"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
John 3:16 Jesus said "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
so atlanta, in the middle of a youth/rebuild movement, signed Bartolo and RA Dickey?? Sounds like Browns moves
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
Since 2011, Rawlings has -- in addition to Gold Gloves -- given out a Platinum Glove to the player who is considered the single best defensive player in each league. This year's winners both played in the World Series, with Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs taking the honors in the NL and Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians winning in the AL. Lindor had an excellent all-around season and was among the league leaders in defensive runs saved at perhaps the most premium defensive position. Surely some would argue that players like Kevin Pillar , Manny Machado or Andrelton Simmons are better defenders, but I don't think there would or should be huge opposition here, as opposed to the NL side (we'll get to that). Here are the previous winners of the Platinum Glove in the AL: 2011: Adrian Beltre , 3B, Texas Rangers 2012: Adrian Beltre, 3B, Rangers 2013: Manny Machado, 3B, Baltimore Orioles 2014: Alex Gordon , LF, Kansas City Royals 2015: Kevin Kiermaier , CF, Tampa Bay Rays Over in the NL, this one seems questionable. Rizzo is a very good first baseman and he makes spectacular plays on occasion, such as this one from mid-August:
Still, first base is the easiest position on the field (note: Easiest isn't easy, as every position is difficult), and I don't even feel like it's debatable that Rizzo is an inferior defender to at least three teammates (I'll go with Addison Russell , Javier Baez and Jason Heyward here). Given the degree of difficultly involved by each position, it seems that the single best defender in the league should either be an up-the-middle (C, 2B, SS, CF) guy or maybe a third baseman. Some of the best options would have been Nolan Arenado , Brandon Crawford , Russell or Baez. Since the Platinum Glove has to come from a Gold Glove winner, I think it should've been between Crawford and Arenado. One element of the voting is the SABR Defensive Index. Rizzo was 13th in the NL (his teammate Russell was first). Of course, another element is the fan vote. So we can probably figure out what happened with the ultra-popular (and rightfully so) Rizzo winning it. Here are the previous NL winners of the Platinum Glove: 2011: Yadier Molina , C, St. Louis Cardinals 2012: Yadier Molina, C, Cardinals 2013: Andrelton Simmons, SS, Atlanta Braves 2014: Yadier Molina, C, Cardinals 2015: Yadier Molina, C, Cardinals I guess at least it wasn't Molina again, I guess. Variety is the spice of life.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
I'm really looking forward to going up to the Tribe games next year when the Dodgers come to town. Going to be fun to watch Seager and Lindor that series.
Meant to post this the other night as I saw it on Twitter. Very cool story on Bauer. Click the link to see the tweets on Bauer helping her with her homework problem. Great stuff.
Cleveland Indians' Trevor Bauer helps student solve math problem on Twitter
By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com on November 13, 2016 at 6:00 AM, updated November 13, 2016 at 6:03 AM
CLEVELAND, Ohio – In the offseason, some baseball players go hunting or fishing. Some find a deserted beach with a hot sun to sit under. Others, in the words of Crash Davis from the movie Bull Durham, tell their loved ones after the grind of the season, "I just want to be."
Then there is Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer, who helps students solve math problems on Twitter.
Bauer has taken to Twitter to argue politics with his followers. He's chastised reporters and engaged in Tweet wars with the fans of various teams, the most recent being the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs.
But lending a helping hand to a student with a math question is something new. Then again, Bauer studied engineering and computer mathematics at UCLA so maybe it's second nature to him.
It all started Saturday when a student from the greater Cleveland area named Maddie Martin -- yes, she's an Indians fan -- Tweeted Bauer about his drones......
I'm really looking forward to going up to the Tribe games next year when the Dodgers come to town. Going to be fun to watch Seager and Lindor that series.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Man would this be huge if it actually comes to fruition....
Cleveland Indians, free-agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion talking about multiyear deal
By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com on December 05, 2016 at 9:17 PM, updated December 05, 2016 at 9:23 PM
NATIONAL PARK, Md. - The Indians are negotiation with free agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion about a multiyear deal.
The deal might not happen. It might fall apart in the days to come, but right now things are serious.
Encarnacion reportedly turned down an estimated four-year $80 million offer to stay with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays have since added free agents Kendrys Morales on a three-year $33 million contract and Steve Pearce on two-year $12.5 million deal.
So Encarncacion isn't flying back to Toronto.
Last season Encarnacion hit .263 (158-for-702) with 42 homers and an AL-leading 127 RBI. But right now his market is shrinking.
The Yankees have already signed Matt Holliday for one year and $13 million, while Houston signed Carlos Beltran for one year and $16 million. Those were two logical landing spots for Encarnacion. Boston, however, still needs a replacement for DH David Ortiz, who retired after the Indians swept the Red Sox in the ALDS.
Chris Antonetti, Indians' director of baseball operations, said the team is prepared to offer a multiyear deal to a free agent. When asked if Encarnacion might be beyond the Indians' reach, Antonetti said, "You don't have to curb expectations. We are being exhaustive in exploring options to improve our position player club."
If the Indians can't get a deal done with Encarnacion, they could turn to Mike Napoli, who set career highs in homers (34) and RBI (101) for them last season. They have also been linked to Mitch Moreland, Adam Lind and Chris Carter among others.
The Indians are still taking to Mike Napoli, but they've also shown interest in other free agents to fill the DH-first base role. A couple of them, Carlos Beltran and Matt Holliday, have signed elsewhere.
"We are cognizant of the production Nap brought to our team first and foremost," said Antonetti. "But also the impact he had on our other players. We've been pretty consistent in talking about how much we value and appreciate Nap's contributions.
"If it's not Nap, we're still going to look for ways to improve our team."
Napoli earned a base salary of $7 million last season with $3 million more in incentives. He reached his last incentive in the final game of the regular season.
The Indians are in a win now mode. They won the AL Central and the AL pennant this postseason. They have a young core under control and one of the best managers in the game in Terry Francona.
What club has always operated on a tight payroll, but it might not be as tight as it has been the past. They did reach the seventh game of the World Series and owner Paul Dolan finally found a limited partner in John Sherman.
One source said the Indians' postseason run could have brought the club close to $48 million in profits, an estimated of $6 million per home game.
Encarnacion, 33, has played parts of 12 seasons in the big leagues. He started his career with the Reds and spent the last 7 1/2 seasons with the Blue Jays. His average line over a 162 games is .266, 33 homers and 101 RBI.
Napoli and Carlos Santana formed a perfect match at DH and first base last season. Santana, like Napoli, set a career highs with 34 homers, 87 RBI and 89 runs.
If the Indians sign Encarnacion, he could form the same kind of combination with the switch-hitting Santana. Last year Encarnacion played 75 games at first base and 86 at DH.
The Indians would lose their No.1 pick in the June draft if the signed Encarnacion. The Blue Jays made him a qualifying offer worth $17.2 million.
"We place a lot of value on the pick," said Antonetti, concerning the 27th pick in the first round. "It's not something we take lightly."
GM Mike Chernoff, in explaining the value of the draft pick, said "The easy way of thinking about it is that pick is a person we are going to select. A couple of years ago we drafted Justus Sheffield right around there in the first round.
"That player had a lot of value to us once we got him. We have to determine how to value that in terms of future wins and things like that."
In other words, if the Indians forfeit the pick, they'd have to put a value on it. Then they could subtract that value from Encarnacion's contract.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
It was hard to see the Indians ponying up the necessary firepower to acquire LuCroy and Miller. They were willing to do it. Hell, they almost got Chapman a week earlier, too.
It was hard to see the Indians ponying up the necessary firepower to acquire LuCroy and Miller. They were willing to do it. Hell, they almost got Chapman a week earlier, too.
Lucroy and Miller were both cheap short term commitments.
