Before the 2022 season began, many seemed to think the Cardinals would not be very good. Instead.they went 93-79 and won the NL Central division title. They got bounced out of the playoffs in the wild card round by the Phillies, who went on the win the NL pennant. This year is the first time…… Continue reading Postmortem: St Louis Cardinals

His new deal is for 9 years and $360M; since he turns 31 in April, it will keep him in pinstripes until he is 40 and thus likely the rest of his career. It has been reported the Giants also offered him $360M and that the Padres offered $400M. Bear that in mind when reading/hearing…… Continue reading Judge Re-Ups with Yankees

The Orioles went 83-79. They missed the playoffs, but it was their first winning season since 2016. The season saw the debut of Adley Rutschman, and he did not disappoint. He accumulated 5.2 WAR and had a 128 OPS+. He garnered some MVP votes and finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.…… Continue reading Postmortem: Baltimore Orioles

The Red Sox went 78-84 and finished in last in the AL East. There’s no way to color that as anything other than disappointing for the BoSox and their fans. It should not, however, have been a surprise. In 2021 their pitching staff far outplayed expectations. This year regression was almost guaranteed. In the end…… Continue reading Postmortem: Boston Red Sox

Shortstop Trea Turner has agreed to join the Phillies for 11 years and $300M. In a year with four top notch shortstops hitting free agency (and all in the 28-30 age range with Turner turning 30 this coming June), many considered him the best. He has led his league in hits twice, stolen bases twice,…… Continue reading Phillies Sign Trea Turner

The Mets have replaced Jacob deGrom in their rotation with the reigning AL Cy Young winner, Justin Verlander. The deal is for two years, $86M with a vesting option for a third year. The $43M average annual value matches that of former Tigers/new Mets teammate Max Scherzer. Verlander missed nearly all of 2020 and 2021…… Continue reading Justin Verlander Signs with Mets

It was the first time since 2019 that the Blue Jays had their home opener…at home. Ultimately they went 92-70 in their first full season in Toronto in three years. Like the Phillies, they fired their manager mid season and made they playoffs. Unlike the Phillies, they did not have a losing record at the…… Continue reading Postmortem: Toronto Blue Jays

The “eras” committee that reviews players whose greatest contributions are from 1988 on met today. The 16 person committee considered eight players’ candidacies and picked on to be inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2023: Fred McGriff. The former Devil Ray also played for the Blue Jays, Braves, Padres, Cubs, and Dodger over…… Continue reading Crime Dog Selected for the Hall of Fame

The Rays went 86-76. They squeaked into the playoffs as the sixth and last seed, and finished third in the AL East. They did this despite leading the major leagues in injuries, especially to Wander Franco and several pitchers. In the playoffs, they got swept out of the wild card round by the Cleveland Guardians,…… Continue reading Postmortem: Tampa Bay Rays

This week was the deadline to submit redevelopment plans to the St Petersburg mayor’s office for the 86 acre patch of real estate where Tropicana Field. Four groups submitted bids…including the Rays ownership group. Their proposal includes a new stadium, housing with 5700 multi-family units, 1.4 million square feet of office, 300,000 square feet of…… Continue reading Rays Submit Stadium Plan

The Braves went 101-61. After a subpar April and May, they caught fire, winning at least 18 games each month from June through September, ultimately overtaking a not-fading Mets to win the NL East division. Michael Harris II won the Rookie of the Year Award, beating out teammate pitcher Spencer Strider. They let Freddie Freeman…… Continue reading Postmortem: Atlanta Braves

Jacob deGrom signing with the Rangers made me decide this should be the next one I post. The Mets’ 2022 season in some ways could be summed up as “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Good: They won 101 games, one of 3 NL teams to reach 100 wins. For much of the season,…… Continue reading Postmortem: New York Mets

Most pundits seemed pretty sure the Texas Rangers would sign a big name pitcher this offseason…and they did! Of course, they all thought it would be Clayton Kershaw, not Jacob deGrom. deGrom has signed for five years, $185M. There is a $37M sixth year option too. deGrom also gets a full no-trade clause. The attraction…… Continue reading Jacob deGrom Signs with Rangers

Gaylord Perry died at his home in Gaffney, SC today at age 84 after what has been called a brief illness. His big league career stretched from 1962 to 1983. He won 314 games for eight teams, had a career ERA of 3.11, and struck out 3534 batters. He received two Cy Young awards, and…… Continue reading HoF Pitcher Gaylord Perry Died

111 wins. 22 games better than the second place Padres. That shouldn’t end in meekly bowing out in the NLDS to that second place team. Yet that is what happened. In fact, in the two years since their 2020 World Series championship, they’ve won 217 regular season games…and gone 7-9 in the playoffs. A couple…… Continue reading Postmortem: LA Dodgers