Tag / David Price

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2015 Final Pitching Leaders

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersLast Friday, we looked at the leaders in the 39 games I attended this year on the offensive side of the ball.  It’s now time to wrap up our look back at the 2015 season with the pitching leaders, starting with everyone’s favorite pitching statistic:

Wins

Name Total
Chris Sale 5
Jake Arrieta 3
Carlos Rodon 2
John Danks 2
Zach Duke 2
David Price  2
Kyle Gibson  2

Losses

Name Total
Jose Quintana 4
Chris Sale 3
Jeff Samardzija 3
John Danks 2
Jon Lester 2

ERA (> 10 IP)

Name Total
Kyle Gibson 0.57
David Robertson 0.68
David Price 1.13
Chris Sale 2.89
Jake Arrieta 2.95

Strikeouts

Name Total
Chris Sale 76
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2015 Predictions Revisited

baseballs2Six months ago, as the 2015 baseball season was scheduled to kick off at Wrigley Field, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what.  Now that the regular season has come to an end, it is time revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Blue Jays

After a middling first half, the Blue Jays turned things around after the All Star break, especially after acquiring David Price and Troy Tulowitzki at the trade deadline, earning them their first division title since 1993.

Central: Indians

Well, I correctly predicted the end of the Tigers reign after four seasons, but I wrongly assumed that the Royals would regress after their World Series appearance last year.  Instead, they went and ran away with the AL Central crown while the Indians struggled to stay out of the cellar.

West: Angels

It came down to the final day, but the Rangers, who finished in last place in 2014, managed to hold off the Astros and the Angels to win the division.

Wild Cards: Tigers, Mariners

I completely missed the boat here, as both teams failed to live up to their pre-season expectations.  The Yankees return to the post-season and so do the surprise Astros.

AL Champion: Angels

Cy Young: Felix Hernandez

MVP: Mike Trout

Only one of these seems like a possible choice at this point, with Mike Trout the frontrunner for the MVP award.  The Cy Young award is up in the air at this point.

National League

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Ballpark Tour: Rogers Centre

rogerscentre

Stadium Name: Skydome/Rogers Centre

Location: Toronto

Home Team: Blue Jays

Years in Service: 1989 – Present

Visits: 1

Following the Grey Cup game in 1982 at Exhibition Stadium, dubbed the Rain Bowl due to a torrential rainstorm, tens of thousands of people attended a rally at Toronto’s city hall chanting “We want a dome”.  After years of studies, they got their wish on June 3, 1989 when Skydome opened as the new home of the Blue Jays, featuring the first functional retractable roof in North America.

While the stadium quickly became an albatross for the province of Ontario, due to cost overruns and a recession, the Blue Jays became a force to be reckoned with.  The Jays won the AL East crown in 1989 and 1991, losing to the eventual World Series champions both years.  In 1992, they again won their division and became the first Canadian team to capture a World Series title.  They repeated as champions in 1993, becoming the first team to win back-to-back Series since the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

Since then, things have been relatively quiet for the Blue Jays.  In 2005, the stadium was renamed Rogers Centre, after the new owners of both the stadium and the team.  After years of failed expectations, the Blue Jays finally find themselves back in contention this year, leading the AL East and looking for their first post-season appearance in 22 years, the longest current drought in the major leagues.

I attended my first game at the Rogers Centre last month when I was visiting Toronto.  In addition to adding a new stadium to my resume (the 19th overall and 13th still active), former White Sox ace Mark Buehrle was scheduled to start, so I was really looking forward to the game.  Sadly, Buehrle was bumped a few days due to a sore shoulder, so I ended up having to see David Price take on the Orioles.  He handled them with ease, picking up his 100th career victory.  I didn’t have the best seats in the house, sitting out in left field, but was in the shade, which was in short supply during a hot afternoon with the roof open.  I certainly hope to return one day.

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2015 All Star Break Pitching Leaders

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersYesterday, we looked at the leaders in the 21 games I attended in the first half of this year on the offensive side of the ball.  With the second half slated to kick off today, let’s look at the first half pitching leaders:

Wins

Name Total
Chris Sale 4
Zach Duke 2
Carlos Rodon 2
13 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Jose Quintana 3
Jon Lester 2
16 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 0.00
Tommy Milone 0.00
David Robertson 0.00
Jake Arrieta 1.00
David Price 1.00
Corey Kluber 1.00

Strikeouts

Name Total
Chris Sale 52
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Franchise Four – AL East

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the American League East.

F4OriolesAt first glance, my picks for the Orioles were easy.  Upon further review, though, I find myself with 5 players for only 4 slots.  Cal Ripken Jr., Frank Robinson, and Jim Palmer take my first 3 slots.  The last one comes down to Brooks Robinson and Eddie Murray.  While Murray was by far the better offensive weapon, Robinson was quite possibly the best defensive third baseman of all time.  I’m going to stick with my initial gut feeling and go with Robinson.

F4RedSoxPlenty of Hall of Famers to choose from for the Red Sox, as 6 of the 8 have been elected to Cooperstown.  The first two slots have to go to Cy Young and Ted Williams, both of whom would be in the conversation for a league wide contest.  The final two slots would have to go to Carl Yastrzemski and newly elected Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.  Conspicuous by his absence is Roger Clemens.

F4Yankees

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2014 Predictions Revisited

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersBack in March, just as the baseball season was about to get underway, I made my annual predictions on who was going to win what.  Now that the regular season has come to an end, it is time to take a look back and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Rays

Well, not a great selection here, as the Rays finished 4th in the East.  Instead, the Orioles won the division for the first time since 1997.

Central: Tigers

It came down to the last day of the season, but the Tigers were able to hold off the upstart Royals and win the division for the fourth consecutive season.

West: Angels

Well, what do you know?  Year after year, I pick the Angels to win the division and year after year, they disappoint.  This year looked to be no different, but they caught fire just as the A’s started to fade, leading to their first divisional title since 2009.

Wild Cards: Red Sox, Rangers

Oof.  The Rangers, thank to injury after injury, finished the year with the worst record in the American League.  The Red Sox, fresh off a World Series title, were not too far behind.  Instead, the small market A’s and Royals took the wild card spots.

AL Champion: Tigers

Cy Young: David Price

MVP: Mike Trout

Only 1 of these still seem like viable choices.  The Tigers managed to get swept in the ALDS by the Orioles and David Price has little to no chance of bringing home another Cy Young Award. Mike Trout, meanwhile, is certainly still in the MVP conversation.

National League

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by jim

2014 Predictions

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersThe 2014 baseball season is scheduled to officially kick off tonight, last week’s trip to Australia not withstanding.  For the fourth consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.

American League

East: Rays

Central: Tigers

West: Angels

Wild Cards: Red Sox, Rangers

AL Champion: Tigers

Cy Young: David Price

MVP: Mike Trout

National League

East: Nationals

Central: Cardinals

West: Dodgers

Wild Cards: Braves, Giants

NL Champion: Dodgers

Cy Young: Stephen Strasburg

MVP: Jason Heyward

by jim

BBWAA Award Predictions

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersThe Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the just completed baseball season.  It is a good bet that none of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate.  Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.

American League

Most Valuable Player: Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, Chris Davis

Mike Trout was my pre-season selection to win this award, but I also picked the Angels to win the American League.  They dropped out of contention early, and I think the same can be said for Trout’s candidacy.  My guess is Miguel Cabrera, who was having an even better year than his triple crown winning season a year ago before nagging injuries dragged him down towards the end of the year, takes home his second straight MVP.

Cy Young Award: Yu Darvish, Hisashi Iwakuma, Max Scherzer

My initial guess of David Price obviously did not make the cut.  While books have been written about how wins are not a reliable way to track pitching effectiveness, my guess is that if you add in a 20 win season with a trip to the post-season, Max Scherzer will take home the prize.

Manager of the Year: John Farrell, Terry Francona, Bob Melvin

I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season.  I imagine that Terry Francona, beloved former manager of the Red Sox, will take home the award for turning around a putrid Indians team and keeping them in contention for the majority of the year.

Rookie of the Year: Chris Archer, Jose Iglesias, Wil Myers

Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season.  It is somewhat ironic, given the current value placed on young talent, that all 3 finalists for the award were traded to their current teams, one during this past season.  My guess is that Wil Myers will win the award.

National League

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All Star Break Pitching Leaders

Yesterday we looked at the leaders in games I attended in the first half of this year on the offensive side of the ball.  With the second half slated to kick off today, let’s look at the pitchers.

Wins

Name Total
Chris Sale 2
14 tied with 1
Losses

Name Total
16 tied with 1
ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Jesse Crain 1.04
Jake Peavy 1.13
Ricky Nolasco 1.17
Vance Worley 1.29
Chris Sale 1.71
Strikeouts

Name Total
Chris Sale 31
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by jim

2013 Predictions

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersContinuing the tradition started two years ago and continued last year, here are my picks for the baseball season that is just getting underway.

American League

East: Rays

Central: Tigers

West: Angels

Wild Cards: Blue Jays, A’s

AL Champion: Angels

Cy Young: David Price

MVP: Mike Trout

National League

East: Braves

Central: Brewers

West: Dodgers

Wild Cards: Giants, Cardinals

NL Champion: Braves

Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw

MVP: Matt Kemp