Oso planning to go pro
My take on some of the AL races, I know you were all waiting with baited breath. Cy Young. Kind of a mess. Corey Kluber3.13 ERA/ 169.2 IP/171K/ .218 BAA/ 1.04 WHIP/ 13-8Cole Hamels2.67/168.2/167/.231/1.23 WHIP/ 14-4Chris Sale3.15/168.2/165/.219/1.03/15-6Jose Quintana2.84/164.2/142/.238/1.12 WHIP/10-9 JA Happ3.19/155.1/139/.232/1.15/17-4Duffy has been great, but I don't think he has the innings to be in the conversation in earnest. (138.2)Wild Card: Zach Britton. A reliever. A completely dominant reliever. Dominating completely everyone. An ERA of .69 WHIP of .83 BAA of .150 38/38 in save opportunities. But 52 innings pitched. For me this award should go to a starter, but Britton has been the most dominating pitcher in the AL. But those innings matter. Also Justin Verlander is lurking right there with these other guys. Not sure how I would handicap this one. My guess is it comes down to Hamels/Kluber/Sale the last month. Hamels has been great, but his BAA and WHIP are considerably higher, though the ERA advantage is significant. Kluber and Sale have been nearly identical. Eerily similar actually. MVP.Jose Altuve .361/.422/.571 (1st/2nd/2nd) 2nd in OPS (.993) 37 2B, 20 HR, 84 RBI, 26 SB (3rd)Mike Trout. .316/.432/.555 (4th/1st/3rd) .987 OPS is 3rd27 2b, 24 HR, 82 RBI, 21 SB 87 BB (leads league)David Ortiz: .321/.411/.636 (2nd/3rd/1st) 1.047 OPS is 1st40 2B (1st), 30 HR (6th), 100 RBI (2nd) 2 SB (holy crap!!!)Mookie Betts: .314/.355/.553 (5th/--/5th) .908 OPS is 8th34 2b 28 HR 91 RBIOrtiz may get some sentimental votes (not saying he isn't worthy, obviously he is, but it may be even more) Ortiz doesn't play a position, and I think that hurts him since the other 3 are pretty elite. If I were ranking this right now, I'd got Altuve/ Trout/ Ortiz/ Betts. How Trout does this every single year is astounding. I think the fact that he is Mike Trout will negate the fact that his team is not in the race. Just like the NL, the last month here is critical. AL ROY seems to be a one horse race. Michael Fulmer. The Cespedes trade pays off immediately for the Tigers as Fulmer has become maybe their best pitcher. I don't think he has the innings for Cy Young consideration (125) but he has been magnificent. 10-4 2.58 ERA 104 K 33 BB 125 IP .218 BAA and 1.06 WHIPNomar Mazara may get some love, and deservedly so. .280/.333/.425I'd say the only other guy that would get serious consideration is maybe Edwin Diaz who has been absolutely electric for the M's, but with only 36 IP, I don't think he will have the body of work (though he has 66 ks in those 36 IP).
What do you think Brewers fans? Braun for Puig, a prospect and a SP? I'd make that deal in a second. If Puig and McCarthy (or another SP in the deal) can stay healthy and perform well, they could be flipped and bring back more value than the Brewers would get for Braun at this point. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2016/09/13/ryan-braun-yasiel-puig-dodgers-brewers-trade/90311414/
If Bryant takes MVP, I think he would have won individual awards in 4 straight seasons. College POY, Minor league POY, ROY, MVP. That's impressive stuff
That would be incredibly impressive. I can't imagine Bryant not winning the MVP. In addition to having a monster season, he's a star player on a media darling team who happens to have the best record in baseball. #donedeal
Baseball just got a bit less great and quite a bit less fun.
Classy of the Mets. Great words by Giancarlo.http://deadspin.com/the-marlins-honored-jose-fernandez-before-tonights-game-1787110547Dee Gordon hit his first home run of the season in the first at bat for the Marlins.http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/marlins-dee-gordon-breaks-down-into-tears-after-hitting-lead-off-home-run-092616https://mobile.twitter.com/Marlins/status/780606639896350720
Love the "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" taps-like version on the trumpet.
The Cubs extend Epstein, Hoyer, and McLeod for five more years. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the Sox will retain Ventura if he wants to come back. Good to be a Cubs fan right now. Edit: The Sox report was from Bob Nightengale so it should probably be taken with a grain of salt.
Never a good time to be a cub fan.
I'd be very surprised is Theo is in Chicago for the entirety of that contract, especially if the Cubs win the WS during that time. He's an odd dude with a lot of interests outside of baseball. He's not going to be a lifer in the game.