Since 2012, when third baseman Josh Donaldson exhausted his rookie eligibility with the Oakland Athletics, Mike Trout has been the best player in baseball. Trout won a pair of MVP awards, deserved at least two (probably three) more, and has invited comparisons to Mickey Mantle which, if anything, underestimate Trout. With 64 Wins Above Replacement…
This morning, I detailed my picks for the Silver Slugger awards in the American League. And now I'm going through my picks in the National League. Cool? Cool. Pitcher--Michael Lorenzen, Cincinnati Reds: There are two arguments for NL pitcher Silver Slugger, and one's side depends entirely on whether or not to classify Michael Lorenzen as a…
Following the crowning of MLB's Gold Glove awards two days ago, it is now time for the Silver Sluggers. A slightly less popular award, largely because frankly the best hitters win MVP awards more often than the best fielders, the Silver Slugger honors the best hitter at each position. From a sabermetric perspective, I'm far…
With big names like Bryce Harper and Josh Donaldson on fans minds, no one is really thinking about these free agents... but maybe they should?
As it currently stands (and as is almost always the case for every team), the St. Louis Cardinals have fewer payroll commitments for 2019 than they did at the beginning of 2018. Gone are the $14 million salary of Greg Holland and $3 million salary of Bud Norris (and Greg Garcia, and whatever you want…
Following my American League rundown earlier today, here are my picks for the Gold Glove awards in the National League. Pitcher--Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks: That Greinke is the four-time defending winner of this award is probably all the evidence that is necessary to presume he will win again in 2018, but his numbers from this season…
Today, the American League and National League winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award will be announced. Here are my picks for the American League awards. I ignored the finalists and made my picks for who I believe deserves to win regardless of what The Establishment has to say. National League picks will be coming…
For thirteen days, I assumed that Adam Wainwright's final appearance in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform would be a mediocre outing on a Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, surrendering four earned runs, including a home run (though with perfectly fine true-outcome totals of one walk and seven strikeouts), in an 8-4 loss to the hated…
October baseball is upon us once again, and for the third consecutive season, the St. Louis Cardinals are not involved. This is only the second time since the late 90s that the Cardinals have gone three straight years without a postseason berth, so it's understandable why some fans are getting a little impatient. And for…
Over a 30 day stretch within my last five weeks writing for Viva El Birdos, I wrote 46 posts. I don't know what possessed me to count the exact number. I knew it was a lot. During those thirty days, there were exactly two in which I didn't publish anything. By this point, I was…
St. Louis Bullpen 