Noah’s Notes on MMB, vol. 2: Race to the Playoffs

Miami, Boston, Leave East in Dust

The leaders of the NL and AL East divisions both appear to be huge favorites to meet up in this year’s Fall Classic. the Miami Marlins are lead by brand-name stars such as Giancarlo Stanton, Chase Headley, and Jose Fernandez, but has had breakout performances from pitchers such as Lance Lynn, Henderson Alverez, and nearly every pitcher in the bullpen, due in part to backing from the club’s top-notch defense. SP James Tallion was recently called up from AAA, and should provide a boost to the Marlin’s pitching, as if they needed one.

Boston’s team is stacked from top to bottom–mostly with an influx of young talent. The addition of 1B Prince Fielder was a big one, and despite some weak spots in the rotation, this team could slug themselves all the way through October. Both team currently sit at 72-43, leading their respective leagues in runs scored and either first or second in runs allowed.

Disappointing Season for Division Champs

Last year, the Washington Nationals acquired SP David Price at the trade deadline, pushing the team past Philadelphia and into the playoffs, where’d they’d go on to lift the championship trophy. However, the front office decided to send ace Stephen Strasburg to Seattle for a boatload of prospects, such as Mike Zunino and Taijuan Walker. Although all of the players they received have cracked the MLB roster and appear to be future stars, the trade hasn’t worked out well for either team. Washington finds itself in the cellar of an extremely though NL East Division, and Seattle is sitting eight games under .500.

The Awards

My pick for the NL MVP is my very own, 3B Zack Cox. Cox is arguable the league’s best power hitter, and the only other guy in that discussion is Chicago 1B Anthony Rizzo, who is tied with Cox at 35 home runs for most in the league. Miami third sacker Chase Headley has done a better job of getting on base, but what sets Cox apart from the field is his ability to get on base AND hit for power. He leads the NL in home runs, slugging percentage, OPS, hits, extra base hits, isolated slugging, and total bases, while coming in second in RBIs, wOBA, and wins above replacement (WAR), third in batting average, and fifth in on-base percentage.The only issue with Cox is that his team may not make the playoffs. If the Phillies can grab a wildcard spot, he may just be a lock for MVP.

The NL Cy Young is a very tough award to predict. Miami’s Henderson Alverez and Washington’s Jake Peavey posses top-notch ERA’s, but extremely low BABIP numbers for both suggest that this was likely due to a large element of luck, something that their large FIP>ERA gaps can back up. Another pitcher who could hear his name mentioned is the Giant’s Tim Lincecum. His 3.02 fielding independent pitching (FIP) leads the senior circuit, despite a high ERA due to SF’s god-awful defense. He also is one of the top strikeout pitchers in the league. Mike Fiers of Milwaukee is a decent candidate, leading the NL in WHIP and K/BB, but he too has had the benefit of a low BABIP and plays on a team nowhere near contention. In my opinion, the NL CY Young race, at it’s current state, is too close to call.

Moving on to the American League, the Cy Young is another tough choice. Stephen Strasburg seemed to be running away with the award (and possible even the MVP trophy as well) when was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury last month. I think that the award will end up in the hands of Dylan “Easter” Bundy, second in FIP to Stras, fourth in K/9 and K/BB and also playing for a very good team, although it may go to just about anyone else.

There isn’t really much competition for the MVP of the junior circuit, on the other hand. Who else would it be other than young phenom (not Tyler Pastornicky) Mike Trout. Los Angeles has a special player on their hands, as Trout leads the AL in batting average, WAR, and hits, is third in OPS, has stolen 27 bases for 4th best in the league, and also comes in third in wOBA and slugging percentage, all while being one of the league’s elite defenders in center field. Jose Bautista of Toronto is a pure hitter, possibly even better at the plate than Trout, but he has really subtracted from his team with poor defense in right field. At least he’ll get the Silver Slugger!

Finally….My Predictions!

NL East: Miami    NL Central: Chicago   NL West: LA Dodgers    NL Wildcard: San Diego (1), Philadelphia (2) (Yes, I had to).

AL East: Boston    AL Central: Detroit    AL West: LA Angels    AL Wildcard: Tampa Bay (1), Chicago (2)

WC Round: PHI 1, SD 0     TB 1, CHI 0

Divisional Round: MIA 3, PHI 0     LAD 3, CHI 2    BOS 3, TB 2      DET 3, LA 0

LCS Round: MIA 4, LAD 0     DET 4, BOS 3

World Series: MIA 4, DET 2

So yes, I’m picking Miami!

…And that’s all for this edition of Noah’s Notes on MMB, sponsored by MMB Nation. We’ll see you next time, hope you enjoyed the second and long-delayed volume! 🙂 Go Phils!

Sy Young Tracker; Vol.1

The Sy Young tracker will be a monthly article highlighting pitchers that are in the conversation for winning the Cy young award. Although I’ll try to provide a perspective for when the votes are going to be cast (hopefully w’ll have voting on awards this year), there is no claim of objectivity here. Different people interpret stats and performances their own way, and this is what I see to be the field of Cy Young candidates so far:

National League

1. Phil Hughes (7-0 , 2.04 ERA) – Atlanta Braves  : National league has been dominated by Atlanta pitchers and Hughes leads the cause. He has the most wins in the league and no losses. In fact, of the 10 games he has taken the mound, Atlanta has only lost one, in which he threw 4.2 shut out innings. the thing that will most likely send him lower in the list is that he’s averaging only 5.7 innings per start, courtesy of low stamina.

2. Kris Medlen (2.66 ERA, 0.7 BB/9IP) – Atlanta Braves : At this rate, Medlen is projected to have a 7.1 WAR, which equals his 2013 Cy Young winning season. His strikeout rate is the same as last season. What’s changed is that on average he’s allowed half as many home runs and one third as many walks, which puts him at a whopping 11.80 K/BB, twice better than anyone else in the national league.

3. Tony Cingrani (2.50 ERA, 72 Ks, 3-5) – Cincinnati Reds :  It’s hard to find any pitcher enjoying less run support than Cingrani (1.18 per game).  To realize how little the Reds’ offense has helped him, We have to look at his 3 wins, where he’s had to shut out opponents over 7,8,8 innings respectively. In other words, Tony Cingrani has 0.00 ERA over 22 Innings in the games he has won.

4. Jon Niese (1.93 ERA,  6-1) – New York Mets : Although some of his success may be attributed to playing in a pitcher’s park and having the Mets’ great defense behind him, Niese has still done enough to attract the attention of Cy Young voters. his BABIP is .201, down from .307 the previous season. Although it’s hard to imagine it staying that way.

5. Craig Kimbrel (0.36 ERA, 0 blown saves) – Atlanta Braves : It’s never easy comparing relievers to starters, but Kimbrel forces his way onto this list by giving up only 1 run in 22 appearances (he still got the save in that game). If he keeps it up, I can easily see him climbing up the ranking.

honourable mentions: Henderson Alvarez (MIA), Johnny Cueto (CIN) , Chad Billingsley (CHC)

American League

1. Stephen Strasburg (1.67 ERA, 102 Ks, 1.26 BB/9IP) – Seattle Mariners : Coming into the season, his most formidable opponent to win the award looked to be teammate Felix Hernandez, and with the king being a lowly shadow of himself, Strasburg is cruising to add the AL Cy Young award to his resume. He leads the league in ERA (1.67), Innings Pitched (86.0), Ks (102), WAR (3.8), FIP (2.03), WHIP (0.86) and K/BB (8.50). The WAR and FIP stats are especially telling. this year’s Strasburg would have been the best AL pitcher in any ballpark.

2. Yu Darvish (2.53 ERA, 5-1) – Texas Rangers : One of the hardest things to do in baseball is pitching in Rangers ballpark. Yet over the course of 6 home starts Darvish has put together a 2.54 ERA. All of his 11 appearances have been quality starts, an honor he shares with no one in the majors. Rangers are leading a weak western division and Darvish is the main reason why.

3. Zack McAllister (2.39 ERA, 7-2) – Cleveland Indians : McAllister has more than doubled his ERA+ from last year. and the key to his Cy young numbers are consistency. From his 11 starts, He has earned more than 2 runs only once, a 5-2 loss to rejuvenated Royals. He doesn’t give up home runs and makes good use of his varied arsenal of pitches. If the tribe want to be in the playoff picture, they need him to keep it up.

4. Kevin Gausman (2.94 ERA, 8-1) – Baltimore Orioles : Gausman’s been one the most pleasant surprises in the league this year, and at only 24 years, he’s showing a potential that could make him one of the most sought after pitchers in the game. 7.3 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and 0.5 HR/9 make him a plus pitcher across the field, while not being necessarily superb in any category, at least not yet.

Honourable Mentions: R.A Dickey (TOR), Brett Anderson (OAK), Drew Smyly (DET)

this concludes this edition of Sy Young Tracker. Please make your opinion heard in the comments.

Noah’s Notes On MMB: Sox Unwrap Presents Early

Chicago a Contender?

The Chicago White Sox are relevant again. GM Jess signed both John Lester and Russel Martin, making experts around the MMB thinking the Sox may be the team to beat in the AL Central. Martin adds some pop to the lineup at a valuable position. Lester is solid #2/#3, but is not worth nearly as much as he got paid. The White Sox pitching staff is merely average. The offense is pretty good, but not amazing. I say the Sox maybe can settle into a wildcard berth at best, but they’ll have to completely ditch the rebuild that was going so well and trade some prospects for top-notch players.

Pirates Make Flurry of Head-Scratching Moves

Pirates GM Josh was looking to make waves this off-season, but he may of over-done the trading. To kick things off, Pittsburgh sent Jose Tabata, a nice young OF, to Philly, in exchange for SP Jesse Biddle and MR Philippe Amount. Amount has little control over his pitches, so is he really the guy you want on the bump with the game on the line? That move was supposed to help the weak pitching staff and unload yet another one of the team’s outfielders, but then the Pirates contradicted themselves by giving up their best SP, James Tallion, in exchange of OF Marcell Ozuna from Miami. This is a team that has a million starting-quality OF and one of the worst staffs in the league, so this trade only took steps in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, many of the top bullpen pitchers were waived, puzzling GMs across the league. The front Office will now need to add pitching, but if they do, considering the great offense, the Pirates could be a contender for a wildcard spot.

St. Louis Tears Down Playoff Contender

I normally like the moves made by Card’s GM Charles, but his recent moves have been a bit confusing to me. Despite a down year last season, Saint Louis still has a very good team that can win any division crown across the MMB. But Charles decided to rebuild the team, trading seasoned vets for young prospects who may or may not contribute this season. First they sent Adam Wainwright to the pitcher’s hell that is Coor’s Field, getting undeveloped prospect David Dahl in return among other average assets. Then they sent Yadier Molina, Matt Holiday, and the just acquired David Dahl to Los Angles for the speedy OF Peter Bourjos and some specs not nearly as good as Dahl. While these moves do clear money for the Cards, it takes them from a serious contender to an below average team at best. There must be some real big moves in place, or else Saint Louis’ once-bright future may be gone.

Other Notes:

-We are hearing two rumors out of Philly: first that the team is close to signing Jose Abreu, and second that Cole Hamel’s long run with the Phillies could be over.

-The Nats signed CL Sergio Romo to a 4 year/$9,000,000 deal. Cheap for a very good pitcher. Nice move by the world champs.

-Like the Pirates, the Reds have a GM entering his first off-season is looking to make trades early and often. But Bryan has done a pretty nice job, he’s added some depth to the farm system for old, worn down parts, such as 3B Kevin Youkilis.

-Rumor Central: Mike Carp could be traded by Boston; the white version of Sox looking to move Quintina.

-Jeff Keppinger is reportedly complaining to management, upset they are looking for a new 3B.

-Today’s division picks: AL Central. 1. Detroit 2. Chicago 3. KC 4. Minnesota 5. Cleveland.

2014 MMB Rule V Draft Recap

Thanks to everyone who showed up, and made the night exciting! For those who couldn’t show up, thank you for sending in your lists ahead of time. In the end, it was 31 players taken over 4 rounds. Full draft picks can be found here: http://maxretrobaseball.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=111

Many storylines unfolded, so here’s recapping what went down in those 3.5 hours:

Twins (+3, -1): A man on a mission of taking over the worst team in the league last season, GM Jay didn’t miss the chance to help out his fortunes next year – grabbing 3 useful pieces at the top of the draft. 1st over all pick Michael Blanke has a good shot of making the roster as the back-up catcher to Joe Mauer.

 

Pirates (+1, -1): GM Josh took a solid lefty reliever in Michael Belfiore from the O’s, but in hindsight, his decision to not protect Daniel Rosenbaum (who was taken later by the same O’s) could prove to be costly, and a tough price to pay for Belfiore.

Brewers (+2, -1): New GM Gary took little time to turn heads on Monday, opting to flip his 1st round pick Daniel Mateo in a trade after the draft. The Brew Crew’s 2nd round pick in Ben Rowen could prove to be a useful arm in a dilapidated bullpen.

 

Mets (+0, -1): GM Ryan sat out the Rule V, and is committing to stay in house with his roster options heading into the winter. Losing lefty RP Zach Britton however, will hurt a bit.

 

Astros (+0, -2): The Astros has an incredible amount of talent stockpiled in their system, and despite their efforts to make room on their 40 man roster in the days leading up to the draft, GM Charles still faced a tough roster crunch that prevented his team from picking up any ammunition on draft night.

Yankees (+2, -0): With a bullpen ERA of 4.62 that ranked 14th last season, new Yankees GM Dave did a solid job in addressing that last night – picking up two major league ready arms in Brian Omogrosso and Deunte Heath.

 

Royals (+2, -2): The Royals lost two very young bats in Daniel Mateo and Cheslor Cuthbert last night, but GM Luke can take solace in the fact that because they both have not played above AA, it will be a tough task for the teams who picked them to roster them for the entire year. 2nd round pick lefty RP Craig Breslow from the Rockies can be a serviceable LOOGY out of the pen.

 

White Sox (+0, -4): The White Sox lost the most players last night, 4. But the greatest comfort for 2nd year GM Jess is in what the club protected last minute and didn’t lose out on. Some of those names: Aaron Altherr, Ethan Martin, Miguel A. Gonzalez, were by far, the most heavily scouted players in the league leading up to this draft. But ensuring that this very talented trio of players stay Sox property will in turn help the team is many more ways than any player they could have picked up on the draft. Essentially, the Sox did pick up players last night: 3 of them.

Rangers (+0, -1): All of Texas was nowhere to be seen in last night’s draft.

 

 

Orioles (+2, -2): Daniel Rosenbaum was a great stealth pick for a club starving for pitching, and seems primed to contribute right away.

 

Indians (+0, -1): Max reports changes are coming for his Indians, but those changes will need to come from trades or FA signings, as the Tribe chose to sit out this one.

 

Cardinals (+0, -0): One of the few teams who came away from the draft just as they had entered it, Charles’s Cardinals chose to spend a quiet night after making some serious noise throughout the league in trades the past 3 weeks. Sure they could have used an extra player or two to try out in Spring Training, but protecting Heath Hembree (after a trade from the Angels) was ultimately more paramount.

 

Diamondbacks (+0, -2): Losing two promising arms in Chase Anderson and David Holmberg will be very tough pills to swallow, if they manage to survive the whole season with their new teams.

 

 

Cubs (+3, -1): New GM Brett may have been a tad optimistic in picking 3 young guys without much talent in the upper minors, but you still have to applaud the effort in bringing in talent to a club that is just on the cusp of contending. No harm no foul, it definitely can’t hurt.

 

 

Dodgers (+0, -2): Dodgers GM Shane Kalepp was MIA last night, rumored to be away on a last minute scouting trip.

 

 

Giants (+2, -1): GM Trey has shown in the past that he can find cost-effective ways to improve his ballclub, and his 2 picks last night are no different. Despite a 7 weeks injury, Zach Britton may turn into a new diamond in the rough for the Giants – following in the footsteps of the likes of Mark Buehrle, Shawn Marcum, and Justin Wilson.

 

Rockies (+2, -2): There is always room for pitching in Colorado, and Rockies will give plenty of chances to their 2 picks David Holmberg and Billy Bullock.

 

 

Phillies (+0, -1): GM Noah was rumored to be aching to find a backup catcher and a 5th OF in last night’s draft, but an inability to clear up his roster crunch proved to be fatal to the Phillies. Already with albatross contracts that are bloating up the team’s payroll, Noah will surely be kicking himself for missing out on a tremendous opportunity to pick up talent at negligible costs.

 

Rays (+2, -1): The Rays did a great job in scouting Cesar Hernandez, as the 24 year old SS was virtually ignored on most GMs’ lists. Upon closer inspection, Hernandez fits the mold of most players who are taken from Rule V drafts – a major league ready utility man who teams can comfortably give the 25th roster spot to. GM Ryan will surely use every chance to see if Hernandez can stick.

 

Athletics (+4, -0): New GM Rocky didn’t hesitate in stockpiling talent last night, as the A’s were the only team that went through 4 rounds of drafting. All of that without even losing a single player of their own. Rule V draftees rarely find the chance to stick with their new teams for all of a season – so it still remains to be seen what Rocky’s plans are for these new faces.

 

Marlins (+2, -0): The ONLY team in the NL East to participate in this year’s Rule 5 draft, the Marlins not only put a good showing last night, but also made out with a decent pair of players as well. Already have traded away OF Kyle Jensen earlier in the day (in lieu of having to protect him [although one may wonder as to why protecting Jensen and keeping Jensen have to be mutually exclusive events]), the Marlins further bolstered their OF stash with picks of Jamie Johnson and Juan C. Perez. Both players show GM Sy’s emphasis on defense, and has enough of a floor to be enticing to potential suitors down the line.

Red Sox (+0, -0): Always one to tinker with his Sox, GM Ben smartly chose to sit this one out – as it was probably the better decision to protect the greater assets on his 40 man rather than to sacrifice anyone of them for one night of fun. Sometimes, it’s also good to party poop.

 

Blue Jays (+0, -0): With the bevy of major league ready pitching talent taken last night, the Blue Jays may have missed on a great opportunity to continue building upon their pitching.

 

Mariners (+1, -0): Mariners GM Jason creatively turned 1 pick into 2 last night, with a late night trade with the Brewers. Both Ariel Pena and Daniel Mateo may need some more coaxing with major league competition, but present vacancies on the Mariners’ 25 man roster (made possible by earlier consolidation of talent through trading) may just allow this pair to players to learn and grow at the Major League level.

 

Nationals (+0, -0): Nationals GM Gabe was unavailable for comment, possibly due to still celebrating his team’s championship.

 

Padres (+0, -0): The Padres certainly had room on their 40 man to pick up a couple of projects last night, but GM Tim had other ideas – like making hard tacos for the whole league to enjoy.

 

Braves (+0, -2): Matt and his Braves were very particular in who they were after last night, but being so low in the order pretty much ensured that they would get last dibs on their favorite choices.

 

Tigers (+0, -3): In Wes Darvill, GM Steve made an effort in addressing a long known issue at 2B for his Tigers. However, losing 3 players in 3 rounds is everyone GM’s nightmare, especially during tough financial times.

 

Reds (+1, -0): GM Bryan changed his mind last minute, and jumped into the fray with a pick from Houston for RHP Brian Moran. The Reds are primed to jump out of the gate contending, but it’s never a bad idea to take on a project at hardly any cost.

 

Angels (+0, -0): The team with the best record last season chose to sit out the Rule V, and was lucky enough to leave it unscathed.

2014: A Season Recap, Part 2

With the off-season well underway, It’s time to document our last impressions of the season we had and close the book on it. Here’s the second half of my two part personal take on how the season played out. you can read part 1 here.

AL Surprise Team: Toronto Blue Jays

To be more accurate, Toronto Blue Jays’ offense. After a 75 win season in 2013, Blue Jays came into 2014 with a whole new philosophy: Screw Defense, Let’s hit home runs. During the regular season they scored 855 runs, 60 more than any other team in AL, and hit 234 home runs to lead the league. But they weren’t done. Blue Jays averaged 5.3 runs per game in their Pennant winning play-off run. To get a clear perspective of just how good the Toronto offense was, we have to look at Edwin Jackson’s record. The starter posted an ERA of 5.24, a disappointing mark by any standard, and still had a 10-6 winning record.

With all things said and done, Blue Jays were thankful the regular season ended when it did. They struggled through September as Boston was getting closer by the day, finally beating the red sox by just 1 game.

NL Surprise Team: San Diego Padres

They led the race almost wire to wire, but prior to the season I doubt many people gave the Padres much chance of winning the star studded NL West. It wasn’t done by splashy moves or magic tricks, just making small improvements and tweaks, and this attention to detail paid off for Tim in the regular season. A look at Padres’ transaction log shows how closely the minor leagues are monitored, in fact the team’s first trade in 2014, the one that brought in star OF Jason Hayward, didn’t happen until late June. The Padres however were just able to achieve one play-off win before falling to Braves 3-1.

 Greatest Avoided Disaster: Overtrading

Not hard to imagine that in a one-day sim league, where there’s a lot of in-between time, people can get bored and tend to fight that boredom by moving pieces around just for the fun of it. This I believe can be a plague on a league’s house. Soon teams become unrecognizable and realism is out the door. I feel like I have no choice but to point at MLB-PRO as an example of this happening.

It didn’t happen here. Part of it is many GMs throughout the course of the season weren’t active at all, let alone overactive. But the good part, was that the GMs who were active, felt better off enjoying the subtleties of a realistic league than trading their superstars just because of the rush. I distinctly remember hearing Shane once saying that He feels a personal connection to his players which makes it not easy for him to trade them on the first impulse.  That’s the kind of philosophy most GMs handled business in the league, granted with a couple of exceptions here and there. Moves were conducted with great consideration and solely for the purpose of changing one’s team for the better. Whether we can continue the trend in this young season remains to be seen.

Best Mid-Season Addition: Ben

A number of active and dedicated GMs joined the league mid-way through the season. No team gained more from the change in the front office than the Boston Red Sox. While a non-factor for most of the season, a number of smart trades close to the deadline shifted the momentum in their favor completely. Acquisition of Max Scherzer, Craig Stammen, Josh Johnson and Matt Carpenter, all for pretty good prices, changed the direction of a team that was already written off, at least by me. BoSox went on a tear in September, winning 21 out of 27, not only  tying the A’s for the second wild card spot, but seriously challenging Toronto for the AL East title, eventually falling short just 1 game. It’s not hard to imagine that if the season of baseball was 164 games instead of 162, We’d have seen the Sox play a 5-game series this season.

Most Talked About Trade: Chris Sale Goes to St. Louis

The Jason Hayward trade might’ve had more influence on the baseball side of the league. It was after all a deal between two teams that made the playoffs, involving a player that ended the season with a .400+ OBP, but the trade of the year honors go to White Sox-Cardinals trade, because of its franchise defining nature. Jess, the white Sox GM, was showered with offers after he announced his intentions to trade Sale. The left hander was the biggest name to be made available in the off-season and people immediately started coming up with packages that could lure Jess.  It may have been possible to interpret Jess’s decision to trade his ace as just a  new GM demonstrating inexperience. But as the season went on the vision behind the trade became much clearer. To be a contender in the near future, he needed more than just one great pitcher. So he decided to trade sale for a group of young promising talent. It’s turned out well so far, Kolten Wong won the AL rookie of the year award and Wacha and Rosenthal are very likely to show improvement in the upcoming season. On the other side of the deal Sale continues to pitch great, being part of Cardinals’ league leading rotation, and now that Wainwright  is gone probably headlining it for years to come.

Best friend: CBL

While not technically part of this league, the creation of CBL was another big event in the past season. Commissioned by Tim, CBL’s inaugural cast of GMs were all part of the MMB. The 16 team continues to thrive, and now has an identity of its own. A look at their website shows the high level activity.  While not a member of the league for some time now, I still thoroughly enjoy reading the in-depth blog articles from time to time. Only downside? It’s reduced Tim’s presence in our league.

Best Sight on the Horizon: 2015

MMB is starting this season in much better shape than it did the last. There are already a good number of established GMs in place and the trials and errors of 2014 have turned the league into a better experience. For me the new season resolution is to enjoy the whole league as an alternate reality and find the drama in it, not just in my own team, but entire league. That’s what I’ve tried to practice by writing this article. The current state of the league leaves you nothing but optimistic about 2015. Of course there are many areas that can see further improvements and we can all do more to make this an enjoyable experience for each other, let’s hope that we will.

 

International Free Agents Invade The MMB

A total of up to 8 International Free Agents are rumored to have been granted Free Agency status and will soon be eligible to be signed by MMB teams.

The 2014-2015 offseason promises to be an exciting one, as rumors swirling around the league report that an “unprecedented” amount of International Free Agents have managed to find residency in the US, and will soon be eligible to be signed by any MMB team once Free Agency starts.

One NL Executive puts it:

I don’t think I’ve ever saw this many IFAs enter the market at around roughly the same time of year. It’s also very odd how they all seemed to have arrived here just right before Free Agency starts. Considering how thin the market is and how little there is for teams to work with this winter, I think this could be a very exciting next few weeks.

Thin market is right. While some GMs disregards the general lack of talent to this year’s FA class, it is still very much apparent that there a very few marquee names headlining the 2014-2015 group of Free Agents. Most striking is the considerable gap between what some consider to be the top tier talent and the tiers below it. Chase Headley leads the FAs hitters with 7.2 WAR, but you would have to drop all the way down to 4.1 WAR to find the next best hitter in Jimmy Rollins. On the pitching side, Jon Lester is already garnering attention from seemingly every team. But some team’s unwillingness to engage in all out bidding war against the whole league might force them to settle for cheaper talent at the lower levels.

And so how these IFAs will be valued will be very telling of how some GMs plan to navigate this year’s FA’s class. Without any considerable exposure, these talents are still more or less unknown quantities. To invest long term in any one of them will be a considerable leap of faith. But this might just be the year to do just that.

So at a glance, here’s what’s known about these fresh faces:

– Jose Abreu (1B): Widely considered to be one of the best power hitter out of Cuba, Abreu will command strong figures from teams seeking to add an immediate middle of the order bat.

Some scouts see Rusney Castillo possessing 5 tool talent that are hard to find in today’s game.

– Rusney Castillo (OF): Castillo is as close to a 5 tool player that this group of guys can offer. While still very raw, the dynamic nature to his game could very well challenge Abreu for the highest contract out of this bunch.

-Alexander Guerrero (2B/SS): Guerrero is a sure-handed 2B, with solid gap to gap skills that could provide stability to most clubs looking for a dependable 2B.

In time, Arruebarruena could become one of the best defender in the league at his position, given he can find his way into the line up.

– Erisbel Arruebarruena (SS): The youngest player in the group (as well as one with the longest surname), Arruebarruena possesses true gold glove – caliber defensive chops as a 24 year old. Some scouts still question whether he can hit enough to warrant playing every day, but with his youth, the possibilities for growth will likely attract many teams looking for a young prospect.

– Dariel Alvarez (OF): Alvarez is another RH bat from this group, with decent abilities at squaring up the ball against southpaws. Scouts see a good chance at him finding work as part of an OF platoon setup.

– Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez (RHP): Gonzalez possesses a solid 4 pitch offering, and can instantly throw himself in the mix for the handful of middle tiered pitchers who have demands in the 5-7M range.

– Odrisamer Despaigne (RHP): A crafty RHP, Despaigne lives off a lively sinking fastball, with enough refinement to keep hitters guessing and balls in the park. He could be the back of the rotation inning-eater that most clubs are craving for..

– Suk-Min Yoon (RHP): Yoon could need some work in the upper minors to start the season, but some scouts feel he’s enough of a worthwhile investment to cheaply stash in the minors for rotation depth.

——————————–

Masahahiro Tanaka went to the Astros on a massive $114M/6 years deal last winter. Will this year’s group of International Free Agents be able to cash in at the right time? Or will the MMB GM’s have other plans?

2014: A Season Recap, Part 1

What follows is my personal account on how Max Modern Baseball’s 2014 season played out, which will be presented to you in 2 parts. where possible I’ve tried to stay objective, but this is not in anyway trying to be an end of the season award article. It’s long and may lack any hints of journalistic flair, but is written to be an acknowledgement of the presence of culture and history in our young league. If you think there were any particular moments or emotions during the season, please feel free to comment. 

Best Hitter: Tyler Colvin (Colorado Rockies)

Who else? Colvin won the national league triple crown and did it with style. He led the league in at bats (648), Hits (212), Total bases (407), batting average (327), RBIs (133), Home Runs (45) and many more categories. His only regret?  Not being able to crack 1.000 OPS. He finished the season with 0.999.

Best Pitcher: Stephen Strasburg (Washington Nationals)

With only 3 SPs in the whole league having a less than 3 ERA, which is a bit odd, Stephen Strasburg stands out from the pack. He led both leagues in ERA, Ks, opponent average, WHIP, and innings pitched. And oh yeah, He was the ace for the eventual champions.

Most Controversial Moment:  Liriano Trade

Let’s quickly recap what happened. It’s end of June in game time. Francisco Liriano has easily been the best national league pitcher with a 2.31 ERA in 100+ innings, and Pirates and Cubs have just gotten new GMs. In their first order of business the two GMs agree to a trade that sends Liriano along with Russell Martin (one of the best defensive catchers in the game) to the Cubs in exchange for three arguably average players. Perhaps more surprisingly, this all happens with Liriano not spending one minute on the trading block, which would have most likely led to better offers.

Although It wasn’t the first time overeager new GMs rushed into deals they’d eventually come to regret, the trade sent waves around the league. A number of people were asking for the deal to be called off, hostilities were building up in chat and Phillies’ Noah was trying to figure out – in a not so subtle way – whether the new Cubs and Pirates GMs were in fact a singular entity. The deal initiated heated discussions over trade rules. The reactions were not uncalled for, as such trades could hurt the league’s greatest asset, Realism. But in retrospect, with the emotions flying high, the aftermath of the Liriano trade could have gone better.

Greatest New Features: Radio Show, Live sim, twitter feed

All of these improvements were so significant that I couldn’t pick just one. While different in nature, they all work towards the same goal, to defy the notion that this is an isolated experience. All three of these features encourage us to not just care about our teams, but enjoy the whole show. The Radio program, a brainchild of Shane and Richie, has been both fun to listen to and participate in, Whether it was an interview with Jess, or Richie and Charles breaking down a trade. It became better with every episode. It’s hard to imagine the league without live sim now, there was no greater joy than to see both sides of a game present during a live sim, and the twitter feed works in great sink with trade rumors and league’s progression. All these features can and will see improvements for the next season, but even with their flaws, these were huge steps into making MMB a top notch league.

Most Underappreciated event: Dillon Gee’s perfect game

In case you weren’t aware, it happened on August 12^th in a home game against Washington. What makes it more amazing ( as if a perfect game needs such a thing), is that Gee had thrown 7 shutout innings against Washington just 5 days earlier, in a game the Mets went on to lose 4-1. But this time, Gee stayed in to finish the job. He threw out 27 consecutive batters with 9Ks, 11 GBs and 7 FBs for MMB’s first ever no-hitter. Tony Cingrani and Matt Moore each threw a no-hitter of their own later in the season, but Gee’s would remain the only perfect game.

Greatest Loss: Nigel

Those who were part of the league when Nigel was here know that no one was more passionate about the game than the retired Englishman. He was our agent in Europe, and his unique managerial style had us all predicting great things for his Mets. Nigel was one of the most active GMs, if not The most active. He regularly published blog posts and was often the first to read other GMs’ entries.  Now I know this is starting to sound like a eulogy, but this is where credit is due. His Mets started the season with a lot of optimism and led the challenging NL East for a month or so before experiencing what would be the most colossal collapse of any team in the MMB season. That and some disappointments with the state of the league caused Nigel to start fading away, and after a couple of months quit the league.

Proudest Moment: MMB becomes the go to OOTP online league

It was never a particular goal of this league to compete with other online leagues or surpass MLB-PRO as the most active one. But at some point in the middle of the season, it was hard not to notice that MMB was home to more GM presence, more blog posts and more lively and friendly discussions than any other OOTP league on the face of the earth.  It just happened. Between August 15^th and September 15^th there are 22 entries on MMB blogs. We’ve cooled down since then but nevertheless it speaks to the league’s potential to be a dynamic community.

Most Depressing Fact: Oscar Taveras leading all hitters in Wins above replacement

Do you really need an explanation?

Best Division : NL East

Good argument can be made that I’m biased here, but it’s hard to ignore NL East’s impressive accomplishments. The Division sent 3 teams to the playoffs, 2 to the NLCS, and eventually won the World Series. 4 teams had winning records and all 5 teams had winning records against other divisions (Mets went 44-42 against non-division opponents). Aside from being strong, the  NL East race was the most entertaining in MMB. Going into last week of the regular season 4 teams had a decent chance of taking the division. At the end the Braves, who had spent most of the year stuck at number 4, came from behind to win the division title.

Most influential figure: Max Boyer

When I joined, the webpage looked nothing like this, it changed, and it changed, and then it changed a little more. All for the better. It’s no secret that the success of the league is in no small part a result of Max’s constant stream of tweaks and ideas. More importantly, he has established a culture of dialog in the league. Even after transferring most Comish duties to Ryan and Richie, He remains to be an essential part of his league, Max Modern Baseball.

To be continued …

MMB Playoff Predictions: AL Edition

Here is how MMB Nation’s  Noah Oppenheimer thinks the rest of the season will play out:

AL EAST:

Yankees and Blue Jays both have very good squads, but the question is do the Yanks have the depth to overcome their multitude of injuries? With 3/5 of the rotation sidelined, the offense would really need to step up, but the seems improbable with some of their top hitters on the DL. Blue Jays take division by 6 games.

AL Central:

Tigers easily have the  best team and are trending upward. Chicago’s streak of luck runs dry, and Detroit wins by 11 games.

AL West:

LA can’t get as much offense as they have had, suffering from a dinged-up Albert Pujols, and they don’t have enough pitching to really battle through it. Seattle and Oakland duke it out in pitching battle, but as injuries start to hit both teams, the A’s use their great depth to pull away. Oakland wins by 4 games.

Wildcard:

Seattle and Oakland both run past Los Angeles, but the Angles still can get into the playoffs by taking out New York. Yankees better than Angels, but LA uses their current lead to win closely. 1st WC: Seattle by 4.5 games. 2nd WC: Los Angeles by 1 game.

Wildcard Round:

LAA over SEA.

Divisional Round:

OAK over LAA   TOR over DET

League Championship:

OAK over TOR

NL Preview–coming soon.

MMB Nation Exclusive: Email Interview with Royals GM Luke Cuthrell

Noah Oppenheimer of MMB Nation conducted an email interview with KC Royals GM Luke Cuthrell, discussing a variety of topics, including a surprise trade by the Royals, plans for the future of the franchise, and thoughts on the future and progression of the MMB League.

Hey Luke, thanks for joining us on MMB Nation. When did you get into OOTP and how long have you been a MMB GM for?

I first played iOOTP10 on my phone and then purchased OOTP11 for my laptop the following year. I enjoyed the offline play for a few years until I got curious about online leagues earlier this year. I visited the OOTP forums a couple times a week looking for a league that I thought would fit what I was looking for, which was a modern-day, fully involved, realistic league. I first joined a league run by Stephen who is our Boston Red Sox GM here in MMB. It was a good experience but the 7-day sims made it hard to really feel involved with my team, and I felt that it was not the best fit for me. I actually joined MMB sometime in March during the league’s offseason as the Washington Nationals. I switched to the Kansas City Royals shortly after that position became available. It’s been great to see how far the league has come since that time.

As you mentioned, the active of the league has skyrocketed since last season. How do you fell about the progression of the league? What changes need to be made going forward?

I think Max has us trending in the right direction. A 1-day sim requires dedicated GM’s and an even more dedicated commissioner to keep everyone focused and interested. We have a great group of GM’s who take a lot of that burden on themselves to keep up interest, such as MMB Nation and the weekly talk-show. I think we are heading in the right direction as far as setting a precedent as to what is required to be a GM in this league. As with any start-up business, league, or group there will be growing pains and some trial-and-error while trying to determine what is best for the whole. The group of GM’s that was here last year was enough to get the league started and now changes are being made to ensure the league will continue to grow, instead of plateauing and tailing off. We have a lot to look forward to with this league, short-term and long-term. The upcoming trade deadline with 20+ active GM’s will be insane. I imagine everyone gathering to watch the live broadcasts of the playoff games will be extremely entertaining, and then all the wheeling’s and dealing’s of the off-season with many more engaged GM’s will make this one of the best leagues out there as far as being an interactive and experience.

I’m glad to hear that you’re excited about the future. Now let’s move on to discussion your team, the Kansas City Royals. You just recently made a move which shocked the MMB, acquiring Paul Goldschmidt from the D-Backs. What was you’re thought process in doing so?

When Mike(D-backs GM) first placed Goldschmidt on the block, I began to discuss with him different scenarios that would result in us making a deal. This wasn’t a typical want vs need deal nor was it a sign that I wanted to be a buyer, it simply was an MVP caliber player on the block that I thought would significantly improve our team. Billy Butler is a guy who has talent but has really struggled this year, and is owed $8 mil this season with a $12 mil team option for next year. Goldschmidt has a great team-friendly contract that will allow more flexibility to improve other areas of the ball club. Obviously 2013 was a huge season for Paul, I don’t expect that from him every year, that’s probably his ceiling, but his floor is much higher than most of the players on the roster. As far as the prospects I gave up, I know there has been some rumblings that too much was given up, but there will be no clear “winner” of the trade for quite a while, if there ever is. My scouts differed quite a bit from OSA scouts about Starling and Ventura. I had even changed Starling’s position to LF due to Desmond Henry’s remarkable development at the plate and in CF. Ventura, according to my scout, graded out to a fringe starter, someone I may have ended up placing at closer in the future. So while every trade is critiqued and analyzed, this deal solidified my team with 3 well above average bats to compete in a division that has seen 3 aces dealt away in a matter of months (Sale, Scherzer, Peavy). I can go on but this probably sums it up best, it is said in a draft sometimes you need to just take the best player available, instead of trying to “hit home runs” (pun intended) drafting for need. I believe I took probably the best position player to be available all season, and dipped into my surplus of young OF’s and SP’s to do so.

 

 

 

As you said you play in one of the worst divisions in MMB. However the Tigers, after what has been a disappointing start, are about to get superstar Miguel Cabrera back off the DL. How much of a threat are the Tigers with Miggy on their roster?

The Tigers are the class of the AL Central, and getting a player of Cabrera’s caliber will only help them and their chances of defending the World Series title. Steve and the Tigers have the pitching staff to compete with teams like Toronto, LA and Seattle. If you look at where they are really struggling, it’s at scoring runs and HR’s. Adding Miggy to that lineup will produce more runs and add the protection guys like Prince Field and V-Mart have lacked this season. Even without Miggy, the Tigers will still win the Central, barring a tremendous run by 1 of the other teams. Steve is in an enviable position, I know he just wrote an article about Cabrera possibly returning sooner rather than later, but he has no reason to rush him back. Chicago is playing well as of late but I don’t see them sustaining that success through the stretch run. Once Steve finds a couple solid, OBP guys to solidify his middle infield and gets Miggy back he will have a fun team to watch, and if his pitching staff stays healthy he should have a good shot to repeat.

So you’re counting out a chance of your team winning the division?

Obviously it’s still early, but the week of the Trade Deadline is usually when teams will realistically decide how the rest of the season will go. With us being 7 1/2 games back at the end of June, it’s going to take quite a run to get us back into contention. I’m not saying we will sell off the team if we aren’t in the wild card hunt by July 31st, but the focus will shift to getting younger players more experience and preparing for next year. We have a few pieces that could be on the move in the next month, Billy Butler was mentioned earlier and we have a few veteran arms that could be of use to contending teams.

So you are saying that you plan to sell off pieces after trading multiple prospects for Goldschmidt? What message does that send to the team?

Well like I explained earlier, the Goldschmidt deal was not a sign that I was a buyer and that we’re going all-in this season. I traded a couple “overrated” prospects where I had positional depth to upgrade my team for now and the future. I think it’s clear if you look at some of the expiring contracts I have that if I wasn’t a clear cut contender it would be detrimental to the team to not shop around some of the players.

That’s a good explanation. Now, let’s turn out focus to next off-season. What’s you’re plan for you’re second winter in KC?

It’s still a little early to have a complete plan in place, a lot of it will hinge on what happens throughout the rest of this season. But the pitching staff is one area that I would like to improve, whether it be through trade or free agency.

I totally understand what you’re saying. Let’s move away from your team now. Some trades have already started to go down in the MMB.Outside of the trade you made, which team do you think has came away a winner in their dealings so far?

I’m going to keep it in division with this one. I think Chicago has done a great job in acquiring depth and talent at multiple positions through the Chris Sale and Jake Peavy trades. With those young pieces and the money available to pick up a couple big names in free agency, Jess has set himself up nicely for the next couple years.

Do you see any other big names moving before the deadline? If so, who?

James Shields, I hope. We’d like to get him moved. I think David Price will easily be the biggest name out there. The AL East is getting tougher and I think Tampa will put him out there. The way Carlos Gonzalez is playing I think Richie may shop him around. I think most of the biggest names may have already been moved but like the Goldschmidt deal there could always be a big deal that quietly sneaks up.

Okay…good insight there. Finally, do you have any bold predictions for the rest of the year?

I’ll go out on a little bit of a limb here and predict Detroit will once again represent the American League in the World Series.

Well, that wraps up our interview. Thanks for joining us on MMB Nation, it was a pleasure talking with you.

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Special Note From The Author:

I just want to say, it is simple to describe these interviews: lots of fun. I’m pretty sure that Luke had a good time too. If you enjoy these interviews, please go ahead and contact me about doing one yourself!

What Should the Next MMB Nation Article Be?

What should the next MMB Nation Article Be?

1. Another Email Interview

2. Two GMs With Contrasting Opinions Debate a Topic

3. Another Roundtable

4. Something Else (post in comments)

Thanks for voting. Also please email me if you’re still interested in participating.