MARCO'S BASEBALL
BLOG-O-ROONIE:
“5-STAR
PREDICTIONS ON A 1-STAR BUDGET”
It's time for 2016
predictions and I know you've been holding your breath. But before we
get going with the AL EAST let's take a moment to honor a baseball
Ancestor. This is a player who rivals Ruth as a two-way
star...Ace pitcher and batting King.
In honor of
America's reset of our relationship with Cuba, let us pay homage to
the greatest Cubano baseball player of all:
Called “El
Maestro” and “El Inmortal”...the Immortal. He was the almost
incomparable...
MARTIN
DIHIGO
 Induction
Information Elected to Hall of Fame by Negro Leagues Committee in 1977, Negro Leaguer
Born: May 25, 1905, in
Matanzas, Cuba
Died: May 20, 1971, in Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos, Cuba
Primary Position: Pitcher
Bats: R Throws: R
Played For: Cuban Stars
East (1923-1927, 1930), Homestead Grays (1928), Hilldale Daisies
(1929-1931), Baltimore Black Sox (1931), New York Cubans
(1935-1936, 1945)
Bio
MartÃn Dihigo Llanos was perhaps the most versatile player in baseball history. Known as "El Maestro," he played all nine positions skillfully. Dihigo became a national institution in his native Cuba, but also starred in many other countries, including Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, also spending 12 seasons in the Negro leagues. Playing in the Mexican League in 1938, he went 18-2 and led the league with a 0.90 ERA, while also winning the batting crown with a .387 mark.
Quote
"He was the greatest all-around player I know. I say he was the best player of all-time, black or white. He could do it all." — Buck Leonard
Martin Dihigo started out as a
quick, tall, rangy shortstop in the late twenties. He had such a
great arm that they also played him at third and in the outfield
before finally letting him pitch, but when he wasn't pitching he
was playing somewhere else.
Some seasons he would play all
nine positions and manage at the same time.
Most people say he was most
like Joe DiMaggio in body type and all around talent. He could run
and his arm was legendary. He once stood on home plate and threw a
baseball that hit the wall in dead center on the fly.
Many, many major league
players say Martin Dihigo was the greatest player they ever saw.
Johnny Mize, the Hall of Fame first baseman, played winter ball
with him in 1943 when Dihigo was 38. Mize would hit 359 homers and
also won a batting title in a career interrupted by WWII. He
reported that he batted behind Dihigo and pitchers were walking
Martin to get to Mize.
That 1938 season: Being a
batting champ and the best pitcher in any league at the same time
is quite impressive, but this was a winter league loaded with
major league stars and all the great Negro Leaguers.
Dihigo was simply, “El
Inmortal”.
2016 PREDICTIONS:
This
year, in a tip of the hat to my movie career roots, I'm rating
these teams on the star system.
5*stars= among the
best of all time.
4*stars=really
good
3*stars=a little
above average
2 ½*stars=average
1*star=stinko
0*stars=a real
liability...they're playing the batboy.
I'm rating teams
in 5 categories: offensive lineup, defense, rotation, bullpen and
leadership.
“Leadership”
is mostly managers and coaches, but also includes the roles of the
front office, clubhouse chemistry and inspiration and the ever
elusive “JUJU”...good or bad.
Breaking
offense down into categories like speed and power doesn't change
the overall effectiveness of your offense. You can do it like
Kansas City with small ball and speed or you can do like Toronto
and brutalize people to death. It's still just offense.
Having
two categories of pitching weights the final score accurately (I
think) in that it recognizes the supreme importance of your
pitching staff.
Let
us proceed:
AL
EAST OVERVIEW:
1st
place: TORONTO
...Mainly
because this is their best shot and they know it. Encarnacion
and Bautista are going to be free agents and will
probably move on. They are just leaving their primes and can still
get really hot and carry a team. But folks...that ain't all.
They've
got Tulo after he's had a chance to adjust to the new
league. He's gotta be hungry for a pennant after all those
terrible wasted seasons with the Rockheads.
Donaldson
is an MVP in his hitting prime, surrounded by lineup help. What
will he put up this year with all the motivation he must have to
win now?
Add
in Russell Martin's 25 dingers,Colabello's 15 and
.321 average in 101 games, Smoaks 18 bombs in 296 Abs and
the on-base/speed advantage of Ben Revere hitting leadoff?
There is not enough right handed pitching in that division to
control this line-up.
Offensive
lineup: 5 *...among the greatest ever! Led the majors in OPS
by 45 points at .797!
Defense:
4 *...above average almost everywhere. Martin a key at catcher
and Pillar and Revere in the outfield. Installed new grass infield
to save Tulo's legs.
Rotation:
2 ½ *... if Stroman steps up and can be an ace, it
might be a 3 ½. Estrada coming on. Happ, Dickey and
Chavez are innings eaters who can win when the offense scores
6 for them every outing. They may need late season help from the
front office here.
Bullpen:
3 ½ *... Osuna a great rookie closer last year and
Martin helps this unit at catcher a lot.
Leadership:
4 *...front office wants to win badly and satisfy hungry fans
who supported this team so well. No money but they went out and
got help when needed. Managing seems to be “Here's your
bat...another homer would be nice.” Bautista's salary demand was
bad juju. But him and Encarnacion and Tulo and Donaldson and
Martin all together? Great clubhouse leadership power.
TOTAL: 19
STARS...FIRST PLACE
2nd
place...NEW YORK
… because
their pitching is a little better than the Red Sox, mainly. Price
of the Sox is the best starter on either team, but I think with
Tanaka,Pineda and Severino the Yanks have stronger
arms starting for them. The Sox staff stunk it up last year and
they must re-prove themselves. Also, Bucholz is only good
for half a season and you don't know how his replacement will do.
The Yanks have a little better starting depth.
The
Yanks also have three spectacular horses anchoring their bullpen
(even though the rest of the bullpen is inexperienced). Chapman,
Miller and Betances trump Kimbrel, Uehara (40
years old), Tazawa and Carson Smith. The gap would
be wider if Chapman wasn't missing the first month because he got
violent with his wife. (file under Bad Juju) Plus Carson Smith of
the Sox is hurt to start the season.
Here's
my breakdown of the Yankees:
Lineup:
3 ½ *...their club is tailor made for their ballpark with
left-handed power to lob homers over the right field wall. This
would be higher if most of their guys weren't so old that they
will probably get hurt. They have pretty good depth in that
eventuality.
Defense:
3 *...very good up the middle now that Starlin Castro
has joined them at second. Pretty good everywhere.
Rotation:
3 ½ *...see above
Bullpen:
4 *...see above
Leadership:
4 *...spelled M-O-N-E-Y. The Yanks can always buy themselves
out of trouble if they really want to. And all those old pros on
the team give them some quality leadership in the house. Girardi
has proved himself a master of low-key New York media manipulation
and is a quality handler of pitchers and respected in the
clubhouse. The players know he has their back. This score would be
even higher if not for:
Bad
JuJu: age, injuries, the big “S” on ARod's chest,
Chapman funny stuff, huge unmovable contracts (see last issue)
TOTAL: 18
STARS...SECOND PLACE
Third
place...BOSTON
Lineup: 3 ½
*...weird combo of young
stars, older stars and inconsistent stars. If they all do their
best work...Wow! But that's asking a lot.
Defense: 3
*...awesome in the outfield,
more than adequate at second and short, miserable at first and
third. Catching talented but young. (And the pitchers need help)
Rotation: 3
*...mainly because of Price,
but what are they going to get out of 2 through 5? Lots of
possibles in depth chart but are they really good enough when the
first team starts going down with the ever-recurring Bosox injury
bug?
Bullpen: 3 ½
*...a strength of the team.
Kimbrel a great
closer...Uehara, Tazawa pitched too much the last few years.
They needed Carson Smith and
his right-handed fastballs to handle Toronto and he went down
early.
Leadership: 3 ½
*...like New York, they have
money if they need help. Dombrowski
is a dynamic and knowledgeable baseball guy. Farrell
is supposed to be Mr. Pitching Guru but they actually did much
better when he was gone second half last year. Still paying the
price for blunders like Hanley Ramirez, Panda and
Rusney ($70+mil?) Castillo.
If those guys turn it around....maybe. Off the charts leadership
from Dustin Pedroia, Ortiz
and (it looks like) now Mookie Betts.
Ortiz's last ride should be good for some motivation. (Good JuJu)
TOTAL: 16 ½
STARS...THIRD PLACE
Fourth
place...BALTIMORE
Lineup:
3 *...they got Chris Davis back to team with Adam
Jones and Manny Machado. That's a potent combo if they
stay healthy.
Defense:
4 *...very , very good.
Rotation:
2 ½ *...very, very bad (if you're trying to win the
East...otherwise average)
Bullpen:
3 ½ *...very good actually with Zach Britton, Darren O'Day
at the top.
Leadership:
2 ½ *...everybody says Showalter is so great. Genius
handler of pitching staffs. Well, the Orioles are in the lower
middle of baseball in pitching. Also, Buck keeps griping about how
the Yankees and Red Sox have more money than the Orioles do. Three
words for you Buck...Kansas City Royals. If they had money the
Orioles wouldn't spend it 'cause their owner is tight as a tick.
TOTAL: 15 ½
STARS...FOURTH PLACE
Fifth
place...TAMPA BAY
...they
finished higher over the last few years and didn't get the best
high draft choices anymore. It's showing. They still have good
pitchers coming through but a lot of them got hurt or had to be
traded when they became free agent-eligible. They have a terrible
park and just don't make any money. The franchise should be moved.
Lineup:
1 ½ *...almost totally stinko. Only Longoria and maybe
Loney are threats and any sane pitcher will pitch around
them.
Defense:
3 *...Kiermaier is the best in baseball in center.
Keystone combo is young and suspect. (29th in baseball
last year in DP's)
Rotation:
4 *...as usual the Rays run out great arms every day. Not as
much depth as in the past.
Bullpen:
3 *...weaker than usual.
Leadership:
2 *...Manager Cash isn't Joe Maddon. The front
office can't seem to get a new ballpark. They should hire George
Bush to teach them how to fleece the taxpayers to your own profit.
The scouting department should get about a 4 ½ for identifying
terrific pitching prospects over the years.
TOTAL: 13 ½
STARS...FIFTH PLACE
That's
it for this issue. The rest of the AL follows in a day or two and
then on to the National League. Check your mailbox and thanks for
your kind attention!
PLAY
BALL!
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