Sport Thoughts

The MLB 2023 offseason has seen several teams make impactful changes. The LA Dodgers have had the biggest offseason compared to any team in the MLB. The Dodgers have signed MVP DH Shohei Ohtani, traded for starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow and signed NPB starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The two big free agent signings of Ohtani and Yamamoto plus Glasnow’s contract extension will cost the Dodgers over 1 billion dollars. To the Dodgers benefit, the money amount has greatly shrunk due to Ohtani’s deferred salary. The Dogers also resigned veteran outfielder Jason Heyward along with acquiring outfielder Manuel Margot in the Tyler Glasnow trade. Adding hitting and pitching depth has been key for the Dodgers. Yamamoto will enter the 2024 season as the ace of the Dodgers pitching rotation. Glasnow will be valued as a number 2 option in the pitching rotation. Glasnow’s injury history may be a concern in the long term. The Dodgers former ace pitcher Walker Buhler will be returning from Tommy Jo...

The New York Mets have had a quiet and sub-par 2023 offseason. The MLB offseason is known as a time period for teams to reload and make improvements for next season. Several teams have made impactful offseason moves including the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals. The New York Mets have remained quiet without any signs of changes in sight. The Mets are coming off of a disappointing 75 win 2023 season. The need to improve the batting lineup, starting pitching staff and bullpen were a must need. So far, the  Mets have signed starting pitcher Luis Severino, utilityman Joey Wendle and relief pitcher Jorge Lopez. All three former All Stars are joining the Mets off of their worst seasons of their careers. Adding pitchers with ERAs over 5 and players who hit slightly above 200. do not improve the ballclub. The Mets are a fourth place team as currently constructed. Outside of Pete Alonso and Fransico Lindor, the Mets offense lack...

The New York Yankees entered the 2023 MLB offseason as one of the most disappointing teams in the majors. The Yankee front office knew that changes needed to be made immediately. The organization wasted a prime year of stars Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole. The Yankees would begin their off season, trading for star right fielder Juan Soto and outfielders Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham. The Yankees would lose a lot of pitching depth through the two trades but greatly improved their batting lineup. The departure of starting pitcher Michael King could come back to haunt the Yankees, if he becomes a star in San Deigo. The new starting lineup looks dangerous with Juan Soto projected to hit before Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton. The project lineup feels well structured but the team’s pitching depth has shrunk. The Yankees lack a fifth starting pitcher in their pitching rotation. The starting pitching rotation is currently Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortez and Clarke Schm...

The 2023 MLB playoffs has officially come to a close. The Texas Rangers are the 2023 MLB World Series Champions. The 2023 World Series will go down as a World Series to remember. The Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks were never expected to reach this year’s World Series. Both teams entered the 2023 playoffs as heavy underdogs. They defied the odds by winning their respective playoff series in upsetting fashion. They showed heart and resilience. The Texas Rangers would finish the playoffs as the superior team. The Rangers offense was aggressive and truly battle tested. Their playoff run can be described as historic when reflecting on their road victory streak. They finished their 2023 playoff run, undfeated on the road. Eleven straight road victories, setting a new MLB record. All Star hitters Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia showed out on the biggest stage in this series. Seager would win the World Series MVP, becoming the first player to win World Series MVP in the A...

The World Series is finally here. The big dance will see a very different cast of players compared to the previous years. The 2023 World Series will be the first time since the 2016 World Series to exclude the Houston Astros or the LA Dodgers. The Texas Rangers enter their first World Series dating back to 2011. The Rangers have never won a World Series in their franchise history. The Diamondbacks enter their first World Series in 22 years. 2001 was the year of the Diamondbacks only World Series Championship. Both the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks could be looked at as underdogs in this years championship. Both teams have the star power in offense and excellent caliber pitching. The Rangers are currently the betting favorites over the Diamondbacks, which makes sense from a home field advantage standpoint. The Texas Rangers will need All Stars like Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia and Marcus Seminen to step up. The same could be about Diamondback All Stars Corbin Carrol, Katel M...

The American League and National Championship Series have come to an end after a intense seven game battle. It was the first time since the 2020 postseason where both league championship series went the full distance of seven games. The final results were shocking when reflected upon. The Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies were both favorited to go back to the World Series. A rematch between both teams would have marked the first World Series rematch since the 1978 World Series. The thought of a rematch was legitimate once Game 5 was completed. Both the Astros and Phillies were up 3 games to 2 games with one win remaining. The Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks would need to win back to back games on the road. They did just that, eliminating the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies in seven games. The Diamondbacks won their series witch clutch hitting from Katel Marte, Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel. The Diamondbacks starting pitching and bullpen were nearly perfect i...

The MLB 2023 playoffs have progressed into the league championship series. The final four tesms could be considered a shock to many baseball fans. The 2 Seed Houston Astros will take on the 5 Seed Texas Rangers and the 4 Seed Philadalphia Phillies will take on the 6 Seed Arizona Diamondbacks. All four teams finished the regular season with 90 wins or less. The defending champion Houston Astros will be the favorites over the Texas Rangers. Both teams finished with 90 total Wins but the Astros won the AL West Division through a tie breaker. The Astros won many games in 2023 against the Rangers, recently sweeping them in early September. The Rangers will enter the match up with the hottest offense and have gone undefeated thus far into the playoffs. The Rangers have the better offense but the Astros have the better pitching staff. The Rangers will need Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia to lead the way to victory. The Astros will fight fire with fire as Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker...

The MLB second round has come to a close. The Division Series could be summed up with two words: multiple upsets. For the first time in MLB playoff history, two teams who won 100 or more games were swept at the same time. The 90 win Texas Rangers upset the 101 win Baltimore Orioles and the 84 win Diamondbacks upset the 100 win LA Dodgers. Both series felt like total mismatches. The Rangers offense dominated with clutch home runs from Corey Seager, Mitch Garver and Adolis Garcia. The starting pitching from Nathan Eovaldi was at an elite level. The Orioles starting pitching struggled deeply and their offense went cold in games one and three. The Texas Rangers Vs Baltimore Orioles series could be best described as a veteran caliber team out-slugging and out-pitching a young team on the rise. The Arizona Diamondbacks Vs LA Dodgers series could be described as the complete opposite. The Dodgers were the veteran team, who were competely out-played and out-hustled by the up and coming Dbacks....

The playoff format of the MLB has evolved drastically over last the three years. In 2020, the MLB playoffs saw the introduction of the of best of three Wild Card series. All playoff teams played a first round series at the time. A year later, MLB brought back the one game Wild Card matchup. It was a matchup that saw the most negative criticism. The best of three Wild Card series was brought back last year but with a major difference. A change was made where the best two division winners receive a first round bye. The first round bye would negativily impact both National League 1 and 2 Seeds. The 111 win LA Dodgers were upset by the 89 win San Diego Padres and the 101 win Atlanta Braves were upset by the Philadelphia Phillies. Fast forward to 2023 and it appears to be a deja vu scenario. The 101 win Baltimore Orioles and 100 win LA Dodgers are currently down 0-2 in their respective Division Series. The underdog 90 win Texas Rangers and 84 win Arizona Diamondbacks have a chance to sweep ...

The MLB 2023 playoffs has entered the second round. The remaining playoff matchups are all interesting and fairly even matched. The Division Series matchups include the Baltimore Orioles vs the Texas Rangers, the Minnesota Twins vs the Houston Astros, the Philadelphia Phillies vs the Atlanta Braves and the Arizona Diamondbacks vs the LA Dodgers. Each series will have it’s key X-factors. The Texas Rangers have several veteran players with playoff experience, including shortstop Corey Seager, second baseman Marcus Semien and starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. This veter caliber team will go up against a young and upcoming team, led by catcher Adley Rutschman, third baseman Gunner Henderson and outfielder Cedric Mullens. Playoff experience and veteran leadership could play huge roles in this playoff series. The Minnesota Twins will face the Houston Astros for the first time since the 2020 playoffs. Both teams look very different since that timeframe. The Houston Astros will be heavily favor...

The 2023 MLB season is less there 2 weeks away from being completed. The New York Mets are out of contention and examining their team options for  2024. The thought process has become a mystery if Buck Showalter will return next year as Mets manager. Showalter has one final year left of his three year contract. Showalter had previously won the Manager of the Year award during his first season as Mets manager. He helped lead the Mets to a 101 win season and their first playoff berth since 2016. His second year as Mets manager sung a different tale. His managing decisions brought negative publicity, including questionable starting lineups and a mismanaged bullpen. The Mets are in the midst of a rebuild since the August 1st tade deadline. Showalter has managed a roster filled with veterans, rookies and tripple A players. He can only manage with what he is given. The New York Mets are not expected to make a big splash in the upcoming offseason. Buck Showalter was suppose to manage a ch...

The final day of the 2023 MLB regular season is one week away from today. The defending champion Houston Astros are at risk of missing the MLB playoffs for the first time since 2016. They enter Monday just half a game ahead of the Settle Mariners for the final Wild Card spot, with 6 games left to play. The Astros will conclude their regular season with three games against the Seattle Mariners and three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Mariners will try to jump the Astros in the Wild Card standings, while the Diamondbacks will try to clinch the second National League Wild Card during the final series. The Houston Astros are coming off a poor 2-5 homestand, losing two of three games to the Baltimore Orioles and three straight losses to the Kansas City Royals. The Seattle Mariners will play the Texas Rangers for three final games after the Houston Astros Series. The Mariners were recently swept by the Texas Rangers, entering their final series against Houston. This week’s three...

Every sport has at least one dark horse contender that goes under the radar of the fans and the media. The Milwaukee Brewers have arguably been the most slept on team of the 2023 MLB season. The Brewers are currently 20 games over .500, leading the NL Central Division by 7 games and are 4 wins away from clinching the National League 3 seed.  They may not be as heavily star studded as the LA Dodgers and Atlanta Braves but the Milwaukee Brewers can pitch and hit at a high level. The Brewers led by former All-Star Christian Yelich and former CY Young winning Pitcher Corbin Burnes are making a big statement by bringing the Brewer back to relevancy after a disappointing 2022 season. The Brewers are on track to win the NL Central Division for the 3rd time since the 2018 season. However, the MLB playoffs have always been a problem for the Milwaukee Brewers. They lost the 2019 Wild Card game and 2020 Wild Card Series to the eventual World Series champion Washington Nationals and LA Dodgers...

Today was a shocking day for the Boston Red Sox front office. The organization parted ways with respected top executive Chaim Bloom. Bloom joined the Boston Red Sox front office following the 2019 MLB season. Bloom took over the front office just one year after the Red Sox won the 2018 World Series. He made several major changes to the Red Sox organization during his 4-year tenure. Bloom will perhaps be most known as the executive who traded away future hall of fame outfielder Mookie Betts for outfielder Alex Verdugo and catcher Connor Wong. In terms of free agent signings, Bloom signed shortstop Trevor Story, third baseman Justin Turner, closer Kenley Janson, outfielders Adam Duvall and Masataka Yoshida during the 2021 and 2022 offseasons. On the postive side of moves, Bloom improved the Red Sox farm system and extended home grown supstar third baseman Rafael Devers. His previous offseason moves were decent but none of the moves improved the team towards contending. Bloom had little t...

The New York Yankees 2022 offseason was defined by multple big name free agent signings. They brought back former All-Star first baseman Athony Rizzo and resigning All-Star MVP Aaron Judge. They lastly signed former All-Star starting pitcher Carlos Rodon. Rodon was expected to be the number 2 starting pitcher in the Yankees pitching rotation. He was considered to be a co-ace behind Cy-Young canidate Gerrit Cole. Carlos Rodon has done everything but pitch like an ace caliber pitcher. He missed the first 3 months of the 2023 MLB season due to a forearm injury in Spring Training. He returned in late July, pitching like a shell of his former self. Rodon made 31 starts last season and finished with an ERA under 3. He has made nust 10 starts in 2023 and has pitched to an ERA well over 6. He gave up 12 total home runs last season in 178 innings of work. He has given up the same number of homers this year but in 46.1 innings. The numbers don’t lie, Carlos Rodon has underachieved in Yankee pins...

There are long shots in every sport. A long shot is a team who is not mathematically eliminated from contention and has a slim chance of hope towards making the playoffs. With 25 games or less to play, there are quite a few playoff long shots. In terms of being a Wild Card, the first two wild cards in both leagues are nearly settled. The first American League Wild Card will either be the Tampa Bay Rays or the Baltimore Orioles. The second Wild Card could either be the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers or Houston Astros. The Toronto Blue Jays are half a game behind the Texas Rangers for the last Wild Card. The long shots in the American League are the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. The Red Sox and New York Yankees are 4.5 and 8 games behind of the Rangers. The Cleveland Guardians could also be considered a long shot of winning the AL Central Division. They are 6 games behind the Minnesota Twins. The New York Yankees have a easier remaining schedule compared to the Boston Red Sox rem...

The New York Mets have a core of players which goes back to 2019. A three-man core of outfielder Brandon Nimmo, first baseman Pete Alonso and utilityman Jeff McNeil. Shortstop Francisco Lindor would join this core in 2021. This Mets core has not accomplished anything. A deep dive look at this failed core could ignite a breakup. The New York Mets fell short of reaching the playoffs by 3 games in 2019. A disappointing ending but a sign of optism for the next season. They missed the expanded 16-team playoffs in 2020. A failed follow up season that would lead to the addition of Francisco Lindoe. The Mets missed the playoffs yet again after a post All-Star break collapse in 2021. An offseason full of changes would impact the next season. The Mets would finally make the playoffs in 2022. It would however be a quick first round exit after winning 101 regular season games. Fast forward to present day, the New York Mets are on track to miss the playoffs and finish with a losing record for the t...

2023 has been an interesting year for several MLB contenders. There have been quite a few disappointing teams. The New Mets and New York Yankees have disappointed on a large scale. Perhaps the most disappointing team of the 2023 season is actually the San Diego Padres. The Padres entered the 2023 season expecting to compete for a championship. They had a success 2022 season, upsetting the 101 win New York Mets and 111 win LA Dodgers in the MLB playoffs. The Padres entered the offseason with a plethora of moves. They extended third basemen Many Machado to a multi year contract. They would sign All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts, starting pitcher Seth Lugo, starting pitcher Michael Wacha and designated hitter Matt Carpenter in free agency. They would also see the return of All-Star outfielder Fernando Tatis, back from a year of injuries and a steroid suspension. The team raised their payroll and spoke about championship expectations at a fan appeciation event. 2023 has gone the complete ...

The MLB offseason can not come any sooner for the New York Mets. The Mets will hit the cross roads of rebuilding once  the offseason begins. They must decide which direction to approach free agency and the trade market. It is heavily rumored that the New York Mets will trade All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso. Alonso is considered to be the face of the Mets franchise. He is also their best power hitter. The Mets will have one year left of Alonso’s contract before he reaches free agency. Alonso and the Mets have not been able to agree on a contract extension. The New York Mets are looking to be competitive in 2024. Trading Pete Alonso would make the Mets a less competitive team. Alonso is having a down year in terms of batting average but he is capable of hitting over 40 homers per season. Will the Mets reach a contract extension agreement with Alonso? Will he be traded for up and coming prospects. It is only the end of August but the future is already being discussed.

The Texas Rangers are in deep trouble. They are currently in the midst of a 8-game losing. Their starting pitching staff and bullpen have shown heavy signs of inconsistency. The Rangers offense are hot and cold in the batters box. The Seattle Mariners have caught the Texas Rangers in the American League West standings. The Houston Astros have also gained ground right behind the Mariners and Rangers. The Rangers have been in first place for nearly the entire 2023 MLB season. The Seattle Mariners will have an big opportunity to jump the Texas Rangers during this weekend. They will be playing the awful Kansas City Royals. The Toronto Blue Jays are also making a push in the Wild Card race. The Rangers would need to hold off the Blue Jays in the Wild Card hunt, if they were to fall into third place. Texas Leaders Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Max Scherzer must step up. Can the Texas Rangers bounce back? Should the Rangers be worried about their remaining schedule? Sometimes a losing strea...