Posts Tagged ‘Aroldis Chapman’

The Grand Crosstown Slam

Posted: July 27, 2016 by Daniel Kupres in baseball, fantasy, Minor League Baseball, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio
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Game 3 of the Crosstown Cup, this time on the Northside at Wrigley Field.  Jason Hammel is seeking  his 10th win of the season and third in a row.  He’s taking on Anthony Ranaudo in his first start for the White Sox since coming over from the Rangers in May.

Hammel would put a base runner per inning for the first three innings.  Ranaudo in turn would walk Fowler and Rizzo in the 1st inning but wouldn’t allow another base runner through three.

Hammel would give up the first extra base hit of the game with a double to Todd Frazier in the 4th.  But it would be the 5th inning when Anthony Ranaudo would get his first base hit of the year launching a line drive to right center for his first home run of the year.

Hammel would make it through a full seven innings, striking out seven while only walking two and giving up the one run on five hits.

Ranaudo makes it all the way to the top of the 6th be for giving up a one out solo home run to Kris Bryant tieing the game at 1.  Ranaudo gets the first two outs in the top of the 7th.  He would then walk Jason Heyward prompting a visit to the mound.  Javier Baez would knock his 11th home run of the season driving in Heyward and putting the Cubs up by two runs.  Robin Ventura decides to bring in Zach Duke who walks Tommy La Stella only to be removed for Carson Fulmer.

Hector Rondon enters the game in the top of the 8th retiring all three batters.

With Fulmer still in, he starts the 8th by hitting Bryant, then gives up  single to Rizzo.  Ben Zobrist smacks his 18th double if the season driving in Bryant with Rizzo ending up at third.  Miguel Montero walks and that is all for Fulmer as Jacob Turner enters the game.  With the bases loaded Addison Russel would launch a grand slam to left center for his 12th home run of the year.  Jason Heyward gets a single but Jacob Turner would get out of the inning.  Cubs up 8-1.

Tonights the night that we’ll get to see Aroldis Chapman in a Cubs uniform.  He starts off by striking out Jose Abreu.  He gets Todd Frazier into a full count and gets him to ground out to Russell.  Avisail Garcia would get called out on strike three, which homer Hawk Harrelson would immediately say “that was not a strike.”  While Chapman didn’t get the save, he looked great and the Cubs won!

Go Cubs Go!

Dan the Man

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Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: July 27, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, sports, Uncategorized
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I really use to have an interest in inter-league play. Remember I said use to. Inter-league play is just a shell of it’s former self and a lot of the time I don’t even notice that a series is an inter-league match up until it’s over. I always wanted to know who was going to DH for a National League team and watching the American League pitcher bat could be entertaining. Now there’s an inter-league series pretty much everyday and it’s really just taken the luster off of it. This week we have the Chicago teams matching up in what they call the Crosstown Cup. At least I think that’s what they’re calling it now. To me now it’s just a 4-game series between two teams. Is there anyone out there that still is interested in an inter-league series or are you like me and it’s just another series in a 162 game season. I would love to get your point of view on inter-league play. Are you like me and you’re no longer interested because of the oversaturation of games or is there another reason you’re down on inter-league play. Also if you’re on the other side and you still enjoy inter-league play let me know why you still enjoy watching it. Feel free to leave your comments here or e-mail me SportsTimeRadio@Hotmail.com.

As NFL teams get ready to open camp one of the biggest question still out there is; who’s going to be the New York Jets quarterback. Last seasons starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets remain stalemated in contract negotiations as training camp opens on Wednesday. The sides have not talked about a contract recently and remain far apart. The Jets and Fitzpatrick appear to be far apart on what Fitzpatrick’s value is. In February, the Jets offered Fitzpatrick a three year, $24 million dollar contract, according to sources. It included $12 million in the first year, but only $6 million in each of the last two years. Fitzpatrick is 33 and made $3.25 million last season. He ended up having his best season as a pro. He threw for a career-high 3,905 yards and a Jets team record 31 touchdowns against 15 interceptions. The Jets went 10-6 last season after going 4-12 in the 2014 season. If not Fitzpatrick then who. Geno Smith appears to be the first quarterback in line. Smith appeared in one game last season going 27 for 42. He threw two touchdowns and one interception while throwing for 265 yards. Bryce Petty was drafted in the 4th round of the 2015 draft; so could he be an option at quarterback. The Jets also have this years 2nd round draft pick Christian Hackenburg in camp; so is there a chance that he might win the job. The Jets have stated that they don’t expect Hackenburg to be the teams starting quarterback, but if Fitzpatrick and the Jets can’t come to a contract agreement you’d think they’d go with whichever quarterback gives them the best chance to win. Who’s the Jets starting quarterback Week 1?

Amar’e Stoudemire signed a contract with the New York Knicks so he could announce his retirement as a member of the Knicks. Stoudemire came into the NBA straight out of high school. He was the 9th pick in the 1st round by the Phoenix Suns and went on to win the Rookie of the Year award with the Suns. Stoudemire averaged 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds in 846 career games over 14 seasons for Phoenix, New York, Dallas and Miami. The 6-foot-10 forward/center was named an All-Star six times and selected to two All-NBA first teams. In Phoenix Stoudemire teamed with Steve Nash to form a formidable pick and roll tandem. Stoudemire may go play overseas. He has lucrative interest from China or he could join Hapoel Jerusalem, which is the Israeli team he co-owns. Stoudemire spent 8 seasons with the Suns. 4 1/2 seasons with the Knicks. He spent half of the 2014-15 season with the Dallas Mavericks and he played 52 games last season for the Miami Heat.

We’ve had a couple of deals in baseball this week. The Cubs made a big move and acquired relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees for pitcher Adam Warren and three minor league prospects. They Yankees received minor league shortstop Gleyber Torres, minor league outfielders Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. Both Torres and McKinney are Top 100 rated prospects. Warren was trade by the Yankees to the Cubs last off season for 2nd baseman Starlin Castro, but Warren struggled to find a spot with the Cubs and had just been optioned to Triple-A Iowa before being sent back to New York. Chapman will be a free agent at the end of the season and had express interest in signing an extension wit the Yankees while he was there; so could he return in the off season? Chapman should solidify the back end of a Cubs bullpen that has had some issues this season. The other deal saw the San Diego Padres send outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. to the Toronto Blue Jays for Hansel Rodriguez a 19 year old right handed pitcher. Upton value increased this season. His batting average was just .256 with the Padres, but he’s hit 16 home runs and had driven in 45 runs. Upton has also stolen 20 bases this season. The Blue Jays did make another deal as they swapped relievers with the Seattle Mariners. Toronto had designated relief pitcher Drew Storen for assignment over the weekend and they where able to work out a deal with the Mariners to send Storen and cash considerations to Seattle for relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit. Details There are quite a few rumors out there and we’ll have to see which teams are going to make moves and which teams are just talking about making moves. Will the teams that are rebuilding like the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves or the Minnesota Twins start to deal some players as we move closer to the trade deadline?

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How Was Your Week?

Posted: June 18, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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Are the Chicago Cubs the best team in Major League Baseball? In most experts opinions they are. They’ve played 65 games and they’re 45-20 record is the best in baseball. The only other teams with more than 40 wins are the Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals and the San Francisco Giants. After making the playoffs as a wild card team last season the Cubs look to be cruising in the National League Central. They have a 10 1/2 game lead over the 2nd place St. Louis Cardinals and a 13 game lead over the 3rd place Pittsburgh Pirates; who they’re playing this weekend. It appears as though the Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer rebuild has worked for the Cubs as they are a viable World Series contender and in a lot of people’s opinion the favorite to win it.

Now even as good as the Cubs have been they have there issues like every other major league team. In the Cubs case it’s the bullpen. To be more specific left handed middle relief. This issue started the rumor a couple of weeks ago that the Cubs would be interested in making a deal for Andrew Miller the New York Yankees left handed set up guy. Now I’m not sure if the Yankees are ready to start dealing players. They’re 33-34 right now and find themselves in 4th place 5 1/2 games behind the American East leading Baltimore Orioles. A deal like sending Miller to the Cubs does make sense for both teams. It fills a weakness for the Cubs and the Yankees could acquire some of the young talent they’re looking for. Then this week everything went a little overboard. There are now a few reports out there that the Cubs not only want to pick up Miller from the Yankees, but also closer  Aroldis Chapman. Now these reports sent Cubs fans over the edge and things got a little carried away. Now what the majority of the Cubs fans who’ve heard about this possible trade don’t seem to understand is that the Yankees aren’t going to just give you Miler and Chapman. It’s not like the Yankees will just take the Cubs two left handed bullpen guys Travis Wood and Clayton Richard straight up in a deal. That sounds like a trade Dan the Man would send me in one of our year long Yahoo fantasy leagues. This is the part that for some reason a majority of Cubs fans just don’t understand, but here goes. 

There are reports out there that the Yankees want injured left hander slugger Kyle Schwarber as part of this deal and that’s just a starting point. While Chapman may just be a rent a player for the Cubs this season, the Yankees gave up 4 good minor league prospects to get him in the off season and they’re going to want some of that back.  Miller is signed through 2018 at in today’s game at a very friendly $9 million a season. A possible hold up in this deal is the fact that te Yankees appear to want young pitching back and the Cubs don’t have that anywhere in their organization. 

Okay Cubs fans here’s what it’s going to come down to. If the Cubs can acquire Miller and Chapman and set themselves up as favorites to win the World Series; which to be fair they might be anyway. Are you willing to give up a combination of Schwarber, Javier Baez, Alberto Almora and Jorge Soler along with probably your two best minor league pitching prospects in this deal? Now everyone knows the Cubs haven’t won a World Series in 100 plus years, but the team appears to be set up for long term success. Picking up Miller and Chapman may help them finally get that World Series title but is that one World Series title enough to satisfy long suffering Cubs fans or can you hold pat with the team you’ve built and see if they can come through with more than one. So Cubs fans; are you making this deal?

The New York Knicks are looking for an upgrade at the point guard position. Right now the Kinicks point guards are Jose Calderon, Jerian Grant and Tony Wroten. So to upgrade the position the Knicks have had internal talks about trying to deal for Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose. Both Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek and General Manager Steve Mills have said that the Knicks are interested in upgrading their point guard position in the off-season, but is Rose that upgrade. Remember just last week the Minnesota Timberwolves dangled the #5 pick in the draft at the Bulls to try and get Jimmy Butler. There are reports in Chicago that Butler and Rose can’t play together and I think I most people’s mind Butler would be the player who was traded. Not only is Rose a Chicago native, but with his injury history you wouldn’t think there would be a lot of interest. Now Rose is in the last season of his contract and a lot of teams do like those expiring deals. Rose was solid for the Bulls last season as he  averaged 16.4 points on 42.7 percent shooting and 4.7 assists in 66 games last season. The question would be who would the Knicks be willing to part with in a trade for Rose and remember with the NBA salary cap the players salaries have to match up. Now they don;t have to be exact, but they have to be close. Under Hornacek the Knicks are going to be playing more of an uptempo style with Phil Jackson’s triangle offense mixed in. So if the Knicks are going to run next season would they be willing to trade Center Robin Lopez along with a player like Arron Afflalo to the Bulls for Rose. The salaries match up; so neither tam would have to add players. The Knicks would get Rose and the Bulls would get Lopez who could replace free agent Pau Gasol and Affalo who could add some scoring. Lopez has 3 more years on the contract he signed with the Knicks last off season and make a little over $12 million. Affalo is entering the last year of his contract and makes $8 million. Rose is the Bulls highest paid player and he’s due to make just a little over $20 million in the last year of his contract. Is it possible that Rose starts the 2016-17 season in a Knicks uniform and that Butler might be in a Timberwolves uniform. Would it be a good idea for the Bulls to deal Rose and Butler and start on a rebuild?

@Burketime

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