On Deck Circle 6/23/17: Who's Real and Who's Fake?

By Pat Luhta, @PLuhta


The MLB season is quickly approaching the halfway point, teams are hitting the 70 game mark on the season. Right now, there is still a ton of sorting to be done among the top of the division and it can turn quickly one way or the other for any team. There are even teams out there that may win their division and make the playoffs, but will be overmatched and aren't truly made of championship material.

It's time to predict which current contending teams are actually real and will remain in contention and be considered a World Series team, and which ones are fake and will eventually fall off, whether it's before the end of the season or if they manage to make the playoffs. Here's a breakdown of the division leaders and contenders and if they are here to stay or if they are fool's gold.


AL EAST

New York Yankees - REAL: It took everyone a little while to start believing that this team has staying power but the Yankees seem to be back. Their offense, led by Aaron Judge, is exploding this year and if Judge, along with Gary Sanchez, Starlin Castro and others, can keep this up then they have what it takes to remain the division leaders. Their pitching is also looking real good, Luis Severino and C.C. Sabathia (no, you're not seeing things) are having good seasons and what's scary about their staff is that Masahiro Tanaka has not been good. If he turns it around a bit then there's no telling what this team is capable of. They have hit a little bit of a slump lately, but nothing to worry about long-term as this team is for real.


Boston Red Sox - REAL: This team has it all and may end up being the team to beat in the American League. Betts, Bogaerts and Benintendi make a powerful triple threat on offense that is making up for the loss of David Ortiz and Chris Sale has been worth every little bit of the trade so far as he has been their ace pitcher. In order for the Red Sox to become that team to beat though, they will need David Price to fully return to form as right now they really do not have a solid #2 starter behind Sale. Still though, the Red Sox are a team that will be in contention all season long.


Tampa Bay Rays - FAKE: The Rays are currently hanging on in the wild card hunt, but I don't see it lasting too much longer. With a slew of teams right behind them and if they fall out just a little bit then expect them to be seller's at the deadline. I'm not counting them completely out, their offense may provide enough to keep them in it, but Chris Archer will again be a hot commodity at the trade deadline and the Rays end up dealing him this year.



AL CENTRAL

Cleveland Indians - REAL: I've been saying for a month now that the Indians are just working things out and they will be fine. Sure enough, they have seemingly turned that corner are now in 1st place in the division. Edwin Encarnacion is crushing the ball after a very slow start to the season and after a brief DL stint, Corey Kluber is looking like his Cy Young form. This is the team that made the World Series last season, they are definitely for real.


Minnesota Twins - FAKE: The Twins had the luxury of the Indians starting off sluggish, so they did what they could to gain a lead in the division. While Brian Dozier and Miguel Sano have been bright spots in the lineup and Jose Berrios looks like a future ace, their playoff hopes seem about up. Put it this way, when a team has over -40 run differential and ranks 28th in team ERA, there's no chance to sustain a first place lead or make up ground on the wild card spots. Because of that, I have to call the Twins as fake.



AL WEST

Houston Astros - REAL: I'm honestly not sure how anyone could consider this team to be fake, they are as real of a team as it gets. They have the best record in the entire MLB, Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve are both legitimate MVP candidates and their pitching is in the top 5 in a majority of stats. There isn't much else to say, this team is for real and the current favorite to win the World Series.



NL EAST

Washington Nationals - REAL: Even though they are going to win their division and have one of the best records in the league, this was tough for me to choose. Don't get me wrong, on paper they are definitely legit and have what it takes to win the NL, but they use their starting pitching so much that there's a decent chance the wear and tear down the stretch could lead to another 1st round exit. But ultimately, I have to go with the Nationals being real, they have everything it takes so can't call them anything but solely based on a hypothetical that their pitching will eventually breakdown. I don't have high hopes for their playoff run, but this team is for real.



NL CENTRAL

Milwaukee Brewers - FAKE: Let me start by saying that the Brewers are fake, for now. They are beginning to prove themselves and win me over, but I'm just not ready to jump all in on them right now. They are just so middle of the road in many team categories, and both batting and pitching and are being led by some unlikely players. While Eric Thames and Chase Anderson have been real good stories, are we 100% sure that they will keep this going all season long? They just have very little margin for error, and while they likely will win the division, it's still too soon to buy them as a real threat.

Chicago Cubs - FAKE: What? The defending World Series champs are fake this season? At first I thought it was just a little lack of motivation after winning it all last year, that they'd shrug it off and turn it up, but this team has some serious holes that do not look fixable. Their offense is just lacking, Anthony Rizzo being the only player that's really living up to his norm this season. They are 29th in batting average, 18th in On Base %, 19th in OPS, 17th in runs and 29th in stolen bases, all the makings of a pretty subpar offense overall. Their pitching isn't much better, with only 1 starting pitcher (Jon Lester) with an ERA under 4. This goes beyond just a "championship hangover" and are real issues that makes this alarming. They need to win the division in order to even make the playoffs thanks to the 3 teams in the NL West and with these problems, don't be surprised if they miss out on the postseason.



NL WEST

Los Angeles Dodgers - REAL: What if I told you at the start of the season that the offensive MVP of the team would be Cody Bellinger and the Cy Young of the team would be Alex Wood? Bellinger started the season in triple A and the Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw, but sure enough, those two are leading the way for the Dodgers. Bellinger leads the entire NL in home runs despite not being called up until April 25th, add him to a lineup that already has Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig and Adrian Gonzalez and there's reason why this team is one of the best statistical offenses in the league. Kershaw is still typical Kershaw,(10-2 2.60 ERA, 115 K's) but Alex Wood has just been that much better this season. Wood is 7-0, 1.90 ERA and 72K's in 12 games this season, he's a legitimate 2nd ace on the team. With the offense as good as it is and the pitching being top notch(including Kenley Jansen being 15/15 in saves with 50 K's and zero walks), this team is for real.

Colorado Rockies - REAL: The Rockies having a good offense is nothing new, the friendly atmosphere in Denver will always give them a boost in numbers. But this offense has some serious talent and the offensive numbers can't be blamed on the thin air in Denver. Charlie Blackmon may be the best CF in the NL(McCutcheon isn't ready to give that crown up just yet), Nolan Arenado is a star 3B with ridiculous HR ability and Mark Reynolds is having a career renaissance. Their starting pitching isn't great, but their bullpen has been exceptional this year. Greg Holland leads the league in saves as Adam Ottavino sets the table for him, a top 5 offense with a shut down bullpen is a perfect way to mask any issues with the starting pitching. And we're still a month away from the trade deadline, do not be surprised if the Rockies go for Chris Archer or Jose Quintana to help the starting rotation. Rockies are a playoff team that can contend with any team in the MLB, this team is for real.

Arizona Diamondbacks - REAL: I have been hesitant to call them real all season so far, but can't deny what this team is doing and any team that is circling around +100 in run differential needs to be taken seriously. Paul Goldschmidt leads the way for an offense that is also one of the best in the league(it's an NL West thing), with Jake Lamb, Chris Owings and Brandon Drury also providing a ton of pop off the bat. This team last trade deadline was looking to be sellers and the main guy they were looking to unload was SP Zack Greinke. In his first of a 6 year 205 million dollar deal with the Diamondbacks, Greinke underperformed and the team was looking to give up on him, and it's a good thing for them that they didn't. Greinke has returned to All-Star form, 8-4 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, he's also struck out 111 batters while only walking 19. Robbie Ray has also been a solid starter for them and Fernando Rodney has been a perfect 20/20 in save opportunities this season. The NL West will be such a fun race the rest of the season and its a shame that 2 of these 3 teams will have to play in the 1 game wildcard playoff. Not sure who the best of the 3 are, but Arizona has a good of a claim to being the best as any.

On Deck Circle 5/8/17: Sports and Fan Behavior

By Pat Luhta, @PLuhta


By now, everyone has heard of what happened at Fenway Park a few days ago. During a game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox, Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said that he had racial slurs and peanuts thrown at him during the game by fans. This has become a hot topic ever since, between fans going too far and the problems the city of Boston still has with racism and many other conversations that all stem from what happened.

This is not just an isolated incident either, Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia said that it’s commonly known by black players to expect racial slurs whenever they play at Fenway park. And it’s not an isolated incident in the broad spectrum of sports either, this doesn’t happen just in Boston and just in baseball, it’s a fan problem across all sports with some places being worse than others.

What I found so interesting, or confusing really, is whenever there is an incident of fans going too far, there’s a good amount of fans that come to their defense. They have certain cliché responses to deflect the severity of the situation, making it seem almost ok that this occurred. Take this instance in Boston for example, there were way too many people pointing the finger elsewhere or saying “I don’t condone what happened, but…” followed by some excuse as to why this might’ve happened. It’s become somewhat of a defense mechanism, deflect the problem at hand and talk about the surroundings of it instead, place blame elsewhere even.

Fans sometimes cross the line, and when that happens, full blame should go to the responsible party with no add-on’s to diminish what occurred. It gets to a point where people seem more upset that fans are being called out than they are upset about what the fans said or did, which is completely backwards. There is no “but” or “well” when dealing with racism, throwing things at players, hurling deep personal insults at them or even running onto the field/court, once it gets to that point it’s not about anything other than what the fans did.

But again, there’s always those excuses. So let’s go ahead and talk about those here and discuss why these excuses really have no validity. From blaming the players to blaming alcohol to bringing up our constitution, we’ll run down the major excuses and debunk them all.

1. “They bought a ticket to the game” – This is the oldest one in the book, fans thinking that purchasing a ticket gives them free reign to do whatever they want. Buying a ticket guarantees one thing and one thing only, that the seat they are assigned to will be available to them. That’s it, there’s no fine print that says “drink as much as you want, swear as much as you want, throw things, yell profanities, and get in fights”, none of that is offered with a ticket. I’m not saying that fans shouldn’t cheer or boo or have any sort of fun, but when it crosses the line, that ticket isn’t a free card to use in order to excuse all behavior. At the beginning of the game, there is always an announcement and sign up on the jumbotron about what is deemed as inexcusable behavior and that can result in being escorted off the premises. Follow those rules and there will be no issues, do not follow them and there’s a problem that “but I bought a ticket” won’t save anyone from.


2. “Look at what the players did” – Classic example of “victim blaming” going on here whenever the players become an at fault party. Players, in the eyes of some fans, should be held to a higher standard. They are the ones that need to have the cooler heads, they are the ones that shouldn’t provoke it, they are the ones that should turn the other cheek, and the ever popular “without us, they wouldn’t be making millions of dollars to play a game” line that fans feel they deserve ultimate respect over. Some fans think of players in the gladiator mindset, where their sole purpose is merely to entertain us. But these players are human with real emotions, and sometimes when fans go too far, they let those emotions take over and we always need to remember that their actions are the effect and not the cause.

Throw a beer and Ron Artest might come into the stands to choke the guy out, call Marcus Smart the N word and he might shove the fan for it, and many other examples of players that reacted to a fan or group of fans that crossed a boundary. Blaming the players for their involvement in these occurrences is like questioning a sexual assault victim on what they could have done differently to prevent it. "If Adam Jones wasn't showboating..." is not an acceptable reason for shouting racial slurs at him, because there is no acceptable reason for that. So let's stop trying to place blame on the victim here and focus on what the fans did instead.


3. "We have the 1st amendment though, so they are allowed to say it" - Bringing up the constitution is a very cliche statement whenever there's an issue with verbal abuse, so I will use a cliche here as well and say "freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences." The 1st amendment grants us a right to speak freely without it being a crime, words (non-threatening) are not a punishable offense and no one will be handcuffed and tossed in the slammer for simply talking. So while the 1st amendment protects people from oppression, it doesn't protect anyone from the potential punishment elsewhere. People have lost their jobs over saying the wrong thing, people have been banned from places for saying the wrong thing, people have lost relationships over the saying the wrong thing, so there's plenty of things that could still happen despite having the freedom of speech. So fans deserve the blame and the judgment from others for saying the wrong thing regardless if they are allowed to say it, because being allowed to say it doesn't mean it should be said.

4. "All fanbases have these fans" - While true, this statement makes it seem like there's no real problem since it happens everywhere, minimizing the severity of the situation. Just because it happens elsewhere doesn't mean it's something to just blow off or think it's acceptable, this is a problem and all places need to cut that behavior out. So if focus is on fanbase for a certain incident, it's not an excuse to say "well, other places do the same!", instead it's about accepting that what happened was a problem and it's about being better than the other places and not stooping down there. Fan behavior across the board needs to be better, but when a certain incident gains national attention then it needs to be the main focus without getting defensive or brushing it off as "just thing that fans do." The defensive part is what really gets me, where fans seem to get more upset that these issues are being brought up and discussed rather than being upset that it took place to begin with. Just remember that whenever these incidents are brought up that it's a good thing and continuing dialogue to help put an end to these ugly incidents are what should be everyone's main goal.

5. "It's because they were drinking" - The age old "just blame it on the alcohol" excuse here. Alcohol definitely has a tendency to bring out characteristics in people that are very unlike their normal personality, and sometimes these fans behave in such a way due to the amount of alcohol that they've consumed. So while "this person would never shout those things at a player" and "they would never get so upset that they'd throw things" may be true and it was the alcohol, let's remember that it's a choice to drink. The majority of fans seem to have no problem with either not drinking or knowing their limits and only having a few while watching the game, there should be no passes given to those that go overboard and end up doing something ridiculously dumb. Fans that choose to indulge a little too much put themselves in that position, and they have to take blame and face whatever they have coming for the choice to drink excessively. No sympathy or validity should be given to fans that act horribly at games just because they decided to have too much to drink, that cop out shouldn't fly in these situations.

6. "I've been to tons of games, never heard or saw these actions" - This is basically saying "Since I didn't see it then it didn't happen", like the players were lying about the things that have been said to them. Put it this way, a person is in a section in a very loud stadium, there's no possible way that anyone can hear the entire stadium and what everyone else is shouting. Just because it's not heard by everyone or someone didn't hear it, doesn't mean that it didn't happen. Again, we're back to fans being defensive over the incidents and using "well I didn't hear it" is just a way to deflect from the situation at hand. When situations like the one in Boston occurs, it's best to either side with the players in this case or at least let it play out, immediately going to "well I've never heard anything like that" is just discrediting what happened.

These are the few main excuses that some people will give whenever fans go overboard and they look for reasons to excuse the fans' behavior. As you can see though, each of those excuses really doesn't have much validity overall and it's mainly a way to just get away from the actual problem. In future, let's go to what needs to be done to really stop these incidents with fans first and make necessary changes instead of immediately going to the fans' defense and maybe we will have less and less of these incidents going forward.

2017 MLB Preview: The Odyssey Starts Again

By Alex Hale, @ThatCLESportGuy

When you walk outside right now, the temperature isn’t freezing cold, but it isn’t blazing hot.  It’s that temperature right in the middle and you can smell that it is finally Spring.  That can only mean one thing, it’s Baseball season once again.  We had an unforgettable 2016 season that saw the Chicago Cubs finally end their 108 year drought beating the upstart Cleveland Indians for the World Series crown.  It would be tough to top last year, but 2017 looks like it could do that and then some and we’re going to break down what I think is going to happen this season.  Like last year we’re going to do this division by division giving out our projections for the 2017 season.  We’ll also be projecting who I think is going to win your major awards along with my dark horse picks.  So I think it’s time to play ball now!


NL East
1. Washington Nationals
2. New York Mets
3. Florida Marlins
4. Atlanta Braves
5. Philadelphia Phillies

This could be considered as one of the most interesting divisions in all of baseball.  The Washington Nationals clearly are still the favorites for the divisional crown.  One would expect that Bryce Harper to have a bounce back year and regain his MVP form in 2017.  On top of that, they still have a dominant front end of the rotation.  What concerns me is their bullpen especially with the fact that they failed to address the closer spot in the offseason.  This would make one thing that might be a target for them at the deadline.  When it comes to the Mets, everything really comes down to the dominance of their starting rotation.  We all know Noah Syndergaard and Jacob DeGrom will carry them, but it’s the continued development of Steven Matz that will truly carry the Mets back to the World Series.  While I have some concerns about their offense, Yoenis Cespedes is a major force in the lineup that has always balanced out everything.  The Marlins head into the year with a heavy heart still grieving over the tragic loss of Jose Fernandez.  The Marlins have a potentially potent offense led by Giancarlo Stanton.  The emergence of Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna shows the Marlins have that going for them.  Although the rotation is a mess and their bullpen is about average.  The Braves dived into their rebuild and are slowly starting to turn it around with one of the deepest farm systems in baseball that is finding its way into the Majors now.  Led by top prospect SS Dansby Swanson, the future looks extremely bright in Atlanta especially in their brand new Sun Trust Stadium.  For the fighting Phillies, the franchise is a mess with only a few things to get excited about.  They are mostly consisted of mediocre players and prospects that are talented but not close to major league ready.  With the way the division is trending I would expect the Phillies near the bottom of the division for the foreseeable future.


NL Central
1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Cincinnati Reds

The NL Central might be the most talented division in Major League Baseball.  While it’s a true statement, it’s telling that the Cubs are just on a completely different level as a team.  Stacked with talent all over the lineup and with NL MVP Kris Bryant leading the way and Kyle Schwarber expected to play a full season now, they should run away with the division.  The Cardinals always find a way to compete near the top of the standings, although they aren’t as good as they’ve been in previous years.  Their lineup is very well balanced and should be able to put up a lot of runs.  Their rotation seems to be a concern as it isn’t the same as what it was 4-5 years ago, plus they lost prized prospect SP Alex Reyes who was supposed to make a huge rookie impact in their rotation this year.  In the steel city, the Pirates are heading towards a crossroads.  Without question the Pirates have the talent to make a run, but are they in a position to do it in 2017?  They have Gerrit Cole as the ace of their staff and finally are starting to see the results of SP Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow who were prized prospects over the past few years.  Their offense can put up a lot of runs led by Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Andrew McCutcheon.  They have a few young players still on the way in 1B Josh Bell who could really provide another big bat for their lineup.  The Pirates will make noise eventually, just maybe in 2018 instead of 2017.  The Brew Crew of Milwaukee have started their rebuilding process and are starting to amass a nice collection of young and promising talent.  For their big league team they still have Ryan Braun, but one would expect them to trade him at the trading deadline.  They could embrace the rebuilding process but they truly can’t do that until they move Ryan Braun.  The Cincinnati Reds are quite possibly the most interesting team in the division as they already have a bad team that definitely needs a complete rebuild.  They have Joey Votto and Adam Duvall as trade pieces, but I don’t foresee them making those moves this year.  The best teams know when it’s time to rebuild.  The Reds don’t seem to have a direction to go in and that’s going to hurt them in the present and the future.


NL West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Arizona Diamondbacks
5. San Diego Padres

When it comes to the NL West, it still runs through Dodger Stadium and the Los Angeles Dodgers.  With their deep farm system that continues to develop great talent and almost an unlimited checkbook that can retain and acquire new talent, the Dodgers aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.  Plus they got that Clayton Kershaw guy who I’ve heard is really good.  The Giants have a very strong rotation led by Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto.  They also added a shutdown closer in Mark Melancon to solidify the bullpen.  They have a solid offense, but not one that blows you away.  Without question though, the Giants remain a sleeper for the NL Pennant and will definitely be fighting for the NL West crown or at least the NL Wild Card.  The Rockies are a team that is ready to make a major move in the NL West.  While they lost their big Free Agent acquisition in Ian Desmond for the first few months of the season, he should return and be another big bat in a lineup that features Carlos Gonzalez, Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon, and Nolan Arenado.  Their pitching staff continues to be a bit of a concern and I’d love for them to enter the Jose Quintana sweepstakes at the Trade Deadline if they’re in the mix.  Down in the desert in Arizona, the Diamondbacks were expected to be a big player last year after major moves.  They now are a team with the hope of making a playoff run, but no real direction.  They have some nice young arms in their rotation that is led by veteran Zack Greinke.  On top of that they have AJ Pollack and Paul Goldschmidt leading their lineup as two of the most under appreciated talents in baseball.  It may mostly be sunny in San Diego, but the future of the franchise looks cloudy.  They are trying to rebuild the franchise, but it doesn’t look like there’s much young talent ready to go right now.  They have depth in the lower levels of the Minor Leagues, but they’re going to be in the basement of the NL West standings for the next 2-3 years.


AL East
1. Boston Red Sox
2. Baltimore Orioles
3. New York Yankees
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Tampa Bay Rays

After the addition of Chris Sale, the Boston Red Sox clearly become the favorites in the AL East.  Although they lost David Ortiz this past year due to retirement, they have a very promising young offense led by MVP runner up Mookie Betts who quickly is becoming one of the best players in baseball.  The rest of the division you could easily put it all up in the air.  I would give the slightest edge to the Orioles finishing in second.  The Orioles still have a talented offense, a shutdown bullpen, and I was impressed with the development of Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy last year.  If they can get consistency from the rest of their rotation, I could see them once again contending for an AL Wild Card spot.  When it comes to the Yankees I’m really liking what they’re up to.  They have a lot of young talent slowly making its way up their farm system.  The Yankees have a great bullpen to go with a strong top of their starting rotation.  With Gary Sanchez coming back for a second year and Greg Bird coming back from injury their offense looks to have a lot of upside.  The future looks extremely bright in the Bronx.  Toronto lost a major piece of their lineup in Edwin Encarnacion and are betting on guys like Kendrys Morales and Steve Pearce to pick up the slack.  They have a very underrated rotation led by Aaron Sanchez and an okay bullpen.  Unfortunately the rest of the division is much stronger and one would expect after losing Encarnacion for the Blue Jays to take a major step back.  Tampa Bay is the one team you can never predict where they’re going to finish.  They always have the most underrated talent and looking at their roster, they could very well be a major surprise once again.  Anytime you have Chris Archer leading your rotation and Evan Longoria as your clubhouse leader, you will at least have a chance.


AL Central
1. Cleveland Indians
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Chicago White Sox

Without question this is probably the easiest division to call this year.  After the additions of Edwin Encarnacion and Boone Logan, plus the return of Michael Brantley, the Indians are head and shoulders above everyone else in the American League Central.  With their strong starting rotation and a budding superstar in Francisco Lindor the Indians should run away with the division this year.  The Tigers should be the Indians biggest threat this year with a solid veteran team that has the potential to fight for a Wild Card spot.  With 2016 Cy Young runner up Justin Verlander, plus a lineup lead by a still potent Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers wouldn’t stun me making a playoff push.  The Kansas City Royals enter the year at a crossroads, with the tragedy of losing Yordano Ventura, who was the future of that rotation, the Royals must rely on Danny Duffy to lead the staff along with veterans like Ian Kennedy.  On top of that, the Royals bullpen has been completely redone leaving only Kelvin Herrera as the last piece of their feared 3 headed monster for late in the game.  Add with the fact that part of their core is in the last year of their contracts (Moustakas, Hosmer) it might be time for the Royals to retool for hopefully a quick turn around.  When it comes to the Twins, they went from a potential breakout 2015 season to being the worst team in baseball in 2016.  Their entire pitching staff is suspect and even the lineup has question marks.  While I’m betting on the continued growth of Miguel Sano and hopefully Byron Buxton, the Twins still are a mess and need to figure out what direction they’re going in soon.  As for the White Sox, the rebuild has begun and it’s going to continue throughout the season.  They did an amazing job getting huge hauls for CF Adam Eaton and SP Chris Sale and will be a major player in the AL Central in the future.  With Jose Quintana and David Robertson still on the roster and potential major Trade Deadline pieces, expect a lot of growing pains for the young players and the veterans to be shopped around at the deadline to give the future of the franchise as much playing time as possible.


AL West
1. Texas Rangers
2. Houston Astros
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Los Angeles Angels
5. Oakland A’s

In the AL West, it’s going to be a dogfight between Texas and Houston for the AL West crown.  I really like the front of the Rangers rotation with Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels with their solid bullpen that gives them an edge over the Astros.  On top of that the Rangers have an strong lineup that will cause problems for opponents.  When it comes to the Astros, they really need Dallas Kuechel to rebound and return to his Cy Young form from 2015.  I would say their lineup is one of the best in all of baseball and their bullpen is underrated.  They are a clear favorite for a Wild Card spot.  The Mariners continue to be a curious case as there’s plenty of talent there, but they can’t put it together.  They traded Taijuan Walker to get Jean Segura to bolster the offense.  The Mariners though are not even close to the same level as the Rangers or the Astros to really make a strong run at the playoffs.  The Angels always will win games because they have Mike Trout but they are so erratic and also injury prone with their pitchers you can’t trust them to do much better than 4th place.  Oakland is once again trying to put the pieces together in their rebuilding process.  They have some young exciting talent to build on, but still are 2-3 years away from really making any noise in the AL West.


MLB Playoff Predictions

NL Wild Cards: San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals
AL Wild Cards: Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers

NL Wild Card Game: San Francisco Giants over St. Louis Cardinals

In a matchup between Madison Bumgarner and Carlos Martinez, the Giants have the clear edge with Bumgarner, who have not forgotten the heartbreak of last year and want to face the Cubs again.  The Cardinals would put up a good fight, but Bumgarner’s clutch ability as a playoff starter will be too much.

AL Wild Card Game: Houston Astros over Detroit Tigers

The Tigers will have the more experienced starter in Justin Verlander here, but Dallas Kuechel will continue a strong bounce back year by going 7 strong innings and the lethal Astros lineup eventually gets to Verlander boosting them past the Tigers 

NL Divisional Series: Chicago Cubs over San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers over Washington Nationals

In rematches from last year’s NL Divisional Round, the same results will come of that this year.  The Cubs offense and strong overall pitching staff will be enough to get by the Giants.  As for the Dodgers, unless the Nationals eventually can fill that closer’s spot sometime during the year, the Dodgers will have no problems taking down the Nationals again.

AL Divisional Series: Houston Astros over Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians over Texas Rangers

Houston’s offense is too much for the Red Sox, especially with the Red Sox rotation a little skeptical after Chris Sale.  Houston wins the series in 5 games backed by Dallas Kuechel winning 2 games.  The Indians take care of the Rangers in 4 games thanks to outstanding pitching and timely hitting by Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Brantley.  Also Jonathan Lucroy admits his mistake to turn down the Indians after the series loss.

NLCS: Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Chicago Cubs
Sweet revenge for the Dodgers in 2017 as the Dodgers really suffered through injuries in 2016 that really effected the Dodgers against the Cubs.  As long as they stay healthy, the Dodgers will be an extremely big threat for the Cubs as long as they can get enough out of their bullpen.  The Cubs are extremely talented, but I think the bitter taste in the Dodgers mouth from 2016 will push them past the Cubs and finally puts Clayton Kershaw into the World Series.

ALCS: Cleveland Indians defeat Houston Astros
This is a matchup nightmare if you’re an Indians fan.  The Astros have a lethal lineup and if they can get just enough pitching can be a matchup nightmare for the Tribe.  This could potentially be a classic 7 game series if the Astros can get the pitching.  As it stands now I would give the Indians the edge over the Astros because of their overall pitching from Rotation to Bullpen.  The Indians should have enough offense as well to counter the Astros lineup as well, putting the Indians back in the World Series

World Series: Cleveland Indians defeat Los Angeles Dodgers
The more I debated over this, the more I kept coming up with the Indians.  History has shown us recently in Baseball that the team with the biggest chip on their shoulder in that season is most likely going to win the World Series.  For the Indians, they match up extremely well with the Dodgers and would cause headaches for them.  As long as the Indians can get to Kershaw once, it’s over.  This isn’t what you call a, “homer” pick, this is going by recent trends of World Series champions and seeing the Indians have made the moves to position themselves to get back here.  The Indians finally win their first World Series in 69 years in 2017.


2017 AWARDS

NL MVP- OF Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals- Last year was a down year for Harper who will need to prove last year’s struggles were a fluke.  Harper is a perfectionist as a player and will strive to be the absolute best he can possibly be.  It also should be mentioned that the Nationals will only go as far as Harper will take them.  While it would be the easy thing to pick Kris Bryant or even Corey Saeger, but I’m going to go with the rebound season for Harper who has all the talent in the world to not just win this award, but be the clear cut MVP in a potential race that looks to be stacked with talent.

NL MVP Darkhorse- 3B Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies- The Rockies have looked to be on the rise for the past few years and it’s because of Nolan Arenado.  Arenado is a Gold Glove 3B, but is one of the most productive hitters in baseball.  Most may say that his numbers are inflated because he plays at Coors Field, I disagree.  Arenado is a special hitter who can hit for average and for power and most importantly just knows how to drive in runs.  If the Rockies take that next step, it will be in part to this guy and would definitely be in strong consideration of the MVP.

AL MVP- OF Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox- Last year I was considering Mookie Betts as my dark horse and honestly I feel he should’ve been the MVP last year.  Mookie has quickly developed into one of the most gifted players in the American League.  He can do it all and potentially could be the next 40-40 player.  On top of that he showed last year during the regular season he has that clutch gene to take over for David Ortiz.  The Red Sox will rely on Betts to fill that void and take the next step and the way he’s developed, I’m not questioning how good he’s going to be.

AL MVP Darkhorse- SS Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians- The Cleveland Indians haven’t had an MVP winner in 64 years the last being 3B Al Rosen (although Albert Belle should’ve won in 1995), that might change in 2017.  Francisco Lindor has turned into one of the faces of the game itself with his talent with his glove and bat, but more importantly his energy and love for the game.  Frankie is going to take his game to another level in 2017 and be the leader of the Indians in every aspect of the game.


NL Cy Young- SP Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers- Okay…IF he stays healthy, should I really pick anyone else?  Nope…next!

NL Cy Young Darkhorse- SP Carlos Martinez, St. Louis Cardinals- We all talk about the Max Scherzer’s, the Clayton Kershaw’s, the Madison Bumgarner’s and even the Gerrit Cole’s.  Carlos Martinez seems to be a quiet rising star in the pack with dominant stuff that has gotten him a 30-16 record over the past 2 seasons.  If the Cardinals are going to even make the Wild Card game, Martinez is going to have to become a Cy Young candidate this year.

AL Cy Young- SP Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox- If Chris Sale had pitched the whole year, there probably was a good chance even on the White Sox he would run away with the Cy Young.  As long as he stays healthy, with the Red Sox he could almost be a lock for 20 wins, 2.50 ERA and 200 Ks which would almost certainly get him a Cy Young.

AL Cy Young Darkhorse- SP Danny Salazar, Cleveland Indians- Salazar was my dark horse pick last year and if it wasn’t for his mid-season struggles and injury, people don’t realize how locked in he was for a time.  Salazar can be downright dominant as a starter and is finally mastering how to utilize his outstanding changeup to get guys out.  As long as he can stay healthy all year, with his stuff, I ain’t doubting what he could do.

NL Rookie of the Year- SS Dansby Swanson, Atlanta Braves- Swanson is going to get the playing time in Atlanta and showed in September why he was such a coveted prospect.  I really cannot see anyone else catching this guy.  A 5 tool talent at a prime position, Swanson will establish himself as the future of the Braves this year.

NL Rookie of the Year Darkhorse- CF Lewis Brinson, Milwaukee Brewers- Much like Swanson, Brinson is going to get a lot of playing time this year on a rebuilding Milwaukee team.  Brinson compared to Swanson might have the higher ceiling for what he’s capable of.  He has more power than Swanson and I’d say he slightly edges him in baserunning.  The question is he’s dominated the minors and we’ve seen nothing in the majors, unlike Swanson.  Will Brinson put it all together to give Swanson a run for his money?

AL Rookie of the Year- 2B Yoan Moncada, Chicago White Sox- Without question this is my pick.  Okay we could go with Andrew Beninendi of the Red Sox, but Moncada is going to be a star and the White Sox are going to roll with him in the majors to help get a head start on their rebuild.  Moncada has been touted as the most talented prospect in baseball who can do it all.  Some are already proclaiming him as one of baseball’s biggest future stars.  The White Sox will give him the time in the majors immediately and I don’t see him letting them down.  The upside and pure talent easily puts him past everyone else.

AL Rookie of the Year Darkhorse- OF Bradley Zimmer, Cleveland Indians- Although Zimmer was sent down to the Minors to begin the year, Zimmer has 5 tool ability and if he gets a June call-up I won’t be stunned if he tore up the Majors from what I saw in Spring Training.  The big question would be if there is already a Rookie of the Year standout by the time he arrives.  That’s never a given and a lot of things have to fall into place, but Zimmer has a great opportunity if the cards fall his way.


In 2016 we truly learned anything was possible in the game of baseball and that it truly is a 6 month journey to determine a World Champion.  What 2017 promises to be is a season where the fans will remember why Baseball is the greatest sport of them all.  The game finally has some fresh faces on teams that normally aren’t your typical teams with the icons of the game.  The game always changes, but the moments never go away.  For those who say they will wait until the All-Star Break, you’re missing out because this year I wouldn’t miss a single day in what promises to be a memorable year in baseball.

MLB Playoff Preview 2016: The Beauty of October #PostSeason

By Alex Hale, @ThatCLESportGuy


At long last the 6 month marathon of Baseball’s Regular Season has finally come to a close and the Playoffs are about to start.  In a season that was full of surprises, disappointments, close races and sadly tragedy, October Baseball has arrived.  Already numerous writers have made their predictions and it would only be fitting that I chime in.  Going back as early as 2001, I’ve been able to predict multiple World Series winners and surprise runs.  The way I’ve always predicted is simple, which team is the closest unit and which team wants it more.

It’s never been about the talent for me, as we’ve seen that you can have all the talent you want, it won’t necessarily mean you will win a World Series.  It’s not even about which team is hot down the stretch as we’ve seen the Yankees of 2000 have a horrible September, yet won the World Series and the 2013 Indians win their last 10 game to get in, only to lose 4-0 to the Rays in the Wild Card game.  What’s great about the playoff teams we have now is that all of them are so different.  From the nitty gritty teams like the Indians and Giants to the uber talented teams like the Red Sox and Cubs, we’ve got almost every kind of team in the playoffs this year.  So with that said, let’s go into my predictions for the MLB Playoffs.



AL Wild Card Game- Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles

This is a phenomenal matchup of two divisional foes with fairly similar teams.  Both are led by outstanding offensive lineups and very good bullpens.  The big potential mismatch could be in the starting rotation.  The Blue Jays went with their ace SP Aaron Sanchez in the Regular Season finale against Boston and will probably rely on veteran Francisco Liriano (who was brought over in a shrewd MLB Trade Deadline move).  Baltimore is a different story.  As noted from the beginning of the year, the Orioles have a boom or bust rotation.  The question is who goes in this one game playoff?  I think they’ll go with Ubaldo Jimenez or Chris Tillman.  As long as Baltimore can shut down the Blue Jays bats into the 8th and 9th, Baltimore will go to Cy Young candidate closer Zach Britton to finish them off.  But, the reality is a boom or bust rotation never works in a 1 game playoff.  Toronto was forced to beat Boston in the last series to get here and will have the home field advantage.  With Manager John Gibbons potentially fighting for his job, the Blue Jays will come out ready to go to a loud Toronto crowd.  Jose Bautista comes through in the clutch in the middle innings to put Toronto over the top and advance.

Pick- Toronto Blue Jays


NL Wild Card Game- New York Mets vs. San Francisco Giants

This matchup was made for the NL Wild Card Game.  As it stands, it looks like Madison Bumgarner vs. Noah Syndergaard…WOW.  The Mets a month ago looked to be on the outside looking in, but have played their way into this game.  As for the Giants…well it’s an even year, we all know what that means.  If Bumgarner is going for the Giants, I would give a distinct advantage to the Giants for his previous big game performances.  The Giants don’t have one big time bat like the Mets do with Yoenis Cespedes, but they have a balanced and efficient offensive attack that plays against the Mets.  On top of that, the Giants have a very effective bullpen that seemingly always gets the job done.  As tempting as it is to go with the defending NL Champions, their defense of their pennant ends against the Giants.

Pick- San Francisco Giants


AL Division Series

Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox

So everyone is just pegging the Red Sox and writing off Cleveland?  Doesn’t this sound awfully familiar to Cleveland?  To these “analysts” they forget the one most important thing about Playoff Baseball…THROW REGULAR SEASON STATS OUT THE WINDOW.  All I’ve heard is Rick Porcello and David Price’s career records vs. Indians.  I’m sorry was that in the Playoffs?  The Indians are a team that has faced so much adversity and haters that they’ve become the one team everyone hates to face…the team that won’t die.  When the Indians are on offensively, all the need to do is get into the 7th/8th inning and it’s over. 

We can talk about the Carrasco and Salazar hurt, but we are missing that Josh Tomlin has returned to form ending the year strong, Kluber will be fine and most importantly the Indians Game One starter is Trevor Bauer, a man who lives for the moment.  Do National analysts want to see David Ortiz’s fairytale ending?  Do the Red Sox have more playoff experience and offensive “star power”? Probably, but the Indians are being overlooked by so many, they’re going to shock everyone.  I’ll say it again, throw everything out the window from Regular Season, the most dangerous team is the overlooked team that doesn’t know when to quit.

Pick- Indians in 5

Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays

I’m gonna be honest here, I’m torn who I’d pick for this series.  The offenses are almost evenly matched up and honestly, the Blue Jays may be a very bad matchup once again for the Rangers.  While some may give the Rangers the bullpen edge, I’m giving it to the Blue Jays due to experience and the ability to move others like an Aaron Sanchez into the bullpen if needed.  The main question for the Blue Jays would be if they can crack Cole Hamels or Yu Darvish early in the series.  If they can beat one of them, or even both the Rangers will be in a very bad spot.  The Blue Jays will have Liriano, Sanchez, J.A. Happ and Marco Estrada to choose from.  The key will be whose rotation can go deep enough to let their back end of the bullpen shut the door.  The Rangers would have revenge on their minds for last year, but there was a reason why the Blue Jays prevailed.  If this was Baltimore, I’d give the Rangers a sweep, but the Blue Jays will be a battle, and one that I can see the Blue Jays winning.

Pick- Blue Jays in 4


NL Division Series

Chicago Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants

Can we please just have this as the NLCS instead?  This could be a classic 7 game series, but instead will be in the division series.  The Championship pedigree of the Giants really benefits them against what is the early World Series favorite for most.  The rotation matchup would make for some extremely competitive and low scoring games.  The difference would be in the bullpen and offense.  This is where the Cubs talent jumps off the charts.  With Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant clearly trumping the offensive talent that the Giants have, it gives them that advantage.  When it comes to the bullpens, as efficient as the Giants have been over the years, their relievers aren’t guy who aren’t overly dominant.  The Cubs have multiple relievers that can get batters out in a variety of ways.  The Cubs clearly have the advantage in both offense and bullpen over the Giants.  This should go 5 games with some great pitching performances and great moments along the way, but the Cubs survive and go to the NLCS.

Pick- Cubs in 5

Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

A week ago, this looked a potential war between two extremely talented teams and then the Nationals lost Wilson Ramos with a torn ACL.  One of the worst injuries a team can get for the playoffs is losing your catcher.  While Max Scherzer probably won’t need to worry, outside of Scherzer I worry about him.  On top of that the Nationals really don’t have the bullpen to get the job done.  The Dodgers have consistently been bounced out early from the playoffs, especially with Clayton Kershaw struggling.  That ends this year as the offense has come alive and the team has really come together under Dave Roberts.  The Dodgers might hit a roadblock in the series, but I see them moving on to face the Cubs.

Pick- Dodgers in 4

American League Championship Series

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Cleveland Indians

After Terry Francona eliminated his good friend John Farrell in the ALDS, the Indians will face off against former President/GM Mark Shapiro’s Toronto Blue Jays.  While once again, the Blue Jays will have the advantage on the offensive side, the Indians hold the big X-Factor in SP Danny Salazar.  While the Indians are contemplating Salazar coming out of the bullpen in the ALDS, I don’t think they’re going to use him until the ALCS when they return him to the starting rotation.  The Indians rotation will finally be back to it’s almost dominant form and will only need to get to the 7th inning until they hand it over to their outstanding bullpen.  The Indians aggressiveness on the bases will be a major factor for their success scoring runs.  This series will also mark the emergence on the National stage for Francisco Lindor becoming one of baseball’s brightest young stars as he takes home ALCS MVP honors as the Indians advance to the World Series for the first time since 1997.

Pick- Indians in 6


National League Championship Series

Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

As much as people may think this could be a potential sweep, I have my doubts on that.  The Dodgers could be a potential threat for the Cubs, especially if Rich Hill and Clayton Kershaw are healthy and on their game.  The Dodgers may not have the depth in the rotation, but those two have stuff that baffles all hitters.  The question would be whether or not the Dodgers have the bullpen to finish games?  They got the offense, 2 dominant starters, but do they have the relievers?  That’s where I’m having a problem taking them in a 7 game series.  The Cubs are a complete team that will be battle tested and ready to go as they finally return to the World Series to set up the matchup that will end a Franchise’s World Series drought.

Pick- Cubs in 5


World Series

Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago Cubs

A drought will end…either the Indians end their 68 year drought or the Cubs will finally end their 108 year drought.  Let’s be honest…WHO DOESN’T WANT THIS?  I mean these are two of the most tortured Baseball fanbases and someone is going to end their misery.  On paper, this isn’t a contest the Cubs are by far the superior team in terms of overall talent.  But when it comes to heart and determination, the Indians have that beat.  From the beginning of the playoffs, everyone wrote off the Tribe, yet they get to the World Series.  That’s something that defines a great team.  This World Series would remind me a little bit of the classic 1941 World Series between the Red Sox and Cardinals, one the Cardinals would shock the Baseball world and beat Ted Williams and the extremely talented Red Sox because of their mentality of refusing to die.  This is the series where Francisco Lindor cements himself as one of the games most talented players as I see if he gets here, he’ll have a monster offensive series and win the World Series MVP.  I’m trying extremely hard to not pick the Indians, but this team doesn’t quit.  They’ve been scrapping and crawling all year long and that’s something as we’ve seen translate into the playoffs.  All the Indians need is a couple of players offensively to step up and have their starters go 7 innings and they got a chance.  A lot like how the Royals won the World Series last year, against all odds the Indians will be celebrating its first World Championship since 1948.

Pick- Indians in 6


Understand my pick is not one of personal bias, it’s one of the belief of the Indians will want it more than anyone.  Since Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com wrote his article pretty much writing off any chances the Indians have to win anything, this team has taken the mentality to shut the doubters up.  By pure talent, the Cubs are the favorite in the NL and the Red Sox in the AL.  But as we’ve seen so many times in recent years in the playoffs, it’s not about the talent, it’s about the heart.  Whatever your teams record or stats were in the Regular Season, throw that out the window now.  Everyone is back at the same record of 0-0.  This month will be full of twists and turns and moments that we’ll remember for some time.  It’s the beauty of the MLB Playoffs and this playoff season is one we’re going to remember for some time.

This Week In The Show 8.2.16: MLB Trade Deadline Wrap-Up

Now The Race Is On!
By Alex Hale, @ThatCLESportGuy

As the clock passed 4pm Monday afternoon, it signaled the end of what turned out to be one of the best trade deadlines in recent history.  It was full of blockbusters and a lot of controversy.  Unlike previous years deadlines with a lot of anti-climatic movement at the deadline, the rumors that were swirling before the deadline gave us a lot of fun and now it’s time find out who the big winners and losers were.  Now let’s be honest in a few years, this could all look different about who won and lost at the deadline.  But in terms of right now for quite a few teams, the future looks bright and for some others, lost opportunity.

Winners

New York Yankees- For the 1st time since 1989, the Yankees went into full blown rebuild mode and they came out as huge winners at the deadline.  It started with the trade of Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs as the Yankees acquired SS Glyber Torres along with other prospects including OF Billy McKinney.  Then in a shocker, the Yankees acquired OF Clint Frazier and SP Justus Sheffield along with 2 other prospects in exchange for RP Andrew Miller.  Then before the deadline buzzer Monday traded Carlos Beltran to the Rangers in a deal centered around former Top 5 draft pick SP Dillon Tate.  The Yankees made a bold move to rebuild and Brian Cashman did an outstanding job getting great value in every trade he made.  More importantly, most of the prospects they got could help the Yankees in the next 2 years to start a quick turnaround in the Bronx.

Texas Rangers- The Rangers really went for it at the deadline, starting by acquiring OF Carlos Beltran from the Yankees, giving up SP Dillon Tate and then following that up with a bombshell, acquiring C Jonathan Lucroy and RP Jeremy Jeffress from the Brewers giving up a package centered around SP Luis Ortiz and OF Lewis Brinson.  Immediately the Rangers have fortified their lineup to be a scary one from 1 through 9.  Adding Jeffress gives them another strong reliever for a bullpen that needed another arm in there.  The only downside was not acquiring a SP, while the Rangers do have Cole Hamels and potentially Yu Darvish leading the rotation in the playoffs, after them, they really are lacking there.  That could be a problem down the stretch.

Chicago Cubs- The Cubs looked to make big changes in their bullpen and really did an outstanding job by first acquiring RP Mike Montgomery from the Mariners, an effective lefty reliever for them in the 7th/8th innings.  Then the Cubs made their big blockbuster trade by acquiring Aroldis Chapman from the Yankees.  While the Cubs have Hector Rendon as their closer, Joe Maddon will have more of a “spot closer” role for both and choose who to close by who is hitting in the 9th.  Then to top everything, the Cubs got sidearm specialist Joe Smith from the Angels to give them a completely different look in the bullpen which really makes their bullpen one of the more intriguing bullpen in terms of depth and styles to choose from.

Milwaukee Brewers- For a team that was one of the bigger sellers, they made out pretty well.  While their original deal with the Indians had a solid return for Jonathan Lucroy, they made out better with Texas getting Luis Ortiz and Lewis Brinson, who are ranked #2 and #3 in Texas’ farm system respectively.  While they probably should’ve gotten Joey Gallo, they still got a good haul for Jeremy Jeffress and Jonathan Lucroy.  They also moved RP Will Smith to the Giants and acquired the Giants 2015 1st Round draft pick SP Phil Pickford and C Andrew Susac, a great replacement for losing Jonathan Lucroy.  They’re laying a good foundation for the future and the next step will probably be trading Ryan Braun in the offseason.

Honorable Mention- Washington Nationals, Oakland A’s


Losers

Miami Marlins- You talk about the most dysfunctional franchise in all of sports, the Marlins gotta rank up there with another disastrous trade deadline.  Their big move was acquiring from San Diego centered around SPs Andrew Cashner and Collin Rea, but Rea hurt himself in his first start with the Marlins and before Monday’s deadline, was traded back to San Diego for one of the prospects the Marlins originally dealt.  Once again the Marlins showing their continued dysfunction and why they are a joke of an organization.  Cashier was a solid upgrade, but not one worth trading multiple top prospects for, including their 2015 1st Round pick 1B Josh Naylor.  Marlins better make the playoffs or else changes in player personnel might be needed in the offseason.

Boston Red Sox- Quite possibly the biggest loser at the deadline, the Red Sox made numerous small moves to help fortify the team, then traded Anderson Espinoza to San Diego for Drew Pomeranz, who is struggling with his new team.  The Red Sox continued to scour the pitching market, then centered in on White Sox ace Chris Sale.  The White Sox asking price was way too high and the Red Sox seemingly continued to try to land him until the end of the deadline.  That backfired on them as they walked away with no other trades after the Pomeranz one.  The Red Sox seemingly valued their top prospects very highly and wouldn’t budge on them to blow away the White Sox to make a deal.  Their consistent activity on Chris Sale cost them big down the stretch at the deadline and might be a big difference on where they end up at the end of the year.

Detroit Tigers- Only 4.5 GB of the Indians and 1 GB of the Wild Card, I’m stunned the Tigers did nothing.  While the Tigers have an offense that’s coming alive and JD Martinez returning just around the corner, I thought the Tigers would go after a SP.  Nothing really materialized and the Tigers didn’t make any deal.  While the Tigers have Michael Fulmer and Justin Verlander, they really needed to find an upgrade for the middle/back end of the rotation.  I felt that Phillies SP Jeremy Hellickson made perfect sense, but obviously a deal couldn’t be reached.  Not making a deal for another starter might come back to bite them.

Los Angeles Angels/Minnesota Twins- I’m talking about in this area the confusing trade made at the last moments before the deadline.  The Angels traded struggling SP Hector Santiago, who actually was drawing interest from multiple teams including Texas and instead flipped him to Minnesota for SPs Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer.  What were these teams thinking?  I mean it’s great for Twins to get rid of Nolasco’s contract, but Meyer is an intriguing arm who just hasn’t figured it out yet.  The Twins might be looking towards 2017 with this move but the trade for both teams is extremely confusing and is an F for both teams.

Honorable Mention- Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros


Hard to Grade

Cleveland Indians- Yes, the Cleveland Indians vastly improved their back end of the bullpen by adding Andrew Miller.  But let’s remind ourselves the Indians traded OF Clint Frazier to get him.  Frazier will be a star in NYY and fans will one day complain about this deal, but the Indians decided to contend right now so to a degree, I understand it.  But the Jonathan Lucroy debacle makes their deadline hard to grade.  Honestly I have no idea how this went down and maybe we won’t ever know, but to lose him and watch him go to Texas while not upgrading the Catcher is a bit of a question mark.  Indians could’ve used another bat and were in on Carlos Beltran and losing out to the Rangers.

  The Indians eventually settled on Rays OF Brandon Guyer, who mashes lefty pitching.  The Indians used this opportunity to finally DFA Juan Uribe and move Jose Ramirez to 3B for what looks to be an every day role.  The Indians do have Brantley returning, but he’s an unknown still coming back from his shoulder injury.  I expect Indians to be active in August Waiver Trade Deadline to find another bat and probably then I’ll feel much better with the Indians activity.

Arizona Diamondbacks- So the most active team at the Winter Meetings goes quiet at the deadline, especially a team that has played not up to expectations.  They sent down SP Shelby Miller, didn’t move him and also couldn’t move Daniel Hudson even though there was plenty of interest.  They moved Tyler Clippard to the Yankees for a minor leaguer which that even confused me.  They’ve continued to struggle this year in almost every aspect with the exception of Paul Goldschmidt.  There really seems to be no direction with this franchise and it leaves a lot of questions to be answered down the line.

Los Angeles Dodgers- Ok I love the fact that they added Rich Hill, although he’s injured and they didn’t trade their top prospects.  But what I didn’t understand is adding Josh Reddick to create a serious log jam in the OF, leaving Yasiel Puig as the odd man out.  Reddick may be an upgrade compared to Puig, but the presence of Puig and his unpredictable attitude could be toxic to the clubhouse.  The Dodgers at the same time to create this log jam paid a pretty good price to get Hill and Reddick, again this is an upgrade that on the field is great, but off the field could be a disaster.  Don’t be stunned if Puig is put up on August Waivers.

Honorable Mention- San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves


Now remember these are initial reactions and all of these will probably change in time.  There were some very good trades that under the radar will be steals of the future and I’ll go over those here in the coming days.  While the Trade Deadline has passed, we now look toward the August Waiver Trading Deadline.  In a simplified explanation, teams must put a player through waivers, then they must clear waivers in order for them to be traded.  We’ve seen trades like the monster trade of Adrian Gonzalez to the Dodgers and for Indians fans, the trade that brought back Jim Thome.  I would expect with some teams not as active at the deadline, there will be activity before that deadline passes as well.  But for now, we’re now into the last 2 months of this 6 month marathon.  It’s not time for the teams that made the investment to win now, to take the next step and start to position themselves as a team for a long postseason run.  Races are far from over and because of the deadline, some division races could either change in the coming weeks or a team can start to run away.  Only time will tell, but as for the trading deadline that now has passed, for the first time in a few years, it didn’t disappoint.