Pirates

National League Central

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* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Milwaukee Brewers

Last year they were within one game of reaching the World Series. They’re motivated to cash in this year.

2. St. Louis Cardinals

They are instantly back in contention with Paul Goldschmidt in the middle of their lineup.

3. Chicago Cubs

This could be an interesting year as manager Joe Maddon doesn’t have an extension and there are rumblings about the future of Kris Bryant.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates

By no means are they among the worst teams in the National League. They just play in a stacked division.

5. Cincinnati Reds

With the moves they made they could be classified as a ‘sleeper’ team this season.

Player to Watch: OF Christian Yelich – Milwaukee Brewers

Best Acquisition: 1B Paul Goldschmidt – St. Louis Cardinals

New Kid on the Block: 2B Keston Hiura – Milwaukee Brewers Continue reading →

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2018 MLB Trade Deadline Review

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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 →

2018 MLB All-Star Teams

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For the 88th year of the Midsummer Classic, baseball turns its sights to Nationals Park in Washington D.C. This will be the first MLB All-Star game played at Nationals Park and the first in the nation’s capital since 1969 at RFK Stadium, the home of the then Washington Senators. 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. 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 13

* – asterisk indicates starter Continue reading →

National League Central

Standard

* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Chicago Cubs

A few tweaks to the pitching staff has the ‘lovable losers’ looking to get back to the Fall Classic.

2. St. Louis Cardinals

A busy offseason for the Redbirds with a lot of expectations to get back to playing in October.

3. Milwaukee Brewers

They were the surprise in the Central last year, but they won’t be able to sneak up on anyone this year.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates

The face of the franchise was traded. Now they need to enact their plan to remain competitive for the next crop.

5. Cincinnati Reds

Their pitching staff is still a work in progress, but the future is looking a lot better. Continue reading →

2017 MLB All-Star Teams

Standard

For the 87th year of the Midsummer Classic, baseball turns its sights to Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. This will be the first MLB All-Star game played at the Miami Marlins new ballpark. It was first opened back in 2012. 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. 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 34 players for each league. Continue reading →