Tag: Atlanta Braves (Page 12 of 16)

      Mikey’s Crystal Ball: preseason MLB award predictions

      March 29, 2009 /

      It’s hard to believe the start of baseball season is next week. It seems like a very short time ago when the Phillies and Rays were playing a Game 5 of the World Series in frigid Philly, having to suspend it and pick up the next night. It seemed like nothing was going to stop that Phillies team, much to the dismay of this Mets’ fan. Anyway, it’s a fresh start and a clean slate and a whole lot of possibilities. Here are a few of those as I see them…

      NL MVP: David Wright, New York Mets—Am I playing homer? Yes. But this kid works really hard every off-season and consistently puts up big numbers, and he hasn’t even come close to showing his potential. This year Wright is going to show the world why the Mets have built their franchise around him, and he’s going to (finally) lead them to a World Series.

      AL MVP: Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians—Last year, Sizemore had a full season low batting average of .268 but racked up career highs in home runs (33), RBI (90) and stolen bases (38). Last season Sizemore finished 10th in the AL MVP voting but like Wright, he is on the verge of something huge, and he’s going to lead the Indians to the playoffs.

      NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants—I love a good short-guy-kicks-ass story, the kind where most scouts write someone off because of their size (5’10, 160 pounds), and then they go and prove everyone wrong except the team who drafted them. That’s Tim Lincecum, who won the NL Cy Young last season for the Giants, winning 18 of his team’s 72 wins, or ONE QUARTER of them. His stuff is absolutely sick, and at times just unhittable and he will coast to his second straight Cy Young.

      AL Cy Young: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox—Last season, Dice-K went 18-3 but was largely overshadowed by Cliff Lee’s 22-3 masterpiece as well as by K-Rod’s record-breaking 62 saves. But this guy has taken over as the dominating shutdown starter in Boston after Josh Beckett battled inconsistency last year, and this year he’s going to roll to the Cy Young.

      NL Rookie of the Year: Micah Hoffpauir, Chicago Cubs—Last season, during the second straight historic collapse by the Mets, Hoffpauir was Babe Ruth for one game, going 5 for 5 with two home runs and five RBI. That was his only multi-hit game, but you don’t just have a showing like that by accident.

      AL Rookie of the Year: David Price, Tampa Bay Rays—Sure, the Rays optioned their young phenom to the minors recently, but don’t let that fool you. Once Price logs a few innings, he’ll be back in Tampa blowing hitters away the way he did in the ALCS against Boston last season. And he’ll find himself as the #2 or #3 starter before long.

      NL Manager of the Year: Jerry Manuel, New York Mets—When Willie Randolph was let go in New York last season, the Mets were 34-35. After Manuel replaced him, the Mets went 55-38 the rest of the way. Okay, they choked again down the stretch, but this year it’s Jerry’s team from the start, and he’s going to show everyone that his no-nonsense and player-friendly approach can win lots of games, as well as championships. It doesn’t hurt that he has two lights-out closers (K-Rod, JJ Putz) anchoring his bullpen now.

      AL Manager of the Year: Eric Wedge, Cleveland Indians—The Indians missed the playoffs last season after taking the eventual champion Red Sox to 7 games the year before. The Tribe plays well in odd numbered years as of late—going 93-69 in 2005 and 96-66 in 2007. This season, with the additions of Kerry Wood, Mark DeRosa and Carl Pavano, Cleveland is going to surprise a lot of folks.

      NL Comeback Player of the Year: Eric Byrnes, Arizona Diamondbacks—Byrnes was way off his career averages in 2008, hitting a paltry .209 with 6 homers and 23 RBI. He has nowhere to go but up, and this season I have a feeling Byrnes’ numbers are going to match his intensity on the field.

      AL Comeback Player of the Year: John Smoltz, Boston Red Sox—After season-ending shoulder surgery in June of 2008, the Braves finally let one of the cornerstones of their franchise go, as the free agent pitcher signed with the Sox. He won’t see the mound until June, but Smoltz threw in the bullpen this week and showed no signs of pain. He’s going to make the Braves sorry—really sorry.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Top 10 active WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched)

      March 14, 2009 /

      Since we focused on the offensive side last week when listing the Top 10 in active OPS in Major League Baseball, this week we’ll take a look at the active WHIP leaders for pitchers. That stands for Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched, and is an extremely important statistic when you’re considering pitchers to draft for your fantasy team. Not only do most fantasy leagues count points for WHIP, but it’s a great indicator of overall pitching prowess. Here is that Top 10 in WHIP, and it includes only pitchers who are active going into the 2009 season:

      1. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees (1.0199)—Rivera has been the hammer in the Yankees’ bullpen for over a decade and still shows no signs of slowing down. At the age of 38 in 2008, Mo struck out 77 in 70 innings, and racked up 39 saves.

      2. Pedro Martinez, free agent (1.0512)—True, Pedro is about a lifetime removed from his dominating days with the Red Sox, but dude can still pitch effectively and has no MLB team at the moment.

      3. Johan Santana, New York Mets (1.1024)—Will Johan be the guy to lead the Mets to their first title in almost 25 years? He had a brilliant first season in New York but was hurt by lousy run support and an even lousier bullpen.

      4. Curt Schilling, Boston Red Sox (1.1374)—It’s hard to believe Schilling is not done yet, because he hasn’t pitched in a real game in almost two years. But if and when he goes back out there, I’m still picking him for my fantasy team.

      5. Randy Johnson, San Francisco Giants (1.1673)—The Big Unit is five wins shy of 300 for his career, and reaching 300 is something that seemed impossible when he had back surgery before last season. But dude is still a beast and still blowing the ball past hitters, and he’s in his mid-40’s.

      6. John Smoltz, Boston Red Sox (1.1697)—It’s going to be strange seeing Smoltz in a Red Sox uniform, but as a diehard Mets’ fan, I couldn’t be happier about that.

      7. Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres (1.1864)—When you think of the game’s top pitchers, do you think of this dude? Well, you should. Peavy has already racked up 1256 strikeouts and he’s only 27.

      8. Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros (1.1979)—Another amazing young pitcher, Oswalt is 31 years old and has a lifetime record of 129-64 for a usually-less-than-awesome Astros’ team. That’s just sick.

      9. Ben Sheets, free agent (1.2010)—If he ever pitched a full season, Sheets would be a lock for the Hall of Fame by now. But you just never see an injury report without his name on it.

      10. Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays (1.2076)—Playing north of the border, Halladay has won the AL Cy Young Award once and finished in the top 5 in voting three other times. How have the Yankees kept their paws off of this guy?

      Source: Baseball Reference

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Top 10 active OPS (On base plus slugging percentage)

      March 7, 2009 /

      Those of you gearing up for your fantasy baseball drafts might pay attention to OPS a little more than most folks. That is “on base plus slugging percentage,” measuring a player’s offensive worth more than almost any other statistic. Here is a list of the Top 10 active OPS leaders, minus players like Barry Bonds who are technically still active but not on a major league roster at this time:

      1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals (1.0489)—Albert is a freak of nature, averaging 42 homers and 128 RBI with a .334 batting average in his first eight seasons in the big leagues. Last year, he battled early elbow problems and wound up winning the NL MVP. This guy is just money year in and year out, and he’s only 29.

      2. Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers (1.0044)—That sound you just heard was a combination of two things—a collective sigh of relief in La La land and the thud of millions of dollars landing in Manny’s bank account after finally signing a deal with the Dodgers this week. Like him or not, the Dodgers probably just bought a division title.

      3. Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies (1.0020)—I’m not accusing anyone of anything but it’s intriguing to me that Helton hit 49 homers in 2001, the same year Barry Bonds hit 73. And his numbers have been steadily declining ever since. I’m just sayin’, it sort of reeks of Brady Anderson.

      4. Frank Thomas, Oakland Athletics (.9740)—The Big Hurt has averaged 36 homers, 119 RBI and batted .301 over nineteen seasons. Are you kidding me? Dude is a lock for the Hall of Fame.

      5. Lance Berkman, Houston Astros (.9730)—Berkman hasn’t matched his highs of 45 home runs and 136 RBI in 2006, but he always strikes fear in opposing pitchers.

      6. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (.9671)—It’s been a rough month for A-Rod, first with steroid allegations and now with a hip injury that will sideline him for several weeks. But dude is still king of the regular season in the batter’s box.

      7. Jim Thome, Chicago White Sox (.9663)—For almost 20 years, Jim Thome has been one of the best left-handed power hitters in the game. And his .279 career batting average isn’t exactly shabby either. Not great, but not shabby.

      8. Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles Angels (.9634)—Check out these career averages—36 homers, 117 RBI and .323 batting average. How has Vlad only won one MVP award? Oh, I know—Montreal.

      9. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves (.9554)—Chipper is about as steady as they come, and he seems to be getting better with age. It’s too bad that hardly anyone goes to that ballpark in Atlanta.

      10. Jason Giambi, Oakland Athletics (.9421)—Yeah, okay, we know Giambi used banned substances to aid his performance. But dude is still a pretty good hitter even off the juice.

      Source: Baseaball Reference

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Griffey chooses Braves

      February 17, 2009 /

      Free agent outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. has decided to sign with the Braves and not the Mariners, his former team.

      Ken Griffey Jr.The 39-year-old erstwhile “Kid” — also known as “Junior” — decided to sign with the Braves over an offer to return to Seattle, where he played his first 11 seasons with the Mariners and was the American League MVP in 1997.

      The two teams made similar offers, believed to be in the range of $2 million guaranteed, with incentives tied to staying healthy and getting a lot of plate appearances.

      Griffey, who lives in Orlando, is nearly a decade removed from his years as a Gold Glove center fielder — he won 10 of those fielding awards in a row in the ’90s — but is still at least a serviceable outfielder and a formidable hitter against right-handed pitching.

      He’s expected to play primarily in left field for the Braves, probably in a platoon role right-handed hitter Matt Diaz, though Griffey could also play against some lefty pitchers.

      He could also serve as a backup center fielder for the Braves, who only got 27 home runs from their outfield last season, the lowest total in the majors.

      This was a solid move for the Braves, who have added much needed depth to their outfield.

      MLB

      Braves making late push for Griffey

      February 14, 2009 /

      Just a day ago it appeared that Ken Griffey Jr. would be heading back to Seattle for a one-year reunion with the Mariners. But now the Braves are making a late push for the free agent outfielder.

      Ken Griffey Jr.Atlanta, which has been looking for a reasonably priced, veteran outfield bat, lost out to the Los Angeles Angels this week in a bid to sign Bobby Abreu.

      If the Braves don’t sign Griffey, they could turn to veteran Garret Anderson as a fallback. But sources said that Griffey is Atlanta’s prime target, and the Braves are “in the mix” for his services.

      The interest is apparently mutual. Griffey lives in Orlando, Fla., where Atlanta’s spring training site is located, and has a good relationship with Braves manager Bobby Cox.

      Griffey would also be willing to split time with Matt Diaz in left field for the Braves, sources said.

      Griffey is playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament in California this weekend. After playing a round Thursday, he told reporters that media reports of his imminent return to Seattle were nothing more than “rumors.”

      Griffey would be a solid, low cost addition to the Braves’ outfield. It’ll be interesting to see how this one turns out.

      MLB

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