Fairly Obvious Rookies of the Year

...Not a lot of surprise for this first batch of awards, to be honest.

Corey Seager was a unanimous pick for the NL award, and honestly nobody else came close- Seager flat-out dominated for the Dodgers, and made a case for not only ROY honors, but an MVP as well. So that one I kinda saw coming.

In terms of Fulmer, I was foreseeing a bit of a scuffle between him and Gary Sanchez, but since Fulmer had a fuller season than Sanchez, as well as having a bit more consistency, I kind of figured he'd take the award, and sure enough...he did. Nice pull for Fulmer. Not sure if he's for real, but it'd be nice to see him and Verlander team up over the next few seasons.

Now, onto the awards that I'm not exactly sure about...

How on Earth did Howie Kendrick End up on the Phillies???

Yeah, I wasn't exactly expecting the Phillies to be, you know, BUYERS this offseason.

2016 was a down year, obviously, for them, but it was semi-optimistic. Thanks to some nice performances from usually-dormant fielders like Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis, as well as the new blood of Cameron Rupp, Jerad Eickhoff and Tommy Joseph, the team did a lot better than they had any business doing.

So now, the Phillies have made a pretty major move in landing Howie Kendrick, a legitimately good veteran infielder/outfielder, in exchange for Darin Ruf and another prospect. And...somehow the Phillies...you know, the 2010's Phillies...got the better end of the deal.

Look, Darin Ruf's had the potential to be a killer offensive player for the past 4 seasons, but the Phillies have had nowhere to put him, and when they HAVE started him at first (in favor of Ryan Howard), he's disappointed. Plus, now that they have Tommy Joseph, who can basically do the exact same crap that Ruf did but with a better average and more playability, they don't really need him. Sending him to LA might not do him much good, though, as he's being blocked at first base by A-Gon, and the outfield will be mighty crowded if the Dodgers hold onto Yasiel Puig, as well as if they have healthy performances by Andre Ethier and Joc Pederson.

So, that leaves Howie Kendrick in Philly...and I think that legitimately helps us. The plan, according to the GM, is for Howie to play left field, which gives, along with Odubel Herrera and what I can only assume is a healthy Aaron Altherr performance, a much healthier outfield picture than the Phils have had in over 5 years. Kendrick is a steady average hitter, and even if he didn't absolutely dominate in LA, he's still a pretty nice performer, and the Phillies are extremely lucky to have him.

So...that makes me feel a smidge better about my Phils for 2017. Maybe some pitching would help as well?

Grumpy Old Braves

i'm...kind of confused as to what the Braves are going for with this new set of moves.

One of the biggest troubles the Braves had last season was their laughable lack of pitching. Julio Teheran was a fantastic ace, as usual, but he was about it- they went through several has-beens, rookies that weren't ready, and people they had lying around who frankly weren't very good. So, going into 2017, even if they're going to shoot for a losing season (again), they'd need to spruce up their pitching, like, now.

Their first move was signing Josh Collmenter, which...was an odd, yet inspired move. Collmenter hasn't pitched admirably since around 2013. He could be a solid lower-rotation starter if he can get his stuff back.

But then...things got weird.

Yesterday the Braves signed R.A. Dickey, which I actually thought was a smart move. R.A. Dickey's 42, but in knuckleballer years he's 32. Even if 2016 was a slight step back, he's still a dominant strikeout artist, and he's still got control of the knuckleball. Honestly, his years with the Blue Jays were...alright, but a disappointment considering his 2013 season with the Mets. So, I figured that maybe putting Dickey back in the NL would be a nice move, maybe to get him back to his old stuff. Plus, he can have a sit-down with a certain Braves knuckleball icon.

So yeah, the Dickey move was inspired, and I was actually all for it. Then...today...oh dear gosh.

Some people know when to throw in the towel. Some people know when to say 'you know what...this has been nice, but I think I've had enough'. And, judging by the fact that he just signed with the Braves...Bartolo Colon is evidently not one of those people.

Look, I respect the fact that he's still pitching, and I do think he's still a great pitcher, still nabbing wins and a low ERA, and was dominant than most of the kids in Queens this year. I'm just confused as to...HOW exactly he can still be this good. He's 43, for crying out loud! Most 43 year olds just have some little sparks, but the mythology mostly takes over. Colon hasn't really started, well, AGING yet. It's really, really weird.

I do think it'll be great if Julio Teheran, Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey all have great seasons next year. It's just gonna be odd that, a year after putting it all in on the youth movement, the Braves are banking on two of the oldest players in the MLB. Still, for their sake, I hope it works.

Chooch Update: 'Backup My Ass' Edition

The MLB trade season has been underway for a few days, but nothing absolutely huge has occurred. Nori Aoki's gone to Houston, okay, fair I guess. Cameron Maybin's gone to the Angels, alright I guess that's kind of cool.

Now, about a week in, we finally have a trade that sort of...kind of means something.

Carlos Ruiz, aka Chooch, was the 2nd-to-last member of the 2008 Phillies to leave the team, in a waiver deal to the Dodgers in late August. This worked out extremely well for the Dodgers, who used Carlos as a steady backup with better averages and numbers than Yasmani Grandal, and allowed him to make several great postseason moments happen, before the inevitable happened and the Cubs booted them out slightly early.

Now, for Chooch's next act...he's going to the Mariners.

At a glance, this works extremely well, because the Mariners haven't had a good catcher since Dan Wilson (arguably...but also probably). The last few years, their choice has been Chris Iannetta or Mike Zunino, and neither have been hitting exceptionally well lately. Chooch works as a better bat, as well as a better catcher, even if his defense isn't what it used to be.

The alarming part is that the Mariners are allegedly using Chooch as an 'extended backup'. Which means a team that has LITERALLY NO BETTER OPTIONS at catcher will be saving a legitimately good catcher for what is essentially a backup role.

...Why?

I don't know if there's another catcher waiting in the pipeline, or if the Mariners are trying to court a younger catcher that can actually hit for the starting position...but you can just start Chooch and get a younger professional backup to just go for defense/two-a-week. Takes a lot less effort.

I don't wanna play GM for the Mariners, and I don't know what kind of plan the Mariners have...but they've squandered the catching position before (by trading Welington Castillo to Arizona), and I think they need to at least be careful.

Still, I'll be on the lookout for more semi-interesting trades.

2016 Topps Update Series Hobby Box: Part Two

A few days ago I began the...I guess 'annual' now...break of the latest issue of Topps Update. The hit, and the /65 parallel, came almost instantly. So, now that the drama's passed, we can resume with the break with the expectations rightfully lowered.

Ten Packs, because I should have done an extra one last post, coming right up.

 Pack 9-
Boston-related cardboard: 2/10
People the Yankees Traded this July: 3/10
People Who I never Thought I'd Ever see on a Topps card: 2/10

Topps finally listened to collectors (read: me), and decided to throw some First Pitch cards into Update, which does raise some questions about the insert set's longevity into 2017, but it's still nice enough as it is- besides, this one's got Jake Gyllenhaal on a baseball card, which I can't complain about.

Also, a reminder that Xander Bogaerts was fantastic this season.

Three guys that were indeed wearing Yankee uniforms earlier this season. I'd say that Miller did the best out of the three, but Beltran and Nova still had nice enough seasons in new uniforms.

Yeah, Shelby Miller, bla bla, but MORE IMPORTANTLY...THAT is MATT WIETERS on a Topps card...something I feared would never occur. Now that we're got Wieters back, the last frontier's been crossed, and I think we have pretty much every major (good) player I collect on Topps' payroll.

Pack 10-
Chicago World Series Heroes: 2/10
Philadelphia Rookies: 1/10

Aybar was already in Detroit by the time this series was released. Russell had a pretty nice sophomore season, while that Lind card basically sums up his season in Seattle.

Jose Quintana facing the fact that he might be the White Sox' #1 starter next year, and Aroldis Chapman facing the fact that someone else other than him got the last out of that series.

Brett Lawrie did pretty well his first year in Chicago, while Tommy Joseph had a pretty nice rookie season. Meanwhile, Cal Ripken is Cal Ripken.

Pack 11-
Yankees That Didn't Play a Ton This Year: 4/10
All Star Cards of people in different uniforms now: 1/10

Two Yankee rookies that...aren't especially the ones we came here to see.
Ender Inciarte actually had a pretty nice season, but it was for the last place Braves, so...

Aaron Hicks was essentially Chris Young this season. Mookie Betts was essentially keeping Chris Young out of a job this season.

Jonathan Lucroy waits for someone to trade for him, while...that is a really, really cool ASG card of Adam Duvall. I'm impressed.

Also, GAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
These Fire inserts are cool, but hella busy. At least I got Thor.

Pack 12-
Absolutely Amazing Shots that I'd Probably Use: 3/10
NL Cy Young Candidates: 2/10

Eric Hosmer nabbed the ASG MVP, which causes for a nice shot here. Meanwhile, Max Scherzer and Kenley Jansen got some pretty nice ASG cards here.

Horizontal Time!
Tyler Flowers' is a nice dugout shot, and Ichiro's insert is cool, but...the Brandon Moss card is something to be beheld. Something that should have been in Stadium Club, probably. Also, the Reddick one is nice, even if he didn't have the greatest season in LA.

Pack 13-
Tiger-related cardboard: 2/10
Kind-of-big Offseason Trades: 4/10

Denard Span actually did a pretty nice job for the Giants, even if they didn't fulfill the 'even year' thing. Blake Snell had a solid rookie season, and Francisco Rodriguez had another really nice season, and the Tigers have indeed picked him up for 2017.

Four more hella cool horizontals. Agsin, the Ichiro card is nice, but I do adore that Martinez and Cabrera combo card- like something from the 90's. The Simmons is a great action shot, and the Maeda is a great moment, especially for a Rookie Debut.

Pack 14-
Cool Dugout Shots: 2/10
ASG Cards of People on Different Teams Now: 2/10
Odd Product Placements: 1/10

Aledmys Diaz had a nice season putting Jhonny Peralta out of a job, while Robinson Cano went back to flat-out dominating. I'm fearing that Drew Pomeranz' good work this season was a fluke, though.

Nomar Mazara's rookie will hopefully prove its worth in the next few years. Meanwhile, Marcell Ozuna's ASG card is pretty fun, and Nunez' is a nice field shot.

As for this...Franklin apparently wanted to do a tie-in insert set. Yeah, the photos are kinda nice, but...it's a bit off-putting that the product signage is a little better than the player name.

Pack 15-
ASG Cards: 4/10
Cerebral Comedians from the 80's: 1/10
Potentially the AL Rookie of the Year: 1/10

Two nice solid season-worthy cards, with a nice airborne shot from Yunel Escobar, and a nice zoomed in shot of Steven Wright.

Corey Seager had a wonderful season, is probably gonna nab the ROY, and did well in his first All Star Game. Jeurys Familia...okay, he had a good SEASON, I guess...

Corey Kluber's ASG nod was just foreshadowing his unbelievable postseason run, while Brad Brach's was a nice little souvenir for the middle-reliever.

Michael Fulmer had a pretty nice season, and it'll be either him or that catcher dude from New York getting the AL Rookie of the Year.

Pack 16-
World Series Heroes: 2/10
NL Central: 5/10
NL Central Circa 2009: 6/10

I think it's slightly alarming that Topps is still counting Stephen Piscotty as a rookie, but whatever. Anthony Rizzo's All Star card made me less angry about that.

Roberto Clemente, one of the greatest ballplayers of all time, and Albert Almora, a Cubs rookie with some promise.

Pack 17-
Oriole-related cardboard: 2/10
AL East: 4/10
April Ludgate: 1/10

Ah, one of the few First Pitch cards, besides potentially Chance the Rapper, that I was outwardly looking for when I got this box- Aubrey Plaza, star of Parks and Recreation, scene stealer from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and the current master of deadpan. She's pretty funny, and this First Pitch card is a pretty damn great one.

Fulmer, adding to the fact that this is probably a Michael Fulmer hot box, in his RD subset, while Jeremy Hellickson searches for where he'll be pitching in 2017.

Hey, remember the ALCS? Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Ramirez sure do!

Lots of fun ASG cards, with lots of players hanging together, and a nice Matt Wieters card as well. Plus, Manny Machado's ASG card.

Pack 18-
Cubs-related cardboard: 2/10
Semi-relevant rookie pitchers: 2/10
Insanely Rare Parallels: 1/10

Aaron Nola had a slightly less cool sophomore season, but hopefully he'll be better next season. Doug Fister did a nice job covering for a slumping Dallas Keuchel.

Craig Sager, the broadcaster who must be thrilled about his Cubs, throws out the first pitch there, next to Albert Almora's Rookie card.

Mark Melancon helping the Pirates close out the ASG, before his trade to Washington. Meanwhile, Edwin Diaz and Jose Berrios had nice enough rookie seasons.

This absolutely awesome Black and White negative parallel is...something to be beheld. It's not numbered, but it's a pretty rare parallel, and it's of a legitimately great player. I'm pretty happy with this one.

I'll post Part 3 in the next few days.

Finality

My college is a very artsy, quiet little place in New York. Whenever I see updated sports paraphernalia, I do a double take. There are, however, people on my campus who care about sports, one way or another.

Last night, at 8 PM, when the World Series began, I wasn't watching. To be honest, I was watching Survivor.

Once that ended, however...no, I still wasn't watching. I had to run over to the other side of campus and lead a meeting of the improv club on campus, which I was somehow the co-president of. As I was there, I'd periodically check my phone. My friend Derek, who sort of knew sports but was rooting for Bill Murray, would be right there with me. Especially as the huge Cubs lead happened, fueled by David Ross, Dexter Fowler and Willson Contreras. Derek was keeping my updated, even as the improv meeting went on.

By 11:30 I was absolutely exhausted, on account of my very long day, and the fact that the room we were doing improv in had no AC. As I was standing in what ended up being my last scene of the day, Derek came behind me and whispered something truly horrifying in my ear.

"Tied at 6. Bottom of the eighth."

No matter how much I adored the Indians, no matter how neutral I wanted to be, this needed to be the Cubs' year. There wasn't going to be a last second 'ha-ha' moment that kept the curse going. Not tonight.

Right then, I got a text from my dad: "Are You Watching This????"

No...but I had to be.

I told my co-president that I was fried, grabbed my jacket and left to a sea of 'awwww'. I then raced all the way across campus to my dorm, turned on the TV, and laid back. My roommate was out of town, so I could just enjoy the game.

It was the top of the ninth. The tension was killer.

Throughout the entire ninth inning, I was waiting for something to happen, something either good or bad, and nothing really did. Aroldis Chapman managed to get himself out of a scrape or two. Nobody got any runs or anything.

And as the tenth is about to start, I feared the curse was beginning to rear its ugly head again as the tarps went out, and I had to listen to Joe Buck's grating-ass voice for 15 minutes. This was enough to test my patience. To test my loyalty. Was I a true fan of baseball? True enough that I'd listen to a sportscaster drone on about rain patterns for way too long just for the promise of a killer ending? You bet I was. My dad, on the other hand, went to bed.

Eventually they rolled back the tarp, brought the game back on, and Kyle Schwarber got up against Trevor Bauer. And then...the fun really began. Schwarber, Rizzo, even Miguel Montero all banded together and smacked the crap out of Trevor Bauer, resulting in an 8-6 lead, and making me extraordinarily happy.

As for those three excruciating outs that ended the game...they were killer. And with Rajai Davis, it looked bleak. But Michael Martinez, of all people, hit one right to Kris Bryant, who proceeded to fire the Curse of the Billy Goat into oblivion, just with a simple throw to Anthony Rizzo.

And with that...the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. I cannot believe that I typed those words, and I was 100% behind them when they did. This was a moment that was as electric on the field as it was in my dorm room in Purchase, New York.

That may have been the most satisfying World Series...actually no- top to bottom it was an amazing series, with some great moments and heroes from both sides. I don't think there's been a series this...evenly matched since the 2001 one. I'm just very grateful that I got to watch at least some of it.

So, with that, the 2016 baseball season's over. And until February, I have to cope with the fact that there's no baseball. Hopefully the blog won't show this. I imagine I'll have enough planned to keep the blog from going dark for too long, but, like usual, I won't make any promises.

Hell of a way to end it, Cubs. I'm very proud of you all.

The Hundred Years War Continues

I honestly had no idea what to expect from Game 6, as the Cubs were going against a solid enough Josh Tomlin performance. I have to be optimistic at this point, as the Cubs have been against the ropes for a little while now.

However...thanks to Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell, Kris Bryant and a nice-sized Jake Arrieta performance...we're going to 7. This incredibly insane World Series between two guys who haven't won in years is going all 7. I don't think anybody's fought harder for a World Series trophy in years. This is pretty damn amazing to watch.

The only downside is that it's gone on for this long, and someone is going to leave Game 7 incredibly unhappy. It won't end well either way. If the Indians lose, they blew a 3-1 lead, got too cocky and rested on their laurels when they should have gotten Ryan Merritt to start instead of Trevor Bauer. But if the Cubs lose...then all of these last 3 games would have been for absolutely nothing. It would have been the equivalent of pushing the death sentence forward by a week. The relief is nice, but the end result is still maddening. Plus, especially with this Game 6 win, it is a colossal way to fall from the top, and it's a humiliating way to end the season that was essentially 'THIS YEAR' for Cubs fans. It's the equivalent of how Boston fans felt in the Buckner moment. They were RIGHT there, and got their hopes up for nothing.

No matter how Game 7 ends, and I imagine it's going to be one hell of a ballgame, the losing fan base is going to HURT. But nevertheless, it's going to be an amazing finish to what has to be one of the most exciting World Series' in years.