Archive for October, 2014

The Royals are Back

Posted on October 30th, 2014 by Matt | Posted in Teams

No team in Major League Baseball has waited as long as the Kansas City Royals to make a return to the postseason. The last time the Royals were in the playoffs, they won the World Series – but that was 1985. It has been a long time since baseball has been celebrated in Kansas City, even though the city has some of the best baseball fans in the country. Finally, in 2014, the Royals were able to clinch the first Wild Card position in the American League and earned the chance to host the Oakland A’s in the Wild Card round.

The Royals are Back

So what has changed in Kansas City to put them back in this position? It is hard to say, specifically. To look at the Royals, you might notice just how ordinary gordontheir roster seems to be. There is an absence of star players, aside from the dominating back end of the bullpen comprised of Wade Davis and Greg Holland. Alex Gordon is an outstanding player left field, but he is not someone who is recognized as a superstar around the country. The Royals put together an impressive season, but they did it without the big stars that are often found in bigger cities.

This is a team that is built on speed, quality pitching, and timely hitting. The starting rotation is anchored by James Shields, who is a good-but-not-great starter. Jason Vargas, Yordano Ventura, and Danny Duffy have also provided significant contributions to the starting rotation during the 2014 season. The Royals tend to play close games, but they also tend to come out on top of those games thanks to an excellent bullpen and the kind of speed that can push a run across late in the game.

Keep it Low

If the Royals are going to succeed in the playoffs, it seems likely that they will need to keep the scoring to a minimum and win a bunch of low-scoring, close games. Should they find themselves in a series with the Angels, Tigers, or Orioles, they will most likely lack the firepower to keep up if the pitching falters at all. Tight, close ballgames are going to be the winning formula if KC is going to stick around in October.

Even for fans of other teams, it is good to see Kansas City back in the baseball playoffs for the first time in 29 years. Kansas City has always supported their baseball team, and the fans deserve to see some exciting playoff baseball after such a long layoff. If the pitching and defense can come through for Kansas City in the playoffs like it has all season long, there just might be some thrills ahead.

2014 Major League Baseball Playoff Predictions

Posted on October 23rd, 2014 by Matt | Posted in Baseball Cards, Teams

With the 2014 regular season in the books, baseball fans across the country turn their attention to the playoffs and get ready for another October full of drama and surprises. While the baseball playoffs are often unpredictable, this year seems even more wide-open than most, making predictions a serious challenge to say the least. While the following guesses are almost sure to be wrong, here is our projection for the outcome of the 2014 baseball playoffs.

Wild Card Round

In the American League, the A’s will visit the Royals and the Pirates will play host to the Giants. These are only one-game playoffs, so a quick nine innings will decide who moves on to the division series in each league. The A’s and Royals are both low scoring teams who rely on their pitching, which is also true of the Giants. However, the Pirates seem to have a little more danger lurking in their lineup.

Winners: Royals over A’s, Pirates over Giants

Division Series Round

If those results hold, the division round would be as follows: The Los Angeles Angels would play the Royals, and the Tigers will play the Orioles in the other American League series. In the NL, the Nationals would face the Pirates, while the Dodgers and Cardinals will hook up in a rematch of last season’s NLCS. cabreraDespite the fact that the Angels and Nationals have the best records in their respective leagues, all of these series seem wide-open and each could be closely contested.

Winners: Royals over Angels, Orioles over Tigers, Pirates over Nationals, Los Angeles over St. Louis

League Championship Round

Those results would set up a series between the Royals and the Orioles, and the Pirates and Dodgers. In the American League, it would be a serious contrast of styles, as the Royals are built on defense and pitching, while the Orioles love to hit homeruns. In the National League, the high-priced roster of the Dodgers would be taking on the younger group from Pittsburgh anchored by superstar Andrew McCutchen.

Winners: Royals over Orioles, Pirates over Dodgers

World Series

In an unlikely World Series matchup, the Kansas City Royals would face the Pittsburgh Pirates. Each team has struggled for most of the last 20+ years, although the Pirates did manage to make it into the playoffs last year as well. The Royals will have the advantage if they can get even a small lead and turn the game over to their bullpen, while the Pirates will hope to get the games to be higher scoring where their better offense would have an advantage.

Winner: Kansas City Royals

Can the Orioles Slug in October?

Posted on October 16th, 2014 by Matt | Posted in Teams

No team in all of Major League Baseball hit more home runs in 2014 than the Baltimore Orioles – and it wasn’t particularly close. The Orioles lived and died by the long ball this season, and most of the time they were living right. They finished with the second-best record in the American League and will host the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series. Led by Nelson Cruz, the Orioles were able to overpower most of their opponents even while getting a sub-par year (and suspension) from Chris Davis. If the homers keep coming, the Orioles could cause some serious trouble for opponents in October.jones

Power Outage?

But will they? That is the question. Traditionally, teams that are built on power struggle to keep up the pace during the playoffs. The pitching naturally gets better, making it more difficult to hit home runs. The weather usually gets colder, depending on the location of the games. Since most teams don’t end up using their back-end starters, or lesser relievers, during the playoffs, it’s simply tougher to use power to score runs. Generally, teams that are able to create runs with speed and singles are the ones that rise to the top.

Big Home Field Edge

With that said, the cozy confines of Baltimore’s home park could be a big help in terms of getting on the scoreboard. Camden Yards is one of the easiest parks in the league in which to hit homeruns, so the fly balls should still be able to reach the stands even if the weather cools off. The Orioles will have home field advantage over everyone else in the American League other than the Angels, but of course the games in L.A. should still be plenty warm. Thanks to the American League victory in the All-Star game, the Orioles would have home field advantage in the World Series as well, should they advance that far.

The bats of guys like Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Nelson Cruz, and more will have a lot to say about how far the Orioles are able to advance in the playoffs. Baltimore doesn’t have the quality pitching of some of the other teams in the playoffs, so they will have to have the big bats step up if they want to advance. Those bats have proven all season long that they are capable of rising to the occasion, but it is a different kind of game in October. Only time will tell if they are able to keep sending the home runs over the fence as the temperatures drop and the pitchers improve. If they do, the Orioles just may be the team to beat.

Felix Hernandez is King

Posted on October 9th, 2014 by Matt | Posted in Baseball Cards, Players

One of the biggest stories of last offseason was the Seattle Mariners surprising acquisition of Robinson Cano. The Mariners had been struggling for the better part of a decade, and no one expected for the future Hall-of-Famer Cano to end up taking his game to the Pacific Northwest. It was a high priced gamble for Seattle that has already paid off – the Mariners had their best season in years in 2014 and were just one game short of Wild Card position in the American kingfelixLeague. With Cano locked up for years to come, it seems that the Mariners might be on the right track after all these years.

Already a Star Shining Bright

However, lost in the discussion about Cano coming to Seattle, was the fact that the Mariners already had a legitimate superstar on the roster. Felix Hernandez is a Cy Young winner who is on a very short list of the best pitchers in the world. Most would agree that Hernandez, known as King Felix in Seattle, is the best pitcher in the American League, and is probably the pitcher on the planet not named Kershaw. While a starting pitcher doesn’t play every day like a second baseman does, there is no debating the star status of the King.

Still Getting Better

Amazingly, it would seem that Hernandez actually had his best-ever season in 2014. It didn’t seem possible for him to improve on his previous years, but he managed to take home the ERA title in 2014 and will very likely be the winner of the Cy Young award for the second time in his career. Beyond his on-field statistics, Hernandez has become an institution in Seattle and is easily the most-popular player in the city. He has already signed a long-term contract extension, and he and Cano are poised to be the face of the Mariners for many years to come. Hopefully for Mariners fans, it is a partnership that will lead the team back into October soon enough.

In terms of collectibles, Felix Hernandez is certainly one player you want to have represented in your collection. Rookie cards of the King are highly desirable, as are pieces that relate to his 2012 perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. If you are serious about assembling a collection that represents all of the best players in baseball from each time period, Felix has more than earned his spot for the last several years in Major League Baseball. Be sure to track down a few of your favorite Felix-related pieces and add them to your collection. If the Mariners are able to make it into October and the King adds a ring to his already impressive mantle, your collection will be all the more impressive.