First to Cursed

 

There is a subject I don't like mentioning on the blog, but it's inevitable here. 

Y'see, a couple months ago, the New York Knicks were going on an absolute tear in the finals, they were outdoing the Spurs on every level. The Spurs only won one game of that series, and it was at the Garden, with...um...a guest. 

Recently. The Los Angeles Dodgers made a visit to this guest's current place of residence, or one of them at least. And since visiting said place of residence, they have won 5 games, and lost ten, including two against division rivals the Arizona Diamondbacks. More proof that no sports team is safe from being ruined at the hands of a massive...er, jinx. 

And at least the Knicks eventually won the Champs, but because it's only a 7 game series, all it takes is just getting the jinx out of the room. I think some Knicks fans did some cleansing rituals, a little sage, maybe something from a nearby halal cart, anything that could possibly work. And so, the Knicks won in 5, as depicted on the walls of the Sistine Chapel. But in a long season like this, it's gonna take more than just a game to pass for the stink to completely go away. So the Dodgers are still very much mired in this losing streak, and are gonna need to really rethink policy and outreach in order to come back from it.

There's at least good news, and it's that some pieces of this team that haven't had the proper time to really excel this season are finally getting there. Mookie Betts is one of them, as he was injured for most of the year, then took a while to really make an impact. He currently has 13 home runs and 36 RBIs in 80 games, plus the usual brand of excellent play at shortstop. Teoscar Hernandez also missed some time, but has been much better in the last few weeks, hitting .279 since the ASG break, with 3 homers and 5 RBIs. Tanner Scott is now a very viable ninth inning option again, with a 2.31 ERA and 16 saves, which is a very good thing because Edwin Diaz suddenly isn't. Roki Sasaki has been piling together more and more quality starts, and has his ERA down to 4.50. 

The frustrating part is the continued setbacks, the lighter bench work, the fact that both catchers are now injured and Hunter Feduccia is suddenly the top backstop on the team, and the knowledge that the Red Sox, Cubs and D-Backs all can find the leverage to top these guys. Yes, having Tarik Skubal helps, but the ESPN smear campaign is already in full effect to hide the fact that his first start was A.) during a loss and B.) nowhere near as effective as his Tigers starts. Blake Snell will be back soon, but for how long? Will Ohtani be pitching again anytime soon? Or are they gonna be stuck with Wrobleski and Lauer making crucial postseason starts?

The cracks have finally formed. And though the Dodgers are still a lock for the playoffs and a very good team, they are no longer unstoppable, and now may need to work harder to procure that all-important threepeat. I'd suggest maybe giving the guy who had them over a cease and desist.

Coming Tomorrow- He's not even playing his best baseball anymore, but he's still a crucial performer for a 1st place team, so that's definitely something. 

Deceivingly Simple

 

If the Dodgers win another World Series this year, it will be the start of a new, Chiefs-style dynasty of a team just winning every year solely because no team can stop them by exploiting their most surface-level flaws. Looking at this team, 2 months before the postseason, I don't get the sort of 'nothing can stop them' feeling I got last year. A lot of this team is just succeeding because we expect them to and not really building on that. 

Mookie Betts is the biggest example of this. He's been healthy virtually all year, he's still great at shortstop, he's still a solid lineup presence. This year he is hitting .243 with a .690 OPS. Betts has never finished a season with an OPS lower than .800, something that will no doubt be brought up when he's eligible for Hall of Fame induction, and if he continues at this pace he'll fail to meet that mark that has seemed so easy his entire career. Hell, this would be his first season ever where he doesn't even hit .250. Everyone's given an off year or so, but the worry is that, with a good 7 or so more years left on the contract, Mookie Betts may be dropping off. His peak was excellent, and the hope is he still has some strong Dodgers seasons left, but to see mediocrity from Betts has to be odd. 

And look, between Ohtani, Freeman, Andy Pages and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, there are enough big stars pulling their weight this year that it can take a Betts or someone struggling. But that is a sign of a well oiled machine that has so many failsafes put into place that they can still succeed. You saw it happen with the rotation. They lost Snell, Sasaki, Glasnow and Gonsolin, and somehow they still carried on with enough guys like Dustin May, Emmet Sheehan and Landon Knack. Right now they have Glasnow back and surging, and the plan is for Blake Snell to return this weekend and hopefully had the second half he had last year. 

But...ultimately, just so much of this team is purely fine at the moment that even if these returning guys aren't as helpful as we're thinking, they very well might still get to a World Series on inertia. You're hearing all these stories of Ohtani struggling or a crucial Dodger getting hurt or a bad outing by someone who should be in Oklahoma City, and there they are still in first. Right now the Padres are creeping up, and are 4 games behind. We've seen the Giants or Padres come close to the Dodgers a couple times this season, and here they still are. It may be as simple as this Dodgers team just being so good that injuries that would derail other teams [Yankees mostly] just don't derail them.

I don't know if the Dodgers can make a World Series with this many injured starters, but they won one last year with a skeletal rotation and a lot of people clicking at the right time. It could happen again. I'm hoping it doesn't, but it certainly could.

Coming Tomorrow- Even on a team with a guy signed for like 10 more years, an infielder with a surprisingly lethal contact bat might be the most important guy there. 

Flick of the Wrist

 

Boy, it's a bad time to be the wrist of a future hall of fame hitter.

In the last few days, two of the biggest players in the game, and two MVP candidates, just got handed very worrying injuries of almost the exact same type. Mookie Betts was the first, needing to miss 2 months with a hand injury. And then tonight, Aaron Judge gets hit on the hand with a pitch, exits, and as I write this it's not certain whether or not he'll need to miss time. Considering what amazing seasons both of these guys were having, this is the worst case scenario, honestly; losing Betts severely wounds the Dodgers, and the prospect of losing Judge puts the incredible Yankee start into jeopardy.

The Dodgers may honestly have more to lose. They already began the season extremely injury-bitten, and are still without Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Emmett Sheehan. Now they are without Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Michael Grove and Bobby Miller, in addition to Max Muncy, who recently got hurt. So already, they're on fumes as far as the pitching is concerned, and are hoping that James Paxton, Gavin Stone and Tyler Glasnow are a strong enough core for the present moment. They got Walker Buehler back, and he's been decent, if flawed. They're getting Miller back this week, he should hopefully be in better condition than earlier in the year. There's no real news on when the big three will be back, so hopefully the unit works enough in that interim.

But with one less superstar in the lineup, the flaws are going to become more evident. Miguel Vargas has been thrust back into short, and it's going about as well as it did last year. Gavin Lux, even after all the wait to get him starting again, hasn't been worth it, and neither has Chris Taylor. Andy Pages is talented but still isn't hitting that well. Heyward and Rojas are good, but they've both done better. 

One of the takeaways of this team, besides the obvious ones, is that when you need him to, Teoscar Hernandez will absolutely annihilate a baseball. He did it a bunch of times during the Yankees series, and right now he's got 17 homers and 51 RBIs. As good as he was with Seattle last year, this is a steadier, more potent Hernandez, and he's been the spoiler on a number of occasions. The Dodgers had enough strong people in well defined roles, and now they have a nice power bat to make sure it's not all on Ohtani.

This Dodgers team still has enough to get by on, and they'll likely stay ahead for a bit. But I don't know if they'll be as potent without Betts, and I'm guessing it'll be a long series of weeks while they wait for him to come back.

Coming Tomorrow- Not the starter that may have hurt Judge's wrist, but AN Orioles starter.

The Short Answer

 

Mookie Betts is at a point where if he retired today, he'd be a Hall of Famer. 2 rings, a 7-year run of ASG appearances, an MVP, and someone who has been routinely listed among the best players in the game. The closest thing he's had to a down season was his 4.0 WAR year in 2021, which was, at the very least, followed by two consecutive years where he hit 35+ home runs. 

Mookie Betts, at 31, has done it all, performed to the highest level, and cemented his status as one of the foremost figures of his era of baseball. And now, 10 years into his career, he's switching from outfield to shortstop.

This isn't completely unwarranted, he's played 2nd base the last couple years for LA, but this season began with Dave Roberts naming Betts the starting shortstop. Now, I can kind of see why, seeing at, in the absence of Gavin Lux last year, both middle infield options, Miguel Vargas and Miguel Rojas, underperformed. Lux is back this year, but he's still not a proven option, and Rojas seems to be shifting into a depth backup option, which cannot help his self-esteem considering the smack Jazz Chisholm has been talking. And then you have to figure that they wanna leave room not only for Teoscar Hernandez but for Andy Pages, who is up, even if he's not 100% killing it yet. And seeing that Betts can definitely play 2nd, even if he isn't a gold glover there, shortstop wasn't exactly out of the question.

So far, the 'Betts at shortstop' era of Dodgers baseball has been going well, mostly due to the fact that Betts is still an outstanding hitter. Dude's hitting .347 with 19 RBIs and 6 homers. His 2.2 WAR, before the month of April is even over, is a league high. To give you an idea, Shohei Ohtani is hitting .264 with 6 homers and 14 RBIs and he isn't even the most valuable Dodger right now. Betts' defense seems to be higher quality at short than his 2nd base material, just from what we've seen already. It is wild to see a player widely considered one of the best in the game evolve yet again defensively, but here we are.

Betts is the showiest of the Dodgers' Big 3 right now, but he's certainly not the only noisemaker. Ohtani of course makes the news by breathing, and Freddie Freeman's still hitting .297 with 13 RBIs, even if they're a little below his peak. What's been worrying has been the number of games where the heart of the lineup can't do anything, hence the 11 losses, as well as some of the troubles of having a rotation besieged by injury, but this is still a 1st place Dodgers team with their biggest players performing to high degrees, so they at least have that.

If this is what Mookie Betts is playing like after 10 years, I cannot imagine what he'll have done by the time he retires.

Coming Tonight: Ironically a former Dodgers infielder, who's been off to an excellent start for a new team.

[Badly] Predicting the Home Run Derby: 2023

 I do this every year, and while my prediction skills aren't exactly expert level, I figured it wouldn't make much sense to start now.

So yeah, the Home Run Derby's tonight in Seattle. I kinda miss when they'd make an effort to get 4 NL guys and 4 AL guys, but apparently all the NL guys they asked turned them down, so we have 6:2. What's great about this era of the derby is that you've got all these long-running storylines and lineage to these, and things to expect and look forward to. 

Tonight, we've got a fun assortment of certified home run hitters, new standouts, and people whose appearance on this roster surprised me. So I'm gonna try and figure out who's winning this based entirely off of educated guesses. Let's go:

Round One: Luis Robert Jr. vs. Adley Rutschman

Who Should Win: Logically, Robert. I was certain he'd be a starting OF for the AL this year, and while that didn't happen, it's clear that Robert's hitting has been one of the best developments of the year. I think of the two, Robert's the more proven home run hitter, even if Rutschman has been gaining momentum recently. Honestly, this one might be close, because these are two HRD newbies, and both could outdo my expectations.

Who Will Win: I have a feeling once Luis Robert gets the hang of the Home Run Derby, he'll be a standout, so probably him. 

Round One: Randy Arozarena vs. Adolis Garcia

Who Should Win: Garcia, as he's more known for his homers than Randy is. Garcia's hit 81 homers since his 2021 breakout, Randy has averaged 20 per season. On paper, I think Adolis Garcia looks like the more fearsome candidate.

Who Will Win: And yet I'm also getting a feeling that Garcia could be the one can't-miss type that does miss, and Randy Arozarena will outdo him without overexerting himself. It's an upset, but with Arozarena as unpredictable as he is, it could definitely happen.

Round One: Julio Rodriguez vs. Pete Alonso

Who Should Win: Perhaps the guy who's won two of these might be the favorite going in. This is the one matchup everybody's gonna be talking about tonight, because these two squared off last year, it was explosive, and Julio edged out Alonso even after Alonso's incredible progress in the Derby. And what's more, I PREDICTED HE WOULD. Julio beating Pete was a rare Jordan prediction that was spot-on. It was all because I saw the momentum that Julio had at that point. So on paper, Alonso is the better hitter.

Who Will Win: It goes down to momentum again, and while Rodriguez has been hot recently, Alonso has more home runs and has been doing more lately. He's also got 26 homers right now, while Julio was tabbed less for his HR total and more for his status as a Mariners hero. I say Alonso wins the rematch. Controversial, yes, but it's how I see this going.

Round One: Mookie Betts vs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Who Should Win: Before this season, this would be easy. Guerrero is a trained long ball man, he's had a history of hitting 'em out, and he's done the Derby before and done well with it. Betts is more of a contact guy who's less known for his power. Guerrero would be the natural favorite.

Who Will Win: This year, though, is a little different, as Betts has 26 homers right now and has hit a ton of them in the last week, while this is a lesser Vlad Jr. season. On the basis of momentum, I think Betts will win. There's a chance Vlad uses this to get hot and takes off like no one would believe, but I'm going with Betts because it follows the trajectory of the season so far. 

Round Two: Luis Robert vs. Randy Arozarena

Who Should Win: Robert, because he has more home runs and is the more logical home run hitter.

Who Will Win: Randy Arozarena, because I just have this feeling that Randy's gonna be the guy who no one thinks is gonna do well and just fools everybody. Probably one of the most underrated players in the game right now. So maybe everyone underrates him here and he proves them wrong. I will say, though, that this bracket might go to a tiebreaker.

Round Two: Mookie Betts vs. Pete Alonso

Who Should Win: Alonso, because he has more experience and might be one of the best HRD participants since Griffey.

Who Will Win: ...yeah, probably Alonso still. Betts is gonna put up a ton, but I don't see him outdoing Alonso. I will say, though, that if he does, it would be kind of awesome. Mookie Betts already has some excellent career credentials, and might be on the way to another MVP, but if he somehow wins a Home Run Derby on the merits of his surprise power season, it'd be incredible. Ultimately, though, an Alonso clincher is more likely. 

Final Round: Pete Alonso vs. Randy Arozarena

Who Should Win: Alonso, with all things considered.

Who Will Win: ...damn, this might be a long round. Both of them might go for a while, and it may just comes down to who gets tired first. And as Alonso has been injured more recently, I'm gonna say that Randy Arozarena sneaks past him and wins a Home Run Derby. It's not an outcome I want, but I just have a feeling nobody's gonna be able to stop him this year.

So, the way I have it going, Randy Arozarena wins a Home Run Derby. But remember, I am famously terrible at predicting things, so watch it be Rutschman. 

Gold Gloves and Glass Arms

 

The more I think about it, the more I realize that the Dodgers may have inadvertently upped their defense perks going into this year, even if it did mean signing older players. Some of the Dodgers' best defenders this year so far, like Miguel Rojas, David Peralta and Jason Heyward, all came from cheap deals that they weren't sure would pay dividends. All this combined with the preexisting defensive standouts, like Mookie Betts and Chris Taylor, makes for an improved defensive squad, even with the occasional liability like Max Muncy. 

It is so wild to me that Jason Heyward is having something of a comeback year with this team. I honestly think Chicago was just a bad fit for him that he never recovered from, and while he stayed consistent defensively, maybe something about Wrigley wasn't somewhere he could really thrive as a contact hitter. So far Heyward has 6 home runs and 13 RBIs, which isn't terrible.

And then you at least have Mookie Betts putting up another landmark season for the books. This is his 10th season, he's possibly got enough monster years to make a compelling Hall of Fame case, I wanna see if he can do a few more but I think he's one of the marquee guys of this era. Right now Betts has 16 homers, second only to Muncy, and 37 RBIs. His 2.6 WAR is second only to Freddie Freeman's 2.8 as far as the team goes. I think the Dodgers should be very happy that Betts and Freeman have been playing so well and fulfilling their dreams for their respective contracts.

The big issue with the Dodgers right now, despite their success, seems to be the fragility of the pitching. The season began with Ryan Pepiot and Walker Buehler nursing injuries, and now all of Dustin May, Julio Urias and Noah Syndergaard have joined them. This leaves Clayton Kershaw, who's at least been phenomenal this year, Tony Gonsolin, who's been strong albeit careful with his own fragility, and Bobby Miller, the rookie who has a 1.0 WAR through his first 3 starts. There's not much else below that; Michael Grove has been getting bopped around all year, including by the Phillies last night, and the nearest two choices, Gavin Stone and Andre Jackson, don't have great 2023 track records. I've always praised these Dodgers teams for their pitching depth, but when everyone's either hurt or being careful at the same time, that goes away pretty quickly. 

So the Dodgers have dropped down to second, and might be there for a bit, at least until some of the hurt guys come back. I think this team does have a shot, and could still be a playoff contender, but these injuries could dull their appeal a great deal.

Coming Tonight: A pitcher for my team who's very good at going in and out of my doghouse.

Mookie Monster

 

So Mookie Betts is still one of the best players in baseball. In case you thought something had changed.

The big stat right now with Betts is that he has 16 home runs, which is the highest in the NL, as well as being 6 dingers away from the 200 home run mark. He is also hitting .303 right now, and is working towards his first .300 season since he won the MVP in 2018. Betts is on track to have a career 57 WAR before he even turns 30, which is incredibly good. And all of this while he continues to be the centerpiece of a 1st place Dodgers team while his old club bobbles around fourth, and not quite around Alex Verdugo either.

It's really impressive how good Mookie Betts is once you really look at his stats. So far he's only finished one season with more than 100 strikeouts, he's led the league in total bases once and runs twice [and is leading the NL in both right now], and while he's proudly hanging onto an MVP, I still think he got robbed in 2020, and he very well could have won one in 2016 if it weren't for Mike Trout doing his usual thing. To have accomplished this much by 30 and to still be racking up achievements is truly impressive, and it's fantastic that we have somebody like Betts at the same time we have people like Mike Trout, Manny Machado, Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper all still in their prime.

As for the Dodgers themselves? Granted, they're only 2.5 games ahead of San Diego, and dropping games to Pittsburgh certainly doesn't help, but they're still in pretty good shape. I didn't think they'd be able to sustain the magic without Kershaw, but Tyler Anderson hasn't been giving up many runs at all, Tony Gonsolin is incredible this year, Buehler and Urias are strong as ever, and I suppose Mitch White is turning into a solid fifth option. The bullpen's high ERAs scare me, as does Kimbrel being a bit less consistent than Jansen. But, like, this is a solid team where lots of people can play all sorts of roles. Trea Turner is leading the team in RBIs, that's a nice career turn for him.

If Betts can lead this team to more playoff success, maybe another ring and another MVP, that'll be the icing on the cake. I hope this can all stay good for Betts, and the Dodgers.

Coming Tonight: For years, the Toronto Blue Jays catching position had been a two man race between two bad options. Then a third challenger appeared and won out.

2020 Topps Final Edition: Card #199-207

 Today, we reach the 200-card-marker of this set. I've been plugging these in since February, and now in early May we get to card 200. Not bad at all. Hope you guys are still enjoying the set. 

Here are the next 9 cards, including the hero card.

#199- Brandon Lowe ASG, Tampa Bay Rays

In a season where D.J. LeMahieu, Cesar Hernandez and Nick Madrigal all would have racked up votes, Brandon Lowe would have been the starting 2nd baseman of the AL team if the 2020 All Star Game had happened. Putting the 2020 season into context, it shouldn't be much of a shocker- Lowe had an incredible sophomore season, being among the chief difference-makers for the Rays, and leading them to a World Series. While Lowe's numbers have been a bit more human so far, he's still healthy and relatively reliable right now in a slightly thinner roster climate.

Card #200- Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies fans had been waiting a few years for Alec Bohm to hit the majors, especially after his impressive minor league numbers in Lehigh Valley and Reading. Midway through the 2020 season, Bohm hit Philly, and in 44 games, hit .338 with 23 RBIs, finishing 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting to Devin Williams. He established himself as a strong option at third almost immediately, and gave the fans confidence that is fraying now that Bohm seems resigned to hitting around .200 this year. 

Card #201- Chad Kuhl, Pittsburgh Pirates

Yeah, no Chad Kuhl card in 2020 Topps. I know. Kuhl missed 2019 with Tommy John surgery, returned to the rotation in 2020 as a strong enough option, pitched a 4.27 ERA in 9 starts with 44 Ks, and was one of the more consistent players for the Pirates last year. He was given a high ranking in the rotation this year, and he's currently on the IL. That is the exhilaration of Pirates baseball for you.

Card #202- Salvador Perez ASG, Kansas City Royals

As Salvador Perez continues to be one of the most consistently-excellent catchers in the game, the 2020 All Star Game would have been his seventh, as well as his triumphant return. The best part is that the year of injury did nothing to dull Perez' abilities, as 2020 was still a very strong year for him, with his 2.1 WAR being very much on par with other recent numbers. Perez has been doing well this season so far, and hopefully he'll get his ASG moment this year.

Card #203- Jesus Sanchez, Miami Marlins

One of the SEVERAL youngsters the Marlins called up during the 2020 season, Jesus Sanchez was called up specifically to aid the team after Starling Marte's injury. Sanchez took Marte's place, and only hit .040 with 11 strikeouts and 2 RBIs in that 10 game period. For those reasons, Sanchez is still currently in the minors. 

Card #204- Yency Almonte, Colorado Rockies

Yency Almonte might have been one of the Rockies' best bullpen pieces of a very forgettable year. Almonte appeared in 24 games, and hit a 2.93 ERA with 23 Ks and 3 wins. Almonte was used in middle relief as well as a final-out man, getting his first save as well last year. So far in 2021, his WAR is negating the entirety of his 2020 earnings in that category.

Card #205- Alex Kirilloff, Minnesota Twins

One of the more intriguing prospects heading into the 2020 season, Alex Kirilloff saw no major league playing time last year, but was added to the postseason roster before playing a single MLB regular season game. That says everything you need to know about how confident the Twins are in Kirilloff. Granted, Kirilloff only hit .250 in 4 postseason at-bats, but he still had a postseason hit before any of his 2021 regular season hits. He's currently a decent offensive piece for the Twins, and while the 2021 Topps rookie is a lot more practical, this one could have been cool.

Card #206- Mookie Betts ASG, Los Angeles Dodgers

Third 2020 ASG starter in this post. Lowe, Perez and Betts. For the first time, though, they wouldn't all be starting for the same team, as Betts would have taken an NL start in 2020 for the Dodgers. I don't think anyone would dispute Betts' starting outfield position in a supposed 2020 ASG, especially considering his red-hot numbers and high MVP vote-getting. 

Card #207- Robert Gsellman, New York Mets

Robert Gsellman haș been one of three indispensable Mets relief arms for the past few years. With him, Seth Lugo and Jeurys Familia, the Mets have just needed to build around the core. Gsellman had an alright 2020, being utilized in a starting role and finishing with a 9.64 ERA, but he's been returned to the 'pen for 2021 and is working on a lower, sub-4 ERA so far. 

Friday brings the next 9 cards in this set. A few important player omissions, a few amusing rookies, and a very big 'what could have been'.

2021: The Madness Begins Again

 

We've made it to an Opening Day of a normal, 162-game season, with normal scheduling formations, fans in the stands, a majority of players immunized in some form, and Buster Posey back. Life is good again.

It's very exciting to see every roster revitalized, re-tooled, and re-upped [howdy, Lindor!], and it makes the 2021 season look very exciting just from the standpoint of 'things are about to begin again'. I don't know who's gonna be holding the trophy in October, but I'm just ready to kick back and let the season wash over me.

I haven't done this in a while, but I am gonna try to keep the method of monthly recaps and predictions going on the blog, so..

Five Predictions for the 2021 Season:

1. The sleeper team of the year will be the Kansas City Royals. There are teams that have failed recently that are destined for great things this year, like the Angels and Brewers, but I'm talking a team that nobody is predicting will make a splash this year. The Royals were the top team in the grapefruit league, have built a sturdy roster while no one was looking [even with Nicky Lopez covering for Adalberto Mondesi for a bit], have power and agility, and have some great arms in Brady Singer, Brad Keller and Kris Bubic. They might surprise a lot of people this year.
2. The biggest disappointment of the year will be the New York Mets. Sorry, Frankie, but the Mets look too big to succeed. They bulked up their roster to its bursting point this offseason, have so many players fighting for relevance, and are in danger of diluting their homegrown core. Their big heroes, like Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith, have never synchronized on a big season simultaneously, and while deGrom and Conforto could still rule, the Braves may be way too much for them to stave off. 
3. The player that no one is talking about right now that everyone will be talking about in November will be Corbin Burnes. This man is the new Corey Kluber, and he has gone from a shaky call-up to a lights-out fireballer in the last two seasons. 2021 might be Burnes' Cy Young year in Milwaukee, and people are gonna be dumbfounded that they didn't predict it. 
4. Jonathan India, of the Cincinnati Reds, will be Rookie of the Year. Everything I have seen thus far, from his accelerated gameplay in Spring Training, to his promotion to the bigs right off the bat, to Mike Moustakas moving to make room for him, is telling me that he's ready, and he's gonna do huge things. I got that vibe about Tatis when he came up out of camp, and I'm getting it again.
5. This season will come down to a Dodgers-White Sox World Series, which, fun fact, is a World Series matchup I predicted 10 years ago to no avail. The Dodgers have more than enough to get back to the World Series, and will even slap the Padres around some more to get there. The White Sox will be a great team for the regular season, and will catch fire in September and no one will be able to stop them, even [sigh] my beloved Yankees. Then, in the WS, the Dodgers will repeat in 6 games. 

And, more realistically, five predictions for April 2021:

1. The Tampa Bay Rays are gonna disappoint people. It's gonna be April 30th and they're gonna be in fourth place, and the fans are gonna be screaming 'WHAT HAPPENED?'. Well, they were a good team that made next to no offseason moves and are now outgunned by at least two, maybe three, of their AL East competitors. I think they'll improve slightly as the year improves, but baseball fans who think they'll repeat are gonna get a huge reality check right off the bat.
2. First place Astros, because that's what tends to happen around here. This definitely will not last, and look for the A's and Angels to chase them over the course of the season.
3. Fernando Tatis is gonna claim the MVP talks almost immediately by getting off to the best start of his career and jumping out to a home run lead early. 
4. The chorus of people calling for Joe Girardi's firing will begin partway through the month and get louder as the Phillies continue to lose.
5. Five crucial Yankees will be injured, and this will not affect their still-great place in the standings. 

Alright, that's a lot of bold talk for the beginning of the year, so hopefully some of these will be verified. But, above all else, let's have a nice, fun season that everyone can get around.

Coming Tomorrow- Oh yeah, here's the big rookie for one of those teams I was shitting on earlier in the post.

All Betts Are Off

 It really is that simple. Mookie Betts joins the Dodgers and the Dodgers are the best team in baseball. 

It's not like they were unworthy before, and the 2019 team was certainly a mega-stacked goliath that happened to have an embarrassing downfall against Washington. But they didn't lose because they were bad. They still had Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler and Max Muncy in prime seasons, and this season has lower-key offerings from all three, even as Bellinger catches up.

This is a Dodgers team being led by new people, like Tony Gonsolin and his sub-1 ERA, Chris Taylor and his sharp utility work, Dustin May mirroring Clayton Kershaw, Adam Kolarek refusing to give up any runs, and...yes...yes...Mookie Betts, who's playing like an absolute beast and is probably gonna win MVP.

For shits and giggles, I looked up my first post about Betts on here, and it said, in 2014, that Mookie Betts was either going to be a World Series hero in about 5 years or out of Boston in 2. That was eerily specific, and it was four years, but I'll take it. Betts is one of the most consistent big-game athletes of contemporary baseball, he's been stellar for Boston, and ALREADY he is living up to the mega-ultra contract he signed with the Dodgers. Dude's got 13 home runs, 48 hits, 31 RBIs, he's batting .316, he's got a 1.018 OPS and a 3.0 WAR. Those are MVP numbers in any league in America. Only Mike Yastrzemski and Fernando Tatis have numbers near that caliber. And yet Betts has been in the league for longer than both combined. 

This Dodgers team was the first to 30 wins, and will likely be the first to 40, and end with an exhilaratingly nice W/L ratio and get a nice seed in the playoffs. I'd love it for them, especially for a team that's been competitive for the past like 13 years yet hasn't won a World Series since before I was born. I'd love for Mookie Betts to get another MVP and another World Series ring. If the latter's this season, that'd be cool as heck.

Also, I love the irony that I do a post with this title on a day where Mookie Betts is off. I didn't mean that, but it's amazingly convenient.

Coming Tomorrow- [loud sigh] Best team in the AL East, their ace.

Betts-Less and Defenseless

Well, uh...the good news is that  Kevin Pillar has a starting OF job on an AL East team again, and he's  leading the Red Sox in RBIs and hitting .500.

The bad news, at least for Red Sox fans, is that he's not Mookie Betts.

Betts-Bradley-Benintendi was an ironclad outfield that won a World Series and was the talk of fans and enemies alike. Now that Betts is in  LA, the dynamic has shifted. Benny isn't hitting, and while JACKIE BRADLEY CERTAINLY IS [who had 'Bradley hitting .600' on their '2020 first week' bingo?], there's an incongruence that's clear here.

As alien as the 2019 team felt without moving forward from the WS win, it feels weirder now. The rotation is almost completely dissolved, with Nathan Eovaldi, Martin Perez, and a strange cast of unknowns making up the new starting core. Jose Peraza is starting at 2nd, Jonathan Lucroy is getting reps at DH and catcher...this is a very 'work in progress' Red Sox squad. And they're not really trying to hide it.

The core of the team [Bogaerts, Benintendi, Martinez] is still there and performing, and they're all pretty much locked up, but...could trades happen soon? Could this be the first step of dismantling and breaking apart the once-trusted Boston core? As good as players like Pillar and Peraza are right now, their successes only mean that if the jersey heroes were to go, there would still be worthy people in the lineup. So...is the success of Pillar and Peraza a bad thing?

Or will they just be trade bait anyway for competitors? The Sox may be out of the conversation in 2020, but what is their long game?

Coming Tomorrow- Catcher for the World Champions. They just dropped 2 to the Yankees and 1 to Toronto. And it gets worse.

Mook Before You Leap

11 or so years of doing this blog, following baseball...I'm still so gullible.

The past week, I've been hearing rumors of the Red Sox trying to trade Mookie Betts to LA, and the whole time I'm just going '...yeah, RIGHT.' Like, from a logical standpoint, there's no way you trade your star player to a team with an unbeatable lineup. But from a financial standpoint, sometimes you have to do that sort of thing, and this is the second time in the past eight years the Sox have been forced to do something like this to clear payroll.

Now, last time...the Sox gave away Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. All 3 of them are currently out of baseball. Beckett has already been booted off the HOF ballot. With the exception of maybe A-Gon, none of them made huge impacts on the Dodgers.

So now we have this entire flurry of moves, and at the end of it, I'm gonna ask if it's any better than that firesafe deal that LA relieved Boston of in 2012.

So...the initial deal, which is pretty simple in itself, is Mookie Betts and David Price, two very large contracts, in exchange for Alex Verdugo. Betts for Verdugo alone works because there's no vacancy in the outfield, and they just take each other's place. Betts fits in pretty well with Bellinger and Pollock in that outfield, and Betts and Bellinger together is a pretty insane high-WAR combo. Also, having Betts alongside Justin Turner, Corey Seager, Max Muncy and Will Smith will make for a hella intimidating lineup in 2020.

Then there's the Price question. Since landing in Boston, Price has been hit and miss. On one hand, he's gotten a high of 17 wins and 228 strikeouts, but on the other, his 3.84 ERA is his highest team ERA. Either Price is losing his luster, OR he's just not suited for Fenway, which is something we've been suspecting since that deal was made. Price in Dodger Stadium is an intriguing prospect, and it'll be nice to see what he has left in the tank. I do think it's a Josh Beckett situation where they'll use him late in the rotation and he'll have occasional sparks of his former self, but he could surprise the shit out of me and have a 20-game year.

And then Verdugo in Boston is something that could definitely work. It's a little odd now because the youth movement has sort of grown up, and now fitting Verdugo, himself a product of a different youth movement, in there beside Benny and Bradley (unless they trade him too) might make for a interesting dynamic. I definitely think Verdugo will have a fuller, more fleshed out year now that he's not pushed into either starting or a bench role in the crowded Dodger climate. But again, what will he perform like outside of LA? Will he fit into this roster? I think the two team dynamics are very different.

After this, the deal got a little trickier, as a third team was added to the mix, and the Twins pitched in Brusdar Graterol to go to Boston in exchange for Kenta Maeda. Maeda in Minneapolis is interesting, as, again, there's a less crowded rotation picture, and Maeda could fit behind Berrios and Odo. However, you also have to think about Rich Hill, Randy Dobnak, Homer Bailey, Michael Pineda and Devin Smeltzer, all of whom want rotation spots. AND you have to remember that Maeda is the kind of guy who'll be pushed to the bullpen come September due to being the sole rotation asset to have an ERA over 4 or something like that. Hopefully he'll regain a bit of control in Minnesota?

Graterol in Boston works because Graterol is probably gonna compete for a rotation spot in Boston, now that there are so many, and because the Twins have been touting Graterol for the last few years.

AND THEN, the Dodgers decided to clear up the outfield picture a little by trading Joc Pederson to the Angels in exchange for Luis Rengifo. Both pieces of this deal are gonna be crucial, by the way, so it's kinda funny that this aspect has kinda been minimized,

So, Pederson in Anaheim means he'll be essentially taking Kole Calhoun's place, and sharing an outfield with Justin Upton, Mike Trout, and occasionally Brian Goodwin. Trout-Pederson-Upton is actually a pretty great outfield, and if all three hit over 30 homers in 2020, that'll be insane for the Angels. Pederson seems to be finding his way again after a few middling seasons, and had career highs in homers (36) and average (.249). Maybe he keeps the momentum going as a starter in Anaheim.

Rengifo, meanwhile, is another interesting piece of the Dodger infield picture. Rengifo is a factor at 2nd base and shortstop, and clearly is a rival for Chris Taylor at both of those positions. He's also a rival to Enrique Hernandez, whose average has been flighty ever since getting the starting job. Rengifo is going to jumpstart a bloodthirsty Spring Training battle for those positions. It might end kind of bloody- I'm predicting that Chris Taylor might not be a Dodger for much longer after the dust settles. That or Rengifo gets waived or demoted. But it's gonna make things interesting.

At the end of this, I honestly do think it's bigger than the 2012 deal. The 2012 deal was simply 'we have the payroll, we'll take 'em', and then fitting them into a preexisting picture. Now, the Dodgers are reforming their entire team around this deal, getting rid of Kenta Maeda, Joc Pederson and Alex Verdugo to make way for Price and Betts, which is a pretty big statement.

A very huge move by LA. I'm interested to see the ramifications of this throughout the year.

Stop Mook, and Listen

Yeah, I'm not proud of it either.

But look, as a Yankees fan, this Boston team is kinda doing what we want them to. In that they blew two games in a series with the Bombers, and have been slowly shedding the weight off of their May comeback attempt. The AL East, which has become a two-horse race between NY and Tampa Bay, may not have enough room for the Red Sox, even if they are doing kinda well.

And it doesn't hurt that Mookie Betts is still playing like an MVP. Like...it's not like Rick Porcello, where you win a major award and then there's a drop-off for the rest of your...uh, career. Mookie Betts is still a fantastic player, has already hit 9 home runs and has a .276 average, which is perfectly fine. Heck, you could argue that Xander Bogaerts is having the better season, as he's still hitting over .300, but Mookie is still kind of the hero figure, and the team comes down to him, even if he's doing...alright.

The danger comes with Chris Sale, who after a slow start is beginning to return to his former, strikeout-heavy self, and could be dangerous for the rest of the division down the stretch. Yes, the 1-7 record is scary in a bad way, but...he's gonna cross 100 strikeouts this week, so it's all kinda good. Plus, at least they have a slightly more competent ace in David Price (finally!). And it seems like they've finally decided on Ryan Brasier as their closer. He's...okay?

Look, there are definite heroes on this team: Rafael Devers, Michael Chavis and Andrew Benintendi are gonna be aiding this team for a while, and the bullpen is surprisingly alright for a team who just decided their closer. But for the defending champions, being okay all-around isn't enough. I don't want them to be in the conversation more than they are...because that would mean the Rays and Yankees would have competition, but I kinda want them to improve...slightly. Just slightly. Not too much.

Coming Tonight: The Mighty Thor

MVPs: Predictable, but Impressive

On one hand, yes these are some obvious choices for the MVP award, but...on the other hand, players like these two didn't HAVE to be the obvious pick. We could have coasted on some obvious Trout-Bryant vibes for MVPs again, and instead we have two players who A.) have been good for the last few years, and B.) had their best seasons yet this year. And the fact that someone like Christian Yelich might typically be considered a fringe player illuminates the specialness of his win even more.

Mookie Betts' win was bound to happen eventually. This guy has reinvigorated the Red Sox lineup like no one else has, has been on top of things every year of his career, and was in the mix for an MVP for the past few seasons. He's also 25 with 800 hits, and had 180 of those this year, as well as finishing the year with a .340 batting average. Not only did he deserve this MVP, but he deserves to be among the stars of the game, alongside Trout, Kershaw, Judge and Bryant.

Christian Yelich just deserved it on account of him being a great player who'd gotten unlucky in brief moments of past seasons. The guy hit 36 home runs this season, and had never surpassed 30 before. He also had 180 hits, topped 100 RBIs for the first time of his career, and did this all in a new city, escaping the shadow of the guy who won the MVP last year. He proved that it doesn't just take home runs to rule a season- it takes just being really, really good. And Yelich, especially in August, September and October, was that good.

We're done with awards, and we've got 15 days til Uncustomed Heroes starts up, so expect box breaks, prompts, and other amusing things in the next 2 weeks.

The Playoffs After 4 Days

Not that anything going on this season was particularly likely, but who'd have thought that Jhoulys Chacin, a guy who was bopping around in the minors a few years ago, would become such a hero for the Brewers this year, and take down some of the more overbearing pitchers for the Dodgers? Last night, he pitched a gem, with six strikeouts, only 3 hits, and no earned runs. It also helped that the still-hot lineup, filled with insane performances by Ryan Braun, Christian Yelich, Travis Shaw and Orlando Arcia, were able to cement the victory over what's become an increasingly unpredictable Dodgers team.

They're up 2-1 in LA, and I hope they can keep it up.

Meanwhile...

This guy cemented his MVP case by having a phenomenal day in Boston, hitting off of even the toughest of Gerrit Cole performances. The lineup came alive under David Price, and the bullpen that'd previously felt imperfect kept a steady ship. With the series tied 1-1, and the Houston crowd about to get a taste of the action, it's still uncertain which way this series is going to go, as both teams are fantastic and could easily notch a win.

I mean...we all know which way I'd LIKE this series to go, but...besides that, it's still pretty open.

Both series' continue tonight. The plot will continue to thicken.

Somebody Stop Boston (and by that I mean the Yankees)

One of things about this current incarnation of the Red Sox, led by Chris Sale, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and a cavern of raw talent, is that it's one of the hardest-to-hate BoSox squads in years.

I don't know why this is, though I credit the presence of a certain large-scale Papi, or any steroid abusers, but...everybody is not only really good, but really likable. I really like Mookie Betts, and I think he's having an MVP-caliber year more than he has previously. I think Xander Bogaerts is finally back to his best stuff, and I'm so happy that Andrew Benintendi, Mitch Moreland and JD Martinez are all having fantastic seasons.

...I just wish they weren't currently 2 games ahead of the Yankees.

I say this mostly because I was just spending time with my relatives from Boston this weekend, and they're all overjoyed. They love the team, they love the strength of the pitching, they love what Rafael Devers can do in the clutch, and they have so much to be proud of. And...at this point I'm getting worried that there's more to this BoSox team than there is to my Yankees team...and that might be the deciding factor.

The Yankees are currently dropping some games to some west coast teams, while the Red Sox are quarreling with the Braves and Mets, the former they trounced to give the Phillies the lead, and the latter...just trounced them last night? Alright, but still. The Sox have the more varied team, with more people doing things right. Not even some below-Mendoza performances from Jackie Bradley and Christian Vazquez can deter them.

I don't know if the picture will change at all in the next few weeks, and I don't know if the Yankees will even up, but...the Red Sox look GOOD. Too Good.

Coming Tonight: They were in first place for a split second, and now they're back in third, which shouldn't AT ALL deter them from their fantastic season so far, especially with their promising third-starter.

Overhyped, Understaffed, Middle of the Road

The Red Sox, going into the season, were expected to run for the top of the division again, and keep the same full-on power that made them great in 2016. This...hasn't exactly happened.

Look, several elements of this Red Sox team can be classified as 'the very best'. Chris Sale's the best pitcher in baseball right now, no doubt. Mookie Betts is headed for at least All Star consideration. Craig Kimbrel's looking at an ASG gig himself. Eduardo Rodriguez and Mitch Moreland are having great comeback seasons, and Andrew Benintendi's a wonderful rookie presence.

With a few exceptions...that's all that's working right now in Boston. So much was riding on Rick Porcello to continue his success, David Price to improve from his 2016, Sandy Leon to continue his breakout, and Pablo Sandoval to turn his huge Spring start into a comeback. None of this has happened. Sale and Rodriguez are holding up the pitching staff alone, basically. The rotation doesn't have any depth either, as they're going through fifth starters like potato chips, frantically searching for one that doesn't give up a ton of runs. They could throw Joe Kelly back in the rotation, but apparently he's so good in the bullpen this year that they don't wanna ruin that mojo.

A lot of weird problems have popped up with this Sox team, enough that's putting them in danger of losing the 3 spot to the Rays, of all teams. If they want to save their season, the Sox need to find the problem, figure out a way to make it through. I am planning on seeing these guys live in Fenway this year, and I don't wanna see a last place team...though, as a Yankees fan, that'd be pretty cathartic.

Coming Tomorrow- For a three-season period he was one of my favorite players. It is 2017, eight seasons since he last played for my team, and he's still undoubtedly a favorite of mine. Also, still owns the best facial hair in baseball.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2015: Red Sox

Well, as it seems as if the Red Sox are going to try in 2016, it's a nice time to remind everyone that in 2015, they were a little less than great. They went through rookies like potato chips, and relied on a ton of unorthodox parts to keep them moving.

Thankfully, Mookie Betts was the one guy who kept them moving through to September, relying on speed and hits to keep going, and made a case for an even bigger 2016.

Jackie Bradley had a MAJOR breakout year in 2015, after coming through as a 2013 Opening Day starter, and...not doing much else since. He had a great average, and came through as a regular outfielder after a while. Should be an even bigger presence.

Travis Shaw, like Brock Holt was one of those guys that can play multiple positions and came through as a nice extra part in Boston. After Mike Napoli's departure, he became the regular first baseman, and did a pretty nice job of it.

The biggest surprise of the season for Boston was the return of Rich Hill, a guy who hasn't pitched in a rotation since 2009, for the Orioles, for coming in September and pitching four beautiful starts, and warranting a signing for 2016 with the A's, who know a thing or two about bringing back mid-2000's arms (like Scott Kazmir).

Coming Tomorrow- The remains of the Cincinnati Reds.

Custom Card of the Day: Betts Edition

A bit of down time between All Star anticipation posts, so let's talk about a big rookie come-up.

Mookie Betts had a really nice debut with Boston, which means that he's going to either be a really big deal for a nice five year stretch, or crap out within two years' time.

Right now, his performance is very promising, as he's having some nice hits, and making a nice early case for ROY, unless Tanaka or someone from Houston can snap it away from him.

Mookie Betts is currently the second-greatest MLB player to be nicknamed Mookie. Unless something really big happens in Game 6 of the World Series some day, this will likely stay the same.

Coming Tomorrow- One of the best players in the NL, and someone who could definitely be an MVP contender if he keeps it up.