American League Mid-Season Report

June 28, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

“Are we there yet?!”

No, but we’re about half way there….

As MLB teams approach the midway point of the season (no, the All-Star Game is not the midway point of the season), it’s time to get judgmental:

American League

Best Team – Houston Astros

While I wanted to write the Yankees in ⇑, they simply aren’t the best team in the American League. When push comes to shove, especially in the postseason, great pitching beats great hitting. While Dallas Keuchel has regressed BIG TIME, he’s still light years better than every other #5 starter on the planet. If, and when, the Yankees acquire a good starting pitcher, they’ll assuredly leap frog the Astros.

Biggest Surprise – Seattle Mariners

This is the biggest surprise in MLB this season. It’s not even close. The Mariners, despite losing arguably their best player, Robinson Cano (suspension), have the 4th best record in baseball (50-31). If you can name five players on the Mariners, I’ll give you a cookie. Go ahead….

I didn’t think so.

Behind the performances of Nelson Cruz (20 home runs), Dee Gordon (21 steals), Ryon Healy (15 home runs), Edwin Diaz (30 saves), and Mike Leake (8 wins), the Mariners are quietly having one of the more impressive seasons in MLB.

MVP – Mike Trout

While there are other worthy candidates for AL MVP (Mookie Betts and JD Martinez), Mike Trout is the best baseball player in the world. He has been for six years. Having played exactly half of the season, Trout is on pace for his most home runs in a season (46), to go along with 26 steals, while hitting .323. The man is not a man at all. He is a machine. An MVP machine.

CY Young – Luis Severino

Luis Severino is the best pitcher in the American League. I’m aware of Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Chris Sale’s accomplishments, but Severino is outperforming them all. With the most pitches of 99 m.p.h. or more in all of baseball, Severino’s stuff is electric. He’s also singlehandedly holding the Yankees’ pitching staff up with one hand, while throwing absolute, unhittable gas with the other.

Check back with DaveTalksSports tomorrow for your National League mid-season report!!

Yankees Continue Methodical Off Season

February 21, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

The New York Yankees are smart.

No revelation here. Just a sound observation.

Tuesday evening, the Yankees solved one of their biggest “problems”. I know, I know. Trying to decide which top prospect to play isn’t exactly a problem. Well, they don’t have to make that decision anymore following this 3-team trade:

Yankees Get

2B/3B Brandon Drury

Tampa Bay Rays Get

2B Nick Solak, P Anthony Banda, and 2 players to be named later

Arizona Diamondbacks Get

OF Steven Souza Jr. and P Taylor Widener

3 teams, 3 different perspectives:

The Rays continue their roster teardown by moving on from Souza Jr. Despite his low batting average, he enjoyed a breakout season in 2017. Souza Jr. was 1 of only 5 players to hit at least 30 home runs and steal at least 16 bases last season (Mike Trout, Wil Myers, Paul Goldschmidt and Brian Dozier). That’s decent company.

The Diamondbacks are a weird fit for Souza Jr. They just signed Jarrod Dyson to a 2-year contract, while also having Yasmany Tomas, A.J. Pollock, and David Peralta in their outfield. Parting ways with Brandon Drury made more sense. With the emergence of Jake Lamb (27) at third base and Chris Owings (26) at second base, Drury became expendable.

As for the Yankees, this move helps immediately, and could pay dividends in the future. Drury (25) is a power hitting, infielder, capable of playing second base and third base. This will afford the Yankees time to remain patient with their talented, infield prospects, Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar. Now rich in minor league talent, the Yankees were able to comfortably part ways with Nick Solak and Taylor Widener. Solak was the Yankees’ 8th ranked prospect and Widener is a starting pitcher who hasn’t pitched above Single-A.

This move will also create healthy competition in the Yankees’ infield. When there’s someone nipping at your heels, trying to take your job, you tend to put forth your best effort.

Oh, and this takes the Yankees’ projected lineup from the edge of the atmosphere to another galaxy:

1.) Brett Gardner

2.) Aaron Judge

3.) Giancarlo Stanton

4.) Gary Sanchez

5.) Greg Bird

6.) Didi Gregorius

7.) Aaron Hicks

8.) Brandon Drury

9.) Gleyber Torres

So, rather than wait until May to potentially acquire Mike Moustakas, the Yankees took initiative. However, seeing this trade go through just two days after the Red Sox signed J.D. Martinez is NOT a coincidence. Brian Cashman, Yankees’ General Manager, can deny this all he wants, but the Yankees and Red Sox define Newton’s Law of Motion; any action causes an equal and opposite reaction.

What do you think of this trade?? Tell me in the comment section below.

You can now find me on the Radio too. Download the TuneIn Radio App and search OWWR. I’ll be on live every Wednesday from 6:10 P.M. – 8:00 P.M EST. I also broadcast every show on Facebook Live via my DaveTalksSports.com Facebook Page: http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports.

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like my page on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. You can also Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading!! Now go tell all your friends!!

Well….That Didn’t Go As Planned

February 20, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

J.D. Martinez, come on down! You’re the next contestant on the Price Is Righ….

No no, the price is wrong. Yes, Martinez has a lot more money today than he did two days ago, but he accepted a deal significantly less than he was seeking. For months, J.D. Martinez and his agent, Satan (ahem), I mean Scott Boras, played hardball. They stood tall and said they wouldn’t take less than 7 years, $210 million. They claimed they’d be willing to sit out the season to garner a “fair” contract.

Someone should explain the meaning of a standoff to Boras and Martinez.

Martinez, who hit a career best 45 home runs with the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks last season, signed a 5-year, $110 million contract with the Boston Red Sox Monday afternoon.

One of these numbers is not like the other….

The deal is front-loaded, so Martinez will earn $50 million over the first two years. The deal also includes an opt-out clause for Martinez after two years. With a full outfield in Boston, Martinez will serve as the primary DH, granting an occasional day off for Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, or Jackie Bradley Jr.

On the exterior, I graciously doled out a golf clap for the Red Sox, while the Yankees’ fan in me considered smashing a vase against the wall. Martinez is a solid run producer. If he’s afforded an opportunity as the full-time DH, glaring at the “Green Monster”, he’ll duplicate his 40 home run season.

Speed Kills

Upon losing Martinez to free agency, the Diamondbacks wasted little time finding a new outfielder. Monday night, they signed Jarrod Dyson to a 2-year, $7.5 million deal. Despite never exceeding 350 at-bats in a season, Dyson has stolen at least 25 bases in 6 consecutive seasons. He’ll likely serve in a platoon with Yasmany Tomas in left field.

“The Freak” Is Back!!

Tim Lincecum, “The Freak”, is making a comeback!! After holding a pitching showcase for a handful of MLB teams (he hit 93 m.p.h. on the radar gun), Lincecum has reportedly received a guaranteed offer to return to the mound in 2018. No team has been named in the report, however, the San Francisco Giants reportedly aren’t the winners of the Lincecum sweepstakes.

Lincecum’s last stint in MLB didn’t go smoothly, as he sported a 9.16 e.r.a. in 9 starts in 2016. In fact, he hasn’t pitched a season with a sub 4.00 e.r.a. since 2011. At 33 years old, “The Freak” has his work cut out for him, but we want to wish he and his mystery team the best of luck.

What do you think of these free agent signings?? Post your opinion in the comment section below.

One Raindrop Can Open The Floodgates

February 16, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 2 Comments

This is a weird time for Major League Baseball.

With approximately 100 unsigned free agents, the majority of MLB teams have multiple holes to fill. If this were December 16th, it’d be a non-issue. However, MLB is entering unchartered territory. This nonsense is about to effect my fantasy baseball research!! Just three days before every team’s first spring training workout, many big name, free agents remain on the market:

J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb, and Lance Lynn.

Maybe, just maybe, Thursday was the first raindrop that’ll open the floodgates. Three free agents signed on the dotted line:

Andrew Cashner (SP – Baltimore Orioles)

Jaime Garcia (SP – Toronto Blue Jays)

Eduardo Nunez (3B/OF – Boston Red Sox)

I know what you’re thinking. These aren’t household names!! What are you talking about?!

Listen, sometimes there’s an unsung hero behind a revolution. Everyone relax. I’m not comparing the American Revolution to the 2018 MLB free agency battle, but these low-level signings could be John Adams. It’s time for a history lesson I see….

John Adams was disliked in Congress. Despite having the ideas to bring the North and South together, he couldn’t be the face of the revolution. Instead, Thomas Jefferson became the face of the Declaration of Independence.

John Adams = Andrew Cashner

Thomas Jefferson = J.D. Martinez

Once all these big names have signed contracts for the 2018 season, no one will remember where, and when, Andrew Cashner signed. They will, however, remember J.D. Martinez.

I applaud those who made it through the history lesson without falling asleep on your keyboard.

Andrew Cashner

Andrew Cashner is a right-handed starting pitcher. Thursday, he signed a 2-year, $16 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles. For those who don’t know me, I don’t often sugarcoat things. And I’m not about to start now.

Andrew Cashner sucks. Like, a lot. The fact that he’s about to get paid $16 million to throw baseballs (rarely for strikes) is absurd. Cashner is going to get ripped to shreds in the American League East.

Jaime Garcia

The fact that Jaime Garcia is set to make $10 million this season is sickening. Parents, listen up….

Have your baby do everything with their left hand. At the age of 2, put a baseball in their hand, and have them throw strikes every day until they reach the Major Leagues. Then, promptly retire.

Eduardo Nunez

Over the past 2 seasons, life in San Francisco and Boston afforded Eduardo Nunez full-time playing opportunities. He didn’t disappoint. Thursday, Nunez signed a 1-year deal with the Red Sox for an undisclosed amount. This deal is pending a physical, which after last year’s knee injury, isn’t a slam dunk. Stay tuned on this one.

Will Thursday’s free agent signings get the ball rolling?? Or will players remain in a stalemate with ownership?? Spill your guts in the comment section below.

A Thursday For The Ages!!

January 26, 2018January 26, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

Sports is the gift that keeps on giving.

Just 24 hours ago, headlines remained quiet, still, virtually unchanged. Then Thursday happened.

Who Doesn’t Love A Reboot??

The XFL is making a comeback. Yes, you read that right. Vince McMahon, WWE Founder, says a drama free, gimmick free, criminal free XFL is making a comeback. In 2020, Vince McMahon will re-launch an 8-team league, designed to play a 10-week schedule. McMahon is looking into a combination of large and medium-sized markets.

McMahon is individually funding this project and will have complete control over the league and all 8 teams. Initial funding is estimated at $100 million dollars. Coincidentally, McMahon just sold $100 million in WWE stock….

While McMahon clearly stated there will be no criminals in his league, he’s taking a hard stance on many hot-button issues. No personal or political stances will be tolerated in the XFL. Ratings magnets will no longer get the nod over other players. The best players will be put on the field, and they will be paid more when they win. And McMahon plans to run faster games. A 2-hour limit is McMahon’s plan.

Essentially, he’s trying to capitalize on every shortcoming of the NFL.

I give it 2 years this time….

“I’ll Take KD!!”

Thursday, All-Star Captains, Lebron James and Stephen Curry, “secretly” selected their teams. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the order players were picked, so for the love of God, put this thing on TV next year!!!!

Here’s how it probably went down:

Team Lebron Team Curry

1st pick: Kevin Durant 2nd pick: James Harden

3rd pick: Anthony Davis 4th pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo

5th pick: Demarcus Cousins 6th pick: Joel Embiid

7th pick: Kyrie Irving 8th pick: Karl Anthony-Towns

9th pick: Russell Westbrook 10th pick: DeMar DeRozan

11th pick: John Wall 12th pick: Jimmy Butler

13th pick: Kristaps Porzingis 14th pick: Klay Thompson

15th pick: LaMarcus Aldridge 16th pick: Al Horford

17th pick: Kevin Love 18th pick: Damian Lillard

19th pick: Victor Oladipo 20th pick: Draymond Green

21st pick: Bradley Beal 22nd pick: Kyle Lowry

Lebron clearly won the draft. Once you get past the 5th pick, you have to wonder what was going through Stephen Curry’s mind. Picking either Towns, Embiid, Butler, or DeRozan over Cousins, Westbrook, or Irving makes my head spin in a way that feels fairly dangerous. Despite only having 5 Western All-Stars, expect Team Lebron to win 189-179.

Father Time Is Still Waiting

Roger Federer may or may not be human. His accomplishments, at 36, on a tennis court, are nothing short of astonishing. After defeating Hyeon Chung (6-1, 5-2, ret.), Federer has reached his 7th Australian Open Final. Once again, he has NOT dropped a single set en route to the finals. THAT IS INSANE!!

While mere mortals retire due to injury, and potential heat stroke, Federer dabs single beads of sweat from his brow and moves to the next point. His mental game is unparalleled, and his physical talent is 2nd to none. Federer will try to take down #6 ranked, Marin Cilic, in the finals for his 6th Australian Open.

Words simply can not explain the unprecedented nature Federer continues to succeed at the advanced age of 36. It’s like ‘Dog Years’. 36 in ‘Tennis Years’ is 66 in ‘Basketball Years’.

Brewers Are Busy Little Beavers

The Milwaukee Brewers were very busy on Thursday. They made a trade. And they signed the biggest free agent contract of the offseason — so far. Both put the Brewers in the conversation for best outfield in MLB.

The Trade

Brewers Get: OF Christian Yelich

Marlins Get: OF Lewis Brinson, INF Isan Diaz, OF Monte Harrison, and P Jordan Yamamoto

The Signing

They signed OF Lorenzo Cain, to a 5-year, $80 million contract. Until JD Martinez signs on the dotted-line, Cain stands as the highest paid free agent of the offseason.

The Brewers now have a surplus of outfielders, so expect either Domingo Santana, Keon Broxton, or Brett Phillips to be on the move.

Wow Thursday. You didn’t exactly leave room for improvement for Friday….

What was the biggest story from Thursday?? Will you watch the XFL?? Spill it in the comment section below.

You can now find me on the Radio too. Download the TuneIn Radio App and search OWWR. I’ll be on live every Wednesday from 6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M EST. I also broadcast every show on Facebook Live via my DaveTalksSports.com Facebook Page: http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports .

What Do You Mean ‘Double Check’ My Sources?!

January 12, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

The world has been waiting….

Waiting for the dominoes to start falling in Major League Baseball. Who knew that first domino would be a fake report?! Wednesday morning, multiple sources reported Gerrit Cole had been traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Houston Astros. By Wednesday afternoon, we had learned this report was as make believe as the Easter Bunny. Sorry parents. Apparently, some journalists prefer being 1st and wrong over being 2nd and right.

See, this is a fun time for MLB; the offseason. The time when rumors fly, money gets tossed around, and players potentially relocate. Until Wednesday, this offseason had been notoriously slow. Just 30 of the 160 potential free agents had signed with their respective teams. Over the past 2 days, free agency has built up speed. It turns out, all it needed was a little nudge from a fake report.

These new deals are 1-year contracts in order to avoid arbitration:

Cody Allen – $10.575 Million (Indians)
Khris Davis – $10.5 Million (Athletics)
Patrick Corbin – $7.5 Million (Diamondbacks)
Miguel Gonzalez – $4.75 Million (White Sox)
Mike Zunino – $2.975 Million (Mariners)
Randal Grichuk – $2.6 Million (Cardinals)
Zach McAllister – $2.45 Million (Indians)
Jake Marisnick – $1.9 Million (Astros)
Tommy Kahnle – $1.3125 Million (Yankees)

Arbitration is a legal process used when a player (prior to becoming an unrestricted free agent) and team can’t come to terms on a 1-year contract. Both the player and team submit their proposed salary contracts to a 3rd-party, neutral arbitrator. The arbitrator then determines a fair salary based on the player’s statistics. Despite retaining the rights to said player, arbitration isn’t generally the 1st step in a long-term, healthy relationship.

While everyone’s attention turned to 1-year contracts, and a fake report, the New York Mets swooped in and ACTUALLY signed a contract paying out more than $12 per year. On Wednesday, the Mets came to terms with Jay Bruce on a 3-year, $39 million contract. While Bruce isn’t a hop on my back and ride to the playoffs type of guy, he’s a solid offensive outfielder. On a team (as cheap as the Mets) lacking offense, I like this deal for the Mets.

Only 2 bigger contracts have been signed, so far, than Bruce; Carlos Santana and Wade Davis. Santana signed a 3-year, $60 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on December 20th. This makes the Bruce deal look even better. As for Davis, his 3-year, $52 million contract with the Colorado Rockies makes him the highest paid relief pitcher (per year) of all-time. We’ll see how he enjoys the “comfort” of pitching in Coors Field.

With just over a month until pitchers and catchers report, expect an avalanche of dominoes to fall in the near future. Here are the biggest, unsigned names:

J.D. Martinez, Jake Arrieta, Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, and Yu Darvish.

MLB Free Agency, a time when wildly overpaying players has become America’s new pastime.

What do you think of the Jay Bruce contract?? Does Wade Davis deserve to be the highest paid reliever of all-time?? Post your thoughts in the comment section below.

Back To School Special

September 5, 2017 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 4 Comments

nfl

“Back to school, back to school, to prove to my dad I’m not a fool.”

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time of year again. Time to get the kids on the bus, and send them off to school. Let’s just hope your child isn’t going back to kindergarten at the age of 35 (haha).

Labor Day Weekend is an exciting time. It marks the opening of the College Football season. Baseball is in the home stretch. The U.S. Open is approaching the semifinals. And last but certainly not least, the NFL is just days away….

College Football

What an exciting week of college football!! Although there were many games worth staying up until midnight for, 2 stood out:

Texas A&M vs. UCLA

All you need to know is Josh Rosen and the UCLA Bruins overcame the largest deficit in college football since 2006. 34 POINTS!! A 48-yard field goal put the Aggies up 34 with 4:08 left in the 3rd quarter. Those would be the Aggies’ last points. It was ALL UCLA from then on. 5 touchdowns later, UCLA walked away with a 45-44 victory. Insane!!

Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech

Labor Day brought us a thriller!! A double-overtime thriller!! Sometimes that QB moniker is just for show, as TaQuon Marshall is technically Georgia Tech’s quarterback. His stat-line would beg to differ:

44 carries for 249 yards and 5 touchdowns and 5/9 passing for 120 yards.

WOW!! Despite Marshall’s incredible performance (in his 1st game ever), Georgia Tech fell to 25 ranked Tennessee 42-41.

U.S. Open

For those who haven’t noticed, tennis’ final Grand Slam is well under way. And no, you don’t need to adjust your eyeballs. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Venus Williams are all in the Quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. Hey guys, psst, where can I get some of that fountain of youth stuff?? Venus will take on 13th ranked Petra Kvitova tonight @ 7:00 P.M. EST. Federer lands a tough draw as he’ll take on Juan Martin Del Potro. And Nadal will play Andrey Rublev. In a highly anticipated match-up, Federer and Nadal would play each other in the semifinals. Multiple fingers are crossed….

Baseball

There’s impressive, and then there’s what the Arizona Diamondbacks did on Monday. Both of these feats were accomplished against the all-mighty Los Angeles Dodgers (keep that in mind). Robbie Ray, Diamondbacks pitcher, was perfect through 5 innings. His first blemish, a leadoff single by Logan Forsythe in the 6th inning. Ray would go 7 and 2/3 innings giving up just 3 hits and striking out 14. And to think Ray wasn’t the best player on his own team on Monday….

That distinction belongs to J.D. Martinez. Martinez hit 4 HOME RUNS in this game!! He became just the 18th player to go yard 4 times in 1 game.

NFL

I like to save the best for last. The 2017 NFL season kicks-off in 2 days!! I’m so excited I think I just, uh yeah, I just wet myself. Game 1 of the NFL season is the Kansas City Chiefs @ the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. You can watch Tom Brady and the Patriots handle their business on NBC @ 8:30 P.M. EST. There’s no pre-game speech necessary for the NFL. It speaks for itself. Don’t forget to set your Fantasy lineups….

What were you watching this past weekend?? Don’t be afraid to tell me all about it in the comment section below.

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like my page on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. You can also Subscribe to my YouTube Channel called DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading!! Now go tell all your friends!!

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