Comparatively Alright

As the White Sox go towards another dilapidated, disappointing last place finish, they are weirdly beginning to do so from a point of leverage. Because now, after a season with one of the worst single season finishes by a team in a while...there now seems to be a team worse than the White Sox. The Rockies have won 7 games, lost 35. They are on pace for a season worse than the 2024 White Sox, who at least had Garrett Crochet, Erick Fedde and moments of good Tommy Pham. Who do the Rockies have that's doing even slightly alright? Jordan Beck and his awful defense? Ryan McMahon and his strikeouts?

 Meanwhile, the White Sox actually look better this year. Not GOOD. No, they're...probably still gonna lose 100 games. But they've won 3 of their last 4. This month they've taken 2 from the Astros, taken a big win from the Brewers and are now handling the Reds. The 2024 team couldn't really do things like that, except for that random week midyear where they were suddenly winning things. Now they actually have people who know what they're doing in crucial positions. Now there's actually a substantial amount of young players taking hold and proving they're here at the right time.

And...Andrew Benintendi actually looks kinda competent. His first two seasons in Chicago weren't great, and he couldn't really reach the contact work he was doing with Boston or KC. Now, despite being sidelined with an injury, he's still one of the better hitters on this lineup, with 5 homers and 12 RBIs. That may not look great, but when you consider that many hitters are just completely blowing it right now, like Andrew Vaughn, Jacob Amaya and Michael Taylor, it's at the very least a nice factor. Benintendi is still capable of great numbers, he just hasn't had the health or consistency lately. And now that this team honestly needs a guy like him, he's been a little better.

You're also thankfully seeing younger players get off and running on their careers with this team. Edgar Quero is hitting .303 with 9 RBIs in 21 games, Chase Meidroth has been a major improvement at 2nd, and the pitching is being run by Shane Smith, Sean Burke and Mike Vasil. To remind you all, in 2024 the rookies were pushed into the picture and many of them were burned out very quick. Ky Bush and Drew Thorpe are out for this year due to the need to have them in the majors last year. So I'm glad that Shane Smith was eased in from camp, has been given plenty of room to succeed, and has a 2.08 ERA and 38 Ks, with some rookie standards for keeping runs down. Unlike Crochet, who was essentially getting his bags packed in May, Smith will probably be a White Sock for a little while, and he's a piece they can definitely build on. And on a team of Brooks Baldwins and Miguel Amayas and Miguel Vargases, guys they're just putting up to fill the roster, that's a promising presence.

The White Sox are still technically a bad team. As alright as they've been lately, they're gonna have weeks that are downright awful, and they're coming. But at this rate, they'll finish ahead of Colorado and stay on a pace to eventually bounce back from bottoming out. It will take some time. 

Coming Tonight: He's extremely tall and hits harder than the majority of the league, and even he can't keep the Pirates out of last.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2024: White Sox

 

I only have two of these for the White Sox. Just two. Literally everyone else that was worthy of being talked about was done during the season. And, like, others as well. I made a Chris Flexen custom during the season. He went 3-15. Usually that's grounds for, like, not making a custom but I didn't have many options. 

The Chicago White Sox lost 121 games this year, and had one of the worst finishes by a team in years. Even if there were good players on this team, like Luis Robert, Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde, so many people were either inexperienced, past their peak or just pure replacement level. The management wanted to throw in the towel, and so they did in one of the most depressing ways possible. The fanbase was infuriated, the players were crushed, and the MLB world was astonished. 2025 will be a step above only if you see at least some signs of life, which you could barely see in 2024.

Yoan Moncada, who was brought in as the future star in exchange for Chris Sale, had his final contracted season in Chicago this year. Since 2022 he's been missing more and more games, and this year he only appeared in 12. Yes, he hit .275 with 11 hits [despite no RBIs], but all that production squeezed into such a small sample size felt like such a slap in the face. Moncada will be 30 next year, and will be suiting up for another team.

2025 Prediction: Whoever signs him is gonna get his most appearances since 2021, and his best plate numbers. 

Andrew Benintendi was disappointing in his first season for the Sox, and his second year, of five for the record, wasn't much better. To his credit, the veteran slugger did lead the team in home runs. It was with only 20, though. In 135 games, Benintendi hit .229 with 64 RBIs and 109 hits. Despite some late swells and some big days, it was nowhere near the consistency of his Sox or Royals numbers.

2025 Prediction: Somebody needs to step up, and I reckon it might actually be him. This will be something close to a good year from him.

Coming Tomorrow- Members of the Yankee crew that did the unthinkable...and then the unexplainable. 

Benny Changes Sox

 

It took Andrew Benintendi 66 games for him to hit his first home run in a Chicago White Sox uniform. For comparison's sake, Luis Robert hit 16 home runs in his first 66 games of 2023. 

It's both strange and not strange at all. Strange because Benintendi has hit 20 home runs before. Not strange because he only 5 last year, his comeback, ASG-nod campaign. The fact of the matter is that Andrew Benintendi has embrace pure contact, and is less of a power hitter and more of a sneaky doubles type of guy. This is a beneficial strategy when he's on, and this season with the White Sox, Benintendi is...sort of on? He's hitting .283, and only has 23 RBIs. It's a very okay season from someone who seemed to revitalized and confident last year. It's a question of whether he's running down the middle of the road because that's where he's at, or if it's because that's where the White Sox are at.

I mean, to be honest, even if last year's Royals were flawed, they at least were capable of one-dimensional power and getting runs across, even at the risk of getting their pitching battered. This White Sox team isn't doing a lot of outward offensive dominance, Robert aside. The big pieces this team has been trying to thread upwards, like Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, Andrew Vaughn and Jake Burger, aren't really handing in a lot that's worth talking about. This team hasn't exactly been winning big lately, save for a big win over the Angels last month. They really only put up 4 or so points per game, and when you're playing teams that have their offense in line a bit more, it's not gonna go well.

It's worth thinking about if Kenny Williams is just gonna start dealing people or not. That's really where we're at with this team. They built this team up from the mid-2010s, they got some success, mostly unlucky, buckled under their own weight, began to lose people and now can't be taken seriously. Tim Anderson, Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Yasmani Grandal, even Liam Hendriks could all be dealt this deadline, as those guys might be leaving in free agency anyhow. I didn't think we'd be at this point so soon, but I think we're really looking at the White Sox as sellers this year. I don't think Benintendi's in danger, as he was last year, but he may be relied upon a ton more as people start leaving. And while he's been passable and serviceable as a contact guy so far, he might need to step up some of his other abilities. Because if not, that contract's gonna sag on them more and more as they go.

I really wish there was a happier story to this White Sox team. Things looked so promising a few years ago, and they at least still look alright with Robert still playing well. But man, what a drop-off they've seen.

Coming Tonight: I'm at a ballgame in the Bronx today, so I'm not even sure if I'll post anything tonight, or if the game will be worth writing up tomorrow. I guess we'll see.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2022: Yankees

 

As we are about to ring in a New Year, let's remember a Yankees season that was very much reminiscent of the last few. A huge rise, a steep midyear drop-off, some close playoff wins and an inevitable loss to Houston. Same Yanks, different year.

I'm not gonna lie and say there weren't any improvements to this Yankee team, because there certainly were. People like Nestor Cortes and Jose Trevino showed up and became surprise heroes, late additions like Harrison Bader and Matt Carpenter made for an exciting second half, and, well, Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs and gets to be a Yankee for the rest of his life. Even as the highs were higher than a lot of Yankee seasons of late, we still couldn't make a World Series, and it's getting to be that this team may not be able to leg it out for an entire postseason now that it's a month+ ordeal.

Aaron Hicks, this year, played his fullest season in a Yankee uniform since 2018. Though his defense has improved since the injury-plagued years, Hicks' plate numbers left a lot to be desired, as he hit .216 with 40 RBIs and 8 home runs. We've got him for another 3 or so years, and it's looking like he'll be starting the year in the outfield, so I hope he has something left.

2023 Prediction: He doesn't. Oswaldo, you're up, buddy.

2022 was Aroldis Chapman's final one in Yankee pinstripes, and in his absence, Clay Holmes, a 2021 pickup, got the ninth. The first half he was incredible, scoreless through May, and nabbing an All-Star nod. His July was almost enough to sink him, and he allowed 16 earned runs from July to September after allowing just two before then. Postseason Holmes was more akin to his earlier behavior, as he went scoreless in 5 appearances with 7 strikeouts, even if the ninth inning role had been given to another pitcher by this point. Still, Holmes ended the season with 20 saves and a leg up on the closing position going forward.

2023 Prediction: 30 saves. Not cleanly, but still. This is the post-Rivera era of Yankees pitching, not every closer is gonna be clean.

Inevitably, Domingo German had an opening this season to start again. I don't know if the Yankees have forgiven him in the way they forgave Chapman [initially], but he at least improved this year, with a 3.65 ERA and 58 Ks in 15 starts. Not perfect, but the exact kind of extra arm the Yanks had in mind.

2023 Prediction: Seeing as the Yankees will be going with a Cole-Rodon-Cortes-Montas-Severino rotation, and four of those guys have had health issues to this point, I expect 20 starts.

We signed Marwin Gonzalez to be a useful utility bat who can play just about anywhere, and that's exactly what he was for us. His fielding numbers were excellent, with his best fielding statistics since 2019 in Minneapolis. At the plate, while he did have 6 home runs and 18 RBIs, he still struggled to hit for average. 

2023 Prediction: Uses a Korean Leagues season as a ramp to eventually be a useful piece of a 2024 contender.

The Yanks had two relevant bullpen hidden gems for me this year. One of them was Ron Marinaccio, the rookie from Toms River, NJ who began the year in the Yankee bullpen. In 40 games he had a 2.05 ERA, 56 Ks and gained a fan-following. For a kid that grew up a Yankee fan, that's gotta be pretty cool.

2023 Prediction: Finishes in the top tier of the Yankee bullpen and lasts the whole season.

Additionally, Wandy Peralta continued his strong work since coming over from San Francisco. In 56 games he held a 2.72 ERA, only allowing 17 earned runs and coming away with 4 saves. Peralta was the team's primary closer during the postseason, and got 1 save during the Cleveland series, while striking out 8 and allowing 3 earned runs.

2023 Prediction: A down year, but the bullpen won't exactly suffer.

Of all things I expected going into this season, the Yankees signing Matt Carpenter and him being one of their biggest midyear successes was certainly not one of them. After his subpar years with St. Louis, and after a botched Spring Training gig with Texas, I figured he didn't have anything left. In just 47 games, Carpenter hit .305 with 15 home runs and 37 RBIs, finishing the season with a higher OPS than even Aaron Judge. Yes, an injury robbed him not only of a second half continuation but of any pop during the postseason, but that June was enough for us to appreciate him.

2023 Prediction: I don't think the Padres are gonna get much of what we just got.

Speaking of great performances stunted by an ill-timed injury, Andrew Benintendi was a high-profile trade for us, coming over from Kansas City. Though he took a while to get used to New York, he was just getting the hang of things, notching 5 RBI in the last weeks of August and keeping his season batting average above .300. Then, beginning of September he gets injured, Bader takes his place and becomes a postseason hero.

2023 Prediction: A worthy sequel to his 2021 KC numbers in Chicago.

And finally Frankie Montas, the one move I really wished the Yankees wouldn't have made. I figured Luis Castillo was a surer bet, but the Mariners got him and locked him up. Montas always came off as streaky and ineffective. After trading J.P. Sears and Ken Waldichuk to Oakland for him, Montas pitched 8 starts, and had a 6.35 ERA with 28 earned runs in the midst of injuries. 

2023 Prediction: I really hope there's some level of improvement. I really, really do. Cause if not, we just wasted another trade deadline. 

That's all I've got for 2022. I hope you've enjoyed the blog this year. Hopefully there'll be some level of content in the next few months before pitchers and catchers report.

Top 10 Trade Deadline Deals of 2022

 Alright. Prolonged it enough. Built it up enough. Delayed it with National posts. But here, as per usual, is my personal list of the Top 10 Trade Deadline deals this year. I am judging this on how much it affects a team's playoff chances as well as future outlook, and I am keeping in mind star power as well as how much a team gave up to make this.

Here we go, right in with #10:

#10: David Peralta to the Rays, prospects to the Diamondbacks

This was a move a lot of D-Backs fans had figured was coming, and an interesting move as, in a deadline year where the Rays have given up Brett Phillips and had attempted to give up Ji-Man Choi, the Rays still end up as buyers. Peralta is not at his peak anymore, but he's a solid outfield bat, and he can provide star power for a depleted, falling Rays team. I'm not sure if the Rays will make as great of an impact on the postseason as they usually do, but competing with someone like Peralta will definitely give them a slight advantage. 

#9- Tyler Mahle to the Twins, prospects to the Reds

As much as it pains me to see the Reds unload the rest of the talent that made their teams so fun at the end of the last decade, this is at least a useful move because it reunites Mahle with Sonny Gray, and it adds him to a burgeoning rotation that could use some consistent innings eaters. Mahle will be a heck of a talent playing for a true competitor, and might have the best mileage of any of these pitching additions, even a teammate of his. 

#8- Trey Mancini to Houston, Jose Siri to Tampa, prospects to Baltimore

One of the first real blockbusters of the deadline. People had a feeling Mancini would be leaving the O's, as it's the kind of move they can make without compromising the core they've been building this year. Mancini is still a great hitter and can be a massive upgrade at 1st from Yuli Gurriel, giving them yet another upgrade in a monolithic year for the Astros. Meanwhile, Jose Siri is the kind of roster addition in Tampa that could yield outrageous dividends sooner or later. I equate him to somebody like Randy Arozarena, Isaac Paredes or Tyler Glasnow, where they weren't much in their initial farm system but once they got to Tampa, they figured it out and in a big way. Siri is gonna be huge for the Rays very soon, and I think he'll be the big name in this deal contemporarily. 

#7- Andrew Benintendi to the Yankees, prospects to the Royals

Yes, only #7. While this is a great deal that provides an outfield upgrade for the Yankees to people like Joey Gallo, Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton, as well as bringing a surefire contact hitter like Benny to the Bronx...a couple things have pushed this down. 1, the Yankees have made better moves this deadline. 2, the Yankees also got a major defensive upgrade in Harrison Bader thanks to a deal I will be talking about in another post, and 3, Benny hasn't figured out hitting in Yankee Stadium in his first few games there. I hope it's not like a Joey Gallo thing where the pressure's too much, and I honestly doubt it will be, but it's brought this one down a bit. Still, great move, and one that solves a lot of problems for the Yankees.

#6: Christian Vazquez to the Astros, prospects to the Red Sox. 

I had said somewhere that the only thing keeping the Astros from an essential waltz to the ALCS was a better catcher than Martin Maldonado. WELL...THEY'VE GOT ONE NOW. Vazquez was having another nice season for the Sox, now that he's in Houston he plugs in nicely. I don't think this team has many holes anymore, and it unsettles me. The Astros could very well win the whole thing this year, and Vazquez is more reassurance at backstop than they've had in a while. Excellent move, even at #6.

#5- Noah Syndergaard to the Phillies, Mickey Moniak and prospects to the Angels

Well...I CERTAINLY LOVE THIS MOVE. No offense meant towards people like Kyle Gibson and Ranger Suarez, but the back half of the Phillies rotation has a lot of very dull innings eaters without a lot of fun upsides. We NEEDED a guy like Thor. First of all, hooray, reunited with Wheeler. Second of all, while he's been a strikeout artist for years, those injuries have mellowed him into a more controlling, thoughtful pitcher, and he's had a nice start for the Angels. And thirdly...guys, Noah Syndergaard gets to pitch for one of my teams. As if I needed another excuse to love this guy. Yes, there's the issue of injuries, and Thor has had a ton over the years, which is why this is lower than some other pitching moves, but...on paper this is great. Thor on the Phils. Really helps our postseason chances.

#4- Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Yankees, J.P. Sears and prospects to the Athletics.

Well...this was the Yankees big pitching move this year. I think it's really good. Montas, while never the standout of the A's rotation, has always been a nasty little strikeout guy for them, and has had some big games even this season. Trivino, while he's struggled recently, has had masterful control as a bullpen asset there. And even if we lose a starting option like J.P. Sears, especially in the wake of losing ANOTHER STARTING OPTION BRIAN, Montas is not only an innings eater, he's an impressing starting asset that gives us another leg up in terms of our rotation. Cole, Montas, Cortes and Taillon are all looking good, even if that fifth spot still worries me [THANKS AGAIN BRIAN]. 

#3- Josh Hader to the Padres, Taylor Rogers, Dinelson Lamet et al to the Brewers

This was my biggest shock of the deadline. Yes, contracts are contracts, but HADER getting dealt, as one of the best closers in the game right now, is huge. Especially considering that this is a deal between two competitors, and they're honestly helping each other. I have a whole post prepared tomorrow involving these kinds of 'you scratch my back' deals, and why they baffle me, but this one I can kind of see the benefits of. Rogers is still a great closer for the Brewers, and he can still help them compete. Hader, meanwhile, is pretty much a rental for the Padres, but he helps them become even more ironclad in the ninth, and adds to the 'all-star team' mentality San Diego is going with for this run. Probably has the most immediate ramifications of any of these deals, and it's still pretty impressive.

#2- Luis Castillo to the Mariners, prospects to the Reds

Initially you look at this deal and it's not very big. Okay, the Mariners get a solid innings-eater like Castillo, big whoop. Well...then you start to think about it. The Mariners got the #1 arm on the board this deadline. They got one of the top arms on the board in the offseason as well, Robbie Ray. So now their rotation is Ray, Logan Gilbert, Castillo, Chris Flexen and Marco Gonzales, with the occasional assist by George Kirby. That is...that is outstanding. Even if this team has had trouble with Houston and now is fighting New York tooth and nail, Luis Castillo puts them over the edge from novelty streaker into the main lexicon of competitors. Luis Castillo could be the Mariners' way of breaking the 21 year playoff drought. And I think he's the exact right guy for this team. 

In a normal year, that'd be a ballsy yet respectable pick for #1, completely changes a team's gameplan and makes for a new favorite in the wild card race. 

This, however, is not a normal year.

#1- Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres, Luke Voit, Mackenzie Gore and C.J. Abrams, along with some prospects, to the Nationals. 

Well...crap. A.J. Prefer just broke the deadline, guys. Let's be clear, we knew Soto would be changing hands, the team and him weren't on great terms, you could see it. We had a feeling Josh Bell would be leaving too considering his season. But...not like this. Oh my gosh. Putting not only Soto but BELL in the same lineup as Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Trent Grisham and eventually Fernando Tatis Jr....uh...yeah, that's gonna be hard for anybody to beat. In terms of the return, the Nats did pretty well too, getting a power-hitting 1B/DH in the wake of Zim's departure, a starting phenom in Gore that I'm surprised the Padres parted with, and a shortstop that wasn't getting any playing time in SD anyway. The Nats now have Abrams, Gore, Josiah Gray, Keibert Ruiz, Lane Thomas, and all these new prospects chilling in the minors. Don't be shocked if they take off in a couple years. For now, the Padres won this deadline, and they got the biggest piece on the board. Get ready for what they're about to do in the NL.

Tomorrow, we're gonna talk about some of these that didn't make much sense.

Benny Go Home

 

...when 38-year-old Zack Greinke has a higher WAR than the rest of the team, you know the Royals are facing some dire times.

And it's not for a lack of putting the right people in the right place. You can corral Salvador Perez, Andrew Benintendi, Carlos Santana, Michael Taylor, Bobby Witt and Nicky Lopez and throw them on the same lineup all you want, but that will not guarantee that they'll all be great at the same time. I think that by the time Witt becomes an actual great player with a resume, most of the other people I just listed will have been out of the league for a bit. Not to discredit Witt, cause he's young and he's just figuring the majors out, but he's only hitting .211 and only has 10 RBIs. It's not...BAD per se, but...I think people were expecting more. 

You look across at this team, and Merrifield's not hitting, Santana's not hitting and injured, Mondesi's not hitting and injured, Salvador Perez is just at .200 [despite leading the team in homers with 5], Michael Taylor's not hitting and Nicky Lopez isn't hitting. That's...most of the team. And that's not good at all, especially in a division with teams that are well-publicized as offensive titans. 

The good news is that Andrew Beintendi is not only hitting, but might be off to one of his best starts in years. The former Red Sox prospect is hitting .314 with 33 hits and 12 RBIs, which don't sound like much until you measure them with the rest of the Royals. Benintendi has always seemed like a great player who's fallen on bad luck, and last year he took longer than usual to acclimate to Kansas City, so it's good that he's ascending to a more optimal place for the Royals this year. I just wish the rest of the team was on his level as well. 

The funny part is that the pitching isn't half bad this year, though. Greinke, Keller and Lynch are all pretty good starting. Garrett, Barlow and Taylor Clarke are doing well too. This kid Joel Payamps, who's been everywhere, is finally settling in somewhere, which is nice. There's a strong enough rotation, a strong bullpen. It's a shame nobody's hitting. 

Will people eventually begin to come around and hit a bit? Not sure. It's gonna take a lot of people to snap into place at once. Maybe they lose Benintendi before they get Merrifield or Perez cooking. But hopefully it'll be somewhat of an improvement. 

Coming Tomorrow- A pitcher for the Cubs who I worried was done after last year.

Benny Don't Go Home

 

The Boston Red Sox just cut some of its weight off...but it may have been the wrong load, and it may have landed in the wrong area. It's the equivalent of shooting a one-eyed alien with a laser, and instead of killing it, just improving its eyesight.

Andrew Benintendi has always been a sharp member of the Red Sox artillery, but he was never the starriest name, or the biggest gem. He had an incredible rookie year in 2017, hit .290 and reached a 4.5 WAR in 2018, and was still crucial despite being held back a bit in 2019. But he hadn't had the huge, star-making season yet, and at times seemed too crowded by people like Bogaerts, Bradley, Betts and Martinez. Last season he was injured almost immediately, and the lineup seemed to move on without him. 

So trading Benny to Kansas City is a move that honestly benefits KC more. They've got a similar artillery of Salvador Perez, Whit Merrifield, Jorge Soler and Hunter Dozier, but Benintendi is capable of sliding right into those names without being overshadowed. Same with Carlos Santana. So...the Royals just created a Benny-Merrifield-Taylor outfield, and a lineup capable of potentially going against Minnesota, Chicago and Cleveland. 

Not that I'm 100% convinced that the Royals will compete. They still have some pitching issues, and a few starters that haven't proved themselves like a lot of these lineup pieces have. But Benintendi landing in KC feels like a move that foreshadows big things, especially if the big pieces of this lineup, like Merrifield, Dozier and Perez, indeed seem to be staying in KC. 

This may backfire tremendously, but I'm kinda optimistic about the Royals now. I know, the White Sox likely have this season in the bag, but...keep an eye on these guys. Lots of good things could start happening very quickly.

 Coming Tomorrow- And if you think THAT trade sent shockwaves through the central divisions, wait until you see this one..

Baked Beantown

There is nothing that makes me happier than the Red Sox dropping easy games by double-digit point margins. It brings joy to my dead heart.

The once-strong pitching in Boston has completely fallen apart. Chris Sale has never looked more human. Rick Porcello has never looked more pathetic. Even Nasty Nate and Eduardo Rodriguez are blowing it. Only David Price comparatively seems to have his shit together, and even he has a 6.00 ERA. You'd think that the bullpen would be the part that would take a hit after Kimbrel's absence, and...you'd kind of be right, but...it's really just a group effort. Everyone in that pitching staff is failing together, and that's pretty admirable.

As far as the lineup is concerned, only Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez are performing higher than standard. Everyone else is performing at varying levels of 'eh'. And if this were any other Boston Red Sox team, I'd be cool with it. But this is a DEFENDING CHAMPION Red Sox team. We haven't seen a messy start for a defending champion team in a long time. But...it's just a little nicer that it's the Red Sox, a team that seemed completely impenetrable last year. It's definitely ironic that they've been acting very human so far this year, dropping more than 7 runs in four games so far.

Will it stay this way? Probably not, but...I mean, I don't know if a team can fully rebound from losing several double-digit-point games. Maybe they'll get a bit better, but the Yanks-Sox matchup that sportswriters were thinking would rule the division this year...might not happen to the caliber they're thinking...especially considering that the Rays are currently, and rightfully, besting both.

Coming Tonight: Spent last season in the NL East for the first time in 2 years, and seemed to enjoy it enough to suit up for his third team in that division.

Bombs Over Beantown

The Magic Number is three.

No, not a playoff magic number. I mean there are only 3 people on the Red Sox' lineup right now who haven't hit more than 10 home runs right now. And they're Jackie Bradley, Eduardo Nunez and Christian Vazquez.

Everyone else, save for Rafael Devers, is hitting over .250. Including 2 players, J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts, hitting over .300.

Even as a Yankee fan, I have to stop and say...Holy Shit.

You look across the board in Boston, in terms of the batting and pitching, and with only a few exceptions...everybody's doing really well. It's the kind of team unity that helped them out in 2013--they were all the same page, they all grew beards together and everything. Now...they're all really good at hitting home runs and stopping the Blue Jays from scoring runs.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the guys who are surging is Andrew Benintendi, who, after his come up season last year, is finally producing like a veteran, and bringing in hits for average, alongside all of the home runs. But there are a lot of no-brainers playing well. Mookie Betts, Chris Sale, J.D. Martinez, Craig Kimbrel. They're all showing very few signs of fatigue, and only getting stronger as the season goes on.

The only snag I can see in the Red Sox' plan is, once again, the Yankees. They're just as good as the Sox are, and at times they're a bit luckier. Right now they're in first, but knowing the Sox it may be insanely short-lived. The Sox need to figure out how to outlast the Yankees, because at this point it may just be the two of them until the very end. Once they figure out how to completely stifle them, then they might be in the clear.

Coming Tonight: Pre-season, he cut off his long hair and pissed me off, as I had adopted long hair as a tribute to him. Whatever, he's still a great pitcher or something.

Division Series Update: Two Down, Two to Go

The first hurdle has been passed, and the Houston Astros are officially the team to beat in the AL. The Indians, in this series with New York, have proved that they're relatively human, and they can be beaten. The Sox only chased Houston one game, and the Astros still managed to eliminate them, by being two steps ahead and as powerful as they've been all year. It'll be interesting to see how they take on either the Yankees or Indians.

As for the departed...

Sad to say, the Sox never really had a chance. They were the odd men out, the third option of two vastly superior division leaders, and they would have been eliminated no matter who they played. They put up a good fight, and Andrew Benintendi had a nice run at things yesterday, but in the end it boiled down to the same thing it boiled down to last year...they don't have near enough to compete.

Meanwhile...

People are saying there was no doubt that this could happen. Well, I had doubts. If you'll recall, I predicted the Diamondbacks to beat the Dodgers so badly they'd be catapulted into the World Series. Looking back on this three game sweep, I should have been a bit more optimistic in the Dodgers' abilities, and less reliant on that big slump they had towards the end. They've definitely still got it, and the pitching, even with Clayton Kershaw giving up home runs, is shutting them all down. It's looking like this NLCS miiiiiight be a rematch, but I'm thinking whoever they play, they're likely to have the high ground.

And, as for the departed...

As powerful as the Diamondbacks could be this season, it turned out to be their own division that did them in, and in a year where three teams wanted desperately to compete, it would have been tough for them to get a word in edgewise, especially with the Dodgers' season. I think people like Paul Goldschmidt, Zack Greinke and David Peralta were definitely able to extend this team's season by a week, and they should be very proud of how far they came...and very concerned, as they're expected to go further next year.

Alright. Enough certainty. Let's go into the ones still going on...

First of all, HOW ABOUT THOSE NEW YORK YANKEES? Second game in a row where the odds were against us, and we tore through. It did help that Trevor Bauer was on short rest (which seems to be a theme with him), but people like Greg Bird, Aaron Judge and Todd Frazier have been annihilating the ball, and Luis Severino had an amazing night on the mound. Wednesday night is for all the marbles, and it'll be Corey Kluber, who we...roughed up Friday night, and Sonny Gray, who people also have a tendency to rough up. I'm gonna be hoping for the best, but also...even if the Indians win, I can root for them. They're cool.

And in the NL,

I think the message I'm getting here is that maybe the Nationals aren't really cut out for the postseason, no matter the year. Either that, or the Cubs have just been getting hot at the right time, as even with Max Scherzer on the mound, Albert Almora and Ben Zobrist went wild, pushing the Cubs over the Nats, and allowing for a lead going into Game 4 today. The Cubs will have Jake Arrieta on the mound. The Nats will have Tanner Roark. At a glance, Arrieta is the safer bet, but you honestly never know.

Tonight, we may have a full NLCS matchup. I'll alert you with details if so.

Because You All Wanted It, First Place Red Sox

Yeah, at the beginning of the season, there were about a hundred 'the Red Sox are gonna be in first place' articles going around, saying that the Sale-Price-Porcello thing ALONE would propel them to the top. We'd seen this a thousand times before. The Red Sox get one huge star, and everybody thinks they're gonna be amazing, as if they'd never acquired someone in the offseason before. This happened the season they got Price, and it didn't go well for them there, because of reasons not necessarily referring to David Price. So when the '1st place Sox' articles came out in March, I was going 'NO, BE REASONABLE HERE!' I'd seen the 2016 team crash in the playoffs, and there were obviously structural problems quite evident, ones that had gotten worse in the Spring, and people were still saying 'they're a first place team'.

Well...right now they are, in fact, a first place team. Sue me.

They're not by any means perfect. They have no third baseman, as both foreseeable options are hurt, and their only option is an atrocious performance by Deven Marrero. The pitching isn't as red-hot as we all thought- Rick Porcello's looking human, David Price might be headed back to the DL, and Eduardo Rodriguez, well, IS on the DL, leaving a befuddled-looking Doug Fister to try and clean things up. Yes, Chris Sale and Mookie Betts are both fantastic this year, but, as I have to explain to the sportswriters in March every year, two players alone can not make a team great.

Still, they're in first, and they're playing well enough to deserve it. The Yankees have lost a few too many games, and are sitting in second as punishment. Once they become good enough to usurp Boston, they'll be back, but for right now, the Red Sox are in first place. Yes, the Sox did get here by their own merits, and it's not turning into a 'Yankees rule' thing. But...and this goes back to the sportswriters...they're all waiting for the Yankees to get back to first as much as I am.

Coming Tonight: Hard-hitting first-baseman for a struggling NL East team.

Spring Training Trip Part #1: Red Sox vs. Twins 3/18/17

Greetings, from Fort Myers, Florida.

I would have done an intro post for this trip like I usually do, some sort of 'hey, I'm gonna be hitting some Spring Training games this weekend' kind of number, but I was busy. Besides, you're smart people. You don't need a lead-up post. You want the real thing.

Today was the real thing. And I'm about to tell you why.

My uncle lives in Fort Myers, and for a few years my dad and I have been waiting for the right moment to come down for Spring Training. It's a matter of timing, scheduling, logistics, etc. Last year my schedule didn't match up, but my dad and uncle went to a few anyway. This year, it was my turn finally, and last night I touched down in Florida, meeting my dad at the airport, and ready to embark on three Spring Training adventures.

Today was Day #1, and...oh my gosh it's gonna be hard to follow.

(I'll preface the writeup by saying that last night, when I got in, my uncle gifted me with a baseball signed by two Red Sox organization members at the facility's open house- Deven Marrero and Josh Rutledge. He said the ball would last the rest of the trip, and any autograph could land on that ball, which was awfully nice of him.)


The thing about the Twins Spring Training stadium is that it's very simple, very cozy, and very relaxed. It doesn't need to be showy (like a stadium I'll be visiting in two days), but it does the trick, and it makes Twins fans happy. Driving into the lot, we passed a series of memorial street signs for the lots (Hrbek Drive, Gardenhire Way, Blyleven Curve, etc...), which let us know the hearts of the fans were in mind.

I came to the game in a Twins cap, as the opposing team was the Boston Red Sox, and I swore before the game that I wouldn't stoop to the level of rooting for them. Oh, how times were so simple pre-game..

Before the game, my father, my uncle and I went out to the nearby practice field, because you kind of have to in opportunities like these. It was very weird seeing Paul Molitor only a few feet away, standing behind the backstop glaring down the young guys taking BP. Baseball royalty, scratching his chin. Insanely eerie stuff. Eventually we went around and watched some of the minor leaguers practice, coached by someone we all assumed was David Eckstein. We also peered through the batting cages at someone taking extra BP, coached by someone teaching some bare-bones hitting stuff.

There was a moment where some players were exiting practice, signing some autographs. What the hell, I said. I may never be here again.

The tricky part about getting autographs from a team you're only sort-of familiar with is that you can't really yell out their names to get their attention. You just kind of have to weave through, get your hand in there and hope the guy signs it. The first guy that came out, did some signing...I had no clue who it was, but he looked like he enjoyed it, and he looked promising, so I gave him the ball to sign, and he did so gladly. My uncle told me afterwards that it was Eduardo Escobar. Not necessarily someone I collect, but a good enough player.

Eventually I found someone I did recognize.

Okay, I take it back. I didn't recognize Kyle Gibson immediately, but a few Twins fans shouted out 'KYLE!', I turned to see a big tall guy that could have only been a pitcher, and 1+1=2. Gibson I do collect, as he's got one of the best arms on the rotation, and he had a legitimately great 2015. So I weaved through to get his as well.

Kyle Gibson was pretty nice- this was routine to him, but he at least asked me how I was doing. I forget whether or not he was taller than me, but he's pretty tall. He ended up signing the ball, and adding a Bible scripture underneath, which I, as someone who isn't necessarily the most religious chap in the room, could not for the life of me decipher.

He handed the ball back to me, I said 'hoping for a great season, man', and I walked off, having gotten an autograph from a legitimately good pitcher.

Our seats were pretty good. I'm gonna stress that before I get to a later part of this post. Our seats were on the third base side, relatively close, and we had a really nice view. I was not complaining. We got food, beverages, and sat down to have a nice time and root for the Twins.

In terms of rosters, we had a pretty nice day. Most of the big Twins showed up, and only Xander Bogaerts, Sandy Leon and Hanley Ramirez were missing from the Boston platoon. Porcello vs. Vogey already looked like a one-sided pitching duel.

The first inning was already pretty explosive- the Twins attacked Porcello, as Mauer had a well-equipped RBI, as well as Max Kepler having a really impressive hit to get some runs over. The team started with a 4-0 lead in the first. Kepler, however, was the one unlucky part of the inning- he knicked his thumb on a slide, and looked pretty pessimistic about it as he left the field.

I watched Ryan Vogelsong's pitching as a cynic, having never been a fan of him on the Giants (he was the Kyle Kendrick of that rotation). I left...even more of a cynic. Vogey has an incredibly slow delivery, most of his pitches were in the 70s and 80s, and only his control, which waned after a while, was worth mentioning. The guy wasn't looking great, and started to get battered down as the game went on.

Around the third inning...the unthinkable happened.

My uncle's veterinarian, the guy who got us the seats in the first place, came by (he's a friend of my uncle's, as my uncle has had several dogs and has probably singlehandedly paid for a wing of this guy's house), and asked us if we wanted to chill in his section for a little while. I had a vague idea of where the seats were, and figured that they'd at least be an upgrade from the already-great seats.

Well...it was indeed an upgrade:

This was my view.

...No, seriously. These were the seats we got for the rest of the game. Front row, directly behind the batter's box, and directly to the left of the Boston dugout. My dad was sitting right next to the dugout, and he could see John Farrell from two feet away. As the Red Sox batters got up to the batter's box, I could see them...insanely clearly.

If I had to pick a favorite...

This one, of Mitch Moreland. I liked it so much...

...that I made it into the first ever custom I've made where I've supplied the picture. This feels bloody amazing.

As I was surrounded by Red Sox fans in our section, as well as being bordered by, well, THE ACTUAL RED SOX, I had no choice to, for the first time in my life, root for the Red Sox. Although, I did this while wearing a Twins cap, so I'm not exactly sure if it was too effective.

Somehow, as I began rooting for Boston, they came alive. Pablo Sandoval, whom we relentlessly cheered on (having done so in San Francisco a few years back), had an INSANE day, hitting two home runs, and getting back his career. A great deal of people, including Pedroia, Blake Swihart, Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley had some truly nice moments.

Meanwhile, we were right near Farrell, and the coaches, including Chili Davis, whom my dad thanked for some great moments in the Bronx, and Ruben Amaro Jr., who was having a nice conversation with the people behind us. My dad even asked one of the coaches who'd be pitching on Monday, when we'd be seeing Boston at their stadium. The answer- Kyle Kendrick. Irony.

After 7 innings, me, my dad and my uncle packed up and left. I managed to snag a Joe Mauer t-shirt, as well as a Joe Mauer pin (as I've been collecting a shit-ton of pins lately). We were tired, slightly dehydrated, and we felt insanely satisfied, after LITERALLY rubbing elbows with some Red Sox coaches.

So...that was day 1. I don't know what the final score was, but the Red Sox came back and absolutely killed the Twins.

Tomorrow is another game, and it's a little further, but it's worth it, as it's a rematch of one of the most important World Series match ups in recent history.