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Baseball

The rich get richer: Max Scherzer to Washington, 7 years $210 million

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scherzer

 

Not a bad way to kick your week off, eh Max?

The contract he signed on Monday was the second-highest for a starting pitcher in baseball history, behind Clayton Kershaw’s 7 year, $215 million dollar Dodger deal. I don’t care about the fact that it’s really not $210 million when you take inflation into account…that’s a whole f*** ton of dough. The guy is going to be getting $15 million dollars a year from the Nationals until 2028.

Buster Olney had the Nationals at the very top of his list of best rotations in the bigs a week ago, before they signed the 2013 AL Cy Young winner. On paper this is probably the best rotation we’ve seen since the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies (Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hames & Roy Oswalt). Even if they do end up dealing either Stephen Strasburg or Jordan Zimmermann like they’ve been rumored to be trying to do, they’re gonna be a really unenjoyable bunch to hit against.

Believe it or not, the Indians have had some decent success against Scherzer in the past three years. He’s 5-1 with a 4.06 ERA and a .243 BAA against the featherheads since 2012. Not bad at all, but not up to his recent standards. And he’s one of those guys who can rip off a complete game shutout on any given night. Plus he beats up on the rest of the division. Good riddance! – The AL Central.

How does this affect the market for James Shields? Probably not that much. Shields older so he was never going to sniff the 7 year deal Scherzer got. The consensus seems to still be a 4 year deal worth around $70-$80 mil. There have been some whispers that the Indians have a deal on the table for Big Game James. Would it be cool? Of course. But I’m happy with where our rotation is now, and I don’t know if the anti-Swisher/Bourn-contract fans could handle another big deal for someone on the wrong side of 30.

PS That list of top rotations from Buster Olney? Indians at 10. He also did a top ten for bullpens and lineups. Indians at 10 and 9 respectively. But what does he know?

Baseball

Teams, players and fans coming together after tragic loss of Oscar Taveras

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I know we’re a few days late on this but I wasn’t really interested in blogging it to be honest. I jotted some feelings down for an Indians website I also write for, but we try to keep things more light-hearted and fun here on Bottlegate. A way to kill a couple minutes of your day and hopefully induce a few laughs. This story was about as far from that as you can get.

For those of you who maybe haven’t turned on Sportscenter or gone on Twitter the past few days, baseball unexpectedly lost one of its brightest young stars on Sunday. 22-year-old St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras and his 18-year-old girlfriend Edilia Arvelo were killed in a car accident while driving in the Dominican Republic. He has been all over every “top prospect” list since he first signed with the Cardinals in 2008, finally making his MLB debut in May of this year (and ended up leaving the yard for his first major league hit). A couple weeks ago, he was called on to pinch hit with his team down one run to the Giants in Game 2 of the NLCS. He did this:

That would turn out to be the second-to-last hit of his career.

Baseball aside, it was an unspeakable tragedy. It’s especially heartbreaking when young people are taken from us too soon. And while the news is still fresh and just as shocking as it was three days ago, sometimes tragedies bring people together. They create a support system. Fans and players from around the league, and many people with no baseball affiliation whatsoever, are coming together to support not only Oscar’s family and the St. Louis Cardinals, but each other as well. That’s why I wanted to blog this. In a time of Ebola scares, political disagreements, rising concerns about domestic violence and all sorts of other stuff, people are able to put all of it aside and be there for whoever needs it. Sort of gives you a little bit of hope, doesn’t it?

(Click to play, last night’s moment of silence before Game 6)

 

Baseball

Royals vs. Giants World Series Drinking Game

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As promised in our 2014 World Series Viewing Guide……

….the Bottlegate World Series Drinking Game! I myself will be opening up the bottle of Kraken rally rum I bought for last year’s Wild Card game and haven’t laid a finger on since, but we’re from Cleveland, so any type of booze will do. Shoot us any additional rules you come up with in the comments or on twitter.

Sips

  • Whenever it’s mentioned that this could be the Royals “year”
  • If your eyes accidentally wander to Erin Andrews’ or Ken Rosenthal’s face
  • Mentions about the Royals bullpen:
    • Kelvin Herrera throws hard
    • Wade Davis used to be a starter
    • Greg Holland’s slider
  • Mics pick up a cuss word from Jake Peavy
  • Billy Butler physically makes it to first base
  • Buster Posey’s plate discipline or Pablo Sandoval’s lack thereof is discussed
    • Turns into a finish your drink if it’s within the same conversation

Healthy Gulps

  • Whenever it’s mentioned how unorthodox Hunter Pence is
  • A batter gestures to their dugout after a base hit
  • They show Paul Rudd in the crowd
  • Mike Moustakas does something that makes you ask him if he’s fucking kidding you
  • Harold Reynolds makes a joke about Madison Bumgarner or Eric Hosmer drinking beer
  • Lorenzo Cain makes a diving catch
  • Jarrod Dyson pinch runs
  • Nick Swisher says “man”

Finish your drink

  • Alex Gordon concusses himself
  • If the announcers or someone you’re watching the game with mentions or, God forbid, says they miss Tim McCarver
  • Interview Paul Rudd in the crowd
  • They play “Royals” in our out of a commercial break
  • Jarrod Dyson pinch runs & steals a base
  • Kansas City commits an error

and finally…

  • Nick Swisher says “bro”

 

Bottoms up.