Sully Baseball

Just a quick New Year's Message from your pal Sully at the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado in Pasadena.

Rob Manfred says he will not quit regarding the 2020 season. You know what? Maybe he should. Quitting is not always a bad thing!

I am back to vent about the insanity about baseball in the age of COVID. The Marlins can't play for a few days and players are taking votes about where to travel. This is insane!!!

Sure it is fun to have ballgames on. But the outbreak on the Marlins squad show that it is not smart.

I am using the old Sully Baseball feed to vent some thoughts. I am still hosting the podcast at Locked on MLB. But I felt like some of my more negative thoughts on starting the game should exist in a sponsor free zone. I will come back from time to time on this feed to vent honestly and express how I feel that baseball opening in a pandemic is a new level of irresponsibility.

This is a sneak preview of the brand new movies by minute podcast Bull Durham Minute. I am the host and will be breaking down the 1988 classic Bull Durham one minute at a time. This podcast will be appearing on its own feed that you can now subscribe to on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. For minute 4, Dan Epstein, the author of Stars and Strikes and Big Hair and Plastic Grass joins the show to talk baseball, rock and roll, baseball movies and North Carolina. Join the Bull Durham Minute Dugout on Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/928386427538867/ Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/BullDurhamMin

This is a sneak preview of the brand new movies by minute podcast Bull Durham Minute. I am the host and will be breaking down the 1988 classic Bull Durham one minute at a time. This podcast will be appearing on its own feed that you can subscribe to starting in January, 2020. For Minute 3, Tierney Steele (@OneSteeleSister )returns to talk about how fabulous Susan Sarandon is putting on make up, the incredible year of comedy that was 1988 and Iain Sclater's birthday party in 1980. Join the Bull Durham Minute Dugout on Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/928386427538867/ Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/BullDurhamMin

This is a sneak preview of the brand new movies by minute podcast Bull Durham Minute. I am the host and will be breaking down the 1988 classic Bull Durham one minute at a time. This podcast will be appearing on its own feed that you can subscribe to starting in January, 2020. For Minute 2, Tierney Steele (@OneSteeleSister ) joins the show and reveals that she has never seen Bull Durham. That does not matter. She watched the first 3 minutes without context and she already loves Susan Sarandon, even if she is not crazy about her accent nor her interior decoration. Join the Bull Durham Minute Dugout on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/928386427538867/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/BullDurhamMin

This is a sneak preview of the brand new movies by minute podcast Bull Durham Minute. I am the host and will be breaking down the 1988 classic Bull Durham one minute at a time. This podcast will be appearing on its own feed that you can subscribe to starting in January, 2020. In this minute I go over the origin of the podcast and salute Orion Pictures

Big news for fans of the Sully Baseball Podcast. I will be hosting a new show for the Locked On Podcasting Network called LOCKED ON MLB. The new show will launch on Monday March 25th. The show will cover baseball like we did in this podcast. I will talk about the state of the game, pennant races, uniforms, alternate timelines, stadium food and anything else that pops in my head. Essentially it will be a way to continue to travel down the River Sully in this upcoming exciting season. Make sure to subscribe on whatever platform you listen to podcasts and let's have a fun 2019 season.

Hello fans of Sully Baseball! I am back after an extended break in time to do that always fruitless exercise of making predictions for the season. I make my post season and individual award picks and will forever doom a franchise because I am ALWAYS wrong.

Happy New Year. I recorded my first podcast of 2019 looking over the remains of Candlestick Park and contemplating timelessness.

The World Series is over and now we go off to face life without the respite of baseball for a while. I had to take a few weeks off as life caught up with me and I will continue to go on hiatus. But I wanted to say hello, especially after my Red Sox won it all.

Before the Oakland/New York Wild Card Game, I gave my thoughts and concerns. Afterwards, I made sure the blame did NOT go on "Bullpenning" but on the A's inability to get the big hit. Plus I appreciated what the A's have achieved, as empty as it may feel.

As Vin Scully would say, not a bad opening act for the post season. Tony Wolters becomes the hero and demonstrates why baseball is so wonderful in creating unlikely immortals. Meanwhile Cub fans will take comfort that hurtful losses like this no longer have the baggage of the Cursed Days of the team.

FINALLY we know what the National League Post Season picture looks like. And man oh man will either the Rockies or the Cubs regret not winning just one more game in the regular season. I give the final Who Owns Baseball Tally and make my post season predictions.

The potential for full chaos at the end of the season was there in the National League. I checked in bit by bit throughout the day as the NL is STILL undecided after 162 games!

One thing is certain about the National League post season chase: Trying to predict it is an act of futility. I compared it to David Lynch's surreal movie Mulholland Drive. Trust me, the comparison makes sense.

Do you want an exciting final week of the season? Then you better start rooting for the Rockies to make things interesting. That and Bryce Harper's inevitable free agent departure from the Nationals might have him wind up in Philadelphia.

The Dodgers were left for dead less than a month ago. But after taking 5 of 6 from the Rockies, they have a clear path to get back to the NLCS. Meanwhile, Colorado might regret letting a once in a generation opportunity slip away.

The Yankees should be very worried if their bats remain this dead into October. Meanwhile, say what you want about the Rays new "Opener System." But it works and since late May, they are one of the best teams in baseball.

While standing on the Stanford campus, and avoiding a creepy guy, I look at the potential 100 win defending World Champion Astros as an unlikely post season underdog. Plus Rickey Henderson, with the benefit of time, has suddenly become old school and the type of player kids today should emulate.

The Indians will be the worst AL Playoff team... so naturally they are the first team to clinch a division. The concept of geographical divisions made sense once but are obsolete now. And my concept of playoff seeding would provide a ton of drama in the AL this year.

Are the Diamondbacks a dominant team powering their way into the post season? Or are they a maddeningly inconsistent team who find new ways to lose critical games? They have been both this year and that could cost them a chance at a winnable pennant.

Doing a Sunday Request from friend of the podcast CU8SFAN (aka Cubs Fan with an 8.) He wants to know which team should be the next great championship challenge for Theo Epstein after delivering to Red Sox and Cubs fans. He makes some suggestions. I have a thought of my own.

While at a rest stop traveling up the 5, I realized that neither the Mets nor the Los Angeles Dodgers have a franchise defining offensive superstar. I wondered if Mike Piazza had stayed with LA if he could have been that figure for the Dodgers. And would David Wright have been that player if he remained healthy?

Driving along along the 5 freeway, I began to think about ways to put together a pitching staff that doesn't require wearing a bullpen down but still tries to keep starters from facing an order more than twice. I have an idea.

When the World Series is clinched, a whole team will celebrate knowing they are champions. There are two categories of champions: Those who have never won one before and those who have. And in those categories, there are several subsets. Today, I will break those down.

This is my favorite part of the year as a baseball fan. It is like Christmas morning every day. Which is one reason it is so frustrating that the Red Sox have decided to coddle domestic abuser Steven Wright and make this month a whole lot less fun.

It is September and a bounce here or a bounce there will be the difference between playing in October or not. The Brewers get that and are fortifying their team in any way they can. Meanwhile Jim Kaat wrote a surreal tweet. Not only does it make Kaat look like a factually incorrect bitter old man, but it also illustrates a problem of how MLB markets and presents itself.

The Red Sox have seen their lead shrink in the past week from obscene to merely comfortable. Yet plenty of people without perspective want to panic. Let me show why any panic is unwarranted.

There is a realistic scenario for a series of one game, winner take all playoff games this October featuring teams that have a legitimate shot to win the NL Pennant. That is a cool thing. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have a shot to have their best regular season ever, which would be great even if they don't win the World Series.

A pair of 1-0 games used an absurd number of pitchers last night. Maybe we can let relievers pitch a little longer. Plus the Rockies have NEVER won the NL West. I hope they do this year.

The A's and Astros are about to play a wild and important series that could have huge ramifications on the American League Wild Card. When the Yankees play the runner up of the AL West for the Wild Card Game, they need to reverse engineer their pitching staff to win. Two recent additions could be the key. Giving advice to the enemy in this episode of Sully Baseball.

We know the win loss record is problematic as a metric for pitchers. But so are all the confusing new stats. Why not just use the Average Start as a barometer for the Cy Young vote and base the award on how the pitcher actually performed?

Sitting outside of Sunken Diamond on the Stanford Campus, I gloat about the Red Sox sweep of the Yankees and point out that some of the problems in the Bronx won't go away soon. Meanwhile, I clear out a few unpleasant topics that I have been avoiding addressing.

WFAN writer and friend of the podcast, Jason Keidel, joined the podcast to talk about the renewed rivalry just as the Red Sox and Yankees began playing.

While standing outside in San Francisco, I share my initial thoughts of the trade deadline. The Pirates may have helped themselves the most, bleeding into 2019. The Nationals probably should have seen what Harper could have fetched. But the Mets botched the entire day and continue to doom their franchise.

Poppi Kramer, comedian and friend and guest of the podcast, died this week. Her death affected me as I have strong memories of our mutual love for the game. And losing her made me examine the illusion of timelessness in baseball and how we recoil when we see that change and finality are possible in our game.

The Phillies and Dodgers saw a head to head match up of first place teams end with an outfielder pitching in extra innings. That shouldn't happen. There should be ties in baseball. Meanwhile the Nationals season is heading for disaster while the Pirates and A's are somehow contenders.

I have some thoughts on how to tweak the All Star Game. Plus the Orioles did something right, getting quantity for Manny Machado. One of the players Baltimore got has one of the best baseball names I have heard in years: Zach Pop.

I am back podcasting after taking a few weeks to deal with an unpleasantness called "REALITY." I talk about the Cardinals managerial situation, Jose Oquendo's resume, the charging A's and the making of the In Memoriam video.

A proposal floated around baseball that would limit a manager to using four pitchers for a 9 inning game. At first I felt like it was a foolish suggestion. But after some reflection, I think it has some merit.

The Mets need to make trades before their assets get hurt. The Angels need to make a splash to make up for the loss of Ohtani and to not waste yet another brilliant Mike Trout season. They need to talk together and make it work. Recorded at Robinson Stadium at Pasadena City College.

We are in mid June. Despite some of the wildly unpredictable records all around baseball, my preseason pennant picks of the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros still look pretty good.

The Capitals winning the Stanley Cup tonight has removed regional angst for Washington fans, including Nats fans. But the Nationals still have their specific battles to win. Plus the Mets need to make a big move now to kickstart the rebuild process.

My friend Laura, the host of Resting Pitch Face Podcast, wishes that I would not bring up the Nationals post season failures when I talk about them. I have to. It is part of their identity. And the compounding of anguish that the Nationals and their fans feel is real. The narrative can only break with victory. And there is precedent to show that to be true.

Roughly 1/3 of the season is in the books. Some contenders that we are expecting are doing well. Some bad teams we are expecting to stink are doing just that. But the Brewers have the best record in the NL and the biggest lead. Could this be a defining year for the franchise.

The Orioles blew a big chance to kick start a rebuilding process by holding onto Zach Britton for too long. The Dodgers need to learn from that mistake if their season does not turn around soon.

Shockingly, Hanley Ramirez was designated for assignment yesterday. But when you take two steps back, not only does it make sense for the Red Sox but it also reflects on why last year's free agency market unfolded the way it did.

The Diamondbacks got off to an amazing start and then went into a free fall. Now they are mediocre and need to do something to rise above it.