American League Division Series
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros
This is the classic tale of ‘David vs. Goliath’. The Tampa Bay Rays have always had one of the lowest payrolls in baseball and yet they manage to compete for a spot in the Postseason. Continue reading
For the 90th year of the Midsummer Classic, baseball turns its sights to Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field or “The Jake”) in Cleveland, Ohio. The last time the mid-summer classic was played in Cleveland was in 1997. Now every year there is always a lot of discussion and some of it a little dated about how the teams are put together. No system will ever be perfect. Fans don’t always get it right and managers won’t either, nor the commissioner’s office. The fact that the players are able to vote for participants was a great choice and they know who is deserving. Regardless of who should or shouldn’t be in the game lets just accept that the best players will always be involved one way or another. Here are my all-stars keeping with the rules that every team be represented and a total of 32 players for each league.
AVG – Batting Average
ERA – Earned Run Average
HR – Home Runs
RBI – Runs Batted In
SV – Saves
BAA – Batting Average Against
WHIP – Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched
K – Strikeouts
Stats are accurate as of July 5
* – asterisk indicates starter Continue reading
* – indicates new to team
+ – indicates injury
1. Philadelphia Phillies
Not only did they sign Bryce Harper, but they also traded for one of the best catchers in J.T. Realmuto.
2. Washington Nationals
A new ‘face of the franchise’ will emerge with the departure of Harper. Technically Max Scherzer has been doing that since his arrival.
3. Atlanta Braves
This doesn’t mean they won’t be competitive. They will be in the middle of a crazy race in the NL East.
4. New York Mets
With stability in the bullpen, maybe Jacob deGrom will get at least 15 wins this year.
5. Miami Marlins
Time to see what prospects will begin to emerge in the middle of a long and deliberate rebuilding process.
Player to Watch: OF Bryce Harper – Philadelphia Phillies
Best Acquisition: OF Bryce Harper – Philadelphia Phillies
New Kid on the Block: OF Victor Robles – Washington Nationals Continue reading
American League Division Series
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox
The storied rivalry continues into October. This years ‘Bronx Bombers’ made a new record for home runs hit in a season by one team with 267. Continue reading
As with past deadline deals these will be highly scrutinized for many years. Instantly we see and decide who got the better end of the deal, but we really won’t know until at least two or three seasons down the road. The only way to know in real time is if the team getting the established major leaguer goes on to win a World Series. Time will tell if that happens this year with the flurry of names (a few marquee ones) being dealt this July. Continue reading
