Fast Approaching

 

Here's the deal. This weekend, right before the All-Star Break, the Dodgers and Giants are playing a series in SF. Two division rivals, relatively evenly matched, Devers against some old teammates, yada yada. What makes this a big series is that the Giants are currently 5 games out of first, and have used series' against the Phillies, A's and D-Backs [as well as the Dodgers' skid following series' with the Astros and Brewers] to get closer to lapping their ultimate rival. If this series goes to plan for the Giants, they could be set up to come back from break with leverage in this division.

A lot of the momentum has come to this team with help from returning standout Matt Chapman, who was on the IL for about a month. Chapman has been the solidified star figure for this team, continuing to be one of the best defensive third basemen in the league, and being a solid offensive producer still. Chapman, like usual, isn't hitting for average, but he definitely is hitting, with 12 homers and 30 RBIs in 72 games. The fact that only Heliot Ramos has surpassed that mark on this team is kinda telling. Chapman is still elite, a great player with the kind of team-rallying consistency that the Giants have desperately needed. Yaz is great but he'll miss time frequently. Ramos has been phenomenal but even he's not perfect. And Devers...is struggling about as much as he did in Boston. Having Chapman back has reenergized this team, and makes me confident that they'll stand a chance against LA.

It's also clear the Giants have some spark because of some of the cool developments this team has seen recently. You probably heard about Patrick Bailey's inside-the-park walk-off home run that ended a game against my hometown team recently. You might have also heard that Dominic Smith, who would have been the Yankees' Opening Day DH had Ben Rice not found his swing in camp, has been a pretty decent bench power bat for the Giants. Or maybe you looked at both Logan Webb and Robbie Ray's ERAs and seen that they're one point off. 2.63 and 2.62. That's how wired in they both are. I think Verlander's still a bit shaky but Webb, Ray, Roupp and Birdsong have been excellent and are part of why this team has been creeping up.

What I'm saying is that the Giants have a chance to crash the Dodgers' party. They've held a pretty compact rotation all year and aren't surviving off minor league fumes. They're hitting, and their power production is great. And now they've got the momentum. So who knows what'll happen this series.

Coming Tonight: He's been in the league around ten seasons and he's still a very reliable starting arm.

The All-Star B-Team

 

What has become clear ever since he took the reins of the league is that Rob Manfred does intrinsically want to make baseball better for its fans and players, but because he only comes at this from an executive point of view his perspective is completely adverse to what the reality of what these people want actually is. He's come in and his goal has been to revitalize the game and fix all the problems people have had with it, and it's really admirable, but I don't know how many casual fans he really talks to. A real baseball fan won't tell you a game is too long, or that the players at the All-Star game should all wear one uniform. But he's so caught in the realm of focus groups and accessibility and the corporate brand thinking that he simply cannot please the majority of the fandom. Thus I pity him.

You've gotten the sense that Manfred has really wanted to revamp and change the All-Star Game, which honestly didn't really need that much retooling. He took away the 'home field advantage' gimmick, which helped, and they're beginning to phase back into players wearing their own uniforms, but problems still persist. And the biggest problem with the All-Star Game, and the festivities surrounding it, is that nobody wants to fricking participate anymore.

Now, it is one thing to have injuries creep up and prevent people from partaking, and enough of that has happened. Big pieces like Chris Sale, Jeremy Pena and Brandon Lowe got injured since being named, they're missing the game, that's fine. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the fact that people genuinely don't want to do it this year. It feels burdensome for people. It didn't always feel like that, that's why Cal Ripken did like 20 of them. But now you've seen two different players make official statements saying 'I would rather not play in the game this year, because I would rather focus on the rest of the season and my own health'. Jose Ramirez, who was supposed to start, and Julio Rodriguez, have both dropped out of the game, because it's not worth the risk to go to Atlanta and potentially risk not helping their teams compete. 

The one case that pisses me off is Alex Bregman, who came second in the fan voting for 3rd base, yet was announced to be missing the game due to injury. So Isaac Paredes was nominated, as was Junior Caminero in place of Ramirez. But...now Bregman just got activated, and can make the game...and because he already called in a sub, there's nothing anyone can do about it. Hell, the AL even added ANOTHER third baseman, namely Maikel Garcia. And let me specify that Garcia is having a nice season, hitting around .300 and providing some consistent multi-tool support in Kansas City, before I say that when the FIFTH CHOICE FOR THIRD BASEMAN IS GETTING ON, there is a problem! Paredes and Caminero getting on is fine, they were in the mix before, but now Garcia is getting ridiculous, because now you're nominating people that arguably wouldn't have deserved an ASG nod unless all this bullshit happened.

As for the usual bullshit of people pitching Sunday not being able to play in the game, that part is fine, we've been over this, it's a necessary evil. But this year this has grown to include the Saturday before, meaning SEVERAL pitchers who I would say are the best in the league, including Zack Wheeler, Max Fried, Garrett Crochet and Jacob deGrom, can't play in the game. Or, moreover, don't want to. In some cases I get it, deGrom and Crochet really don't want to risk injury, that's fine. But at a certain point it just gets excessive. Cause now Wheeler can't play in the All-Star game during the best season of his career, and you're putting up Adrian Morejon as a consolation. Plus, Yusei Kikuchi can't pitch in this, and now there's no Angels eligible for the game. If you're gonna do the 'every team needs a nod' thing, stick to it. 

That's what's pissing me off. The actual All-Stars either don't want to play or can't play due to overtaxing themselves, and thus people who honestly shouldn't be All-Stars are stuck in there. This is some NBA All-Star Game shit, where you vote in Giannis and Durant and then Donte DiVincenzo plays for like 20 minutes. Nobody is lining up to watch an All-Star Game where David Peterson pitches to Zach McKinstry. It's just 'The People Who Can Make It: Live from Atlanta" now. 

And yes, there are people who this doesn't apply to who will no doubt play in the game, there will be Skenes and Judge and Acuna and Ohtani, by law pretty much. But the sense of fun and excitement from 50 years ago, or even 25 years ago, seems to be gone. Getting a field of 8 for the Home Run Derby was like herding cats this year. The All-Star Celebrity Softball Game features 20 people I'm convinced were made up by AI. It feels like they're really trying to make this something special but too many people just aren't into it. And the way things are going organization-wise in the league, who can blame them?

One cool thing I will say about this ASG? They're gonna be using an ABS system. Meaning if Manfred knows what's good for him, he'll seriously consider utilizing it down the road in MLB games. Because if your legacy is continuing to let 67-year-old men who can't see halfway across the field judge balls and strikes instead of automating it, that won't exactly get you a plaque in Cooperstown. Unless you buy it. 

Over the Hump

 

The Mariners, since ending their postseason drought a few years ago, have been a very good team that has constantly struggled to surpass that last rung into greatness. On multiple occasions the Mariners have just missed the playoffs, or held first for a while only to stall midyear and cede ground to another team [usually the Astros]. This year, after holding onto first for a majority of June, they once again slid and careened out of first, leaving the Astros, surging out of pure spite, to take first again. 

I can speak for a lot of people when I say that this consistent anticlimax is unacceptable. Constantly the same thing happens, where the story of the Mariners as the underdog with great organizational moves and an excellent youth movement gets upended in favor of an Astros team with a less exciting story. I get that it's hard to really expect great storytelling from a league where so much is up to fate and chance, but the Mariners just seem like they're destined for something greater than what they've gotten. The Blue Jays, who I'd say have had similarly bad luck despite the presence of great teams, seem to be getting their chance to compete this year. And it just sucks that the Mariners aren't there yet.

The single most crushing reality this team has to face is that they wasted their best pitching season since 2001 on a year where nobody could hit. So this current team, where a ton of people are hitting but most of the rotation is responding to injuries, is facing the consequence. If your team can't be on the same page, it's not gonna click immediately. That's why it's a good thing you at least have Bryan Woo, who missed time last year, having an excellent, and healthy season. Last night he nearly no-hit my team. The truth is he's honestly looked that good all year. Gilbert, Kirby and Castillo have slowly been catching up, but their ERAs are higher and many of them have missed a lot of time. It's a far less sure rotation than last season, and it's a lot of why the team is behind Houston.

But, again, the lineup is why they're still defiantly a 2nd place team, and why they've got an ever-closing gap heading towards first. Raleigh, Arozarena, Julio, Polanco and somehow Dominic Canzone have made this lineup unpredictable, weighty and powerful. Raleigh has 36 homers before the ASG break, which is unheard of, especially for a catcher. Personally I hope he chases Judge. It'd be really cool. Julio has 11 homers and 44 RBIs, he's doing his thing. J.P. Crawford's having his best season in years, hitting .286 with 95 hits and 32 RBIs. Crawford is still an excellent shortstop with terrific contact abilities, and the Mariners are lucky to still have him. And now Ben Williamson and Cole Young are heating up as well, which will be very good for them going forward. I have thought about the fact that since Raleigh has been THE guy for this team, Harry Ford might be getting dealt [cause I don't think they banked on him becoming Austin Romine], but that's a decent problem to have.

The Mariners have enough to potentially hit their way into a wild card spot. Games like last night do worry me, as they can take a 5-0 lead into the 8th and still lose, but hopefully in the next 3 months they learn from it and become better at those situations. And, more importantly, they keep hitting.

Coming Tonight: He came back from a brief injury break and got right back to the terrific season he's been having at third. 

Winn or Lose

 

It is exceedingly difficult to write about the Cardinals. One week they'll be looking like a genuinely great baseball team, the next week they'll be completely ineffective in all facets of the game. 'Noncommittal' is the perfect way to describe these Cardinals, because we're like 3 weeks from the deadline and I have literally no idea what they're trying to do.

I think what keeps confusing me is that their starting nine is actually a pretty decent collection of people doing basically what's expected of them. Brendan Donovan, Masyn Wynn, Victor Scott and Alec Burleson are all having pivotal, strong peak seasons. Winn, for the second year in a row, has been an undeniable standout in multiple categories, being handy as a contact bat, a baserunner and a defensive shortstop. Winn and Donovan together in that infield is a trusted, proven combo that could lead this team for a while. Donovan's flirting with .300, leads the team in hits and got a well-deserved ASG nod. Heck, Lars Nootbaar leads the team in homers, and regardless of the fact that his lead is with 12 rather than, like, 33, it's still a very good thing.

The other thing about this team is that as much as it feels easy to dunk on the contracted players like Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras, they're both actually doing pretty damn well. Arenado has 10 homers and 41 RBIs, and even if it's not peak Arenado, it's still pretty helpful. You're still hearing that the Cardinals might, or might not, trade Arenado, which we've been hearing for a year, or honestly since he was still with the Rockies. Contreras has 11 homers and 51 RBIs, and actually isn't too bad at 1st. Not Harper good or anything, but he's been helpful there since Goldschmidt's departure. 

And yet even with all that's working for this Cardinals team, there's still a lot of mediocrity around as well. There's no surefire ace in this pitching staff right now. Sonny Gray has 113 Ks, but a 4.50 ERA. You'd think Liberatore would be the young guy to rally around, but his ERA is 3.70, which is good but not terrific. Ryan Helsley, still on a lot of people's trade radars, has a 3.19 ERA, despite his 18 saves. People have figured out how to hit this team. Either that or they're really not capable of surprising people anymore, at least as far as the pitching is concerned.

I dunno, the Cards have been 2-5 since July started but they have this habit of springing back up the second you count them out. So I'm not gonna make any assumptions of their next move. I'm just gonna let them make the decisions themselves and we'll see how well it goes for them.

Coming Tomorrow- In a season where the rest of his lineup has sprung to life, he figured he'd get in on the fun as well. 

The Downside of Small-Balling

 

In retrospect, perhaps trading away Andres Gimenez and Josh Naylor, only signing two oft-injured starters and a 39-year-old defensive whiz, and re-emphasizing a youth movement that hasn't been trusted to star in games yet wasn't a very good idea.

So now here we are. The Cleveland Guardians lost 10 games in a row, as the AL Central gets further and further out of their grasp. The truth is that there really isn't much to this team anymore. At best you'll get a good start from Gavin Williams or Tanner Bibee, or a mondo-RBI event from Jose Ramirez. At worst you'll see them get absolutely clobbered with no run support to speak of. This was a team that nearly dethroned the Yankees last year, and did so with guys nobody had heard of like Jhonkensy Noel, Joey Cantillo, Kyle Manzardo and Tim Herrin, and now literally none of them really factor into this team. 

And that's really the issue with this contact-first metric the Guardians have gone with: it's not consistent. With the exception of Ramirez and Steven Kwan, guys who'll have a contact frenzy one year will completely bottom out the next one. Brayan Rocchio, David Fry, Angel Martinez and Lane Thomas are all having really disappointing seasons. Rocchio was expected to step up following Gimenez's trade, and he now just looks lost out there. He's not hitting, he's below average defensively, it's pointless. Fry, an all-star last season, is hitting .150 as a bench bat. 

The most frustrating development has been the regression of Emmanuel Clase, who, for two months, was blowing saves left and right after years of dominance in the ninth. He's catching up since June, has lowered his ERA to 3.19, and at the very least has 19 saves, but Clase looks human again. Even if he excels the rest of the season, which is likely, people will remember his April slip-ups. And it's not like we haven't seen this before from Clase, but it happening now when so much more is expected of him hurts more. The bullpen in general is just spottier than usual, with a lot of ERAs closer to 3 and 4 than last year's sea of 1.50s. Gavin Williams is the only pitcher on this staff with a WAR higher than 1. 

It is nice, though, that the Guardians seem to be turning things around now that the Astros are playing them. They've won their last 2 games, and have just looked a ton better. I'd love for a sweep to happen and for the momentum to shift a little. But at this point, the Guardians are just looking to finish over .500, which is a far cry from where they were last year.

Coming Tomorrow- One of the most talented young infielders in the game right now.

Making All Stops

 

Two teams in freefall getting together for a subway series was never gonna go well. It's a wonder that any of these teams came out of this series with their dignity in tact, but the Mets didn't lose a starter to Tommy John again, nor did they have a shortstop make a series of boneheaded errors. 

I had the misfortune of watching some of the July 4th game while around my Staten Island-based cousins, and while there are a few Yankee fans in there, a lot of people were rooting for the other team. And so as the Yankees ended up spiraling out and the Mets' lineup started beating up Stroman, I just sort of shuddered and went about my drinking. The Mets started a no-name starter based one town over from me, who they were forced to start because their pitchers keep getting injured, and they still won the game because the Yankees managed to find a way to suck more. 

Both of these teams have similar issues, honestly. In both cases, the lineup will pick choice moments to not show up. It's happening now for the Yankees. Judge is slowing down, Stanton's been anemic, Wellsy's been slacking. At the very least Cody Bellinger has been stepping up more, as he now has 13 homers and 47 RBIs. But the May momentum is gone because the lineup just isn't there. The Mets went through this before, but now they're getting production from Alonso, Lindor, Soto, McNeil and the works. Brandon Nimmo, even in what's knowingly a lesser year, has 18 homers and 52 RBIs. You can play the whole 'we traded away PCA' game for hours but ultimately this team has hit its way to 50 homers when the Yankees haven't yet. Even in that period where the Mets weren't winning games, which was fun by the way, they didn't look as bad as the Yankees did in their drought. You didn't hear about how bad the Mets were, because they still managed to score runs. 

The other problem these teams share is the back half of their rotations. The Yankees just lost Clarke Schmidt and Ryan Yarbrough, and are down to a skeleton crew of Fried, Rodon, Warren, Stroman and a to-be-determined minor leaguer who'll have to face the Mariners in a couple days. Who will it be? Rookie Clayton Beeter? Scranton favorite Allan Winans? Hell, is this finally the moment J.T. Brubaker starts a game for us? The Mets may be in even more dire straits, because they're down to just David Peterson and Clay Holmes as viable MLB options. Yes, Frankie Montas is healthy, but like usual in New York he's getting obliterated in between injuries. Justin Hagenman did his best but...he's your 4 guy and he already feels like a last resort. In lieu of a fifth starter the Mets went with a reliever game on Sunday, and if we'd have lost that I think Aaron Boone would have lost his job. There is a belief that both Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea could be back for the weekend series against the Royals, but that's a lot of hope to throw on these guys. I've seen 'everything's gonna be alright when Senga comes back' before, and it didn't go too well last summer. And let's just hope Manaea still has some of whatever made him a Mets hero last year. 

Both the Yankees and the Mets have similar issues, and went through similar stretches. That the Mets were able to wake up first, my hat goes off to them. But this isn't a death sentence for the Yankees yet. There's still half a season to play, and still a lot of momentum to gain. We'll see how we're looking after the break.

Coming Tomorrow- For years he looked like the last true 'can't miss' closer. In April...he missed.

2025 All-Star Game Rosters: Demented Approaches

 

What I've started doing the last couple years is, a week or so before the ASG rosters are announced, I make a roster prediction. I follow the same rules, try and make sure every team gets a nod, and attempt to name what I think the league brass will think are the best reps from each league. Last year I was insanely close, there were a few picks I missed but generally I got all of them right.

This year I was way off. It wasn't even because some of my picks were too outlandish. Looking at some of these...some of my picks weren't outlandish ENOUGH.

You can tell that Manfred has more pull on who gets on than before, you can tell that it's not just the managerial decision anymore, and you can tell that viewership is on the line. That explains many of the picks that made the rosters. However, there are some picks that I'm still not 100% sure can be explained. 

So, let's go through, in detail, this year's ASG rosters, and see how spot-on I think these decisions were.

AMERICAN LEAGUE:

Starters:

C: Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners. Duh.

1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays. I spammed a bunch of votes for Goldy at the end there but it was Vlad's year, honestly.

2B: Gleyber Torres, Detroit Tigers. Honestly, good for him. Deserves it.

SS: Jacob Wilson, Oakland Athletics. Arguably Witt should be starting, but for the wild factor of Wilson's rookie season I'll allow this. Besides, Witt made it anyhow. If he didn't I'd be really confused.

3B: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians. Another no-brainer.

OF: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees. Duh.

OF: Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers. Absolutely deserves it, wild that the voters agreed.

OF: Javier Baez, Detroit Tigers. Here I'd say Kwan deserved it more but I love that Baez has had himself a comeback year.

DH: Ryan O'Hearn, Baltimore Orioles. Just really illuminates how diluted the DH class is in the AL this year. All the good ones are in the NL. How the table has turned..

Reserves:

DH: Brent Rooker, Oakland Athletics. Called this one. Deserves it.

1B: Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays. Woulda been weird if he didn't.

2B: Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees. This one...I did not call. And I also thought if the Yanks got another hitter on, it'd be Goldschmidt. I'm happy with this though. Jazz is awesome. Just feels out of left field considering.

2B: Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays. Another easy one.

SS: Jeremy Pena, Houston Astros. I was thinking if another SS got on besides Witt it'd be Zach Neto, but this also makes sense. 

SS: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals. Duh. Should be starting.

3B: Alex Bregman, Boston Red Sox. Will he be healthy enough to make the game? That's why I didn't include him. If not, seems likely that the guy I thought would make the team, Isaac Paredes, will replace him.

C: Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays. Called this.

OF: Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins. Makes so much sense, glad they did it.

OF: Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians. Honestly he should be starting but glad he made it.

OF: Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners. People are complaining about this one because his OPS is low, but I thought he'd be on, on account of his offensive production, so nyah.

Pitchers:

SP: Hunter Brown, Houston Astros. Easy one.

SP: Kris Bubic, Kansas City Royals. Called this one as well.

SP: Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox. Good for him. I was worried he'd be hurt for most of the year but glad he's been a hit with Boston.

SP: Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers. Very good pick. Weird he's the only Ranger, but I predicted he'd be that too.

SP: Max Fried, New York Yankees. Be weird if he'd missed it.

SP: Yusei Kikuchi, Los Angeles Angels. I had him just missing, and I made my predictions based on the allotment of more relievers. But he honestly is the right choice.

SP: Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers. Should get the start.

SP: Shane Smith, Chicago White Sox. As discussed, I figured the Sox pick would be a reliever like Steven Wilson, but Smith works.

SP: Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners. I personally had Rodon getting on over Woo, but I'm ultimately glad a Mariners starter made it at all.

RP: Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox. This was a surprise. I think that Chapman's had an excellent comeback season, but I don't think he's one of the best relievers in the AL right now. I had Jhoan Duran getting in over him. 

RP: Josh Hader, Houston Astros. Obviously.

RP: Andres Muñoz, Seattle Mariners. Obviously. I didn't think Boone would only bring 3 relievers. I also had Carlos Estevez making it. Maybe this'll be rectified if some of these guys have to pitch the sunday.

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

Starters:

C: Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers. Deserves it.

1B: Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers. Lot of competition this year but still deserves it.

2B: Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks. Definitely deserves it.

SS: Francisco Lindor, New York Mets. 100%, it's about time.

3B: Manny Machado, San Diego Padres. Fantastic to see it happen.

OF: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs. The absolute right pick.

OF: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves. That he was able to do all this with just 40something games played this year is all the more incredible. 

OF: Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs. Glad he squeezed in over Teoscar.

DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers. I can only be so salty that Schwarber didn't get it, it's Ohtani.

Reserves:

DH: Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies. Thank god. Called this.

1B: Pete Alonso, New York Mets. Obviously. The second Freeman won the fan vote this was set in stone.

1B: Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves. I actually had Riley making it but this works too. 

2B: Brendan Donovan, St. Louis Cardinals. Called this one.

SS: Elly de la Cruz, Cincinnati Reds. Called this one, but not that he'd be the only Red. Greene or Abbott deserved something.

3B: Eugenio Suarez, Arizona Diamondbacks. Did not predict this one, but seeing as they went with Olson over Riley, it makes sense.

C: Hunter Goodman, Colorado Rockies. For a Rox rep I kinda get it, but over William Contreras?? I had Jake Bird as the Rockies' rep, and I guess Goodman is having the better season, but it comes off as an odd choice given the competition at catcher.

OF: Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks. I left him out due to the injury, but I guess he has a chance to be back by the break? If not, maybe this is where Soto goes, because erroneously he was left off.

OF: Kyle Stowers, Miami Marlins. Called this, and that he'd be the Marlins rep.

OF: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres. Really should be starting.

OF: James Wood, Washington Nationals. Really should have done better in the fan vote.

Pitchers:

SP: Matthew Boyd, Chicago Cubs. This spot went to Andrew Abbott in my predictions but I can't exactly argue with his inclusion.

SP: MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals. Predicted this one.

SP: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers. This is yet another Rob Manfred 'this is what the fans REALLY want to see' pick, and I'd be more pissed about it if Kershaw wasn't having a strong year.

SP: Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers. I assumed there'd be more relievers on the roster and thought Trevor Megill would make it instead, but Peralta absolutely should be here.

SP: Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants. Another one I left off for reliever space, but glad this is happening.

SP: Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves. I also included him, even though I'm not sure if he'll be healthy for the game. 

SP: Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates. Duh.

SP: Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants. Absolutely. 

SP: Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies. There's no question, especially after today's start.

SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers. And called this one as well.

SP: Jason Adam, San Diego Padres. For both personal reasons and because I thought Robert Suarez was a better relief pick, I did not put Adam on my predictions. But who knows, maybe Jojo Siwa will do the national anthem and he'll be afraid to set foot on the premises. 

SP: Edwin Diaz, New York Mets. No, I just don't see it. I'm not falling for it again. I just don't see how Diaz earned this more than somebody like Kyle Finnegan or Trevor Megill.

SP: Randy Rodriguez, San Francisco Giants. I mean...I guess if you're only picking 3 relievers and there aren't a ton of sure bet closers in the NL this year, it sort of makes sense to go with a really good set-up guy. I think this is a good pick. It's just so hard to tell what makes an all-star reliever for some managers. I think of guys like Tanner Scott, Robert Suarez, Kyle Finnegan and Trevor Megill, and somebody else will limit themselves to three options and pick an open homophobe, the single most inconsistent reliever in history, and one generally good pick that nobody's heard of. This is why I'm not a manager. 

So yeah, while overall I get what they were trying to do, and while I predicted a lot of these picks, there are just some that really vex me. Aroldis Chapman, Jason Adam, Edwin Diaz, Clayton Kershaw and Jazz Chisholm just weren't on my radar. 

I look forward to these rosters becoming even stranger once people start wanting to miss the game.