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

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ooIRON MANoo said:
Is everyone really going to ignore Miguel Cabrera?
Mike Trout is beasting, but it's for a third place team, if they miss the playoffs he shouldn't get it. Yeah, still salty about Matt Kemp losing it to Braun for that same reason last year, therefore, I don't think Braun should get it either. :wink:
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Cabrera provides less offensive value than Trout (small difference in power #s don't make up for the massive difference in base-running), and a fraction of the defensive value (Cabrera is one of the worst corner infielders, Trout is one of the best CFs).

LOL @ punishing a player for something he has no control over. In this case, it's the performance of the rest of his team.
 
ooIRON MANoo said:
That's the way baseball has been for over 125 years, 8)
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Actually, the MVP award has been around for less than 100. And I'm not sure if serious, but I still fail to see why I should apply the moronic rationale of the BBWAA to my own. It's an individual award that should go to the most deserving player. Not most deserving player on a good team.
 
Could somebody make an AL MVP case for Robby or even Beltre over Miggy? I'm sure glove work will be the first point of detraction against Cabrera.
 
ChampCruThik said:
Okay, Pro. I see you. Shots fired.
At least we got Los and Kip to look forward to in 2013-2014.
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I seriously did not mean that as any shot towards you or Indians fans :lol:

Right now in the AL, it's Trout by a wide margin and then a mix of Beltre/Cano/Cabrera/A-Jax/Hamilton. There's no way Trout doesn't win it. Playoffs or not.
 
Cabrera Could Be Eligible In Postseason, But Giants May Not Want Him
http://baseball.realgm.com/src_wire...le_in_postseason_but_giants_may_not_want_him/





Melky Cabrera, who was suspended 50 games for violating baseball's drug policy, could be eligible for the postseason if the Giants extend their run beyond five games.

There were 45 games left in the regular season when Cabrera was suspended.

Cabrera recently reached out to the team to find out when he should report to the club's minor league complex to prepare for a potential spot on the postseason roster.

However, Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area writes that the Giants are "not commenting on Cabrera's situation, but all indications are that upper management has zero interest in the All-Star Game MVP playing another game in orange and black."

Cabrera was leading the major leagues in hits and runs scored when the league suspended him.
 
Posey is the MVP

His offensive numbers dont tell the whole story. He throws out baserunners like no other, and his defense goes unoticed because hes a catcher
 
A's and O's :smokin really want these teams to make it.

My mind is blown at what Trout has done this year, def could see him getting MVP. Here I am reading and seeing all this stuff about Bryce Harper being the next big thing but Trout is doing all this and he's pretty much the same age. You guys seeing Harper ending up being better or no? Or at least offensively considering he's still adapting to the outfield.
 
man i cant believe my phillies after this weekend, the ****** astros how do you lose to a AA and AAA team is beyond me
 
What are the O's chances of making the post season? And if they make it there you think they will be able to do any damage?
 
Who will get Josh Hamilton?

A general manager preparing for the offseason recently asked others in his organization what they thought of Josh Hamilton, and of course, the response was nothing but raves for Hamilton as a player. They talked about the damage he can do at the plate, his ability to carry a team, his ridiculous strength. Hamilton leads the majors with 42 homers and 123 RBIs, and it's within the realm of possibility that he'll finish the year with 50 homers and 140 RBIs.

But Hamilton's ability as a hitter is almost a given, so the next question the GM asked might be the more important one, and maybe even the most-asked question of the offseason:



How many years in a contract would you give Hamilton?



If Major League Baseball's contracts were structured like those in the NFL, Hamilton would draw some level of interest from almost all teams on a short-term deal. But baseball contracts are fully guaranteed, unlike NFL contracts, so if Hamilton went into serious regression or had some sort of lingering off-field issues, his next team could be on the hook for years.

The Texas Rangers clearly have their doubts about how long they want to invest in Hamilton, because they are preparing for Plan Bs: They have done background work on Justin Upton, Jacoby Ellsbury and others, knowing they may be in the market for an impact outfielder if somebody outbids them for Hamilton.

"I think they already have a very defined set of parameters on what they want to do with him," an AL official said last week. "I don't think they'll budge from those."

Does that mean they'll offer him a high salary for two years? Three? Four? Hamilton turned 31 in May, and the Rangers have the strongest sense of how much his off-field issues are a day-to-day factor. Tim Raines and Darryl Strawberry played together with the Yankees and they both were, by definition, recovering addicts. The Yankees didn't worry about Raines at all; on the other hand, Strawberry's demons lingered.


Where does Hamilton stand? For a team that will be asked to invest $20 million to $25 million annually during the course of a multiyear deal, it's a major consideration.

One executive said earlier this summer: "He's so athletic, and there isn't anything he can't do on a baseball field. But he was out of the game for a long time because of [his substance-abuse problems], and you have to ask, what kind of a toll did that take on his body?"

The potential market for Hamilton is murky. The Los Angeles Dodgers are out, having locked themselves into an outfield of Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford (and even before adding Crawford, they had no intention of bidding on Hamilton this winter). The Los Angeles Angels would seem to be a long shot, given their relative glut of OF-DH types: Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo, Vernon Wells, Kendrys Morales. Torii Hunter has expressed a desire to come back, too, and he's a productive player.

The Boston Red Sox have the money to sign Hamilton, having created the payroll flexibility with the Adrian Gonzalez/Josh Beckett/Crawford trade, but it makes no sense for Boston to veer away from pricey contracts on older players -- then immediately dive back into another long-term deal with a player beyond his 30th birthday. Boston is probably out.

The New York Yankees have money to spend, always, but their offseason focus will be on locking up Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson, within the confines of the luxury-tax cap (a prospect that could change dramatically if the Yankees don't make the playoffs.) The New York Mets are expected to be very conservative in their player movement this winter, as they wait for the Johan Santana and Jason Bay deals to expire.

The Philadelphia Phillies don't have a lot of payroll flexibility, given their long-term investments in Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. The St. Louis Cardinals' payroll already includes significant obligations to Yadier Molina and Matt Holliday, and available funds will be devoted to pitching.

There are many teams that wouldn't conceive of taking on a massive long-term contract: Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins (who have been in cutback mode after bloating their payroll last winter), Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays.

Milwaukee's focus is on starting pitching. The Houston Astros have money to spend and really could use a marquee name to draw some fans -- as we've seen in the Roger Clemens flirtations -- but to date, the Astros have signaled their intentions to build organically. The Minnesota Twins are paying Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.

That leaves the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. Atlanta has some expiring contracts, with the retirement of Chipper Jones and the impending free agency of Michael Bourn, but its budget hasn't grown beyond the $85 million to $90 million range in years; it's hard to imagine the Braves extending themselves for Hamilton, who would be another left-handed hitter in a lineup that already is heavy in lefties.

If the Nationals have one need, it's for a true center fielder, and given the team's long-term investment in corner outfielders Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper, the pursuit of Hamilton seems highly unlikely.

The Cubs are at the outset of a long-term rebuilding plan and may not be competitive for a couple of years, at least, so paying Hamilton $20 million to $25 million would make little sense other than to provide a Sammy Sosa-like presence for the daily matinees. Keep in mind, too, that team president Theo Epstein has spoken of veering off course in his last years in Boston, when the Red Sox signed players to long-term, big-money deals -- and that last winter, the Cubs never really got serious about Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder.

The Giants' future business model is to build around pitching and Buster Posey, and there will be efforts made to get Posey locked up to a long-term deal. As with the Cubs, it's possible for the Giants to find budget space for Hamilton, but the guess here is that if San Francisco has interest in Hamilton, it will be conservative.

The Orioles have made some inroads toward winning back their fans. But manager Buck Showalter places a high value on stability and predictability, so as long as he has an influential voice, signing Hamilton -- who in the last days of the regular season could reach 150 games played for the second time in his career -- wouldn't seem to be his typical choice.

The Mariners could use Hamilton's power, of course, but it's unclear whether Seattle will be in the market for a big-money free agent -- or whether Hamilton would be open to the idea, because a lot of marquee hitters have had no interest in going to Safeco Field.

The White Sox have salary flexibility forthcoming, with the contracts of Jake Peavy and A.J. Pierzynski set to expire. But while Chicago has players in the $12 million to $14 million range in Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn, there has been no indication they are ready to jump into the $20 million to $25 million neighborhood.

Detroit? "They're always the wild card, aren't they?" a GM said.

Yep. And Hamilton could play left field for the Tigers, given Austin Jackson's presence in center field. Only Mike Illitch knows if he'd be willing to give yet another slugger huge dollars, as he did with Fielder last winter.

All it took for Fielder to get a $214 million contract was the sudden and surprising interest of Detroit. All that Pujols needed to get a $248 million deal was the sudden and surprising interest of Angels owner Arte Moreno.



That's all it will take for Hamilton. But there would appear to be a very confined field of potential bidders.

How Braves learned from 2011 collapse.

ATLANTA -- There was a basketball court of sorts set up in the Braves' clubhouse on Saturday, with two shopping carts positioned as baskets on opposite sides of the room, about 20 feet apart. The object was to fire the ball into the top part of the cart -- where a toddler would sit -- and with great focus and intensity and laughter, various Atlanta players took turns attempting to successfully drop high-arcing shots into that very small space.

Dan Uggla was consistently good at this; Freddie Freeman got better when he made more athletic moves, rather than standing still as if he was shooting free throws. Craig Kimbrel had his right shoulder wrapped as part of his daily treatment and tried shooting with his left hand, which was unfortunate.

The players laughed with and at each other as this went on, and it was in the midst of that hilarity that one of them raised the subject of last September's collapse with a reporter.

"Hey, it happened," the veteran said. "There's no sense in avoiding the topic."

And they don't. It's just an acknowledged element of their shared history, in the way that an employee remembers the job interview he botched before joining his current company, or how a divorced man jokes about the alimony paid to an ex-wife. The context for the present is provided by the past.



Fredi Gonzalez will tell you flatly that he learned from what happened last September. This September, he's been much less patient with the status quo and much more willing to make changes. Uggla was benched, and the slumping and injured Brian McCann was moved down in the lineup. Ben Sheets pitched well and was in the rotation, but then he struggled and has now been shifted into the bullpen.

Because of the near-complete collapse of what had been one of the best bullpens in the majors last season, Kimbrel, Eric O'Flaherty and Jonny Venters each have about 20 fewer appearances than they did a year ago. Last year, those three pitchers had been used so often that they had almost nothing left down the stretch; this September, they are all throwing well.

Kimbrel struck out the side with 10 pitches Friday, with a ferocity that was striking to some of his teammates, and he got three strikeouts again Saturday.



"Everybody in the ballpark knows a fastball is coming," said Uggla, "and it doesn't matter."

Dating back to Aug. 28, Kimbrel has struck out 24 of the 36 batters he has faced, allowing four hits, two walks and one run. He has 104 strikeouts in 55.1 innings this season, with 23 hits and 14 walks. O'Flaherty has an 0.47 ERA in the second half and hasn't allowed an earned run since July 13. Venters struggled earlier this season, raising questions about whether he had recovered from his 2011 workload, but he's allowed runs in only two of his 20 appearances since the All-Star break.

The Braves were swept in Milwaukee earlier this week, raising questions about whether another collapse was in the making. But they beat the Washington Nationals on Friday and again on Saturday. What happened last year will always be a part of the Braves' shared history, but they are working to create something new.



Chipper Jones walked into the room Saturday, aimed a shot at the shopping cart and drilled his first and only attempt, and raised an arm in celebration, the same thing you see when he hits a walk-off. The other players reacted loudly, not all of them generously.



It's the same team, but a different time for all of them.

The Braves rallied in a big way Saturday.

A call went against the Nationals here Saturday, and what followed was a lot of ugliness, Adam Kilgore writes.

In the Nationals' clubhouse, a thick skin is required.

McCann is day-to-day with knee tendinitis.



Elsewhere


• A week ago, Clayton Kershaw arrived at the ballpark in San Francisco determined to show that he could pitch that night, that the discomfort he felt in his hip area wouldn't stop him. He played catch and jogged, but Don Mattingly decided to give Kershaw a couple of extra days, and the pitcher was furious about this. He wanted to pitch against the Giants that night.

But it turns out that his injury is much more serious than he thought. Kershaw could be out for the rest of the season after being scratched from his Saturday start. Kershaw is going to see a hip expert.

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat St. Louis anyway with a late-inning comeback to move into a tie with the Cardinals for the second wild card.

St. Louis had a chance to push its lead to two games, but Jason Motte blew a save and the Cardinals dropped into a tie with the Dodgers.

From Joe Strauss' story:



Instead of taking a two-game lead over the Dodgers, the Cardinals find themselves tied for the NL's second wild-card berth entering the final game of a 1-5 road trip. Saturday's outcome also assured the Dodgers of winning the teams' season series, meaning any playoff for the berth will require the Cardinals returning here for an October 4 play-in.


"It gets pretty simple now: We have to win. We need to come out and win tomorrow," said left fielder Matt Holliday. "They beat us tonight. It's not fun. There's not a lot else to say."


[Daniel] Descalso called it "a must win." Several players questioned umpire Doug Eddings' safe call at second base when [Dee] Gordon stole his way into scoring position after replacing Andre Ethier at first base.


"He missed the call. I know he missed it," said catcher Yadier Molina, who also thought he stopped Shane Victorino's first-inning steal attempt before Victorino scored the Dodgers' first run. "I know those guys (umpires) have a tough job to do. But those calls cost us the game. Gordon was out. The ball was there. The tag was there."


Another player who saw the replay asserted the same thing as he left the clubhouse. Regardless, the Cardinals were left reeling from a piece of inspiration turned bad.


The loss left manager Mike Matheny draped over the dugout rail for a long minute as his players cleared. The clubhouse remained closed for 15 minutes afterward with the manager still inconsolable when the doors opened.


Chris Carpenter threw a 90-pitch simulated game Saturday and is expected to return to the rotation in the week ahead.

• Ozzie Guillen believes he'll be back as the Marlins' manager in 2013, writes Joe Capozzi.

• There are questions about Jim Leyland's future with the Tigers, writes Tom Gage.

• Here's a thought: The Oakland Athletics might be the best team in baseball. They are within two games of the Texas Rangers in the AL West after beating Baltimore on Saturday, as Susan Slusser writes.



From ESPN Stats & Information, how A's starter Jarrod Parker beat the Orioles:



A. Parker tied a season high with eight outs on his changeup. While his changeup is usually reserved for lefties, he threw a season-high 21 percent to righties Saturday.
B. Orioles hitters swung at 20 of Parker's 49 pitches (41 percent) that were out of the strike zone, the second-highest percentage for Parker this year.
C. Five of the seven outs Parker recorded on pitches out of the zone came on his changeup.
D. Seventy-five percent of his second pitches went for strikes, and despite starting 14 hitters with a first-pitch ball, he went to just four three-ball counts.

Teams that have the greatest need for a win today:



1. The Los Angeles Angels, who had their guts ripped out Saturday in the span of four pitches. They are 3½ games out in the wild-card race.



2. The Tampa Bay Rays, who are now hanging on the precipice after losing to the New York on Yankees on Saturday. The Rays appear to be headed for an early knockout, writes Martin Fennelly.



3. The Cardinals, who've lost the past two games to the Dodgers.



4. The Philadelphia Phillies, who are squandering a great chance to gain ground in Houston.



5. The Pittsburgh Pirates, now just a half-game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers but still two games behind St. Louis.

Moves, deals and decisions


1. Sheldon Ocker wonders what the Indians should do with Chris Perez and Ubaldo Jimenez.



2. Scott Feldman's spot in the Texas rotation could be on the line, writes Gil LeBreton.



3. The Pirates might skip James McDonald in their rotation, writes Bill Brink.



4. The Colorado Rockies continue to work on their strategy for competing at 5,280 feet, writes Patrick Saunders.



Dings and dents


1. Mike Napoli is back for the Rangers after a shaky rehab stint.



2. The durability of a couple of K.C. outfielders is a concern.



3. Terry Collins thinks Jason Bay is still suffering the effects of concussions.



By The Numbers
From ESPN Stats & Info



7: Streak of consecutive losses snapped after the Pirates defeated the Cubs on Saturday; the win also snapped a 10-game road losing streak (both streaks were the team's longest of the season).
11: Walk-off wins for the Dodgers, tied for most in the National League.
37: Home runs for Miguel Cabrera, one shy of his career high set in 2010.
39: Home runs for Curtis Granderson, two shy of his career high set last season.

NL East notes


• On the day the Phillies sent out emails preparing season-ticket holders for a possible playoff berth, the team came up flat, writes Matt Gelb. Chase Utley continues to do work at third base.



• The Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds again.



NL Central notes


• Johnny Cueto lost again. A few weeks ago, I thought he was the front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award, but he is not anymore.



• The Houston Astros took down the Phillies again; that's 47 wins for Houston.



• The Brewers took down the New York Mets again with a big inning. The second wild card has been a lifesaver, writes Tom Haudricourt.

• Matt Dominguez has been hitting well of late for the Astros, writes Zachary Levine.

NL West notes


• Barry Zito has been pitching well, and he stepped up again Saturday, with some help from Buster Posey. The Giants are 19-9 since Melky Cabrera was suspended.

I agree with what Henry Schulman writes here: It's going to be very interesting to see whether the Giants players vote a full playoff share for Cabrera. Even if they are required by rule to give Cabrera a share, I wonder if they'll make a statement with their vote.

• You can't stop the San Diego Padres, you can only hope to contain them. If this season had an additional two or three more weeks, San Diego would be looked at as a very dangerous team.

• Drew Pomeranz struggled again.

AL East notes


• Ivan Nova came off the disabled list to step up big for the Yankees, writes Zach Schonbrun. Alex Rodriguez picked up another big hit.

From the Elias Sports Bureau: The Yankees secured their 20th straight winning season, a streak that started in 1993. That is the second-longest such streak in MLB history. The Yankees also own the longest streak, finishing above .500 in 39 straight seasons from 1926 to 1964.

• The Orioles were knocked out of their first-place tie, writes Dan Connolly.

• As the song goes, the Rays came up short again, says Joe Maddon. Matt Moore starts today, and his velocity dropped in his last start, but he's not sure why, Marc Topkin writes.

• The Boston Red Sox are playing out the string, and they won again Saturday. Clay Buchholz had another good outing. Dustin Pedroia is back with the Red Sox following the birth of his second son.

• Carlos Villanueva is trying to prove himself, writes Mike Rutsey.

AL Central notes


• Francisco Liriano gave the Chicago White Sox a big lift. Adam Dunn was back in the lineup, and he did some damage.

• Anibal Sanchez was The Man for the Tigers.

• Billy Butler helped the Kansas City Royals mount a late charge, after Zack Greinke was removed.

• The Indians managed to spoil a no-hit bid, Dennis Manoloff writes.

• A Twins rally fell short. Ben Revere made a catch to remember. Here's the video.

AL West notes


• Justin Smoak's clutch hitting helped the Mariners hold off the Rangers, writes John Tranchina.

• The Rangers rallied, but couldn't make it all the way back.

Braves have the arms to beat Nats.

You may have heard the Washington Nationals are suddenly without their ace as the playoffs approach. Stephen Strasburg, like it or not, will not pitch again this season.



But even without their ace, the Nationals still feature Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Edwin Jackson, Ross Detwiler and John Lannan, which is nothing to sneeze at. By FanGraphs WAR, Gonzalez is second only to Clayton Kershaw this season in the NL, meaning there are 14 other teams in the National League that would love to have the Nationals' "problem" of having Gonzalez atop the rotation. But Tommy John surgery, and its subsequent innings limit for Strasburg, still weakened the Nats' rotation by depriving it of its ace.



The Braves have a young sensation in Kris Medlen, who also had Tommy John surgery in 2010. But the Braves handled Medlen differently than Washington handled Strasburg -- Medlen began the season in the bullpen to keep his innings total down -- and now they're reaping the benefits late in the season, and Medlen's recent run has helped the Braves put up the best ERA in the NL during the past month.



While Washington still has the better rotation and plenty of pitching (even without Strasburg) to win in the postseason, the Braves have enough arms to beat the Nationals should the two teams meet in October.




Medlen joins Mike Minor to solidify the back end of an Atlanta rotation fronted by Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson and newcomer Paul Maholm, a group that is surging at the right time of the season. In the past month, Medlen has a 0.46 ERA, Minor has a 2.30, and the Braves' rotation ERA of 3.22 beats Washington's 3.36.



If we use fielding independent pitching (FIP) instead of ERA, however, we get a slightly different story. The Nationals have struck out 8.39 batters per nine in the past month, second only to the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL, and walked 2.67 batters per nine, good for fifth in the NL. The Braves (7.38 and 3.15, respectively) have not been as good as the Nationals in those categories and have also benefited from a better batting average on balls in play (.281 to Washington's .293), with assistance from their MLB-leading 8.0 UZR/150. Therefore, their 3.64 FIP is not as sterling as the Nationals' 3.33.



We also have to account for Medlen's historic run. While he certainly could continue to pitch well throughout the rest of the season and the postseason, it's unlikely he can sustain his recent numbers. So if we're comparing Atlanta's rotation and the Strasburg-less Nationals staff, Washington would be ahead in the aggregate.



But playoff series are not played in the aggregate. They depend on matchups and depth, and even a rough head-to-head comparison of the staffs shows that Atlanta has enough of the latter to compete in a short series.



Hudson, even though he's getting a little older, is still a fine pitcher and capable of leading a postseason rotation. He'd likely match up against Gonzalez. In the past three seasons combined, Hudson's 3.19 ERA is nearly equal to Gonzalez's 3.10. Hudson's number is built mostly on his ground-ball rate (59.1 percent since the beginning of 2010, best in MLB), while Gonzalez strikes out more batters (8.6 K/9 compared to Hudson's 5.83). There's no question Gonzalez is better today than Hudson, but Hudson has proved he still has plenty left.



After those two, the matchups could go any number of ways, but let's take a brief look at pitchers individually. Zimmermann would likely pitch Game 2 of a series for the Nats, and he's posted a 3.24 ERA in the past three years (while missing some time for Tommy John surgery) and seems to be trending upward. Jackson could follow Zimmermann, and he's posted a 3.89 ERA this season. If Washington doesn't want to go with three righties in a row, it could pitch Detwiler -- who has a 3.16 ERA and 3.75 FIP in 30 games (24 starts) this year -- third.



The Braves could go with Medlen second; he has better strikeout (7.85 K/9 to 6.98), walk (1.62 BB/9 to 1.88), ground ball (52.8 percent to 43.4 percent) and swinging-strike (9.7 percent to 8.5 percent) rates than Zimmermann, although Medlen has spent a good chunk of 2012 in the bullpen. Or they could choose Maholm, whom the Braves traded for at the deadline for this specific instance. Hanson has struggled this season (4.33 ERA in 158 innings) but has the stuff to shut down any lineup. Then there's Minor, who has a 2.35 ERA with 54 strikeouts and 13 walks in 69 innings since the All-Star break.

We still can't say that the Braves have a better rotation than the Nationals, whose starters have combined to be the best in the NL all year and appear to have enough weaponry to thrive without Strasburg. But again, it's no longer about "all year."



If these two teams face each other in October, Strasburg will still be gone, Medlen may still be on this crazy streak of superb starts, and we all know what can happen in a playoff series. A couple of great starts from a Braves staff capable of producing them, and suddenly the best rotation in the NL is preparing for next spring.

5 pitchers who could swing pennant races.

Starting pitching is what got division leaders to where they are now and it is what many believe will decide the four wild-card berths. Just look at the teams vying for those slots and the pitchers they boast: the Tampa Bay Rays are led by David Price and James Shields, the Los Angeles Angels by Jered Weaver and Zack Greinke, the Detroit Tigers by Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, and the Philadelphia Phillies by Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee.

The thing is, it's not always the aces who make the difference down the stretch. For example, in 2011, we saw Doug Fister take charge for the Tigers, posting a 0.53 ERA in September while helping them win the AL Central.

Here are five starters who aren't household names but could be this year's version of Fister and step to the forefront down the stretch:
Brett Anderson, LHP Oakland Athletics

The Athletics didn’t know what to expect when they reinstated Anderson from the disabled list in August after more than a year of rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery. However, Anderson has quickly become the top-of-the-rotation starter his potential had always hinted of prior to his injury. His mid-90s fastball and unhittable breaking ball have been dominant, and he has 1.93 ERA in his five starts. He’s given the A’s a chance to not only make the playoffs but keep them alive in the race for the AL West title and remain a serious World Series threat.

Phil Hughes, RHP, New York Yankees

Hughes went 18-8 with a 4.19 ERA in 2010 before struggling with health issues last year, going a disappointing 5-5 with a 5.79 ERA. This year, however, Hughes has had an impressive bounce-back season, posting a 3.96 ERA and a strikeouts-to-walk ratio of 3.70, which is a career high. But he’s really stepped it up the last month, allowing just 10 runs in his last 39 1/3 innings, right when the Yankees needed him most. His 91-93 mph four-seamer at the top of the strike zone is getting swings and misses, and his curveball is back and has regained its nastiness coming out of the arm same slot as the four-seam fastball. He gets hit and gives up home runs when he tires and can’t command his four-seamer in the zone, so it’s important that manager Joe Girardi takes him out before that happens. But Hughes should continue to provide a solid six innings per start for the remainder of the season and the postseason.

Kyle Kendrick, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies

Most people are so impressed with the Phillies' trio of aces in Halladay, Hamels and Lee that they fail to realize how good Kendrick has become since moving from the bullpen into the rotation. He can be a real separator in his final three starts as the Phillies try to make an improbable comeback and earn the second NL wild-card berth. He’s lasted six innings or more in seven of his last 10 starts and allowed more than two earned runs just twice in those 10 starts. He had a hiccup on Saturday against the Astros, but if he can pitch like he did in his six starts prior, the Phillies might be able to pull off a miracle.

Marco Estrada, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers

Like the Phillies, the Brewers weren’t supposed to jump back in the wild-card race. But because of a revitalized bullpen, a rebounding offense led by Rickie Weeks and strong starting pitching, the Brewers are relevant again in mid-September. Estrada, 26, has led the way by posting a 1.92 ERA with 38 K's in his last five starts. His fastball has much better downward plane, and he’s making significantly fewer mistakes in the middle of the plate.

Wei-Yin Chen, LHP, Baltimore Orioles

Chen, who signed for $11 million over three years last winter, was one of the best bargains of the offseason and a big reason GM Dan Duquette is a serious contender for executive of the year. The southpaw pitches backwards -- meaning he uses his offspeed stuff to set up his fastball -- but owns the black on both sides of the plate with late movement and really knows how to add and take off velocity on all his pitches. He’s pitched very well against A's and Rays this year, posting a 0.71 and 3.38 ERA respectively against the O's main wild-card competition.

Brewers' bats fueling comeback.

Last week, we mentioned that the Milwaukee Brewers were threatening to move from extreme spoiler to actual playoff contender. The threat is over, as the Brewers, fresh off a week in which they won five of six -- including a sweep of the Atlanta Braves -- are now firmly lodged in the playoff race with two weeks to go in the season. The Philadelphia Phillies had put themselves in prime position as well, winning seven straight through Wednesday, but losing three of four over the weekend to the Houston Astros has taken the shine off of their run.



Nevertheless, both teams moved up one spot in the ESPN Power Rankings this week -- Milwaukee from 17th to 16th and Philadelphia from 16th to 15th -- and with the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates not asserting themselves in the race for the second National League wild-card berth, the Brewers and Phillies are very much alive.




Of course, this isn't the first time that we've spoken about the virtues of the Brewers and Phillies. Back in early June, we implored you to not give up on the Phillies, and way back in April, we discussed how the Brewers had played better than their record. Yet when it came to analyze what wild-card contenders needed to do in the last month of the season at the end of August, neither squad made the list.



But hot starts to September have put them back on the map, particularly Milwaukee -- its 11 September wins are the most in the majors.



The Brewers' offense, already one of the best in the league, has kicked it up several notches -- since the start of August, the Brewers lead the National League in runs scored. Contributions have come from across the board, as during the two-month period each regular on the team has been hot at one point or another, but the charge has been led by lineup linchpins Aramis Ramirez, Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart and Ryan Braun.



Ramirez generally heats up in the second half, and this season has been no exception. The 34-year-old slugger hit a respectable .272/.346/.475 in the first half, but he's hit an outstanding .333/.387/.605 since the All-Star break. And it's not just Miller Park -- his 139 wRC+, which adjusts for both park and league, is tied for 16th best in the majors this season among qualified hitters, and it is ninth best among NL hitters.



Braun hasn't been as hot as Ramirez since the start of August, but he has been the team's rock all season. The slugger has reached the 40-homer plateau for the second straight season and now has 200 for his career. Since his debut in 2007, only five players have hit more home runs than Braun.



While everyone knows that Milwaukee can hit, few would have expected the team to trade away Zack Greinke and see its pitching staff improve. But that's exactly what has happened. Since the start of August, Milwaukee is allowing 0.41 fewer runs per game than it did in April-July. While Mike Fiers, Yovani Gallardo, Wily Peralta and Mark Rogers (before he was shut down) have all pitched well, the biggest reason for the turnaround has been the performance of Marco Estrada.



Since returning to the rotation at the end of June, the soft-tossing righty (his average fastball velocity is 90.3 mph this season) has compiled a 3.46 ERA and struck out 91 batters in 83 1/3 innings. Since the start of August, Estrada has been even better, posting a 2.82 ERA across eight starts. He has more than compensated for the loss of Greinke, who has not pitched nearly as well in Anaheim.



In Philadelphia, the returns of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley have been negated by the trades of Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino, so the team isn't really scoring more runs than it was earlier in the season (Howard, in fact, has been terrible). But the Phillies stopped allowing more runs than they score. Much of this can be traced to the return of Roy Halladay and the departure of Joe Blanton.



Halladay has posted six quality starts in his last nine outings, and Kyle Kendrick -- who took Blanton's place in the rotation -- has a 3.13 ERA the past two months, including one stretch with six straight quality starts. Thanks to Halladay, Kendrick, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, Philly has allowed only 3.73 runs per game since the start of August, compared with 4.51 runs per game in the season's first four months.



The Brewers have combined an overpowering offense playing at its peak with an improved pitching staff, and as a result entered Sunday's action with the third-highest team WAR in baseball. The Brewers have passed the Pirates, whom they will meet this week in Pittsburgh, and are just 2½ games out of the second wild card, and their chances of snagging that spot seemingly go up every day. Milwaukee, and to a lesser extent Philadelphia, has put itself back on the postseason map. And while the Brewers may not get there, the fact that they are once again charting a course to October is an exciting development.

Top defensive rookies of 2012.

When Prince Fielder swings the bat, he demands your attention. Nobody else in baseball has his swing, oozing with so much power that you can practically feel it in the bottom of your shoes. Over the past five seasons, only Albert Pujols has hit more home runs than Fielder. So when he connected hard off a Garrett Richards fastball last weekend in Anaheim, Calif., you had to hold your breath.



There was only one problem: Angels rookie Mike Trout circled back to the wall in center field, perfectly timed his jump at the wall and stole Fielder's home run to end the game.



Jaw-dropping power, meet show-stopping defense.



It was the fourth time Mike Trout has taken away a home run this season. Nobody else has four home run robberies this season or last season, combined. Since Baseball Info Solutions started tracking these plays in 2004, only three other outfielders have seasons with four home run robberies: Nook Logan in 2005, Gary Matthews Jr. in 2006 and Adam Jones in 2009.



Trout's season is historic in many more ways than just highlight-reel catches. He is very likely going to join Ichiro Suzuki and Fred Lynn with coinciding MVP and rookie of the year seasons, not to mention the other awards. A lot of that has to do with his hitting -- he's third in baseball in OPS -- but his defensive season has been one for the ages.




Defenders with 30+ defensive runs saved, since 2003

Player Season Runs Saved
Adam Everett 2006 34
Jack Wilson 2005 32
Franklin Gutierrez 2009 32
Troy Tulowitzki 2007 31
Albert Pujols 2007 31
Scott Rolen 2004 30
Craig Counsell 2005 30
Chase Utley 2008 30
Michael Bourn 2010 30
Ichiro Suzuki 2004 30


Trout has 26 defensive runs saved, as calculated by Baseball Info Solutions, taking into account his arm, range and the ratio of great plays and misplays he makes in the field. With just under 20 games left to play, Trout has a chance at joining the elite company of the 10 players (see chart) with 30-plus runs saved in a season. He also has a chance at usurping the crown of best defensive rookie season from Troy Tulowitzki, who saved a whopping 31 runs for the Colorado Rockies in 2007.



Trout is far from the only rookie who is making his defensive presence known in the playoff races this season. In Atlanta, the Braves are just now getting shortstop Andrelton Simmons back from a broken hand he suffered in early July. Simmons was initially beaten out for the big league job in spring training by Tyler Pastornicky, but Pastornicky proved to be a below-average batter and a below-average fielder, hitting for a .605 OPS and fielding for -15 Runs Saved, when he was replaced by Simmons in June.



Top defensive rookie seasons, since 2003

Player Season Runs Saved
Troy Tulowitzki 2007 31
Mike Trout 2012 26
Mark Teixeira 2003 19
Jeff Francoeur 2005 18
Tony Pena Jr. 2007 18
Joey Gathright 2005 16
Denard Span 2008 15
Jason Heyward 2010 15
Elvis Andrus 2009 15
Curtis Granderson 2005 14


Simmons played only 33 games for Atlanta before his injury, but he was ESPN's defensive player of the month in June, showing above-average range to both his right and left, good hands and a strong arm. He instantly improved the Braves' infield defense, which lowered the rate at which batters reached on ground balls from 28 percent (pre-Simmons) to 22 percent.



Simmons has 13 Runs Saved in only 305 innings played, compared with Trout's 26 Runs Saved in more than three times as many innings. While Simmons' primary defensive replacement, Paul Janish, played very well in his absence, it's easy to wonder what kind of eye-popping numbers Simmons could have put up if he had stayed healthy this summer.



In Cincinnati, the Reds have the second-best record in baseball and the sixth-best team defense by Runs Saved. At the center of that defensive excellence is their best individual fielder, rookie shortstop Zack Cozart. Currently recovering from a strained oblique, Cozart has taken a backseat to big names on the Reds such as Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Mat Latos and Johnny Cueto. Regardless, he has been a legit top-10 shortstop this season.



Defensive Runs Saved are calculated for middle infielders by combining three categories: turning double plays, defensive misplays and good plays, and a range score using BIS' plus/minus system. The plus/minus score is by far the most important of these categories and that is where Cozart draws all of his defensive value. Only Yunel Escobar has covered the second-base side of shortstop better than Cozart this season. Cozart ranks fifth among shortstops with 12 Plus/Minus Runs Saved, and his overall total of 11 Runs Saved ranks him No. 8 among fielding shortstop.



The best team in baseball is home to one of the game's rookie sensations. Bryce Harper plays the game as if he's going to explode, and so far that attitude has served him very well in the field. He has saved 13 runs as a center fielder, and, like Cozart, it comes entirely from his range -- Harper is above average on shallow-hit balls and above average on deep-hit balls.



Harper's 13 Runs Saved makes him the fifth-best defensive center fielder this season. And since 2003, when Baseball Info Solutions started tracking defense, center fielders with 13 Runs Saved in a season have always ranked among the top five players on defense.



Harper, 19, already has an elite defensive season under his belt. If your favorite team is in the NL East and isn't the Nationals … good luck. You'll need it for the next few years.
 
Without clicking on the section for the Braves' 2011 collapse, first guess is Fredi not riding Kimbrel and Venters into the ground like any smart manager would do.
 
Speaking of the Brewers offense in that article.

Ramirez and Braun are the highest run producing duo in the NL.. Prince who?
All while getting much better defense in return.

This also reminds me of everyone who said last year that Braun didnt deserve the MVP because his stats were inflated due to batting in front of Prince :smh:

But anywhoo... If the brewers don't make it I reallly want my dude chipper to win it and end his career on a good note.
 
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Well, dland, it looks like you and I were way off about the signing of Cespedes for the A's, huh? More you than me, I think :smokin
 
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