Randy Arozarena is a native of Cuba where he played ball like it was the only thing in his life. He always had a dream to be on the big stage in the MLB and I’d say that dream officially came true this past week. Arozarena had a tough childhood as his father who was also his role model in life passed away when he was only 15 years old. Randy dedicated his life to playing professional baseball from that point on. His passion got him through all of the adversity that came his way. At the beginning of this season, he was sidelined with a positive Covid test. Arozarena used that time of quarantine to get stronger, both spiritually and physically. He gained 15 lbs of muscle during that period of time and immediately used his newfound strength when he got called up to the Rays in late August. Since he joined the Rays lineup, he had a .281 average with 7 HRs and 11 RBIs in the regular season. He hasn’t skipped a beat in the postseason as he’s gone 12-for-27 with 3 bombs (all in the ALDS). He has definitely made the most of his opportunities and hopefully he will be able to stay hot for the rest of the playoffs.

The man, the myth, the legend: Mike Brosseau became a Tampa Bay hero last night when he launched an 8th inning go-ahead homerun off of prestigious Yankees closer, Aroldis Chapman. Chapman and Brosseau had some drama during the regular season as Chapman threw a 101 mph pitch over Brosseau’s head on September 1st. Mike blasted two long balls the next game against the Yanks, but his revenge tour wasn’t quite over. When the undrafted kid came up to bat late in the game last night against Aroldis, there wasn’t a soul at Petco Park that didn’t at least think about the possibility of a storybook type of payback from Brosseau. The ending was so poetic and it just shows that karma and clutch are very real in the game of baseball.

The Rays will take on the Houston Astros for the 2nd straight year, but this time with a chance to go to the World Series. This Houston squad is much different from last year’s team. The pitching staff has lost a lot of strength as they don’t have Gerrit Cole or Justin Verlander on the roster for the ALCS. The offense didn’t lose many players, but they had underwhelming performances as a whole in the regular season. Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, and George Springer have caught fire so far this postseason, but they haven’t faced the stable yet this season and they won’t know what pitch is coming.

Source: tbraysreviews.com

BIG DECISION

Coming into this season we all knew there would be a difficult choice to make this off-season, and that choice would be to either resign Masahiro Tanaka or James Paxton. Both pitchers will want a lot of money so I think its realistic to think only one may come back next year, but do you bring back the fan favorite who before this season had REALLY good postseason numbers or do you bring back James Paxton who’s had some memorable moments in a Yankee uniform and some not so memorable moments. All in all I think only one will come back next season.

INSERT MONEY INTO MACHINE

What started out as a depth signing has turned into the teams MVP in just two years, he won the batting title this year albeit in a shortened season but nonetheless he is the first player EVER to win a batting title in both the NL and the AL, he of course won it in Colorado. LeMahieu has turned himself into a mainstay in this lineup and our best hitter, if you’re Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner you HAVE to bring back LeMahieu, money has to be thrown at him and a lot of it, you can’t afford to lose his bat in the lineup.

CONTRACTS

Giancarlo Stanton and Zack Britton both have player options that I would expect they would both opt in, Britton currently has a 13 million dollar player option for next year and unless he feels he deserves more money which he might, he should be around in Yankee pinstripes for at least one more year. Brett Gardner currently has a 10 million dollar Team Option set for this off-season meaning that the Yankees could very well part ways with Gardner, which I hope doesn’t happen but money may be a little tight this off-season and so many players will be Arbitration eligible. Pretty much everyone else is Arbitration Eligible or is still under team control. I will have all coverage for the off-season on Instagram so turn on post notis so you don’t miss a thing!! LGY!!

The A’s and the Astros will kick off their ALDS matchup on Monday at 4:30 PM EST at Dodger Stadium. The series will follow the trend this year of division-rival matchups in this round of the playoffs, and these two teams are most definitely rivals. Oakland, who won the division in the regular season, and Houston, who came in second, have been fighting each other at the top of the AL West for the past few years now. This has created a rivalry between them, as many high-intensity games have been played between the two squads in that time. 

Based on regular-season results and seeding, the A’s are the favorites on paper to take the series. They’ll also have most every fan across the league pulling for them, as it’s no question people are eager to see the downfall of the Astros. But as an A’s fan, I won’t get too confident. I see this as a very evenly-matched series. Both teams played much better at home in the regular season, so it’ll be interesting to see who gets the advantage in a neutral site. In my opinion, this will be Houston. This is mainly because of how the A’s pitching staff is basically built to pitch in their home park. A’s pitchers had a 2.89 ERA and 3.18 FIP at home in the pitcher-friendly coliseum this season, compared to a 4.77 ERA and 4.96 FIP away from it. That is a scary difference. And it’s pitching that will be the biggest factor for the A’s this series. Will our arms be able to limit runs in Dodger Stadium like we do at home? Our pitchers have to be able to keep us in games and give our lineup opportunities to go to work. So far the pitching matchups have only been determined for the first two games. They go: Bassitt versus McCullers in game one, and Manaea versus Valdez in game two. Bassitt and Manaea have both been scorching hot, so hopefully they can continue their success. It’s surprising that the Astros are holding off on Greinke until at-least the third game, but McCullers and Valdez are both solid arms who will present a tough task for any opposing lineup. I’m excited to see these two rivals clash in the most important series they’ve ever played against each-other, and determine once and for all who is the best in the West. 

Astros Universe

The 2020 Astros enter the ALDS having come off a sweep of the Minnesota Twins in the AL WIld Card Series. The 29-31 Astros struggled against their ALDS matchup during the regular season having gone 3-7 Vs. them in the season series. Despite this, the Astros did not lose a game against the Athletics at home this year albeit having only played 2 games. 

The Astros look to keep up their pitching dominance seen in the Wild Card series against the Twins as they only gave up 2 runs in 18 innings of work. The pitching matchups for the first two games of the ALDS have been listed as, Game 1: Lance McCullers (3.93 ERA) Vs. Chris Bassit (2.29 ERA), and game 2: Framber Valdez (3.57 ERA) Vs. Sean Manaea (4.50 ERA). Lance McCullers has finished the year strong having not given up an earned run in his last 3 starts and posting a 1.53 ERA and 3.13 FIP in September. Framber has also been on fire recently sporting a 1.35 ERA and a 19/1 K/BB since September 15th as well as throwing 5 scoreless innings in game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Twins. 

Despite the excellent pitching the offense remains partially lackluster having scored 7 runs in 2 games but looking foolish at the plate against many of the twins pitchers. Kyle Tucker remains the X-factor for the Astros having 2 RBI singles in game 2 of the Wild Card Series. If Springer, Correa, Altuve and Bregman all hit decently and pitching remains in the same form then the series could easily belong to the Astros. As much as Astros fans and I wanted to face the White Sox I believe the Athletics are just as beatable.

There’s clearly some bad blood between these two teams, but the fact that the Rays and Yankees have never met in a playoff series makes this ALDS must-watch television. With that being said, it’s all love between Field2Court and Tbraysreviews, but don’t expect the same from these two clubs next week.

I don’t think it’s going to be a runaway series for the Rays even though they took 8 out of 10 games from their AL East foe during the regular season. Gerrit Cole is on the hill for Game 1 and I think Cole will return to his Astros playoff form which will make it difficult for the Rays’ offense. With that being said I’m predicting the Rays will win the series in 5 games as I haven’t been impressed by an underwhelming Tanaka and the rest of their pitching staff. Also, the Rays’ staff dominated a solid hitting Jays club in ALWC which has given me optimism for the upcoming playoff series. It should be an exciting span of ballgames with some potential drama infused.

Field2Court –

While the Yankees were inconsistent the entire year, the majority of their struggles came against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Bronx Bombers won just two of the ten games played against Tampa this year. This is their worst record against the Rays in history, and it is not even close. With that said, the Yankees offense looked spectacular in the two-game series against the Cleveland Indians. They knocked seven runs off of Shane Bieber and scored ten runs to secure the sweep in Game 2. This series will depend almost entirely on whether the Yankees offense decides to show up. The Rays offense will certainly be there: it’s been dominant throughout the season and continued to be on display against Toronto.

This series will most certainly be competitive, tense, and exciting to watch for all baseball fans. While the Yankees offense could certainly continue to be contained by Snell, Glasnow, and even the Rays bullpen, I truly do believe in the ability to “flip the switch” in October. Game one will set the tone for the series and it is crucial for the Yankees to win with Gerrit Cole on the mound. JA Happ is the presumable game three starter, so a win in game one or two is essential. I predict the Yankees will win in five games while being carried by a revitalized offense and a strong bullpen.

Source: tbraysreviews.com

The last time the Rays won the AL East title was 10 years ago in 2010. They finished with a record of 96-66 and just one game ahead of the Yankees. Since that year, the Red Sox have won the division 4 times, the Yankees have won it 3 times, and the Orioles and Blue Jays have won it once each. Despite the craziness of 2020, it’s always an honor to win a division title in one of the best divisions in the MLB (and don’t let a Yankees fan tell you otherwise).

Source: tbraysreviews.com

The lack of incoming talent.

Nobody wants to play for cheaters, right? So even though they fell a few outs short of a 2019 World Series title, which would have been their second in 3 years, the team did not add one notable name to their squad this offseason. Emphasized by the notable loss of mediocre pitcher turned superstar Gerrit Cole, the team’s roster suffered greatly. It also can’t go without mentioning that owner Jim Crane had to focus on replacing the Astros GM and Manager this offseason. This resulted in the team missing out on names such as Anthony Rendon and Marcell Ozuna

No Spring Training = Injuries

The injury bug definitely hit the Astros this year and it hit them hard. Essentially every star Astro missed time this year. Verlander, Altuve, Springer and Bregman, just to name a few were all hurt at one point and it affected each of them dramatically. Altuve, 2017 MVP, Springer, 2017 WS MVP, and Bregman, 2019 MVP runner-up did not play like themselves this year whatsoever. Some might say it’s because they’re not cheating anymore. However if people thought about it logically, it’s more about the injuries. Justin Verlander, 2019 Cy Young award winner was hit the hardest. The aging legend injured his elbow in his first and only start of 2020 and while it looked like a return was possible, it’s now confirmed that he’ll be repeating what teammate Lance McCullers Jr just returned from: a long year on the IL due to Tommy John surgery.

Free Agency

George Springer. Michael Brantley. Yuli Gurriel. Josh Reddick. Those are 4 big names for Houston all in the final year of their contract. It’s become pretty evident Springer is leaving. Not because the Astros won’t pay him, but because of the scandal and he’s sure to get more money elsewhere. It’s hard to say with Brantley because he’s still a new Astro. There’s a chance both Yuli and Reddick come back, but again due to the scandal, it’ll be unclear what path they choose. Next year, guys like Correa, Verlander, Grienke and McCullers are all free agents, just to name a few. It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens to all these Houston Icons.

Close your eyes Houston Fans. It’s going to be a rough few years for the teams you care about. The Houston Astros are bound to be good again at some point. But as far as the current era of Houston baseball, it’s looking like it’s coming to an end.

Cano became the first good Yankee Hitter at the time to leave in there prime, but the destination was really about the money. Cano signed with Seattle as the Yankees decided to pay guys like Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann and Jacoby Ellsbury. McCann after 3 good seasons with the Yankees joined the Astros, Ellsbury didn’t do great with the Yankees and of course Beltran stayed just 2 seasons with the Yankees doing okayish.

Now with Cano, at the time looked like a money. Though Cano, 31, has placed himself as one of the best overall players in baseball over the last few years (at the time). He is a five-time All-Star, including the American League starter at second base each of the last four seasons. He has also won five Silver Slugger Awards (2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) and two Gold Gloves (2010, 2012). and leading his team to a 797-560 Record (.580 win pct) over his time with the Yankees.

Then it was said and done. Cano inked a 10 year 240,000,000 contract with the Mariners, getting 24,000,000 a year. Now did Cano live up to the hype? Well not exactly. Canos best season was his 2016 season where he won All Star game MVP and got votes in the MVP race. That season hitting 39 Home Runs helping the Mariners in there only time as a playoff contending team. After his 2017 season he took a big stepback as he got suspended for PEDs, and that’s all we got from Cano, as the Mariners in a blockbuster traded sent Cano and one of the best Closers in the MLB Edwin Diaz to the Mets for top prospects Justin Dunn, Jared Kelenic, and a few others.

Now looking back at it, was it worth it? In my opinion it wasn’t what I was EXPECTING but we got a few good years out of him helping us push for a few playoff spots until the suspension. Of course trading him off we had to pay a good sum of his contract but the talent we got from the trade with him and Diaz really shapes up our future as a playoff contending team in years to come.

Now what’re your thoughts? was it worth it at the end of the day paying a somewhat in his prime Robinson Cano? or do you think we should’ve went a different route. At the end of the day we got something good out of it. And that’s a few good years from him, and great years ahead.

GAME 1 W (6-5)

In Game 1 of this 3 game series, Jordan Montgomery took the bump looking to stay strong for the Yankees. The Yankees bats were going up against Martin Perez who shut the offense down going 6 strong innings, allowing 0 runs on 3 hits, and striking out 7. However, the Yankees bats wouldn’t be denied against the Red Sox bullpen. In the 7th inning, Gary Sanchez got the scoring going for the Yankees as he lined a 2-run double into right field that bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double. Now down 4-2 headed into the 8th, Giancarlo Stanton came up to bat and he roped a double to left field, scoring Aaron Judge all the way from first. In the 9th down 4-3, Gary Sanchez, on an 0-1 count lines a home run over the monster to tie up the game at 4. We would head to extra innings where with the new rule the Yankees would score in the 11th on a Luke Voit single. Their lead wouldn’t hold up though as the Red Sox tied it in the bottom half of the inning. In the 12th, Dj LeMahieu doubles to right which scored Aaron Hicks and gave the Yankees the lead again. This time they would hold on to win 6-5.

GAME 2 W (8-0)

In game 2 of this series, the Yankees wouldn’t need extra innings, as they sent J.A. Happ on the bump and he tossed 8 innings, allowing 0 runs on 4 hits, while striking out 9. The bats would have to face Chris Mazza, and they got it going early with the bases loaded. Gio Urshela hit a sac fly and after that Clint Frazier would single home Luke Voit making it 2-0. In the 4th, Kyle Higashioka would single home Frazier making it 3-0, followed by a Tyler Wade fielders choice to make it 4-0. The Yankees bats were on tonight as they scored 8 runs on 11 hits. This win made it 10 straight wins for the Yankees.

GAME 3 L (10-2)

The Yankees looked to sweep the series in game 3 as they would send young Deivi Garcia to the bump, and it did not go so well. He only lasted 3 innings, allowed 6 runs on 8 hits, and struck out just 2 Red Sox batters. The offense wouldn’t do too much better as they scored 2 runs on only 3 hits. Overall I would say it was a good series; You can’t win every game.

A little over a week ago, the Miami Marlins started a crazy 7 game series over a 5-day span against the Philadelphia Phillies. Miami and Philadelphia would make history as it is the majors’ longest series in the regular season in 53 years. It included two doubleheaders and three makeup games. Miami would go on to win five out of the seven and move into second place. Let’s dive deeper into the series, game by game.

Game 1: September 10th, 2020. Marlins win 7-6. Sandy Alcantara got the start in game 1 and would go on to pitch 6 strong innings. The defense struggled this game which cost 3 runs not counted towards Sandy’s final line. Yimi Garcia would get the win in the 9th. Starling Marte was a big help to the offense, having an RBI Double in the bottom of the first and a 3 run RBI double in the bottom of the eight that would ultimately tie the game. Jorge Alfaro would hit a walk-off single and Miami would take Game 1 from the Phillies.

Game 2: September 11th, 2020. (Game 1 of Doubleheader) Phillies win 11-0. Aaron Nola would get the start for the Phillies in Game 1 of the doubleheader against the young Trevor Rogers. Trevor Rogers struggled early on and would only last 3 innings as he would allow 8 earned runs and 9 in total. He did manage to strike out 5. Robert Duggar played a mop-up roll and finished off the last four and would allow only two runs. The offense was held scoreless as Aaron Nola pitched a gem, allowing three hits and struck out 10 Marlins. Philadelphia would take game 1 of the doubleheader by a landslide.

Game 3: September 11th, 2020. (Game 2 of Doubleheader) Marlins win 5-3. The young Daniel Castano would get the start for Game 2 of the doubleheader against a Philadelphia team playing a bullpen game. Castano looked good through 3.2 innings, before being replaced by James Hoyt who would get the win. Yimi Garcia would get the save after Brandon Kintzler told Mattingly he was having some issues. This was a big game for Lewis Brinson, who hit a solo home run off of Heath Hembree, to continue his hot streak. The rest of the offense would produce as Miami went on to win 5-3.

Game 4: September 12th, 2020. Phillies win 12-6. Jose Urena would get his second start after coming off the Covid IL against the young Spencer Howard. Urena struggled, allowing 5 earned runs and would ultimately take the loss. Josh A. Smith also struggled, allowing 5 earned. A positive note was Johan Quezada making his debut and pitching a scoreless inning. Brian Anderson and Jesus Aguilar both went deep, Brinson had an RBI Double, and Corey Dickerson would have an RBI Single as the offense wouldn’t produce enough runs to win Game 4. Phillies would role past with a 12-6 victory.

Game 5: September 13th, 2020. (Game 1 of Doubleheader) Marlins win 2-1. This was one of the biggest games of the series as Sixto Sanchez would make his first start against his former club. He did not disappoint. Sixto threw his first complete game, going the full 7 and allowing only 3 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte would both drive in runs as Miami would go on to win game 1 of the doubleheader.

Game 6: September 13th, 2020. (Game 2 of Doubleheader) Marlins win 8-1. The Marlins would debut another one of the young pitching stars in Game 2 of the doubleheader. The Marlins called upon their #7 Prospect Braxton Garrett, who did not disappoint. In his MLB Debut, he would pitch 5 innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. He would also pick up his first career win. The offense would give Garrett the run support, highlighted by a Chad Wallach home run in the bottom of the sixth. Miami rolled past Philadelphia for an 8-1 victory.

Game 7: September 14th, 2020. Marlins win 6-1. Pablo Lopez came in looking for a bounce-back start against Vince Velasquez. Lopez looked back in dominant form, going 7 innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 earned, and striking out 6. This was the start Pablo was looking for. The Marlins offense continued to shine, highlighted by 2 home runs thanks to Miguel Rojas and Starling Marte. Marlins would win and take 5 of 7 from the Phillies.

The Marlins are currently in 2nd place with a 26-24 record with 10 important games left. The Marlins are looking to make it back to the postseason for the first time since 2003.

Chicago White Sox

Chicago’s less popular team has surprisingly dominated the MLB this year. Led by a star-studded offense and capable pitching, the White Sox have won 32 games and have only lost 16, holding the first seed in the AL and the first spot in the AL Central. Out of all of the Reds’ series this year, this one has the chance to be the most disastrous. Winning the series is only possible if the offense can perform, which hasn’t been the case this season. Luckily for Cincinnati, it appears as if the Reds won’t face the best part of the Sox rotation for the majority of the series. The Reds will HAVE to fire on all cylinders to even have a chance of taking two of three.

Milwaukee Brewers

In theory, this is the least difficult series the Reds will have to tackle, but it won’t be easy by any means. The Brewers are just as feisty as the Reds for a playoff spot, and are licking their chops at the possibility of annihilating the Reds unexpectedly. What the Reds must do to counter this is to capitalize on early-inning opportunities, because if they reach the Brewers bullpen with a deficit, it’s pretty much over. The Reds will likely have to face Brewers ace Brandon Woodruff this series, but overall they face the struggling part of the Brewers rotation as it looks now. While some Reds fans may think this series will be easy, the Brewers are definitely not a pushover, considering that they are nearly just as close to the Reds in for a spot in the playoffs.

Minnesota Twins

For the last series of the year, the Reds will duel with the deadly Minnesota Twins at Target Field. This series could easily be disastrous for the Reds, considering that the Twins have had arguably the best lineup in the league the past two seasons. The Twins rotation has largely been yet to be decided, as the series is relatively far away as of now. On the contrary, the lethal bats are something that has been decided, with red-hot DH Nelson Cruz (who is putting up MVP offensive numbers at 40 years old!) leading the way offensively. With the Twins’ formidable band of sluggers, the Reds may be staring directly at a nightmare in Minneapolis.

Final Remarks

The Reds have squandered their chance to take advantage of an easy first half, flopping against some of the worst squads in baseball. They’ve forced upon themselves must-win games against some of the hottest teams in baseball. To get themselves out of the hole they dug themselves into, they need to pass the true test and excel against these star-studded teams. While hope may once again be surging in the Queen City, doubt quietly remains in the air as the Redlegs prepare an assault that could just as easily be a success as it could be an abject failure. Time is almost out for this squad; it’s up to them to strike when it matters most.