Marco's Baseball Blog-o-roonie: THE CONTENDERS!

MARCO'S BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE:

THE CONTENDERS!

I know what you are thinking....this Sept. pennant race is pretty boring. Especially in the National League where the Mets have a 4 game lead over the Nats, the ever-excellent Cardinals are up by 6 1/2 over the Pirates and L.A. Is leaving San Fran in the dust by 8 1/2.

The Pirates and the Cubs are the second and third best teams in the league and are way up in the wild card quest. Either would be way ahead in the other two divisions.

So count your chickens, right? Not so fast...here's a cautionary tale from the baseball archives:

HOW THE PHILLIES BLEW IT IN 1964

Nobody expected the Phils to be any good in 1964. They didn't have a very deep pitching staff and manager Gene Mauch had only 3 regulars who were in the lineup daily...Johnny Callison at first, Tony Taylor at second and rookie of the year Dick Allen at third. Every other position was platooned...largely by players who couldn't hit. Only Allen batted over .300 and he hit 29 homers while Callison had 31 with a .274. Newly acquired ace Jim Bunning came over from the Tigers and won 19 games while leftie Chris Short won 17 with a 2.20 ERA. The rest of the staff was exceedingly mediocre.

Not exactly a juggernaut, right?

But the Phils started fast and smoked the League. They went into first on July 17 and stayed there. On Sept. 21 they were 6 ½ up on the Reds and Cardinals and 7 up on the Giants with 12 games to go. Even if those teams won all of their remaining games, the Phils would only have to win 7 of 12 to win the pennant. It would take a total collapse for the Phillies to lose it.

Of course, that's what happened.

The problems had actually started earlier in the month. Several pitchers got hurt and the rotation was breaking down. Mauch decided to set up his rotation for the Series just a little early and on Sept. 17 pitched Jim Bunning on two days rest against the hapless Houston Colt .45s. Bunning was coming off a 10-inning complete game with well over 100 pitches but Mauch figured he could handle the Colts anyway. Bunning gave up 6 runs over 4 ½ innings.

What followed was several more close losses and many questionable decisions. Mauch kept making Dick Allen sacrifice bunt even though noodle-bat Bobby Wine was batting behind him. Bobby kept not knocking in the runners. People stole home on them to win games. The bullpen imploded...and yet they were still way ahead with twelve games remaining.

Mauch panicked and started pitching Bunning and Short on two days rest for the duration of the season. They lost ten straight games and the Cardinals unexpectedly won the pennant by a game and went on to defeat the Yankees in the series.

It ain't over til it's over, Ball Fans.

Here's a critique of The Contenders in both leagues...starting with the Senior Circuit.

NL EAST: The Mets have the easiest schedule the rest of the way. They also have the best starter-performance recently so it seems reasonable to assume they should hold onto first place.

Cespedes has provided them with right-handed clout even though he's hitting only .208 against lefties this year. He's hit 29 homers for the Tigers and Mets this season and 20 of them have been on the road. He has only 4 total at Citi Field.

Cespedes is a weird player. He's a power bat with exciting offensive skills and lots of charisma. He has the best outfield arm in baseball, but all his highlight throws seem to come after he has totally botched a fielding play and has to make up for it with an arm bomb. Even though he has a right field arm, he doesn't really like to play anywhere but left, where he often doesn't back up drives in the gap that bounce back over the center fielder.

When Cespedes was with the Red Sox, the whisper was that he was a toothache in the clubhouse. He's been traded from Oakland to Boston to Detroit to New York in the span of one and a half seasons, but that's probably because he's a free agent and nobody wants to be stuck with the “old maid” card.

Yoenis had an awesome day in Philadelphia where he hit 3 homers and drove in a bunch of runs. The whole team had a hitting splurge there for awhile...but again...that was on the road against the Rockies and the Phillies. Nobody hits like that at Citi. And that's part of the reason the pitching staff looks so good. The park keeps offense down.

Suddenly, just when the Metros looked to be in cruise control right into the playoffs, a big distraction.

Matt Harvey is the Ace of the staff and his agent, the infamous Scott Boras, reminded the Mets that they had agreed to limit Harvey to 180 innings this year. Matt is coming back from Tommy John surgery and his doctor evidently thinks he is risking damage if he exceeds this arbitrary limit. So here the Mets are, making a run at the end of the season, and their Ace is at 166 innings...one extra inning game away from this suggested danger point.

Big kerfuffle in New York. Harvey equivocated and postponed a press conference. The New York fans and media pounced. They want to win and they need their star to produce in the stretch run and hopefully get them to the playoffs. Harvey seemed to agree with his agent and we're looking at a repeat of the Stephen Strasburg fiasco of two years ago when the Nats shut him down when they had a chance to make the series. The Nats of course, lost in the playoffs and haven't made headway since.

Harvey had to backtrack and he came out with this gem: “I will pitch in the playoffs”, thus reaffirming his manhood.

I cringed when I heard this statement because Harvey seemed to be assuming that making the playoffs was a given for this wonderful, predestined Mets team. Oh Yeah? See the above story about the '64 Phillies.

A 2-8 record over the next week and a half while Washington wins a bunch puts the Mets out of the wild card picture and forces them to win the East to make the playoffs. Memories of other Met collapses of the past should have precluded Harvey or any other Met from making any kind of assumption about making the playoffs.

Matt Harvey has tweaked the noses of the Baseball Gods and that, my friends, is exceedingly Bad Juju.

The Washington Nationals have covered themselves in glory this year, haven't they? They were so glib and coy about being the favorites. Their starting rotation was truly scary, based on past performance.

Well, first they got hurt and are winding the year up with no leadoff hitter (losing Denard Span) and only occasional help from last year's heroes Werth, Zimmerman and Rendon. They've had nobody to protect Harper in the lineup all year. (Which makes Harper's year all the more impressive). Second, the defense has sucked year long.

And the vaunted rotation? Only Max Scherzer has an ERA under 3 runs a game, and he had a bad losing streak after pitching his no-hitter. The rest have been very ordinary.

The Nationals have laid an egg so far. I doubt they can right the ship and overtake the Mets, but it could happen. The Wild Card seems out of reach. Their schedule is favorable and they get to play all those bad teams in the NL East. Trouble is...so do the Mets! A three game set with the Mets starting on Labor Day should tell us what we need to know. They also have three at the end of the year.

Mathematically the Nats have a chance. Their rotation is set up for the Mets and all their erstwhile DL Dandies are hitting better. If I were the Mets, I'd avoid pitching to Mr. Harper.

NL CENTRAL: St. Louis is lollygagging into the playoffs with the best record in baseball...87-48. They've had extraordinary injuries to major contributors but have plugged in talented farmhands and continued to dominate the league.

Pitching is the major advantage the Cards have over everybody else. Starters Lackey, Martinez, Wacha, Lynn and Garcia all have ERAs under 3.04 and their bullpen leads in saves. They might even get Wainwright back for the stretch run. That kind of depth should get them far along in the playoffs.

The Pirates have beat up on the NL East and West but can't beat the other teams in the Central. Their record against the Reds? 4-9. Brewers? 6-7. If they were .500 against those two teams they'd be tied for first. They're looking at a play-in game against either the Cubs or maybe the Giants which means they'll have to either beat Arrieta or Bumgarner. Long odds on the Pirates making the Series.

The Cubs are everybody's sweetmeat right now with all their cute little rookies. But Kris Bryant has 163 strike outs in only 125 games. Russell, Soler and Dexter Fowler are all well over 100 K's and Schwarber has 55 in only 48 games. That's a lot of whiffing.

Arrieta has been great but the rest of their starters are average. All the other contenders have better pitching except for the Giants.

NL WEST: The Dodgers got no-hit twice in one week! Then they came back and swept the Giants at home. Now that the Giants have hit the wall, the Dodgers should cruise, but beware of the schedule.

The Giants have got it easy the rest of the way and the Dodgers have to play tougher teams, but as long as Greinke and Kershaw are pitching so well, the Dodgers have a firewall. If they make the playoffs...and they should...Bolsinger is going to be key as a third starter. That's assuming Kershaw doesn't curl up and die against the Cardinals like he has the last two years. The trade for fourth and fifth starters Latos and Wood looks okay for Wood, a total bust for Latos.

As far as hitting goes, Crawford, Puig and Peterson are all underachieving at the plate. Peterson never recovered from the home run derby jinx (see my comments last issue) and Puig is Mr. Hamstring. Crawford is just old and done.

Ethier has been a Godsend for them and Adrian Gonzalez has carried them all season.

The interesting thing about the Dodgers is the reuniting of Chase Utley with his old Phillies double play partner Jimmy Rollins. Both of these guys have had miserable offensive years but now that they are together, I sense an interesting dynamic with these old pros wanting one more shot at glory. I think they provide a spark and a veteran presence.

Corey Seager is the rookie sensation the Dodgeheads just brought up but I don't see them playing him at short in the stretch run. You may see him at third with Turner moving over to second in rotation with Utley and Howie Kendrick.

Pity the poor Giants! It's not an even numbered year so their mojo doesn't work. They were doing great until they lost Pence, Panik and Crawford (the last two are just coming back)....three of their four best hitters (along with Posey). Too much to overcome, especially when Bumgarner is their only real pitcher. Even he can't do it all himself.

The only thing in their favor is the schedule. They finally got through the tough part and only play one team with a winning record the rest of the way....the Dodgers come to San Francisco. But so far, the Giants have been losing to people like the Rockies. Can't make up ground like that. The Giants will need a major hot streak.

AL EAST: I like the Toronto Blue Jays. I enjoy watching good hitters. Generally, I think baseball is much more exciting when guys are hitting doubles and homers and running the bases.

The Jays have four great pro hitters in their lineup: Donaldson, Bautista, Encarnacion and Tulowitzski. Plus some good pieces like Travis, Revere and Colabello hitting over .300 and Martin, Smoak, Carrera, Pillar and Goins all contributing. They have by far the best scoring offense in baseball. (730 runs scored)

With all that, I still don't think they are going to win the pennant.

Oh sure, they'll make the playoffs. Maybe even win the East. I just don't think they have enough pitching. Their bullpen gives up a lot of late runs and their starters are very iffy after David Price. Estrada and Buehrle are solid but unspectacular pitchers who give up homers and don't strike people out enough. Dickey's knuckleball hasn't been as effective in Toronto because knucklers give up fly balls and a lot of those flies that were outs in Citi Field when Dickey was a Cy Young winner with the Mets have turned into homers in hitter-friendly Toronto. One joker in the deck...injured starter (and assumed pre-season Ace of the staff) Marcus Stroman is ready to come back and pitch. If he's up to speed he could really help the Jays' cause.

Pitching wins playoffs. I think Kansas City will carve up these Canadians.

The New York Yanquis...they still have a swagger to them, don't they? When the Jays got hot and took over first, the Yanks stayed right with them. I don't see them folding anytime soon.

The Yanks had it going when their double trouble lead off guys Ellsbury and Gardner were hot. Now those two are playing hurt. They've both stopped stealing bases. Texeira is hurt and on the DL. They've plugged in rookies but their offense now seems to be everybody try to hit a pop fly over the short right field porch. Shortstop Didi Gregorius has been a big surprise at the plate.

The Pinstripers usually line up 8 left-handed hitters against righties. So if New York plays the Wild Card game, they can expect to face either the Rangers' Cole Hamels or the Astros' Dallas Keuchel. That's tough left-handed pitching.

If they are going to advance, I think the Yanks need to win the East.

AL CENTRAL: ...Kansas City has the best overall defense, the best team speed, the best bullpen and enough starters and offense to keep grinding out the wins. They've been pretty clutch with Hosmer, Cain and Morales and 7 players with over 10 homers. They have to be the favorites in any playoff series in the AL this year because they've been so good all year.

One alarm bell is going off: Their rented Ace for the second half of the season, Johnny Cueto, has an ERA of over 9 for the last 5 games.

It would be a shame if this team finally goes into a slump in the final 25 games.

The Minnesota Twinks are still in it. What a stubborn, dirt-eating bunch of sonuvagun ball players! Let's just give Paul Molitor the manager of the year award right now. How can he have done so much with so little all season?

I'll never say anything bad about the Twinks again...except for calling them Twinks just for old times' sake.

The Cleveland Indians (still politically incorrect after all these years) are mathematically alive but really, they are looking ahead to next year, when they should be good. Their young starters are coming around and they already have some good, established stars like Brantley, Lindor, Kipnis and Kluber.

AL WEST: Now it gets dicey. I really don't have a clue as to who will win but I'll try to sound knowledgeable and sure of myself so I can justify my own blogging.

The Astros are the definite favorites to go all the way unless the Rangers are somewhat better while the Angels sneak up on everybody. I feel very forcefully that Houston will keep confusing everybody by losing all their away games and stomping the pee out of everybody at home.

The Rangers will rally and hit when they aren't pitching and pitch when they aren't hitting, thus rendering themselves impossible to predict.

And the Angels will sink to the depths of the division while Pujols nurses a bad foot just as Trout gets over a bad hand and starts hitting homers again.

Seriously, I don't think the Angels have enough starting pitching to get over the hump.

I think either Texas or Houston will win the division and the other one will just edge out Minnesota for the second wild card behind New York.

Gird your loins! It's time for the stretch run!

Marco's Baseball Blog-o-Roonie: THE FINAL THIRD!

Todays' blog is dedicated to Pete Milne...a lefthanded hitting outfielder from Mobile, Alabama who only played 47 games in the major leagues. But Pete had one shining moment that has never been equaled...one transcendent baseball event...the only one of its kind to ever happen in all the games in the history of the majors.

On April 27, 1949 the Brooklyn Dodgers are playing the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. It's 8-6 Dodgers in the bottom of the seventh. Three men on one out for the Gigantics with the pitcher coming to bat.

Giants manager Leo Durocher sends Milne up to pinch hit. Milne gets hold of an outside fastball and drives it to the deepest part of the enormous center field at the Polo Grounds...over the head of Dodgers centerfielder Duke Snider. The ball rolls forever and by the time Duke gets it back in, Milne slides across the plate for the only pinch hit grand slam inside the park home run ever.

It was the only homer of Pete Milne's career...but what a wallop!

Some random thoughts and then a tour of the majors:

*The curse of the home run derby continues!

In case you didn't notice, Todd Frazier, who won this year's All Star Game Home Run Derby, is hitting .194 since the game, with 4 homers. He hit 25 homers pre-All Star Game. His opponent in the finals, Joc Peterson of the Dodgeheads, is hitting .165 with 3 dingers after hitting 20 before the contest. Mattingly is batting him eighth now.(They still have a third of the season to go, so maybe they can right the ship.)

This continues a trend of competitors in all the rounds of the derby tending to somehow mess up their swings and come crashing down after competing. Remember when Josh Hamilton hit all those bombs and then collapsed second half? Well it has happened to so many of the contestants.

My theory? They are hitting batting practice fastballs, but in regular batting practice hitters tend to go to all fields and try to hit line drives once in awhile. In the Derby, they have to start pulling everything and lofting every ball. After a hundred swings like this over three rounds, they have regrooved their natural bat-path and are screwed up for months.

Most of the players who just do one or two rounds are okay...Josh Donaldson (two rounds) certainly didn't fall off. Pujols (two rounds) has fallen off significantly. (7 homers in 128 ABs post All Star/ 26 homers in 325 Abs pre All Star)

My conclusion: the Home Run Derby hurts future productivity, especially for the finalists.

NL EAST: Let's start here this time. Washington has been saying all season how they are the team to beat...it's a long season, we're confident etc. etc. What they have been neglecting is the small details...like winning some ball games.

Washington can't beat good teams and they can't beat bad teams. Their vaunted starting staff gives up 3 runs, their offense scores 2. The offense gets 5, their staff gives up 6. They can't even beat the Rockies. They get shut out at Coors Field! Yeah, I know, they've had injuries. But so have the Cardinals and they win anyway.

Harper has been the Nats only real threat all season and opponents are pitching around him. Getting up in a few umpires faces and slandering them to the media has really done him a lot of good. Umps just loved being cursed at by 22 year olds who've been reading their own press clippings and say things like (loosely quoted) “the fans don't pay to see the umps call balls and strikes...” It's become obvious that they love expanding the zone for him and are almost baiting him to complain so they can throw him out.

So, Bryce, how's your approach to the men in blue working out for you? Granted, it seems like it should be your God-given right to have all the close pitches go your way since you are so wonderful and awesome and everything.

Harper's pre-All Star stats: 26 homers/.339/61 ribbies.

Harper post-All Star: 5/.307/13 ribbies.

Leading the division? The precious Metsi-poos. They did the right thing in acquiring closer Clippard. But like I said before, RIGHT-HANDED HITTERS CAN'T HIT HOMERS IN CITIFIELD. They should have gone for Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies instead of Cespedes.

The Mets are 15 in average, 14 in OB %, 13 in slugging, 15 in steals.

It's a testament to their terrific starting staff that the Mets are in first place...but mainly it's a testament to the wretched weakness of the Eastern Division. The Mets can't beat anybody from the Central. But the New York fans are swooning, like they always do whenever the Mets wake from the dead every twenty years or so. I've heard three different “Go Mets” type songs played on MLB radio this week alone.

They're just so lovable makes me want to puke. Look at that sweet little infielder crying because he thinks he got traded away from his warm, fuzzy friends! I almost hope they win so the Cardinals can eviscerate them in the Playoffs.

Never thought I'd miss the famous mid-80's underachieving coke-snorting Mets of Strawberry, Hernandez, Dykstra and Gooden.

Marlins: When is Stanton gonna play a whole season? Every body in the league pitches him inside and he's going to get hurt again and again. He should armor up like Biggio used to. Get one of those wacky hand protectors like Bagwell had.

NL CENTRAL: St. Louis. Is this the year, Cardinals? Maybe if the Giants don't make the playoffs. The Cards can beat anybody else. They seem to have even more serious injuries than usual this year, but they just plug in another phenom from the minors who carries them until he goes down, then bring up another. What a farm they have!

The Cubs on a winning streak are almost as obnoxious as the Mets. I like the team, I like the players they have now. I just can't stand the rapture. Cub fans are so eternally optimistic and positive when the Cubs lose. When they win the fans go absolutely ape-shit. All good.

But then watch when something goes wrong...like Bartman catching a foul ball. The Cub fans rip off their masks and you see the Beast emerge. They can make the Phillies fans and the Red Sox fans look tolerant. Still, I must admit, Madden was the right choice for manager. He's got those young people working together. Even Starlin Castro has taken being platooned (at second base instead of his shortstop position!) in a fairly team-first manner. I love Rizzo and Bryant. The other young people are delivering. They need one more good starter to help Arrietta and Lester and one veteran bat to be a bell-cow for the kids. A father figure like Pops Stargell was for the Pirates in '79.

As for the Pirates, gee it's hard not to root for this team. Great team spirit...several clutch hitters. Bulldog pitching from Cole. Slightly undermanned but maybe just enough to get into the wild card...where they might win if they can avoid Bumgarner and the Giants. I think they are probably thinking of throwing some games to the Cubs down the stretch if they can, just to keep the Giants out of the playoffs.

Like I said last time, they need to do it this year. The clock is ticking on their free agents and aging pitching staff. And McCutcheon can't avoid injuries forever the way the league tattoos him with fastballs for every perceived slight by the “pitch-'em-inside” Pirate pitchers.

NL WEST: The Dodgers are still sleep-walking through the season. Now that Joc Peterson is slumping, Gonzalez is their only consistent offensive threat. They've got Turner batting cleanup and Turner ain't a clean up hitter. Puig is off the charts inconsistent. And they think Chase Utley (he of the sub .200 average almost all of this season) is the answer? Hope so, Dodgers.

They jacked their payroll up to 300 million and still somehow avoided getting a good third starter to back Kershaw and Greinke. That's going to hurt them in the playoffs.

That is, if they even make the playoffs. What, I hear you say? Not make the playoffs? The sacred Dodgers? What have you been smoking, Swami?

The Giants are coming up on a stretch where they have 13 straight games against first division opponents. Then they go 25-4 favoring second division foes. They play the Dodgers 7 times and they always beat the Dodgers.

L.A. is pretty even between good teams and dogs to finish the season. You could see a patented Giants end-of-season surge. The Dodgers better beat up on the weak sisters while they can.

Of course the Giants saw Hunter Pence get injured yet again. Whenever he is in the lineup they win. That simple. They say two more weeks without him. They need to go .500 in this next stretch of tough opponents. Somebody has to step up so Bumgarner is not the only pitcher capable of winning a game.

Arizona: Watch out for the Diamondbacks next year. Goldschmidt is MVP. Pollock is great support. A couple of good pitchers away.

San Diego: After the dismal failure of this year, trying to buy a good team, the Padres will probably dismantle and start over. They need to remodel Petco park to make it more inviting for offensive players. Either that or go to a speed/defense/pitching team like the Royals.

Rockies: Where do they go from here? God knows.

AL EAST: The Yankees played their best game of the year when they came up to Toronto and shocked the Jays out of their 11 game winning streak with a dagger-home run from Carlos Beltran off of Price (the newly anointed Ace starter they've needed for so long). Then they won again the next day to put order back into the universe. Toronto still hasn't recovered their swagger.

Beltran...I predicted he'd be hurt all year, and of course I was right. But when he's in there, he sure has a knack for delivering in the clutch.

So does A-Rod. You see he passed Gehrig on the all-time list of grand slams? (Gehrig...that poor scrub. What did he ever do but play in every damn game for almost his whole career and bat .340/.447OB/.632SA lifetime? And set an example of humility and gratitude for being able to play the game until disease struck him down so young?)

The Yankee fans swoon over A-Rod like he's the golden steroid calf. I'm surprised they didn't go down on the field and carry him around on their shoulders like worshippers of Baal when he got his 3000^th hit.

Yes, A-Rod hits well for plus-forty. But he can't field and he can't run and he can't make some of us forget that he's a charter member of the LCB Club. He probably doped for his whole career. He definitely lied every chance he got until he couldn't get away with it. I hope he revels in his lifetime stats. They don't mean shit to me.

(By the way, LCB stands for “Lying Cheating Bastard”).

Toronto: Donaldson may have caught up with Trout as MVP. (Of course, Trout hurt his wrist and is playing through it. Hard on a hitter.) But The Donald comes through for the Jays a whole lot. The Jays problem is not enough pitching to hold teams back. Either the starters give up too many runs or the bullpen does. You can't score 8 runs every game, Toronto.

They had that one exciting stretch winning eleven in a row...probably a giddy reaction to having finally gone out and gotten a starter in Price. Plus trading for Tulowitzski to be their...leadoff hitter? Tulo is inspiring all right...batting .217 so far in the American League.

Toronto will probably make the playoffs because all of the other contending teams have major flaws as well. Just don't expect too much.

Baltimore: ...is still in the playoff hunt. They've been mediocre all year but somehow are over .500. As a team they strike out over 3 times for every walk. Adam Jones has only 21 walks. That's pretty damn low for a power hitter. He has 70 K's. J.J.Hardy: 14/68. Ryan Flaherty: 17/61. Chris Davis: 55/155. Jimmy Paredes has 17 walks against 100 strike outs. The home run bats of Jones, Davis and Machado (who, at 48/80 is their only big hitter with a decent BB to K rate) are carrying them. The Orioles are in Astro territory when it comes to air conditioning-by-bat.

Their pitching is way worse than last year. Tillman looked like an Ace-to-be last year and has really regressed. (ERA 4.54)

So why should you care? Because they won last year and I put them first in the East for this year. You don't want your Swami to look like a brainless jerk, do you?

Tampa Bay: Pity the Rays. Please, MLB, get them out of that horrible ballpark. Actually, get rid of both Florida teams and return that state to Spring Training games only.

There are good cities out there who will support a baseball team. San Antonio, are you listening?

Red Sox: So they canned the GM Cherington and went out and got the Big DD...Dave Dombrowski. Dombrowski will trade all their prospects for established stars...something that Cherington just didn't have the heart to do. Of course, a lot of those Red Sox prospects turn out to be duds...especially like almost all of their young pitchers.

They could have won this division with Lester and Lackey starting instead of Porcello, Masterson and Kelly. Boy, was that a misread from Cherington. And how did the bullpen go to hell so quick? Is Craig Breslow the only left-handed pitcher who can go out and lose a game for you?

Early in the season the offense was dead and that, plus execrable starting pitching and bullpen work...with just a dash of miserable defense (especially from Hanley and Panda) just buried them. Now the offense is hitting over .300 since the break. Too late Sox!

Actually, Dombrowski had a huge blindspot in Detroit with the bullpen. He doesn't seem to think it's a necessary part of a winning team. The Sox need a total makeover in that department. They should also ditch Bucholz, Porcello, Kelly, and everybody in the bullpen except Uehara and Tazawa.

But they are fools if they don't keep Bogaerts, Betts and Swihart.

AL CENTRAL: I've talked a lot about Kansas City, who have showed the small markets of baseball how to build a winner. (At least for a couple of years until the Free Agent trap gets sprung on them and they have to sell their stars cheap.)

There's not much of race left in the Central since Minnesota has subsided, Detroit sold their free agents and gave up on trying to win with an aging team, and Chicago and Cleveland both failing to make a dent after all their off-season maneuvers.

They tell me that Cleveland has a great starting staff: Really? Great enough to go 49-58 so far and hold down last place?

I think the whole division will become irrelevant next year. KC will lose Cueto and a few other free agents and have to retool. (They also have about 8 key guys on 1 year contracts and certainly can't resign all of them.)

Detroit won't have a pitching staff (Dombrowski got out just in time).

Chicago and Cleveland will still be flailing around wondering why they can't beat anybody and Minnesota will stop drinking Paul Molitor's happy juice and remember they are a second division club.

But guess what? I think the Royals will win it all this year.

AL WEST: How bad is this division? Bad enough to make the Astros look like world beaters even if they CAN'T WIN A GAME AWAY FROM HOME!

JESUS, THEY STRUCK OUT 17 TIMES THE OTHER NIGHT...AND WON! That's your pace setter right there.

The Angels are an old wooden building that is still standing even though termites have eaten through the floor joists. They are held together by three stout wooden pillars named Trout, Pujols and Calhoun. (I guess they have a couple of pitchers...Street in the bullpen, starter Richards occasionally but not much lately)

The Rangers are still contending for God's sake! Their team batting is mediocre (.255/.318/.407) and their pitching is even worse. They get injured like bull riders. And yet they contend for the wild card.

I tell ya, gentle readers....the whole AL is weak this year! Except for KC...

Seattle and Oakland: Pass.

Let me leave you with a funny story. Mickey Mantle used to love to tell this story on himself, which goes a long way toward explaining why he was such a popular guy and teammate.

Mickey was in a terrible slump. He struck out over and over and couldn't buy a hit. It all came to a head one day at the Stadium when he struck out 3 times with men on base and after the last K, flung his bat high in the air in frustration.

The umpire, of course, threw him out of the game.

Boos rained down from the crowd on Mickey as he stalked off to the empty locker room where he ripped his shirt off and sat mournfully on a bench.

The locker room towel boy for the Yankees at that time was Yogi Berra's little eight year old son, Dale. Well Dale comes over to Mickey and puts his hand gently on the big guy's shoulder. Mickey turns to him with gratitude, expecting some gentle words of encouragement from a hero-worshipping, pure-hearted true believer.

Dale Berra just looks him in the eye and says: “You stink.”

Until next time...May your baseball days be full...and drain the cup to the Dregs!

Marco's Baseball Bog-O-Roonie: DOLLARS, DELUSIONS and DESPERATION

MARCO'S BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE:

DOLLARS, DELUSIONS AND

DESPERATION

...THE PENNANT CHASE

Today's topic is the wild trading session concluding this afternoon as the July 31^st deadline for trades without clearing wavers has the baseball world all Topsy-turvey...catywampus...cracker-dog...and just plain chaotic and bewildering.

The trading season has gotten much more frantic since free agency has forced losing teams to trade their stars before losing them to free agency and other teams to make wild gambles to try to win before the same thing happens to them. Some of them do it right, some do it wrong and some just get unlucky or lucky as the baseball gods decree.

Take Kansas City for example. They are the smallest of the small market teams...toiling in the baseball wilderness and second division since 1985 when they won a World Series from the Cardinals thanks to the worst blown call by an umpire probably ever. Last year they snuck into the wild card, got hot and made it to the seventh game of the series before rolling over to Bumgarner and the Giants.

This year I predicted that they would win it all and they made me look smart by leading their division all season. But while their bullpen was supreme and their hitters hot and their fielders gold, they lacked an Ace starter and bench depth. Also, their core players Hosmer, Moustakis and several others are all on the verge of free agency...which in Kansas City means bye bye forever because KC doesn't have enough money to compete for free agents.

So KC needs to win now. Voila. They trade three of their best young lefty pitchers for Ace Johnny Cueto of the Reds. Then they pick up super sub Ben Zobrist from the Athletics who can fill in in left for injured Alex Gordon and when Gordon gets back, take over at second from offensively challenged Omar Infante.

They've emptied the farm and they know they only have Cueto for the rest of this season...he's a free agent and KC won't be able to resign him...not a chance in hades. But the Royals have this one year to win it all before they go back down to small market hell. God bless their little hearts, they are going for it.

KC's division rival Detroit has won the Central year after year, only to cough it up in the post season. For some strange reason they thought they could win without a bullpen and it has cost them year after year after year. They've failed to win two series against the Cardinals and the Giants and they let the Red Sox beat them in 2013 on David Ortiz's and friends heroics. They sunk a bundle into keeping Verlander, who had one more good season and then lost his fastball, his control and his ability to win. They tied up tons of money in Victor Martinez after his near MVP year and then watched him lose his effectiveness to injury. They let Scherzer walk away and traded all their other effective pitchers except for Verlander and Sanchez. They rented David Price for a year and now they've decided they can't win and traded him to the Jays for a prospect. They'll trade Cespedes next. He's a free agent to be as well.

I think Detroit lost their nerve. They are only 3 games away from the wild card behind the Twins. The Twins! They don't think they can come back and beat the Twins for God's sake? With Cabrera due back from a long stint on the DL, and J.D.Martinez almost leading the league in homers and Julio Iglesias playing gold glove shortstop and hitting

.318 and Kinsler and Cespedes playing great? I say keep Price and get a draft pick for him next year. Go out and get one of the good stoppers on the market and a number three type starter and go for it one more time. You can start to rebuild around your young players next year. But the Tigers spit the bit.

Over in the AL East it's a different situation. The race is tight even though the Yankees are 6 games up and looking good until they just lost Pineda to a forearm strain. Now they seem shaky in the rotation. Of course the Yanks will probably go out and get another starter. And maybe another reliever too (rumor mill says Chapman or Kinsler)so they can keep up with KC. But the Orioles and the Blue Jays are not that far behind and at least can compete for the wild card.

The Orioles aren't making many moves yet in the market. Well, they got Garcia Parra from the Brew Crew to play...outfield. I guess they want to keep their farm prospects. But next year they lose Crush Davis and some others and probably will be weaker. They are acting like a small market team that can't compete.

The Toronto Blue Jays, on the other hand, are all in for this year. Their offense is peaking with their off season addition Josh Donaldson an MVP candidate and Bautista and Encarnacion still dangerous. It's their pitching that has held them back. So what do they do? Trade for Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies! They were worried about Jose Reyes' diminished range at shortstop (undoubtedly accelerated by playing on the astroturf of their home stadium) and his huge contract. So they traded Jose and three pitchers to the Rocks, including their number two prospect Hoffman who looked like an Ace-to-Be until he had Tommy John.

So now they have an even better offense (except they don't have a leadoff man anymore and their whole lineup is right handed except for one guy.) And still no pitching! Okay, when the Tigers panic they trade their number one pitching prospect for a few months rental of David Price. So that means the Jays are looking at a future with no good pitching coming up...they've traded all of them. They want to win now...and they could do it. However...

The Jays are the worst possible team for Tulowitzki. Why? Because Tulo plays hard and gets hurt diving for balls. He's a great shortstop but he averages about 115 games played a year because of rib, groin and hip injuries. So now he'll be diving on concrete. I doubt he'll last a month.

So the Jays better win their bet because they aren't going to be able to keep Price or any other free agent. Free agents don't come to Toronto because of the exchange rate with the Canadian dollar and the taxes up there. Plus it's a media black hole and stars don't dig that.

It's always the same teams collecting free agents: New York (both teams, Chicago Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, an occasional flurry from a Texas or Atlanta.

Speaking of Texas, the Rangers just gave up their number 3,4 and 5 prospects to the Phillies for Cole Hamels. This is mostly for next year because Cole has three years left

on his contract. Texas doesn't want to miss their window. Injuries knocked them out last season and they want to cash in while they still have a productive Beltre and Fielder and whatever Josh Hamilton has left. If Yu Darvish comes back ok next summer they could have a strong rotation. (I thought the Dodgers would wind up with Cole.)

And Houston. O Lordy! They are so excited in Houston! The 'Stros are finally winning once in awhile. But Springer got hurt, Carter stopped hitting and they got bounced out of first place for a few weeks. So they traded for Kazmir from Oakland and just got that head case Carlos Gomez from the Brewers to play center and hopefully hit. Good moves Astros! Get the city fired up and behind you and you can turn into a large market team. (What is Houston, the 4^th largest city in the country now?) Even if they don't win the division, they are a favorite for a wild card.

The NATIONAL LEAGUE looks a bit less quixotic in their quest for glory. Most of the trades have been very utilitarian. Of course, this is the last day and things could change.

I predicted the playoff teams would be the Nationals, Cardinals and Dodgers winning with the Pirates and Giants wild cards. So far, that is exactly the order of things.

But the Mets with their great pitching are hanging around with the Nats. So the Nats upgraded their bullpen by adding Papelbon from the sinking ship that is the Phillies. The Nats also get Rendon and Werth back from injuries so they are looking stronger. Their starters got hurt though. Strasburg and Fister are out. Denard Span is still out. So the Nats are not sure things.

And the Mets could pounce ...if only they had a clue! They got a closer in Tyler Clippard but can't seem to land a hitter. Their loss Houston's gain with the Gomez fiasco. They didn't like his health issues. I guess they're paranoid after Wright's neck problem. Their offense is a joke and short and second are problems.

They should trade for Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies. Lefty hitters do better at Citi Field. Citi is where right handed power hitters go to die. (Does anybody remember Jason Bay? He hit lots of homers and rbis for Pittsburg and Boston and then free agented to New York and dropped like a stone.)

The Central is in the capable hands of the St. Louis Cardinals, who pick up exactly who they need whenever they want to. They are so logical and orderly about their moves. Let's see, Holiday is hurt again...let's get...Moss from Cleveland!

Pittsburgh needs to win this year or next. Clock on the wall says free agent stars will be leaving for big bucks away from small market Pirates. It's sad...they are almost over the hump. If they could only win out of the wild card. A.J.Burnett was pitching way too good to last. Since the All Star break he's been a disaster.

The Cubs seem to be waiting till the off-season to go after some more help. This year is a little too early for them to go for it.

The Reds are major sellers. They will rebuild around Votto but they got a lot of good young talent by trading Cueto and now Leake (to the Giants) More to come with Chapman probably going. It's the Deguello playing in the background for the Reds. It's going to be awhile.

Out West, the Dodgers are playing cat and mouse with the resurgent Giants. I keep expecting them to go crazy and blow people out of the water with big moves, but the Dodgers surprised me by adding middle-level pitchers Wood and Latos to be 3-4 starters and actually got some prospects back to restock their farm in this complex 13 player three way deal with Miami and Atlanta. (The Marlins were just dumping contract money it looks like. I suspect the Braves got some good talent back...GM John Hart is a shrewd old bastard.)

AS I mentioned, the Giants got Leake from the Reds. He pitched great on the road and okay in the band box at Great American. He should do real well in the big park in San Francisco.

FIRST HALF MVPS:

AMERICAN: Trout

NATIONAL: Goldschmidt (Harper real close)

Oh yeah...for some reason I left out St. Louis from the Mt. Rushmore of each team last time:

St. Louis Cardinals: ROGERS HORNSBY, DIZZY DEAN, STAN MUSIAL, BOB GIBSON

foothills: Jessie Burkett (hit over .400 twice in the nineteenth century), Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, Albert Pujols.

Fans chose Brock over Dizzy Dean. I can see it. Brock led them to three pennants. But Dean had 5 great years in the hitting-happy early thirties and was the star of the famous Gashouse Gang series winners of 1934 when Diz won 30 games.

Also, Dizzy was the most popular and colorful player in baseball after Babe Ruth.

Pujols I think is nixed because of the way he left the team. Ozzie should get more consideration. What a great star!

See you next time...

Marco's Baseball blog-o-roonie at the break

MARCO'S BASEBALL BLOG-O-ROONIE

THE “MOUNT RUSHMORE” DEBATE:

MLB has asked fans to choose the “Mt. Rushmore” of each team...the 4 players who represent each team best throughout their history.

I now reprint my picks for the original eight teams of the American League in conjunction with scathing repudiations of the imbecilic picks of mere fans.

Then I'll do the National League.

YANKEES: easy...Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle.

...but in the foothills are Berra, Ford, Jeter and Rivera.

*no arguments here! The fans agreed!

RED SOX: harder...Cy Young, The Thumper, Yaz, Ortiz

foothills: Pedro Martinez,(Big Asterisk* Clemens)

*the fans picked Pedro Martinez over Cy Young. Pedro's 5 years (starting with Montreal in 97 when he had an ERA of 1.90) are indeed as dominant as any pitcher has ever had. Considering the hitter's era he pitched in, Pedro was the most dominant pitcher of all time in the 99 and 2000 seasons.

But how do you keep Cy Young off Mt. Rushmore? Pedro pitched 7 seasons for the Sox, Cy pitched 8. Cy actually pitched more for the National League Cleveland and St. Louis franchises. So I guess I'll let it pass. I love Pedro, but you will see a trend of ignoring the great players of earlier eras. Today's fans have no sense of history.

ST.LOUIS BROWNS/BALTIMORE ORIOLES: George Sisler (hit .400 twice), Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray

foothills: Jim Palmer

*fans put Palmer in and completely ignored the fact that the franchise started in ST. Louis with the Browns. So no Sisler.

WASHINGTON SENATORS/MINNESOTA TWINS: Walter Johnson, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett

foothills: Bert Blyleven (under-appreciated), Jim Kaat

*ring the alarm bells! Fans did NOT put Walter Johnson in. They put Tony Oliva in but not Walter Johnson, the consensus best pitcher of all time...especially if you go by longevity. Now I know I'm dealing with New Age ignoramuses!

DETROIT TIGERS: Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer,

Al Kaline

foothills: Alan Trammel, Miguel Cabrera

*fans jumped the gun by putting Miguel Cabrera in instead of Gehringer. Maybe by the time he's done, but it's too early. Somebody look up Gehringer's record. 14 stellar seasons. Lifetime .320/.404/.480 and played the best defense of his time. Won a couple of World Series too.

CLEVELAND INDIANS: Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker (The Grey Eagle...always liked his nickname), Bob Feller, Satchel Paige (I know he only played a couple of years for them when he was about 50 but hey, some team should have room for the greatest pitcher of all time on Mt. Rushmore. Who would you rather have, Rocky Colavito?)

foothills: Lou Boudreau, Rocky Colavito

*fans put in Vizquel and Jim Thome instead of Nap Lajoie and Paige. Okay, I was having fun with Paige (see story at end of today's blog) but they actually called the Indians the “Cleveland Naps” when Lajoie played. Top 5 of second basemen all time.

PHILADELPHIA/KANSAS CITY/OAKLAND ATHLETICS: Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Reggie Jackson, Ricky Henderson

foothills: Home Run Baker, Al Simmons, Catfish Hunter, Dennis Eckersley

*of course! Who ever heard of Lefty Grove? Not the Athletics fans! They put Eckersley in there. Dumb! Grove was a Top 10 pitcher of all time.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX: Eddie Collins, Luke Appling, Nelson Fox, Frank Thomas

foothills: Big Ed Walsh (deadball era pitcher who won 40 games in 1908 while pitching 464 innings! Lifetime ERA? 1.84)

*idiot fans put Konerko, Baines and Minoso ahead of Appling, Fox and Eddie Collins. Collins is easily in the top three second baseman of all time. Top thirty of all players all time! Can you say that about Konerko or Baines? According to Bill James, Collins was among the best defensive second sackers of all time, was the best bunter of all time, invented the hit and run, caused the infield fly rule to be invented to keep him from doubling up base runners on dropped pop ups, stole 731 bases, batted .333 lifetime with a .424 lifetime On base. White Sox fans...go stand in the corner!

NATIONAL LEAGUE ORIGINAL EIGHT:

BOSTON/MILWAUKEE/ATLANTA BRAVES: Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron, Chipper Jones,Greg Maddux

foothills: Kid Nichols(averaged over 30 wins a year in the 1890s), Hugh Duffy (batted .440 in 1894...great center fielder), Ed Mathews (very close at third with Jones), Phil Niekro, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz

*Spahn and Aaron are slam dunks...fans agree with me

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: Christy Mathewson, Mel Ott, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey

foothills: Carl Hubbell, Juan Marichal, (DISQUALIFIED: BARRY BONDS...no steroid Frankensteins allowed on Mt. Rushmore!)

*stupid fans don't even mention Christy Mathewson...one of the original Hall of Famers and a great pitcher for the Giants for years and years. 6 ex post facto Cy Young awards. Shame! One of the first great American baseball heroes and a consensus top twelve pitcher. Same with Mel Ott...a great, great outfielder and 500+ home run hitter with a high average and on base percentage. Fans had Bonds and Posey. Too soon on Posey...see above for Bonds.

BROOKLYN/LOS ANGELES DODGERS: Dazzy Vance, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Sandy Koufax

foothills: Zach Wheat, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella

*I don't expect the fans to remember Dazzy Vance who was one of the best pitchers of the twenties. He dominated and had ERA's about two runs lower than the league for the decade of the twenties. Played for bad teams...still won 7 straight strike out titles, 3 ERA titles.

Fans liked Drysdale who was a great pitcher but overrated because he pitched in the pitcher's paradise of Dodger Stadium in the worst hitter's era of all time.

Pee Wee is a Hall of Famer who played from 1940 til 1958...the era of greatness for the Dodgers. He was the captain, the shortstop, the lead off man, the team leader in every way. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson's shoulders and let the world know that not every Southern Man was a racist. A very important Dodger.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: very tough choices here...Grover Alexander, Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, Mike Schmidt

foothills: Ed Delahanty, Sliding Billy Hamilton, Steve Carlton

*fans ignored the old timers of course...even Alexander who is probably one of the top five all time pitchers. Alex won 245 games just in the decade of the teens (nine years with 1918 off so he could go get gassed in the trenches of World War One.) total of 373 wins all time. Led in victories 6 times, innings pitched 7 times, complete games 6 times, shutouts 7 times pitching in one of the great hitter's parks of all time. He threw 16 shutouts in 1916! (Read that again!) Alex led in strike outs 6 times and ERA 5 times. He had WARs over 10 3 times! His Whips WERE unreal...etc. etc...he would have won 4 Cy Youngs ex post facto. (Cy himself would have only won 5!)

Adjust for era all you want...Grover was a pitching God.

Richie Ashburn was the heart and soul of the Phils in the fifties. (led in hits 3 times, walks 4 times, triples twice, batting twice and on base 4 times. Games played 7 times ...that's important) A great leadoff man and right up there with Willie as a great center fielder. As important to Philadelphia as Al Kaline was to Detroit.

Fans also had Schmidt and Roberts along with Carlton (5 strike out titles, 1 ERA title)...who I love but who wasn't quite as dominant as Roberts and Alexander in their respective eras.

CINCINNATI REDS: Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan

foothills: Ernie Lombardi, Barry Larkin

*fans chose Barry Larkin over Robinson. Obviously they forgot that Robinson won them a pennant and was dominant for ten years in a Reds uniform before they inexplicably traded him to Baltimore where he won the triple crown in 66. Barry Larkin was a great team leader and shortstop. But Robinson was very close to Willie and Hank as a hitter in that era and was way better than everybody else. Bill James lists him as the 24^th best player OF ALL TIME.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES: Honus Wagner, Ralph Kiner, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell

foothills: Arky Vaughn (top five shortstops of all time), Paul Waner (300 hit club)

*fans voted for Mazeroski who will always be a God in Pittsburgh. Over Kiner. Kiner was super productive as a home run hitter who walked a lot and carried a bad team for years. He couldn't run, field or throw. Maz was a pathetic hitter with a terrible on base percentage but was the best fielding second baseman of all time. Turned the double play better than anyone before or since. Has the highest fielding rating OF ANY PLAYER ALL TIME AT ANY POSITION. So I guess it can be a good argument. But if Maz hadn't hit that one home run...

CHICAGO CUBS: Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, Gabby Hartnett, Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg

foothills: Cap Anson*, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Sammy Sosa*

*fans picked Santo and Williams but not Brown or Gabby. I expected that. Brown was one of the two best pitchers of his era along with Christy Mathewson. He beat Matty head to head in those early days of the great rivalry between the Giants and the Cubs...the only time that the Cubs ever won World Series. I just think that the best player on those early Cubs teams should be on Mt. Rushmore for them. And Brown, pitching with a mutilated hand...was one of the best pitchers ever.

Gabby helped the Cubs win a couple of pennants in the twenties and thirties. He was the leader at catcher. Williams and Santo are both worthy candidates and great players...among the best. Sammy Sosa*...I just can't go there.

Cap Anson is a special and sinister case. He played (mostly first base) from 1871 to 1897...led the league in rbis 8 times...batting 4 times. First man to ever get to 3000 hits. What made him special was that he was largely responsible for keeping the National League together in those early years...thus getting professional baseball going. Normally he'd be considered a titan of the game and a prime candidate for Mt. Rushmore. But...Anson, more than any other man, was most responsible for keeping black players out of major league baseball. There have been other racists in baseball for sure, but this was the man who actively worked to get a permanent ban on black players... a ban that lasted until 1947.

Get down off that mountain Cap.

ALL TIME NEGRO LEAGUE MT. RUSHMORE: John Henry “Pop” Lloyd,

Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige

foothills: Buck Leonard, Cool Papa Bell, Martin Dihigo, Rube Foster, Smokey Joe Williams and about ten others.

(Remember this is the best players from the whole league...not just one team)

Lloyd was a shortstop and Ruth called him the best player he ever saw. Charleston was known as “the black Ty Cobb” and was an Alpha Star par excellence. You've heard of Josh Gibson...probably the greatest right handed power hitter ever. Once hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium...Hit some 700 homers in Negro League play. Outstanding catching skills.

And Satchel? Well, here's a story for you:

Vin Scully tells this story:

“One of the things that Bill Veeck did as a promotion, he signed Satchel Paige, who was very close to being 50 years old and still pitched very well in Triple-A. On that ballclub, back in 1956, was Whitey Herzog — now a Hall of Fame manager.

But Whitey was an outfielder, and they were playing in Rochester, New York, and Herzog was out in the outfield and he noticed a promotional thing in the Rochester ballpark. There was a hole in the fence in center field, and above it was a sign — “If you hit the ball in the air through the hole, you get $10,000.”

So Herzog went back into the clubhouse, got a bunch of balls, went out to center field and tried to throw a ball through the hole. And he couldn’t do it. So then when he went back in before the game started, Whitey was talking to Satchel Paige. And he said, “Satch, you see that hole out there in center field?”

And Paige said, “Yes, wild child.”

He said, “I’ll bet you a bottle of bourbon that you can’t throw the ball through that hole.”

So the next day, before batting practice, Herzog got a bunch of balls and he took Satchel Paige out. Herzog marched off 60 feet, 6 inches from the hole. He gave Satchel Paige the ball.

And Satchel said, “Wild child, does the ball fit through the hole?”

And Whitey Herzog said, “Satch, it sure does.”

He said, “Then you have a bet.”

So he held the ball up and looked over the ball like he was aiming a rifle. Now, Paige winds up and throws. The ball goes into the hole, spins around, and pops out again. And Herzog thinks, “Holy mackerel! He’ll never come any closer than that.”

Paige picks up the next ball, aims: right through the hole. Clean as a whistle. He said, “Wild child, I will take that,” and walked off the field.”

Answer to the stumper question:

What brothers hold the major league record for most home runs by sibling players?

Answer: Hank Aaron and Tommie Aaron. Hank hit 755 and Tommie hit 13!

Next post before I leave for New Mexico at the end of July!