The Baseball Insider

All’s not “Wain”wright

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Mathew Brownstein

St. Louis Cardinals ace right-handed pitcher Adam Wainwright, was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday afternoon, but more than likely will face months, if not the season on the DL. Wainwright sustained a left Achilles and left ankle injury during Saturday’s match-up against the Milwaukee Brewers while batting in the top of the fifth inning. When Wainwright broke from the batters box after popping up on the infield, fans could clearly see him limping and grimacing in pain trying to run to first.

This is a big blow for the Cardinals, as Wainwright was off to a 2-1 start with a 1.44 ERA and a WHIP of 1.04. Wainwright has had to battle back through injuries in his career, including undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2011. Wainwright has been a top ten pitcher in baseball the past seven seasons, averaging 16 wins and a sub 3.00 ERA. The Cardinals have strong starting pitching, currently leading the Majors in rotation ERA at 1.97. The Cardinals do have depth in the rotation, including Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez, John Lackey and Lance Lynn. However, Wainwright is the anchor to this staff, an “X” factor who mixes pitches well while pitching deep into ballgames.

RHP Adam Wainwright

The Wainwright injury also raises the question as to whether the National League should adapt and have a designated hitter. Many believe that the game should be equal in this regard, that it makes zero sense to have one league with an accredited hitter in the game like Victor Martinez and David Ortiz, rather than an almost automatic out or professional bunter in the pitcher. Newly signed Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, now a member of the National League after pitching for the Detroit Tigers the past five seasons, advocates for a designated hitter in both leagues.

“Who would people rather see, a real hitter hitting home runs or a pitcher swinging a wet newspaper? Both leagues need to be on the same set of rules.”

Having a professional hitter in the lineup rather than the pitcher could also help jump start more offense into the game, something that fans have wanted since the stricter testing of PEDS which was implemented in 2003. Since 2006, runs per game has been on a decline, with an average of 4.86 in 2006, to 4.07 in 2014. Potentially having a DH in the lineup could help spark more offense into the National League, and further prevent injuries to pitchers, who should be on the mound rather than in the batter’s box.

While it’s fun to watch certain pitchers hitting (I’m looking at you Bartolo Colon), it’s not worth the injury risk of them in the batter’s box, and also running the bases. Chien Ming Wang, Josh Beckett, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, and Mr. Colon himself all succumbed to injury while batting over the past decade. Major League Baseball should highly consider adopting the DH into the National League ASAP, as baseball can’t afford to lose its premier pitchers due to these conditions.

Eight in a row…but oh no!

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Mathew Brownstein

As of April 20th, the New York Mets sit atop the NL East by 1.5 games over the Atlanta Braves (another early surprise) at a record of 10-3. The Mets have excelled in the starting pitching department, along with timely hitting. For example, despite SS Wilmer Flores batting .222 with only a .282 OBP, his two home runs he’s hit on the season came in the clutch this past weekend against the Miami Marlins. The first shot came in the bottom of the fifth inning with two runners on and the Mets down by three. Flores’ home run tied the game up at three, essentially starting the game over. Curtis Granderson, despite a .146 average and zero home runs, has set the table for the Mets in their lineup batting lead-off. His .340 OBP and 12 walks have been beneficial for the Mets, along with his 4.40 pitchers per plate appearance, good for fourth in the National League. The more pitches seen per at bat, the better it is for the hitters behind him to get a good idea of what the pitcher is throwing that day.

These are just a few examples of what has made this early Mets team into an exciting one to watch. After their 7-6 win on Sunday, concluding a four game sweep of the Marlins, the Mets have now won eight straight games, the longest winning streak in baseball. It’s an exciting time in New York to be a Mets fan, the stadium is filling up, the crowd is into it, the place has been rocking. However, with an early injury to their captain and third baseman David Wright out with a strained right hamstring since April 15th, and now catcher Travis d’Arnaud and lefty specialist Jerry Blevins joining him on the DL with a fractured right hand and fractured left forearm, things aren’t as bright as they were a week ago.

Catcher Travis d’Arnaud

What was a great story for a franchise that has been besieged the past eight years with bad publicity, weak ticket sales, average to below average rosters, and the Bernie Madoff scandal involving Mets owners Jeff and Fred Wilpon, 2015 seemed to be the beginning of a string of successful years to come. A few injuries shouldn’t make them lose sight of that. However, losing Wright and d’Arnaud, two key cogs in the middle of the lineup, and your number one lefty relief pitcher does sting.

Help is on the way though. Top catching prospect Kevin Plawecki has been called up from AAA Las Vegas to take the catching spot for the next several weeks while d’Arnaud is on the shelf. Plawecki had a breakout season last year, starting the season at AA and finishing the year at AAA Las Vegas. Plawecki has been highly touted as a terrific hitting catcher, one who hits to all fields and has improved his skills behind the plate.

Highly touted prospect
Kevin Plawecki

Hansel Robles also gets the call to make his Major League debut in the bullpen for the Mets. Robles, a right-hander has pitched 7.2 scoreless innings, walking one while striking out ten. The Mets bullpen will hopefully continue to grow stronger with the returns of Vic Black and Bobby Parnell sometime in May. Both have been rehabbing in the minor leagues, however Black has shut it down for the time being and was sent for an MRI where it was determined he has a herniated disk in his neck. This might set Black back towards the back end of May for a return.

What does this all mean for the surging Mets? Can this team continue to win despite losing so many of their key components? As long as the Mets continue to receive exceptional starting pitching, they’ll stay in most games. Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom have developed into one of the best 1-2 combinations in all of baseball, and 42 year old Bartolo Colon defies father time winning his first three decisions with a 2.25 ERA. Good starting pitching is contagious, where many players like to follow up a good pitching performance with one of their own. As long as the merry-go-round doesn’t stop with the Met starters, then they will stay afloat.

Ace Matt Harvey

The Mets have a tough schedule coming up this week. They face off against the Braves at home for three starting Tuesday, then face the Yankees in the Bronx for three this weekend. This will be a good test to see if the Mets can continue their successful start to the season. I don’t expect the Mets to continue their winning streak, especially with Dillon Gee slated to start game two against the Braves. Gee faced the Braves on April 11th and took the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits in five innings of work. Gee needs to straighten his season out, or he’ll be replaced with the recently demoted right-hander Rafael Montero.

The Mets have been a pleasant surprise so far in this early season, and need to keep up with the same charisma and passion they’ve played with through the first thirteen games. Met fans have been salivating for a team to root for once again like they did in 2006. The 2015 season sure seems to be the starting point for a successful run at playoff contention.

As a friendly reminder, every Thursday from 12-1 PM, the Antonio and Mat Sports Show airs live on UStream.com, and can be also heard later on YouTube. Check out our radio show where we’ll be sure to discuss the latest Mets news and notes from this weeks action.

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The Dark Knight Returns

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Mathew Brownstein

It took 593 days, but on Thursday April 9th, New York Mets ace Matt Harvey made his return to the mound after undergoing Tommy John surgery late 2013. Fans have been clamoring for the big right-hander’s return, and against the Washington Nationals Harvey began where he left off.

Harvey pitched like a true ace on Thursday, tossing six scoreless innings, allowing four hits, one walk, and striking out nine in his return. He reached 97 MPH on the gun, and sat comfortably in the mid nineties on the cold and rainy day in D.C.

The return of their ace helps legitimize the Mets chances of being relevant this season. He brings a strong presence and aura to the mound every fifth start, and garners such buzz and attention from all across the league when he pitches.

“He’s one of the toughest at-bats I’ve ever had,” Nationals left-fielder Bryce Harper quipped. He should know, he struck out three times against Harvey Thursday.

Harvey’s secondary pitches were all on point for his first start, showcasing a sharp breaking ball, and great changeup that he throws at 88 MPH, which for many pitchers is their average fastball velocity. With Harvey able to ramp it up to the upper nineties, having an 88 MPH changeup to fool hitters with is simply unfair.

Matt Harvey & The Dark Knight insignia

Harvey’s second game comes the day after the Mets home opener on Monday April 13th. As of Friday evening, the Mets chief revenue officer Lou DePaoli reported that the Mets have sold upward of 30,000 tickets. The crowd is sure to be electric, and knowing how much Harvey feeds off the crowd, we could be in for another epic pitching performance.

Ever since Sports Illustrated had him featured on the cover with the caption “The Dark Knight of Gotham”, fans and media alike have ran with this moniker. Harvey is the closest version of a real life Bruce Wayne, a playboy who dates beautiful models by night, and strikes fear in batters boxes by day. Harvey creates an alluring and fascinating mystique about him, where people want to follow every move he makes and not miss a pitch he throws.

Harvey has become the modern day Dwight “Doc” Gooden, who in the early to mid eighties was the toast of the town in New York, and who fans would drop everything for to watch pitch. Gooden’s starts became an event more than just a baseball game. You couldn’t miss when Gooden was pitching, because every time he took the mound he had the ability to do something special that night. The same can now be said for number thirty-three, who after 593 days, is back in the fold, ready to take Gotham by storm. The bat signal has been lit, and Harvey is here to deliver.

Bryce Harper: 2015 NL MVP

Posted on April 5, 2015 by Mathew Brownstein

In order for the Washington Nationals to finally overcome their shortcomings in the playoffs, in order for the Nationals to finally reach October baseball as so many scouts and analysts have been predicting the past three seasons, the Nationals will need a big season from their best player, number thirty-four Bryce Harper.

Harper, 22, is entering his fourth full Major League season, and is the key for the Nationals to advance to the World Series this season. Harper plays the game with reckless abandon, which is no surprise after watching some of his amazing dives in the outfield. (If you haven’t seen them, YouTube them!) The past two seasons, Harper has missed more than 100 games due to knee and thumb injuries, ones in which could have been prevented. Harper plays like a throwback Pete Rose, sliding head first into bases, diving into the outfield walls, and hustling out every single play. All admirable and admired traits, considering so many players are deemed as lackadaisical. However, Harper needs to stay healthy for a full season in order for his Nats to go anywhere this year.

Bryce Harper

If you didn’t know the Nationals were going all in this season, you haven’t been paying attention. They signed top free agent pitcher Max Scherzer to a 7-year $210 million contract. There was even talk of trading one of Jordan Zimmerman or Stephen Strasburg after the signing, to try and obtain more pieces before Zimmerman or Strasburg reach free agency. However, the Nationals organization realizes that their window is now, especially with key players entering into their prime (Harper, Rendon, Zimmerman, Strasburg) mixed with good veterans (Werth, Span, Ryan Zimmerman) and possibly the best pitching staff in the game. The Nationals staff is so stacked, Tanner Roark, the young righty who went 15-10 last season with a 2.85 ERA and 1.09 WHIP won’t even make the starting rotation. Scherzer, Zimmerman, Strasburg, Gonzalez, and Fister make up the best starting rotation in baseball, just another reason why the Nationals should be considered prime contenders for the National League Pennant this season.

The Nationals team can be celebrating if Harper has his coming out party.

However, this blog post is about Harper. I truly believe that Harper is the key to whether the Nationals make the big push necessary to reach the World Series. If Harper stays healthy for the entire season, I see big numbers in this kid’s future. I’m talking, 35+ home runs, over 120 RBI’s, and sound defense in the outfield. Harper has looked good this spring, playing in nineteen games while hitting three home runs, driving in eight runs, walking more than striking out (15 to 11), while reaching base at a .450 clip. Harper has said he feels good this spring, and healthy enough to even steal more bases than he has in the past several seasons, a great sign considering his knee troubles the past two seasons.

If Harper has a year that scouts have been predicting since he was a sixteen-year-old prodigy on Sports Illustrated, then the Washington Nationals should have no problem making the postseason, and the World Series. The season will be a huge success for the Nationals, in large part to their 2015 NL MVP.

What do you guys think? Is this finally the year for Harper to break out and win the National League MVP Award? How important is Harper’s success to the Nationals well being this season? Leave your comments below and lets hear what you have to think.

The Next Phenom

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Mathew Brownstein

During this Spring Training, fans around the country have heard the name Kris Bryant become more and more of a household name. People know of the power this twenty-three year old possess, he has hit 9 home runs in thirteen spring games so far. They know he’s a highly touted prospect in baseball, ranked as high as number one by ESPN, and number two by MLB. The name Kris Bryant will be more evident throughout the 2015 season, as I predict he will be the 2015 National League Rookie of the Year.

Bryant, a third baseman by trade, just needs to work on his defense at the hot corner to be Major League ready. Many scouts feel as if Bryant may not have the footwork or range to play the position, but with a bat like his, the Cubs needs to find a position for this kid to start playing immediately. The Cubs are in a very similar situation like the New York Mets, where they have a ton of promising young players knocking on the door, and want to start competing again after many years of futile play.

Bryant has drawn comparisons to another power hitting third baseman, Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt. That’s lofty praise for a kid who hasn’t even played in his first Major League game yet. However, judging by his numbers in Double A and Triple A last season, where he hit .325 with 43 home runs and 110 RBIs, and winning the Minor League Player of the Year Award by Baseball America, Bryant is surely on the fast track to Major League stardom, and soon!

Kris Bryant, Chicagocubs.com

This spring, Bryant has hit 9 home runs, with 15 RBIs, batting .459 with an OPS of 1.782, eye-popping numbers. Bryant is leading all players in home runs, and second to Alexi Ramirez of the White Sox in RBIs. He has become the topic of much debate over the past several weeks, as to whether the Cubs should have him on their opening day roster come April. If Bryant starts on the opening day roster, then he can become a free agent after the 2020 season. However, if Bryant gets called up in mid April, then the Cubs have control of him through 2021.

Team President Theo Epstein indicated that he feels Bryant needs more seasoning in Triple A. During his time as General Manager of the Boston Red Sox, Epstein never promoted a player to the opening day roster before ever playing a Major League game. Players such as Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury were promoted in season during Epstein’s reign. So it seems more than likely that Bryant will at least start a few weeks in the minors before making his highly anticipated debut sometime in late April to early May.

Bryant brings an element to the game that has been missing since the strong steroid testing in 2003 was put into place. He brings legitimate power to the game, like Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout do for the game. Bryant is the next great hope to having all world power, without the advantage of performance enhancing drugs. It will be refreshing to add to the next generation of players entering the game on an even playing field. It will be even nicer to see the Cubs competing once again for playoff aspirations.

The “Wheeler”s Fall Off

Posted on March 21, 2015 by Mathew Brownstein

With Spring Training in full bloom in both Arizona and Florida, teams are preparing their twenty-five man rosters and analyzing future talent for their respected clubs. The New York Mets thought they had one spot solidified, with hard throwing starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, but this week learned that Wheeler will be out the entire 2015 and part of 2016 seasons, undergoing the dreaded Tommy John Surgery.

While the surgery is highly successful, and in fact can lead to increased velocity and better all around results after the fact, the timetable for recovery is now anywhere from 12-16 months. Wheeler becomes the fifth Mets pitcher in a little over a year, to undergo the procedure, joining Matt Harvey, Jeremy Hefner twice, Josh Edgin, and Bobby Parnell.

Wheeler said he felt discomfort in 2014, but kept pitching at a high level in 2014 that he pushed any ideas of surgery to the side. It wasn’t until the off-season that an MRI revealed a partially torn tendon attached to a bony deposit in his elbow. Wheeler did not want to have surgery in the off-season, because it would have cost him 4-6 months of the 2015 season. He felt that platelet rich plasma therapy, and simply pitching through some pain would get him through the season, one in which is full of renewed excitement over the return of the Mets ace Matt Harvey.

Now Wheeler has a fully torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, and will require Tommy John Surgery to fix it. Wheeler joins a hefty list of pitchers that have gone through this surgery, with big names such as Matt Harvey, Jose Fernandez, Stephen Strasburg, Adam Wainwright, and Jordan Zimmerman all going under the knife. These surgeries are becoming more and more of an epidemic in Major League Baseball, which raises a lot of concern and questions surrounding why these players are injuring their elbows at such a rapid pace.

Many baseball theorists believe a multitude of circumstances cause for the rash of injuries, including extensive travel leagues at a young age, throwing curve balls too early, extensive weight lifting, too much long toss, and overuse in high school and or college can lead to the strain on a pitcher’s elbow. The exact cause is extremely hard to quantify, and as of now, there are no exact answers to pinpoint the uptick in injured pitchers.

Zack Wheeler

I believe that in the near future, baseball will go from a five man to six man rotation, in hopes to give pitchers one more day of rest, and lessen the number of innings a starting pitcher throws over the course of a season. It’s odd to look back at the days of Bob Gibson in the late 1960’s throwing upwards of 300 plus innings in a season. Now, if a pitcher compiles 200 innings they are viewed as bulldogs. Baseball has now moved towards specialized pitching, where we have lefty specialists, set up men, and closers. It has shorten the game for starting pitchers to normally five-six inning games. The number of complete games has dropped dramatically over the years from 241 complete games in 2000, to 118 in 2014. Just another example of how fewer and fewer pitchers are going deeper into games.

Top Prospect Steven Matz
Waiting in AAA for his call-up.

The loss of Zack Wheeler will hurt the Mets undoubtedly. Wheeler had by far his best season to date so far in 2014, compiling 11 wins with a 3.54 ERA in 185.1 innings pitched. It would have been a real treat to have seen Wheeler, Harvey, and last year’s NL Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom all in the same rotation, however the Mets will swap out Wheeler for right-hander Dillon Gee, who was the talk of many trade proposals this past winter. The Mets are lucky to be flush with pitching talent, some with high upside like Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero, and Steven Matz waiting in the wings. Mets fans can only wait and hope that Wheeler comes back strong and healthy by June 2016, the way Harvey has looked so far down in Port St. Lucie this spring.

Wheeler is an intricate part of this Mets rotation, one filled with a lot of promise for playoff aspirations going forward. If there was one position the Mets could potentially afford to lose, that is a starting pitcher spot. This injury brings up the old baseball adage that a team can never have enough starting pitching, which is absolutely the case. Pitching and injuries are synonymous with one another, so it is always best to err on the side of caution, and have back up plans if need be.

The Lightning Rod Strikes in Tampa

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Mathew Brownstein

Everyone’s favorite person to hate reported to the Yankees’ spring training home in Tampa three days earlier than anticipated, meaning the circus has officially begun in Florida. While Alex Rodriguez has said he wants to move past his indiscretions and realizes not many out there will believe anything he utters, the gift that keeps on giving still ends up infuriating Yankees brass and fans along the way.

Rodriguez had penned a four paragraph, hand written note a week before Spring Training officially began, to apologize yet again for his behaviors and lies he has said along the way. What I don’t understand is how Rodriguez and his PR team didn’t think that holding a Bronx press conference at Yankee Stadium to help clear the air before his arrival in Tampa would have been more beneficial? By allowing the media to ask Rodriguez the obvious questions that are on every baseball fans mind for twenty minutes would have bypassed the craziness that is sure to ensue along the whole 2015 season, or at the very least, ensure that his teammates, who he swears he cares number one about, would not have to answer for his past indiscretions over and over again.

Alex Rodriguez New York Yankees

As soon as Rodriguez arrived in Tampa, he was peppered with questions surrounding his scandal, which to his credit he did answer to his best ability. Still, it befuddles me that he couldn’t have done that in the Bronx a week earlier without the theatrics of his arrival three days prior to the Yankees knowledge.

Rodriguez has not played a Major League game since the end of the 2013 season, having sat out all of 2014 for his historic ban for PEDs. The question remains whether a man turning 40 years old in July, not playing a game in over a year and a half, and coming off two hip surgeries can still provide any offense to this sub-par Yankees team. Rodriguez still has his albatross contract for three more seasons at $61 million, plus a $6 million home run incentive for every milestone he reaches, which could equal $30 million in total. Up next on the list is Willie Mays, which he is only six home runs away from tying to be tied for fourth on the all time home run list.

If Rodriguez wants to play fair and reassure the Yankees he is all about the team, he would not put up any resistance to the Yankees wanting to void this deal with him, on the grounds that the Yankees added this to his contract prior to knowing his involvement with steroid use. While the Players Union might fight for Rodriguez’s right to obtain this money, the very same Player’s Union in which Rodriguez sued in his battles with MLB just last year over his “mistreatment” and “abuse” he was unfairly taking, they should realize that this is a completely different set of circumstances we’re dealing with, one in which there has never been such a suspension for in baseball history.

Alex Rodriguez
New York Yankees

If Rodriguez wants to be a good citizen and have any semblance in this game, he needs to stay as much out of the spotlight as he can, be a team player first and foremost, and do as he’s told without putting up a fight. Then again, we are talking about a man who has a painting of himself as a centaur in his apartment, and was photographed kissing a reflection of himself in a mirror for for Details magazine. Some people never learn.