Mel Antonen

Should Jake Arrieta have won the NL Cy Young Award over Zack Greinke?

Should Jake Arrieta have won the NL Cy Young Award over Zack Greinke?
Jake Arrieta, the former Orioles pitcher with the Chicago Cubs, is this year's National League Cy Young Award winner, but this is another award I don't get. Arrieta was the best second-half pitcher in baseball and he's a reason the Cubs won the wild card game. But should he win the NL Cy Young Award? I don't think so. I was one of the 30 voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America who cast a ballot for this award. People asked if this was the most difficult vote among the...
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Mel Antonen

Explaining my BBWAA vote for AL Manager of the Year

Explaining my BBWAA vote for AL Manager of the Year
I was in the minority in the voting for the American League's Manager of the Year. I was one of two voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America to cast my first-place ballot for New York's Joe Girardi, who led the Yankees to a wild card spot in the playoffs. Texas' Jeff Banister, with 17 first-place votes, won the award followed by Houston's A.J. Hinch and Minnesota's Paul Molitor. Banister led the Rangers to the AL West title. This was the most intriguing Manager of the...
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Mel Antonen

Will busier-than-usual GM meetings turn into wild offseason of wheeling and dealing?

Will busier-than-usual GM meetings turn into wild offseason of wheeling and dealing?
The general managers meetings concluded this week in Boca Raton, Fla., and while these gatherings are usually for fact-finding missions, there were plenty of trades. Perhaps it is because of the turnover - one-third of the bosses that make the trades - are new to teams this year. We anticipate that the GM meetings could launch a wild and crazy offseason. So here are the talking points after a week of talking in Boca Raton: * There is a never-ending speculation that the Nationals will trade...
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Mel Antonen

Predictions for BBWAA awards, some of which are very tight races

Predictions for BBWAA awards, some of which are very tight races
Pitcher Jake Arrieta dominated in the season's second half, posting a 0.75 ERA and finishing with 22 wins and a 1.77 ERA for the Cubs. The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw had a 2.13 ERA and led the National League with 301 strikeouts. So Arrieta and Kershaw are the top candidates for the NL Cy Young Award? Think again. The numbers for Arrieta and Kershaw are impressive, but they are overshadowed by the Dodgers' Zack Greinke, who had 19 wins and won the NL ERA title with a 1.66 ERA. That's why the...
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Mel Antonen

Looking at the latest Hall of Fame ballot

Looking at the latest Hall of Fame ballot
The latest baseball Hall of Fame ballot is in the mail to eligible voters - and this time, there is a new twist. The Hall of Fame cut the number of eligible voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America, so how a smaller electorate will affect the voting is yet to be determined. Last year, there were 549 ballots cast, meaning that 412 votes - 75 percent - were needed to make Cooperstown. This year, 475 writers are eligible for ballots. The ballots are due Dec. 21 and results will be...
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Mel Antonen

Breaking down the local free agents and who might be interested in them

Breaking down the local free agents and who might be interested in them
The free agent season has arrived and the two local nines will look different in 2016 given their free agent list and the value of those players on the open market. The Nationals and Orioles won't be able to keep everyone. Every team needs pitching and the list for free agent starting pitchers is long, so how will that affect the market? The Orioles need rotation help and stability in their outfield corners. The Nationals, with new manager Dusty Baker, have to fix their bullpen and decide how...
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Mel Antonen

Everything you need to know about Dusty Baker (including some things you probably never thought to ask about)

Everything you need to know about Dusty Baker (including some things you probably never thought to ask about)
Dusty Baker, who has managed the Giants, Cubs and Reds, will be introduced Thursday as the Nationals' new manager, replacing his good friend, Matt Williams. The Nationals wanted an experienced manager and they got it: Baker has managed 20 seasons in the big leagues. Here's what you need to know about Baker: * Baker's given name is Johnnie B. Baker, but his mom gave him the nickname Dusty when he was a kid for an obvious reason: He was the type that was constantly playing in the dirt. *...
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Mel Antonen

New skipper Dusty Baker brings impressive pedigree to Nationals

New skipper Dusty Baker brings impressive pedigree to Nationals
Bud Black is out. Dusty Baker, who was in the on-deck circle for the Braves the night Henry Aaron his 715th home run in April 1974, is in as the Nationals' new manager. It was a bizarre twist given that Black, the former Padres manager, reportedly was going to be the one that replaced Matt Williams. But on Tuesday morning, the Nationals made it official that Baker is their manager. Here's the question: Would Baker been available to the Nationals if the Reds had beaten the Giants in the...
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Mel Antonen

Royals are comeback kings who have earned their World Series crown

Royals are comeback kings who have earned their World Series crown
This week, the news converges: The Kansas City Royals celebrate their first World Series title in three decades and the Nationals will announce that Bud Black will be their new manager. Black, a left-handed pitcher, was the Royals' No. 4 starter in 1985, the year the Royals beat St. Louis in seven games in the World Series. Black started Game 4 in Busch Stadium, getting beaten by John Tudor 3-0. Black pitched five innings and gave up home runs to Willie McGee and Tito Landrum. Black is known...
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Mel Antonen

With Nationals, Black will have to learn to adjust to higher expectations

With Nationals, Black will have to learn to adjust to higher expectations
Back when Buddy Black, the Nationals' new manager, was a left-handed pitcher in the American League, he once stood below the Metrodome roof in Minnesota and counted the squares - and the holes in the squares - in the light-colored plastic roof. "Sometimes, you just have to find things to do," Black says. "I've been coming here for years and wondered how many holes there were in the roof. So I counted them.'' Black has the quirkiness you'd expect in a left-handed pitcher. But, he's also...
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Mel Antonen

Meet the Mets, who are playing in their first World Series since 2000

Meet the Mets, who are playing in their first World Series since 2000
The Mets are heading to the World Series, a big accomplishment considering they were two games over .500 in the National League East on July 30. But, they reinvented their roster and finished 31-11 to buzz by the favored Nationals to win the division without drama. The Mets continued to knock off favorites in the postseason. They beat Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers in the NL Division Series and swept the red-hot Cubs in the NL Championship Series. The Mets have been off since...
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Mel Antonen

Royals return to Fall Classic with more power added to speed, defense, pitching

Royals return to Fall Classic with more power added to speed, defense, pitching
The Kansas City Royals, a team that had nine consecutive losing seasons (including four seasons of at least 100 losses) from 2004 to 2012, are making a repeat visit to the World Series. The Royals are the first team to win consecutive American League pennants since Texas in 2010-2011, but the Rangers lost both World Series. Toronto won back-to-back World Series titles in 1992-1993. Not long ago, the Royals were a young and talented team going nowhere. Their turnaround started in the second half...
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Mel Antonen

Previewing the NLCS between the Cubs and Mets

Previewing the NLCS between the Cubs and Mets
The Mets and the Cubs are playing in the National League Championship Series, and if the Cubs win, they'll put an end to a longtime drought of not appearing in the World Series. The Cubs haven't won a World Series since back-to-back titles in 1907 and 1908 and haven't been to a World Series since 1945, the year they lost to Detroit. The Cubs haven't ever won an NLCS. They are 0-3 when playing for the NL pennant. They lost to the Marlins in 2003, the Giants in 1989 and the Padres in...
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Mel Antonen

Breaking down the Blue Jays-Royals battle in the ALCS

Breaking down the Blue Jays-Royals battle in the ALCS
The Kansas City Royals will take aim at their second consecutive American League pennant when they play the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series. The last time the Royals were in the World Series was in 1985, the year they beat the Blue Jays in the ALCS. That series was the first of baseball's expanded series format, going from the five- to the seven-game format. Under the old rules, used from 1969 through 1984, the Blue Jays would have won the title. They won three of...
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Mel Antonen

Weighing the American League Division Series contenders

Weighing the American League Division Series contenders
The Kansas City Royals will begin the defense of their American League pennant when they play the Houston Astros in the American League Division Series. Whoever wins takes on the Texas Rangers or Toronto Blue Jays for the right to play in the World Series. OK, but did you know ... ? * The Astros and Royals came close to playing in the 1980 World Series, back when the Astros were in the National League. The Astros' home ballpark was the Astrodome and they lost the National League Championship...
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Mel Antonen

Handicapping the NL postseason teams

Handicapping the NL postseason teams
Baseball's postseason starts with a historic twist in the National League Central: For the first time since the three-division format became reality in 1994, the three best records have come from the same division. The division-winning Cardinals won 100 games, the Pirates 98 and the Cubs 97. The only other season that teams from the same division finished with the two best records was in 2001, when Seattle won 116 and Oakland 102. Who is the scariest team in the NL postseason? We report. You...
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Mel Antonen

Examining candidates with big league experience who could become Nationals' next manager

Examining candidates with big league experience who could become Nationals' next manager
The Nationals fired manager Matt Williams and his coaching staff Monday. The team's general manager, Mike Rizzo, said that he'll keep an open mind in hiring Williams' replacement, but major league experience will likely be a necessity. Nationals coach Randy Knorr, Nationals players' choice two years ago when Rizzo hired Williams, may or may not be a candidate. Knorr has plenty of experience as a minor league manager and bench coach in the big leagues. If Rizzo is looking for a big league...
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Mel Antonen

A look at each American League team heading to playoffs

A look at each American League team heading to playoffs
Who is the most feared team in the American League postseason? Kansas City is determined to return to a World Series for a second consecutive season, and this year, their run production is better but their rotation is less stable. The Yankees are a wild card team that hobbled to the finish line at the end of the regular season. The Astros, strong all season, stumbled in the first two weeks in September but played well in the final two weeks. The Blue Jays have unbelievable firepower, a deep...
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Mel Antonen

Taking a look at top storylines around the major leagues

Taking a look at top storylines around the major leagues
As the Orioles and Nationals put the finishing touches on disappointing seasons, here is what else is going on around baseball: * The Orioles were shut out three times in Boston over the weekend, essentially ending their slim chance for a wild card. Even though the Orioles have dominated the Red Sox since the end of 2011, the takeaway is that Boston's building block players - Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Rusney Castillo, Xander Bogaerts, Henry Owens and Blake Swihart - are going to be a...
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Mel Antonen

Orioles and Nationals playing must-win games, hoping for outside help

Orioles and Nationals playing must-win games, hoping for outside help
As the interleague series between the Orioles and Nationals came to an end with a Bryce Harper grounder Thursday night, both under-achieving teams are left with an almost impossible predicament: Win every game and hope for help. The lifeless Nationals, swept by the Orioles after a 5-4 loss, have missed chances to pick up ground on the first-place Mets in the National League East. The Mets aren't the same dynamic team that swept the Nationals in D.C. earlier this month. They finished a 3-6...
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