In the ultimate slap in the face to Bobby Valentine, the Red Sox are in the World Series, only a year removed winning 69 games. They'll square off against the Cardinals starting this Wednesday, and I don't see how you can bet against them.
Boston has been the most consistent team all year. They hit pretty well at every position, have a good to great top-four starting pitchers, and with Craig Breslow and Koji Uehara, the game might as well be seven innings, as both pitchers have been virtually unhittable.
The Sox made a habit of getting no-hit for about five innings/game against Detroit, but still found a way to win the Series in six games. They got shut down against Max Scherzer twice, but the bullpen gave up a grand slam in each game, and Boston won both games. They also managed only one run against Justin Verlander, who was brilliant in the postseason, and won the game 1-0. I just don't see how you combat that kind of timely hitting and never-say-die momentum that they have been carrying through the playoffs.
The Cardinals have been impressive as well. They have also had some timely hitting, and were able to avoid a collapse after holding a 3-1 lead over the Dodgers, the way they did last year against the Giants. If not for the emergence of Michael Wacha, I would be even more confident in the Red Sox to win it all, but Wacha has been even better than Adam Wainwright in the playoffs, and deservedly won the NLCS MVP.
If Wacha can continue his recent success, then the Cardinals will have a good chance to win the four games they'll need to win with Wainwright and Wacha each likely to start two if the series goes long enough.
I think these teams are similar, with the Cards having a little bit better starting pitching at the top, and the Red Sox having a little more depth to the rotation. In tight games, though, you have to have a good bullpen to either stop the bleeding or to cling to a small lead, and the Red Sox have found a winning combination there.
As a Yankees fan, I will be rooting for the Cardinals to win it all, but I just don't see it happening. I hope I'm wrong, but objectively, I'll give the nod to the Sox to win the series 4-2.
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
Showing posts with label John Trifone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Trifone. Show all posts
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
MLB Midseason Awards: N.L. MVP Award
The NL MVP race does not have all the pizazz of the AL race, which has two guys with 30-plus home runs and the chance for a second triple crown in a row.
My contenders to win it would be Allen Craig, who is hitting .333 with 74 RBIs, Paul Goldschmidt at .313 with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs, and Michael Cuddyer, hitting .330 with 16 home runs and 55 RBIs.
I'd also give an honorable mention to Jean Segura, who has cooled off a bit of late, but is still hitting .325 with 121 hits and 27 stolen bases. Segura has been killing it in fantasy, so gotta give him a mention.
Without too much conviction on my pick, I'll take Goldschmidt, who is putting up the best numbers on a team that, at the moment, is leading the division.
For other midseason awards, see below:
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
My contenders to win it would be Allen Craig, who is hitting .333 with 74 RBIs, Paul Goldschmidt at .313 with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs, and Michael Cuddyer, hitting .330 with 16 home runs and 55 RBIs.
I'd also give an honorable mention to Jean Segura, who has cooled off a bit of late, but is still hitting .325 with 121 hits and 27 stolen bases. Segura has been killing it in fantasy, so gotta give him a mention.
Without too much conviction on my pick, I'll take Goldschmidt, who is putting up the best numbers on a team that, at the moment, is leading the division.
For other midseason awards, see below:
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
MLB Midseason Awards: N.L. Cy Young Award
The NL Cy Young has a lot of guys in the mix for the award at this juncture, with no one really standing head and shoulders above the rest.
Depending on your personal criteria, you can easily make a case for Adam Wainwright who is 12-5 with a 2.45 ERA, Matt Harvey 7-2 with a 2.35 ERA and a league-leading 147 strikeouts, Jeff Locke who is 8-2 with a 2.15 ERA, Patrick Corbin who is 11-1 with a 2.35 ERA, or Jordan Zimmerman who is 12-4 with a 2.58 ERA.
All are great choices with excellent records and ERAs. Some people will favor strikeouts, others favor wins/losses.
Personally, I'm an ERA guy. You can't control your run support, so I don't feel that wins/losses should be held against you for an individual award. While high strikeout totals do impress, I'm also not going to hold efficiency against a pitcher if he gets ground ball outs and throws fewer pitches than a power pitcher.
All that said, I'll give my midseason award to Clayton Kershaw, who is a mere 8-6 but has a 1.98 ERA.
The Dodgers started the season off poorly, and clearly Kershaw did not get a lot of run support early on. He is the only pitcher in baseball with a sub-2.00 ERA, and he has only eight wins.
If Kershaw can remain under two runs per game, it will put him in the company of guys like Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux, and definitely makes him worthy of the midseason Cy Young.
See A.L. choices: Cy Young leader - MVP leader
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
Depending on your personal criteria, you can easily make a case for Adam Wainwright who is 12-5 with a 2.45 ERA, Matt Harvey 7-2 with a 2.35 ERA and a league-leading 147 strikeouts, Jeff Locke who is 8-2 with a 2.15 ERA, Patrick Corbin who is 11-1 with a 2.35 ERA, or Jordan Zimmerman who is 12-4 with a 2.58 ERA.
All are great choices with excellent records and ERAs. Some people will favor strikeouts, others favor wins/losses.
Personally, I'm an ERA guy. You can't control your run support, so I don't feel that wins/losses should be held against you for an individual award. While high strikeout totals do impress, I'm also not going to hold efficiency against a pitcher if he gets ground ball outs and throws fewer pitches than a power pitcher.
All that said, I'll give my midseason award to Clayton Kershaw, who is a mere 8-6 but has a 1.98 ERA.
The Dodgers started the season off poorly, and clearly Kershaw did not get a lot of run support early on. He is the only pitcher in baseball with a sub-2.00 ERA, and he has only eight wins.
If Kershaw can remain under two runs per game, it will put him in the company of guys like Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux, and definitely makes him worthy of the midseason Cy Young.
See A.L. choices: Cy Young leader - MVP leader
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
Monday, July 15, 2013
MLB Midseason Awards: A.L. MVP Award
Last year, it was a two-man race between Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout.
This year?
It's more of the same, but with one other player in the mix.
Mike Trout is not going to be mentioned in most people's midseason MVPs, but I just can't leave him out. After hitting just .261 for the month of April, Trout is up to hitting .322 with 119 hits, 15 home runs, 59 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases.
We are slightly more than halfway through the season, but Trout is on pace to hit .322 with over 200 hits, close to 30 home runs, over 100 runs batted in, and 40 stolen bases. His season may be overshadowed by the top two contenders, but I feel Trout is worth mentioning, as a hot second half could easily put him in the discussion.
Chris Davis is leading the league in home runs with 37, and is hitting a solid .315 at the plate. He's got an OPS of 1.109, and is a huge reason why the Orioles are having the kind of success they are having. In a tough AL East, the O's are 10 games over .500, and are right in the mix, both in the division, and for a wild card spot.
Davis has been exciting to watch, and some early mutterings of 62 home runs has begun. Davis is my number two for midseason AL MVP.
Top honors has to go to Miguel Cabrera. No player in the history of baseball has ever had 30 home runs and 90 RBIs at the All Star break, until this year. Cabrera is hitting an incredible .365 with 30 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a 1.132 OPS. He is putting up video game numbers so far in the first half of the season, and has actually elevated himself after an MVP and triple-crown winning season.
If Davis cools off a bit, Cabrera may actually win back-to-back triple crowns. Color me impressed.
Also, check out: AL Midseason Cy Young Winner (Leader)
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
This year?
It's more of the same, but with one other player in the mix.
Mike Trout is not going to be mentioned in most people's midseason MVPs, but I just can't leave him out. After hitting just .261 for the month of April, Trout is up to hitting .322 with 119 hits, 15 home runs, 59 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases.
We are slightly more than halfway through the season, but Trout is on pace to hit .322 with over 200 hits, close to 30 home runs, over 100 runs batted in, and 40 stolen bases. His season may be overshadowed by the top two contenders, but I feel Trout is worth mentioning, as a hot second half could easily put him in the discussion.
Chris Davis is leading the league in home runs with 37, and is hitting a solid .315 at the plate. He's got an OPS of 1.109, and is a huge reason why the Orioles are having the kind of success they are having. In a tough AL East, the O's are 10 games over .500, and are right in the mix, both in the division, and for a wild card spot.
Davis has been exciting to watch, and some early mutterings of 62 home runs has begun. Davis is my number two for midseason AL MVP.
Top honors has to go to Miguel Cabrera. No player in the history of baseball has ever had 30 home runs and 90 RBIs at the All Star break, until this year. Cabrera is hitting an incredible .365 with 30 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a 1.132 OPS. He is putting up video game numbers so far in the first half of the season, and has actually elevated himself after an MVP and triple-crown winning season.
If Davis cools off a bit, Cabrera may actually win back-to-back triple crowns. Color me impressed.
Also, check out: AL Midseason Cy Young Winner (Leader)
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
Sunday, July 14, 2013
MLB Midseason Awards: A.L. Cy Young Award
Now that we are at the midway point (or a little past it), I will post my choices as midseason leader for Cy Young and MVP in both leagues at the All-Star Break.
The perennial choices for AL Cy Young are either Justin Verlander or Felix Hernandez, who have consistently been two of the game's top pitchers over the last several years.
A couple of other guys like David Price (last year's winner) or Jered Weaver are usually in the discussion as well, along with a surprise or two that pop up every year. Last year, Chris Sale was the guy who emerged, and was the favorite to win the award heading into the second half of last season.
This year, Bartolo Colon makes a strong case at 12-3 with an ERA of 2.70, currently third in the AL. Colon's connection with PEDs, however, may be what largely accounts for his return to the dominance of his prime at the age of 40. Nonetheless, he has not yet been suspended, and has a legitimate claim to the midseason AL Cy Young award.
I'm going to go another way, though. Max Scherzer, who is not even the best pitcher on his own team, is leading the pack at the midway point. With an ERA just a shade over three (3.19 at the moment), Scherzer is an incredible 13-1 in 19 starts. He is averaging more than a strikeout per inning (10.55 K/9), and has a WHIP under one (0.98).
I'll take Scherzer for my midseason AL Cy Young award winner/leader.
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
The perennial choices for AL Cy Young are either Justin Verlander or Felix Hernandez, who have consistently been two of the game's top pitchers over the last several years.
A couple of other guys like David Price (last year's winner) or Jered Weaver are usually in the discussion as well, along with a surprise or two that pop up every year. Last year, Chris Sale was the guy who emerged, and was the favorite to win the award heading into the second half of last season.
This year, Bartolo Colon makes a strong case at 12-3 with an ERA of 2.70, currently third in the AL. Colon's connection with PEDs, however, may be what largely accounts for his return to the dominance of his prime at the age of 40. Nonetheless, he has not yet been suspended, and has a legitimate claim to the midseason AL Cy Young award.
I'm going to go another way, though. Max Scherzer, who is not even the best pitcher on his own team, is leading the pack at the midway point. With an ERA just a shade over three (3.19 at the moment), Scherzer is an incredible 13-1 in 19 starts. He is averaging more than a strikeout per inning (10.55 K/9), and has a WHIP under one (0.98).
I'll take Scherzer for my midseason AL Cy Young award winner/leader.
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]
Friday, February 22, 2013
Five MLB Team Prop Bets from John Trifone
Now that spring training games are under way, the March 31st regular-season opener between the Rangers and Astros will be here before we know it.
With clean slates, 30 MLB teams (and their fan bases) have that new-year optimism. Not all of them should, however.
Based on team win prop bets from Sportsbook.com, John Trifone came up with five that he likes (or doesn't like, depending on your perspective). Here they are:
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives). Throughout the MLB season, John will be handicapping some games and you'll be able to follow his picks throughout the season this year.]
With clean slates, 30 MLB teams (and their fan bases) have that new-year optimism. Not all of them should, however.
Based on team win prop bets from Sportsbook.com, John Trifone came up with five that he likes (or doesn't like, depending on your perspective). Here they are:
Baltimore Orioles - under 78.5 winsThoughts on John's picks? Other teams?
They were a great story last year and I hate to bet against Buck Showalter, but the AL East is just too tough, and Baltimore way over achieved in close games last year.
Chicago White Sox - over 80.5
The White Sox have a strong offense in a division that is fairly mediocre outside of Detroit. Chris Sale emerged as a star that can anchor the rotation. I like this team to be better than .500.
Houston Astros - under 59.5
There's not a lot of good news for the Astros so I'll start with the bad. A team that won 55 games last year in the NL is moving to the AL West with the Rangers, Angels, A's, and Mariners. I can't see them winning five more games in a tougher league and one of the most competitive divisions in baseball.
Los Angeles Dodgers - over 91.5
The Dodgers did not finish strong after all of their big acquisitions last year. However, starting fresh, I believe they're going to be a force to be reckoned with. They are one of the most balanced teams in baseball and are a legitimate threat to win it all.
Philadelphia Phillies - over 83.5
A few years ago the Phillies were dubbed to be perennial favorites behind an incredible pitching staff. After an injury-plagued season last year, look for Philly to bounce back. They have three aces on the staff, and with lower expectations and a lot less pressure this year, I think they'll thrive.
[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives). Throughout the MLB season, John will be handicapping some games and you'll be able to follow his picks throughout the season this year.]
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