Weekend Movement (Winners & Losers)

A couple of playoff teams took a couple steps in the right direction this weekend getting some deals done. Of coarse all deals are pending league approval but lets talk about the potential winners starting with The San Francisco Giants.

The Winners

San Francisco Giants

The Giants made two seperate deals this weekend one with the Minnesota Twins who have clearly entered rebuilding mode and the other with the Pittsburgh Pirates which now looks to be going the opposite direction that the team had planned in the beginning of the season. With that said San Francisco's first deal involved moving SS-Shane Dicks who is on the path to being a fine defensive Short Stop along with getting on base with his speed and contact. He leaves a little to be desired with his patience at the plate and offers absolutely no power right now, he will need to spend some time in the gym if he wants to improve his power game, The Second player San Francisco is moving is SP-Aaron Anderson who looks like he will project to be a #3 or #4 starting pitcher at best, however he should eat innings and he has okay control on his pitches right now with good movement, in AA ball for The Flying Squirrels he has posted a 3.57 ERA to go along with 14 strikeouts & 12 walks in 35.1 IP, He still has time to develop seeing as he's only 22yrs old but will need to put in the work if he wants to improve his overall game. Finally the last prospect the Giants gave up was 2B-Stew Sheppard.  A player who should just dominate opposing pitchers when he finally gets called up. Some experts call him a 4star player with his defense being his only weakness in his game so far being 22yrs old he still has time to develop that part of his game as well.  We personally are really high on his power game with him already hitting 19HR's and batting .302 in AA ball. He should be on the fast track to making the bigs and could possibly see him in a Twins uniform as early as mid season next year

Now let's get to who the Giants got in return for those 3 prospects. Fans of the San Francisco Giants should be very pleased with there GM Vertigo as he has brought the team a legitimate 3rd baseman in Chase Headley.  A player who can guard the Hot Corner with the best of them and also has some pop to his bat and has a good eye currently for the Twins Headley was posting a line that looked like this .312 BA, 15HR's, 65RBI's.  Headley should be more protected hitting in San Fran's lineup.

The next deal the Giants made was with the Pirates GM-Legends The Giants acquired CP-Joel Hanrahan in exchange for LF-John MacVicar. The Giants addressed one of there biggest needs in finding a Closing Pitcher and possibly completes there team for what should be a good race between them & the Arizona DiamondBacks for 1st place in the NLW. However I'm not quite sure what Pirates GM- Legends was thinking with this move. He already has Jose Tabata playing Left Field and he is just a tad bit under the .300 mark as a career hitter coming in at .299 Tabata offers great Defense and to be honest MacVicar looks like he should be playing DH for an American League team, now if MacVicar puts in the work he might be able to develop another skill he has very questionable contact, questionable defense and bad speed. Sitting at 21yrs old he will have to put in the time now or he could just flop out of the Majors all together.  He is worth keeping an eye on and I expect Pittsburgh to be looking to move him in a year or two.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers found a player who should complete their lineup and give them a legitimate chance at making a long playoff push when they traded for Minnesota's OF-Jordan Danks.  Jordan plays great defense and brings a much better bat to the table, not to mention he will now be hitting in the National League and Milwaukee also gained more draft picks which looks like a reoccuring theme with them this season. adding another 3rd & 6th rounder never hurts.

Minnesota Twins

Minnesota came into the weekend looking to rebuild and I would say they have done a great job at doing just that, they got some good pieces in the earlier trade I mentioned with the Giants and they also added a top of the line Starting Pitcher in Seth EngelHardt who has Major League ready Control, Power & Movement right now to go along with 2 Major League ready pitches right now in his Fastball & Gyroball if Engelhardt can improve his Forkball and add a 4th pitch to his resume he could be a top 5-10 SP in all of the Mogul World.  Not to mention they also obtained RP-John Dudley who like Engelhardt could be Major League Ready right now or could wait and still learn in the minors and come up as one of the best Closing Pitchers with his already Major League Ready Control, Power & Movement along with 1 Major League Ready pitch in his Fastball. his Slow Splitter could use some work but as a closer it is a nice secondary pitch to have, If he develops his changeup at all, Dudley could be the Top Closer in the game. Now some of you might consider that a fair enough return, however Minnesota's GM came ready to play and also squeezed out CF prospect Remy Knowles as well who could very well be as good if not better than Danks was. Right now we project Knowles to be another Curtis Granderson type of player.

All in all Minnesota did a great job in their rebuilding effort this weekend picking up 6 potential starting players for their organization moving forward,The Brewers & Giants both filled their holes.

Now onto the teams who we feel just had a bad weekend and what we call this part of our story.

The Losers

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates look like a team with absolutely no direction at all in the offseason they traded away prospects looking to compete this year, 100 games into the season they look to have abandoned that strategy and have gone back into rebuilding mode, which I have no problem with, however there GM-Legends should really look to be getting fair value for his players and if he can't get that don't just give your players away.  

With that said lets start with the Pittsburgh/San Fran trade. Not a fan at all of the return of LF John MacVicar. especially in what looks like a player who will bring you type a compensation in return. Or the fact that a LF wasn't needed on this Pittsburgh team. All in all big failure

Now moving onto the Pittsburgh/Chicago(A) trade.  The Pirates trade a CP who one GM just as early as last year said was the Top Closing pitcher in the game. All for a 2nd round pick, & not even an early 2nd round pick, or a mid 2nd round pick, a late 2nd round pick. I wish I had some sort of idea on what the Pittsburgh Pirates were doing however I don't see anyway this trade makes any sense what so ever. Sure you can say the Pirates were in Salary Cap hell, but they just traded away Hanrahan's 7M contract, so their salary problems weren't and aren't anywhere near as bad as their GM is trying to trick you fans into. My suggestion to you is to boycott until a new GM is hired, one that looks like it has a path to follow and can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel even if that tunnel is far away.

Houston Astros

The Astros trade with the Angels almost makes the Pirates trades look good. I can't for the life of me figure out why a team who is only 8.5 games out of a wild card spot and hasn't missed the playoffs in I believe 3yrs would want to just basically give away one of the best pitchers in the game in Zack Greinke. Its not like the return is even good. They will be getting a OF in BJ Upton who plays CF which they have absolutely zero need for considering they already have Schafer. Upton isn't a big enough upgrade over Welgraz to replace him and Houston's GM just released a similar player to Upton in Magglio Ordonez who could have held down RF. Magglio's releasing makes no sense and neither does taking on Upton when it's clear that if you're trading Greinke you are wanting to rebuild, so why take the 29yr old who's batting a mere .258 this season.  Just so you can swap SP's for Betances? Who if the Astros were that high on probably could have acquired for a number of other players since Dellin has average vitals at best. You want to bring up age that's fine my response is quite simple a SP in this league should have more than 2 Major League ready Pitches and Betances has 1 with another on the verge.  The part of the trade that really give me a headache is why take on Sanchez if you are looking to rebuild or shed salary. He's 31yrs old and I find it hard to believe that the Angels could just give him away.  The only part of this deal that makes any sense for the Astros is acquiring the 1st round selection. However it will be a very late round selection, and still doesnt offer enough of a return for one of the best pitchers in Mogul.

Other Notable Teams:

Atlanta Braves

Made a couple good trades over the weekend as GM-s6xstringslast rebuilt his rotation by basically swapping Lee for Miller. I'm not sure if he makes this trade if he is fully in the playoff hunt instead of just being about 13 games back of a Wild Card Spot. Not to mention his deal with Toronto which I believe was pretty even for both teams.

MVP Candidates so far.

The American League could very well have its MVP Candidate locked up already. However in the National League we have a very tight race to the end of the regular season and with roughly 57 games to play it should be an amazing race down the stretch.

In the American League we have LF- Carlos Gonzalez who is having a fantastic year and has a real chance at the triple crown this season. The next two closest players to him for the MVP are Boston's  2B-Dustin Pedroia & Detroit's LF-Ryan Braun.


Here's a quick look at their stat lines:
Carlos Gonzalez, 33HR's, 104RBI's, .336BA, 147Hits, 14 Doubles, 5 Triples, 14 Stolen Bases
Dustin Pedroia, 16 HR's, 72 RBI's,  .363BA, 149Hits, 22 Doubles,  2 Triples, 8 Stolen Bases
Ryan Braun,  28 HR's, 71 RBI's, .304BA, 125 Hits,  25 Doubles, 1 Triple, 6 Stolen Bases

In a normal year both Pedroia & Braun look like deseving candidates however with the year Gonzalez is having neither player is even close and to have a chance they will need Gonzalez to cool off to have a legitimate chance at taking home the American League MVP Award.

In the National League I strongly believe that 1B-Justin Morneau is on his way to winning back to back MVP Awards even after his very slow start to the season, he has recently caught fire and is one of the reasons Milwaukee has taken a 4game lead in the NLC division. Don't take that as me selling the other players short because I do believe it is a very close race. I believe Morneau's closest competition for the NL MVP is Florida's 1B-Gaby Sanchez, who is having a terrific year in his own right, along with San Francisco's 1B-Albert Pujols who is a MVP candidate year in and year out. I also have a dark horse candidate in Arizona's 1B-Daric Barton.

Here is a look at their stat lines to this point:
Justin Morneau- 24HR's, 83RBI's, .295BA, 104Hits, 21 Doubles, 1 Triple, 0 Stolen Bases
Gaby Sanchez - 23HR's, 79RBI's, .289BA, 121Hits, 21 Doubles, 3 Triples, 5 Stolen Bases
Albert Pujols - 21 HR's, 63 RBI's, .311BA, 121Hits, 31 Doubles, 0 Triples, 5 Stolen Bases
Daric Barton - 15 HR's, 92 RBI's, .309BA, 128Hits, 25 Doubles, 2 Triples, 3 Stolen Bases


The American League looks to be a Left Fielder's League which is quite the opposite for the National League where it looks to be a First Baseman's playground with every possible early MVP candidate playing First. No matter what happens fans should pay close attention as I could see the NL race coming down to the final game of the season.

If the Playoffs Started Today

If the playoffs started today here is how things would look:

AL

1. ANA
2. CHW
3. NYY
1WC. CLE
2WC. BOS

NL

1. MIL
2. SF
3. FLA
1WC. STL
2WC. ARI

WILD CARD ROUND

AL: CLE over BOS
NL: ARI over STL

DIVISION SERIES

AL: ANA over CLE 3-2
AL: CHW over NYY 3-1
NL: ARI over MIL 3-1
NL: SF over FLA 3-0

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

AL: ANA over CHW 4-2
NL: ARI over SF 4-3

WORLD SERIES

Anahiem over Arizona 4-2

AWARDS

AL Cy Young: Travis Wood(BOS)
AL MVP: Carlos Gonzalez(ANA)
AL ROY: Kyle Skipworth(CHW)

NL Cy Young: Kyle Gibson(MIL)
NL MVP: Albert Pujols(SF)
NL ROY: Luke Trail(PIT)

Second Half Predictions

AL EAST

BOS #3 Seed
NYY #1 WC
BAL
SAD
TOR

The AL East will come down to the two teams that it always comes down to, the Yankees and Red Sox. The Yankees lead has shriveled but the key to look out for is the pitching. New York has the better rotation, Boston has the better lineup, but at the end of the day it will come down to experience. Boston should win this division by 3-4 games but expect a Wildcard from this division.

AL CENTRAL

CHW #2 Seed
CLE #2 WC
DET
MIN
KC

The White Sox rotation and lineup has bolstered them to the top of division. The one question to ask is can the youth and age mix to keep them up their. Next would come the Indians. They lost out on the playoffs bairley last year but are looking to get a title back. The experience to win is there and they will match the White Sox all the way to the very end. Everyone else has a little shot, mainly Detroit and Minnesota but from this point on its a 2 team race. Chicago should win the division by about 5 games but Cleveland should be in all the way and will probably see a Wild Card berth.

AL WEST

ANA #1 seed
SEA
OAK
TEX

The Angels yet again will win this division. Honestly there is no one to challenge them here. Seattle with a few moves could maybe do something but it wont be enough. Anahiem is loaded with every all star known to man and they will win the division by atleast 10 games.

NL EAST

FLA #3 seed
NYM
ATL
WAS
PHI

Florida will as always win this division. They've got experience and all the assets to back it up. Although Atlanta and New York with a few moves could very well make a run. The Mets have flirted with 1st place all season but the Marlins have always found a way to stay in front. Down the stretch this is close. Florida wins division by about 3-5 games.

NL CENTRAL

MIL #2 seed
CHC #2 WC
STL
CIN
HOU
PIT

This is prob the most open race in all of baseball and the best competition the NL Central has had in years. It'll come down to 4 teams most likely, the Brewers, Cubs, Cards, and Reds. The Brewers rotation and offense should have just enough to put them over Chicago but it'll come down to the final sim most likely. Milwaukee wins by 1-2 games.

NL WEST

SF #1 seed
ARI #1 WC
LAD
SD
COL

Yes, for once the Padres wont have the worst record. The Giants should win this division but it'll be a close fight down to the last few sims. Arizona has the better rotation and the Giants have the better Lineup, but we all know it'll come down to Albert Pujols. Giants win division by 2-3 games.

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

WC

NL: ARI over CHC
AL: CLE over NYY

DIVISION SERIES

AL: ANA over CLE 3-2
AL: CHW over BOS 3-2
NL: ARI over SF 3-2
NL: FLA over MIL 3-2

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

AL: ANA over CHW 4-2
NL: ARI over FLA 4-0

WORLD SERIES

Arizona over Anahiem 4-1

Milestone Complete but Not Done Yet: Jim Thome Hits 700 HR and Counting

Jim Thome has played in the league for 24 seasons. He has been one of the most feared power hitters the game has ever known and now he hit a milestone inwhich only 4 other players have hit, 700 Home Runs. Jim Thome a member of the Chicago White Sox hit his 700th home run July 3rd of 2014 at home against the Astros. Thome hit the homerun in his 1st atbat sunday afternoon as well. It was a 2-0 count from Houston pitcher Brett Oberholtzer.

For Thome he joins greats such as Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez(currently active) on the exclusive list. He currently sits 5th on the all time list and is only 14 from tying Babe Ruth for 4th, a landmark many people think he will accomplish this season. Although for Thome the road for the record could be a long one. Currently Alex Rodriguez, a member of the Houston Astros is at Number 736, 26 from Hank Aaron, and it could only grow as AROD shows no signs of slowing down. Most experts expect Rodriguez to pass Aaron next season and end his career as the All Time HR leader at some point. For Thome years are numbering, currently 43 years old he is droping in value. The White Sox though do have him on payroll for another 4 years. Although many experts believe this could be it for Thome as he is starting to decline and heath could get in the way. He is projected to pass Babe and most likely finish 4th on the All Time List. Thome is still playing so he could always pass it and it will be an exciting thing to watch play out. It took him just over 3 years to get to 700. Lots hope it takes less to get to 800 but if 700 is Thome's last big milestone then it was well worth the 24 year wait. Many say, "it couldnt have happened to a better and more deserving guy".

Many young player come after Thome but there may not bee another 700th Home Run for awhile. Albert Pujols remains at 525 at 34 years old, so it could happen again. When asked of his accomplishment Thome said, "It is great to finally have that accomplishment. For me I'm not worried about the all time record as I am comited to getting Chicago a World Series Title. It would be great to have it but this is fine for now. I'll play for as long as I can and hit as many home runs as I can."

The White Sox hit the half way point in 1st in the AL Central at 58-34 and are well in the playoff competition. Thome has hit 20 homeruns this year and is hitting at a .257 batting average.

Around the Majors 6/24/2014

Heading in to the last few weeks before the all star break lets take a quick look around the league.

NL EAST:
Appears to be breaking down to a three team race. Florida's Josh Johnson is having an almost Greg Maddux-esque season currently and with being backed up by  Leesman and Jurrjens the Marlins look extremely tough to beat. The Mets have stuck around longer than a lot of people thought they would being lead by both a patchwork lineup and pitching staff. Dan Haren is having a great season so far and Matt Purke is helping solidify the rotation. The post season signing of Axeford has helped sure up the backend of the pen. Dexter Fowler has helped the offence with a .397 OBA. Meanwhile Atlanta is being led by the arm of Cliff Lee, while Justin Jacot is putting up some amazing power numbers and appears to be one of the top ROY canidates.

NL CENTRAL:
This division appears to be open to just about everyone. Currently the Cubs lead and after the acquisition of Matt Cain appear to be serious in staying in contention this year. Kerry Wood seems to be playing like someone younger and is having a tremendous season so far with just 1 blown save this season.  The offence chugs along and with the emergence of Marcell Ozuna could become quite dynamic. The Brewers are led by Kyle Gibson and Yovani Gallardo with Justin Morneau helping to fuel the offence. Just a little further back are the Houston Astros. They've went through some rough times this early season losing their GM through a scandalous affair but here they sit just a mere 3 Games out. Johann Santana is carrying the starters while Hector Salvador paces the offence.

NL WEST:
Two team race, San Fransisco and Arizona. Currently the Giants look like the cream of the National league contenders but with the trade deadline still 2 months out anything can happen. The Freak Tim Jimmy is driving the starting staff while the addition of Pujols has turned this into a smooth moving offence. Meanwhile Arizona is speared on by the arms of Ian Kennedy and JP Howell. The Diamondbacks offence is led by the smooth swing of Pablo Sandoval(.330 avg) and the sweet pop of Stephen Drews bat(13 HR's).

AL EAST:
Yankees, plan and simple. Deon Carter is one of the best pitchers period. Brett Gardner at the top of the lineup sets the table superbly. 46 stolen bases so far and hitting .302 is the catalyst for the Yanks offence. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the Red Sox but with a 10 game deficit already they're is going to have to be moves made. Travis Wood and Roy Halladay anchor a solid starting staff with Daniel Bard closing the late innings out. Meanwhile their offence is propelled by the trio of Dustin Pedroia(.369 avg), Will Middlebrooks (15 HR, 60 RBI), and Jacoby Ellsbury (32SB, 54 RS).

AL CENTRAL:
The central sees the Whitesox out front of everyone else with Detroit and Minnesota battling it out for 2nd place. The Sox bring staff aces Chris Sale and Zach Stewart with  Nathan shutting the door. The offence is giving legs behind the bats of Miguel Cabrera and Jim Thome. Thome is closing in on a milestone of 700 HR's and would join the likes of Ruth, Bonds, Aaron, and Rodriquez as the only other men to reach that plateau. Detroit has the sure hitting Ryan Braun leading the charge with CJ Wilson and JA Happ leading the fight from the hill.

AL WEST:
The Angels have a forseeable stranglehold on the west and it will take some great moves to unseat them from atop the heap. What can you really say about the Angels. Loaded just about everywhere. From King Felix(7-3, 76K's) to Carlos Gonzalez(.357 avg, 30 HR's, 85 RBI's) If the injury bug can stay away its pretty much a sure thing that the Angels will add another Western divison crown to their trophy cases.


Its shaping up to be a great race down the stretch across the landscape of the league. Some teams with the right moves and a little luck could easily push themselves right back in to the thick of things.






-Peter Gammonns.:)

A New Era Begins For Washington

When the Mariners hired Arod12 on June 15,2012, he was a few steps away from making a run. 3 long years later he has been hired as the Washington GM. It ended Bitter sweet for him though. He reportly resigned from the team while comimg back and joining the Nationals. All he can do now though is rebuild and try to devlope the propsects. Washington has never made the playoffs in their short history in the MLB. Arod has the challenge of a lifetime and the opportunity to take down elite teams like the Marlins and up in coming Mets and Phillies. He said in his interview today "there was no-where to go but up. I wish Seattle the best of luck, but it was time for change". Arod will need all the luck he can get while his team has currently never had a .500 record ever in its history.