Tag: Philly Lists

50 Bold MLB Predictions for 2011

This off-season has already seen the three biggest free agents switch teams for the lure of a nine-figure contract, and two of the biggest names in the game traded to title contenders.

As more and more free agents agree to terms, we begin to see a clearer picture of what to expect next season.

Pitchers and catchers will begin reporting in less than two months and opening day is just over three months away.

With next season rapidly approaching, let’s take a moment to stare into my crystal ball and examine 50 bold predictions for the upcoming year.

Begin Slideshow


Best Of 2010: Power Ranking The Year’s 50 Best MLB Players

The New Year is quickly approaching and as baseball fans pour over the latest Hot Stove news, now is as good a time as any to look back at the 2010 season.

From a bevy of great pitching performances, to an unlikely home run king, to the Giants improbable World Series run, the 2010 season was a memorable one.

So here are the top 50 players from the 2010 season, from the subjective view of one sports writer. I welcome you to inform me where you disagree with my rankings, as this is certainly up for debate.

Begin Slideshow


Zack Greinke Traded: Where He Ranks Among the Top 10 Pitchers in the NL

The Milwaukee Brewers pulled the trigger on a big-time trade Sunday, and no it wasn’t the much talked-about Prince Fielder move, as they acquired disgruntled Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke.

That begs the question, where does Greinke fall in amongst the best of the National League? Between the St. Louis Cardinals duo of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, the Philadelphia Phillies “Big Four” and the San Francisco Giants duo of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, among others, the NL is not short on great starting pitching.

So here is the list of the NL’s ten best pitchers for 2011 and where Greinke falls into the mix now that he has joined Milwaukee.

Begin Slideshow


MLB Free Agency: Ranking 10 Best Players Left on the Market

MLB free agency is in full swing with a lot of the top free agents already off the board.

Teams that missed out on the best available will be scouring the open market, looking for an extra bat or arm to give their team a boost. While the pickings are fairly slim at this point, there are still a couple of big names out there that could make an impact.

Of the available free agents, which are the best ones available?

Begin Slideshow


MLB Free Agency 2010: Winners and Losers of Baseball’s Hot Stove Thus Far

Spring training may still be two months away, but the cold winter months have had little success subduing MLB’s offseason hot stove.

The fall of 2010 has been an eventful one in the baseball world, even with the free agent class being as thin as it is.

As always, there are some teams that have added tremendously to their chances of World Series title contention in 2011, and plenty more that have been set back further, whether by their own missteps or by the unexpected choices of those they pursued (cough…Cliff Lee…cough).

With the likes of Adrian Beltre and Vladimir Guerrero still on the market, the hot stove might very well stay that way right up until Opening Day at the end of March 2011.

With that in mind, here’s a mid-December look at the offseason’s biggest winners and losers thus far.

Begin Slideshow


Jayson Werth and 10 MLB Stars Who Took Giant Contracts With Bad Teams

This season the Washington Nationals shocked the baseball world by doling out an enormous seven-year, $126 million contract for Jayson Werth. The Nationals finished last in the division and, desperate to stay relevant, paid top-tier money to a second-tier star.

With Stephen Strasburg injured and Bryce Harper still years away from the show, GM Mike Rizzo was looking to maintain fan interest in the interim by signing this offseason’s No. 3 prize. But was it really worth it?

Often times bad teams are forced to pay premiums to acquire top-flight talent, which got me thinking. Which players have taken the biggest contracts with awful teams?

Read on as we examine Jayson Werth and 10 stars who took giant contracts with bad teams.

Begin Slideshow


Cliff Lee Phillies: Power Ranking MLB’s Top Rotations After Big Signing

Cliff Lee just shocked the baseball world by going back to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Texas Rangers and New York Yankees were widely thought to have been the front-runners for his services, but they’re now left in the dark after his signing.

Begin Slideshow


Philadelphia Phillies Sign Cliff Lee: Where Does Philly Rotation Rank All Time?

The Philadelphia Phillies’ starting rotation is much too good to be compared to their contemporaries. After signing Cliff Lee to a five-year contract, the Phillies have four starting hurlers as good or better than the rest of the league’s aces. We need a more historical, less comparative context in which to measure their greatness.

How good is this corps, which now features Roy Halladay, Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt? All four are among the top 20 pitchers of the past three seasons, according to Wins Above Replacement. Halladay and Lee are the two best pitchers in the game over that stretch. Their prospective dominance far out-strips that of any rotation in the past decade, so we need to go farther back.

Where do the Phillies fall all time? How do they stack up against the best rotations ever? Who comes in atop the list? Read on for the top five starting rotations in baseball history.

Begin Slideshow


MLB Power Ranking: The 100 Best Players in Baseball History

Ranking the top 100 baseball players of all-time is no easy task. It’s hard to juggle players from the dead-ball era, the middle 20th century and modern times.

Even more complicated is how to rank players at different positions. Where do you place the game’s dominant closers? How about starting pitchers? No matter how lights-out they may be, they still sat on the bench for most of their teams’ games.

Then, of course, comes the prickly situation of cheating, whether proven, admitted or alleged. Should ballplayers be penalized for the use of performance-enhancing drugs? Corked bats? How about the spitball?

It all adds up to a lively debate that we encourage you to join as Bleacher Report presents The Top 100 Baseball Players of All Time.

Begin Slideshow


MLB Free Agency: Ranking the 20 Best Pitchers Still Available

It’s the middle of December and as a blizzard hits the Midwest United States, the baseball hot stove is just heating up.

In the past couple of weeks, the Red Sox have signed Carl Crawford and traded for Adrian Gonzalez. The race to sign Cliff Lee has sped up and several lesser free agents have fallen into place.

But what if your team still needs pitching help? Don’t worry. Even if you don’t get Lee, there are still several starting pitchers and relievers worth bringing on board for 2011.

Begin Slideshow


Copyright © 1996-2010 Kuzul. All rights reserved.
iDream theme by Templates Next | Powered by WordPress