Talkin' Baseball

      There has been talk for a long time now about implementing a salary cap in Major League Baseball. This may the topic which causes the next MLB lockout.      Whether or not players will agree to making less money (which we already know they will object to), the question stands; are salary caps a good idea?     Unless you are a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, chances are that you have been or will be dismayed by the amount of money they spend. The Dodgers spent over $1 billion last season en route to their second World Series championship in as many years. And now, just a couple months later they are out making moves again, in what will likely be a three-peat championship contain in 2026.     One may claim that the Dodgers have so much money that they take advantage of the league. This is partly true, but not completely. Teams like the Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, and Milwaukee Brewers have much less money than the Dodgers, and need ...

      It is an understatement to say that the Texas Rangers had a disappointing 2024 season. One year removed from their first World Series title, the team showed promise for the year, with top prospects Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford expected to play a full MLB season.     Things didn't go according to plan, however, as injuries devastated the team, which finished under .500 and missed the playoffs.      The Rangers have had a busy off-season thus far, extending contracts and signing free agents in the hopes of taking back the AL West division. The most notable additions include corner infielder Jake Burger, designated hitter Joc Pederson, relief pitcher Chris Martin, and a 3-year extension of starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi.     With the strong additions also come a few losses to the organization. These include all-star closer Kirby Yates, fellow relief pitcher Jose Leclerc, 3-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, and first baseman ...

     This is my official check-in post. It's been almost three months since I've posted on this blog. I'll come back here and post occasionally, but Don Cardwell has taken over. Anyway, this is my personal scouting report on Mets pitching prospect Brandon Sproat, which is posted on this blog solely because less people read this one.      I saw a video on YouTube claiming that Sproat threw a pitch at 135 mph . While I can't say I believe this for a second, some research showed me that he consistently throws in the upper-90s, an still impressive mark.     The 24-year old Brandon Sproat was drafted in the second round of the 2023 June Amateur Draft by the New York Mets. He posted a 19-8 record and 4.27 ERA in college, striking out almost 10 batters every nine innings. Sproat pitched in the minor leagues for the first time in 2024, starting in high-A, and finishing the season in triple-A. Overall, in 24 appearances (23 starts), Sproat pitched to a 7-4...

     Yes, I fear this may be the end of Talkin' Baseball.  Not like I'll never write on it again, but all of my publish-worthy posts hit Don Cardwell  instead. That's just the way it goes sometimes. And it's too overwhelming to have multiple blogs, so this one's luck ran out.      Maybe one day this blog will fade into the void that is unused blogs and then get taken down by Blogger. But I doubt it. I don't neglect it that much. Times are hard for it, that's all.     So, I'm going fishing a second time. When the Rangers look good next year I'll publish on it again. Therefore, I may never publish again. Just kidding. We'll be back. The question is just when...     Running out of time as the sun gets closer     Fading far behind, yesterday grows older

Starting Pitcher: Jacob deGrom Freddy Peralta Shota Imanaga JP Sears Nathan Eovaldi Relief Pitcher: Josh Hader Kirby Yates Porter Hodge Aroldis Chapman David Bednar Catcher: J.T. Realmuto Connor Wong Jonah Heim Shea Langeliers Miguel Amaya First Baseman: Freddie Freeman Paul Goldschmidt Nathaniel Lowe Luis Arraez Ty France Matt Olson Second Baseman: Marcus Semien Zack Gelof Edouard Julien Brandon Lowe Ozzie Albies Third Baseman: Austin Riley Jose Ramirez Anthony Rendon Christopher Morel Jazz Chisholm Jr. Shortstop: Corey Seager Nick Allen Orlando Arcia CJ Abrams Gunnar Henderson Outfield (I Have No Chance To Keep Going So Quickly And Name Five At Each Outfield Spot): Riley Greene Jackson Merrill JJ Bleday Brenton Doyle Victor Robles Please join me next week when I'll review the picks

Click here to see the 2024 MLB draft results.  I know the dad of number 74 overall and have met Ryan Johnson before. Basically the only guy I knew from this year before the draft was Cam Caminiti (and Johnson, of course). I'm really excited about Caminiti, but seeing as how the Braves have a lot of young pitchers, it may be a while before he comes up. I'm too lazy to do anything else right now. So just read it. And also every draft pick (only 615) Have a great day. Thank you for reading.

      On March 20, the Padres and Dodgers kicked off a two game series in Seoul, South Korea. This was technically Opening Day for them, I guess, but the other teams still had a fair share of spring training before their seasons started.     Game 1 of the Seoul Series was a tight game. The Dodgers ended up taking the game with a four-run eighth.     In that inning, the game was tied 2-2 with runners on first and second base, one out, when this happened:     This was called an error on the first baseman Jake Cronenworth. I dunno about this call. If a ball is hit, and breaks through a fielder's glove, I don't see how it could be called an error, since the fielder did no wrong in fielding the ball.      I get that the ball wasn't struck particularly hard, and I don't know what it is that caused it to go through, but I don't think that this play should be scored an E-3 since Cronenworth didn't do anything wrong. He went to field th...

    One day, as I was losing my fantasy baseball matchup, I decided to put all my backup players into the game. This action brought a question into my head: does a good manager play every one of his players? The question took a little bit of thought, but I eventually arrived at my answer.     Certainly in Little League, a manager should play all of his players, no matter how talented they are. Of course, in most Little Leagues, you have to at least bat the whole team, and very often every player has to get into the field at some point during each game. Since Little League is not all about winning, but primarily about development, this is most definitely the way it should be.      Some higher Little League divisions (such as 14U and higher) could potentially have a different ruling for playing time. But seeing as how it's still Little League, the rules should probably remain as they are. I don't think many managers would have the prudence to manage the ...

       Errors suck. For one, they cost the fielding team an out and usually add a baserunner, and they suck for he who made the error. But on the offensive side, they lower your batting stats. It's a good trade-off to drop your batting average one at-bat to get on base, assuming you're a team player.  Herman Long has committed the most errors in MLB history (1,096)     Errors lower your OBP. But should this be so? I mean, you are technically getting on base, and OBP does stand for  On-Base Percentage.       This definition comes straight from  MLB's Website : OBP refers to how frequently a batter reaches base per plate appearance. Times on base include hits, walks and hit-by-pitches, but do not include errors, times reached on a fielder's choice or a dropped third strike. (Separately, sacrifice bunts are removed from the equation entirely, because it is rarely a hitter's decision to sacrifice himself, but rather a manager's cho...

      Ay! Ever heard of Chris Davis? Yeah, that guy who hit 53 home runs and then 47 two years later? Yeah, that guy. Did you know he had a .233 career batting average? Well, that's unfortunate, but managers will often overlook bad batting averages if the guy has loads of power. Chris Davis was no exception to this practice.     But take a look at his 2018 campaign:     If you can't see it, Chris Davis hit a rather sad .168 in 2018, good for an OPS+ of only 49. YIKES!     Yes, while this season was very bad, there's a reason for this: he did badly. But, something even more impressive than batting .168 in 128 games is what he did from September 14th of 2018 through April 12th of 2019.     After starting the game 1-for-1 on a beautiful day in September, he went 0-for-3 the rest of the contest. No worries, right? 1-4 games raise his batting average, so we're all good.     The next game he went 0-3, and 0-3 the game afterward....

      I'm trying not to relapse back into writer's block. So, I'll post on something semi-stupid; my fantasy decision today. This is stupid for two reasons; why am I posting on my managerial decisions? and, this particular decision was pretty stupid.     I was losing to my opponent 10-5, and there was no reasonable chance that I win. So, I benched my starting second baseman, Zack Gelof, who has been hitting awfully thus far in favor of Jackson Holliday, who has somehow been hitting even worse. Yikes. I also benched my starting catcher, Gabriel Moreno, in favor of Tyler Stephenson, because the past two days Stephenson was sitting his rear-end on my bench and hit homers in each game. Also yikes.     So I ended up going through with the decision. After all, a good manager lets all the players get playing time, right? Well, that's a subject for another day. Anyway,  the two guys I started went a combined 0-for-6 with two walks. Big surprise there. Mea...

     This is the second post of my What if...? series, which I created back when I was experiencing really bad writer's block. Glad to report that that ship has sailed. Anyway, this one came about on a ride home from a baseball game during a friendly conversation.     What if when a pitcher threw a pitch, he both tore his labrum and fractured his humerus? Well, this pitch ended up crossing the strike zone and the batter hit a line drive into the pitcher's already injured elbow.     In case you didn't know, the labrum is an important part of the arm for a pitcher, and tearing it meant Tommy John surgery.  And a fracture of the humerus ends players' careers. So, two injuries that already ruin pitchers, and then a line drive straight to the arm? Not a good mix.

     On one of my fantasy baseball teams this year, I drafted Riley Greene as my third outfielder. I considered my outfield staff pretty good, containing Mike Trout, Evan Carter, and Greene. Well, it seemed that two of the outfielders were quite a bit better than the third. It was then that I made the bold prediction that Riley Greene will bat .320 with 40 home runs, and not only carry my fantasy team, but also win the AL MVP award.       Though I was completely joking when I made this prediction, is it too far fetched? To put it bluntly, yes. Greene has been in the majors two seasons coming into 2024 and played 192 games in that span. He also has 16 home runs (less than 40 in 162 for all of you who didn't know, 14 in fact) and a .271 batting average, only 49 points away from where it needs to be this season.     However, so far, Riley Greene has played in 8 games (as many as his team) and has 2 homers. This actually does translate to 40 home...

      Like said in the title of this post, Opening Day is in three days, the 28th. And Jordan Montgomery still doesn't have a team.      This is a nice little way to get the blog out of temporary retirement.      Jordan Montgomery is on both of my fantasy teams, and may spend the year in my NA slot if he doesn't find a job ASAP.     W ith the start of MLB's next season just around the corner, the top free-agent doesn't have a team. Montgomery was very good last year, posting a 10-11 record and 3.20 ERA with two teams, as well as a 3-1 record and 2.90 ERA in the postseason as he led the Rangers to their first ever World Series victory. It should have been beyond easy for him to sign a contract. However, with some misfortunate happenings, it became a lot more difficult for him to find a job.     Firstly, Montgomery's latest team, the Texas Rangers, is having monetary problems after Bally Sports went bankrupt. Now, multiple t...

     As I've been belly-aching about for about a month now, Don Cardwell has been taking up most of my blogging time. I've hit really bad writer's block and have been writing of bad ideas lately (like pinpointing a cartoon to a real-life baseball player).     So, I've made the hard decision to put this blog out to the pasture. Well, that's not entirely true. I'm not going to be publishing on Talkin' Baseball  for a while anymore. I'll still publish sometimes, especially when the MLB season starts again.      By the way, I have two fantasy baseball drafts coming up in a week or two, and the results of those drafts will be posted on Don Cardwell  rather than this blog. The reason for this is that Don Cardwell is much more popular than this blog, so more people will be reading and commenting on it.     That's really the only reason that I'm going to stop posting here as much. More people read Don Cardwell  and so I will post ...

     Today, Talkin' Baseball hit 1,000 career views! Not only is that nice, but it was racing Don Cardwell to 1,000 and won by 163 views. Come celebrate with me! Hooray!

      So, who does this picture look like? The correct answer is nobody. But if I had to choose somebody, who would this cartoon dude resemble most?     There are a number of players who resemble this cartoon guy. This should seem pretty obvious, because he's a cartoon baseball player. But is it? This 'player' doesn't look remotely close to realistic. I mean, look at his biceps.          This observation takes me to the next point. He's wearing red and pinstripes. This player is obviously...     Mark McGwire! He's wearing red (and the Cardinals sometimes wore pinstripes), and you know he got a little bit of help to get biceps that huge.     So yes, I am confident in assuming that the cartoon is meant to be Mark McGwire.      What a stupid topic to write about! Ugh, this writer's block. At least it's semi-interesting and kinda funny.

    I figured I may rant again about the recent failure of the blog. That was pretty fun. Don Cardwell  is taking up so much of my time (and is way more popular), that I'm considering putting this one on a hiatus. I don't know.     So, something really quick I can talk about. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...     Got it: These new uniforms Nike and MLB came up with. Nike Vapor jerseys, to be exact.     These jerseys are supposed to be light and breathable. Rather, people are complaining that they are uncomfortable and ugly. But way worse than the jerseys are...     The pants! Yes, apparently the pants are see-through. I'm not sure which moron had the idea of making your pants so you can see through them. The jerseys, which are bad enough, now bleed through the pants like they're made of glass frog skin. Yeah, this was a total failure, and I don't think they'll be very popular among fans or players.     Well, that was my idea. I hope yo...

     UUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHH! Ever since I started Don Cardwell  this blog has been neglected. It has been difficult to juggle all of my schoolwork along with multiple blogs. I am reading American Baseball: From Gentleman's Sport to the Commissioner System. I figured I'd post about it once I finished the book, but that won't be for a while.     Anyway, I don't have a ton to write about right now. If somebody has any ideas (I'm mostly talking to the one person who I know will read the blog), then please tell me.     My baseball season has started up again, which means it's time to clean the dust off of JV Scouting Report . That's the blog that will tell you how my season's going. Hopefully some scouts will see it and I'll be off to the races.     So, I figured I should post on something worth-while on the blog, and failed miserably. However, I was able to promote another one of my blogs and complain about my good fortune. Hope all the reader...

    Why the sudden interest in Kerry Wood? you may ask. Well, I first looked into him when I read a letter that he wrote to someone in the book Every Pitcher Tells a Story (a really good book that I suggest you read). It was then that I found that he was a very interesting player. The letter he wrote this guy was about a phone call he had gotten from Roger Clemens when he tied Rocket's record for strikeouts in a game with 20 (the record still stands, but now is also held by Max Scherzer). Anyway, I just looked him up on good old  Baseball Reference  and found some very interesting things about him.     He won the Rookie of the Year award in 1998, throwing to a 13-6 record and 3.40 ERA. Wood held batters to only a .196 batting average that season. He struck out a league-leading 12.6 batters per nine, and holds a career K/9 of 10.3. Though he had really good strikeout numbers, punching out as many as 266 batters in a season, he had shaky control, walking abou...