Matt Cain

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Our Top Ten Midseason MLB Awards…

Posted by fantasyfurnace on July 12, 2012
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

As we get ready for the second half of the MLB season to begin, we want to present our Top Ten Furnace Awards (TTFA) for random accomplisments. And the winners are:

 1. N.L. MVP- Andrew McClutchen-Pirates; .362-18 HR-60 RBI-58 Runs-14 SB. Joey Votto-Reds came in a close second; .348 14 HR 50 runs 48 RBI 8SB. Neither team wins without them.

#22 Pirate Andrew McClutchen gets our vote for N.L. MVP of the 1st half. Photo: deuceofdavenport.com

2. A.L. MVP- Mike Trout- .341-12 HR-40 RBI-57 Runs-26 SB. Trout is the 1st Angels player with at least 10 HRs and 25 SB at the All Star break.

3. Most improved player N.L.- R.A. Dickey; 12-1- 2.40 ERA- 0.93 WHIP-123 K’s- 26 BB.

4. Most improved player A.L.- Melky Cabrera-119 hits leads the majors!

5. Most intersting Team Stat- N.Y. Mets have a bonafide MVP and Cy Young award candidate in Wright and Dickey.

6. The dumbest comment made by anyone in baseball- Tony LaRussa- “I chose Matt Cain to start the All Star game because of his excellent career.” I can’t believe he came out of retirement to make this ridiculous statement about a pitcher whose career record is 78-76!

Manager Tony LaRussa got a lot of flack for his decision to start Matt Cain over arguably the best pitcher in the majors this season, R.A Dickey. Photo: Associated Press/Getty Images

7. Most improved team in MLB- Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates lead the majors in runs scored in June. They start the second half in sole possession of 1st place in the N.L. Central; 11 games over .500 for the first time in 20 years! *Considerable consideration for the N.Y. Mets who were picked to finish 2012 no better than last place in N.L. East, ended the 1st half 6 games over .500 (46-40) ; 1/2 game out of Wild Card race.

8. Most disappointing player in the 1st half- Albert Pujols; .268-14HR-51 RBI-44 Runs-6 SB. Had 2 HR and 5 RBI in final two weeks of 1st half.

9. Most under-achieving team- Philadelphia Phillies. They have lost 10 of their last 11 and start the second half of the season 13 games under .500 (37-50).

10a. Most amazing stat by a player this season- Cubs SP Ryan Dempster has not given up an earned run in 27 innings, dating back to June 5th.

10b.- Most amazing stat by an active player-career – Chipper Jones. He has a career batting average of .304 as a lefty and .304 as a righty. Mr. Consistency!

Atlanta Brave Chipper Jones in his final year in MLB has always shown consistency and makes our list because of his extensive body of work. Photo: Associated Press/David Goldman

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How changes in MLB have increased the amount of No-Hitters

Posted by fantasyfurnace on June 14, 2012
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 14 Comments

Written by Fantasy Furnace:

The pitching performances, no-hitters & perfect games in MLB so far this season, as well as over the past six years, begs the question, “Why so many?”In light of Matt Cain’s stunning ‘perfect game’ performance on Wednesday night, it seems that more and more, the significance and ‘awe’ that we once had for such outstanding feats has been minimized.

Matt Cain tips his cap to an appreciative S.F. crowd after throwing a perfect game on Wednesday which was the 14th no-hitter thrown in franchise history. Photo: Jeff Chiu – AP Images

Not to take anything away from Cain’s superb outing, which was indeed masterful, it just seems like 10-20 years ago it would have had more interest and  ‘shock’ appeal because it took place much less frequently.

Case in point…in the last 13 days we have witnessed three no-hitters. The last time that was done, albeit in 14 days, was 100 years ago!

So why are these events becoming more and more commonplace? One need only go back to the end of the steriod era as we know it; back all the way to the famous Mitchell Report. In fact, lets look at some numbers…

In 2006, there were 5300 (rounded off) home runs in MLB. That number has plumeted to 4500 in 2011 and is on its way to reaching an even lower total by the end of this year.

Here are some more telling numbers to illustrate just how many no-no’s occured before the end of the steriod era and after: Between 2000 and 2006, a 7 year span, there were 8 no-hitters tossed. From 2007 to today, a period of 5 1/2 years there were 21.

Mariners SP Kevin Millwood, who pitched 6 innings, with help from 5 other pitchers, contributed to Seattle’s 1-0 no- hitter last week vs the L.A. Dodgers. Photo: Zimbio.com

MLB has the most thorough, stringent, and strongest testing for steroids and all PED’s than any other sport! Period. No other sport even comes close. And that’s why the prototypical player of a decade or more ago is not the same as he is today.

Names like Winfield, McGwire, McCovey, Sosa, come to mind. And you have to admit that infielders like A-Rod, Cal Ripken, Palmeiro, and Schmidt are all larger than most of today’s players. Shortstops use to look like Pee Wee Reese and Phil Rizzuto and Ozzie Smith; not A-Rod & Ripkin… Today you have home run hitters that are much smaller players than their peers such as Granderson, Pedroia, and Cano. 

Personally, I feel that this trend of no-hitters will continue and we could very well see more this year than in any year in MLB history. It’s just a sign of the times, and unfortunately not one that is fan friendly. Offense is what the fans come to the ballparks to see. They don’t want to sit in a ballpark for 2 1/2-3 hours to watch a 2-1 game..

The NFL has changed to a more offense minded, quarterback driven league and it’s success has not waivered in the slightest. However,  I fear that with attendence down over the past couple of years in MLB, their changes will have more of a negative impact because as offense wanes, so does the interest in the game.