2016 MLB thread. THE CUBS HAVE BROKEN THE CURSE! Chicago Cubs are your 2016 World Series champions

Status
Not open for further replies.
I don't know how I feel about the Royals, I can't call this series, just hope it's good and of course I hope my Giants win.
 
400

Dude really is from the country here in NC. Her personality must be great
 
“@miklasz: Matheny, when asked about not using T. Rosenthal in 9th: "We can't bring him in, in a tie-game situation. We're on the road.””

when will this stop happening?
 
Last edited:
Thats why I love the Jays manager John Gibbons, he has secretly used his second best reliever as the "closer" and the best reliver as the "fireman".

He will never get credit for this because the blue jays always suck.:lol:
 
Last edited:
What's next for the St. Louis Cardinals?

Of all the postseason teams, the St. Louis Cardinals have the least amount of work to do this offseason. GM John Mozeliak has built this team for the long haul, and the only significant free agent he has to be concerned about is All-Star reliever Pat Neshek.

The Cardinals’ needs are a short list that include a right-handed-hitting backup first/third baseman with power who could start against certain left-handed starters and upgrading the bullpen with one significant arm. They also might try to deal one of their young elite arms for a top-of-rotation starter such as Cole Hamels.

Here is a breakdown of what's next for the Cardinals in each position area:

Starting pitchers

The Cardinals' starting rotation should remain mostly intact. Staff ace Adam Wainwright will continue to anchor this steady rotation, and while the Cardinals will make sure his elbow is OK this offseason, there is little doubt he'll once again be a Cy Young Award candidate next year. Lance Lynn developed into a solid No. 2 starter this season, won 15 games for the third consecutive season and had an impressive 2.22 ERA in the second half. The Cardinals will pick up the $500,000 option on John Lackey's contract, a real bargain. That will help give them financial flexibility to spend elsewhere. Shelby Miller was 2-0 with a 1.48 ERA in five September starts thanks in part to him implementing a new two-seam fastball. He'll continue to develop his secondary pitches and improve as he does.

The Cardinals will continue to monitor the health of Michael Wacha, who will someday be in the front of their rotation if he can remain healthy. Marco Gonzales will be their "sixth starter" and an important bullpen piece when he's not starting. Also, don't be surprised if the Cardinals try to trade for the Phillies’ Hamels, even if it costs them either Miller or Carlos Martinez. Hamels would be the one move that could get them back to the World Series next fall.

Bullpen

The Cardinals have to hope that Trevor Rosenthal's full year as closer will help him stay strong longer next year. That said, they will try to lessen his workload to improve his command and control and get him to stay in the strike zone more often. They will try to re-sign Neshek as their eighth-inning reliever, but it will be costly. Randy Choate will return as their lefty specialist, Seth Maness and his sinker will take over Neshek's spot if he departs, while the Cardinals hope that Martinez can tighten up his mechanics and improve his command. They may listen to offers on Kevin Siegrist, given their concern of his ability to hold runners on, and might make a run at free-agent left-handed reliever Andrew Miller.

Catchers

Yadier Molina will return as the best overall defensive catcher in the league, while Tony Cruz is a solid defensive backup. It is unlikely the Cardinals bring A.J. Pierzynski back.

Infield

The Cardinals' infield is expected to return intact, with Matt Adams at first, Kolten Wong at second, Jhonny Peralta at shortstop and Matt Carpenter at third. Wong has shown this October that he's an All-Star-caliber player, Peralta's defensive consistency and power proved the Cards right in their free-agent signing of him last winter, and Carpenter continues to be one of the league’s best leadoff hitters. Adams was exposed this postseason with his below-average throwing ability, which was costly in Game 4 of the NLCS, and he continued to have difficulty beating opposing teams' exaggerated defensive shifts. However, he still is a .300 hitter against right-handed pitchers, with clutch home run power. The Cardinals do need a right-handed, power-hitting corner infielder that could spell Adams against certain left-handed pitching. Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma should return as backups.

Outfield

Matt Holliday will be back in left field, helping to lead this clubhouse again next year after showing no signs of decline this year. The Cardinals are expected once again to let Jon Jay, Randal Grichuk, Oscar Taveras and Peter Bourjos compete for the other two outfield positions. They probably will try Grichuk in center field to give them the possibility of platooning him with Jay if Taveras proves ready to take over right field full time. Don't be surprised if Taveras is hitting third for the Cardinals come October 2015.

Key free agents

Pat Neshek: He will be the free-agent priority for Cards GM Mozeliak. Neshek was one of the best eighth-inning relief pitchers in baseball this year (7-2 record, 1.87 ERA, 0.78 WHIP). His deceptive low arm angle brings variation, which is important in successful bullpens. There are a number of teams that will have serious interest in him, including the Tigers, Dodgers, Braves and Nationals.

Justin Masterson: The Indians offered Masterson a two-year deal worth approximately $30 million \in March, which Masterson rejected. That's likely a decision he regrets now after finishing the year with a 7-9 record, 5.88 ERA and 1.63 WHIP. As a result, he was left off the Cardinals’ postseason roster, and the team is not expected to bring him back.

A.J. Pierzynski: Pierzynski did a solid job after signing with the Cardinals following Molina's thumb injury midseason. However, with Molina expected to be back at full strength next year, and given the confidence the Cardinals have in Cruz as a backup, Pierzynski's days with the Cardinals are over.

Jason Motte: He was the Cardinals' nomination for the Branch Rickey Award this season and does as much charity work as anyone in the Cardinals' organization. He has overcome injuries, and it's likely the Cardinals make him an offer to come to spring training and compete for a job.

Mark Ellis: With Wong quickly developing into the star that the Cardinals expected when they drafted him in the first round, and with Descalso's ability to play multiple positions, it's evident Ellis will not be back.

Scouting and player development

The Cardinals' upper management should give significant raises to their scouts and development personnel who have done the best job in the business over the past 5-7 years. The Cardinals are a home-grown organization, and this would be maybe their most important move this offseason.

Michael Morse: Journey to a Tie Game.

Before the National League Division Series, Giants outfielder Michael Morse met with manager Bruce Bochy and the team’s brass to talk about his spot on the team. He felt good. His oblique was finally healthy. He’d been taking full swings in batting practice. He was ready to go.

There was one problem. “I didn’t have enough at-bats,” Morse said after the Giants won Game Five of the National League Championship Series and emerged as NL champions Thursday night. “For me, I wouldn’t feel comfortable at the plate.”

And so Morse headed south to the instructional leagues. And the prospects down there gave him the business, as good as they could. “They were throwing in the 90s. Curveballs, sliders, everything,” Morse said. “Yeah, they busted me inside, too.”

And so, even if they weren’t major league at-bats, a week’s worth of practice was enough to get back on the roster. But with Travis Ishikawa playing well enough for Bochy, Morse was relegated to the bench.

Morse didn’t hold it against his teammate. In fact, after Game Five, he was emotional when asked about Ishikawa filling in and starting in left field. “I wouldn’t want anybody else to fill in,” he said. “This guy, he’s been incredible since the day he got here. His attitude, he’s really helped us out. And man, he’s just a great, great guy in the clubhouse. His story just keeps getting better and better.”

But starting is different than coming off the bench. As third base coach Tim Flannery said after the game: “It’s the hardest job in baseball, especially when you haven’t got a lot of at-bats.” Whatever Morse was supposed to do, it was going to be significantly worse as a pinch-hitter.

Steamer projects him to have a .321 wOBA going forward, and with the penalty, that would drop to .307. That’s what light-hitting Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar put up this year, as a comparison. Considering the right-handed slugger was facing Pat Neshek, a righty with a funky arm slot that would be tougher on righties, you would have projected him for even lower production in that one at-bat. Given their projected strikeout rates (22.6% and 24.8% for the pitcher and hitter, respectively), Morse should have struck out about 27% of the time.

Morse knew much of this. “If there’s one guy in that bullpen I didn’t want to face, this whole series, it was him,” he said after the game. “Righty-righty matchup, very tough with his sinker and slider.”

And so Morse went into his routine as a pinch-hitter, trying to prepare himself as best as he could for the moment. “You’ve got to micromanage,” Morse said of the runup to his at-bat. “See how the game is going on… see how many pitches Bum had and where in the lineup he was coming.” Once he figured that it would be Neshek, he went down into the batting cage.

In the cage, he asked for sinkers and sliders. He warmed himself up. “I had our BP guys throwing a little sidearm, kind of like what he does, to simulate,” Morse said of Neshek’s delivery. And he steeled himself, because it was a big moment. “For Bochy to, in that moment, trust me to go out there and take our ace out of the game, I told myself, `You can’t waste this at-bat. This has got to be a good one.’”

The first sinker was way in. “I just tried to get something over the plate,” Morse said. “I knew his sinker was going to run in, so I was just trying to see it over the plate.” The second was too low for his liking. Now down 2-0, Neshek needed to come over the plate.

700


Even with the third pitch where it was, Morse said he wasn’t thinking homer: “He threw a slider, and I just tried to touch it.” And touch it, he did, tying the game with a home run that went 369.9 feet, along the left field line where AT&T park is 364 feet deep.



“This guy has not had but a few at-bats in the last month, and for him to do what he did, it doesn’t get any more clutch than that,” said manager Bruce Bochy after the game. “When he came in high-fiving everyone, I thought he was going to break some hands. He plays with a lot of emotion and he saved us.”

It might have been a little hard to take the slugger seriously about his intentions to just touch the ball, given his penchant for silliness and the situation in which the post-game interview was being given.

700


But why take it too seriously? The man had just come off the bench against a funky delivery, in a righty-on-righty matchup, against one of the best relievers in the game. And Morse succeeded. Improbably.

Now it’s the time to enjoy. “I’m going to go back on video and keep watching this one over and over,” he said with a beer-drenched smile.
 
Prediction time ya'll. Since I won't underestimate KC, I got my Giants in 7. I think KC will put up a battle.
 
Bochy works magic man. Never seen a dude's personnel moves work out so well

Cody Ross in 2010
Ryan Theriot in 2012 clincher
Morse and Ishikawa 2014

etc
etc
 
Not really sure what to expect this series.

KC just feels like the team of destiny, but the Giants always come to play when they get there.

I hope it goes 7. Don't care who wins.

Although if the Royals go up 1-0 I'll root for the sweep because I think it'd be crazy if a team went undefeated in the playoffs.
 
agree with that last part FF. The story is already great but can you imagine if they get another sweep wow or worse if its like the 07 rockies and the royals get swept instead (doubt it happens but would also be crazy) 

Forgot to say Giants in 6
 
Last edited:
I hope that dude picks KC.

Giants in 6. I'll break the series down later

KC. Be my guest, feel free to attempt to seal.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom