Archive for the ‘baseball’ Category

It’s just 1

Posted: April 7, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports
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The baseball off season was very exciting in Chicago. The Cubs went out and signed the top starting pitcher on the market (Jon Lester) to a 6 year $155 million dollar deal. They also signed Jason Hammel to a 2 year $20 million dollar deal to round out the starting rotation. The Cubs also sent Dan Straily and Luis Valbuena to the Houston Astros to get centerfielder Dexter Fowler. Now not to be out done the White Sox added 3 players of their own. They signed left handed power hitter Adam LaRoche to a 2 year $25 million dollar deal. They also inked Melky Cabrera to a 3 year $42 million dollar free agent deal. Then the White Sox sent Rangel Ravelo, Chris Bassitt, Josh Phegley and Marcus Semien to the Oakland A’s for starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija.

Now after these signings and deals most if not all fans of Chicago baseball where looking forward to opening day. Well opening day was Sunday night for the Cubs and yesterday (Monday) for the White Sox. Both teams lost their opener. The Cubs 3-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals and the White Sox 10-1 to the Kansas City Royals. Now what surprised me was how after each of these losses was how quickly the excitement that was there in the off season quickly turned to negativity and dislike for each team.

We have two radio stations in Chicago that cover sports 24/7. There’s the one that offers national coverage with a couple of local shows added in; this is the one Dan the Man listens to. Then there’s the station that focuses on just Chicago teams and that’s the one I listen to. I was actually caught off guard with some of the callers to the overnight show I was listening to after both games. I heard everything from wait until next year to the Cubs wasted their money on Lester and the White Sox made a bad trade for Samardzija. It was just 1 game. There are 161 more games left this season.

The Cubs had some good scoring chances and just didn’t get that hit when they needed it. Do fans really think the Cubs will go 0-13 with runners in scoring position every game. They should also factor in that the pitcher they where facing was Adam Wainwright; who is a Top 10 or maybe even a Top 5 pitcher in baseball. Now Lester didn’t have a great outing, but he found a way to limit the damage when he had to. Remember that Lester had some dead arm issues towards the end of spring training and he has to work his way through that. There where 2 things that concerned me with the 1st Cubs game. Lester not being able to make pick off throws to the bases is one. Now he he doesn’t let any runners get on base this won’t be an issues, but you’d have to think that any team who gets a runner on against him would take a shot at stealing a base. The other one was the batting order. I’ve heard all of the reasoning for hitting the pitcher 8th and they always sound like excuses to me. It came back to bite the Cubs a little as Lester came up with a runner in scoring position and 2 outs. Now 1st base was open and they could’ve worked around a guy to get to Lester anyway, but there was no decision involved with Lester at the plate because he was in the 8th spot. I think this move was Joe Maddon trying to prove he’s a wacky guy and he’ll go against the grain. Or it was just a sad cry for attention.

With the White Sox it looks like it was a bad outing for your pitchers. Samardzija really struggled through 6 innings giving up 5 runs on 6 hits while striking out just 1 batter. Samardzija had some control issues as well as he walked 3; hit 2 batters and uncorked a wild pitch. The fans will dump all of the blame on Samardzija since he was the big guy they picked up in the off season, but the 2 pitchers who followed him weren’t any better. The White Sox picked up Dan Jennings to help shore up the bullpen and get lefties out. Jennings struggled on opening day just like Samardzija did. Jennings pitched 2/3rds of an inning gave up 3 runs on just 1 hit while walking 2 (1 intentionally) and striking out 1. Kyle Drabek was the next White Sox pitcher out of the bullpen. Drabek pitched an 1 1/3rd giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with 1 strikeout. Call it opening day jitters or just a bad outing, but don’t forget that the Royals are the defending American League champions and while they haven’t gotten a lot of respect from the baseball experts this off season maybe they’re better than people thought. Maybe you could add in that Yordano Ventura was the Royals opening day starter and he’s an up and coming pitcher in the game of baseball. Ventura along with Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Ryan Madson held the White Sox to 5 hits, but 1 of them was a Jose Abreu home run. If yoou noticed last season that’s the Royals formula for winning. 6 innings out of the starter and an inning each out of 3 relievers to wrap the game up. Hopefully White Sox fans can let this game go unless you think Samardzija is as bad as he was on opening day.

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Who’s the ____ Closer

Posted: April 3, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports
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The Best: Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves. 4 straight seasons of 42 or more saves for Kimbrel puts him at the top of the list. While his streak of 42 or more saves may end this season, but not because of Kimbrel himself. The Braves don’t look like they’ll be a very good team this season; so that might end the streak. There is a chance that with the Braves rebuilding on the fly they might deal Kimbrel which would be a big plus for his fantasy owner. While Kimbrel’s value may be a little down this season from the last few he’s still the best closer in baseball and should be the first closer selected in any draft.

Underrated: Huston Street, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It’s tough to believe that you can be underrated after getting 41 saves, but you never hear Street’s name mentioned among the top closers in the game. Street is entering his 11th season and has 275 career saves. Street picked up 24 saves with the San Diego Padres and had an ERA of 1.09 before being traded to the Angels. With the Angels he added 17 saves and posted an ERA of 1.71. Street doesn’t strike out a lot of guys and that may be why experts look past him at times, but he’ll get your fantasy teams saves. How many of you remember that Street was the 2005 RoY while closing for the Oakland A’s.

Bounce Back: Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox. Uehara’s save total did go up last season from 21 in 2013 to 26 in 2014, but his ERA also went up from 1.09 in 2013 to 2.52 in 2014; he also pitched less games in 2014 64 to 2013 when he pitched in 73 games. With the A.L. East wide open this season the Red Sox need Uehara to be a top closer and approach the 35 to 40 save range. Uehara had some health issues last season; so he’ll need to make sure those are in the rear view mirror as the 2015 season opens. If you think the Red Sox will contend in the A.L. East this season Uehara is a good pick for you. If your thinking the Red Sox won’t be a factor in the A.L. East race you may want to look for another closer.

Stay Away from: Jonathan Papelbon, Philadelphia Phillies. There is actually nothing that Papelbon has done to end up in this category, but it’s the team he’s on that’s the issue. It looks like the Phillies might lose 95 to 100 games in 2015; so how many save opportunities is Papelbon going to get. While Papelbon has lost some velocity on his fastball he has learned how to get major league hitters out with his other pitches and can still close games. If the Phillies decide to move on from Papelbon and he gets dealt to a contender his value as a closer will rise, but as long as he’s closing for Philadelphia look somewhere else for your fantasy saves.

Who’s the ____ Set Up guy

Posted: April 2, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports
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With starting pitchers going less and less innings because of either an innings restriction, a bad outing or an arm issues the middle reliever or set up guys has become more and more important. Our league has a Holds category and the right set up guy not only helps keep your ERA down he might even pick up a save or two for your fantasy team. After last season World Series don’t be surprised to see teams go with a 7th inning guy an 8th inning guy and then turn the game over to their closer. There’s a lot of good and bad set up guys; so here’s my loo at 4 for this season.

The Best: Wade Davis, Kansas City Royals. Davis was a bottom of a rotation starter for most of his career, but last season he found a niche in the Royals bullpen. Davis went 9-2 with an ERA of 1.00 in 71 games covering 72 innings last season. Davis even picked up 3 saves for the Royals last season. It’s not the first time Davis had success out of the bullpen. In 2012 the Tampa Bay Rays used him out of the bullpen and he had an ERA of 2.43 in 54 games and went 3-0 that season. Davis had 33 holds last season, there is even a chance that Davis may add a few more saves to his totals in 2015 as there are reports that Greg Holland’s velocity is down.

Underrated: Adam Ottavino, Colorado Rockies. There are a ton of set up guys who are underrated, but I chose Ottavino because he pitches for the Rockies and it’s tough to find good things to say about the Rockies pitching. Ottavino appeared in 75 games and posted an ERA of 3.60 with a 1-4 record and 1 save over 65 innings. Ottavino did post a career high 21 holds last season. His ERA was 2.64 in 51 games in 2013; so his numbers where a little higher last season, but he pitched in 24 more games last season. There has been reports that Ottavino may get some closing opportunities as 2015 is LaTroy Hawkins last season and Colorado may start to look for someone to fill that role down the road.

Bounce Back: Craig Stammen, Washington Nationals. On paper a lot of experts think the Nationals are the team to beat this season, but if they appear to have a weakness it’s the bullpen. If Stammen can find a way to bring his ERA down from 3.84 and get it closer to his 2013 number; 2.76 or better yet for the Nationals his 2012 number of 2.34. Stammen looks to be the Nationals top set up guy so he should get more than 49 appearances like he did last season and he’ll need to greatly increase his holds number which was down to 7 last season. Stammen maybe the key piece to the Nationals bullpen and he should get the games to proves he’s a top set up guy.

Stay Away from: Bryan Shaw, Cleveland Indians. There is absolutely nothing in Shaw’s 2014 season that would indicate that he’s trending down, but my concern is that he had a league leading 80 relief appearances last season and I’m worried that his arm may not hold up to that type of work load again. Shaw has had 214 relief appearances over the last 3 seasons and that doesn’t count the times he warmed up in the bullpen and didn’t come into the game. Shaw is 27 years old; so his arm might still be young enough to handle another big number season of appearances, but with so many quality set up guys out there is Shaw worth taking a chance on?

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Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: April 1, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, NASCAR, sports
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To the surprise of no one except maybe Scott Boras and the MLBPA the Cubs sent Kris Bryant to Triple A Iowa earlier this week. It’s not the fact that Bryant was sent down that should’ve been the story, but who went to the minors with him. Again it wasn’t a shock that Addison Russell was sent down. Russell hasn’t spent a full season at Triple A and he was injured last season; so a full season at Triple A wouldn’t be the worse thing for him. The story should’ve been that Javier Baez was sent down. Baez was a 1st round pick and 9th overall in the 2011 draft. He appeared in 52 games last season. He hit .169, but showed good power with 9 home runs and drove in 20. He did also steal 5 bases in 6 attempts. Did I mention he struck out 95 times in 213 at bats. Theo Epstein went out and hired Manny Ramirez to work with Baez the middle of last season and then the Cubs sold their fans on the fact that they would work with Baez in the off season to cut down on his strikeouts. This spring Baez hit .179 with 1 home run and 1 RBI in 16 games. In 52 spring training plate appearances Baez struck out 20 times. How much work did the Cubs do with him in the off season? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say NONE! Another issue I have is the fact that about a week or so ago Cubs management came out and said that they weren’t sure if Bryant could play 3rd base in the majors. Now 2015 was the start of Bryant’s 3rd season with the Cubs and they’re just now figuring out that he might not be able to play 3rd base. Bryant has played 160 games in the Cubs minor league system. He’s committed 27 errors and has a career fielding percentage of .942. He made a total of 21 errors last season; 14 of those errors were made at Double A Tennessee in 62 games, but at Triple A Iowa where Bryant played in 67 games he made just 7 errors. So the Cubs top 2 prospects start the 2015 season in the minor leagues. They couldn’t teach one to cut down on his strikeouts and they can’t find the proper position for the other one. Instead of focusing on how bad it was that Bryant got sent to the minors maybe it’s time to look at player development in the Cubs system. It’s great to stock pile all of these top prospects, but if you can’t teach them how to be good major league players; how is that going to help your team. Are you tried of seeing players the caliber of Baez traded and then turning into the player he should’ve been in a Cubs uniform?

Staying with Baez for a minute here. No one and I mean no one had him headed to Triple A. If someone tries to tell you they did they’re lying to you. On the Sunday podcast of Sports Time Radio Al Yellon from BleedCubbieBlue.com was on with us to preview the Cubs 2015 season. Al was the first person I had heard say that Baez was headed to the minors to start the season.

While I’m handing out credit on the podcast Sunday morning we also had Chris Olmstead from BeyondtheFlag.com on to talk some NASCAR with us. Chris has been on the last couple of weeks with us to look at the goings on in NASCAR and preview which ever race is happening that weekend. I always give Chris a chance to pick 3 drivers that he thinks will end up in victory lane at the end of the race. While on the podcast Chris said that Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver Denny Hamlin was the guy to watch in Martinsville on Sunday. At the end of the STP 500 at Martinville Speedway it was Hamlin who was driving his car into victory lane.

We’re almost done with our season previews for the upcoming baseball season. Dan the Man was able to track down guests to come on the podcast and preview all the teams except the Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals; so we’re trying to handle the previews ourselves. We’re actually down to just 1 team to go and that’s the Red Sox; will be doing that preview on the Friday podcast. Sadly for us we’re not as in depth with these teams as the other people we’ve had on, but we’re doing what we can to give a solid preview for 2015. You can listen to today’s podcast or any archive show we’ve done at BlogTalkRadio.com and just find our show Sports Time Radio.

You can follow me on Twitter @Burketime

Who’s the ____ Starting Pitcher

Posted: March 31, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports
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All we have left to look at before the baseball season starts is pitching. So of course we should begin with the first guy to take the mound the starting pitcher.

The Best: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers. A back to back Cy Young award winner and Kershaw has won the award 3 times in 4 seasons. The year he didn’t win it 2012; he finished 2nd. He added the MVP award as well last season when he was 21-3 with a 1.77 E.R.A. and he completed 6 games and 2 shutouts as well. Kershaw missed a few starts early in the season and only made 27 starts last season; imagine what his numbers might’ve been had he started 33 games like he had the past 3 seasons. While Kershaw would be hard pressed to match the season he had in 2014 if he gets close to his numbers it’s a successful one.

Underrated: Tyson Ross, San Diego Padres. Ross was 13-14 with a 2.81 E.R.A. with 2 complete games and a shutout last season. It was his first full season as a starter. Ross made 31 starts last season and before that he had never made more than 16 starts in a season. Ross only has 68 career starts over 5 seasons and should be the Padres 3rd starter in 2015. Ross struckout 19 batters last season while walking 72 for a WHIP of 1.211. Ross was also selected to the All-Star team in 2014. It looks like San Diego has improved in the off season and they should win some more games in 2015. More win for the Padres should equal more wins for Ross and if his other stats stay close to his 2014 numbers he’ll be a solid fantasy pitcher.

Bounce Back: C.J. Wilson, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Wilson made 31 starts for the Angels last season and posted a 13-10 record, but his E.R.A. was 4.51. If the Angels wouldn’t of scored runs last season Wilson’s record would’ve been terrible. Wilson did throw 1 complete game and it was a shutout last season. Besides lowering the E.R.A. Wilson needs to lower his walk total; he led the A.L. in walks last season with 85. Wilson has made 31 or more starts every season since 2010; so he takes the baseball. If Wilson can get his E.R.A. back to around his career total of 3.72 and bring his walk total down he should repeat his win total or even pick up a few more in 2015.

Stay Away from: Jeremy Hellickson, Arizona Diamondbacks. Hellickson was the A.L. Rookie of the Year in 2011 and has won double digit games every season until last season when he went 1-5 and made just 13 starts because of injuries and a demotion to the minors. In 2013 when he made 31 starts his E.R.A. was 5.71 in his limited starts last season it was 4.52. A move to the National League might help Hellickson’s E.R.A. some, but he never turned into the top of the rotation starter the Tampa Bay Rays thought he would. The Rays dealt Hellickson to the Diamondbacks for 2 minor league pitchers Andrew Velazquez and Justin Williams. Hellickson might be good at the bottom of a solid rotation, but Arizona needs more than that from him and I’m not sure he’ll deliver.

Who’s the ____ at Catcher

Posted: March 30, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports
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Most if not all fantasy experts say to wait and draft a catcher lase. It’s not a terrible idea, but if one of the top guys fall to you why pass on him. Here’s a look at who’s, who in 2015. The tough part with catchers is you’re only going to get about 120 games out of even the best catcher.

The Best; Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants. Posey has 3 World Series rings a Rookie of the Year award and an MVP award. With a resume like that how could he not be the best catcher in baseball. I am wondering how the absence of Hunter Pence will affect Posey to start the season. Posey is a career .308 hitter has the power to hit 25 home runs in a season. The question will be how much will the Giants score; so Posey can rack up some RBI’s. He did drive in 89 runs in 2014 and fantasy owners would gladly take that from their catching position. There’s really no one close to Posey at catcher; you just have to decide were you’d be willing to draft him.

Underrated; Yan Gomes, Cleveland Indians. This will be the last season Gomes is underrated; so you’ll have a chance to steal him this season and that will be it. Gomes hit 21 home runs, drove in 78 RBI’s and hit .278 in his first full season as Cleveland’s catcher. Gomes played in 135 games last season catching 126 of them; so he’s going to be in the line up. The negative you have to watch with Gomes is he’s going to strikeout; 120 times last season. So if your league subtracts points for strikeouts adjust your ratings for Gomes. Of course if you can get 20 to 25 home runs, 80 to 85 RBI’s and a .280 batting average out of Gomes in 2015 you can live with the strikeouts especially from a catcher.

Bounce Back; Brian McCann, New York Yankees. I heard an expert say that McCann was shifted against more than any other player in major league baseball last season and his stats suffered for it. McCann hit .232 last season; the second lowest he’s hit in a season. McCann’s power numbers were still good hitting 23 home runs and driving in 75 runs last season. McCann is going to hit home runs playing half his games in Yankees Stadium, but he’s gong to have to make the adjustments to what defenses are doing to him. It seemed like last season McCann was trying to prove he could beat the shift and it hurt his average. Just 10 hits to leftfield last season would’ve raised his batting average 20 points. If McCann is willing to take a few singles the other way he’ll improve in 2015.

Stay Away from; Christian Vázquez, Boston Red Sox. It’s a small sample size for Vasquez; just 55 games last season, but did he show you anything in those 55 games to make you think he’s a quality major league catcher. Vasquez is more of a defensive catcher; he threw out 52% of runners trying to steal last season. That’s great for the Red Sox and their pitching staff, but bad for fantasy owners. Vasquez hit .240 last season with just 1 home run and 20 RBI’s. Again that was in just 55 games and you’d think the power and RBI numbers will go up by playing in more games, but not enough for fantasy owners to draft him.

Who’s the ___ in RF

Posted: March 29, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports
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We’re on to the last outfield spot and again my leagues are position specific; so I’ll try to find guys that are going to start the season playing rightfield.

The Best; Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins. Just like centerfield this is an easy choice. Even with a late season injury last season Stanton still led the National League with 37 home runs and drove in 105 runs. He posted a .288 batting average and even stole 13 bases last season; just an added plus. Stanton should’ve been the N.L. MVP last season and the Marlins rewarded him with a 13 year $325 million dollar contract. Besides home runs Stanton led the N.L. in Slugging Percentage at .555 and Total Bases with 299. There’s no reason to think that Stanton’s numbers won’t be better in 2015 and there’s an outside chance he could be a 50 homer guy. Like Trout the negative on Stanton is he’s going to strikeout; he had 170 last season. Otherwise he’s the best rightfielder in baseball.

Underrated; Alex Rios, Kansas City Royals. The stigma on Rios was that he was an every other year player, but he seems to have gotten past that. His power was way down last season, but he had nagging injuries all season long and you have to think if healthy he’ll hit more than the 4 homers he hit last season. Rios is 34 years old and entering his 12th major league season; so there is an injury concern with him, but if he’s healthy he’s very consistent. You can look for Rios to hit right around .280 get back to 15 home runs and drive in 75 or more RBI’s in the Royals line up; he’s been a double digit steals guy though his career, but that might be over since he’s had some leg injuries. Rios just gives you solid numbers.

Bounce Back; Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds. Bruce’s numbers fell off the charts last season. A .217 batting average with 18 home runs and 66 RBI’s. Before last season Bruce had 3 straight 30 plus home run season and never drove in less than 97 runs. While Bruce won’t hit .300 you;d think he’ll return to his career average of .251 this season. You’ll have to decide if the decline in Bruce’s numbers is part of the Reds decline as a whole or if he just had a bad season. If Bruce just has an average season and can get between 20 to 25 home runs and gets his RBI’s back to 80 plus; would you except that out of your rightfielder?

Stay away from; Curtis Granderson, New York Mets. The best thing Granderson can give your fantasy team is power, He hit 20 home runs last season and should be good for 20 or more home runs this season. Otherwise Granderson hit .227 drove in 66 runs and struck out 141 times. Granderson was a 40 home runs year hitter just a couple of seasons ago, but that seems like a long time ago. Granderson even used to give you double digit steals a season, but the last 2 seasons that hasn’t happened either. There is a chance if the Mets improve Granderson might improve as well, but that’s kind of a stretch.

Who’s the ____ in CF

Posted: March 29, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports
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Again our outfield is position specific; so I’m trying to focus on guys who’ll start the season in Centerfield.

The Best; Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Trout is the best player in baseball and won his 1st A.L. MVP last season. Even though I’m not a big spring training numbers guy Trout appears to have picked up where he left off last season. Trout is hitting .468 with 4 home runs this spring. If you’re in a league that deducts for strikeouts Trout could hurt you there; he struck out 184 times last season. If his strikeout total comes down he’s far and away the best player in fantasy and the #1 pick in almost every league; depending on format. There are quite a few good centerfielders, but Trout is far and away the best of them.

Underrated; Ben Revere, Philadelphia Phillies. Of course you’re not going to get a lot of power out of Revere, but if you’re going to draft him you know that. What he will give you is a good batting average; 306 last season and .291 for his career. He’ll also give you speed; a career high 49 steals last season. If you’re in a category league he can add to your triples category; he had 7 last season and don’t forget he had 184 hits last season even though a lot of them are singles. Being in the lead off spot means Revere will get at least 4 at bats a game and that could mean extra at bats for the season; so it’s more chances to put up stats for your team.

Bounce Back; Michael Bourn, Cleveland Indians. There are some questions that Bourn needs to answer going into the 2015 season. Can he stay healthy? Bourn played in 106 games last season. Have these injuries taken away his speed? Bourn had just 10 stolen bases last season. Can he get his batting average back into the .270’s? Bourn hit .257 last season and .263 in 2013. If there’s an issue with Bourn’s speed I might’ve been better off putting him in the stay away category. I think if Bourn is healthy he’ll get his numbers back closer to his career averages. If Bourn could get back to .270 and steal 40 bases a fantasy owner should take that.

Stay Away from; Melvin Upton Jr, Atlanta Braves. This should be an easy player for most if not all fantasy owners to do unless you think he’s going to finally produce. Upton hit 12 homers last season; up from 9 in 2013. His batting average went up to .208 last season; it was .184 on 2013. He drove in 35 runs last season; up from 26 in 2013. The only possible plus you could get out of having Upton on your team is he’ll steal double digit bases for you. If you need one more reason not to draft Upton; he struck out 173 times last season.

Who’s the ____ in LF

Posted: March 29, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, sports
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So in our leagues the outfielders are position specific; so I’m going to try and focus on the guys who will play that outfield spot.

The Best; Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians. There are two camps on Brantley heading into this season. You’re either in the camp that last season was a breakout year and he’ll continue to play at a high level. Then there’s the group that believes that last season was a fluke and he’ll drop way off in 2015. I’m not sure that Brantley will hit .327 this season, but if he can get close to .300 that’s fine. There’s a chance if Cleveland has improved that his RBI’s will go up from the 97 last season. Brantley has good enough power to stay at the 20 homer level as well. I’m in on him this season; so while I may not believe he’ll be a star for years to come I think he’s the best for 2015.

Underrated: Khris Davis, Milwaukee Brewers. While Davis didn’t hit for a high average last season .244 he did have 22 home runs, 69 RBI’s and added 37 doubles. The Brewers have a very solid line up; so Davis isn’t called upon to carry the team and that helps him put up his numbers. Davis hit .279 in limited action in 2013; so if his batting average could meet somewhere in the middle it will make him a quality fantasy player especially in bigger leagues. If his average can come up a little his other numbers should come with it. It wouldn’t take much improvement to get to 25 home runs and 75 RBI’s

Bounce Back; Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals. Harper’s games played have dropped every year since his rookie season. He played in just 100 games last season. If he can just stay healthy he should have a bounce back season. I’m not sure if Harper will show the power some people are predicting for him this season. He has a career high of 22 home runs, but I’ve heard some experts say he’ll hit 30 or 35 home runs in 2015. I’d like to see Harper get his batting average closer to .300; he’s a career .272 hitter. If Harper could find his way close to .300 with 25 home runs and 75 RBI’s I think most fantasy owners would take that from him. The question is; can he stay healthy enough to do it.

Stay Away from; Alejandro De Aza, Baltimore Orioles. For whatever reason managers like to put De Aza in the lead off spot. His career high in steals is 26, he’s never walked more than 50 times in a season and he’ll strikeout 100 plus times a season. I’m not sure it’s the bat you want at the top of the order. He’s a career .268 hitter and probably won’t get to double digits in home runs. Even in a position specific like yours there are plenty of other outfielders ahead of De Aza.

How was your Week?

Posted: March 28, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, sports
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With the Oklahoma City Thunder hanging on to the 8th and final playoff seed in the Western Conference it was announced that last seasons M.V.P. Kevin Durant will miss the rest of the season. Durant has missed large chunks of the year after having “Jones fracture” surgery back in October, and the latest operation will see him sidelined for another four-to-six months. Durant returned to action in early December, but by the middle of February he started to feel pain again, and had a minor procedure to replace a screw that was rubbing against another bone. Durant consulted with multiple specialist and the decision was made that he will have bone graft surgery. This surgery is needed in five to eight percent of Jones fracture surgeries that do not initially have success or experience setbacks sometime within the recovery period. This latest operation will see Durant sidelined for another 4 to 6 months. Durant’s 2014-15 season saw him play in 27 games averaging 25.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 4.1 APG while shooting 51% from the field and 40.3% from behind the 3-point line. Durant will be entering the final year of his contract next season and the Thunder will have a big decision to make. Oklahoma City will have a year to decide if Durant is a max contract player or if they’ll actually let him walk away as a free agent. The Thunder have given themselves a little bit of a lead for that 8th playoff spot. They are 3 games ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans and 3 1/2 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns. Oklahoma City has 10 games left while the Pelicans have 9 games left and Phoenix has 8 games left in the regular season. In Durant’s absence Russell Westbrook has played at an M.V.P. type level, but going into the playoffs as the 8th seed the Thunder will match up with the Golden State Warriors. When there was a chance that Durant might return this season there was a lot of talk that the Thunder might ne able to upset the Warriors in the 1st round, but with just Westbrook what are the Thunder’s chances of that still happening. Is it time to start wondering that if your name isn’t LeBron James it’s a curse to win the M.V.P. award. Since 2008-09 James has won the M.V.P. award 4 times. Derrick Rose won the award in 2010-11 and Durant won it last season. Rose has pretty much had injury issues ever since and now Durant has a foot problem; just saying.

With Oklahoma City looking to have grabbed the last playoff spot in the Western conference teams can get ready for the playoff to start, but over in the Eastern conference there are 5 teams looking for those last 2 playoff spots. The Miami Heat gave the 7th playoff seed right now and the Boston Celtics are holding on to the 8th playoff seed. The Brooklyn Nets are 1/2 a game out of the 8th spot and 1 1/2 games out of the 7th spot. The Indiana Pacers are 1 game out of the 8th spot and 2 games out of the 7th spot and the Charlotte Hornets are still in the playoff hunt. The Hornets find themselves just 2 1/2 games out of the 7th spot and 1 1/2 games out of the 8th playoff spot. Even the Detroit Pistons haven’t officially been eliminated, but they are 4 games behind the Celtics and things would have to fall just right for the Pistons to find there way into the 8th seed. Do you think it would be better to finish 8th and play the Atlanta Hawks in the 1st round of the playoffs or finish 7th and draw the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening playoff series?

On the Sports Time Radio podcast last night (Friday) we previewed to American League Central teams. We talked with Nick Dudukovich from FactoryofSadness.com about the Cleveland Indians upcoming 2015 season then Tony Fischer from DetroitJockCity.com came back on the podcast to preview the Detroit Tigers 2015 season. While both teams seem to have their everyday line ups ready to go both teams have pitching questions coming into the season. The Indians have Corey Kluber last seasons Cy Young award winner to anchor the starting rotation. Carlos Carrasco looks to be the #2 starter, but after that they’re filling the rotation with young talent. Trevor Bauer and lefty T.J. House look to be in the rotation and the last spot should come down to a choice between Josh Tomlin and Zach McAllister. Most experts had Danny Salazar penciled in as the 5th starter, but the Indians demoted him yesterday after a difficult spring. If Salazar can get righted quickly in the minors he’ll be back and in the rotation for Cleveland. The Tigers starting rotation is set and ready to go for the season. David Price gets the opening day start with Justin Verlander behind him. Verlander left his spring start yesterday, but it’s being reported that there are long injury concerns and he’ll be ready for his 1st start of the season. Anibal Sanchez is #3 with newcomers Alfredo Simon and Shane Greene filling the #4 and #5 spots. The Tigers have a good rotation the problem will be who makes a start if there’s an injury. The Tigers would look to 24 year old Kyle Lobstein or 23 year old Buck Farmer. While it looks like the Tigers are in a little better shape in the rotation the Indians may hold the advantage in the bullpen. Detroit is looking for Joe Nathan to return to the form that made him one of the games best closers. Nathan has a 5.79 ERA over 9 1/3rd spring training innings. How quickly would the Tigers turn to Joakim Soria if Nathan struggles early in the season. Or would they turn to Bruce Rondon. Rondon was considered in 2013, but had control issues. He’s only walked 2 guys in 6 1/3 rd innings this spring; so could he be the next in line to close games in Nathan has issues. The Indians bullpen and their roles look set to open the season. Cody Allen will close with Brian Shaw, Scott Atchison and lefty specialist Marc Rzepczynski in front of him. Can these 3 relievers repeat their performances from last season and will the fact that they made a combined 223 appearances affect them at all. As both the Indians and the Tigers go into the season both of our guests last night had their teams right at the 91-92 win area; so will they both compete for the A.L. Central title?

You can listen to Sports Time Radio on http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com

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