2013 MLB Season Thread

[gunnar hendershow]

Giving new meaning to the phrase "beast of the East."

[Gabriel]

They're also facing a team that's currently riding a seven game winning streak.

The Jays are turning into the team that everyone thought they would be at the beginning of the year, and they're doing it without their lead-off man Jose Reyes, and without Brett Lawrie contributing like he was expected to.

[The Buscher]

Less than a week to go until the All Star rosters are announced, so I’m going to continue my annual tradition of trying to guess the rosters. Most years I just stick with the best players, but we all know there are snubs. This year I’m going to really try and factor in the way the rosters are voted on. The starting lineups for both teams are voted on by fans. Then a backup at each position (including 3 outfielders), 5 starters, and 3 closers are voted on by players. So really the manager selections are limited, and usually their hands are tied with having to make sure each team gets a rep anyway. There will be snubs in my predictions, but such is life.

American League

Most of the AL lineup seems to be set, as the majority of the players have huge leads. The one close battle is for the final outfield spot, with Bautista gaining on Nick Markakis each time a new poll is released. I’m going to guess that Bautista leapfrogs Markakis by the time the polls close on July 4^th.

STARTERS

C Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins

1B Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles

2B Robinson Cano, New York Yankees

SS J.J. Hardy, Baltimore Orioles

3B Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

OF Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays

OF Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles

OF Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

DH David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox

The 12-0 Max Scherzer receives the most votes in player balloting and would presumably be the favorite to get the start. King Felix receives plenty of love from the players as expected, as does ERA leader Clay Buchholz. Japanese imports Darvish and Iwakuma round off the player voting. Jim Leyland notices there are no lefties on the team yet, and there are some very good ones out there so Sale and Holland get in. Bartolo Colon is with his 11 wins. Leyland tabs Kuroda as his final starter, easily the Yankees’ most reliable starter this year.

Mo gets the most votes for the relievers, and should be the designated closer. He’s been the best closer in the AL and, even if he wasn’t, he deserves the honor to close with it being his final All Star Game. Pitch him in the bottom of the 8^th if the AL is losing, he deserves an appearance certainly. AL West rivals Nathan and Balfour are also voted in by the players. Leyland opts not to take a 4^th closer and instead brings along Jesse Crain, who has amazing numbers as the top set-up guy for the White Sox.

PITCHERS

RHP Grant Balfour, Oakland Athletics

RHP Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox

RHP Bartolo Colon, Oakland Athletics

RHP Jesse Crain, Chicago White Sox

RHP Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers

RHP Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

LHP Derek Holland, Texas Rangers

RHP Hisashi Iwakuma, Seattle Mariners

RHP Hiroki Kuroda, New York Yankees

RHP Joe Nathan, Texas Rangers

RHP Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees

LHP Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox

RHP Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers

I think the reserves on the AL side will be largely determined by how the players ballot is listed. I believe that the players vote on the same ballot that the fans do, which would mean Encarnacion is technically listed as a DH and is a shoo-in, which opens up Prince to be the backup 1B and make his annual Home Run Derby appearance. Pedroia, Peralta, Longoria, and Cruz seem to be locks to be voted in at their positions. Markakis is voted in despite no longer starting. I think the players would need to write in votes for Daniel Nava which I’m not sure will actually happen, so I’ll say Alex Gordon is voted in, saving Leyland from needing to pick a Royals rep on his own. Santana is voted in as the backup catcher, although Jason Castro of the Astros is having a nearly identical year. Still, Leyland sticks with two catchers and brings along Jose Altuve for additional speed and flexibility. One spot left to fill, so Leyland goes with Adrian Beltre, who is selected as a respected veteran.

RESERVES

C Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians

1B Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers

2B Jose Altuve, Houston Astros

2B Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox

SS Jhonny Peralta, Detroit Tigers

3B Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers

3B Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

OF Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers

OF Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals

OF Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles

DH Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays

Leyland wraps things up with his final vote choices. Daniel Nava gets a chance to be properly voted in. Manny “Doubles Machine” Machado, Josh Donaldson, and Jason Kipnis are certainly all worthwhile candidates. James Loney is also a viable option after quietly putting together a very good campaign in St. Pete.

FINAL VOTE CANDIDATES

3B Josh Donaldson, Oakland Athletics

2B Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians

1B James Loney, Tampa Bay Rays

3B Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles

OF Daniel Nava, Boston Red Sox

National League

I’m going to assume the starters for the NL are the same ones that are currently ahead in the polls. For the starting infield, this is fine as the guys currently slated to start should all be there. But the outfield is unfortunately a mess. Beltran starting makes sense, but at this point I really don’t think Upton or Harper deserve to be there at all, much less starting.

STARTERS

C Yadier Molina, Cardinals

1B Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

2B Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds

SS Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies

3B David Wright, New York Mets

OF Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals

OF Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

OF Justin Upton, Atlanta Braves

Harvey, Kershaw, and Wainwright are all shoo-ins to be among the top 5 in the player vote. Cliff Lee gets is voted in as well as he is well-known and is having a very good year. Somewhat controversially, Strasburg gets in as the 5^th guy in player balloting. His numbers have been good, but he’s primarily voted in based on reputation. Corbin seems to still be unknown to so many, which is unfortunate as he’s been amazing. He and Zimmermann have been far too good for Bruce Bochy to leave out. Jeff Locke gets in as a surprise contender for the ERA title. Rookie of the Year contender Shelby Miller gets in as well. Bochy has said he will likely pick Harvey as the starter given that the game is in New York, hopefully he follows through with that.

On to the closers, Grilli has been a great story and the best closer in baseball, so he’s the top guy voted in and is the official closer for the NL team. Kimbrel being voted in is a given. Chapman is the 3^rd guy voted in, and while he’s been good, I think his reputation for dominant stuff is what pushes him in ahead of some other guys. While Bochy seems to be a reasonable guy, there always seems to be a token favoritism pick – so Sergio Romo is tabbed as the final pitcher on the squad ahead of Mujica or Soriano.

PITCHERS

LHP Aroldis Chapman, Cincinnati Reds

LHP Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks

RHP Jason Grilli, Pittsburgh Pirates

RHP Matt Harvey, New York Mets

LHP Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

RHP Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves

LHP Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies

LHP Jeff Locke, Pittsburgh Pirates

RHP Shelby Miller, St. Louis Cardinals

RHP Sergio Romo, San Francisco Giants

RHP Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals

RHP Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals

RHP Jordan Zimmermann, Washington Nationals

Posey, Goldschmidt, and Gonzalez are all no-doubters to be voted in. Sandoval also is voted in as 3B options are really slim. Rizzo is selected by Bochy as the Cubs’ lone rep pretty much by default. Matt Carpenter is voted in as the backup 2B, but Bochy also opts to take Scutaro, who brings value as the team’s utility guy. Jean Segura is voted in as the backup SS and, by rule, would move into the starting lineup since Tulowitzki won’t be playing. Knowing Tulowitzki won’t play also makes it easier for Bochy to select the speedy Everth Cabrera onto the team as an extra SS and the lone Padres rep. HR leader Domonic Brown and Cuddyer’s hitting streak get them voted in by the players. That leaves 1 OF spot, and although leaving out Carlos Gomez feels criminal, Bochy has to bring a Miami Marlin, so in comes Giancarlo Stanton.

RESERVES

C Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

1B Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks

1B Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs

2B Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals

2B Marco Scutaro, San Francisco Giants

SS Everth Cabrera, San Diego Padres

SS Jean Segura, Milwaukee Brewers

3B Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants

OF Domonic Brown, Philadelphia Phillies

OF Michael Cuddyer, Colorado Rockies

OF Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies

OF Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins

Lastly, Bochy needs to make his final vote choices. Gomez really should both be there to begin with, but the Upton/Harper fan voting cost him – at least he’ll get another chance, as will Jay Bruce. Bochy gives the Giants fans one last chance to vote by putting Pence into the mix. Mujica and Soriano also get another chance after being snubbed for Romo.

FINAL VOTE CANDIDATES

OF Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds

OF Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers

P Edward Mujica, St. Louis Cardinals

OF Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants

P Rafael Soriano, Washington Nationals

[gunnar hendershow]

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/22586243/photo-best-mets-jersey-ever

This fan is the best fan.

[Lowerdeck]

No hitter from Homer Bailey yesterday

Who by being a Reds starter is a Based God.

[DMN in the House]

Puig.

Dodgers on the come up, I'd be worried if I was the rest of the NL West.

[EddieG]

AL @AllStarGame starters 1B: Davis 2B: Cano SS: Hardy 3B: Cabrera C: Mauer OF: Jones OF: Trout OF: Bautista DH: Ortiz

NL @AllStarGame starters 1B: Votto 2B: Phillips SS: Tulowitzki 3B: Wright C: Molina OF: Beltran OF: CarGo OF: Harper

AL pitchers: Buchholz, Cecil, Colon, Crain, Darvish, Hernandez, Iwakuma, Masterson, Perkins, Nathan, Rivera, Sale, Scherzer, Verlander. #ASG

AL reserves: Castro, Cruz, Encarnacion, Fielder, Gordon, Hunter, Kipnis, Machado, Pedroia, Peralta, Perez, Zobrist.

NL pitchers: Bumgarner, Chapman, Corbin, Fernandez, Grilli, Harvey, Kershaw, Kimbrel, Lee, Locke, Wainwright, Wood, Zimmermann.

NL reserves: Alvarez, Brown, Cabrera, Carpenter, Craig, Cuddyer, Goldschmidt, Gomez, McCutchen, Posey, Segura, Scutaro

[gunnar hendershow]

Davis was the overall top vote-getter.

The AL final 5 ballot is hilarious, who the fuck wants to vote on no-name middle relief?

The NL final 5 is compelling, but Puig will win in a landslide and give a middle finger to traditionalists who hate fun.

[ThaBoss18]

Happy the Cubs had one All-Star in Travis Wood and hoping they dont trade him in the future

[Meacon Keaton]

The Cubs had to have one All-Star. If it wasn't for that silly rule, they probably wouldn't have any.

[Toe]

Brett Cecil has been fantastic, so it is cool to see him get some recognition.

[livid]

There are always snubs but I kinda assumed that Shelby Miller would've made it. Though only one Cardinals pitcher in general is pretty surprising itself.

[HC]

There are always snubs but I kinda assumed that Shelby Miller would've made it. Though only one Cardinals pitcher in general is pretty surprising itself.

I tend to catch a lot of Cards games because my dad is a huge fan.(I am as well, but not nearly to his extent) Anyway, the Cardinal's pitching has been solid this year, but I don't see any all-stars out of the rotation aside from the obvious Wainwright. Miller has been fantastic, but he has been slumping the past couple of starts, and he doesn't get the media exposure of a Matt Harvey so the snub doesn't surprise me. Lance Lynn has been pretty mediocre, not coming close to what he did that first half of the season last season. There are no other Cardinals all-star candidates on the staff, at least far as starting pitching goes. Chris Carpenter is injured, Jaime Garcia is injured, and Jake Westbrook is just now returning from his injury.

I'm glad to see Molina and Beltran make the team, although they were obviously going to make it. Matt Carpenter and Allen Craig are in, and they totally deserve it as both have been great this season. Thank Jesus Matt Holliday didn't make it in on name value. Dude is one of my least favorite Cardinals right now, coasting and not even coming close to living up to his contract.

[livid]

I was more referring to the bullpen but it seems they've cooled a bit as well. Still, I think Rosenthal and possibly even Mujica should've been given a look.

Also re: Lynn, I'd hardly call 10-3 mediocre. Maybe he's not quite as good as that record would indicate but it would still be far from mediocre. I suppose I could be wrong, though. Living in Minnesota prevents me from being able to see the Cardinals a lot.

[The Buscher]

Ben Zobrist is easily the worst All Star. Evan Longoria was the clear cut Rays rep and is one of the best players in the AL, but Leyland went with Zobrist evidently because he wanted a utility guy.

Nothing against the relievers in the final vote, but guys like Longoria, Josh Donaldson, etc. should have at least gotten some love there.

[HC]

I was more referring to the bullpen but it seems they've cooled a bit as well. Still, I think Rosenthal and possibly even Mujica should've been given a look.

Also re: Lynn, I'd hardly call 10-3 mediocre. Maybe he's not quite as good as that record would indicate but it would still be far from mediocre. I suppose I could be wrong, though. Living in Minnesota prevents me from being able to see the Cardinals a lot.

I like Rosenthal a lot, and he's had a pretty good year, but I wouldn't call him an all-star. I still love that rocket launcher he calls an arm, though.

Muijica should have made the roster. He's been excellent this year as the closer. Hell, I think his first blown save only came a few days ago against the Angels.

Lynn's stats are deceptive, honestly. He's aleays had a good win-loss record, but his ERA is a bit too high for my liking. I've never really liked him much, though.

And that sucks you can't catch a lot of games. Even here in Memphis we don't see them much on local tv, which is weird as their AAA affiliate is the Redbirds. My dad has the Fox Sports Midwest package, which carries like eveey Cardinal game not broadcast nationally so hr doesn't miss one.

[livid]

Oh, I know that Rosenthal probably isn't having a season that would warrant getting an All-Star nod as a setup guy (because he'd have to be having a ridiculous season to do it) but I think he would've been a smart addition. I definitely didn't think that Mujica would be this good as the closer but I imagine everybody feels that way so it's not that surprising he didn't make it.

Lynn's ERA being in the high 3s is a little iffy but as long as he doesn't push past 4, he's doing fine in my book.

That is kinda surprising that you don't get them, actually. When I lived in Clarksville (by the KY border), we got every game and is actually how I became a fan in the first place.

[HC]

My dad says they used to come on locally all the time, but he had to get the Foxsports package once they stopped getting carried. It's a mystery to me.

Speaking of the devil, Lance Lynn pitched a pretty good game today and picked up his eleventh win. I should write him off more often.

[The Buscher]

The A's are the team that got shafted the most in the All Star Game. Only one rep despite being one of the best teams in baseball. Grant Balfour absolutely should have made it in ahead of Glen Perkins. Rumor has it Bartolo Colon has already said he won't pitch assuming he stays on schedule to start the Sunday before (Sunday starters are now limited to 1 inning in the ASG, but they can opt out altogether) which would lead Balfour as his replacement. But he still should have made it outright.

Josh Donaldson was a huge snub too, but it'd have been hard to fit him in even if they did the right thing and put Longoria in instead of Zobrist. I appreciate Leyland giving props to the unheralded set-up guys, but Donaldson, Longoria, Howie Kendrick, and others all should have been in the Final Vote at least.

[gunnar hendershow]

Brooks Robinson has officially come out of retirement.

http://wapc.mlb.com/play/?content_id=28689219