The Hot Stove

As of December 6th 2013, former New York Yankees 2nd baseman Robinson Cano now has the third highest contract in MLB history. He signed a 10 year $240 million contract with the Seattle Mariners.

Robinson Cano is one of five professional athletes who is represented by Roc Nation, which is a sports agency founded by famous music artist Jay-Z. The athletes that he represents include, Robinson Cano, Keven Durant, Victor Cruz, Geno Smith, and Skylar Diggins. The contract that he was able to get Cano will undoubtedly put his agency, Roc Nation on the map and attract more athletes to it.

Throughout the regular season Jay-Z and his agency made it known that their asking price for Cano was going to be a 10 year contract worth over $300 million, but when Cano officially became a free agent, they dropped their asking price to $250 million. The New York Yankess are known for buying players away from other teams, that's how they got their nickname the "Evil Empire," but the tables were turned on them this time. The Yankees offered Cano a 9 year contract worth $170 million, and said they were unwilling to offer above $175 million. Seattle saw this as an opportunity to swoop in and steal Cano from New York with a higher offer, and that's exactly what they did.

Robinson Cano (left) and his agent Jay-Z (right)
photo courtesy of  Johnny Nunez/Getty Images

The news of Cano signing with the Seattle Mariners over the New York Yankees was a shock to the entire baseball community. By signing with Seattle over New York, Cano is putting a huge risk on his chances of being able to play in the postseason and having a chance of winning a World Series. Seattle has been one of the worst baseball franchises recently, recording only one winning season in the last 6, including two 100+ loss seasons. This basically shows that professional sports is more of a business than most people think. Cano has spent his entire career in New York and is extremely loved by the fans there, but the chance to make $240 million instead of $175 million throws that all out the window. 

Another aspect to remember in Cano's deal is his age. Cano is 31 years old, which means he will be 41 years old at the end of his contract. Seattle is taking a huge risk with the 10 year deal here, because once a player reaches the age of about 35, he is considered well past his prime.

It is going to take a few years before a decision is made on whether the deal was a success or a failure and waste of money, but making about $24 million a year is a lot to live up to, and it will be interesting if Robinson Cano, one of the best players in the MLB can do so. Everyone can agree that the true winner in this situation is Cano's agent Jay-Z and his agency Roc Nation. This deal will bring a lot of publicity to Roc Nation as a legitimate sports agency and draw more and more athletes to sign with him.

Personally, I believe that the Yankees did the right thing by not offering him a 10 year deal and refusing to give him more than $175 million. There have been to many instances in the past where these big year, big money deals have not worked out. Ex) Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Alex Rodriguez, and Barry Zito. If you were in the Yankees front office, would you have let Cano walk? Or done everything you could have to get him to re-sign?

Buccos come up big in post-season awards

On November 14th, 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates Center Fielder Andrew McCutchen became the franchises first player to win the Most Valuable Player Award since Barry Bonds in 1992. McCutchen beat out St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to win the award. McCutchen won the award easily, as he recieved 28 of 30 first-place votes. Goldchmidt finished in 2nd and Molina 3rd.

McCutchen is already the face of the franchise, an icon to Pittsburgh sports fans, and now becoming a recognizable name nationwide. McCutchen was selected by the Pirates in the 1st round of the 2005 MLB draft and he is now locked up under contract through the 2017 season. McCutchen helped his club achieve not only its first winning season since 1992, but also its first playoff berth. McCutchen put up great statistics this season, he finished the year with a .317 batting average, 21 home runs, 84 runs batted in, and 27 stolen bases. He also led the league in wins above replacement (WAR).

Pittsburgh Pirates Center Fielder Andrew McCutchen
photo courtesy of pittsburghsportingnews.com

Along with McCutchen winning the MVP, another Pittsburgh Pirate received a prestigious award this offseason. Clint Hurdle was named the National League Manager of the Year. Hurdle is the first Pirate to win this award since Jim Leyland in 1992. Hurdle led his team to a 94-68 record this past season and a wild card playoff berth. Hurdle has been with the Pirates for the past three years and holds a 245-241 record in those three seasons. Hurdle beat out Don Mattingly of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Fredi Gonzalez of the Atlanta Braves, and Mike Matheny of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle
photo courtesy of pittsburghsportingnews.com

Overall the 2013 season was an extremely successful one for the Pittsburgh Pirates. They finished with their first winning season in 20 years, ending the longest losing season streak in all of professional sports. They made the postseason and advanced to the National League Championship Series by defeating the Cincinnati Reds in the wild card game. The Pirates will look to build off of their success this past year and show the league that 2013 was not a fluke. Having a MVP and Manager of the Year on their team will give them the confidence they need to make that happen.

  

What Just Happened?

Saturday night Major League Baseball saw something that has never happened in World Series history before, a game ending on a obstruction call by the umpire.

Obstruction is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner.

The St. Louis Cardinals won Saturday night's Game 3 of the World Series by a score of 5-4 over the Boston Red Sox. Cardinals pinch hitter Allen Craig scored the game winning run when he was awarded home plate after Red Sox's third baseman Will Middlebrooks was called for obstruction.

Everybody has a different opinion of the call. Boston fans say it was a bad call and St. Louis fans think it was a great call. To the non-biased viewer, the call appeared to be the right one. Middlebrooks dove to try and catch a ball thrown to him by Boston catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Middlebrooks stayed on the ground and lifted his legs and appeared to trip the runner Craig, which caused him to be thrown out at home plate. The out call was reversed due to the obstruction and the Cardinals won the game on a walk-off obstruction call.

Because this call happened in a pivotal nationally televised World Series game, it brings up many questions for the game of baseball. Is the rule good? Should the rule be changed? Should there be instant replay on plays like this?

The rule is a good. It is good because there has to be something in the rule book that prevents defensive players from preventing runners to run without any problems, and that is exactly what the obstruction rule does.

To be obstruction, there does not have to be intent by the guilty party for the call to be made. This part of the rule is good because if intent is needed for the call to be made, that puts the decision of intent entirely in the umpire's hand, and each umpire is going to have a different opinion on what intent is.

Instant replay is already a part of baseball. Umpires are able to review homerun calls, and it is only going to expand. That brings the question, should a play like this be review-able? It should be, especially in a game of magnitude. If the technology is out there (which it is) a play like this should be reviewed so the umpires can make the right call and not have a bad call decide a game. The call was made right in this game, but that is not always the case.

The Cardinals now lead the Red Sox 2 games to 1 in the best-of-seven World Series. Game 4 is set for Sunday 8:15 p.m. at Busch Stadium. The pitching match-up is Lance Lynn (STL) vs. Clay Buchholz (BOS)

Major League Baseball and fans everywhere can only hope that another game is not decided in a way like this.

Here is the full video of the obstruction so you can decide for yourself, was it the right call?

The Key is in the Pitching

Tonight at 8:07 pm eastern time, one of the biggest sporting events for Pittsburgh fans in the last 20 years will be happening. The Pittsburgh Pirates play the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Divisional Series. Winner advances to the National League Championship Series, loser will be watching from their couches.

If all goes as planned, tonight should be one of the best pitching matchups of the playoffs so far. The Pirates are sending rookie, number 1 draft pick of 2011, Gerrit Cole to the mound. The Cardinals are taking a different approach. They are going with their 8 year veteran ace, Adam Wainwright.

Pittsburgh's Game 5 starter Gerrit Cole
photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette 

Gerrit Cole enters the game with a 10-7 record in 19 games pitched. He has a very strong 3.22 earned run average and 100 strikeouts in 117 and 1/3 innings pitched. One reason the Pirates decided to pick Cole to start this game is because of his success against the Cardinals. October 4th he pitched 6 strong innings allowing 1 run to beat those Cardinals 6 to 2 in game 2 of this series.

Adam Wainwright finished the regular season with some of his best numbers of his careers. In 34 games pitched, he led the league with 19 wins and only 9 losses. He had a 2.94 earned run average and struck out 219 batters in his league leading 241 and 2/3 innings pitched. October 3rd he beat the Pirates in game 1 of this series by pitching 7 innings and only allowing 1 run in a 9 to 1 victory.

Two key offensive players to keep an eye on in this game are the Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and the Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez.

Molina can do it all. He can hit for average, power, drive in runs, and he is no question the best defensive catcher in all of baseball. He posted a .996 fielding percentage and threw out 48% of runners attempting to steal a base on him. He neutralizes the running game of other teams, and that plays a big part in keeping runs off the scoreboard in a winner take all game.

The Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez is a key in this game because of what he can do with the bat. This year he set a new record for homeruns by a Pirates third baseman with 36 long balls. This postseason, Alvarez's first, has been a coming out party for him. In 5 games he has hit 3 homeruns and driven in 6 runs. He has provided a big power bat in the middle of the Pirates order, and look for him to continue driving in runs tonight.

In 23 games this year, including the postseason, the Pirates lead the head-to-head series 12 games to 11. Theses two teams are very evenly matched. Tonight could come down to one key hit, pitch, or a great defensive play. There is no question that this game will be fun to watch.

Win or Go Home

Hello everyone, my name is Ryan Oglesby. I am a senior communications major at Slippery Rock University. I have played baseball ever since I could pick up a ball and am still currently pitching here at school. Over the years I have accumulated a lot of knowledge when it comes to the game, and  I am going to share some of it with you readers here on this blog.

One of the  best times of the year has arrived, October baseball... where every pitch, swing, and inning matters. Every game is a "must win" situation and for the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates this was the case this past Tuesday and Wednesday.

Pittsburgh Pirates hosting the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park 

Up first was the Pittsburgh Pirates hosting the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park Tuesday night. For the Reds, this was no new territory. They have made the postseason 3 out of the last 4 years now. The complete opposite is true for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The last time they played a meaningful game in October, I was 4 months old. It was 1992, and for all the die-hard Bucco baseball fans that year is known for the infamous Sid Bream slide. Pittsburgh fans have waited 21 years to get back into the playoffs and they showed it Tuesday night at PNC park. It was almost like a college basketball type of atmosphere. The Pittsburgh fans were chanting out Cincinnati's players names trying to get into their heads. Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto was clearly rattled by the fans and it showed when he dropped the ball and on the next pitch let up a homerun to Pittsburgh catcher Russell Martin. The Pirates were in control of the game from the beginning, leading 5 to 1 after 4 innings and winning the game by a score of 6 to 2. The Pirates move on to play the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Divisional Series.

Wednesday night the American League took the stage as the Cleveland Indians hosted the Tampa Bay Rays in a one game playoff. The Rays are used to playing baseball in October, as they have made the postseason 4 of the last 6 years. Like the Pirates, the Indians are somewhat strangers to playoff baseball. They have only made it 1 of the last 6 years. The Rays won by a score of 4-0 and for the Indians it was a story of their top 3 hitters in the lineup. Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, and Jason Kipnis went a combined 0-12 and left a total of 12 runners on base. Too many missed opportunities are why the Indians are going home and the Rays move on to play the Boston Red Sox in the American League Divisional Series.

The NLDS kicked off yesterday with the Cardinals beating the Pirates and the Dodgers beating the Braves. The ALDS starts tonight. I will be back to break it all down over  the next few days.

Until then, enjoy some October baseball people. It only happens once a year.