Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Dallas Keuchel, Craig Kimbrel—the list goes on for offseason names, but which of these players will receive the contract they actually want? Pitchers and catchers first report on February 12, but none of these players have chosen a team and that is hurting both them and the fans.
First of all, the memory of J.D. Martinez’s failed expedition to attain a seven-year $200 million contract should be fresh in these players’ minds (Martinez ended up acquiring a five-year $110 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, far less money than what he originally wanted). A picture of two bats with Philadelphia Phillies’ logos and Harper’s name and number 34 circulated on Twitter on Monday, January 28. Many fans and analysts are speculating that the image means that Harper will sign with the Phillies. The Score’s beat reporter Bruce Levine said in October that, “Harper is reportedly looking for a 10-year, $350 million deal as the starting point in negotiations.” The Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell said on Friday, January 25 that Harper will not end up making nearly as much money as he wanted. He said, “Harper’s best concrete offer now is not for an average annual value of $37.5 million or $35.7 million… No team claims that it has any contract offer on the table to Harper at all. There’s been plenty of big talk and goo-goo eyes but no “sign here.”” The waiting game might not be the only part of this process hurting players. Baseball simply is not bringing in enough money for teams to be giving out $200, $300 million contracts anymore. Frankly, after the New York Yankees’ experiments with Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Giancarlo Stanton (giving players upwards of $100 million for over seven years) and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s franchise-crushing contract with Albert Pujols, the odds of team following in their footsteps are unlikely. Kimbrel is looking for a six-year contract for at least $100 million, but he is not receiving the interest he hoped he would. The best interest the World Series Champion closer has gotten is a potential three-year deal from the Minnesota Twins. The Houston Astros want Keuchel to return to their squad, but the Cincinnati Reds are making a serious bid for him. Scott Boyken, Fansided’s Reds’ beat reporter said that, “Following his trade to the Cincinnati Reds earlier this week right-hander Sonny Gray agreed to a three-year $30 million extension. The numbers suggest he’s similar to remaining free agent ace Dallas Keuchel.” The Reds spent $30 million on Sonny Gray and Boyken says that they are likely to spend that for Keuchel ($10 million per year). Machado is getting interest from many teams including the Yankees, Phillies, Chicago White Sox, and San Diego Padres. Machado entered the offseason looking for essentially the same deal Stanton made in the 2017-18 offseason, a 13-year commitment for $325 million. Wallace Matthews of New York Daily News said that Machado is looking at a deal similar to Harper. He said that Machado is looking at contracts on a, “range from $175 million for seven years to $250 million for eight years.” Spring training is 11 days away, but the fans still have no idea which players they will be rooting for. Jesse A. Cook “MLB Offseason’s Toll On Players And Fans” February 1, 2019
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2019 starts in a few hours, so to welcome the new year, here’s an installment of baseball in year 9s. From Roger Connor to Hideki Matsui, baseball has taken a wild ride in year 9s.
1889: Managed by Jim Mutrie, first baseman Roger Connor and the New York Giants topped the National League, a game ahead of the Boston Beaneaters, winning the league championship with an 83-43 record. They shared their city with the American Association Champs, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, led by outfielder Oyster Burns and managed by Bill McGunnigle, who topped their faction of baseball with a staggering 93-44 record. They played each other in a primitive form of the World Series, the Giants winning six games to three. 1899: Finishing eight games above the second-place Beaneaters, another Brooklyn team took home a league title in this ‘99: the Brooklyn Superbas led the National League with a record of 101-47. In May of that season (May 15, 1899), Brooklyn’s Wee Willie Keeler hit an inside-the-park grand slam to win a game over the rival third-place Philadelphia Phillies. 1909: The classic seven-game World Series between the gentleman Honus Wagner’s Pittsburgh Pirates and the dastardly Ty Cobb’s Detroit Tigers took place in this year. Despite losing the series, Cobb made history that year for compiling baseball first Hitter’s Triple Crown since Nap Lajoie of the 1901 Philadelphia Athletics. On July 19, Neal Ball of the Cleveland Naps turned the first unassisted triple play in the history of Major League Baseball. 1919: Scandal struck the 1919 season when after the Cincinnati Reds took home their first World Series trophy in a five to three series win over the Chicago White Sox, it was revealed that the powerful representatives of the American League, now nicknamed the “Black Sox,” had purposefully lost the series to the seemingly inferior National League team. Gangster Arnold Rothstein had bribed players into throwing the series to receive more money than they would have received for winning the series in the first place. Eight players from that Black Sox’ team were banned from baseball for life, the most notable suspension being handed to, as anyone who’s ever seen the 1989 classic baseball movie starring Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta, and James Earl Jones, “Field of Dreams” can tell you, Shoeless Joe Jackson. During this year, Rube Foster began plans to form the Negro Leagues. 1929: Despite being named the MLB’s Most Valuable Player, second baseman Rogers Hornsby could not bring his Chicago Cubs to win the World Series Championship they would chase so fervently until the early morning of the November 3, 2016. Instead, the Cubs lost the series in five games to Mickey Cochrane, Al Simmons, and Lefty Grove’s Philadelphia Athletics, managed by the genius, Connie Mack. This was the final time in the World Series era (1906 and 1922 preceding it) that Boston held last place in both the American and National Leagues, the Red Sox at the bottom of the AL at 58-96, and the Braves at the bottom of the NL at 56-98. In the Negro Leagues, at a staggering 66-14 record, the Kansas City Monarchs won their fourth of 12 Negro National League titles. 1939: In this year, the Reds’ Bucky Walters (the National League Most Valuable Player) became the first National League pitcher since the Brooklyn Robins’ Dazzy Vance in 1924 to win the Pitcher’s Triple Crown. His Reds lost the World Series in four games to the American League MVP, Joe DiMaggio, and the New York Yankees. The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York (incidentally, where I’m writing this edition of this annual article from) inducted its second class, including Cap Anson, Eddie Collins, Charles Comiskey, Candy Cummings, Buck Ewing, Lou Gehrig, Willie Keeler, Charles Radbourn, George Sisler, and Al Spalding. The American League won the MLB All-Star Game 3-1 at Yankee Stadium, the West won the first Negro League All-Star Game 4-2 at Comiskey Park, and the East won the second Negro League All-Star Game 10-2 in New York City. The Monarchs won their sixth Negro National League Pennant and the Baltimore Elite Giants won their first of two Negro American League titles. 1949: Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox in the AL and Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the NL won their respective MVP Awards. Robinson lost the World Series to the crosstown rival New York Yankees four games to one in an unexciting World Series exhibition. The Rockford Peaches won their second of three consecutive and third of four total championships to win the All-American Girls’ Professional Baseball League, defeating the Grand Rapids Chicks three games to one. The American League won the MLB All-Star Game at Ebbets Field 11-7 and the East won the Negro League All-Star Game 4-0 in Chicago. The Baltimore Elite Giants won their second and final Negro American League title. On June 15, future MLB manager Dusty Baker was born. On July 21, future terrifying closer Al Hrabosky, and a week later future Oakland Ace Vida Blue were born. On September 27, considered maybe the greatest third baseman of all-time, Mike Schmidt was born. 1959: Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers won their first World Series as the Los Angeles Dodgers, beating the AL MVP Nellie Fox and the Chicago White Sox four games to two. The Chicago Cubs’ Ernie Banks won the NL MVP. While Bob Allison of the Washington Senators took home the Rookie of the Year Award, future first-ballot Hall of Famer Willie McCovey won the award for the San Francisco Giants. On April 22 of this year, future two-time World Series Champion manager Terry Francona was born. On October 21, future Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer George Bell was born. 1969: A wild year for the entire world, this year involved Woodstock, Neil Armstrong set his foot on the moon, and, possibly the most unlikely of all, the New York Mets won the World Series. Only seven years old, the franchise with Tom Seaver and a young Nolan Ryan secured its first Championship with a “Miracle Mets” victory in five games over the Baltimore Orioles. Willie McCovey, the Rookie of the Year ten years prior, was the MVP of the All-Star Game at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, which the NL won 9-3. McCovey also won the NL MVP and Harmon Killebrew of the Minnesota Twins won it in the AL. Early in the decade, San Francisco Giants’ pitcher and teammate of McCovey, Gaylord Perry, conjectured that men would never walk on the moon. Being a terrible hitter, he said, “They will put a man on the moon before I hit a home run.” On July 20 of this season, just minutes after Armstrong stamped his foot and the American flag on the lunar surface, Perry knocked a solo blast over the fence in the Giants’ 7-3 win over Los Angeles Dodgers in San Fran at Candlestick Park. 1979: Led by the co-NL MVP Willie Stargell (the other was the St. Louis Cardinals’ Keith Hernandez) the Pittsburgh Pirates won the Fall Classic in seven games over Ken Singleton of the Baltimore Orioles. Stargell also won the World Series MVP Award. The AL MVP was Don Baylor of the California Angels. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Dave Parker won the All-Star Game MVP in the NL’s 7-6 victory at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington. 1989: This would be the second of three consecutive American League Championships for the Oakland Athletics, but this would be the only one of these times that they won the World Series, beating the San Francisco Giants in a series sweep. The Series was interrupted by the Loma Prieta Earthquake which collapsed part of the Bay Bridge. This occurred just minutes before Game Three was scheduled to start. The natural disaster temporarily knocked out the television feed and prompted both teams to venture onto the field for safety and the umpires and Major League Baseball decided to postpone the game until ten days later on October 27. A’s pitcher Dave Stewart won the Series MVP. The MVPs were Kevin Mitchell of the Giants in the NL and Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers in the AL. The Kansas City Royals’ Bo Jackson was the MVP of the All-Star Game at Anaheim Stadium, which the AL won 5-3. Jackson and Wade Boggs of the Boston Red Sox led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back home runs off of the Giants’ Rick Reuschel. 1999: The New York Yankees, led by their young stars Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and veteran Roger Clemens, won the World Series in four games over the Atlanta Braves (with their young, new third baseman future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones). The Braves had just won their eighth of 14 consecutive division titles. Jones was the NL MVP and Iván “Pudge” Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers was the AL MVP. The AL won the All-Star Game 4-1 at Fenway Park. Boston Red Sox’ ace Pedro Martinez was the MVP after a historic start, striking out five of the six batters he faced, striking out the first four: Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire, and finishing on Jeff Bagwell. Two of those five, Larkin and Bagwell, would make it into Cooperstown, and the two of the other three would probably be alongside them if their steroid use had never come out (Walker is still on the Hall of Fame ballot). 2009: World Series MVP Hideki Matsui (and Jeter, Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, and Rivera) led his New York Yankees to a four games to two World Series victory over Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Minnesota Twins’ catcher Joe Mauer won the AL MVP Award and the St. Louis Cardinals’ first baseman Albert Pujols won the NL MVP Award. Andrew Bailey of the Oakland Athletics won the AL Rookie of the Year and Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins won the NL Rookie of the Year. The Boston Red Sox’ right-handed starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka led Team Japan to their second World Baseball Classic Championship defeating South Korea 5-3 in ten innings at Dodger Stadium in the Final. 2019: Right around the corner, tomorrow, January 1, 2019, will start a story just as great as the previous 13 decades mentioned in this article. Already looking exciting, 2019 will feature Bryce Harper apart from his Washington Nationals, possibly, and now joining any one of many exciting teams, Paul Goldschmidt with the St. Louis Cardinals instead of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Manny Machado playing for, at this point, anyone, Yasiel Puig leading a brand new Cincinnati Reds roster, and Mookie Betts taking his reigning World Champion Boston Red Sox for another spin. Jesse A. Cook “Baseball In Year 9s: Welcoming 2019” December 31, 2018 Infielders dominate the MLB Trade Deadline, such as Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado, Rafael Devers, and Jose Abreu. Other commodities outside of the infield are Bryce Harper, Jacob DeGrom, J.A. Happ, Billy Hamilton, Blake Treinen, and Jon Gray.
MANNY MACHADO: For months, people have been asking where Machado will end up and it looks like the options have been narrowed down to a few teams. Boston, New York, and Arizona look like the best targets for the shortstop. As for the Red Sox, there’s a small chance that Machado would play short because Xander Bogaerts occupies the position, however who’s to say that Baltimore doesn’t want a slightly younger player guaranteed to stay with them for two more years, such as the X-Man? We’ll tackle Devers’ possibilities in this potential trade later on in this article, but Boston’s pitching prospects like Jay Groome, Tanner Houck, and Bryan Mata make other pretty targets for the Orioles. The Bronx looks like a team better suited for Machado, rather than more suited for Baltimore, because the Yankees’ third baseman, Miguel Andujar, is hitting better than their shortstop, Sir Didi Gregorius (Andujar is batting .283 with 12 home runs and a .830 OPS, while Gregorius is batting .259 with 15 home runs and a .804 OPS.), so Machado would play shortstop instead of third. Baltimore could also use some of New York’s talent, including any of their top prospects, but the Yankees’ poor rotation indicates that they would not be so willing to trade away young pitchers. Of course, Baltimore might not want to trade the star within their division, so instead of Boston or New York, maybe they will consider someone in the other league or even on the other side of the country. The Diamondbacks are another good location for the former third baseman because they need someone other than Nick Ahmed at short because his .218 batting average, 10 home runs, and .682 OPS do not boast as well as Machado’s .305 batting average, 20 home runs, and .931 OPS. The Orioles also are interested in D-Backs’ prospects Jon Duplantier and Taylor Widener. NOLAN ARENADO and JON GRAY: Arenado’s contract expires after next season, so any team lucky enough to snag the future Hall of Famer will have him for the rest of 2018 and all of 2019, which possesses an opportunity for two championship runs. While it may seem unlikely for Colorado to trade their best player, they’re at the point in the season where they have to decide whether or not they want to try to make it to the playoffs. If they do, they probably won’t make many big deals, but if they don’t they will have to think about the future and trade Arenado and Gray for a bunch of prospects to bring up at the same time in the fashion of the Red Sox or Yankees (or now, the Blue Jays, too). Gray’s another Colorado commodity coming clean off a good season, and who doesn’t want an ace pitcher to join their ranks with Chris Sale, Justin Verlander, or Max Scherzer? If Colorado decides that they are not all in (just like Washington they’re a third place team that was expected to be better) then Gray and Arenado should be the first to go, for each will reap huge rewards in the prospects’ category. RAFAEL DEVERS: It seemed, up until recently, like a foregone conclusion that Devers would end the season outside of Boston, but he’s hit .385 with two home runs and seven RBIs (including a 5-5 night at New York) in his last seven games, which means either that he’s more valuable to Boston or he’s a more valuable trade target. Boston ideally wants to trade Devers for Machado, but with a desperate need for good starting pitching, they might look to Colorado for Gray, or possibly to San Francisco for Madison Bumgarner or Los Angeles for Clayton Kershaw. (Both teams’ failures indicate that they need good, young, cheap talent like Devers.) He makes a great trade target, however his recent success indicates that he might be a really helpful piece in a World Series run for the Red Sox. JOSE ABREU, BRYCE HARPER, and BILLY HAMILTON: Power and speed are greatly needed in the postseason. (Boston and San Diego’s manager, Dave Roberts, can attest to speed being a necessity) Abreu and Harper’s obvious power (they’ve hit a combined 32 home runs) and Hamilton’s speed and improved hitting (he’s hit .400 over the last two weeks with four steals and four RBIs) make them prime targets for teams like the Mariners or Braves who have low power or Yankees and Phillies with low speed. JACOB DEGROM and J.A. HAPP: Two excellent starters on two failing teams are great targets for teams such as the Indians or Angels who are both fighting for first place in their division. DeGrom, with a 5-4 record, the best ERA in baseball at 1.84, and 134 strikeouts has been a trade topic since he beat Hamilton out for Rookie of the Year in 2014 and teams such as the two mentioned earlier in this article and the titans in the East, the Red Sox and Yankees, would be more than happy to give up half their farm systems for the starter, so he can bring them a World Series this year. Since he’s under contract until 2021, a team like the Reds or Rays who are seemingly on the rise would pay a high price for the star. Happ is no small player either because he will prove instrumental in the formation of a championship season for whichever lucky team acquires him. He’s 10-4 with a 4.03 ERA and 110 strikeouts and he’s an unrestricted free agent in 2019, so he’s perfect for one championship season. Virtually every team that’s not the Houston Astros needs more good starting pitching, so Happ will be a prime target come the deadline. BLAKE TREINEN: The Oakland closer is an important target because the Athletics are a losing team, so they don’t have much use for a quality closer. He’s signed through 2020, so whoever wins the bid will have him for future runs for a championship and his 21 saves, 0.91 WHIP, and 0.89 ERA definitely do not hurt his reputation. This is the only area of pitching where the Astros might be in need of improvement because the team has a total 19 saves, two less than Treinen has by his lonesome on a failing ballclub. Jesse A. Cook “Infielders Headline Deadline” July 2, 2018 Due to his recent batting and his obvious skill as a fielder and base runner, Billy Hamilton is a hot topic for trade talks. Now that he’s started to hit well, he could be an extremely valuable asset to a playoff contender, but the Reds might keep him if they become one of those contenders. With one of the best offenses in baseball, they seem like a team that should easily lock up the National League Central, but because their pitching has been abysmal, they’re stuck fighting to stay out of last place!
If Tyler Mahle and Sal Romano can jumpstart this Cincinnati rotation into pitching as good as they should, not only could they keep Raisel Iglesias for a postseason run, but they could keep their Gold Glove candidate, Hamilton. #6 is an absolute demon on the basepaths and he makes the ESPN Top Ten almost weekly with his outstanding outfield diving grabs. A team like the Atlanta Braves would really benefit from gaining him. Their center fielder, Ender Inciarte, is batting .333, with five strikeouts, and no stolen bases in his last seven games. His play is declining (He’s hitting .252 on the year.) and he is nowhere near as valuable as BH in the outfield. The Washington Nationals should look into Hamilton. Adam Eaton, their CF, is batting .346, with five strikeouts, and no stolen bases in the last seven games (In fact, Eaton hasn’t stolen a single base all year, so Washington could definitely use Hamilton’s speed.). His Defensive Wins Above Replacement is a terrible -0.5, 0.9 below Hamilton’s +0.4. The Milwaukee Brewers could use Hamilton because he and Lorenzo Cain, their center fielder, are similar players, but Hamilton is five years younger and in much better shape. Cain is batting .400, with four Ks, and four stolen bases in his last seven. Hamilton however, is a better fielder and is much, much faster. Hamilton is batting .409, with only three Ks, and 4 stolen bases in just the last seven games. During these games, the Reds have gone 5-2. They are in the midst of a four game win streak, as well, so things are looking up for the Reds. Luis Castillo, Romano, and Mahle all have unimpressive Earned Run Averages, Mahle’s being the lowest at 3.89, Romano at 5.18, Castillo at 5.77. Mahle leads the team in wins as he is 6-6, Romano is 4-7, and Castillo is 4-8. Mahle and castillo have struckout 76 each and Romano 56. These stats are not impressive by any means, but in the last month Castillo is 0-3 in incredibly close games, Romano is 1-1, but Mahle is 3-0. In the last month, Romano has a 2.70 ERA, Castillo has a 6.89 ERA, and Mahle has a 1.61 ERA. During June, Romano struckout 14, Castillo struckout 15, and Mahle struckout 20. If the Cincy starting pitching continues to improve and Hamilton’s bat becomes better, the Reds would have to keep him, so he can finally fulfill his destiny to be great for the Reds. Hamilton’s bat has improved of late (and the Reds really only need him to bunt it down the third base line because he’ll almost always beat the throw to first and then he’ll steal second and third with ease.), so teams are now seeing him as the major asset that he is. If the Reds don’t have a shot at the postseason, they’ll likely trade BHam to a playoff contender for some younger prospects, tough. The Reds are 17th in baseball in runs, tenth in hits, and ninth in batting average, so it’s evident that pitching is the problem. Thankfully their pitching has improved of late, so if they can keep their momentum they’ll be a postseason team and Billy Hamilton will stay in the plain red and white of the Queen City. Jesse A. Cook “Reds’ Good Pitching Keeps Hamilton” June 22, 2018 In the National League, electing a few first basemen to the team will be a tough task. On the one hand, there are many great players like Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto, and Ryan Zimmerman, but there are also situations where the 1B might not be especially good, but they’re the best player on a team that will only get one all-star like Wil Myers, Eric Thames, Brandon Belt, or Anthony Rizzo. Granted, with the way Buster Posey’s hitting, Belt won’t need to be the San Francisco Giants’ only all-star, but it is a tough choice to narrow it down to merely a handful of first basemen.
A simple case can be made for each player listed, but they’ll probably only have a few. Taking into account the aspect of the designated hitter, there will probably be two first basemen and two just flat-out good hitters in each lineup. To save us some tears over missed players, let’s assume that all four spots will be filled by first basemen and make our list from there. PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT The Arizona Diamondbacks’ star has a lot to offer and is an easy choice for the starting spot, for his bat has been absolutely unstoppable this season. Batting .323, he’s acquired 65 RBIs, 18 home runs, and an unbelievable 13 steals! Goldy’s been showing off and he needs to be a part of the NL lineup for it. ERIC THAMES Batting a mere .241, all-star hopes do not look good for the Milwaukee Brewers’ first baseman. You could argue that his 20 homers are really something to write home about, but 11 of those blasts were in the first month! Unless a teammate like Travis Shaw or Orlando Arcia misses the cut, I wouldn’t expect Thames to be in Miami, this Mid-Summer Classic. JOEY VOTTO The Cincinnati Reds’ Vottomatic has had a possibly Hall of Fame career and his 2017 season has reflected that, so far. He’s clearly been the best Reds player as he has acquired a .303 batting average, 55 RBIs, and a whopping, fifth in all of baseball, 21 home runs! #19 definitely deserves a spot on the NL team, this July. BRANDON BELT The Giants’ first baseman might have had a shot at the all-star game if it weren’t for the team’s unbelievable catcher, but his stats simply don’t add up to a couple days in Miami, Florida. The lefty has batted a terrible .228, with only 35 RBIs, and 14 home runs. I’m fairly sure Eddie Gaedel might’ve had better numbers, so let’s just keep Belt in San Fran, next month. RYAN ZIMMERMAN In his 266 at-bats, this year, this Washington National has assured us that Bryce Harper won’t be the only Nat heading to the 88th Annual ASG. With 61 RBIs, he’s fourth in baseball, with a batting average of .338, he’s third in baseball, and with 19 home runs, he’s got a shot at the Home Run Derby! There’s no reason why Ryan Zimmerman shouldn’t be in this year’s National League lineup. ANTHONY RIZZO Sure, the Chicago Cubs’ first baseman has been playing well in the last month or so, but we can’t just disregard those two months at the beginning of the season. Batting .326 in the month of June doesn’t justify batting .218 in April and .192 in May, and neither does his 18 homers (six of which were hit in the last month), nor does his 50 RBIs (20 of which were in the last month). Say what you will, but one month of skill is not enough to put a player on the all-star team. WIL MYERS Okay, Myers has struggled a bit this year, but let’s face it: the San Diego Padres need an all-star. Things aren’t pretty for Myers, as he is batting just .262, with 15 homers, and 40 RBIs, but, let me rephrase: the Padres are desperate for even just one all-star. You could argue that Hunter Renfroe could make it, but he’s not doing an better than Myers, and he’s competing with Harper, Cody Bellinger, Scott Schebler, Jay Bruce, and Marcell Ozuna, so it’s safe to say that Myers will make the NL team because, again, let’s try this one more time: San Diego really, really needs an all-star. There’s a plethora of applicants for the position of first baseman in the National League lineup, but there can only be a few who actually make the team. Goldschmidt, Votto, and Zimmerman are by far the best at the job in their respective league, but there’s always a chance for maybe one more in the lineup. The other twelve first basemen in the NL, even if they weren’t listed, still have a shot. Jesse A. Cook “NL First Base Is Close To Call” June 29, 2017 When A.J. Ellis took the bat against Max Scherzer last Wednesday night, the 36,742 Miami fans at Marlins Park stood on their feet, hoping to either win the game or witness history. With one away in the bottom of the 8th inning of the 1-0 Nats lead, the catcher, Ellis, stared down the Washington Nationals’ starter, Scherzer. With the count at one ball and two strikes, Ellis sent a tragic chopper right back up the middle.
Max Scherzer has had a possibly Hall of Fame career, but he has come uncomfortably close to no-hitters on three occasions with no results. Fortunately, almost exactly two years since the unfortunate Nats versus Marlins game, on June 20, 2015, Scherzer struck success when he beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in a no-no on home turf, and did it again later in the year on October 3 in Flushing Meadows, New York over the Mets. In both of those games, Scherzer came close to perfection. The least aggravating of the two was the latter because of how it was lost and how early on it was lost, too. Third baseman Yunel Escobar would forever regret his inconsistent accuracy after he muffed an easy throw to first base in the 6th inning. The Mets catcher, Kevin Plawecki, would be the only base runner of the entire game. Despite Escobar picking the worst time in baseball history to make an error (with the exceptions of Fred Merkle, Fred Snodgrass, and Bill Buckner), José Tabata committed a far worse atrocity to blow up a Scherzer shot at history. In the top of the 9th inning in Washington D.C., with two out and two strikes, Scherzer threw a pitch that would have caught the upper inside corner of the strike zone if it were not for the eagerness to reach base of the Pirates’ outfielder, Tabata. Home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski missed the obvious call that Tabata had leaned into the pitch to breakup the perfect game, which from then on would merely allow Scherzer to achieve the lesser, but still difficult, no-hitter. The two crowning accomplishments of Scherzer’s career would be far greater if it were not for the carelessness of a fielder and the wickedness of a batter, but Scherzer can only blame his glove for absolutely losing it versus the Marlins. Ellis’s chopper back towards the mound bounced half an inch too high and nicked off of the pitcher’s glove, causing him to lose his third no-no one third of the way through the 8th inning. Unlike missing his opportunities for perfection, Scherzer could not keep his cool and let the bases loaded. Unfortunately, the man with blue and brown eyes threw a wild pitch, allowing José Urena, the pinch runner for Ellis, to score and tie the game. Giancarlo Stanton sent the next pitch into left field and took the lead 2-1; a lead which the Nationals would be unable to tie in the ensuing inning. Scherzer could blame Adam Lind for the loss as he dropped the third out of the 8th, but we still do not know how the 9th would have turned out. Nevertheless, like Dave Stieb, Scherzer has thrown at least one no-hitter in his career, but he constantly comes just too close. Hopefully Scherzer will have a long career, and if he’s lucky, maybe one long enough to finally achieve his long sought-after perfection. Jesse A. Cook “Can’t Catch A Break: Scherzer Loses It In The 8th” June 21, 2017 There have been rumors of bringing back the Expos to Montréal, Québec. How will this happen? Well, before I answer that, we must take a look at why they left:
Owner Frank Loria faced a financial problem with the Expos. Most of the people funding the team had left them, causing Loria to increase his shares up to 92%. At this point, he realized that the main issue was the annual revenue that fans brought in. Why were ticket sales so terrible? That, you can blame on their ballpark, Olympic Stadium. It’s a pretty ugly place and it sort of resembles Tropicana Park in Tampa Bay, Florida where the Rays reside. Loria then searched for a new area for the park, but he had no use for the area as neither did the MLB, the province of Québec, nor an architecture firm that would’ve aided in the building of a second Expos field. This lack of a stadium would force fans to fear getting to April and having no team in their city. Just 72 hours before spring training in 2002, Loria left for the Florida Marlins and Omar Minaya was left in charge. The franchise was saved by a new bargaining agreement that guaranteed the existence of the team until 2006, however, it looked to be as if the best option for maintaining the baseball program would be relocation. After the 2004 season, baseball left Montréal and returned to Washington D.C. as the Washington Nationals in 2005. The Nationals have not honored the Expos with retiring their numbers of Gary Carter’s #8, Andre Dawson’s #10, Rusty Staub’s #10, and Tim Raines’ #30, yet they do have the universally retired Jackie Robinson’s #42. These numbers do, however, hang up in the rafters of the Centre Bell, the home arena of Montréal’s NHL team, the Montréal Canadians. So, getting back to the main idea, how will the Expos make a comeback to Québec? The Montréal Baseball Project (MBP) was founded by former player and star of the Yomiuri Giants in Japan, Warren Cromartie. Currently, Montréal is home to the Canadians, the Impact of the MLS, the Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, and the Jazz of the National Basketball League of Canada; how and where does baseball fit into this mix? The MBP is looking into 5 main locations: Bonaventure Expressway, Wellington Basin, the Montréal Children’s Hospital, the Montréal Hippodrome, and Olympic Stadium. Wellington Basin looks to be the best and most feasible option for a new ballpark. Though there is a likelihood of land contamination, it wouldn’t require demolition, public transit is available, there’s good parking available, it’s within walking distance of downtown Montréal, there’s a great deal of space ready, and there’s a great deal of renewal potential. The MLB doesn’t want to add a team, like the soon-to-be 31 team NHL with the addition of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, so the only option for a second Canadian baseball team (in addition to the Toronto Blue Jays) would be the relocation of another team. The Tampa Bay Rays are a prime candidate for relocation: their stadium is falling apart, they’re dead last in yearly revenue, and frankly, they have no potential. Even the Reds and Phillies have their farm systems in the works. Sure, they have Evan Longoria, but ever since Ben Zobrist, James Shields, and David Price left, there hasn’t been much keeping them there. One might argue that the Reds or Phillies should move, but they have wonderful ballparks, they still bring in a good amount of revenue, they’ve got great potential, they’ve got the history, and they have something else that the Rays don’t: a large fanbase. Have you ever tuned into a Rays home game? The crowd is essentially empty! The Expos would surely sell out. There is a thirst for baseball in southern Québec that must be quenched. Whether it’s by importing some fishes from Florida or expanding the MLB, it’s got to happen, and they have the means, the might, and the manner of doing so. Let’s bring back the Montréal Expos, we need le retour de Nos Amours. Jesse A. Cook “Le Retour De Nos Amours: Bringing The Expos Back To Montréal” January 6, 2017 |
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