Category Archives: MLB

Target Field

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Check back here sometime next week for my review of Target Field.

They don’t do the “Wave” at Wrigley Field

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Over the years, Cubs fans have taken pride in the fact that they don’t do the wave during Cubs games. It’s a senseless, distracting, and annoying disturbance to a ballgame when fans do try and start the Wave.

I have been to a countless number of Cubs games at Wrigley Field, and not once have I ever seen anyone try and start the Wave. Cubs fans go to games to watch baseball, not to amuse themselves by creating their own source of entertainment. When at Wrigley Field, people should respect the park and its rich history and tradition of baseball by paying attention to the game. Why do you think Wrigley is the only park without a jumbo-ton? It’s because Wrigley Field is an old-time, traditional baseball stadium where people go to watch baseball.

I have been to 17 different MLB stadiums, and I can tell you that in over half of those stadiums, I have seen fans try and start the Wave. Last summer, I took in a game at Fenway Park. I went into Fenway expecting to see some of the greatest baseball and sports fans in the world who respect the game and its integrity as much as any other group of fans on the planet. Well, guess what? They did the Wave that night, and I have seen them do it again on TV since then. I lost a lot of respect for those fans that night. Just this past weekend I was in St. Louis to check out the new Busch Stadium. Cardinals fans are often referred to as some of the “best baseball fans in America.” Can you guess what I’m about to say next? Yep, they started the wave in just the second inning, and continued to try and start it all the way through the end of the game! In crucial parts of the game, fans were actually trying to start the Wave. I couldn’t believe it.

With the Cubs not being such a great team this year, less fans have been showing up at their home games.  A few nights ago, I was talking to someone who was recently at a Cubs game at Wrigley, and they said that a small group of fans in right field actually tried starting the wave. They were never able to get it going (because the rest of the fans actually had heads on their shoulders), but this still disturbed me, and it prompted me to write this blog post.

To all Cubs fans who may read this at one point or another:

Please, stay respectful to the game, the Cubs, and Wrigley Field by never starting the Wave. It has been an unwritten rule ever since the Wave was invented that it shall never be seen inside the walls of the Friendly Confines. Regardless of how good or bad the Cubs might be, starting the Wave at Wrigley Field is always a bad option.

I would give anything for the Cubs management to put signs up around the park that read, “Wave Not Allowed.” If anyone tries to start it, they should instantly be ejected from the game. It’s a complete and total distraction and annoyance to everyone in the park and on the field when fans begin doing the wave.

So again, be smart Cubs fans. Be proud of the fact that your team plays at Wrigley Field, and NEVER do the Wave.

Busch Stadium Review

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I had been wanting to go and see a game at this park ever since the day it opened its gates. Well, Friday night I got the chance to see my first game at the new Busch Stadium, and I loved every second of it. What a park! It all starts with the exterior of Busch Stadium. When walking up to the park, I could not help myself from becoming mesmerized by the incredible, brown brick exterior of the stadium. Now I know that when some one says “The brown bricks on that building were amazing,” that doesn’t seem all that exciting. But really, the exterior of this stadium is my favorite of any park I have been too, and that’s saying something.  While still outside the stadium, make sure to go and check out the different statues located along the west side of the park. There is a small area with statues of players such as Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, and many more. The interesting part about these statues is that they are all smaller than the normal statue that you are used to seeing outside of most pro sports stadiums. If you continue walking toward the home plate entrance along the outside of the west side of the park, you will come across a full-sized statue of Stan Musial, which is really cool. After seeing the whole exterior of the stadium, I could not wait to get inside. The concourses here are fairly wide and allow for people to walk around the park comfortably. However, they could be a bit wider. Also, the playing field is not visible while in the concourse, which I was not too happy about. I like to be able to walk around the park in the concourse and still be able to see the game/field. The concourse opens up into an open air walkway behind the left field bleachers where you can get some pretty cool views of the park looking towards home plate. Once in your seat, you can really start to take in the scenery. One of the first things I noticed was just how massive the place is. Other parks like Camden Yards or AT&T Park are more compact and not so huge. I personally don’t have much of a preference, but I thought the size of Busch Stadium was pretty amazing. While in your seat, especially if you are sitting along the first base line or behind home plate, you get an amazing view of the St. Louis skyline beyond the left/center field stands. It is quite the sight. All of the seats at Busch Stadium are Cardinal red, for obvious reasons. The reason I am mentioning this is because sometimes stadiums with red seats don’t look so great. Bush Stadium, however, was able to pull it off and make the red seats a part of the overall attractiveness of the park. In right field, there are two scoreboards that provide you with statistics on the batter, pitcher, and  both teams, as well as other game scores from around the league. The scoreboard on the left also shows replays and video clips. As for the atmosphere at Busch Stadium, I would give it a “B.” St. Louis has always been said to have possibly the best baseball fans in the MLB. They draw over 3 million fans pretty much every year, and on most nights almost the entire stadium is full. The reason I am not giving its atmosphere an “A” is because the fans were not always paying much attention to the game, even during some of the most important times. On numerous occasions, including the 8th inning with the score tied, people were trying to start “the wave,” which I cannot stand. This was by far the biggest flaw that I witnessed throughout the game. Pushing that aside, Busch Stadium very much impressed me. I had high expectations heading into my trip to see the park, and it definitely lived up to those expectations. I would HIGHLY recommend seeing a game here if you are a baseball fan.

To see my reviews of the other 16 stadiums I have been to, click here.

Cubs Assessment

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Believe it or not, we are already 23 games into the Cubs’s season. Unfortunately, much like we, or at least I suspected, they are in last place in the Central Division with a record of 8-15.

I’m pretty sure that no one had high expectations for this team heading into this season, which is a good thing. The Cubs are not a very good team this year. They have very little power in their lineup, their pitching rotation is sub par (with the exception of Garza and Samardzija so far), and their bullpen is a near disaster. But, there have been some bright spots up to this point.

Bryan LaHair has been on a tear to start the season. He is hitting .390 with 5 home runs, and 14 RBI. His 5 home runs lead the team, and he is tied with Starlin Castro for the team-lead in RBI. There were a lot of questions surrounding LaHair heading into this season, with a lot of people wondering if he could perform in the MLB at the level that he had been performing at in the minors. Well, so far he is not disappointing anyone.

Starlin Castro has picked up right where he left off last year at the plate. He is hitting .333 with 14 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. One thing that I would like to see him do is hit for a little more power. Many people have compared Castro to Hanley Ramirez of the Miami Marlins in that both are built similarly from a physical standpoint, and that both have the potential to hit for power. Ramirez has proven that he can hit for power, but Castro has yet to do so. If he could end up averaging anywhere from 15-20 home runs per season as a shortstop over the length of the remainder of his career, his value would sky rocket. Another thing that Castro needs to improve on is his fielding. Last year, he ended the season with 29 errors, which is unacceptable at the major league level. This year through 23 games, he already has 7 errors. He must cut down on his mistakes in the field.

Matt Garza has pitched like an ace through is first 5 starts of the season. He is 2-1 with an ERA of 2.67, 36 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 0.89. Had he gotten some more run support, or had the bullpen not blown the lead in a couple of his 5 starts, he might have one or two more wins. A lot of teams were coming to the Cubs this off-season with trade offers for Garza, but they held onto him because of the potential that he has to pitch like the way he has been so far.

Tony Campana is back in the big leagues. Although he has only played in 9 games this year, he has had a big impact on just about each game he has played in because of his speed. In those 9 games, he is hitting .370 and is 7 for 7 in stolen base attempts. Just the other night in Philadelphia, he had an infield single, and also bunted for a hit. It has gotten to the point where any ground ball he puts into play, he has a legitimate shot at beating it out for a hit. Infielders on opposing teams literally cannot afford to bobble the ball or make any kind of mistake when trying to throw out Campana at first base. Once he is on base, he is the ultimate threat to any pitcher or catcher. Campana is one of only a few guys in the big leagues who have pitchers and catchers totally distracted while he is on base because of his incredible potential to steal any base at any time.

The Cubs are not going to go anywhere this season, and none of us fans should expect them to. Even despite the stellar play of the guys I just mentioned, this team still has way too many holes, with the biggest being their bullpen who can’t seem to hold any kind of lead. For those of you who like to take optimistic points of view on things, like me, here is a theory for you to keep in the back of your mind.

No one has any high expectations for the Cubs this year, including their management and front office, and the players are aware of this. Therefore, they are going out and playing with the “we have nothing to lose” mentality each day. When athletes go out and play relaxed with no pressure on them, they end up performing pretty well. I know this from experience. Because of this, there is a good chance that the Cubs might end up surprising a few people with their record this year. I have seen some analysts say that the Cubs might reach 120 losses this year. If they continue to go out there and play relaxed with no high expectations of them coming from the  fans or management, they might just win a few games and have a decent season considering the circumstances. That’s just my theory, and you can take it or leave it.

I am looking forward to the remaining 139 games on the Cubs’ schedule because I am very interested to see how some of their top prospects perform at the big league level once they are inevitably called up. Hopefully we are all in for a pleasant surprise.

 

Without Pujols, Beltran and the Cardinals Keep Winning

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Possibly the biggest free agent signing in baseball history came this past off-season when the Angels signed Albert Pujols to a 10-year, $254 million deal. When I say that this was maybe the “biggest free agent signing ever,” I am not talking about money, although this contract ranks second all-time behind A-Rod’s $275 million deal with Texas. By “biggest free agent,” I am talking about the caliber of player that Albert Pujols is.

Pujols will no doubt go down in baseball history as one of the best players of all-time. He is the only player ever to:

  • Hit 30 home runs in each of his first 10 seasons in the MLB.
  • Hit 400 home runs in his first 10 seasons in the MLB.
  • Drive in over 100 RBI’s in each of his first 10 seasons in the MLB.
  • Hit over .300 in each of his first 9 seasons in the MLB.

In addition to those records, Pujols also has 2 Gold Glove awards under his belt. That, and all of those records, came while wearing a St. Louis Cardinals uniform. Along with setting those records, he also led St. Louis to two World Series titles. I think it is fair to say that he is one of the most beloved players in Cardinals history, if not the most beloved. Now, he is wearing an Angels uniform. Most people thought that this would be a HUGE blow to the Cardinals, and for good reason! How are they supposed to recover after losing one of the greatest players in MLB history? Who takes his place?

Well, to try and somewhat replace the offense that they lost in Pujols, the Cardinals went out and signed outfielder Carlos Beltran, who will turn 35 later this month. Heading into this season, Beltran had a lifetime batting average of .283 with 304 home runs, 1149 RBI’s, and 294 stolen bases. It would be safe to say that he is nearing the end of his career and that his numbers should steadily start to decrease. Contrary to that common belief, Beltran, along with the Cardinals, have gotten off to a red-hot start this season.

After winning the World Series last year (with Pujols), the Cardinals have started this season 4-1. Beltran has started his season hitting .333, with 3 home runs and 4 RBI’s (Beltran’s numbers include today’s game, which is still in progress). Needless to say, those are better numbers than Pujols has been able to put up so far this year. I’m not saying that Beltran has “replaced” Pujols or that he will have a better season than Pujols, but he has done just what the Cardinals have wanted him to do so far.

The Cardinals signed Beltran with the hopes that he might hit 25-30 home runs, and drive in around 90 runs. If he is able to put up those types of numbers, then I’d say St. Louis has a very good chance at winning the Central Division.

It seems to me like the Cardinals always sign a player who appears to be “washed up,” and then he goes out and has one last big year in St. Louis. Larry Walker and Lance Berkman are the two most notable players who signed with St. Louis towards the end of their  careers and went on to have big seasons, with Berkman hitting .301 with 31 home runs, and 94 RBI’s last season. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least bit if Beltran had his last big season this year. The coaching staff in St. Louis has been one of the best in baseball over the last 10 years or so, in large part due to Tony La Russa, and they are always able to get their players to perform at high levels, regardless of the players’ ages.

I guess the main point that I am trying to make is that the Cardinals seemingly always make the right moves when it comes to free agent signings and trades. Their front office and coaching staff deserve a ton of credit for what that franchise has been able to do over the last decade.

So with that said, do not be surprised one bit if the Cardinals go out and have a great season this year, despite the fact that they are now without Pujols. They are a team full of winners who know how to do just that; win.

Predicted Final National League Standings

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NATIONAL LEAGUE

East Division

1.

They’ve won their division 5 straight seasons. With that pitching staff, I don’t see anything changing.

2.

Next to the Red Sox, the Braves suffered the biggest collapse in baseball last year by losing their lead in the Wild Card standings to the Cardinals. This year, I think they’ll lock up one of the Wild Card spots and hold onto it.

3.

The most surprising team this off-season was the Miami Marlins. Big signings such as Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle should move this team up in their division.

4.

Honestly, I think the 3rd spot in this division is a toss-up between the Marlins and Nationals. Washington acquired Gio Gonzalez this off-season to help add depth to their pitching rotation, and they have Stephen Strasburg back and healthy to start the season. I would also expect a bounce-back season from Jayson Werth.

5.

Not much has gone right for the Mets in recent years. They have been lacking pitching lately, but now they are lacking offense. They traded away Carlos Beltran last year, and they lost Jose Reyes to the Marlins this off-season.

Central Division

1.

Yes, I know they lost Pujols, but this team is still loaded with talent. They have Adam Wainwright back to start the season (who was arguably the best pitcher in baseball when he got hurt last spring), and they signed Carlos Beltran this past winter to add to their offense. It’ll be a close race between the Cardinals and Brewers, but in the end I think St. Louis prevails for the division crown.

2.

Like the Cardinals, they lost a huge piece of their offense in Prince Fielder this off-season. In his place, they signed Aramis Ramirez to try and get back some of the offense that they lost. If they are going to make a run at winning the division again this year, they need their pitching to stay strong and healthy the entire season. I feel like they have the offense to get it done, but how will their pitching compare to the Cardinals’? With that said, I think the team that finishes second in this division will get one of the two Wild Card spots.

3.

They just inked Joey Votto to a huge, multi-year deal. So they have that going for them. Their offense is decent, and they play in a definite hitter’s park. Their pitching, however, is what will hold them back in the division. The addition of Matt Latos will help, but it’s not enough.

4.

They had a great first half to the season last year, but then reality sunk back in for the Pirates. They have some good players on their roster, led by Andrew McCutchen, but I still don’t think they will finish over .500 this season.

5.

The Cubs are in the re-building phase right now. They traded away Carlos Zambrano and Sean Marshall this off-season, among others, and they lost Aramis Ramirez to free agency. This year is going to be a year for guys like Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney to grow into better players and gain more experience at the Major League level.

6.

There’s not a whole lot going on down in Houston. It’ll be a year full of bringing up minor league players to try and get them some MLB experience, much like the Cubs.

West Division

1.

If Ian Kennedy can have another strong season on the mound for these guys, and if Trevor Cahill can have a good season, I think they have a really good shot as repeating as division champions. I am predicting that Justin Upton hits over 40 home runs this year.

2.

Pitching is the biggest question mark for the Rockies this season. Every year we say that Colorado has a shot at winning the division, but their pitching always lets us down. If they can get quality innings out of 4 of their 5 starters throughout the entirety of the season, they will challenge the D-Backs for the division championship.

3.

Unlike the Rockies, pitching is not what the Giants are concerned about. It’s their offense. They brought in Carlos Beltran at the trade deadline last year to try and produce more runs down the final stretch of the season, but that didn’t work. They will be getting Buster Posey back to start the season, which is definitely a positive, but they just don’t have a comparable offense to either Arizona or Colorado.

4.

This could be my most underrated team in the National League. They have the reigning Cy Young winner, and the MVP runner-up. For whatever reason, the Dodgers just haven’t been able to play up to their potential the past few years. If Chad Billingsley can find a way to get back to his 2008 form, and if Aaron Harang can provide some quality innings and get 10 wins this year, we could be talking about the Dodgers possibly winning this division come late September.

5.

There are too many question marks surrounding the Padres this year. In recent years, they have been able to put together a couple strong seasons seemingly out of the blue. I don’t see that happening this year, however.

 

 

 

 

Predicted Final American League Standings

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This is always just a shot in the dark, but I love trying to predict how the standings will finish up in the MLB each year. Today, I am going to cover the American League, and tomorrow I will go over the National League. So here we go. My 2012 predictions:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

East Division

1.

Last year, they were the victims of one of the largest late-season collapses in baseball history. They were pegged as a potential World Series Champion. That obviously didn’t happen. I expect them to have a big bounce-back year this season.

2.

 

It’ll be a close race between the Yankees and Red Sox for the division crown, but I see New York getting one of the now 2 Wild Card spots. However, if Nova and Pineda can live up to expectations based off of the way they pitched last season, then maybe the Yankees win the AL East. But as of now, I just don’t see that happening.

3. 

They are going to have one of the best pitching rotations in all of baseball. That I am sure of. I just don’t see them winning the division. As for the second Wild Card spot, I see that team coming out of the AL West.

4.

For the past few years now, it has seemed as though the Blue Jays have been on the verge of becoming a Wild Card contender. Unfortunately for them, they can never put together a strong season from start to finish. I don’t see it panning out for them any differently this season.

5.

First of all, yes this is the logo that the Orioles have chosen to go with for the 2012 season. Second of all, they will finish last in the AL East again this year. They have some young talent with Matt Wieters and Adam Jones, but where’s the pitching?

Central Division

1.

With the addition of Prince Fielder to their lineup, these guys are going to be tough to pitch against. Then you throw in the fact that they have the reigning AL Cy Young/MVP winner leading their rotation, I don’t see them being surpassed by anyone in this division.

2.

The Indians have a lot of young talent: Carlos Santana, Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, and Michael Brantley, just to name a few. They acquired Ubaldo Jimenez last year from the Rockies, and even though that didn’t pan out they way that the Indians had hoped, look for him to have a bit of a bounce-back year this season.

3. 

They need Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau both to stay healthy all year if they want any chance at the division. Their pitching is what has most people worried, and for good reason.

4.

The Sox are going through a rebuilding phase right now. They lost Carlos Quentin and Mark Buehrle, among others, this off-season. This year, they will be hoping that get a lot more production out of Adam Dunn. One player to watch on the White Sox will be Dayan Viciedo. That kid is loaded with potential.

5. 

The Royals have the second best farm system in all of baseball based on overall talent, according to BaseballAmerica.com. I would have to agree. After years of finishing near, or at the bottom of the league, they are loaded with top draft picks in their minor league system. Some of them are just beginning to surface at the Major League level, such as Eric Hosmer, who is expected to have a big breakout season this year.

West Division

1.

Everyone knows that they signed Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson to big contracts this off-season. Because of those two signings, the Angels are now definite contenders in the American League. They have arguably the best starting rotation in all of baseball.

2.

They are the 2-time defending AL Champions heading into this season. Yes, they lost CJ Wilson to their division rivals in Anaheim, but they signed Yu Darvish to replace him. Much of the Rangers success this season lies in the hands of Darvish. Can he produce the way that they need him to? Only time will tell. I see the Rangers getting the second Wild Card spot come the end of the season.

3.

The Mariners got off to an impressive start last season, but couldn’t keep it up as the year progressed. They ended up finishing last in the division as the result. This year, they should theoretically finish third in the division if you compare their talent to that of the A’s. The acquisition of Jesus Montero in exchange for Joel Pineda needs to benefit the Mariners this season, or else their front office is going to look pretty bad.

4.

Two of their top pitchers heading into last season, Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill, are no longer with the A’s. They really don’t have much pitching now heading into this season. As for their offense, they signed Cuban prospect Yoenis Cespedes to help produce some runs. Plus, don’t forget about Manny Ramirez. Yes he is suspended for the first 50 games of the season, but once he is done serving the suspension, I’d expect to see him in the A’s lineup. However, with all of that being said, this looks like a last place team to me.

New Marlins Park An Eyesore

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I just came across some pictures of the new stadium for the Florida Marlins, Marlins Park, and I was unpleasantly surprised. What were the Marlins thinking!?

The feature that sticks out the most by far is that ugly green color that they chose to cover the outfield walls with. It by no means, whatsoever, goes along with the predominantly blue seats inside the park. If you look around the stadium, you see blue, blue, some more blue, and then BAM! That hideous green color just jumps out at you and scares you half to death. Why wouldn’t they have gone along with the blue theme from the rest of the park and made the outfield wall blue, or some other color that actually goes along with blue? It makes no sense.

Secondly, what is that big, colorful thing behind the left-center field wall? At first, I had no clue what it was. Then I found a picture that was zoomed in on it and was able to tell what I was looking at. It would appear to be a big “thing” (for lack of a better term) with flamingos, a couple marlins, palm trees, and a bunch of different bright colors. What does this have to do with baseball? Yes, there are a couple of marlins present, but other than that, this is just a big, ugly distraction to everyone watching/playing the game.

One last thing that I would like to rant about is the fact that the new colors of the Miami Marlins are black, orange, yellow, and a teal/blue color. Nowhere inside this new stadium are those colors present. Yes, the seats are blue, but not the same blue that exists in their logo. One would think that when building a new stadium they would have tried to coordinate the colors with the team’s colors. But what do I know? I’m not any kind of “designer.”

All in all, I’m sure this is a very nice stadium, but what were the Marlins thinking when adding certain features to it? Sometimes, all you can do is shake your head.

To view more pictures of Marlins Park, as well as all other MLB parks, visit this website: http://stadiumpage.com/.

Soriano At Lead-off?

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Dale Sveum was asked a few days ago about the possibility of putting Alfonso Soriano back into the lead-off spot in the Cubs’ batting order to start the season. His response has me a little worried. Sveum, in so many words, said that “Soriano is not a bad lead-off hitter and that his statistics prove it.”

Over the last 2 seasons, Soriano’s on-base percentage has been bad. In 2010, his OBP was .267, and in 2011 it was .231. In my opinion, on-base percentage should be the most important factor when determining who should bat first in the order. Based on Soriano’s on-base percentage over the last couple of years, he shouldn’t even be considered to bat lead-off. And given his age, don’t expect his numbers to get any better.

It has been obvious that ever since joining the Cubs, Soriano’s legs have completely given out on him. He was once considered to be one of the fastest guys in all of baseball, but now is far from it. The past few years that he has spent with the Cubs have consisted of multiple leg injuries that have only helped to weaken his leg strength. Given his bad on-base percentage and the fact that he no longer has good legs under him, he should not be batting lead-off.

I understand that Dale Sveum is going to evaluate all of his options in deciding the batting order to start this season, but experimenting with Soriano in that spot of the order should not even be one of his considerations. Personally, and based on the way it worked out last season, I like either Darwin Barney or Starlin Castro batting first in the order.

Pirates Make Surprising Move

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As I was watching SportsCenter last night, it was announced that the Pittsburgh Pirates had resigned their all-star center fielder, Andrew McCutchen, to a 6-year deal worth $51.5 million. I couldn’t believe it.

Last year, McCutchen hit .259, with 23 home runs and 89 RBI’s. While those may not seem like great statistics, McCutchen’s potential is extremely high. He is only going to get better moving forward.

For the first time in a long time (I really couldn’t tell you how long), the Pirates have resigned one of their best players. Not only did they just resign him, they were able to sign him to a long-term deal worth over $50 million dollars. This has become somewhat of an unheard of move when talking about the Pirates over the last 15 years. The Pirates have acted as a type of “farm system” in recent years in which they would develop highly talented players, bring them to the big leagues (where they would succeed), and then be unable to resign them. This would result in the Pirates either trading these guys, or losing them during free agency. Some good examples of this in the past few years have been Jason Bay (traded to Boston), Nate McLouth (traded to Atlanta), and Nyjer Morgan (traded to Washington). They just haven’t been able to hang on to their best players for more than a couple of years at a time.

Signing Andrew McCutchen to a multi-year deal is a good sign for the Pirates. This is a team that has not had a winning record in 19 straight seasons, and they, plus their fans, are desperate for success. I’d say that keeping Andrew McCutchen on the roster is a decent start.