[oiler]

Pirates gonna be a threat this year

[supersaintjames]

i like pit moneyline over yankees

[BigSpoon]

Pirates gonna be a threat this year

Pirates have been one of the best teams in baseball for the last couple of seasons now. Just have been unlucky to not win their division and have to face Bumgarner and Arrieta in back to back wild card games.

[stevenash]

Pirates gonna be a threat this year

One of the best outfields in the majors, Cole is as good as any top of the rotation aces not named Max or Kershaw.
Nice 'pen.

Big question marks?????

Harrison a 3B at 2B
Jaso a DH/C at 1B
Kang's knee?
Jordy Mercer SS had to get off to a quick start, guy is like .180 or so lifetime in April, has to fight his way to .250 rest of the season.

That is one dicey infield, outfield, as good as it gets, four lefties in the rotation I like, dependable 'pen, but boy that infield is patchwork and I'm being kind because I want to see Pitt succeed.

Cards/Cubs/Pirates will all contend again, don't ever discount the red birds.

[koz-man]

Cards/Cubs/Pirates will all contend again, don't ever discount the red birds.

And the Reds too...


Not!!!


I still love them.!!!. Hoping to build up a contender in a couple years.

[stevenash]

And the Reds too...

They did get a good package for Cueto, Finnegan will start in the middle of the rotation, he did pitch in the '14 WS, live lefty arm, off to a good spring start, could surprise and win a dozen or so games, ERA upside maybe 3.10.
Finnegan is a former first round draft pick for a reason.

Looks like John Lamb may never recover from Tommy John surgery, too bad, he has/had a ton of upside.

Cody Reed is not quite ready for prime time, close, but not yet, probably start AAA for a few months before the brass makes a decision on him, but know this, Cincy did not give up Cueto for a box of rocks, if Reed recovers, that's three big league potential live arms aged 22, 21, 21.

What's up with that bull pen though?
Jumbo Diaz setting up JJ Hoover. Ouch!
I like Cingrani, moving him to the 'pen was the right thing to do, he doesn't have a third pitch.

Good luck with Votto, Bruce and 20 nobodies, but there is hope down the road for the Reds if the kids on the farm pan out, and they just might.

[Andy117]

The Mets projected five starters all have an average fastball velocity of 95mph or better.
They'll feast against teams that swing a miss (Cubs), they'll starve against teams that are high contact (Royals)
Which is a big reason why the Mets lost last season in the WS.

The Mets lost in WS because of bad defense and a blown save in Game 1. They had a lead in the 8th or 9th in 3 of the four games they lost.

[Shortstop]

Pirates have been one of the best teams in baseball for the last couple of seasons now. Just have been unlucky to not win their division and have to face Bumgarner and Arrieta in back to back wild card games.

So true! Gotta win the division!

[Otters27]

So true! Gotta win the division!

This should be the Pirates year. They got the experience and the hunger. A deadly combination

[stevenash]

The Mets lost in WS because of bad defense and a blown save in Game 1. They had a lead in the 8th or 9th in 3 of the four games they lost.

Well yeah, that too, however they hit deGrom hard in the fifth inning of game 2, KC did have 47 hits that series, Only Harvey and Syndegaard did well, but your points are valid

[EmpireMaker]

The Mets lost in WS because of bad defense and a blown save in Game 1. They had a lead in the 8th or 9th in 3 of the four games they lost.

Their hitting didn't do them any favors either. Very happy Murphy is gone (terrible defense).

[BarkingToad]

Looks like Adam LaRoche kid saved White Sox $13 million.

[BigSpoon]

Looks like Adam LaRoche kid saved White Sox $13 million.

White Sox did what they had to do and so did LaRoche. Bad PR but Williams has to be a little pleased that below replacement level LaRoche retired.

[koz-man]

They did get a good package for Cueto, Finnegan will start in the middle of the rotation, he did pitch in the '14 WS, live lefty arm, off to a good spring start, could surprise and win a dozen or so games, ERA upside maybe 3.10.
Finnegan is a former first round draft pick for a reason.

Looks like John Lamb may never recover from Tommy John surgery, too bad, he has/had a ton of upside.

Cody Reed is not quite ready for prime time, close, but not yet, probably start AAA for a few months before the brass makes a decision on him, but know this, Cincy did not give up Cueto for a box of rocks, if Reed recovers, that's three big league potential live arms aged 22, 21, 21.

What's up with that bull pen though?
Jumbo Diaz setting up JJ Hoover. Ouch!
I like Cingrani, moving him to the 'pen was the right thing to do, he doesn't have a third pitch.

Good luck with Votto, Bruce and 20 nobodies, but there is hope down the road for the Reds if the kids on the farm pan out, and they just might.

Nice.

True.. the Reds bullpen really needs attention ASAP.

Looks like Reds resigned Alfredo Simon today. Not sure how I feel about this??!!? Have to look into.

PS: Hoover will never be a closer!!! Just not seeing it happen.

[koz-man]

Looks like John Lamb may never recover from Tommy John surgery, too bad, he has/had a ton of upside.

Lamb had back surgery. And he will return but not for the start of the season.

[stevenash]

Lamb had back surgery. And he will return but not for the start of the season.

I stand corrected, I thought I read a few months ago he had TJ.

[Andy117]

Their hitting didn't do them any favors either. Very happy Murphy is gone (terrible defense).

Yeah, I agree.

One year of Neil Walker and Dilson Hererra takes over in 17.

[BarkingToad]

Sabathia is in mid season form today, good thing he's in shape and sober

[EmpireMaker]

Sabathia is in mid season form today, good thing he's in shape and sober

How is his weight this preseason ? Is it at a reasonable level?

[Chi_archie]

Yeah, I agree.

One year of Neil Walker and Dilson Hererra takes over in 17.

and both by the way of the Pirates

[BigSpoon]

Sabathia is in mid season form today, good thing he's in shape and sober

He's going to be a $25M reliever for the Yankees in 2016.

[Shortstop]

The first thing I thought of after hearing about the Adam LaRoche story was the scary scenario when Barry Bonds' son had to be saved from a potentially very dangerous home plate altercation during the playoffs several years ago.

I believe he was the Giants Bat Boy when this happened...

[stevenash]

Broke down all the closers and set up men from every team last night, one thing that stands out big time is the fact that besides Jansen (LA) Rosenthal (Cards) Familia (Mets) Papellbon (Nats) and Melancon (Pitt) every other team in the NL has no real definitive closer.

For instance SF can start the year with Casilla and end with Romo, etc...

Where as in the AL, most teams have closers that will pretty much close all seaso,
Except for NYY, who have Chapman out for month. BoSox and Kimbrel, O's and Britton, Chi-Sox and Robertson, Indians and Allen, KC and Wade Davis, etc. etc.

[koz-man]

I stand corrected, I thought I read a few months ago he had TJ.

cool. Probably saw Homer Bailey is working back from TJ.

[BarkingToad]

How is his weight this preseason ? Is it at a reasonable level?

I can't really see a lot of difference, but probably reasonable for him.

[Shortstop]

The first thing I thought of after hearing about the Adam LaRoche story was the scary scenario when Barry Bonds' son had to be saved from a potentially very dangerous home plate altercation during the playoffs several years ago.

I believe he was the Giants Bat Boy when this happened...

Haha! My bad! It was Dusty Baker's son...

[Chi_archie]

Broke down all the closers and set up men from every team last night, one thing that stands out big time is the fact that besides Jansen (LA) Rosenthal (Cards) Familia (Mets) Papellbon (Nats) and Melancon (Pitt) every other team in the NL has no real definitive closer.

For instance SF can start the year with Casilla and end with Romo, etc...

Where as in the AL, most teams have closers that will pretty much close all seaso,
Except for NYY, who have Chapman out for month. BoSox and Kimbrel, O's and Britton, Chi-Sox and Robertson, Indians and Allen, KC and Wade Davis, etc. etc.

I don't see another very good year from Melancon

[koz-man]

Looks like Adam LaRoche kid saved White Sox $13 million.

I agree with Adams choice to walk. Williams is a 2 faced clown.

Glad Sale had Adams back.

[EmpireMaker]

Earlier, we heard the Pirates may bat Andrew McCutchen second in an attempt to better optimize their lineup. That’s not the only optimization planned, writes Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Slow footed John Jaso may bat first so the club can take advantage of his high OBP – especially against right-handed pitching. As manager Clint Hurdle notes, the expected effect of an optimized lineup might come out to only one or two extra wins over the course of a season. Of course, it’s also right to note that expected and actual production can diverge for numerous statistical reasons.
Here’s more out of Pittsburgh:

• Juan Nicasio’s ability to command the fastball will determine if he can have an impact as a starting pitcher, writes Sawchik. The veteran righty has pitched well this spring with 16 strikeouts, three walks, and no runs allowed in 10 innings. Nicasio is now a viable alternative to Jon Niese, Jeff Locke, or Ryan Vogelsong. However, he might be better suited for relief work since his velocity played up to 96 mph out of the Dodgers bullpen last season. He’s sat 92 to 95 mph this spring as a starter.
• While pitching coach Ray Searage gets the credit for the Pirates ample success with starting pitchers, it’s an organization-wide philosophy, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittburgh Tribune-Review. Jim Benedict, now with the Marlins, helped to develop the philosophy. Now it falls to others in the organization like Double-A pitching coach Justin Meccage to continue implementing their proven techniques. While baseball strategy is important, Searage cites communication and trust as the keys to the Pirates Way.
• The Pirates have changed their policy for pre-arbitration players after the brouhaha with Gerrit Cole, GM Neal Huntington said on MLB Network Radio. Huntington admits the policy was probably outdated before the incident with Cole. Previously, the club followed strict policies for setting pre-arbitration salaries. Teams do this to minimize the need for negotiations over relatively small amounts of money. A set policy can also help to avoid hurt feelings or disputes. Obviously, that wasn’t the case here.

[Chi_archie]

Cutch in the two hole will be interesting

[Andy117]

Haha! My bad! It was Dusty Baker's son...

That's one of those things that you have to see to believe. I can't believe they let a kid that little on the field.

[Shortstop]

Broke down all the closers and set up men from every team last night, one thing that stands out big time is the fact that besides Jansen (LA) Rosenthal (Cards) Familia (Mets) Papellbon (Nats) and Melancon (Pitt) every other team in the NL has no real definitive closer.

For instance SF can start the year with Casilla and end with Romo, etc...

Where as in the AL, most teams have closers that will pretty much close all seaso,
Except for NYY, who have Chapman out for month. BoSox and Kimbrel, O's and Britton, Chi-Sox and Robertson, Indians and Allen, KC and Wade Davis, etc. etc.

Great post! Looks like there will be many "Bullpens By Committee" this summer...

[Shortstop]

That's one of those things that you have to see to believe. I can't believe they let a kid that little on the field.

No doubt! He most likely was "trained" to go get the bat after every at bat. Thankfully he didn't get hurt!

He's indebted to J.T. Snow for quite some time!

Perhaps they'll watch this years from now and laugh about it?

[EmpireMaker]

Signing Ruben Tejada to be their starting shortstop, rather than promoting Aledmys Diaz to the job, was the right move for the Cardinals, Bernie Miklasz writes for 101Sports.com. Diaz went 4-for-4 with two doubles in the Spring Training game after Jhonny Peralta went down with a thumb injury. But his production has since slowed, and Diaz has very little experience in Triple-A (where he was optioned Sunday after Tejada’s signing became official). It’s best for him to begin his season there to see if he can build on the success he enjoyed in the second half of last season, Miklasz argues. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

• Carlos Correa is an incredibly exciting young shortstop, but in comparison, Francisco Lindor of the Indians doesn’t get enough hype, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues. Lindor got off to a slow start after being promoted to the big leagues last year but batted .370/.413/.500 in August and .325/.366/.592 the rest of the season. “How many times do you see a kid come up in the first 100 at-bats and just go off, and then the league makes its adjustments?” asks manager Terry Francona. “It was kind of the other way around.” One reason for his late-season success, Lindor says, was bunting — he had nine sacrifices in August. By bunting (which Francona wasn’t necessarily thrilled with, but which he did allow), Lindor learned to track the ball better, setting himself up for success in future plate appearances.
• Pirates ace Gerrit Cole is one of several pre-arbitration players who were reportedly unhappy with the salary his team offered him for the 2016 season, Nathaniel Rakich of VICE Sports notes. (Cole will receive $541K from the Bucs after posting a 2.60 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 2015.) But going public with their displeasure in an effort to affect the next Collective Bargaining Agreement might not be the best course of action, Rakich argues. The MLB minimum salary is a pittance compared to what many players get, but it’s still a lot of money by the standards of most MLB fans. And the 1994-95 strike, in which players and owners negotiated through what Rakich calls “grandstanding,” demonstrates the perils of trying to change labor conditions by arguing through the media.

[koz-man]

Jose Abreu reunites with 5-year-old son

When the White Sox 1B defected from Cuba three years ago to play major league baseball, one of the people he had to leave behind was his then 2-year-old son.