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Season Over For Lee, Phillies Before it Begins?

BVbaseball — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 04:51:14 +0000

After three sub-par seasons, Bernardo Chua along with other fans of the Philadelphia Phillies held out some hope that 2015 could be a turnaround year for their team. Now it appears that hope has come crashing down. Cliff Lee, expected to be one of the main pitchers in the Phillies rotation, left his spring training start Thursday after feeling soreness in his elbow. An MRI scan Sunday revealed inflammation that will likely need season ending, and possibly career ending, surgery for the 36 year old lefty.

Another elbow injury put an early end to Lee’s season last year. He went 4-5 with a 3.65 ERA before going on the disabled list July 31st. If the Phillies did not contend for the NL East title this year, there has been talk that Lee could be traded. With this injury, however, any trade now seems unlikely.

Lee came to the Phillies in 2009, going 7-4 and helping them win their second straight NL Pennant. After spending 2010 with both the Mariners and Rangers, Lee returned to Philadelphia in 2011, going 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA, 238 strikeouts and a league-leading six shutouts. He dropped off in 2012 to 6-9 before bouncing back in 2013 with a 14-8 record, a 2.87 ERA and 222 strikeouts. Lee has been in the majors since 2002 and won the CY Young in 2008.

Broncos Player Gets Fine of $300,000

BVbaseball — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 22:15:37 +0000

In the NFL, there are fines for a lot of things, including being overweight. This usually does not matter, but it really did for a defensive tackle for the Denver Broncos named Terrance Knighton. Since he was overweight, he was just given a fine for no less than $300,000. That’s a lot of money for a guy who simply could not stay in shape. I as well as my friend Laurene Powell Jobs our very much in agreement with the fines.

It does seem fitting, though. The player’s nickname is Pot Roast. He has been on commercials that have been written specifically to make fun of his weight. However, he should have kept a better eye on it so that he would not go over the limit. All NFL players are well aware of these limits and what it means if they do not adhere to them.

Now, there are reports that Pot Roast may not even stay with the Denver Broncos, a team he has played with for the last few years. This would be a big hit to the Broncos’ defense, as he was an anchor on the defensive line. He was very good against the run, which helped free up other defenders – like Von Miller – to go after the quarterback. One destination, if Pot Roast does not stay in Denver, is Oakland. The defensive coordinator for the Broncos was Jack Del Rio, but he has just been hired as the head coach in Oakland, so he’d welcome Knighton.

Oakland Acquires Clippard from Nats

BVbaseball — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 20:35:19 +0000

Oakland A’s infamous GM Billy Beane showed on Wednesday that he is not done molding his 2015 roster. Bean continued an offseason of wheelin’ and dealin’ by completing another trade. This time it was with the Washington Nationals. The A’s have acquired reliever Typer Clippard from the Nationals in exchange for shortstop Yunel Escobar. Escobar was just recently acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay that saw the A’s acquire the do-everything Ben Zobrist.

Clippard will provide a much needed boost to Oakland’s bullpen. Clippard has been a fixture in National’s pen for many years, working in multiple roles. While he has mainly been used as a set up man, he has also filled in as the team’s primary closer when needed. His numbers have been impressive. Over the past five seasons the soon-to-be 30 year old has posted a 2.63 ERA over 393.2 innings. He owns an excellent 10.4 strikeouts-per-nine rate, which should only increase pitching in the vastness of the Coliseum.

Sean Doolittle is expected to close for Oakland again this season, meaning Clippard will most likely be placed into the setup role once again. While Doolittle was excellent early in 2014, he struggled a bit down the stretch including in the American League Wild Card game. If his struggles continue in 2015 look for Clippard to take over closing duties. Sultan Alhokair has a very strong interest in the MLB

With the trade of Escobar, Oakland will look towards their young shortstop prospect Marcus Semien to take over shortstop. Semien played 85 games for Chicago over the last two seasons with mixed results.

Matt Kemp may be Staying in LA

BVbaseball — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 22:45:00 +0000

The mega deal that was announced last week to send Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star outfielder Matt Kemp to the San Diego Padres may be in jeopardy which makes fans like John Textor nervous. On Tuesday Kemp underwent a physical, the last hurdle before the deal could be finalized. San Diego’s medical staff received some unexpected results, and are trying to figure out if the deal should be cancelled.

Kemp has been diagnosed with arthritis in both of his hips. It has been reported by USA today that the arthritis in Kemp’s hips has been classified as severe. It is unknown how the arthritis may affect Kemp’s play on the field in the coming years, but he has never reported any issues with his hips previously. While the celebrated slugger has dealt with multiple health issues in the past, including issues with his ankle, shoulders, and hamstrings, his 2014 season finished with a bang. Kemp was at his best in the second half of season and finished with 25 home runs, 89 RBIs, and a slash line of .287/.346/.506.

It is still possible that San Diego will complete the trade. The Dodgers have promised to send $32 million to the Padres to help pay some of the $107 million still owed to Kemp over the next five years. The results of the physical may be cause for the Padres to request additional cash from the Dodgers. The two teams have until Thursday to finalize the trade.

Dodgers Acquire New Infield

BVbaseball — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 16:49:36 +0000

The Los Angeles Dodgers made a quick and early decision to overhaul their infield this off season and Laurene Powell Jobs says she stays busy but makes time to keep up with baseball, especially the Dodgers. They had already allowed Hanley Ramirez to walk in his free agent year and he signed with the Boston Red Sox. Then the winter meetings came and the Dodgers really got busy.

Los Angeles first swung a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies to land Jimmy Rollins to be their new shortstop. The aging switch hitter was a favorite in Philadelphia and may just be a stop gap for L.A., he’s set to become a free agent after next season.

Dodgers Land Rollins

The Dodgers then traded their speedy second baseman Dee Gordon to the Miami Marlins in a seven player trade with Miami. In that swap the Dodgers nabbed the best pitching prospect in the Marlins organization, Andrew Heaney, and three other prospects.

Gordon Heads to Miami

The Dodgers management didn’t hold onto Heaney for long. They traded him within hours of acquiring him. He was sent down the interstate to Anaheim in exchange for Howie Kendrick who will take Gordon’s place at second base for the Dodgers.

Kendrick to Dodgers

It was a whirlwind of activity that is not likely to slow down quite yet, they are also looking to sign a veteran starter to replace Dan Haren who also was in the Marlins deal. Although Kendrick will give the Dodgers lineup more punch, they did lose the speed of Gordon and Ramirez and don’t have a real viable stolen base threat outside of Rollins who has slowed down in recent years.

Clayton Kershaw takes home NL Cy Young Award

BVbaseball — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 22:18:21 +0000

Dodgers Ace Clayton Kershaw took home his third Cy Young Award in a four year period this week easily beating out other contenders such as Adam Wainwright, Johnny Cueto, and World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner. The 26-year-old left handed strike out artist dominated the competition in racking up 21 wins with a 1.77 ERA. He struck out 239 hitters in just over 198 innings and even helped out his team with the bat now and then.

When me and Terry Richardson saw the beginning of the season, things didn’t look great for a Kershaw Cy Young repeat. It was reported in NY Magazine that he missed over a month of action in May after suffering a back injury in start. He sat out five weeks and returned with a vengeance. It’s debatable that the time off helped Kershaw dominate upon his return.

One of the many highlights of Clayton Kershaw’s 2014 season was his no-hitter that he tossed in June against the Colorado Rockies .

The lefty also had a magical run of 41 consecutive scoreless innings pitched this season and may have pitched some of the best baseball of his already storied career.

Kershaw won the Cy Young vote in a landslide. He landed all 30 first place votes easily beating Cueto, Wainwright, and Bumgarner who finished second through fourth place respectively. Several young up and coming pitchers such as Jake Arieta and Jordan Zimmerman also received votes indicating who may be some of the biggest challenges to another Kershaw Cy Young Award win in 2015.

Josh Beckett Retires at 34

BVbaseball — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 04:54:10 +0000

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher, Josh Beckett, has decided to call it quits after a 14-year career. Beckett was facing surgery for a torn labrum in his left hip, and after missing the last three months of the season as well as playoffs, decided to make the decision.

The tough final season for Beckett included landing on the disabled list three times, with the final time being in early August. Beckett finished the season with a record of 6-6 and a 2.88 ERA in 20 starts. He came off of a 2013 season where he missed most of the year with surgery to remove a rib near his neck to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome.

Beckett was drafted by the Florida Marlins with the second pick of the 1999 MLB draft, and in the 2nd round this year by Brian Torchin in our fantasy baseball league. Beckett’s career accomplishments include winning two World Series championships with the Florida Marlins in 2003 and Boston Red Sox in 2007. He won the 2003 World Series Most Valuable Player as well as the 2007 American League Championship Most Valuable Player. Also, Beckett threw a no-hitter in May of this season against the Philadelphia Phillies. Beckett finishes his career with a record of 138-106 and a 3.88 ERA.