Category: MLB (Page 6 of 448)

      Is A-Rod finished?

      July 14, 2013 /

      The speculation around Alex Rodriguez is definitely heating up as Major League Baseball seems poised to hammer him on his PED use. The latest has MLB and his representatives negotiating a possible deal that would leave him with a 150-game suspension!

      It’s still remarkable to me that A-Rod would tarnish his legacy with this greed and stupidity. Even with all the trappings of professional sports, A-Rod was a freak of nature who was destined to have a Hall of Fame career. He didn’t need the PEDs, but yet he was seduced perhaps by the lure of even bigger numbers and fatter contracts.

      This is just one of many sad cases of a fall from grace. It’s pitiful, as he had plenty of opportunities to clean up his act.

      It will be interesting to see how the union hand;es this, as there are reports that many players want the cheaters rooted out and punished. Will the union leadership listen?

      MLB

      Ryan Howard’s rough year

      July 13, 2013 /

      Ryan Howard tried to be optimistic before the season as he came back from a difficult injury, but 2013 has been a tough year so for. His numbers are way down, with .266 batting average and 11 home runs as we come up to the All Star break, and now Scott Miller is piling on as he puts together his anti-All Star team of the season’s biggest disappointments.

      Few are in dire need of ice packs as much as Howard — both for his knee and his numbers — so we can only wish him Godspeed on his impending knee surgery. Hope he returns on the short end of the six-to-eight weeks he’s expected out.

      Before landing on the disabled list this month, Howard, at $20 million this year, essentially was reduced to platoon status. Against lefties, he’s hitting .173 with a .218 on-base percentage. That’s not hitting. That’s praying.

      The Phillies’ frustration with their Big Man reached such epic proportions that general manager Ruben Amaro borrowed a page from the Brian Cashman Book of Calling Out a Player. Minus the F-bomb.

      “If Ryan Howard is now relegated to being a platoon player, he’s a very expensive platoon player and he needs to be better,” Amaro told Philadelphia radio station WIP earlier this month. “I think he knows it. I know he’s struggling. I know he’s not happy with his performance. Neither are we. I think he’s going to be better, but right now, he’s just not doing the job.”

      Josh Hamilton is another of the many prominent players on this list.

      Howard is on the disabled list now, and we’ll see if he finds a way to turn his season around.

      MLB

      Subway Boys In The Hall: Prince Fielder’s authentic power

      July 9, 2013 /

      Coming off an era where it seemed like everyone could be a slugger, it’s refreshing to get back to a game with balance. Prince Fielder is one of these authentic players that bring us back to a simpler time with his enormous frame and natural power. His father, Cecil Fielder, was one of the great power hitters of his day and I remember him as a kid, and it’s pretty amazing to watch his son live up to and then surpass his impressive legacy.

      It’s must be difficult for some to live up to the hype surrounding a famous name, but Prince Fielder has handled it beautifully. The numbers speak for themselves beginning with his seven years with the Milwaukee Brewers followed by his new gig with the Detroit Tigers. With his father, they are the only father-son combination to have hit 50 home runs in the majors. Since Prince Fielder’s first full season where he hit 28 home runs, he has slammed 30 or more dingers for 6 consecutive seasons, with seasons of 50 and 46 in there. Yet he’s also maintained a lifetime batting average of .285 and on base percentage of a staggering .390, so he helps his team in many ways. Las year he had his career-best average at .313 with an OBP of .412, so he may be maturing as a hitter. When you think about young players who have a shot at the MLB Hall of Fame, power hitters garner plenty of attention, but it definitely helps if you’re not a one-dimensional player. But power definitely grabs the attention of the public, and it doesn’t hurt that Fielder has also won two Home Run Derby contests.

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      The key to any Hall of Fame career is longevity, and Fielder has been incredibly durable so far in his career. Now he’s blessed playing in probably the best lineup in baseball as he leads the way along with the incredible Miguel Cabrera. It’s scary to think about how much damage these guys can do if they stay together in Detroit as they feed off of one another. With this lineup and their pitching the Tigers should consistently compete for World Series titles, and that would be icing on the cake for Fielder.

      So as of now, Prince Fielder is definitely one of those guys that have a shot as baseball immortality. Every indication seems to suggest he can keep this up.

      SUBWAY is celebrating “The Boys in the Hall” and you can learn more about it here.

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      MLB

      Subway Boys In The Hall: Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves

      April 30, 2013 /

      When you think about the baseball Hall of Fame, you think about the incredibly high threshold that’s set for an inductee. You don’t just have to be great, you have to keep it up for a long time.

      Usually, any discussion of Hall of Fame credentials starts in earnest after a player is well into his career. But it’s always fun to consider the Hall of Fame potential of young superstars, particularly when they set the league on fire right off the bat.

      Craig Kimbrel definitely fits the profile of a young superstar who at the very least can be in the conversation this early in their career. This National League Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star has been consistently dominant right from the start. As we said, Hall of Fame discussions start with numbers, and the numbers are there for Kimbrel. He’s posted 46 and then 42 saves in his first two seasons with the Atlanta Braves. His ERA numbers were an impressive 2.10 and then a dominant 1.01. His WHIP is even more impressive, starting with 1.04 and then going to an eye-popping 0.65. He’s also a strikeout machine with 127 and then 116. In 2013 he’s continued with the impressive stats.

      Kimbrel comes across as even keeled and soft spoken in his interview above, but he also has the “wow” factor given how hard he throws. He’s consistently in the high 90s with his brutal fastball and sometimes tops out over 100 MPH. Flamethrowers always grab the attention so that’s another factor in his favor.

      Of course all of this is only a start. Longevity is critical for Hall of Fame candidates, and the bar is very high for closers when it comes to the Hall. With Mariano Rivera finishing up his spectacular career, the bar may be raised even higher. So Kimbrel of course has a long way to go. Also, as a power pitcher, keeping it up over a long period of time can be even more difficult. Not everyone has an indestructible arm like Nolan Ryan. But the dominating performances are starting to become routine for this guy, so he’s definitely a youngster to keep an eye on.

      MLB

      Pablo Sandoval crushes three homers in Game 1 victory

      October 25, 2012 /

      I heard an interview with Detroit Tigers starter Justin Verlander before Game 1 where he was talking about what the fans wanted to see from him. It was something about fans wanting to see him pump fastballs past hitters instead of nibbling the corners, and that would be his approach. Well, maybe the long layoff hurt him and the Tigers, or maybe he should avoid worrying about what fans want in terms of pitching advice, as the Tigers got thumped in Game 1 of the World Series.

      Meanwhile, Pablo Sandoval hit three homers in a row, two off of the mighty Verlander, as he joined Reggie Jackson, Babe Ruth and Albert Pujols as the only hitters to hit three homers in a World Series game.

      It’s been a crazy postseason in baseball, and anything can happen, but this was a great start for the Giants.

      MLB

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