Back Strong for 2013 Season

With Pitcher's and Catcher's reporting today for Spring Training its time to hit it hard this year and bring you all another insight on all that is happening this season! So stay tuned for some off season recaps and 2013 season previews!
-Buddy

100 Years of Fenway

Watching the pregame celebration of Fenway turning 100 was amazing.  Seeing all the former Red Sox players in uniforms that matched their era of play with the Sox and hearing the applause some of the former players got was great.  The throwback uni's the Sox and the Yankees are wearing are going to be a true test to any fan watching this game, no numbers and no names on the jerseys.  And in the era of the "bell bottom" ball pants, seeing all these players with rockin' the knee highs and showing off the retro socks is great.  Fenway and the Red Sox hit a Grand Slam with this celebration!

Early Season Thoughts

The best time of the year has come upon us and it has been very exciting so far!  One of the most surprising things that we have seen is the struggles of Tim Lincecum, in two starts to start the year he has only lasted 7.2 innings and has given up a boat load of runs!  In the American League the Red Sox again got off to a very slow start but are starting to piece it together.  The year is off to a great start and should keep all of us baseball fans tuned in!

Toronto Blue Jays 2012 Preview

Will this be the year the Jays can finally overtake New York and Boston in the AL East?  The team will need all its big name players to have big years.  Jose Bautista who has been the teams best player the past few years, should again put up good power numbers and be an All Star.  Toronto will need Ricky Romero to improve on his 11 loss season to lead to the staff that is full of young promising arms.  Colby Rasmus and Kelly Johnson will look to have bounce back years after both struggling and being shipped away from contending teams.  Second year Manager John Farrell will have a solid squad to send out everyday and a deep organization to lean on if needed.  Let's take a look at what the Jays will look like come Opening Day.
Starting Rotation- Romero will be the Opening Day starter and will lead the pitching staff, if he can avoid missing by inches, see MLB.com for video, he should easily eclipse 15 wins again.  Brandon Morrow should be an innings eater and be the #2 man for the rotation.  Brett Cecil will look to return to his 2010 form and hopefully get more than 20 starts.  Henderson Alvarez and Kyle Drabek will round out the rotation and in their first full big league seasons should do big things.
Bullpen- Newly acquired closers Sergio Santos and Francisco Cordero will both compete for the 9th inning job, whoever loses the battle will be the 8th inning setup man.  Another new face, Darren Oliver, will serve as the lefty specialist and a possible setup man role as well.  Casey Janssen will look to duplicate his post All Star game performance.  Veteran Jason Frasor is back in Toronto and will a quality fit in the 'pen.
Catcher- The Jays are stacked at catcher this season, with J.P Arencibia, Jeff Mathis and youngster Travis d'Arnaud.  Arencibia looks to be the starter but will definitely get some competition from Mathis. d'Arnaud will probably start the season in AAA but they are very high on him and should be called up sometime during the season.
Infield- Up the middle the Jays will have to solid veterans in Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson, Escobar will look to build on a good first season in Toronto.  Third base will go to youngster Brett Lawrie, who impressed many in his short stint with the team last year.  Adam Lind will be at first and should provide plenty of power and protection in the lineup.  Look for veteran Edwin Encarnacion to be the infield utility man.
Outfield- This group will be lead by power hitting Jose Bautista, who not only hits the ball well but also plays a good right field.  Rasmus will be center and hope to show the promise he showed in St. Louis in 2010.  Left field will go to Eric Thames but he will have plenty of competition in Spring Training from Rajai Davis and Ben Francisco.
Lineup-
1. Colby Rasmus- Back to 2010 form?
2. Kelly Johnson- Should hit .300+.
3. Yunel Escobar- Not much pop but a good on base guy.
4. Jose Bautista- Another HR Crown will be a tough task.
5. Adam Lind- 30 HR season easy with Joey Bats in front of him.
6. Brett Lawrie- Youngster with lots of pop.
7. Travis Snider- At DH will see lots of pitches to hit.
8. J.P Arencibia- Needs to put up big numbers or will be on the pine.
9. Eric Thames- Nice bottom of the order spark plug.

The Jays are starting to come around in the AL East but look to be a few years away from taking out Boston and New York, heck even Tampa Bay.  Look for them to fall in behind these teams, but with a good young core of guys they will not make it easy.  Expect around the same win total of last year, 80+.  Blue Jay fans have a lot to look forward to, with the rest of the division getting older they are young and will be on top in a few years.  Good luck in 2012 Blue Jay Fans!

-Buddy

Ryan Braun

Well with the news that Ryan Braun's failed drug test was not upheld now out in the air, baseball's PED testing is now in question.  Clearly from the reports we heard the test results said they were off the charts and clearly Braun was on the "sauce."  But he takes MLB to a hearing and they rule in his favor and now you have him back in the game with no suspension.  Is this good for baseball? No, because they just proved that even if you get caught for PED's, there is a way around it all and you can avoid missing any time on the field.  The game is really hurting themselves on this one, now anyone that gets popped is going to do exactly what Braun did and fight it.  From our perspective the entire thing is now a joke and clearly has its loop holes and will forever be a flawed system.  Let us know what you think of this.

Manny Ramirez

First reaction of the Manny Ramirez signing was a shocker, but more shocking about the team that signed him.  The Oakland A's seemed to be heading into a rebuilding state and now they have to big moves in the past two weeks that may help them out.  Now no one knows how Ramirez will perform on the field once he serves his 50 game PED suspension, but one thing Oakland knows is that ManRam is a fan favorite and should boost attendance.  At 40 years old Ramirez should have some left in the tank and with him serving as the DH should make his production increase.  Does this move make Oakland a contender? No but it does give them a well known bat that can provide some offense to a team that struggled to score runs last year.  Should be very interesting to see what is left in the tank for Manny, what do you guys think of the move?

A.J Burnett Trade

With the trade of Burnett to the Pirates almost complete, awaiting the approval of the Commissioner's office, it's time to take a look at who are the winners of this deal are.  First off the Yankees get to free up some cap space that Burnett was taking up and Burnett didn't live up to all the money they dropped on getting him to New York.  The freed up cap space that they now have will allow them to go after the extra bat they have been trying to acquire, look for them to pursue Raul Ibanez and former Yankees Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui.  All three of the potential DH guys they will pursue are all aging and showing signs of a decline in offensive production.  The Pirates on the other hand of the deal will get a front of the staff pitcher that will add some veteran experience to a young roster.  The Pirates only hope they are getting the Burnett that pitched in Toronto and not the one we have seen struggled the past few years.  The Pirates are sending two minor league prospects to the Yankees and this is a move that could help them attract more big names to Pittsburgh and bring back winning baseball.  The real winners of this deal is going to have to be the Yankees, only because they are getting rid of a guy that came over highly touted and has not lived up to the mark one bit.  Hopefully for Burnett a return to the National League will spark a career resurgence. 

-Buddy