cHawk

Bad year for Baldelli, no doubt. But I don’t really think it’s fair to say the past two years were the aberration while 2021 is how competent Baldelli really is, for more reasons than you might think. His pitching staff management was going to look bad no matter what with what was dealt to him, that’s on Falvey and Levine. Also, losing Mike Bell seems to have had a big part in his failures this season. Most competent managers have a decent bench coach. He definitely looked bad at some points but he wasn’t even close (IMO) to the main reason his team failed this year. IMO, Colome and Simmons should get more blame than he does. Both make more $$$ than Baldelli does and they combine a nearly impossible -4.29 WPA. Rocco is on the hot seat for next year. As for this year, I give him and “Incomplete” grade.

I want the Rays to win. I just have a feeling it’ll be the Yankees. Hope I’m wrong.

October baseball is upon us. 10 teams battling for a World Series trophy. Only one will win it all. I will make predictions for each round. I will pick a winner from each matchup, and a # of game(s) (or score for the Wild Cards) that series is going to go. Today, I’m only going to do the Wild Card and Division Series. After you read, please share your opinion down below. How wrong or right am I? WARNING: Take my predictions with a grain of salt. Let’s get started. Wild Card: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers The road to the World Series begins in LA, where the defending champs host the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are not long off from a 17 game win streak. They also swept the NL Central winning Brewers in that stretch. However, they were stifled up a bit to end the year. The Dodgers are the defending champions, have a world class pitching staff, and have a deep-af lineup. Comparing the two teams? Talk about a no contest matchup. The Dodgers are by far and out a more complete team than the Cardinals. Expect a shutdown performance from the Dodgers’ world-class pitching staff. Prediction: STL - 0, LAD - 4 Wild Card: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox The most heated and long-lasting rivalry in all of baseball will meet in the AL Wild Card Game at Fenway Park. For the SP matchup, you will see Gerrit Cole for the Yankees and (most likely) Chris Sale for the Red Sox (on short rest, as he also only threw 62 pitches on Sunday). That’s a wash matchup. What’s not a wash matchup is the bullpens. The Yankees’ bullpen was a little shaky at the ASB, but it has looked good down the stretch. The Red Sox bullpen has looked rather vulnerable. This will end up costing the Red Sox the game. Prediction: NYY 5 - BOS 3 Division Series: Atlanta Braves vs. Milwaukee Brewers (I’m doing these in no particular order) The first Division Series has the NL East-winning Atlanta Braves taking on the NL Central-winning Milwaukee Brewers. Comparing stats, this series looks like Atlanta’s offense and Milwaukee’s pitching and defense. Atlanta’s Batting Stats: Runs Scored: 8th Home Runs: 3rd BA: 11th OPS: 9th Milwaukee’s Pitching Stats: ERA: 3rd WHIP: T-3rd HR Against: T-4th (fewest) That will be what it comes down to. And I think the Brewers will come out on top, simply because they’ll have too much pitching. Keep in mind that the Braves won a pretty bad division. Also, the Braves will be missing Ronald Acuña Jr. for this series. That’s a pretty big hit. I think the Brewers pull this one out pretty comfortably. Prediction: Brewers win in 4 games Division Series: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays Coming off a big win against a familiar foe in the Wild Card game, the Yankees will head to Tropicana Field for a best-of-5 with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays biggest strength is obviously their bullpen. They have the highest RP WAR in MLB, but the Yankees aren’t that far behind. When it comes to offense, the Yankees have the edge. They’re better at most positions than the Rays (Baseball Savant Rankings). The Rays might have a higher Offensive WAR, but the Yankees did deal with key injuries early in the year. The Yankees also have an advantage at SP WAR. The Yankees rank 6th whereas the Rays only rank 15th. These two teams have battled it out during the Regular Season, and it’s been a pretty even matchup. I’ll take the Yankees for their SP and Offense. Prediction: Yankees win in 5 games Division Series: Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros I’m not going to be biased and quickly say “Astros in 3” because I hate the White Sox. From all the Division Series matchups, this one looks like the best by far. Both teams are ranked Top 10 in ERA, WHIP, and Fewest HR Allowed. Both teams also are ranked in the Top 10 (Offensively) in each RS, HR, BA, and OPS (except the Sox are 19th in HR). Also remember that the White Sox were missing Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez for a large portion of the year. Both will play in this series. The rosters for this series are a toss up. However, the Astros: - Will play 3 of 5 games at home - Are (much) more experienced - Have made the Championship Series in 4 consecutive years They’re bound to make it again, right? Prediction: Astros win in 5 games Division Series: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants One of the most intense rivalries in baseball. Dodgers and Giants. These two teams have the Top 2 records in baseball, have been the Top 2 in BR/theAthletic Power Rankings (yeah those are meaningless). Both teams are Top 3 in Team ERA, WHIP, and HR against. Both teams are also Top 10 in RS, HR, BA, and OPS. The stats make this look like a toss up. BUT… The Dodgers have a better roster than the Giants. They hold the advantage at most positions. The Dodgers are also the defending champions, and are more experienced. The Giants, in comparison to the Dodgers, appear to be smoke and mirrors. I will eat crow if I’m wrong. Prediction: Dodgers win in 4 games So those are my predictions for the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. I will do Championship and World Series predictions when those rounds come around.

Ober looks like a legitimately talented pitcher, unlike the three you mentioned.

Ober is looking quite a bit better than expected. I’m pleasantly surprised.

I think, at this point, we’d all much rather see Ryan or Duran in the rotation than Dobnak.

*Ideal Offseason signing: Sergio Romo - 1 year, $3MM* Who would’ve thought that he was the best option last offseason? Lmfao.

Why Refsnyder? He seems like solid depth. I agree with the other three tho.

For a second I thought that this was Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy.

Schoop would be nice to have, but he didn't really have a position in the starting lineup if they were viewing Arraez as a starter. If I was Schoop and I could pick between starting everyday for DET or being a backup for MIN, I'd take DET in a heartbeat. Cron would not be helping this team at all. He was awful in DET last year, and is posting a 110 OPS+ (For Coors that's average at best) this year. The Twins were never going to sign him and for, at the time, good reasons. Plus, once again, he wouldn't have a spot in the starting lineup on this team. Wade and Baddoo I can't argue with. Rosario? That's who we're making the argument for? There's a reason all 30 GMs in the MLB agreed that he wasn't worth his $10M price tag that the Twins would've had to pay by rule. He's (had) a decent bat, but he was bad defensively and ATROCIOUS on the bases. I think he has a Low Baseball IQ. And Corner Outfield was by far the place where the farm was most loaded, they weren't going to block Kirilloff with him. Littell I agree with. Romo is a washed up 38-yard junkballer who belongs on a team like Arizona. Gibson was hurt and horrid at the end of 2019 for the Twins. At the time I was in favor of letting him go. Trevor May would've been nice to bring back. Also, they probably should've chosen Hill over Happ. Ryne Harper, fine. Escobar was on an expiring deal and needed to be traded in 2018. Is the argument that they should've resigned him in 2019? Clippard hit the 60-Day IL before the season. The FO pretty clearly knew something we didn't.

Yes, I agree. $25M is his market value. Still, he made it clear he wouldn’t sign here for that price.

It doesn’t matter what the “overpay” threshold is. If it’s by definition, “not an overpay” why would Berrios consider it an overpay? Why would he stay because of something that is by definition “not an overpay?”

Your argument could also support bringing Eddie Rosario back, claiming “that is the price for your young LF” for $10M. Which would’ve been a pretty unwise move. If you’re looking for a base for Berrios, look at someone like Lance McCullers. He’s paid $17M/year. That’s about how much someone like Berrios should make. Not $30M/year.

The Top 10 Highest Paid SPs Right Now: 1. Gerrit Cole, $36M 2. Stephen Strasburg, $35M 3. Zack Greinke, $34.4M 4. Trevor Bauer, $34M 5. Justin Verlander, $33M 6. David Price, $31M (yikes!!) 7. Clayton Kershaw, $31M 8. Max Scherzer, $30M 9. Chris Sale, $29M 10. Jacob deGrom, $27.5M Those are the only guys who come close to making $30M/year. None of them are “young,” and Berrios isn’t as good as any of them. (Okay, maybe Price but as I implied, that contract is awful) You also talk about him as being “consistent” when he’s completely the opposite.

Surprised they got something for Happ. That’s a W.

Super Bowl 42 Score

Happ can go join Shoemaker, bring up someone from AAA.

I think he should stay around in 2022. He seems to have found himself.

This hurts. Not gonna lie

Not sure if Rogers should be nominated. As I’ve been watching him, he hasn’t looked like the AL’s best reliever. I think it should go to Liam Hendricks.

Do Balazovic and Duran not have #1/#2 potential?

Don't remind me about that game this past year against the Colts...

Concur. I'll say, "Not surprising."