felt that he deserved the MVP over our hero. The battle was intense but like all good summer movies, our hero can’t lose in the first installment. He needs to narrowly persevere and face challenges in the sequels.

Now we fast forward to this summer. Blockbuster season and baseball season are upon us again, and believe it or not our hero is on a mission to win the Triple Crown for a second consecutive year. Accomplishing this feat would put our already mythical hero into a stratosphere all his own, but what good is a hero without a villain. This year in the sequel our hero has to take down the powerful Oriole that goes by the name Davis.

The movie is just starting and there’s no telling how it will end, but I will have my popcorn ready, my feet up, and will be enjoying the ride. I recommend all of you do the same because this will be an epic fight with history at stake. My only question is, if our hero succeeds, how the hell are they going to top all of this for the third installment?