The LA Dodgers were in last place on July 1st, and Don Mattingly's job was in serious trouble. The Dodgers were a huge disappointment, especially since they had been one of the deepest-pocketed teams in the offseason, and had a great lineup. They had been having injuries, and the worst luck seemed to be happening to the team. Since July 2nd, the Dodgers have gone 25-7 and are now in first place in the NL West. Now, is the hottest team in the NL the favorite to win the league?
Although the Dodgers are the worst of the three division leaders, they have arguably the best squad of them all. They have the best batting average of the three leaders, and are second in ERA. Isn't it surprising that all three division leaders have the top three team ERAs in the NL? I don't believe so. But you need offense, as well. The Dodgers have both, and seem to be the hottest team in the NL. The Braves and Pirates have their flaws as well. The Braves rely too much on the home run, which could be a problem especially if you have one bad game. The Pirates are almost the opposite, as their pitching staff carries them, while their hitting has not been able to keep up. In 2011, the Phillies had a similar team, and they got eliminated in the NLDS. I'm not saying that the Pirates aren't good enough, I'm just saying that being a balanced team better than being hitting heavy, or pitching heavy. I think the Dodgers are the most balanced team in the National League. They have a pitching staff that includes Clayton Kershaw, Zach Grenkie, Hyun-jin Ryu, and Ricky Nolasco are all very good pitchers and don't disappoint when they are on the hill. Offensively, LA has stars like Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier. And, I didn't even mention their up and coming star, Yasiel Puig. This team is built like a championship team, and I think they will be able to reach their expectations. The National League has plenty of tough teams, don't get me wrong, but I believe the Dodgers are the hottest, and could play the most consistent post-season baseball when October comes. So yes, I think the Dodgers are the National League Pennant favorites.
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Yesterday, thirteen players were suspended for being linked to Performance Enhancing Drugs. From Barry Bonds to Melky Cabrera, baseball has had problems with PEDs in the past. We went through an era of baseball, now called "The Steroid Era", where nearly every good player took some type of PED. Once baseball enhanced their drug testing, players could've given up on the steroids. They could've realized either they weren't good enough, or that they would've had to try harder to become the type of player they wanted to be.
Everything Meyer says is completely true. Antonio Bastardo, the Phillies relief pitcher who was suspended yesterday, did beat Meyer out for the job in the bullpen. Meyer was released by the club, and bounced around in the Majors thereafter. But his second tweet really stated something for us to ponder. Some players missed out on their chances to be in the MLB, due to someone who was on PEDs. That is really sad when one player truly put in the effort to play well, and the other is, in a sense, genetically enhancing their bodies to play better. As Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish pointed out, thirteen of the nineteen players linked to Biogenesis were either with the agency ACES or had previously been with ACES. Just before Nelson Cruz was suspended, he fired the agency as his agency. This has been the only connection between most of the players. If it happened to be that ACES was reaching out to the players with PEDs, this scandal will be more then just a PED scandal. I'm not sure how I'd feel on the scandal if that was to be true. But, all in all, steroids are wrong. They don't deserve to be comsumed, and tarnish baseball. The MLB needs to strenghten their grip on testing, and players need to see what is happening to these players. A-Rod is a great example. At age 18, he was supposed to be the rebirth of baseball. Now, at age 38, he's hated by nearly everyone who follows baseball. Other players shouldn't model him, he should be the model NOT to use. Players should see how his reputation was broken, and how it may never be repaired. They need to learn from the cheater's mistakes. Jose Fernandez has been stunning to watch this year for the Marlins, posting an 8-5 record with a 2.54 ERA. Playing on a Marlins team that is the worst in the NL and having a winning record is quite impressive. Especially after you state that Fernandez is the only Marlins pitcher with a winning record. And get this, he's only 20 years old. Being a rookie pitcher in the MLB is tough enough, but being as dominant as Fernandez? That's even tougher. Even for a veteran. Fernandez: 8-5, 2.54 ERA, 1.01 WHIP Miller: 11-7, 2.89 ERA, 1.12 WHIP Both pitchers are definitely very good pitchers, and you don't need stats to prove that. But, honestly I believe that Fernandez is a more commanding pitcher than Shelby Miller. Chris Davis homered again last night, bringing his home run total to 39. He is taking the league by storm, and does not seem to be letting up. Davis also has 100 RBI, and it's August 2nd! He could be one of the best players in major league baseball, not just this season, but overall. Davis' statistics are mind-boggling as well. Not only does he lead major league baseball in homers and RBI, he has many other stats that need some comprehension to realize how good he is. Every 10.1 ABs, Davis will homer. This means that if Davis gets four at bats a game, he'll homer once every three games. 8.7% of Davis' plate apperances are home runs. If you compare that stat to Barry Bonds' record-breaking season, he's only 2.3% behind Bonds, where 11% of Bonds' PAs were homers. Also, 24.1% of Davis' flyballs are home runs, meaning that nearly one of every four flys Davis hits is gone. That really shows how much power Davis has. At this pace, Davis will hit 58 homers, and drive in 149 RBI. Clearly those are some MVP caliber numbers. How much has "Crush" Davis helped the Orioles? Last season, the Orioles averaged 4.39 runs per game and 1.32 home runs per game. Now, with Davis' monster season, the O's score 4.67 runs per game, and 1.31 homers per game. Although the homers stayed about the same, the O's average .28 more runs a game. That's a huge jump, especially over the course of a 162 game season. If the O's continued to play .28 runs better this season, that translates into 45.36 more runs. If, on average, you need 5 runs to win a ball game, the Orioles would get 9 more wins this season than last season. That could really make a difference, even in a tough AL East. I know Chris Davis isn't the whole reason the Orioles are on pace to do better this season then last season, you have to admit that he's a big part of their success. Having 100 RBI on August 1st will win you an MVP, and make you one of the most respected players in the game. The 39 homers help, too, but being a run producer will help your team win ballgames. That's why I'd assume every team would want Chris Davis as their first baseman. It's August 1st, and the busiest day in the baseball rumor world is over. Teams can no longer make trades with each other, and contenders can no longer improve thier squads. But, who came out on top this Trade Deadline? And, who failed to do anything right? Winners: Chicago Cubs The Cubs were the only seller to get rid of all their stars. Matt Garza, Scott Feldman, Scott Hairston, Carlos Marmol, and Alfonso Soriano were all dealt for an immense amount of prospects. The moves replenished their farm system, and it already looks as if the Cubs could be in contention in the NL Central within the next few years. Baltimore Orioles The O's attacked their problems at the deadline by acquiring key pieces in Francisco Rodriguez and Bud Norris. What's better is that the O's only had to give up three players, two of which are low level prospects. They not only acquired names that will help them in the Wild Card race, they didn't give up their future stars while doing it. Chicago White Sox Many people's opinions may vary on this, but I think the White Sox did a great job at the deadline. Although they only traded Jake Peavy, they did a great job of dealing him by recieving four prospects that included a very promising prospect in Avisail Garcia. The other prospects do also have promising careers, but they are not anywhere near reaching the big leagues. But, Garcia has been called "Mini Miguel Cabrera," and if that is anywhere near true, the White Sox are recieving a great prospect. Losers Philadelphia Phillies The Phillies could easily be in the "winner" category, especially with all their moveable players in the big leagues. They could have thrown themselves back into contention next year and beyond by just making a few moves. The Phillies did not make a single move. They're having their old veterans play it out, rather than have some young blood in Philly. That's why they're in the "loser" category. New York Mets There's an old saying, "Buy low, sell high." Marlon Byrd has been having a great season, and drew plenty of trade interest. He may not be able to keep up his numbers in future years, and would get a decent prospect in return for his power. I think the Mets should've traded Byrd, and given his position to a prospect. Chicago White Sox The White Sox did make a good move in trading Peavy. But, just like the Phillies, I think they should've gotten rid of other players such as Alex Rios. They had an opportunity to gain a large sum of prospects, but failed to do so. They didn't do a good job overall at the Deadline. |