Pitching, Pitching, Pitching, and Jayson Heyward.  That’s the story of the National League in 2012.

NL East – Hands down the most competitive division in all of baseball in 2012. The division title came down to three teams battling it out the last two weeks of the season and none of the three were the Washington Nationals who had few bright spots.  Bryce Harper made his pro debut and lived up to lofty expectations hitting 14 HRs after a July call-up.  Unfortunately his teammate with equally lofty expectations, Stephen Strasburgh, was shut down with arm trouble for the second straight year.  A move to the bullpen is being discussed in the offseason.

As for the three contenders---The Marlins, a bunch of young budding superstars led by their All-World veteran, Hanley Ramirez, were in third place and only one game out of first place heading into a 3-game series with the fourth place NY Mets.  A team in transition, the Mets struggled through most of the season after trading their second superstar in as many years. In 2011 Jose Reyes was sent to the LA Angels and now, in 2012, the face of the franchise, David Wright, was traded for a package of prospects to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  In what should have been an easy series for the Marlins, they were beaten two games to one by the Mets who overpowered young hitters like Morrison, Domingez, and Mike Stanton.  In the final game of the year Johan Santana outdueled Marlin’s ace, Josh Johnson, in a 2-0 CG shutout.  The big series of the final week was between the two teams tied for first place, Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.  In Atlanta, The first game was Cole Hamels vs Tommy Hanson. The Braves won behind 7 strong innings from Hanson and a 2-4, 2RBI night from Jayson Heyward.  Braves up one, Phils in second, Marlins in third.  Second game saw the crafty veteran, Cliff Lee shut down the Braves while Dominic Brown drove in 2 runs and scoring two more himself in a Philly route.  Tied again at the top, with the Marlins behind by one.  The final game of the year saw two young up and coming arms pitted against each other.  2011 ROY, Kyle Drabek faced the Brave’s Julio Teheran, a July call-up who’s gone a surprising 7-1 since the promotion.  The game was one for the ages and with both pitchers going into the eighth without giving up a run it came down to bullpens and Jayson Heyward.  With one on, two outs, and trade deadline acquisition Bobby Jenks on the mound, the game and division was decided on one monstrous swing.  Jayson Heyward sent a 98mph fastball over the right field wall and foam tomahawks littered the field.  A superstar is born.

NL Central – The Houston Astros continue to be in rebuild mode after letting Lance Berkman leave via free agency before the season and trading Roy Oswalt and Carlos Lee at the 2012 deadline.  They have few bright spots most notably Jason Castro.  The Priates were respectable and they posted their first .500 season in almost 200 years---or so it seems.  Andrew McCutchen put up MVP numbers and made his third straight All-Star game.  St. Louis was hit by the injury bug as their already thin pitching was depleted and the normally reliable Albert Pujols missed a month with a bad shoulder.  Colby Rasmus continued his steady play and notched his second straight 20-20 season.  Chicago was competitive all year but fell behind shortly after the All-Star game and was forced to move aging veteran, Aramis Ramirez, opening up room for Josh Vitters to take over full time.  Vitters struggled at first but came on late, knocking in 17RBIs in a three week span.  The division came down to the Milawakee Brewers and Cincinatti Reds and for the first time since 1995, the Reds raised the pennant.  Behind outstanding pitching (Volquez, Cueto, and rookie Mike Leake) and a scrappy, balanced offense the Reds finally put it all together. They were led by Joey Votto and Jay Bruce and the emergence of the new ‘Mr. Hustle,’ Drew Stubbs.  The Brewers were a strong contender all year led by a nice mixture of Vets (Braun, Fielder) and young guys (Escobar, Gamel, Salome).  Escobar made the All-Star game in just his second full year and has emerged as one of the best young shortstops in all of baseball.  One surprise was the comeback and success of troubled young pitcher, Jeremy Jeffress.  After meandering in the bullpen all of 2011, he made the opening day rotation and never looked back going 15-8 with a 3.98 ERA.  Rookie pitcher Eric Arnett also pitched well but unfortunately, no one else did from the Brew Crew who look to bolster the staff in an attempt to make a run at 2013.

NL West – Big trade deadline deals rarely make a huge difference but one such trade put a jolt into the Arizona Diamondbacks and pushed them over the threshold and secured them the NL West crow.  David Wright supplied a much needed punch to the Arizona offense after he was dealt and united with another former New Yorker, manager Bobby Valentine.  Freed of the criticism, pressure, and circus-like environment that surrounded him in NY, Wright flourished down the stretch hitting .345 with 12 HRs and 27 RBIs.  He provided NL MVP Justin Upton the protection he needed to create some runs behind one of the best pitching staffs in the NL.  Dan Haren, Max Scherzer, and second year phenom, Jarrod Parker shut down opposing batters all year and rookie Wade Miley became an impact starter after July.  The rest of the division was led by exceptional pitching as well but couldn’t match the Diamondback’s balanced attack. The Dodgers were the closest and finished only two games out of first but fell just short.  They were led by their big two, Billingsley and Kershaw, both of whom won 18 games.  Matt Kemp turned in an MVP-esque performance going 35-35 for the first time in his career.  The Giants had THE best pitching staff in baseball but finished near the bottom of the league in runs produced.  Madison Bumgarner won his first Cy Young going 23-5 with a 2.89 ERA.  He and teammate, Tim Lincecum, became the first teammates to record 15+ strikeouts in back to back games.  The offense had bright spots but it had holes as well. All-Stars Buster Posey and Pablo Sandovol couldn’t carry the offense but late season call-up Angel Villalona showed glimpses of the power hitter he could be by belting 13 extra base hits in his last 7 games including a two-HR effort in the final game of the year.  Colorado was a fun team to watch and will no doubt be a team to reckon with in the future.  And for the first time the Rockies will be less about hitting, and more about pitching. Their young rotation of Chacin, Jiminez, and Friedrich dazzled all year long.  That’s not to say offense won’t be a strong suit either as Dexter Fowler continued to cement himself as one of the best CF in the game.  2013 is not out of their reach.

Offseason and playoffs

NL CY YOUNG: Madison Bumgarner, SF
NL MVP: Justin Upton, Arizona
NL Manager of the Year: Bobby Valentine, Arizona
NL ROY: Julio Teheran, ATL
NL HR leader: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee
NL Avg Leader: Matt Kemp, LA Dodgers
NL RBI leader: Justin Upton, Arizona
NL SB leader: Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh
NL Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies
NL CS: Arizona Diamondbacks Vs. Atlanta Braves
NL Winner: Arizona Diamondbacks

World Series  Arizona Diamondbacks Versus Baltimore Orioles….why don’t you all discuss that for a bit.

I suggested this as a new topic for John but I thought we could do it ourselves. Basically I want to take a look into the future and predict what the year 2012 will look like from a baseball perspective.  I picked 2012 because Baseball America has the 2012 predicted lineups and it seems like a good point where our favorite prospects we love talking about will actually be contributing.  Also, I’m an Indians fan so if I could I’d crawl into a cryogenic freeze chamber and wake up in the year 2012 I would.  This isn’t as much statistically based as it is ‘for fun’ but I’d like to get opinions from everyone including stats geeks, team geeks, and player geeks.  I thought it might be fun and informational---plus it’s not a vs./=/</> type post.  So let’s begin…


AL East:  The entire division was close but this year marked the first time that neither Boston nor the NY Yankees raised the division flag.  2011’s surprise Wild Card Winner, The Baltimore Orioles, roared out to a hot start and never looked back winning the division by 4 games over the Boston Red Sox.  Led by three of the most feared hitters in all of baseball (Jones, Wieters, and Markakis) and the best young pitching staff in baseball (Tillman, Arrieta, and Matusz) they held off  Joe Mauer’s Boston Red Sox.  The surprise of the division was the aging NY Yankees, who not only missed the playoffs, but finished just fourth in the division behind Baltimore, Sox, and Toronto.  The 2010 World Series winner, Tampa Rays, regressed all the way back to last place and look to build another core of young players, possibly by trading their star slugger, Evan Longoria after the season.  Hey, they got a ring.

AL Central:  It’s 1995 all over again!  The young and brash Cleveland Indians ran away with the division in 2012.  2011 ROY Carlos Santana is now a bona fide star and along with Matt Laporta, Sizemore, Choo, Weglarz, Brantley, and Asdrubal Cabrera---they formed the AL’s top scoring offense. But it wasn’t all offense as their pitching staff of Justin Masterson, Carlos Carrasco, and All Star Hector Rondon was formidable all year. It got a boost in September from young fire baller Jason Knapp who went to the bullpen and immediately made an impact.  The rest of the division was not even close with Minnesota nearest at 8 games back and KC a game behind them.  Chicago was the most disappointing team finishing in last place in what ended up being Ozzie’s last as White Sox manager.  Beckham and Danks had exceptional years and the offense still clicked but the gutting of the farm system finally caught up to Kenny Williams and their pitching staff couldn’t be pieced together this year.  2011 FA acquisition Brandon Webb pitched in only 15 games before going on the DL and their main reclamation project, Jeremy Bonderman, couldn’t put things together and was eventually released in July.  Detroit’s lone bright spot was sending Rick Porcelllo to the mound every five days as he put together a phenomenal year.  But it was only good enough to finish a game above the last place Sox.

AL West: This is where things get interesting. The division has been dominated by the powerful Texas Rangers the past three years, winning the AL crown in 2011.  But this yea their rival, the Oakland A’s, finally overtook them.  The past few years we’ve been treated to fantastic pitching battles between the Ranger’s Feliz and Holland and the A’s Cahill and Anderson.  The Rangers had the upper hand in previous years but this year the A’s got the final push when 21 year Old, Michel Inoa, stormed on the scene and had a year for the ages.  M.I.K, as he’s became known, mowed through the league and conjured images of Doc Gooden and Fernando Valenzuela wrapped in one.  He got the call to pitch game 163 and promptly shut down the Rangers in a complete game effort to get the win in the play in game.  The surprise of the division was the announcement of Ichiro’s retirement at year’s end.  The first ballot HOFer gathered three hits in his last game including a double in his final at bat.   


AL CY YOUNG: Michel Inoa, OAK
AL MVP: Nick Markakis
AL Manager of the Year: Travis Fryman, Cleveland Indians
AL ROY: Michel Inoa, OAK
AL HR leader: Josh Hamilton, Texas
AL Avg Leader: Joe Mauer, Boston
AL RBI leader: Joe Mauer, Boston
AL SB leader: Michael Brantley, Cleveland
ALCS: Baltimore Orioles vs Cleveland Indians
AL Winner: Baltimore Indians

NL + World Series Predictions to come….

Remember all the hullaballoo (sp?) about the very young latin American prospect that we allegedly were going to sign last year? I believe he was a third base or shortstop and there was that weird photo of him on his blog wearing an Indians hat with the caption 'my team' underneath.  What was his name?  What ever happened with that?  And did the Tribe brass already turn him into a  1b/Dh/OF platoon player with neither the bat nor the defense to stick at one position?  Thanks!

He was moved to the bullpen and pitched two ok innings last night in a loss for Akron. How many appearances does he get until he's called up to Cleveland?  And where do people fall on this decision?  Me personally, I hate that we have to accelarate a young promising arm in order to fill a hole in our big league team but if that's what it takes then so be it. The ultimate goal is to win and if Rondon gives us our best chance than why not try him out. Thoughts?

I have a question about a players age being relative to league.  Where could I find the average age of all the players from a league?  And what is traditionally the average age for players at all the levels?  Thanks, been looking around and for some reason couldn't find this info.

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I had the great pleasure of going to the 22-4 drubbing of the New York Yankees at the hands of America's Team, The Cleveland Indians.  While the stadium was very impressive there was a very glaring problem with the place---the premium seating area was EMPTY.  Everyone saw it, everyone pointed it out, and everyone was kinda pissed about it.  You can't even get access to that level without a ticket so if you want to get a close up view of the game you can't. Also, if your kid wants to get a chance at an autograph or a handshake before or after the game from his favorite player, good luck.  He better have a $500 allowance to pay for that seat cuz he ain't getting anywhere near that field. It is a huge problem and takes away from the overall feel of the stadium. The Jake Progressive field is better IMO.

http://paulkatcher.com/archives/001191.shtml

One, where's everyone down here drinking?  Ok, after that, how easy is it to get autographs at the games?  I was thinking of picking up a few balls and trying to get my faves to sign them.  Lastly, what is access to the minor league training camp like?  Is it near the big boys?  I was dissapointed to see Brantley, Laporta, and Rondon sent to the minor league camp right as I got here so I'm hoping to see them play a little while I'm here. Thanks in advanced and Go Tribe!

I have since been bitten by baseball card bug that last had a hold on me in the mid nineties.  I wanted to grab a bunch of prospect and rookie cards along with some of my current favorite players.  As we all know things done changed in the past 15 years in the card industry and I'm looking for a good online source where I could find prices, breakdowns, and a place to buy cards.  Aside from paying for Beckett's online services are there any good free pricing guides?  Who has the best online sales?  Any help would be great. 

Found an interesting link on Scout.com where someone posted a site of photos posted by Salcedo himself and one was a pic of a Cleveland Indians pin and he titled it "My Team."  Not sure it's anything but it is fairly interesting.
He could have also meant his favorite team since I believe he's been training at an Indians facility for some time now.  Either way, Go Tribe.

http://www.hi5.com/friend/photos/displayPhotoUser.do?photoId=1166077854&ownerId=114981260&al bumId=61031385

The situations are (while not completely) similar.  We got both Omar and AsCab from the Mariners for next to nothing. Both players were known for their extremely talented defense and glove work but both prospects had questions about whether or not they could hit consistantly at the ML level.  We know what Omarriffic did and it looks like AsCab has really turned a corner this year.  At just 21 years of age AsCab is really hitting the ball well at AA and is showing ecouraging signs

His power numbers are way up above his minor league average, 7 HRs, 20 doubles, and. 482 Slg.  His OPS is very good at 880, again well above his career marks.  And probably most encouraging and significant is his 37/34 BB/KK ratio.  I really want to see this kid in Cleveland in the near future but realize at 21 he's likely a year, probably two, away.  

My question is two fold.  Is this maturation and increased production for real?  And two, what grade would he get now?  He was a C+ to start the year.  Loved to hear your thoughts!

Let's make it an Indian summer!