Breaking Bad

Got this beauty in a TCDB trade:

MVP and Cy Young Award Picks (Top 3)

 

AL MVP

-  .316, .432, .601.  42 HR, 106 RBI, 105 Runs.  Not much defense.  7.1 WAR.  Houston won the AL West with a .500 record.  I usually require a winning record but making the playoffs is more important.  

Caminero:  .276, .360, .524.  42 HR, 101 RBI, 100 Runs.  Played 3B.  Didn't miss a game.  5.7 WAR.  The Rays won their division. 

Vargas:  .250, .363, .474.  33 HR, 93 RBI, 22 Steals, 106 Runs.  Played 3B.  5.4 WAR.  The White Sox made the playoffs.

Kevin McGonigle (Tigers) and Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals) both had Top 3 seasons, but their teams had losing records. 

NL MVP

 

 

-  .280, .372, .570.  45 HR, 107 RBI, 41 Steals, 119 Runs.  Played CF.  Didn't miss a game.  9.8 WAR.  The Cubs made the playoffs.

Turang:  .268, .366, .450.  21 HR, 100 RBI, 19 Steals, 102 Runs.  Played 2B.  7.3 WAR.  The Brewers won their division.

Shohei:  .276, .377, .513.  30 HR, 81 RBI, 11 Steals, 89 Runs.  8 - 2, 1.79 ERA.  Played DH and pitched.  6.7 WAR.  The Dodgers won their division.

Gabriel Moreno made a strong case for third.       

AL Cy Young Award

-  14 - 6, 1.95 ERA, 20 Quality Starts, 193 Innings, 7.0 WAR

Gray:  18 - 5, 2.72 ERA, 20 QS, 169 Innings, 4.3 WAR

Rasmussen:  16 - 5, 2.67 ERA, 18 QS, 172 Innings, 4.7 WAR

NL Cy Young Award 

-  18 - 7, 2.91 ERA, 22 QS, 207 Innings, 8.1 WAR

Misiorowski:  16 - 5, 1.80 ERA, 18 QS, 174 Innings, 6.5 WAR

Yamamoto:  14 - 9, 2.53 ERA, 22 QS, 185 Innings, 5.9 WAR

Sanchez was robbed by Skenes last year and I expect Mis to win it this year.  But I don't have to agree with it.      

NL Playoff Rankings

 

Which teams disgust me?  

Which teams do I tolerate?  

Which teams are the Phillies?  

1.  Phillies

Known for:  Their loveable, even-keeled fans.  Mike Schmidt is the best baseball player since Willie Mays.

History:  8 pennants / 2 World Series titles, most recently in 2008  

Fuel for the Fire:  

2.  Brewers

Known for:  Never winning the World Series and losing the Beer Series to the Cardinals the only time they won a pennant.

The History:  1 pennant / 0 World Series titles

Fuel for the Fire: 

3.  Padres

Known for:  Never winning the World Series and being the last Big 4 team standing in San Diego. 

The History:  2 pennants / 0 World Series

Fuel for the Fire:

4.  Cubs

Known for:  The best ballpark in MLB.

The History:  17 pennants / 3 World Series titles, most recently in 2016

Fuel for the Fire:

5.  Braves

Known for:  Hilariously under-performing in the 1990s.  

The History:  18 pennants / 4 World Series titles, most recently in 2021

Fuel for the Fire:

6.  Dodgers

Known for:  Getting special treatment from MLB and not changing their name when they left Brooklyn.

The History:  26 pennants / 9 World Series titles, most recently in 2025

Fuel for the Fire:

If it's not the Phillies, any of the next 3 would at least be tolerable.  

Braves would be quite disappointing.  

Dodgers would be disgusting.

AL Playoff Rankings

 

Which teams disgust me?

Which teams are tolerable? 

1.  Rays

Known for:  Finding Jesus and building their stadium in a horrible location. 

The History:  2 pennants, 0 World Series titles  

Fuel for the Fire:

2.  White Sox

Known for:  The Black Sox scandal and a fascinating uniform evolution.

The History:  7 pennants / 3 World Series titles, most recently in 2005

Fuel for the Fire:

3.  Guardians

Known for:  A cool movie and a silly name change.

The History:  6 pennants / 2 World Series titles, most recently in 1948

Fuel for the Fire:  

 

4.  Red Sox

Known for:  A green wall.

The History:  14 pennants / 9 World Series titles, most recently in 2018

Fuel for the Fire:

5.  Yankees

Known for:  The most successful franchise in MLB.  

The History:  41 pennants / 27 World Series titles, most recently in 2009

Fuel for the Fire:

6.  Astros

Known for:  Cheating, then whining when other teams steal signs the legal way. 

The History:  5 pennants / 2 World Series titles, most recently in 2022

Fuel for the Fire:  

The top 3 are all fine by me.        

I'll be disappointed if the Red Sox or the Yankees make it to the WS.

I'll be disgusted if the Astros make it.

End of an Era

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The Irony

Locked out of my TwiX account because I don't have a machine to scan a code to verify that I'm human.   

Time Traveling

 

Another trade with Matty K.

-  North swiped 395 bags.

-  Tommy John moved to the next level recently.

-  Bonds hit 332 homers and stole 461 bases.  Three Gold Gloves as well.   

-  Hart is listed as 6'2".  I've met cousin Jimmy, and he isn't 6'2".  Maybe 5'10".  

-  Largent's a Hall of Famer, so might as well get him when he's cheap.