Marco’s
Baseball Blog-O-Roonie 2024: Baseball commits seppuku? And...National
League Predictions
We’ve
been prematurely giddy in our celebration of the Los Angeles
Dodgers and their new super no-expense-has-been -spared team of
future Hall of Famers. Lest we be hasty, let me assure you that the
looming shadow of illegal gambling, even if it’s not on baseball
games, is a spectre of death and destruction in this sport,
traditionally.
1919
Black Sox throw the World Series… Babe Ruth has to triple
the home run record in 1920 just to lure the fans back.
In
1920, Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker, both all time greats, were
implicated in an end of the season series of fixed games to cash in
on the rampant corruption poisoning the game in that era.
Player
manager of the Detroit Tigers, Ty Cobb, arranged the fix with
Speaker, the player manager of the Cleveland Indians. The
facts didn’t come out until 1926, when both Speaker and Cobb were
forced to retire. A payoff of 20,000 was paid to pitcher Dutch
Leonard of the Tigers and an embarrassing letter of contrition
supposedly written by Cobb was covered up by Commissioner Kenesaw
Mountain Landis. Landis didn’t think baseball could take
another gambling scandal and since it was old news by 1927 he managed
to cover it up.
You
already know about Pete Rose and his sorry-ass performance as a
gambling addict and admitted liar. Still banned for life.
Well,
the absolute worst thing you can possibly imagine would be if
baseball’s New Golden Prince, the fabulous Shohei Ohtani,
participated in some kind of shady gambling pay off. Especially with
Rob Manfred’s (the new Kennesaw Commissioner) new deal with
Vegas to promote betting on ball games. I can’t imagine a bigger
disaster for baseball, so I’m just hoping that Shohei wasn’t a
bettor himself and was just covering for his interpreter to save his
ass from the Yakuza or some such madness.
The
interpreter’s story has already changed a couple of times, as has
Ohtani’s claim that he was robbed and never authorized a check for
four million supposedly written on his bank account and used by said
interpreter to pay off his vig. The story already reeks of COVER UP.
Talk about a lightning bolt of shit aimed at the National Pastime!
“Say it ain’t so, Sho’!”
Since
events have evidently not yet been shaped into their final
proportions of disgrace, there is nothing we can do but soldier on
and play pick the posies of Spring training as we get ready to banish
hideous reality by thinking about our favorite soporific, BASEBALL…
How
about those Dodgers, anyway??!!
TEAM
PREDICTIONS:
NL
WEST:
DODGERS:
WILL
FINISH: FIRST IN THE DIVISION
And
you thought gambling was the problem?
Have
you noticed that Yoshinobu Yamamoto, he of the $325 million
contract, has not exactly been mowing down opposing hitters? As a
matter of fact, he’s been getting bombed.
I
think he’s just not used to the American baseball (Japanese
baseballs are a little smaller) and his control is suffering. I saw
Yammy demo his splitter in a close up and his hands are very small
for a power pitcher. Of course, in that first outing of the spring he
was missing bats by two feet with that splitter. He’ll come around.
The
Angelinos need Yamamoto to produce because their starting staff is
full of questionable health. Kershaw, Buehler, Glasnow, Dustin
May, Ohtani...none of these guys can seem to make it through a
season without an elbow transplant. The Dodgers are strong in the
bullpen, though.
The
lineup starts off with three awesome players: Betts, Freeman and
Ohtani. Ooooo! Aaahh! They’re so good! Then you have several
human ceiling fans who hit an occasional home run. Guys like Max
Muncy (last year he struck out 153 times in 135 games), James
Outman (181 in 151) and Chris Taylor (125 in 117) Maybe
new outfielder Teoscar Hernandez will help redeem the bottom
of the lineup. Wait a minute… (Teoscar had 211 Ks in 160 games?)
Just
take notice that the Dodgers don’t have a special lineup after the
top three. Atlanta has a better 1 through 9. So do the
Phillies. Over in the other league, the Baltimore Orioles
are close to scary with their lineup of young bashers. Defending
champ the Texas Rangers have two super-rooks who upgrade the
outfield for an already great offense: Evan Carter and Wyatt
Langford.
Add these A.L. teams to your
pitcher’s nightmares: New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and
...the Houston Astros. The Astros especially...if they can stay
off the IL for a season, this may be the best in all of baseball. And
Yordan Alvarez is the equal of any of the Dodgers’ big three
as a straight offensive force.
Still,
you’ve gotta figure with their depth the Dodgers will finish first
in the division. They aren’t a sure thing but who else would you
bet on….wooops!!!
DIAMONDBACKS:
WILL
FINISH: SECOND
The
Snakes rocked as a wild card last year and gained new respect in the
Playoffs. They ran out of pitchers and lost the Series to the
Rangers, but had a good run. Well done Snakes!
Arizona
has gone with speed and defense and it paid off. Catcher Gabriel
Moreno won a Gold Glove and can hit too.
Christian
Walker won the double G at first and centerfielder Alek Thomas
was a finalist. That’s good D up the middle plus a corner.
Corbin
Carrol and Walker are the big 2 they need in the lineup on
offense and Corbin, Thomas and Perdomo are all stolen base
threats. Shortstop Jordan Lawler is coming from the minors and
he’s a 30/30 threat. (But he’s on the shelf for two months with
an injury.)
Starting
Pitchers Zac Gallen and
Merrill Kelly will be joined by Eduardo Rodriguez to make
a fierce three on the mound if Rodriguez can ever get healthy.
And
the Snakes won the Jordan Montgomery sweepstakes over the
snake-bit Red Sox and signed him for a one year contract with
incentives. The Red Sox really missed the boat on this guy. He’s a
durable leftie with a great Playoff season behind him.
Any
negatives for the Arizonans? The bullpen is very thin.
PADRES:
WILL
FINISH: THIRD
The
Pads had the number 3 payroll in baseball and finished second in
attendance last year. At least you knew something was happening over
there in Petco Park. Thing is, all that firepower at the plate
(Bogaerts, Tatis,
Machado, Soto) and on the mound
(Musgrove, Darvish, Snell, Hader)
only got them an 82-80 record in 2023. They couldn’t afford to keep
all those stars paid either, and had to trade Soto to the Yankees and
watch Snell, Hader and others
leave as free agents.
Bright
spots? Fernando Tatis made the move from short to right field and
played his butt off, winning the Gold Glove and racking up 59 extra
base hits in a shortened season (steroid use got him suspended).
Ha-Seong Kim won the
Gold Glove at second and had
38 steals.
The
Pads also made a good trade and got Dylan Cease
from the White Sox. Cease had an uncharacteristically high ERA last
year but he’s probably one of the top fifteen
starters in the game all the same.
GIANTS:
WILL
FINISH: FOURTH
The Giants have had serious
problems scoring runs and really needed some offensive stars to
attract paying customers. Trouble is, their ballpark is where
doubles, triples and homers go to die. So you might as well go for
singles and steals, right? Enter Korean wonder Jung Hoo Lee
who can hit and run, even though he won’t match the 20 bombs he hit
for his Korean team last year. A good move and he plays center.
The Giants also signed Matt
Chapman to embody the Giant ideal of a good fielding, home run
hitting .220 hitter for a season or three. You want more of that? Try
Jorge Soler from Miami. He hits homers and then struts. The
fans will love it.
(Until he strikes out the next
five times he’s at bat.)
Their Big 2 starters are
sinker baller Logan Webb and Alex Cobb...also a ground
ball pitcher. They just became number 2 and 3 in the Giants rotation
when San Fran procured Blake Snell from the free agent roster.
(He signed cheap after trying for the end of the rainbow contract all
off-season.) The best thing that happened to the Giant’s pitching
is Bob Melvin getting hired as manager off his run with the
Padres. Pitchers thrive under Bob Melvin...he’s just one of those
guys who communicates.
HOT TIP: Keep an eye on Marco
Luciano. He may not last as a shortstop but he has a big power
bat.
ROCKIES:
WILL
FINISH: FIFTH
The Rocks are predestined to
finish last in the West. They spent $183 million for Kris Bryant.
They have him for 5 more years.
The Rocks are looking forward
to a talented outfield threesome in Gold Glove centerfielder Brenton
Doyle, home run hitter Hunter Goodman in one corner and
King of the Cannon Arm Nolan Jones. If these guys can hit,
things may improve in Denver. Jones and Doyle are good base pilferers
too.
It’s hard to contemplate the
Rockies pitching staff. It must hurt to have the staff post a 5.91
ERA for Starters and 5.41 for Relievers. That’s the worst in
baseball.
N.L.
CENTRAL:
REDS:
WILL FINISH: somewhere
between first and fifth
What a courageous prediction!
Guilty. This is the hardest division to predict. All of the teams
have problems, but you can make a case that any one of them could run
the table. It depends mostly on who gets injured and who stays
healthy. Will the St. Louis Cardinals’ pitching staff of
aging arms hold up or will the young guns on the Reds turn the
corner? Will the new hotshot manager of the Cubbies (Craig
Counsel) make THAT much difference to the Wrigleys? Do you
really count on Cody Bellinger keeping his stroke all year?
The Pirates new Superman Oneil Cruz has some offensive
support but the Pirates’ starters are iffy. At least until number
one pick Paul Skenes arrives with his killer slider and 102
mph fastball. Someday the Pirates will amaze us and put it all
together. Is this their year?
Even the Brewers, who
get rid of their stars as fast as they can after it becomes obvious
that they will be demanding more money, have a comfortable spot in
the basement waiting for them. But even the Brewers are a possible
winner. Two years ago the BrewCrew had Corbin Burnes, Josh Hader
and Devin Williams pitching for them. My God what have they
done? Only injured Williams is left.
So, since it might be their
turn, I pick the Reds. They have a youthful starting rotation
that underachieved big time last season. But guys like Andrew
Abbott and Hunter Greene are entering their prime with huge
upsides. I predict dominance similar to the old Cubs duo of Mark
Pryor and Kerry Wood. Filthy heat and big breaking sliders.
Elly de la Cruz is a
burner. He’s got speed, power and a hellacious throwing arm. He’s
just got to mature and keep using his speed to make every single and
base on ball turn into a double. Matt McClain (who could move
to short from third with Elly moving over a notch) has power, average
and can steal as well. If he takes another step forward, that would
give the Reds the dynamic offensive duo they need.
The Reds are a little short on
power for today’s game, but they are built to win if this turns
into a new heyday of base stealing.
CHICAGO
CUBS:
WILL
FINISH: SECOND
They are spectacular up the
middle with Ian Happ in center, Swanson at short and
Hoerner at second...all Gold Glove winners.
They are a little light on the
power but still have 5 players with over 20 homers and three base
stealers, led by Nico Hoerner with 43.
Four good starters with Ace in
waiting Justin Steele. Good closer in Adbert Alzolay.
Not
a Playoff team but good enough to finish second in the Central.
PIRATES:
WILL
FINISH: THIRD
I have no idea why I’m
rating them this high. I think I just got tired of writing “Pirates”
in the fifth place spot. See above comments on Oneil Cruz and
Paul Skenes for some sort of justification.
CARDINALS:
WILL
FINISH: FOURTH
Nolan Arenado and Paul
Goldschmidt are heroes in their mid-thirties. Nothing can stop
entropy. The Cards may have the horses to take up the burden for
their lineup but I don’t see Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman or
Lars Nootbar coming close to putting together even one offensive
season that the old guys used to do year in and year out. Maybe
Walker some day.
THE DEFINITION OF WISHFUL
THINKING: the Cards’ rotation of Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Kyle
Gibson, Lance Lynn and Steven Matz can give them 500
innings.
Something
positive? The Cardinals had 6 Gold Glove Finalists in 2021. (they
finished 2nd) They had 5 in 2022. (they finished 1st) In
2023 they had 1. And finished last. Thus proving that defense has
little value in modern baseball. Ha!
BREWERS:
WILL
FINISH: FIFTH
THEY
HAD A WINDOW AND THEY BLEW IT.
N.L.
EAST:
BRAVES:
WILL
FINISH: FIRST
Yeah, I KNOW. Another FEARLESS
PREDICTION. I’m trying to be wise like all the other
prognosticators who have confidently placed the Atlanteans Numero
Uno. It’s not easy being wise and fearless all at once.
Besides, the Braves are so
loaded it’s a joke. They have the best offensive lineup in
baseball. 5 guys hit over 30 homers last year and 3 hit over 40.
Seven regulars had a plus .800 OPS! I mean, I know they play in a
hitter’s park but come on! The Braves also have a top five
rotation. (they traded a great prospect to Boston for Chris Sale
and if Sale can keep his body wired together for one or two more
seasons along side their two Aces Strider and Fried
we’re talking the Number One rotation in the game.)
Looks like another 100 win
season coming right up.
But the Braves have crumbled
when playing their chief rivals in the Playoffs the last two years…
and that team of Atlanta-sackers is of course, the…
PHILLIES:
WILL
FINISH: SECOND
The Phils have a two-headed
monster in starters Zach Wheeler and Aaron Nola.
Acknowledged Aces. That duo can carve up lineups. Also, the Phils
have gotten in the habit of claiming a Wild Card spot in the Playoffs
and staying up to speed with a tight schedule of pressure playoff
games. Their hitters keep their timing. Their pitchers don’t have
time to get rusty from lack of work.
Meanwhile the division
champion Braves are waiting four or five days to start playing their
big games and all they’ve been doing is being interviewed by
mini-skirted reporters on the MLB Network. The Braves lose their
edge.
It also doesn’t hurt that
the Phils have a couple of studs in leftie swingers Kyle
Schwarber and Bryce Harper. Those guys are big
game hunters in the post season. They also have a lineup full of
hackers who might look over-matched for 3 games in a row and then
break out with a 3-homer game like Nick Castellanos
did in 2023. The Phillies strike out in huge bunches. But they also
walk and hit bombs. They are baseball’s Natural Outcome Kings.
The Phillies are SO ready to
win a World Series. I don’t think they can win day in day out all
season, but the Braves better wake up for the Playoffs.
MARLINS:
WILL
FINISH: THIRD
I commented last year on the
Marlins using their lofty draft positions of recent years to build a
pitching staff of young rifles while failing to renew their offense.
Now the pitchers they collected are starting to fade or need too much
salary or something and they have over-ripened on the vine while
waiting for the lineup to score some runs.
So they trade for Luis
Arraez to come win batting crowns. Trouble is, the
Marlins gave up a possible future Cy Young winner in Pablo Lopez,
now a Twin.
The overall problema in Miami
is that clunker of a stadium the fish play in. “Loan Depot Park”.
(There’s a colorful baseball name for you!) The Marlins draw the
lowest crowds in the league, year after year.
Note: Everybody keeps
expecting leftie hurler Jesus Luzardo to get it together and
take over the league. Now is surely the time Jesus! Let’s Rock! I
think it would be great to see a Peruvian win the Cy Young!
METS:
WILL
FINISH: FOURTH
The Mets are still reeling
from the debacle that was their 2023 season. They found new and
embarrassing ways to lose.
I can’t explain it….the
Mets just started kicking games in June until the whole season was a
dud. Maybe it was losing Edwin Diaz the way they did...hurting
himself while celebrating a victory in the World Baseball Classic.
Right now the Mets are trying
to decide how to deal with the Rhys Hoskins
issue. Rhys is the hardnosed Brewer (and ex-Phillie) infielder who
has become their nemesis and human cattle prod as he slides hard into
bases and mimes crybaby moves in the dugout when the poor Metskies
stomp around the infield and complain to their ump-mommies.
Hey Mets! He was stretching
the rules by oversliding...so stop whining! Hit him in the ass next
time he comes up. No...they’d rather give Rhys three hits in a row
and then throw a head high fastball eight feet BEHIND him! Somebody
explain baseball unwritten rules to these guys. Hit ‘em in the
butt...not in the head! Control yourselves! Watch Joe Kelly of
the Dodgers police the opponents...find an Irish reliever to go to
work!
NATIONALS:
WILL
FINISH: FIFTH
...but
not for long. The
Nats have been
quietly rebuilding through the draft. They’ll be moving up soon,
(two years?), so
the Eastern Division better keep hitting them while they’re down.
Most
interesting questions about the National League.
We’ve
got an epic competition coming up among super-teams Los Angeles,
Atlanta and Philadelphia and great intra-division rivals Dodgers vs.
San Diego, Arizona AND
traditional enemies the San Francisco Giants. Philly-Atlanta is also
looking pugnacious.
Will
the God-like Dodgers prove that when it comes to money, Might makes
Right? Or will some sneaky Pagans (like Arizona!) tear the cup from
their lips ‘ere they have quaffed the Elixer of Victory?
Will
the remarkable Atlanta Braves become one of the great teams of all
time? And can they get past the Broad Street Bullies of Philadelphia?
I’ll
be back next week with the American League story…
