Bobby Valentine: No Longer Giving Obvious Statements on BBTN

Don't get me wrong, I love Bobby Valentine. I find him to be a very likable guy, he's comical, and has been involved with MLB for quite some time now. But I have to say, he gives the most obvious statements on television ever. Things along the lines of, "If you want to win games, you have to score runs." Well, Duh! So now Bobby V. is in the AL East, one of the most competitive divisions in baseball. Going against some serious managing like: Buck Showalter, Joe Maddon, Joe Girardi, and that Canadian guy (John Farrell). Taking on a team that is similar to last year's squad (without Papelbon and possibly without Ortiz), Valentine will hopefully take the Red Sox to a new level. Or at least make sure they can into the playoffs. Boston was tied with the 8th best record in baseball in the 2011 season which is nothing to shake a stick at, but they still ended up losing the last game of the season to the Orioles to allow the Rays into the playoffs. In the end, it really doesn't matter because the Cardinals won anyway.... But back to my original point, Bobby Valentine will give the AL East a bit of a shakeup. With a stacked team, Valentine will look to enhance his lifetime managing record of 1117-1072, a .510 winning percentage, and one pennant. I mean he doesn't have the winning percentage of Girardi, the hair of Maddon, the Canadian-ness of Farrell(?), and the true character of Buck Showalter. But he does have a good smile, so good luck Bobby V!

Justin Verlander: Legend Amongst Men

To do what Justin Verlander has accomplished in the 2011 season is just amazing. Verlander was a sure lock-in for the AL Cy Young award but there was still speculation of who would win the AL MVP. The last pitcher to win the MVP award was in 1992, and the last starting pitcher to win was Rodger Clemens in 1986. It can be difficult to comprehend just what Verlander has done. He doesn't believe it himself: "If you had told me at the beginning of the year I would be a shoo-in for the Cy Young, I would have been excited and ecstatic. I would've never even thought about the MVP." Statistically, Justin Verlander was 24-5, and in a 162 game season, Verlander won 25% of the Tigers 95 wins. In other words, Wow. It's simply amazing in that Verlander can make such an impact on his team that he beat Jacoby Ellsbury, Jose Bautista, and Curtis Granderson. In my opinion, I was pulling for either Ellsbury or Granderson because of their surges in homerun hitting, but unfortunately, I don't get to vote for such things. I could continue to give stats about Verlander's 2011 season but I feel as though that it is simply redundant. The man won both the Cy Young and the AL MVP. It's simply amazing.

Light up the Hot Stove!

What is a Hot Stove? Well regardless of what it is, it's heating up! Once again those foolish fish from Florida are offering Albert Pujols a 9-year $225 million contract. Good luck with that one! Pujols turned down deals from the Cardinals before the 2011 season started and they were around 9 years, and over $225 million, so why would Pujols agree to this deal? Pujols toured the Marlins new ballpark and was reported to have had a good trip. It wasn't a great trip, it wasn't a fantastic trip, it was a good trip. Albert has no affiliations with the Marlins, and he just won a World Series Title with the Cardinals, so in my opinion, I do not see him signing with the Marlins. The other big, literally, first baseman free agent this off season is Prince Fielder. Fielder is the pride and joy of Milwaukee, but where will he go? How many games do you think Prince Fielder has missed in the past 6 seasons? Well, one season in 162 games, and with days given off and all that stuff, one would expect somewhere along the lines of 60 games? That's 10 games a season, which is relatively low. He's missed 13 games in SIX SEASONS! WOW. Wherever Fielder goes, that team will know that they get durability and their money's worth with this contract. Fielder will want somewhere along the lines of a "Ryan Howard contract" but he's thrown out a number like $180 million. The teams that can afford that, like the Red Sox or Yankees, already have first baseman. Teams being thrown around for possible fits for Fielder are the Dodgers, Angels, Rangers, and there are preliminary talks with the Brewers as of this week. These two first baseman free agents are the biggest of the big, and will shape the offseason into something truly special.

Oh and Justin Verlander won the AL Cy Young in unanimous vote.

Miami Marlins: Who the Hell do they think they are?

Yes ladies and gentleman, the blog is back for the offseason. I know that I stated before that I would bring it back during the summer, but I feel as though I am only giving game recaps that you can easily watch on ESPN or Baseball Tonight at 30 second intervals. Who likes reading anyway? But in this time of NBA lockouts, college football, the NFL, and the NHL, all dominating the airwaves, baseball is somewhat on the back burner. But let's get down to business. On Friday November 11, 2011 a "new" team was unveiled and they are known as the "Miami Marlins." They used to be the Florida Marlins, but bygone there is another team in Florida! Floridians don't seem to know this because no one goes to the games, and they have to give out free tickets, but there are the Tampa Bay Rays! (I think they may have been in the playoffs the past few years?) Anyway, there are some new things that come with the Miami Marlins: a new stadium, new uniforms, and a new mentality(?). And on a sidenote, it's about time the Marlins got a new stadium, and one with a retractable roof? That means no more rain delays! Woo!

It appears that Jeffrey Loria is trying to get fans in the seats by possibly getting big ticket free agents like: Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Ryan Madson. Why don't they try to get Prince Fielder while they are at it, Pujols can play 3B. If they get Jose Reyes so what? He's been in the division for years. Plus Hanley Ramirez has stated that he does not want to move his position of SS to CF, and where does that leave the Marlins? Plus they only offered Reyes a 6-year $90 million contract. Reyes wants a guaranteed $100 million. But with this, you must realize the Marlins history. They won a World Series in their 5th season as an MLB team in 1997, and then again in 2003! But afterwards it was: scrap all players, save on payroll, see what happens. The Marlins highest payroll was just over $66 million, and now they want to offer Jose Reyes money? What about Albert Pujols? He wants $30 million a year! The Marlins have stated that they have $35 million just lying around and that money is burning a hole in their pocket. Let's see what happens in the end. I'm sorry to say Marlins fans, but I highly doubt that the Marlins will win the NL East, mainly because they have never done it before. Both times they won the World Series, they did it as the NL Wildcard team. In my opinion, I say good luck to the Marlins.

PS. I like the new look and the new logo. Tell me what you think.

Not Posting for Long Periods of Time

I once again apologize blog fans, but I feel as though I have let you down by not posting for some time. I'm trying to get pack to posting at least 3-4 times again, and hopefully that will happen. Last Tuesday I attended my very first Brewers game at Miller Park in Milwaukee, and it was quite a show. The Brewers faced the Tampa Bay Rays in interleague play and it was an amazing experience. I sat two rows from the field and was able to see the game like I've never seen one before. Zack Greinke took the mound for the Brew Crew, and fanned down 10 throughout the game (6 swinging, 4 looking). What was Kansas City thinking when they let him go?!?!?! But in that game, I was able to get an autograph from both Casey McGehee and Corey Hart. Not only that but in the first inning, Even Longoria grounded out to Casey McGehee to Rickie Weeks. Weeks then proceeded to throw the ball into the crowd and I was fortunate enough to catch it. My very first game ball. A ball that has touched the hands of Zack Greinke, Casey McGehee, and Rickie Weeks. Wow. Other than that, the roof and the back of the stadium closed due to severe storms in Milwaukee, which the roof closed in less than 10 minutes.

But enough of my own personal experience, baseball is taking shape as we near the All-Star break. The Phillies are now 20 games over .500! And as a Phillies fan, I still feel as though they could be playing better. Not one player is batting over .300 with disappoints me. Shane Victorino is closest with a .291 average, but even that isn't that great. It used to be that the Phillies wouldn't bat for average, but would hit 30 homers, and now that's not even the case. The Phils need to stop relying on their pitching, although it is amazing, and realize that pitching only gets you so far. In wrapping up, please continue to read, and go Phillies!

Why MLB.TV is awesome/sucks

Hey blog fans, I wanted to take some time to talk to you about MLB.TV and what it's all about. I recently moved to a different location where I am unable to watch the Phillies. So if I want to know anything about their games, and get more than the highlights, I watch MLB Gameday, and listen to the audio. I looked into MLB.TV and saw that it had some blackout restrictions but thought, "What the Hell? I love baseball enough that I'll watch all the games." And that statement is true, I was able to watch a Phillies game by moving my computer's proxy around, but that does not always work. At the same time, I have not missed one Texas Rangers' game, or any games that I just find to be interesting. I follow my fantasy players around, and even hooked MLB.TV to my PS3 to watch it from my Tv. Anyway, if you are interested or want to know more, please feel free to comment below with any questions. It's always interesting to hear the other side of the commentating booth. With the Phillies, you always have a somewhat bias towards the Phillies and when the Phillies are on ESPN or FOX, there is always a bias against the Phillies. (Especially with one Joe Buck). I really do enjoy MLB.TV, and if you are a big enough baseball fan, and have the money, I would suggest that you purchase it because I enjoy it. EVEN THOUGH I STILL DON'T REALLY GET TO WATCH THE PHILLIES! But if you like the Texas Rangers, the Seattle Mariners, the Milwaukee Brewers, the LA Dodgers, or even the New York Yankees, get it, I highly suggest it.

Where Have You Been?

"Guess who's back, back again, Taylor's back, tell a friend." First and foremost, I apologize for not posting since April 26th, 2011, but finals, work, and other activities took over my life and I was unable to keep up with blogging. A lot has happened since Jered Weaver became 6-0, but I do not believe I cannot sum it all up in one blog. What should I blog about after being away for over a month? I'm not quite sure, so I'm going to blog about the one thing I know I always can talk about: The Phillies. The Phillies right now have the best record in the National League with a record of 34-22. And to look at the past week the past three series, they have played the Reds, the Mets, and the Nationals. Those series included a 19-inning stretch, which you probably know that Wilson Valdez got the win for. His hat was later sent to the Hall of Fame. I saw on Facebook the status of: "Jo-Jo Reyes 0-28, Wilson Valdez 1-0." Very amusing. The Phils have somewhat disappointed me because I was expecting this spectacular performance from both the offense and the defense. We all knew that Chase Utley's return would take awhile, and now that he is back for the most part, the Phillies are closer to what I call the "2010 Opening Day Lineup." That lineup goes as follows: Rollins, Polanco, Utley, Howard, Werth (Now Francisco/Brown), Ibanez, Victorino, Ruiz, Halladay. With Ruiz being shaky, Utley not playing everyday and Victorino now on the DL, the Phillies lineup fluctuates from the A-Team (minus Mr. T) and the B-Team. Any day I see Michael Martinez, Pete Orr, and Sardinha all playing, I say, "Oh it's one of those days." And by the way, do the Phillies REALLY need Michael Martinez that badly? Do they not want the Nationals to get him that badly that they have to keep his crappy bat on the roster? Right now, the Phillies are in a good position in the National League, and can maintain their spot atop the NL East. On a better note, I was happy to see Vance Worley return to the Phillies lineup, and was heartbroken to see him go. His outing against the Mets can be summed up by poor fielding by the Phillies as well as some questionable calls by the THREE umpires.