Archive for August, 2014

Will Troy Tulowitzki Remain a Rocky?

Posted on August 25th, 2014 by Matt | Posted in Players

By almost any measure, Troy Tulowitzki is one of the very best players in baseball. The shortstop for the Colorado Rockies plays great defense, hits for average, hits for power, draws walks…and on and on. It is rare to find a shortstop that offers the complete package of skills on both sides of the game that Tulo brings to the table, which is why he is recognized as one of the truly elite players in either league.

With a long term contract in place through 2021, it would seem like Tulo isn’t leaving Denver anytime soon. After all, why would a team that possesses one of the best players in major league baseball be looking to get rid of him? Well, for the Rockies, Tulo is one of the only things they have moving in the right direction. The team is out of contention again this year, and there have been rumors that Tulowitzki might prefer to be traded away to a team that has a better chance of contending while he is still in his prime. With a certain Yankee shortstop retiring at the end of the season (Jeter, Derek), the rumors practically write themselves.

The question the Rockies face is one that many teams have run into over the years – do you trade away your best player and risk angering your fans in the hopes that you can bring back enough young talent to turn around the fortunes of tuloyour team? It is a gamble to be sure, but it is one that needs to at least be considered. At age 29, Tulowitzki is right in the middle of his prime, and would be sure to command an impressive return in any trade negotiations.

There is, however, one ongoing issue regarding Tulo that put a hamper on the offers that the Rockies would receive in trade negotiations. Tulowitzki has had something of a problem staying healthy throughout his career, missing most of the 2012 season, playing in 126 games in 2013, and already having missed some time in 2014. While he certainly isn’t old at 29, players with injury problems tend to have more injury problems as they age – raising red flags for teams that might want to trade for the star shortstop.

Does that mean that the Rockies would be unable to trade him for a nice package of players in return? Of course not. However, it might make it hard for them to find the mega-deal that would make it worth trading away a fan favorite and one of the best players in the game. It stands to reason that the Rockies would have to be overwhelmed by a trade offer in order to move their star player, and it remains to be seen whether or not that will happen given the off-and-on injury history that Tulowitzki has demonstrated over the past few seasons.

The Time is Now for Michael Brantley

Posted on August 18th, 2014 by Matt | Posted in Players

Not all major league players develop at the same pace, if they develop at all. There were high hopes for Michael Brantley of the Cleveland Indians when he broke into the majors at just 22, but he largely struggled for the first few years of his career. He made his debut in the 2009 season, and by the end of the 2012 season he had only 16 career homeruns to his credit. In 2013 he did hit 10 homeruns and drive in 73, but his OPS was just .728.

In many ways, 2014 could be viewed as a make or break season for Brantley, and he is sure making the most of it to this point. He has already surpassed his best ever homerun season by hitting 15, and there are still a couple months of baseball to be played. His OPS is way above his career average, as are almost all of the rest of his numbers. Brantley made his first all-star team in 2014, and seems poised to finally make good on all of that potential and claim his place among some of the best outfielders in the game.

Even better news for the Indians and their fans is that Brantley is already signed to a very team-friendly contract for the next several seasons. He is signed through 2017 at least, with a team option for 2018. He is due to make 5 million in 2015, 6.5 million in 2016, and 7.5 million in 2017. While those are impressive salaries for anyone to take home, they brantleyalso represent a significant discount over his true market value if he is to keep performing at his current all-star level.

Baseball runs in the family for Brantley, who is the son of former major leaguer Mickey Brantley, who played in parts of four seasons for the Seattle Mariners in the mid-80’s. At 6’2’’ with good speed, he has the prototypical build and athleticism for an outfielder. So far in 2014, the Indians are hanging right around .500 and trying to contend for the second wild card position. If the Indians are able to improve their pitching to go along with the offense led by Brantley, they just may be able to hang in the race and grab a playoff spot for the second year in a row.

It has only been four months of excellent play so far in 2014, so Brantley likely has a little further to go before he is commonly thought of as one of the games top players. However, with the impressive skills that he possesses, and the numbers he has put up so far this year, very few will be surprised to see him continue at or near this pace.

Down Years Ahead for Red Sox and Yankees?

Posted on August 11th, 2014 by Matt | Posted in Teams

If there is one thing that seems like a constant in baseball, it is that the Red Sox and Yankees are contenders year after year. Even in years where neither team makes it to the World Series, it is rare that a season goes by where both teams are near the bottom of the standings. This season, the Red Sox have followed up their World Championship by returning to last place in the A.L. East, a position they also held in 2012. The Yankees, while still in contention, have hovered around the .500 mark for most of the season.

Looking ahead to the next few years, it has actually become easy to picture a scenario in which neither team is a significant player in the playoff picture. Both teams have aging star players, specifically the soon-to-be-retired Derek Jeter for the Yankees, and David Ortiz for the Red Sox. Even with big budgets to spend on new free agent acquisitions, it jetermight be tough for either team to assemble enough talent to overcome the shortcomings on their roster.

In the case of the Yankees, the offense has really struggled throughout the 2014 season. The loss of Robinson Cano has certainly hurt their productivity, as Jeter is no longer an elite level hitter or defender. Mark Teixeira has struggled with injuries yet again, and starting pitchers Masahiro Tanaka and C.C. Sabathia are both hurt as well. Over the years, the Yankees have thrived by paying aging star players to come to the Bronx, but it seems as though that strategy is backfiring on them currently.

On the Red Sox side of the coin, the offense is also largely to blame for their problems. Jon Lester and John Lackey have been solid in the rotation, although Clay Bucholz has struggled. Other than Ortiz and Mike Napoli, the Red Sox offense has been severely lacking and help doesn’t appear to be close at hand. With Lester’s future in Boston up in the air after this season, the Sox could soon find themselves scrambling for an identity.

So, does baseball need strong seasons from the Yankees and Red Sox in order to stay relevant and keep ratings high? No – it doesn’t. There are strong fan bases all around the league, and a few down years from two of the more prominent organizations in the game won’t have a significant impact on revenues overall. Baseball, like all other sports, goes in cycles, and we just might be heading into a cycle where the vaunted Red Sox and Yankees aren’t the dominant teams that they have been in recent years.

Can the Oakland A’s Win in October?

Posted on August 4th, 2014 by Matt | Posted in Teams

The Oakland A’s under Billy Beane have had a very specific – and well-known – strategy for building teams without having a large payroll. The A’s have found players that could fill specific roles on their team who have been cast-off from other places, as well as developing players from within their own system. Rather than having a few star players on their roster, the A’s have focused more on quality depth from 1-25, and it has paid off. Despite spending less than most teams each year, Oakland consistently finds themselves at or near the top of the standings, and often in the playoffs. Since 2000, the A’s have made the playoffs an impressive seven times.

That, however, is where it starts to get complicated. Of those seven series, the A’s have won just one. That one series win, in 2006, was followed by a sweep at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. In their six ALDS series losses over that span, the A’s have made it to a fifth and deciding game each time – and lost them all. That includes four seasons in a row from 2000 – 2003. While there is always some level of random chance involved in playoff baseball, the A’s certainly don’t have a good track record of carrying over there success from the regular season.

As the A’s continue on a path to again qualify for the playoffs in 2014, the obvious question remains – what will be different this time around? Are they going to be able to get out of the first round, or is this October issue one that is here to stay? There are really two schools of thought when it comes to the problems the A’s have had in the playoffs. The first way of thinking is that the A’s have just be the victims of bad luck and poor timing. After all, they made it to a fifth game mossin those six first round losses, so the season basically came down to nine innings. Anything can happen in one game, and it is just coincidence that they keep coming up short.

The other way of thinking believes that the problem lies in the way the A’s construct their roster. By favoring depth over star power, Oakland seems to be perfectly suited to playing well in the regular season. They can withstand injury, and replace players who are underperforming with someone else on their deep roster. However, when October comes around, that depth doesn’t really have a chance to show itself. The series are short, and the games are often won and lost by the star players on either side. For example, the last two seasons have seen Oakland lose out to the Tigers led by Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera – star players who Oakland simply can’t match.

Only time will tell of the A’s are able to break this trend and achieve success in the playoffs. They appear to be a sure thing to have another chance in 2014, although they may have to go through a one-game playoff if they are unable to better the Angels for the American League West crown.