I decided to analyze some playoff upsets. Records aren’t always the best way to judge a team as injuries and trades affect a team throughout the season. A team might’ve had a better record had they not had some injuries or if they had particular players all season. I’m using the “modern” period starting with the advent of the playoffs
Read moreI decided to analyze every team that won the World Series and see what led to them winning the championship that season. 1903 BOSTON RED SOX Easily won the pennant, had the best record in the Majors and dominated to the championship. 1905 NEW YORK GIANTS They had the best record in the Majors and dominated all the way to
Read moreBoston fired GM Dave Dombrowski last night. Dombrowski brought them a championship last year, so it’s natural that there are people questioning this move and thinking that Dombrowski deserved better. Thing is, he just isn’t a great GM. Back in Detroit, he built a team that won 2 pennants, but failed to win the World Series because he traded off
Read moreI used WAR to determine these players, using both for single season and career. AL AL EAST NEW YORK YANKEES SP Whitey Ford CP Mariano Rivera C Yogi Berra 1B Lou Gehrig 2B Robinson Cano SS Derek Jeter 3B Alex Rodriguez LF Charlie Keller CF Mickey Mantle RF Babe Ruth DH Jason Giambi BOSTON RED SOX SP Pedro Martinez CP
Read moreI decided to look at all LDS, LCS and World Series and see which won more. I used team ERA and team runs per game in my analysis. I’m not including the thrown 1919 World Series. TOTAL SERIES: 312 BETTER TEAM IN BOTH PITCHING & HITTING WON: 63 TEAM WITH THE WORSE PITCHING & HITTING WON: 46 TEAM WITH THE
Read moreI’m looking at the WildCard era. YEAR: 1995 TEAM: Atlanta Braves fWAR: 21.0 RANK: 1 ERA: 3.25 RANK: 1 YEAR: 1996 TEAM: New York Yankees fWAR: 14.3 RANK: 10 ERA: 4.96 RANK: 19 YEAR: 1997 TEAM: Florida Marlins fWAR: 13.9 RANK: 8 ERA: 3.76 RANK: 4 YEAR: 1998 TEAM: New York Yankees fWAR: 18.4 RANK: 2 ERA: 3.85 RANK: 6
Read moreHow do they do compare to the rest of the Majors? I started the list in 2094. YEAR: 2004 TEAM: Boston Red Sox fWAR: 2.4 RANK: 16 ERA: 3.92 RANK: 20 YEAR: 2005 TEAM: Chicago White Sox fWAR: 4.6 RANK: 2 ERA: 3.23 RANK: 3 YEAR: 2006 TEAM: St. Louis Cardinals fWAR: 1.2 RANK: 22 ERA: 4.06 RANK: 14 YEAR:
Read moreThe Boston Red Sox didn’t expect to be in this position in August and neither did the New York Mets. Boston won the World Series last season, so the expectations were that they would at least be in contention for it again this season. The Mets weren’t necessarily expected to contend, but after their offseason moves were supposed to be
Read moreLet’s look at the closer situations around the Majors. I’m going to be using a color system, “red” means that there is a likely closer change or a very unstable situation; “orange” means that there are warning signs; “green” means that there isn’t likely to be any change at closer. AL AL EAST TEAM: New York Yankees CLOSER: Aroldis Chapman
Read moreA lot has been said about how teams were unusually quiet in the pursuit of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. I wasn’t too surprised however, Harper had been maddeningly inconsistent throughout his career and Machado was a very good but not great player, that was expecting to be paid as if he was the former. We’re now at the All-Star
Read moreEntering the season, the expectations were that the Cleveland Indians would rather easily win the division for the fourth straight year. The Kansas City Royals, the Chicago White Sox, and the Detroit Tigers were rebuilding teams not expected to be competitive, and the Minnesota Twins were expected to at best be Wild Card contenders and at worst a .500 team.
Read moreAL EAST NEW YORK YANKEES The Bronx Bombers need health and that’s the most important thing. The returns of James Paxton, Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Aaron Hicks and Didi Gregorius should be enough to give them the best chance possible at winning the World Series. TAMPA BAY RAYS Tampa could use another top of the rotation starter, especially with inning
Read moreCody Bellinger had become the buzz of the game. It seems that many fans and fantasy players are under the impression that Bellinger has ascended to an elite status and is the favorite for the NL MVP. It’s a shock, considering how before this season he looked like a strikeout heavy slugger who may or may not have peaked during
Read moreThe Atlanta Braves pilled off another steal of an extension. First they extended Ronald Acuna Jr. and now they extended Ozzie Albies. Barring injuries or steep declines, these were steals that imply that these players either love the city and/or team, didn’t think it through or need new agents.
Read moreFirst, let’s get the extensions out of the way. Mike Trout has all but signed an extension with the LA Angels. I don’t understand it at all. He could’ve made MILLIONS more on the open market, received lucrative endorsement deals for signing with a popular team and put himself in a better spot to win a World Series. This was
Read moreThe Atlanta Braves just won the spree of extensions around the Majors. They locked up one of the best young players in the game at what looks to be a bargain deal.
Read moreIt’s that time of year again, who will win each division? Who will win the pennants? Who will win the World Series? I usually get most of my predictions right, but I’m making some surprising picks so who knows this year. AL EAST 1. NEW YORK YANKEES There are some question marks with the health of the rotation, but the
Read moreFirst, let’s get the extensions out of the way. Mike Trout has all but signed an extension with the LA Angels. I don’t understand it at all. He could’ve made MILLIONS more on the open market, received lucrative endorsement deals for signing with a popular team and put himself in a better spot to win a World Series. This was
Read moreLet’s look at Exit Velocity and Hard Hit% ratings from Baseball Savant along with XBA and XSLG from 2018 to see which hitters could break out, and which will likely be busts. 1. 3B ALEX BREGMAN, 3B HOU EXIT VELOCITY RATING: Above Average HARD HIT% RATING: Above Average XBA: .268 XSLG: .463 VERDICT: Last season was an outlier and not
Read morePhoto courtesy of Google Images. Let me preface this by saying that I hold no ill will for the city of Philadelphia or the Philadelphia Phillies. They built a good team over the last few years, and should be in contention this season. I don’t think that it’s “bad” for anyone to sign with them, and this article is not
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