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

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Yes, i saw this coming a mile away. Carp has had too much trouble in recent years with injuries......This was bound to happen.

Now the problem the cardinals have is if they should re-sign lohse to a lower contract because of his inability to sign anywhere else............or go with a young arm from the bullpen or the minors??

I cant see them NOT signing Lohse at this point in the season. I wouldnt take a chance with more than 1 young arm in the rotation at a time. Either Miller, rosenthal or kelly. (two of which should stay in the pen for 1 more year)

I see rosenthal as a late inning pitcher because of his heater........Kelly and Miller are more rotation fit to me at this point, but you never know.
 
If he's stupid enough to get away with it on a technicality and then go right back...let's see how it shakes out.
 
Proshares said:
If he's stupid enough to get away with it on a technicality and then go right back...let's see how it shakes out.
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MLB is trying to ruin their own league. Fans don't give a damn about this anymore. Spring training is about to start and this is all we get to talk about?
 
Proshares said:
What Yankees need to go right in '13.
Travis Hafner could have signed with the Tampa Bay Rays. Ultimately, he chose the Yankees, to take advantage of the opportunity they have at DH and at Yankee Stadium, which has always been a friend of left-handed sluggers.



But because Hafner has been so limited by injuries in recent years, and because he hit .228 last season, he becomes one more question mark for a team that has a whole lot of question marks.



The Yankees have made the playoffs all but one in the past 17 seasons, partly because they've had a lot of safety nets in place. That was made more possible because, well, they've had a larger budget than anybody else, and because veterans such as Raul Ibanez have liked to go to the Yankees knowing they had a chance to win.



But after a winter of financial belt-tightening, the Yankees don't have as many fall-backs as possible. They don't have as much room for error as they've had in other seasons.



Every team has linchpin parts, the strength of which determines whether it's a good or bad year. Here are eight things that must go right for the Yankees:




1. CC Sabathia needs to be healthy enough to provide a lot of innings -- and be good in those innings. He's coming off elbow surgery and looks good and ready to go. It's been eight seasons since Sabathia had a season when his ERA didn't start with a "2" or a "3," and the Yankees need that streak to continue, because as constructed, they need for the rotation to be the backbone of the team. They won't be like the '31 Yankees, a prolific, run-producing powerhouse; theywill need to win a lot of 4-3 and 5-3 games, with Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda -- all on the downslope of their respective careers -- leading the way.



2. Derek Jeter needs to be a good player, at age 38. He doesn't have to be as great as he was last year, when he led the majors with 216 hits, and if you gave truth serum to the Yankees' officials and staff, they probably would tell you to expect at least some regression in performance this year. Jeter is coming off a broken ankle, and last year, his batting average in balls put in play was unusually high, ranking 16th in the majors. In some metrics, Jeter already is ranked among the worst defensive shortstops. Time marches on.



The Yankees don't need him to hit .320; they can get by with him hitting in the .270 range, consistently making plays on balls hit to him. But if he's much less than that -- given the lack of pop they have at catcher and perhaps in other spots -- it would be a problem.



3. Mariano Rivera needs to be an effective closer. He's 43 years old and hasn't pitched in almost a year, and given his past greatness and his extraordinary athleticism, the Yankees need him to be at least average. If he's not, it's not clear they have a lot of fall-back, given David Robertson's struggles as closer last year.



4. Robinson Cano needs to have an MVP-caliber season. This isn't a reach, because Cano has had MVP-caliber years in recent seasons. With his free agency looming, Cano has a lot motivation to have a big year, and given the Yankees' offensive questions in other spots, they need Cano to again be the anchor.



5. Mark Teixeira needs to be an above-average run producer. As everybody knows -- Teixeira more than anybody -- he has struggled early in seasons throughout his career. But in 2013, the Yankees need him to hit from the start, because they don't have someone with the power of an Alex Rodriguez or a Nick Swisher to pick up the slack.



6. Brett Gardner needs to get back to what he was in 2010. And lest anybody forgets, he was a terrific player that season, with a 7.0 WAR and a .383 on-base percentage. Gardner is 29 years old and theoretically in the prime of his career, as he comes back from an elbow problem. If he bounces back, it would be a huge boost for this team.



7. Kevin Youkilis needs to contribute. Ichiro Suzuki probably won't expand his production much beyond what's he done in recent years, and the Yankees probably aren't going to get much production out of their catchers. They need Youkilis to get on base and provide at least some extra-base muscle. It's worth repeating that in his homes in Fenway Park and in The Cell in Chicago last year -- two parks that play well for right-handed hitters -- he was a really good player, with a .413 on-base percentage. On the road, he hit .177. Yankee Stadium is not a great park for right-handed hitters who don't flick the ball toward the right field line.



8. Michael Pineda needs to give them something -- not a lot, but something. The Yankees are downplaying expectations about when Pineda will come back, which is what they always do. There haven't been any fake proclamations about how he'll be ready to have an impact this year. But he is a monster talent, and there is cautious optimism in the organization that he'll return in the middle of the season. Because his was a shoulder injury, there's no telling how good he'll be; typically, pitchers recovering from shoulder trouble need some time to regain command. If he gives them 10 strong starts at the end of the season, that would be an enormous boost for a team playing in a division that appears to be wid
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I hate when "analysts" write stuff like this that is so blatantly obvious
 
400



BP hats. Not bad
 
I think the Blue Jays and Mets hat looks pretty gnarly too.

And what's with the Yankees having a home and road cap for ST? :lol:

EDIT: Ah, I see that a couple other teams have more than one too. Duly noted.
 
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DaJoka004 said:
MLB is trying to ruin their own league. Fans don't give a damn about this anymore. Spring training is about to start and this is all we get to talk about?
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Completely agree. Athletes are expected to use PEDs nowadays.
 
I disagree. I don't think they're expected up use PEDs it's just not as surprising to find out that they have. In Braun's case we knew he got off on technicality, but with his name in the BioGen records which link other known users it could solidify the beliefs from those of us who knew he did it. For us it's sort of like saying "You thought you could get away, didn't you?"
 
Felix Hernandez has agreed to a new seven-year, $175 million contract with the Seattle Mariners, USA Today Sports reported Thursday.

The deal would make Hernandez the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history.

Hernandez, 26, was scheduled to make $19.5 million this season and $20 million in 2014. The new contract will start this season, according to USA Today Sports, and pay the three-time All-Star an annual average salary of $25 million.

The 2010 American League Cy Young Award winner, Hernandez went 13-9 with a 3.06 ERA and 223 strikeouts last season. He has pitched at least 232 innings in each of the last four seasons and owns a career record of 98-76 with a 3.22 ERA in eight years, all with the Mariners.
 
What a shame. I love Felix and am glad he is getting paid....but I absolutely hate seeing players that are, or could be considered all time greats one day, waste their careers on terrible teams. This goes for any sport.
 
I don't think the M's are that far off to be competitive during that extension. They just desperately need the bats they have to come through.
 
Top 10 prospects (NL East).
AL EAST | AL CENTRAL | AL WEST


NL EAST | NL CENTRAL | NL WEST



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Braves' Top 10

Player, POS (Top 100 rank)
1. Julio Teheran, RHP (28)
2. J.R. Graham, RHP (94)
3. Lucas Sims, RHP
4. Mauricio Cabrera, RHP
5. Christian Bethancourt, C
6. Alex Wood, LHP
7. Sean Gilmartin, LHP
8. Luis Merejo, LHP
9. Jose Peraza, SS
10. Evan Gattis, LF/C


Atlanta Braves
Org rank: 20




Farm system overview



Atlanta didn't dip much into its farm system to acquire Justin Upton, but its system wasn't strong to begin with thanks to a very weak track record in the draft over the past several years. The Braves' 2009 draft produced Mike Minor but is unlikely to produce anything else. Their 2010 draft gave them Andrelton Simmons, but again, there's little of note left from that crop. Their 2011 draft might fare a little better, with J.R. Graham on my top 100 and Sean Gilmartin probably a fifth starter in the majors, although that's what you'd like your down years in the draft to look like, not your best years. They have traded well and been aggressive with some smaller moves that have helped bolster the system, but the main way you acquire young talent is through the draft, and Atlanta's track record there is weak.



2013 impact



Starter Julio Teheran has been on the radar for years and is likely to spend most of 2013 with the big club, even though his fastball command and breaking ball aren't yet where they need to be. Evan Gattis, 26, might get a break from beating up younger competition in the minors and earn some at-bats as a backup catcher/left fielder.



Sleeper



Just 18 years old in rookie-level Danville last year, Mauricio Cabrera worked at 92-99 as a starter, with an above-average changeup and a developing (but still fringy) hard curveball. He's the younger brother of Alberto Cabrera with the Cubs and should be in Rome's rotation in low Class A to start 2013.




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Marlins' Top 10

Player, POS (Top 100 rank)
1. Christian Yelich, CF (6)
2. Jose Fernandez, RHP (16)
3. Justin Nicolino, LHP (62)
4. Jake Marisnick, OF (82)
5. Andrew Heaney, LHP
6. Adam Conley, LHP
7. Marcell Ozuna, OF
8. Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
9. J.T. Realmuto, C
10. Derek Dietrich, IF


Miami Marlins
Org rank: 16




Farm system overview



In between laughing all the way to the bank, the Marlins' ownership hasn't paid much attention to the farm system over the past few years, spending little on the international market and lowballing its 2012 first-round pick, Oklahoma State lefty Andrew Heaney. The result is a system that's fairly top heavy and was a bottom-10 organization before the big trade with Toronto that netted two of its fop four prospects.



2013 impact



We're probably a full year away from any of the Marlins' top guys seeing the majors, so any impact this year would be lower-tier guys like Adeiny Hechavarria, a very good defensive shortstop with a long swing and poor plate discipline, and Derek Dietrich, a future second or third baseman with some pop but not much on-base ability.



Sleeper



A ninth-rounder out of a North Carolina high school in 2010, Austin Brice turned down soccer scholarships to play pro ball, working in the low 90s with good life and a curveball that misses bats. He's a good athlete who walked a man every other inning last year and needs to not do that. Also keep an eye on Jose Urena, who also worked in the low Class A Greensboro rotation. He has a plus fastball and commands it but needs to develop some average off-speed offerings.




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Mets' Top 10

Player, POS (Top 100 rank)
1. Zack Wheeler, RHP (13)
2.Travis d'Arnaud, C (14)
3. N. Syndergaard, RHP (97)
4. Brandon Nimmo, OF
5. Gavin Cecchini, SS
6. Wilmer Flores, 3B
7. Rafael Montero, RHP
8. Domingo Tapia, RHP
9. Jacob deGrom, RHP
10. Hansel Robles, RHP


New York Mets
Org rank: 14




Farm system overview



It's a top-heavy system that was boosted substantially by the R.A. Dickey trade. It brought a return that accounts for two of the Mets' top three prospects while they wait for the 2011 and 2012 drafts to start to have more of an impact on the system.



2013 impact



Both of their top prospects, Travis d'Arnaud (acquired from Toronto) and Zack Wheeler (acquired from San Francisco), should spend at least half the year in the majors, d'Arnaud depending on his health and Wheeler on room in the Mets' rotation. Wheeler might be their Matt Harvey, coming up midyear and getting by first on raw stuff as he makes adjustments, while d'Arnaud will have to show he can work the count enough to get to that power.



Sleeper



Domingo Tapia, last year's sleeper, had a strong year in full-season ball, although I think he's been passed by Rafael Montero, who has better command and better secondary stuff than Tapia, who throws harder with more sink but is less of a complete pitcher. Jacob deGrom came back from Tommy John surgery in the middle of the season and was 92-96 with plus life, a good slider, feel for a change and good control. He has yet to throw a full season anywhere, though, as he didn't convert to pitching regularly until the spring of 2010.




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Phillies' Top 10

Player, POS (Top 100 rank)
1. Adam Morgan, LHP (92)
2. Jesse Biddle, LHP (95)
3. Roman Quinn, SS
4. Maikel Franco, 3B
5. Tommy Joseph, C
6. Ethan Martin, RHP
7. Jonathan Pettibone, RHP
8. Cody Asche, 3B
9. Kenny Giles, RHP
10. Larry Greene, 1B


Philadelphia Phillies
Org rank: 27




Farm system overview



Years of trades, surrendered draft picks and refusal to go give signing bonuses that exceed MLB's recommendations have taken their toll on a system that doesn't look like it'll spit out an average every-day position player until at least 2015 barring a big step forward from someone like Cody Asche. There are arms and there are a lot of potentially high-upside position players in the lowest levels, but they've hit a dry spell at the worst possible time for the major league club.



2013 impact



Asche could end up earning some big league time at third base if Michael Young gets hurt or the team realizes he's not very good. Darin Ruf could do a little damage as a bench/platoon guy against left-handed bats, although I don't think he's a regular. Of their top prospects, Adam Morgan is the one who might help the big club in 2013. He may be in the rotation by July if there's an injury. If you really want to speculate, Kenny Giles finished 2012 in high Class A, but he's legitimately throwing 99-100 with at least an average slider, and his delivery is under control enough now that he's throwing strikes. He's the kind of reliever who could tear through three levels and end up in the majors soon.



Sleeper



Shortstop Roman Quinn is an 80-grade runner (on the 20-80 scouting scale) who looked great at short even though he was a center fielder in high school, a rare outfield-to-infield conversion that looks like it will result in more than just a fringy defender. He has a sound approach and will drive the ball the other way, although it's going to be more doubles/triples power than homers. Third baseman Maikel Franco showed huge improvement in the second half, with a much better two-strike approach and better overall commitment to his game, hitting .346/.395/.530 after an awful first half. I like a number of guys here as candidates for big jumps in 2013, even right-hander Shane Watson, a 2012 supplemental first-rounder who just missed the team's top 10 and who could push the system into the top 20 overall.




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Nationals' Top 10

Player, POS (Top 100 rank)
1. Anthony Rendon, 3B (17)
2. Brian Goodwin, CF (44)
3. Lucas Giolito, RHP (77)
4. A.J. Cole, RHP (89)
5. Nathan Karns, RHP (99)
6. Matt Skole, 1B
7. Christian Garcia, RHP
8. Carlos Rivero, 3B
9. Matt Purke, LHP
10. Michael Taylor, CF


Washington Nationals
Org rank: 21




Farm system overview



I love the Nationals' top five, but after that, there's something of a cliff, although it's at least the result of two productive strategies: the trades for Gio Gonzalez and Denard Span, both of which made the major league club better, and the decision to bet their whole 2012 draft (pretty much) on Lucas Giolito, a No. 1 overall candidate who fell to No. 16 due to well-founded injury concerns. The biggest wild card is lefty Matt Purke, who hasn't been healthy since 2010 and whose arm action was always a big red flag, but if the minor shoulder surgery he had cleaned him up enough, he could end up regaining his old prospect luster. (You might have sensed that I'm not holding my breath.)



2013 impact



Anthony Rendon's bat isn't too far away, although both he and Carlos Rivero are blocked at third base as long as Ryan Zimmerman is healthy. The Nats may eventually move Zimmerman to first, but I don't think that happens this year. Christian Garcia may be very effective as a middle reliever if he can stay healthy, which he hasn't been able to do.



Sleeper



Last year's sleeper, Michael Taylor, went backwards, down a hill and into a canyon in 2012, but the tools that made him my sleeper choice for the Nats going into 2012 are all still present. Sammy Solis missed the year after Tommy John surgery, and while it's not the cleanest arm action ever, he was touching 96 mph before he blew out and can turn over a changeup, making him a potential top-100 candidate for next year if he comes back all the way.
 
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