Passion for the Pastime

Hope everyone is doing well as we wrap up the first week of quarantine, going into week two with special Guest, Jesse "B1vcksheep" Juarez. Just two guys talking baseball, and everything related to baseball as we try to keep our sanity as the shelter in place is in full effect. Baseball, movies, gaming, beer and everything in between in this podcast.

Live from your Quarantined studios, its time to talk baseball. I know the past week has seemed like a nightmare, but lets look at the bright side. Don't worry, I'll wait. All seriousness, being locking in a home with your family may not be a bad thing (week 1 in quarantine). Ask me again in a couple of weeks. First we will go through how the news breaking of sports and baseball not being around made me feel, as I'm sure most of you did. The response by MLB to stadium workers was a great thing to see as everyone is thinking of financial ramifications as I'm sure most of you are as well. I'm here for you, and we will get through this together.  With all that said, we still have baseball news, some guys are hurt, unfortunately. Verlander will be getting groin surgery that will put him out for 6 weeks, not like he would miss any action since the season isn't expected to start until some time in June. So now the question is, what do we do until then? Well my answer to you in this podcast is, movies. Baseball and movies go hand and hand, and their are tones of movies at our fingertips. Baseball movies to make you laugh, to make you cry, or maybe a little bit of both. I'll give you a list of movies to watch, and I'll let you know which are my favorites, which is hard given the list at hand.

We are back at it again, joined for the second straight podcast, my good friend Martin. This podcast we will be looking at the AL West. Touch on the sign stealing scandal and how we felt with the president of the 5'6" club was found to be a cheater. Being proud members of that club, it was devastating. But how good will the Astros be in 2020, and could the Oakland A's with all their youth, capitalize on this opportunity to seize control of the west. Again, you cant sleep on the giant down south, the Los Angeles Angels. With Maddon as their new manager, adding Anthony Rendon and a healthy Ohtani, the Angels can and will be a force to be reckoned with. One small problem, you cant only win on offense, and last I checked, their Rotation is mediocre. Rangers are the dark horse in this division and are looking to catch everyone by surprise. The Mariners on the other hand, well they will be playing to not be to worst team in baseball this season, but a top draft pick might be what they need right now.

We will start by talking about the Coronavirus outbreak that is now interfferring with the sports world. All major sporting events have been suspended, with MLB being postponed for at least 2 weeks. We will continue to move forward and talk divisions but the start of the season at the moment is in question. Back to baseball. We have finally made it to the NL Central, which in 2019 was one of the toughest divisions to figure out. So for this one, I needed the big guns, special guest Martin Rivas is joining me on the podcast. Former University of San Diego alum, Martin has some insight on Chicago Cubs, Kris Bryant, who has been talked about a lot this past winter. Then we will move on and talk about everyone else in the Central. Are the Reds contenders or pretenders? Brewers building a culture around Christian Yelich but do they have enough in 2020. The Cardinals you can never rule out in the Central, but on paper, they don't stack up with the other top teams.

Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine got off with a bang, as I attended the KISS concert, survived a rain storm and drove for what felt like 24 hours, all in a matter of 3 days. As we blast some Detroit Rock City, this week we will be looking at the AL Central. This division has to be one of the most intriguing divisions in the American League. The winners of the off season, the team on the south side of Chicago, The White Sox. They added the most pieces this off season, but that doesn't always translate to regular season success. How good will the White Sox be, and can they knock off the Twins. The Twins are looking even more deadly this season, adding Josh Donaldson to a squad that already hit 307 Homeruns just last season. They didn't need more power, but they sure got it, so the team homerun record looks like it with be broken again, for the fourth straight season. Talking about the long ball makes me think of Franmil Reyes, who the Indians acquired in a trade with the Padres and Red 3 team deal that included Trevor Bauer last season. Are the Indians good enough to take the crown from the Twins? If they aren't Francisco Lindor will be dawning a new jersey come trade deadline, in an attempt to rebuild the farm. Speaking of rebuild, that's where we find ourselves with the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals. Both have help on the way in the future, with multiple prospects, but this season, their fans will have to endure another long season. At least the Royals have Jorge Soler to watch each night. The Tigers fans on the other hand, this might be a good time to take a trip and forget 2020 ever happened.

Who is the beast in the East? Well for as long as we can all remember it has been the team sporting the pinstripes. this 2020 season, could be a bit different. Yankees still have a lot of fire power on offense but the injury bug just wont leave them, taking Severino for the season and Stanton off of the Opening Day roster, with Aaron Judge's status very much in the air. This is the time for a team to catch the Yankees, and why not the team that was hot on the tail all of the 2019 season, Tampa Bay Rays. With more of the same from last year and a power threat in Hunter Renfroe, who they acquired in a trade with the Padres back in December, the Rays may be poised to sit on top of the AL East. The Red Sox, after trading Mookie Betts and David Price find themselves in a rebuild situation. Yes they can compete, but they are one devastating injury away from calling 2020 a wash. Chris Sale is dealing with an elbow issue, that could be the devastating injury, should he need Tommy John, much like rival Yankees pitcher Luis Severino. In Canada, the "Baby Jays", yes I am going to trademark it, are looking to keep momentum rolling in building a Dynasty. With the likes of Bo Bichette, Cavin Biggio and Vlad Jr, the Blue Jays are starting to look like a power house in the making. And finally, the forgot child in the East, the Baltimore Orioles. The O's look to have more of the same this season, only winning 54 games last year. They do have a young catcher prospect in Adley Rutschman, who recorded his first hit in spring training that led to a tie with the Twins. Wasn't a win, but it wasn't a loss either. Also Chris Davis for the O's, is hot with the bat this spring so maybe the days of the 54 at-bat hitless streak toi start the season is behind him. A look at the AL East is next. Enjoy!

Welcome back to another Episode of Passion for the Pastime. This week we will begin to look at each individual division throughout baseball, and what better place to start than the most competitive division in MLB, the NL East. After all they do have the Defending World Series Champions, Washington Nationals. The Nats still boast one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball. Their offense, however, took a huge hit when they lost their star third baseman, Anthony Rendon, when he left for the Southern California Sunshine when he signed with the Angels. Fortunately for the Nats, they weren't the only team that lost a star third baseman. Division Rival, Atlanta Braves lost Josh Donaldson to the Minnesota Twins, so two of the top teams in the NL East took a blow to their offenses. What do the Braves have that the Nationals don't have? Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies, oh and Freddie Freeman. The Baby Braves look to make the postseason again, but this time, not have as quick of an exit. Two teams that missed out on the Postseason last year, but are still very much a threat in the NL East are the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets will look to health as a key for this seasons success, as they have many of the same pieces returning. The Phillies missed out on signing Rendon as well, but they added the former New York Met, Zach Wheeler, to get their starting rotation on par with the rest of the Division. The Marlins, well are the Marlins and are just along for the ride, but they have some pieces that could be on some contenders come trade deadline. That's the NL East in a nutshell and its going to be a hell of a battle for the crown. Enjoy!

Welcome back to another episode of Passion for the Pastime. The injury bug has hit again in spring training, and I say again because it hit the Yankees hard AGAIN this season, and the season hasn't even technically started. Luis Severino, after missing much of 2019 due to injury will now miss all of 2020 as he needs Tommy John Surgery. We will look at the possible options moving forward for the Yankees in filling the void that Severino's injury will have in the starting rotation, whether in house or via trade. The injuries don't stop at Sevy for the Bronx Bombers, as another regular on the IL last season, Giancarlo Stanton's status for Opening Day is now in jeopardy due to a right calf strain. Who is screwing the Yankees? for 100, Alex. But Stanton isn't the only person in this weeks injury update, as multiple teams are taking precaution at this stage of Spring. All of that and more. Enjoy!

Welcome back to another episode of Passion for the Pastime, and man oh man do I have some things to get off my chest. And not only my chest, the players chest as well as everyone is sounding off on the Astros sign stealing scandal. Trout, Judge and LeBron have all chimed in as well as others, so no one is hiding their feelings on it. Repercussions of the scandal could have Astros players under fire, and the over/under suggests that everyone has a reason to panic. But Manfred has stated that no player shall be hit intentionally or else serious consequences may arise. I feel players may call his bluff, in seeing how he dealt with the Astros, and how he feels about a "hunk of junk" world series trophy. Finally we have the drama of Aubrey Huff, being uninvited to the Giants 2010 reunion, and I get something off my chest about all of this and more. Enjoy!

Welcome back for another episode of Passion for the Pastime: A Baseball Podcast. On this weeks episode we will be discussing the newly proposed 14 team playoff format proposed for 2022. But we have changes for this season in 2020 as well, and I will discuss those as well, as they look to have a higher impact on the game than sign stealing, according to Jim Crane. The Astros have arrived to Spring Training and silence of sign stealing has been broken, sort of, and apologies have been issued, sort of. Bellinger had some thoughts to get off of his chest, and Carlos Correa had a response as the saga of sign stealing continues. All of that and more. Enjoy!