If you don’t know by now, Ichiro Suzuki — arguably the best natural hitter in modern baseball — tied Ty Cobb with his 4,191st hit this past Friday. If you are not on social media (why you aren’t following @UofDWayne on Twitter or thewayniac on Instagram by now is astonishing, so do it!) you probably aren’t aware of the backlash that Ichiro’s seemingly innocent single off of Jaime Garcia has created.
Does Ichiro deserve to be MLB’s All Time Hit King? Find out…
One major left. The gang is all back, as Rory returns from injury and Tiger golfed a somewhat significant round last weekend. Who will take down the Championship? Dunton is back for one last 2015 Major Preview.
The year’s final Major is here. The final shot at glory, the last chance at making history, the final hurrah of a fun filled four Major run.
Yup. It’s back, folks. That time of year that completely monopolizes your everyday life as you sit and check the likes of Rotoworld and Bleacher Report on an hourly basis. Fantasy football season is abound!
I have already summonsed the Wayniac Nation Fantasy Football team, and next week will be our Second Annual Breakthroughs, Busts and Sleepers Special. I got excited sending out the email to the team, I hope you are excited to see what they have to say.
But that’s next week. Today, I have a question that needs to be answered. Is there a new era in fantasy football?
Drafting a WR first overall??? Find out why you should start thinking about it.
A lot of people have asked my opinion of the most recent Atlanta Braves trade. Quite frankly, I still don’t get it. I know John Hart coveted Hector Olivera this offseason, and I understand the goal of the 2015 Atlanta Braves was to have a cost controlled team in place to go and grab a high end ace or superstar bat for the grand opening of The Cobb County Braves Stadium (sounds like a place where the Bo, Luke and Uncle Jesse would watch a game, doesn’t it?).
I don’t mind that they traded away Alex Wood and Jose Peraza. It’s just that Hart’s deals up until this one were huge wins for the Braves. This one is full of huge question marks. If Olivera doesn’t stay healthy, which he hasn’t in nearly three years with two separate trips to the DL added to the list in 2015, the Braves just gave away one of the league’s promising young lefties and their top prospect. I simply feel that the Braves could have gotten more, even with the Dodgers taking Arroyo’s salary and sending over a draft pick (which let’s face it, a draft pick in MLB is more of a crapshoot than any other sport).
But, up to this point, you simply have to have faith in Hart. His moves have reshaped the Braves thus far and they seem to have a much more promising future now than they did during the Frank Wren Era. And like I said, I am ok with the fact that they moved Peraza.
The reason is that they have an exciting prospect in Ozhaino Albies, more affectionately known as Ozzie around Rome and the South Atlantic League. He made Peraza expendable, and at 18 years of age, he is now considered the Braves No. 1 prospect in the system, and widely considered a top 30 prospect in baseball. And this past Friday night, he sat down with The Wayniac and spoke about 2015 and beyond. So sit back and meet Ozzie Albies.
The Houston Astros 2015 story is a remarkable one. They entered the season having not seen a winning record since 2008, and as it stands right now, they already have more wins than they did in 2011, 2012 and 2013. A lot of that has been due to their youth movement.
Carlos Correa. Lance McCullers. Preston Tucker. Jake Marisnick. Jose Altuve. They are all a part of this current under-25 brigade taking over the Major Leagues, and in turn, have taken the American League by storm. Here’s the scary part, folks, the Astros have even more coming up their Minor League pipeline.
One of those stars is first base prospect A.J. Reed. The second year player is having a remarkable season in the Minor Leagues. .338/.442/.633. 27 home runs. 96 RBI. All of that has been achieved in a mere 97 games with an entire month left. Reed isn’t your average prospect, he is special, and he is a lot closer to his Major League debut than you think.
Reed took the time to talk with me over at Grading on the Curve. So sit back and enjoy a little meet and greet with A.J. Reed as we discussed his college days, his current season and what it’s like being part of the Astros organization during this exciting time. Just click the link below and enjoy:
THE AJ REED INTERVIEW (<— it’s right there!)
When it comes to Major League baseball my friend Jay is second to none. He isn’t simply one of the more knowledgeable when it comes to baseball, he’s one of the angriest fans you’ll meet. Especially when a sportscaster brings up a highly questionable comparison. That’s why I wasn’t surprised by the texts I received this weekend.
Jay: Dude, I have your next blog for you.
Wayniac: I told you I’m not blogging about my thoughts on the new Braves stadium, it’s too controversial.
Jay: Whatever, I’m not talking about that. Check this out. You know I love Trout, but Greg Amsinger on MLB Network just said if Mike Trout wins the MVP again it is the greatest start ever to a career.
Wow. That is a pretty bold statement. So bold that it has gotten The Wayniac riled up a bit. Like Jay, I love Mike Trout. He is one of my keepers on my fantasy team (due to a ridiculous steal of trade concocted by my partner in crime JD) and he is one of the most exciting athletes to watch in sports.
But, what is defining Trout’s start as “the greatest ever”? Back-to-back MVP Awards? Certainly not back-to-back All Star Game MVP Awards, is it?
Jay: Those awards are given by voters. I’d rather go with most home runs through first four seasons or steals, or anything measurable. I don’t care about awards.
He’s right. The MVP Award, whether it is in the regular season, post season, or All Star Game is usually skewed. I mean, come on, Mariano Rivera won the All Star Game MVP three games ago for registering a hold.
Plus, there is always a bias when voters are involved. The Kansas City Royals currently have the best record in the American League. They have a very good shot at repeating as the AL pennant winners, and Lorenzo Cain is a large reason for that. Do you think he stands a chance against Trout at the end of the year? Trout puts up sick numbers, makes those big time wow plays in the outfield, and is just so darn likable.
That being said, the second Jay told me about that statement, I was able to think of five guys in the not so distant past that have had — at the very least — equal starts to their career. Should Trout win that second MVP Award, his trophy cabinet will be the fullest over the shortest amount of time, but greatest start to a career? That’s questionable.
Two things I am excluding from the list below are steroid use and pitchers. I don’t care to hear any of these well they played in the Steroid Era debates. Take a look at the Minor Leagues. There are close to 100 suspensions, many from PEDs. The Steroid Era is still alive and well, and that makes Trout a part of it — although I have no question he is clean. It happened, it’s part of the history, so it has to enter discourse.
Secondly, if hardware is all that matters, Dwight Gooden had one of the sickest starts to any career I have ever seen. Rookie of the Year in 1984, Cy Young in 1985 and a World Series ring in 1986. Let’s not forget that Dr. K’s 1985 season is still one of the sickest pitched seasons I have ever witnessed and he was only 20 years old. A league leading 24 wins to just four losses, a league leading 1.53 ERA, a league leading 16 complete games, eight shutouts, a league leading 268 strikeouts and a 0.96 WHIP. And I reiterate… he was 20 years old. For you SABR junkies, his WAR was nearly 12. It is widely considered one of the single greatest seasons in history. Hardware, history and a World Series ring. Not too shabby.
FIVE STARTS THAT RIVAL MIKE TROUT’S
Howard won Rookie of the Year in 2005 while only playing in 88 games. He blasted 22 home runs in just 312 at bats. That’s a home run every 14.2 at bats compared to Trout’s 18.6 rookie year average.
Howard would never stop hitting home runs, as he would take home the NL MVP Award in 2006 with a league leading 58 home runs and 149 RBI. He wouldn’t win an All Star Game MVP Award, but he would win the Home Run Derby that year, which has to count for something. At the end of Howard’s fourth season — in which Trout is amid right now — he would lead the NL in home runs and RBI again and win a World Series ring.
By the time Howard finished his fifth season, he would be back in the World Series and become the quickest player in history to reach 200 home runs. That’s a pretty good start to a career.
Did he cheat? Yup. Is he a bit of a nut job? You tell me.
I didn’t lose any toes mowing the lawn well maybe my pinky toe but that one doesn’t matter
— Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) July 19, 2015
But there was no denying that Canseco was one of the most fun players to watch in the late 80s on one of the most dominant teams of that era. Canseco would win Rookie of the Year in 1986 and two years later would become baseball’s first 40/40 guy en route to the 1988 AL MVP Award. He would get injured (out of juice?) in his fourth season, but returned right in time to slash .357/.500/.571 with a home run in the World Series. Not a bad first four years either, ay?
Derek Jeter
Am I a homer? So what? Derek Jeter lived every little kid’s fantasy. He won a World Series in four of his first five seasons. Not only was he on some of the best teams of the 90s, he was the centerpiece of them and the spark that made their engine go.
Jeter won Rookie of the Year in 1996 and would go on to hit .361 in his first postseason with a very memorable home run (thanks Jeffrey Maier). He would “digress” in ’97, but comeback with two of his best seasons in ’98 and ’99. Jeter would make history in his fifth season by being the first player to win All Star Game MVP and World Series MVP honors in the same season.
Is his trophy case filled with shiny MVP Awards or fancy bats commemorating other honors? No, no it isn’t. But his hand is certainly too heavy to point that out to you with all those damn rings on it.
Talk about an unreal start to a career? Pujols was amazing. If you were a baseball fan at the turn of the millennium, when you watched Albert Pujols play, you thought you were watching a kid rewriting history.
He won Rookie of the Year (notice the trend?) and would start his career by going 12 — TWELVE — straight seasons before hitting less than 30 home runs. He wouldn’t win an NL MVP Award in his first four years, but he did win the 2003 Major League Player of the Year Award as well as the 2004 NLCS MVP.
Pujols quickly became the heart of the St. Louis lineup, known for his monster power and uncanny ability to hit over .330. People often forget that he led the league in runs scored three years in a row.
Now Trout’s team mate and possibly his stiffest competition for the 2015 MVP Award, Pujols’s first four seasons ended with the following stat line: .333, 500 runs scored, 160 home runs and 504 RBI. That’s not just good, that’s video game good.
People either love him or hate him, but Buster Posey has been Jeter-esque to start his career.
Guess what? Posey won Rookie of the Year in 2010 and would pretty much instantly become the centerpiece of baseball’s current dynasty. Posey would hit .300 with a home run as a 23-year old rookie in the World Series and start a run of winning three rings in his first five years.
Posey was mangled in a play at the plate in his second season and the Giants would miss the playoffs in their title defense. He would return in 2012, win the NL batting title, NL Comeback Player of the Year Award, the NL MVP and his second World Series title. Posey would belt yet another home run in that World Series victory against the Tigers.
Jay: Buster’s start has been pretty damn good and I hate Buster. If Trout gets another MVP, Buster could trade him one of his World Series rings for it… and still have more rings than Trout.
If hardware is what matters, I’ll take an MVP Award and three World Series rings over consecutive All Star Game MVPs and back-to-back AL MVPs. Trout is an absolute stud. I can’t argue that he isn’t the best player in the game right now, because that he is. But to say with such confidence that his will be the greatest start to a career — especially when Pujols put up better numbers, Jeter won more rings, and Posey became immortal — is a bit unfair.
It’s poked its ugly head again. That age old question — well not age old, just 42-years old — of should both leagues use the designated hitter in Major League baseball?
Last night, saw yet another abnormality in the rule as the MLB All Star Game was played in a National League park, with the National League owning home field privileges behind the San Francisco Giants World Series championship and yet the DH was used.
The great and mighty Dunton is back with yet another golf Major preview. Will he nail the victor? Sit back and take a look at his Top 5 golfers to watch in this weekend’s Open Championship.
There are some special places in the world of sports: Lambeau Field, Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium — the old one, not this new abomination — center court at Wimbledon, and St. Andrews.
The Open Championship — it’s the British Open people, but whatever — at St. Andrews will be the center of the golf universe this week and many golf fans wouldn’t have it any other way. Called the birthplace of golf, the Olde Course at St. Andrews had rounds of golf dating back to the 1400s, and this week could see some of the most important rounds ever played here.
Jordan Spieth is going for 3 majors in a row. Tiger is trying to prove that he is still relevant. Phil is trying to have us all forget the gambling and money laundering scandal. Dustin is trying to shake off two of the worst putts we have ever seen. And Rory — oh wait no Rory this week. Stick to golf pal, soccer is clearly not your game.
So as we look to the week ahead we remember all the nuisances that is the Old Course: The Road Hole, Double Greens, Hell Bunker, and the ever present ghost of Old Tom Morris that seems to walk the course and push some to victory while forcing others to run in fear. Here are my golfers to keep an eye on this week as we look to wake up to live golf early here on the east coast.
Someone needs to explain to me the DeAndre Jordan eerily creepy re-signing by the Los Angeles Clippers. Don’t get me wrong, I like watching DeAndre 3000 just as much as the next guy, he’s a beast who runs the floor in one of the more exciting offenses to watch in the NBA. But the way the Clippers went after him, man, I thought that was an episode of NBC Dateline: To Catch a Predator.
What if I told you everything you ever knew about sports was a complete lie?
Don’t be so dramatic, Morpheus. But seriously, folks. What if some of the biggest truths you have been force fed by the media and disenchanted fans turned out to be a total lie?
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