MLB 2014 Thread

[Meacon Keaton]

Maybe it'd be different if Addison Russell was just an average shortstop, but he could end up being a yearly All-Star for the Cubs.

[Your Mom]

Yeah objectively it's a good trade but I just really like Samardzija and I mean we traded Hammel too. Who is even going to pitch now?

[HC]

The Cubs weren't going to be contenders any time soon. Better to trade Jeff for some good pieces for the future than have to pay him a huge contract. Is Hammel really that big of a loss? Granted he was having a really good year, but was only on a one year deal anyway and his career numbers aren't anything special.

Typical Cubs fan. Can't even appreciate a good trade.

[Your Mom]

Not when they trade guys I like for guys I might see in like 3 years

We are getting killed today too. Everyone is bummed Jeff is gone I bet

[MalaCloudy Black]

Our pitching wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire, but besides that we've still got the likes of Travis Wood, Edwin Jackson and Carlos Villanueva's moustache when he comes back, plus Straily that we got in the A's deal. They're all good pitchers in their own right.

[Your Mom]

Oh sure we'll get by but man it's hard to get invested when stuff like this keeps happening. Whens the payoff?

[Your Mom]

Oh man we might bring in a position guy to pitch next inning. So embarrassing. The one upside to this trade right now is that I might get some better fantasy numbers out of Samardzija for the rest of the year now

[The Buscher]

The Russell trade makes me want to start a new MLB 14 franchise where I form a young super team by merging the Cubs' young position players and prospects with the Mets' young pitchers and prospects.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Oh sure we'll get by but man it's hard to get invested when stuff like this keeps happening. Whens the payoff?

It's a long game, really. It'll probably be a few more years yet before we see a turnaround. I mean, how long did it take for the Rays before they became contenders? And most of that was because of the killer talent they had in their farm team.

[Your Mom]

Rizzo and Castro are the only players on the pro team that make me optimistic for the future and Castro can be really iffy at times.

Oh and Arrieta is pitching pretty great right now too

[Maxx]

I imagine Castro is going to get flipped before next year's All Star Break.

[The Buscher]

And now the actual All Star rosters have been announced. Did pretty well guessing the AL but completely whiffed with many of the NL reserves:

AL Starters (fan vote)

C Matt Wieters, Orioles
1B Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
2B Robinson Cano, Mariners
SS Derek Jeter, Yankees
3B Josh Donaldson, Athletics
DH Nelson Cruz, Orioles
OF Jose Bautista, Blue Jays (leading vote-getter overall)
OF Mike Trout, Angels
OF Adam Jones, Orioles

NL Starters (fan vote)

C Yadier Molina, Cardinals
1B Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks
2B Chase Utley, Phillies
SS Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies
3B Aramis Ramirez, Brewers
OF Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
OF Carlos Gomez, Brewers
OF Yasiel Puig, Dodgers

AL Pitchers

RHP Yu Darvish, Rangers
RHP Max Scherzer, Tigers
RHP Felix Hernandez, Mariners
RHP Masahiro Tanaka, Yankees
LHP Jon Lester, Red Sox
LHP David Price, Rays
LHP Scott Kazmir, Athletics
LHP Mark Buehrle, Blue Jays
LHP Sean Doolittle, Athletics
RHP Greg Holland, Royals
LHP Glen Perkins, Twins
RHP Dellin Betances, Yankees

NL Pitchers

RHP Johnny Cueto, Reds
LHP Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
RHP Zack Greinke, Dodgers
LHP Madison Bumgarner, Giants
RHP Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
RHP Tyson Ross, Padres
RHP Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals
RHP Julio Teheran, Braves*
RHP Craig Kimbrel, Braves
LHP Aroldis Chapman, Reds
RHP Francisco Rodriguez, Brewers
LHP Tony Watson, Pirates
RHP Pat Neshek, Cardianls

* Teheran replaces Jeff Samardzija, who was voted into the game but is ineligible to play following his trade from the Cubs to the Athletics.

AL Reserves

C Salvador Perez, Royals -- will replace Wieters (Tommy John surgery) in the starting lineup
C Derek Norris, Athletics
C Kurt Suzuki, Twins
1B Jose Abreu, White Sox
1B Victor Martinez, Tigers
1B Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays
1B/OF Brandon Moss, Athletics
2B Jose Altuve, Astros
SS Alexei Ramirez, White Sox
3B Adrian Beltre, Rangers
OF Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics
OF Alex Gordon, Royals
OF Michael Brantley, Indians

NL Reserves

C Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers
C Devin Mesoraco, Reds
1B Freddie Freeman, Braves
2B Dee Gordon, Dodgers
2B Daniel Murphy, Mets
SS Starlin Castro, Cubs
3B Todd Frazier, Reds
3B Matt Carpenter, Cardinals
IF/OF Josh Harrison, Pirates
OF Charlie Blackmon, Rockies
OF Hunter Pence, Giants
OF Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins

And the final vote candidates:

AL

LHP Dallas Keuchel, Astros
RHP Corey Kluber, Indians
RHP Rick Porcello, Tigers
RHP Garrett Richards, Angels
LHP Chris Sale, White Sox


NL

3B Casey McGehee, Marlins
1B Justin Morneau, Rockies
2B/3B Anthony Rendon, Nationals
1B Anthony Rizzo, Cubs
OF Justin Upton, Braves

[Your Mom]

We would have had more than the minimum All Stars!

Excuse me I am off to vote for Rizzo 50,000 times

[HC]

Surprised M-Carp made it. He hasn't been as good as last year. Neshek deserves it. I wish they'd give him a closer audition given Rosenthal's struggles.

[thatshortguy]

Surprised M-Carp made it. He hasn't been as good as last year. Neshek deserves it. I wish they'd give him a closer audition given Rosenthal's struggles.

No kidding.

[Your Mom]

Ok I voted for Rizzo 6 times. That's enough

[The Buscher]

Carpenter and Harrison were definitely the weirdest picks when looking at both teams. I can at least understand the Harrison pick though because utility players are actually important in the NL, so it's nice to see them getting recognized and Harrison was definitely the best choice for that. The Carpenter pick pretty much just reeks of managerial bias and more as a reward for being really good last year if anything else. Rendon or McGehee would have been more deserving choices based on this year alone. But really only one biased decision in the ASG selection is probably some sort of record, can't argue with any of the other picks including Pat Neshek who has been fantastic.

Aside from that the biggest snub I can see on the NL is Huston Street. I thought Street was a virtual lock to be one of the 3 closers voted in by the players, he's been crazy good this year even on a terrible Padres team. But the players voted for Chapman despite him missing a lot of time so that kinda squeezed Street out as Matheny was likely committed to taking Neshek and Watson. The good news for Street is that Ross is set to start on the Sunday before the game so he'll very likely pull out which would allow Street onto the team anyway.

Was also really surprised Alfredo Simon didn't make it. A few years ago he would have gotten in for his wins alone. Goes to show that even the players and managers have now accepted that it's not a good metric to use to determine worth of a pitcher. Simon is having a really good year though and he may never again get to this point so I feel bad that he didn't make it. Just like with Street though, there's a good chance Cueto pulls out so he may get onto the team anyway. Bumgarner and Teheran are also probably out of the game as well. Kershaw almost certainly has to start, but he and Wainwright combining to handle the first 4 innings would be great for the NL.

From the AL, again a closer was the biggest snub. I'm stunned that Koji Uehara didn't get in. Found it really interesting that Farrell actually named Perkins as the 4th reliever on the roster after the player ballot rather than Uehara. Yeah the game is in Minneosta and everything so it's nice to give them a 2nd rep but Uehara was clearly better. With Boston having such a terrible year I'm inclined to think Farrell just wanted to get rest for as many of his guys as possible. I wouldn't be too surprised if Lester doesn't actually appear in the game unless it goes to extras.

Felix would seem to be a virtual lock to get the start with the AL since Tanaka is pitching the Sunday before the game. That should free up room for an extra one of the many deserving candidates on the Final Vote to get in. I expect Sale to win the Final Vote but he too is lined up to start Sunday, so probably 60% of the Final Vote ballot are going to make the team regardless.

Edited July 7, 2014 by Bad News Busch

[GhostMachine]

To me, ERA and Ks should be more important than wins, losses and saves. For the simple reason a mediocre pitcher can get a lot of wins if he's on a team that has great hitting and defense, while even a great pitcher can have a losing record if he's on a team with bad hitting and defense.

Looking at my fantasy roster and the All-Star Game roster, you can tell I'm definitely an NL guy. The only players I have from the AL that's in the ASG (including the final candidates) are both pitchers: Greg Holland and David Price....who I got a couple of weeks ago when whoever had him before was stupid enough to put him on waivers. Though I did have Brandon Moss on my team early in the season. By comparison, I have 1 starter (Yadier Molina), 2 pitchers (Cueto and Ross), and 3 reserves (Carpenter, Murphy and Gordon). Plus Justin Upton, who is one of the final candidates. The only AL pitcher on my team besides Holland and Price is R.A. Dickey, who I'm the verge of dumping.

And I agree with BNB about why Carpenter got in. Managers are known to reward players for stuff they did the previous year or show bias. The biggest case I can think of was when Bobby Cox had at least 4 Braves on the reserves one year when he managed the game. Also agree that Street deserves to be in over Chapman....and I'm a Reds fan.

Edited July 7, 2014 by GhostMachine

[HC]

Alright, who thought it would be funny to put Prince Fielder on the cover of ESPN's body issue?

[Meacon Keaton]

Fantastic.