MLBRT 10/24/2024

The questions and discussion…  

The AL and NL Championship Series are now in the books and the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are now headed to meet in the World Series for the 12^th time in both their storied franchises and the first time since 1981.

Before getting to the ultimate question… Who will win this year’s World Series… a  few questions and answers about just completed Championship games…  

1) The MVPs for the Championship Series were Giancarlo Stanton in the ALCS and Tommy Edman in the NLCS…   

Do you agree with both of these selections for their respective league championship MVP Awards? Why or why not? 

While Giancarlo Stanton came up big for the Yankees, I think Juan Soto was more of an MVP. Stanton had four home runs to Soto’s three, and seven RBI for Stanton compared to six by Soto, but Soto drew more walks than strikeouts, had a much better batting average, on-base percentage, on-base-plus-slugging percentage and better slugging percentage. According to the championship win probability added on baseball-reference.com, Juan Soto was at 11.28% while Giancarlo Stanton only brought in 8.10%. To me, Soto was the more valuable member, performed better at the plate, and was an enormous factor in New York advancing past Cleveland. 

As far as the NLCS MVP goes, that’s where I agree. Tommy Edman didn’t need to hit home runs as he only cranked one out the ballpark. However, he posted a .407 batting average, .393 on-base percentage, 1.022 slugging. He had 11 hits in 27 at-bats and drove in 11 runs in those at-bats while also scoring five himself. While Shohei Ohtani had a fantastic series and was incredible for Los Angeles, Edman really came through. Referencing back to the championship win probability added percentage, Tommy Edman was at 10.71% while Shohei was at 6.42%, getting out-paced by Max Muncy (6.66%). 

As much as Stanton did I… and for sure what he did in the ALCS was a very important part of why the Yanks are in the World Series…  I think Juan Soto should have been the MVP of the ALCS.

I just think Soto’s overall stats… he slashed .368/.478/.895 compared to Stanton’s slash line of .222/.333/.889, Soto had 3 HRS to Stanton’s 4, Soto had 6 RBIs to Stanton’s 7, they both scored 5 runs, Soto walked more than he struck out while Stanton did the opposite… were slightly better than Stanton’s stats and then add in that Soto hit what proved to be a game winning 3-run HR in the 10^th inning of the decisive game 5 to send the Yankees to the World Series…

That spells MVP to me.  

Any time a player slashes .407/.393/1.022 and drives in 11 runs he is almost certainly a lock to be the MVP of any short series… and since Tommy Edman put up those exact in the NLCS i have no problem with him being selected as the MVP of that series.

2) What’s next for the New York Mets… what do they need to do to have their team back in the playoffs in 2025? Why?

The Mets had an incredible run as they posted the best record in baseball since June 3 (65-38) before losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS.

The Mets also should look at this as a place of contention. They can keep improving and getting better. They can spend and spend and spend, if Steve Cohen so chooses, as he’s already came out and said that he’s willing to take losses to bring home championships.

What they need to do is handle Pete Alonso immediately. He needs to be locked up long-term and get him a contract to keep his power bat in the lineup and in blue and orange.

Their next goal will be to solidify their rotation. Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, David Peterson and Luis Severino combined for 115 out of 162 possible starts this season. That’s awesome and reliable. However, the problem presents itself that three of the four (Peterson the exception) are all free agents. With them averaging 5.7 innings per start, that’s a reliable group for a starting rotation. Manaea is expected to opt out, so bringing back and filling up the rotation is going to be the next priority for the Mets. If they can bring back the trio that is entering free agency would ease a lot of their concerns for next season. Having a solid foundational rotation is key to success and will provide a lot of relief for the bullpen and offense. 

The Mets have a very fine mixture of young players and solid veterans with a young and upcoming manager in Carlos Mendoza (who I think should win manager of the year) who had a fantastic rookie year in that role.

They need to essentially keep this team as intact as they an. And they can start that process by getting Steve Cohen and uber-agent Scott Boras together and coming to agreement to lock up Pete Alonso as a Met for the next 5 years.

Then since almost their entire starting rotation is about to become free agents they need to resolve that situation as soon as they can by following two strategies… first, decide which of those starters they believe are the most important to the team and then go all out to resign them… then… decide who they want to target through free agency or by trade and then do their damndest to sign one or two of those guys to fill in whatever holes are left in the rotation. But they need to shore up that rotation big time.

After that I think they can kind of sit back and see how the post season player market develops and unless a no-brainer type of deal pops up they should know they don’t need wholesale changes to this team for them to be a World Series contender next year.

However, and as Yankee fan this sort of pains me to say this, but with owner Cohen’s money they need to take their best shot at going after the biggest free agent available this offseason… Juan Soto. They sign Soto and they can insert him into their lineup and have him do for Alonso what he did for Judge all season long in 2024… provide lots of RBI opportunities.   

3) What’s next for the Cleveland Guardians… what do they need to do to have their team back in the playoffs in 2025? Why?

Most of the players on the Cleveland Guardians are locked into a contract for 2025 so the front office shouldn’t have to worry about too many replacements or retaining players and can look on improving and expanding.

What they need is the starting rotation to bounce back and improve in that department. After having an overall disappointment of a season from the entire staff, they’ll need to really get their wheels in motion for the start of next season and improve upon that. They should also look at getting an ace to lead their rotation. They can’t continue to rely on the bullpen to save them out of games and be the entire staff. While most of the bullpen is returning, there’s only so much they’ll be able to do, and you don’t want to rely on your bullpen to win you games year after year after year. 

Pitching, pitching, pitching.

One old school of thought in baseball is pitching wins more games than hitting does and with that in mind the Guardians need to do whatever they can to add quality starters to their rotation. With the team they have right now, they go out and add to that rotation… and hopeful by adding a true ace… then they should be able to go out next year and have a better decent shot at being in the hunt for the playoffs if not another chance to be in the World Series.

4) Who is your pick to win it all… to be the last team standing and win this year’s World Series? Why?

The Dodgers are going to win the World Series.

Outside of Soto, Stanton and hopefully regular season-type Aaron Judge, the Yankees are lacking overall on offense as we saw in the ALCS. When it comes to the Dodgers, however, they have all-stars up and down their line-up. They can cause damage every single game from Tommy Edman to Max Muncy to Mookie Betts to Shohei Ohtani to Will Smith to Freddie Freeman. The Dodgers are loaded. And I think that’s what’s going to be the big difference maker in this series. While the Yankees might have some solid pitching, the Dodgers are relentless. They can continue to pound the ball and score at will. Putting up runs is going to win you games, and the Dodgers don’t lack in that department at all. That’s why I have the Dodgers winning in six games. I think the Yankees will be able to pull out two games, but the Dodgers are going to be World Series champions when it’s said and done. 

The Yankees will win this year’s World Series.

The Dodgers might arguably have the deep lineup but the Yankees lineup ain’t no walk in the park for opposing pitchers to face either. And that’s going to be the deciding factor

The Yankees batters make pitchers work… they take a lot of pitches with every at bat and work a lot of walks. That increases pitch counts early, which means the Dodgers will be likely going to the bullpen sooner than they wish to and that will wind up taking toll on how the Dodgers will be able to deploy their pitching throughout this Series.

In the end I think the Yankees starters will be better than the Dodgers starters will be and the Yankees hitters one through four will provide just enough offense to outscore the Dodgers for the necessary four wins to take home this year’s World Series trophy.

It  goes six… and… Soto wins the  MVP.   

 5) And after all is said and done and the 2024 seson is put to bed  what is your final analysis and opinion for this MLB season? Why?

Final analysis and opinion of the 2024 MLB season was fantastic.

We saw a lot of teams that haven’t really lived up to their hype deliver this season. We got treated to an excellent 50-50 season by Shohei Ohtani, who brought stolen bases to his game while sitting on the sideline in regards to pitching on the year as he recovers from an injury suffered last season.

We saw Juan Soto help elevate the Yankees to the World Series, which is incredible for a fan base and organization that isn’t used to not dominating baseball, and being a regular fixture come late October.

The Braves suffered multiple injuries at the beginning of the season yet saw Chris Sale return back to his form and deliver a Cy Young season for the Braves in bringing them to the postseason while replacing Spencer Strider as their ace. Paul Skenes came up and was must-watch baseball when he hit the mound, dominating opponents with almost no minor league experience.

We saw Shoto Imanaga do the same stuff in Chicago this season until the Brewers put a pause to that.

We saw Jackson Chourio in Milwaukee take off after signing the largest contract by a baseball player ever before recording a Major League inning or at-bat. The Brewers also weren’t affected after losing Craig Counsell to their rival to the South, trading away their ace in Corbin Burnes to the Orioles, or losing out on Brandon Woodruff for the entire season. They saw different players step up to the plate. Christian Yelich went down for the year, yet their offense still delivered. Their pitching still came through. Too bad they couldn’t extend it, but what a fantastic season for everyone.

And we can’t forget to mention we saw a record get broken on the season as well: The Chicago White Sox set the record for most losses in a regular season. Now, we have at least one thing to look forward to for next season, and that’s if the White Sox can improve upon last season or try to beat their loss record posted this year. 

It was darn good year in my opinion…

The Shohei Kid began making good on the Dodgers big buck investment in him by becoming the first MLB player to have a 50 HR/ 50 SB season in leading them to the World Series.  

Aaron Judge took a shot at having another 60 HR season and in doing so he had one of the best offensive years any MLB player ever had. With Juan Soto having his own MVP-caliber season the two players led the Yankees back to October baseball and the World Series.  

And the Guardians almost pulled off a miraculous season to remember for their fans by going to the ALCS when most folks had them finishing nowhere near the playoffs whatsoever.

And this year’s crop of rookie starting pitchers was one of the best in many a season… 77.5 WAR, the highest total since… 1884! That’s a combined WAR of 138.2, higher than 2015’s 126.9 combined total for most ever. 

Great year all around.  

Bonus Question…

6) And finally…

What team does Juan Soto ultimately wind up signing with and playing for? Why?  

Juan Soto is going back to the Yankees.

The Yankees are willing to spend. They sign big free agents. They have an advantage because he’s already on the team right now. They’re going to keep him with Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge and create a huge power trio. They’re going to out-bid the Mets. They’re going to make sure he doesn’t go to the Dodgers or a division rival. They’re not going to let Juan Soto escape, even if they have to pay him and Aaron Judge over $1.5 billion combined. It’s the New York Yankees, when have they ever shied away from spending money? 

He’s going to sign with the Yankees. And I don’t think it will take the best bid to get him to stay in NY either. He will walk away with the second largest deal ever in MLB behind Ohtani and wind up being the highest paid Yankee, but it won’t be the best bid he is offered.

Soto seamlessly fit into the clubhouse and teamed with Judge to be one of the best one-two punches in any team’s lineup since probably Ruth and Gehrig did for the Yankees last century. There is a significant Dominican community in NYC, and they made their presence known big time with Dominican flags in the right field bleachers behind where Soto plays the field. That sort of community and atmosphere is not something every franchise can offer to a player such as Soto.

Bottom line… Soto may not need the Yanks as much as the Yanks need him but situation in NY is ready made for him to fit in seamlessly with the Yankees and NYC itself and help restore the franchise to its former multiple World series title ways and eventually having his number retired in the Yankees’ famous Monument Park within the Stadium confines.

Extra Innings…