Nate was great

If his highly-anticipated big league debut on Wednesday night in Washington is any indication of what we can expect for the remainder of his burgeoning career, then the Toronto Blue Jays have something really special in Nate Pearson.

The fresh-faced, fireballing phenom went toe-to-toe through five innings with future baseball hall of famer Max Scherzer at Nationals Park, which was technically Toronto’s first ‘home game’ of this unprecedented MLB season, and was flat out impressive.

Pearson, a 23-year-old rookie who is six-feet-six-inches tall, 250 lbs. and one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, struck out five batters in his five innings of work against the reigning World Series champions and gave up just two hits and did not allow a run.

Forty-eight of the 75 pitches he threw were strikes and Pearson’s fastball was consistently topping out at 99 mph, which must have tricked the Nationals’ batters into thinking they were facing their own ace.

The native of Odessa, Fla., fanned the first batter he faced when he got Nats shortstop Trea Turner to swing through a nasty slider and became only the third starting pitcher in Blue Jays history to pitch at least five shutout innings in his first Major League start.

Without a doubt, Pearson has the brightest future among all of Toronto’s pitching prospects and as he learns how to manage the rigors of a season and hones his craft against the best hitters on the planet, he has all the tools to become a perennial Cy Young Award candidate in the years to come.

I admit that I may be jumping the gun in offering sky high praise to an unproven talent at the Major League level, knowing there have been countless others who have been in the same situation and have flamed out, but Pearson has that ‘it factor.’

The Blue Jays’ top prospect has a great work ethic and a desire to become one of the game’s best pitchers, and Person’s impressive showing on Wednesday proved to everyone that he is just starting to scratch the surface.

Ramblings from the edge

Well the calendar says July 12st, but I feel differently. Baseball is about to begin, the NHL is about to begin the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the NBA is about to begin again in a "bubble". WTF is happening to the world.
Oh I remember, the pandemic broke out, but that was 6 months ago, oh sorry Mr.President, The Chinese Virus is going to blow over in a couple of days.  Bullshit.💩

The time on my computer says 10:38 am, but it somehow just doesn't seem right either. Nothing seems as it should.  I should be able to review the last cruise I went on, but oops I didn't go, the corona virus made that impossible.

Well, I guess I will write a blog.

Here is Steve Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, their team captain. He is awaiting the winner  of a preliminary series, it's a bit complicated but trust me, they have it all figured out.

Now if the virus infects a team or two, well I can't see the NHL finishing the season.

Next we have the return of baseball next week, The Washington Nationals return to defend their first World Series trophy.

The Blue Jays have been bumped out of their cosy Toronto nest, and are making their minds up where to hold their home games at.
Pittsburgh, Buffalo , even Baltimore are options.

And the NBA is planning on finishing the season in a bubble, and so players have come down with the virus and some players have opted out for other reasons ( personal ). I think it's because they are scared of getting sick.
I applaud the fact that players are opting out and staying safe and healthy.


The NFL , who knows what to expect ? They are hoping for fans attending games, I think they are dreaming in technicolor.

Well, I need to finish my coffee, and watch some television, the usual, bye bye for now.

The Blue Jays denied their nest

The Blue Jays have been denied approval from the Canadian federal government to play their regular season games in Toronto, the club announced on Saturday.

The club is in the process of finalizing the best home location for the 2020 season.

“From the onset of discussions with league and government officials, the safety of the broader community -- our fans -- and the team remained the priority of everyone involved, and with that, the club completely respects the federal government’s decision,” Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said in a statement. “Though our team will not be playing home games at Rogers Centre this summer, our players will take the field for the 2020 season with the same pride and passion representative of an entire nation. We cannot wait until the day comes that we can play in front of our fans again on Canadian soil.”

The club had received a federal exemption to carry out Summer Camp in Toronto, but the regular-season issue was a separate negotiation with the added complications of visiting teams crossing the Canada-U.S.A. border, which is still closed to all non-essential travel. The regular season also would have involved the Blue Jays traveling to American cities for road games, then returning home across the border.

In a statement announcing the decision, Canadian minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship Marco E. L. Mendicino left open the possibility that the decision could be revisited for potential postseason games in Toronto "should the risk of virus transmission diminish."

Player and staff have been operating under a strict “modified quarantine” plan through Summer Camp, which has seen them refined to Rogers Centre and the attached hotel. The club’s proposal for regular-season play, which had the support of the municipal government in Toronto and the province of Ontario, called for visiting teams to follow that same protocol with advanced testing.
Now, the Blue Jays are faced with even more uncertainty with Opening Day looming on July 24 and their home opener -- wherever home might be -- on July 29 against the Nationals.

The club’s Dunedin, Fla., complex had been Plan B for much of this process, but their Triple-A stadium in Buffalo, N.Y., has recently re-emerged as the likely candidate.
Challenges would remain in Buffalo, too, but many teams have found ways to creatively use space in concourses, suites and the bleachers, which will not be housing fans.

Time to shuffle off to Buffalo.

Yasiel finds a home

A week after being surprised by Nick Markakis’ decision to not play this year, the Braves are now attempting to replace him with Yasiel Puig, who has the potential to be more productive than Markakis would have been.



While Markakis has always been considered to be a clubhouse favorite, Puig has often drawn the ire of his previous teammates and employers.
But as Braves manager Brian Snitker recently said regarding an unrelated matter, “This is not a game played by choir boys.”
Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos understands the value of clubhouse camaraderie. At the same time, the two years he recently spent with the Dodgers gave him a better understanding of what kind of player and person Puig truly is.
Whatever trepidation might have existed didn’t stop Anthopoulos and Puig from reaching an agreement that, as of Wednesday afternoon, was still pending the results of a physical and a COVID-19 test.

If Puig passes his physical and tests negative for the coronavirus, he will join what will immediately become an improved Braves roster.
Here are a few reasons Puig could clearly be a better option than Markakis:

Recent offensive production
When Puig hit .267 with 24 homers and a .785 OPS over 611 plate appearances with the Reds and Indians last year, he experienced a down year. His 100 OPS+ was the second-lowest mark of his career, sitting ahead of only the 98 OPS+ he constructed in 2016.

As for Markakis, his OPS+ exceeded 100 just once over the past four seasons. That occurred in '18, when he hit .297 with 14 homers and an .806 OPS.

But being seven years younger, Puig has the power, speed and defensive range no longer possessed by the 36-year-old Markakis.
Defensive value

Puig still has one of the game’s top arms and he will provide more range than Markakis would at both corner-outfield spots.

Roster fit
Before it was determined National League teams could use a designated hitter this year, there was reason to question how Markakis was going to draw plate appearances beyond those as a pinch-hitter.
With Snitker now given the option to use Ozuna as his primary DH, it looked like Markakis might at least draw a handful of starts in left field. But this would have likely highlighted his decreased range.
Truist Park’s dimensions led the Braves to spend much of the past two seasons sticking Markakis in right field and positioning Ronald Acuña Jr. in left field, which is the more spacious of the two corner outfields in Atlanta.
With the five outfielders the Braves had at the start of Summer Camp, they possessed two (Ender Inciarte and Markakis) who struggle against left-handed pitching and another (Ozuna) who should be used sparingly on defense.

Johan Camargo and Austin Riley could have played left field when necessary. But Riley is slated to play first base until Freddie Freeman is cleared to return after testing positive for COVID-19.
Though Puig had reverse splits in 2018, he has shown the ability to handle right-handed and left-handed pitchers in similar fashion. His ability to play on an everyday basis at either corner-outfield spot makes him a better fit for this roster.

Potential roles
If this deal is completed, Snitker will then discuss how he might use his outfielders. These are possible options.
vs. right-handed pitchers: LF Puig; CF Inciarte; RF Acuña; DH Ozuna
vs. left-handed pitchers: LF Adam Duvall; CF Acuña; RF Puig; DH Ozuna

Baseball players are falling like ten pins

Met Pete Alonso

Several Major League Baseball players and team staff have reportedly tested positive for Covid-19.

 

It is unknown how many players or staff have tested positive, or which teams have been impacted, according to USA today. 

 

The news of the positive tests was released in a letter obtained by USA Today sent from MLB's Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem to Player's Association attorney Bruce Meyer, as the two sides work to come up with a formal agreement to get the player's back onto the field, to salvage at least some of the season.

 

"The proliferation of COVID-19 outbreaks around the country over the last week, and the fact that we already know of several 40-man roster players and staff who have tested positive, has increased the risks associated with commencing spring training in the next few weeks," Halem wrote.

The two sides are trying to hammer out complicated issues like player compensation, quarantine measures for players, and the number of games to be played.

 

Several players are publicly questioning the leaking of the letter, on social media, as negotiations between the two sides have taken a turn for the worse in recent days.

 

Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle tweeted Monday, "First, I hope everyone is feeling ok and recovering well. But the timing of this leak is suspicious and it feels really gross."

 

Paul Goldschmidt

 

 

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso added, "It's almost as if they planned it." Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo wrote "Good timing." 

 

CNN has reached out to MLB and the players' union for confirmation about this report.

Rankings and Opinions

 



The No. 1 spot: I had Christian Yelich at the top of my rankings when the draft guide debuted this year, barely ahead of Ronald Acuna Jr. That was before the Marcell Ozuna signing, though, and that added boost to the Braves lineup was enough to give Acuna the slightest of edges in my predictions. Acuna’s perch is a little more comfortable now as a result of the universal DH. While that should benefit the Brewers a little more than the Braves on the whole, Acuna’s status as a leadoff man gives him an extra lift, as he’ll be batting behind Ender Inciarte or Johan Camargo instead of the pitcher.

The No. 1 pitcher: That Jacob deGrom got the nod over Gerrit Cole originally was a function of his easier assignment in the NL East. Now that every game in the 2020 season will feature a designated hitter, there’s no longer much of a bias in favor of NL starters in my projections. Cole has assumed the top spot, and 16 of my top 30 SPs are American Leaguers. Of course, deGrom is still a strong No. 2, and while the schedule isn’t great for NL East pitchers, I see no reason to avoid him in drafts.

The second-tier shortstops: Beyond the first-round trio of Trevor Story, Trea Turner and Francisco Lindor, I placed Alex Bregman 17th, Fernando Tatis Jr. 22nd and Adalberto Mondesi 24th in my original top 300 this year. Now, though, Mondesi is 16th, Tatis is 17th and Bregman sits 22nd. Mondesi was iffy for Opening Day after shoulder surgery, but he should again be fully healthy and he looks like the best bet in the league for steals this year. Tatis was also dinged because of injury risk, but he’s more likely to get through 60 games than he was 162 and he’ll also benefit from getting out behind the pitcher in the Padres’ lineup. He might even DH on occasion.

Starting pitchers with injury histories: It’s the season without innings limits, and many of the pitchers who would be lousy bets to get through 30 starts in a normal year should be better positioned to pitch just 12 times. Tyler Glasnow, James Paxton, Charlie Morton, Yu Darvish and Rich Hill are among those moving up some in my rankings now that I’m not worrying much about durability, and Julio Urias, Jose Urquidy and Jesus Luzardo have moved into my top 30 SPs since innings just aren’t really a factor. If I had a draft tonight, I wouldn’t want to go nuts drafting starting pitchers, since a number will surely come up with strains and sprains while trying to quickly ramp up for the season. However, in late drafts, I’ll be changing my typical hitter-pitcher mix some, valuing the currently healthy pitchers higher (as compared to hitters) than I typically would.

Risky closers: Managers have itchy trigger fingers with closers during the best of times, and 60-game seasons certainly don’t qualify as the best of times. As a result, I’m not valuing upside with relievers as much as I usually would. Edwin Diaz opened up as my No. 3 closer, but if he blows a game in the first week of the season, he might never see another ninth-inning lead. He’s seventh now with the potential to tumble further if doesn’t look sharp next month. Craig Kimbrel and Nick Anderson have also slid some in my rankings, while Aroldis Chapman, Ken Giles and Sean Doolittle, all of whom have durability concerns, have moved up.

NL designated hitters moving up: Ryan Braun, Howie Kendrick and Wil Myers rated as the biggest beneficiaries of the universal DH in my rankings. Braun, who seemed destined to sit against the majority of righties as a result of the Avisail Garcia addition, jumped from No. 250 to No. 186 on my list. Kendrick is No. 201, and Myers comes in at No. 240. I’m also a lot more excited about Nick Senzel again, as the DH spot should free up room of the Reds to use him regularly in the outfield.

Ohtani Oh My

AL DH’s are helped, too: It doesn’t apply to all of them equally, but those American League designated hitters who can’t play the field no longer have to worry about interleague games on the schedule. In a typical season, that’s 5.6 percent of the time Nelson Cruz or Shohei Ohtani would be limited to pinch-hitting appearances. Taking that out of the equation lifted Cruz a couple of spots.

Boosts for NL leadoff men: As already mentioned in regards to Acuna and Tatis, it’s a pretty nice lift for NL leadoff men to be batting behind hitters instead of pitchers. It’s especially important for those batters with pop, like Mookie Betts, Kris Bryant and Jonathan Villar. Bryant had been among my least favorite picks this year because of his lofty price tag and lack of RBI opportunities. I still rate him as a poor value, but not to the same extent that he was a few months ago.
Of course, all of the adjusting I’ve done since the shutdown to take my projections from 162 games to 108 to 81 and now to 60 could look like small potatoes compared to what’s coming over the next four weeks. Some players will opt out of the season. Some will suffer new injuries or experience setbacks with previous ailments. Unfortunately, some will catch COVID-19, and while many of those cases could prove asymptomatic, it’s unclear how long it will take for anyone diagnosed with the virus to be cleared to return (it will require two negative tests).

Yelich & Mustard

I also need to dig in and make some adjustments to account for a schedule that sees teams play 10 games each against their division rivals and 20 games total against the corresponding division in the other league. That’d seem to benefit the Central division clubs, particularly the Twins, Indians and White Sox in the AL. 20 games each against the Tigers and Royals will be very nice, and while the other Central is no pushover, it’s probably the weakest division in the NL. I was quite a bit lower than the pack on Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi this spring, but given the schedule they’ll be facing, they definitely need to move up some in my rankings.
Anything goes in a 60-game season. We make our best guesses, but it’s not like projections are all that reliable for 162-game samples. Now we’re just taking a 37% chunk of that while also having little way to account for the three-month pause in between spring trainings and everything this virus could do to teams and players. It’s going to be a free-for-all, and I hope to have fun with it. However, when it’s over, we probably shouldn’t make many judgments based on the results.