The New York Mets will be agreeing upon a three-year contract extension with general manager Sandy Alderson, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. The team will also be retaining manager Terry Collins in 2015, as ESPN New York's Adam Rubin reports. Alderson's extension will kick in next season and go through 2017. In an otherwise expected turn of events, the Mets have decided to keep two vital members of their management as they continue their rebuilding process next season. Alderson and Collins were never candidates to be fired, as reports said earlier, but now they finally have some real security heading into the offseason. The Mets will announce both these decisions following the season. The Mets are looking to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2006 and post a winning record for the first time since 2008. They could still do the latter this year, however, but they would have to win their final six games in a row. We have seen massive improvement in this team, and while record does not quite show it yet, they could make a real step forward in 2015. Alderson and Collins were both hired following the 2010 season and have made relentless efforts to bring this team back to the postseason. Next year could be the year, though, as Matt Harvey returns from Tommy John surgery, and prospects Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero become closer to Major League ready. Plus, Jacob deGrom, likely to be the National League Rookie of the Year this year, will get his first full season of action in New York. The Mets could be pretty darn in 2015, likely the make-or-break year for both Alderson and Collins. --Devan F.
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The Atlanta Braves announced earlier today that they have dismissed general manager Frank Wren from the organization. John Hart, a senior advisor for the organization, will step in as interim general manager. He will also be a part of a three man team, including team president John Schuerholz and former manager Bobby Cox, that will find Atlanta's next general manager. Wren has been on the hot seat as of late, especially during the Braves current 20 game stretch, in which they have just won five games. I wrote just yesterday in support of Wren, noting that he could not have predicted the injuries of two vital pitching pieces in Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, and did all he could to make the team as good as possible. I blamed the fact that the Braves look sluggish as the reason for their struggles and raised the question of whether Fredi Gonzalez, their manager, should take blame. Obviously, the Braves do not see eye-to-eye with me. Wren took over the team in October 2007, and during his tenure, the Braves have just had one losing season, although they will likely have another this year. From 2009 to 2013, Atlanta averaged 91.2 wins, making the playoffs in three of those five seasons. Regardless, the team looks to be headed to their second losing season under Wren, and after being eliminated from the postseason yesterday, they ultimately decided to part ways. Wren was known for making good deals as general manager, and developed much of the talent that is in Atlanta today. Andrelton Simmons, Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Julio Teheran, and Craig Kimbrel were all developed under the discretion of Wren and successfully turned into major league stars. However, signing key free agents to add to his core of young players is an issue for Wren. He made bad deals for B.J. Upton (.207/.282/.327) and Dan Uggla (.149/.229/.213), signing them to a five-year, $75.25 million and a five-year, $62 million deal, respectively. Those were swings and misses for Wren and may have cost him his job. The Braves can only hope that their next general manager is able to surround this young core with good, cost-effective free agents. --Devan F. The Los Angeles Angels clinched the American League West division on Wednesday with a victory over the Seattle Mariners. This is their ninth division title in team history and their first since 2009. They clinched the division with a 5-0 victory. C.J. Wilson was absolutely brilliant, pitching seven innings, allowing one hit, no runs, striking out seven, and walking three. First baseman C.J. Cron lead the offensive attack with a three run home run in the seventh. I correctly predicted the Angels to win the American League West division prior to the season. They were able to solidify their rotation this season, including another very good season from Jered Weaver. Weaver, 31, is 17-8 with a 3.50 ERA (1.203 WHIP and 4.13 FIP), pitching 200 1/3 innings. I noted that they also added to their rotation with Tyler Skaggs and Hector Santiago to improve their rotation, and while the former is currently on the 60-day disabled list, the latter has a 102 ERA+ in 119 innings. The main thing I'm really excited about is seeing Mike Trout in the postseason. Trout is likely on his way to his first American League MVP award this year. I love what he brings to the table, and yeah, his stats (.289/.378/.562) are pretty good too. Trout in the postseason makes me already want to watch every single game the Angels are involved in. You never know when he'll be back. Overall, I think the Angels have a very scary looking team heading into the 2014 postseason. Again, in order for them to have success, their pitching will have to be clutch, and it will have to be very good. It has surprised me in the regular season, so there may be doubts as to how well it'll perform under this pressure. But they could be serious World Series contenders. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Angels on clinching the American League West title. --Devan F. If you're taking a trip down I-495, informally known as the beltway, you can find the homes of both the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles. The teams play about 38 miles from one another and only have appeared in one postseason together (2012). Sure, the Nationals have only been a team since 2005, but neither team has been good at the same dime. Now, the brains in their front offices' have taken them both to the division crown. The Washington Nationals became the first team in the major leagues to clinch their respective division on Tuesday night with a 3-0 defeat of the Atlanta Braves on the road. Practically 20 minutes later, their counterpart Orioles clinched the American League East. They defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 to punch their ticket to October baseball. The Washington Nationals had a really disappointing season in 2013 after winning their division in 2012. This season, however, they ran away with the NL East. Second-year veteran Tanner Roark tossed a beautiful seven innings to seal the deal for Washington, allowing five hits, no runs, striking out four and walking none. Ian Desmond, the team's star shortstop, drove in two runs and recorded two hits to help out the offensive cause. I predicted the Nationals would in the World Series prior to the season and it still looks like it is a pretty nice selection. The Baltimore Orioles came into 2014 with people wondering how their pitching will hold up behind their offense. Their starting rotation has had some unsung heroes, including 23-year-old Kevin Gausman, who is 7-7 with a 3.57 ERA in 18 starts since being called up to the big league club. But it was free agent acquisition Ubaldo Jimenez who came up big in the clincher, pitching five strong, allowing just two earned. Steve Pearce (who is a completely different story himself) hit a three-run home run in the first inning and the Orioles never looked back. Both teams could be very scary in the postseason. We could possibly see a "battle of the beltway" World Series, with the Nationals and Orioles squaring off on baseball's biggest stage. But last night, they took the first step toward the World Series by punching their tickets to the playoffs. Congratulations to the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals on their division crowns. --Devan F. Baseball fans everywhere gasped Thursday night as they witnessed potential MVP candidate Giancarlo Stanton get drilled in the face with a pitch. The scene erupted when Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers threw an 88 mph fastball that hit Stanton, who seemed to swing in defense, right in the jaw. The umpires would later call that pitch a strike, but in the meanwhile, Stanton was lying on the ground, in pain. The call was made for a cart and Stanton was carted out of Miller Park, conscious, but with blood gushing out. The Miami Marlins announced that Stanton had suffered a facial laceration that required stitches as well as dental damage. However, no surgery would be needed. His season is now over. Outfielder Reed Johnson came in as a pinch-hitter for Stanton and was immediately hit by Fiers as well. The umpires also called that a strike, ending the inning. Both benched cleared. Casey McGehee was very fired up on the Marlins side. Fiers looked crushed and was taken out of the game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Marlins relief pitcher Anthony DeSclafani retaliated and hit Carlos Gomez in the elbow with a fastball and was ejected. However, Gomez kept his cool and nonchalantly walked down to first, understanding why DeSclafani had hit him. He remained uninjured. Former White Sox pitcher Brian Omogrosso shared his thoughts on the situation with Cover Those Bases. "Sad to see what happened to [Giancarlo] Stanton and am surprised they called it a strike. [The] pitcher's nerves got the best of him on the next pitch. Pitchers aren't perfect. Still have to be able to pitch in." Following the game, Mike Fiers tweeted his support for Stanton. "@Giancarlo818 my thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. I feel horrible and hope for a speedy recovery." Stanton himself tweeted that he is thankful for the support. "The amount of support I have received from you guys has been tremendous & Heartfelt. I'm much better today & deeply appreciate your prayers!" The MVP candidate becomes the second Marlins' star to go down to serious injury this season, after Jose Fernandez had to have Tommy John surgery earlier this year. On the season, Stanton is hitting .288/.395/.555 in 638 plate appearances with a National League leading 37 home runs and 105 runs batted in. He also leads the league in walks, with 94 free passes on the year. The 24-year-old slugger recently became the Marlins all-time home run leader and was in position to be their first MVP and home run crown winner. My support is with Stanton on a speedy recovery. --Devan F. |
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