No Greinke for Australia?

After leaving his first spring training start after 4 pitches on Thursday, Zack Greinke may not be ready for the Dodgers season opening series in Australia, from March 20-21. On Thursday, Greinke retired the first batter he faced against the D-Backs, but after the first pitch to the next batter, Greinke was pulled from the game due to a strained right calf muscle. According to mlb.com, the injury puts him behind schedule for the flight to Australia on March 16.

Pepper News & Notes

Tweet of the day:

-Pepper will be giving you a weekend you won't want to miss! Tommorow watch a live Pepper Show from Port St. Lucie (Mets) camp! 

-Download At Bat 14! The best MLB app! Availlible on the App Store and Google Play!

Get Ready for the Pepper Show On The Road!

Spring Training Plus- 2/28/14

More MLB games were played today, here are some highlights:

- (Mets) Ike Davis hit a 2 run homer in the spring opener, Davis is competing with Lucas Duda for 1B.

- The Blue Jays beat the Pirates in Dunedin today 7-4,

-As of today, all 30 MLB Teams have played games.

- Ryan Casteel hit a 2 run Homerun for the Rockies this afternoon. 

Prime Second Baseman

Some people have asked me if I simply copy the Shredder's list from MLBN. The answer is no. Today, 2 of our Prime Second baseman weren't on the Shredder's list. Lets start Pepper's most controversial Prime list.

5. Brandon Phillips- Cincinnati Reds
Phillips is one of Baseball's best defensive players.  Phillips hit more than 100 RBI's last year. This gave him a spot on Pepper's prime list! Phillips is the second best player on the Reds, and has a lot of potential.






4. Daniel Murphy- New York Mets
Congrats to Murphy for sloting at #4 this year.I had a chance to speak to Murphy last year at Spring Training, and he told me " I love playing Baseball in New York".  Murphy had career highs in most categories, and was 2nd in the league for doubles. Murphy enters 2014 without competition or injury, and look to improve this year.


3. Ben Zobrist -Tampa Bay Rays
Zobrist deserved to be on this list, while it was harder to figure out which position to fit him into! Zobrist has hit over 100 homeruns in his career and is flawless with his glove. Zobrist is the type of player that every team wants. He is more than your average utility Player, he is an Awesome, 1B-2B-SS-3B-LF-CF-RF player.






2. Dustin Pedroia -Boston Red Sox
The worst part of these lists is that once I reveal #2, there is no secret for #1. Second Base is no exception. While he only hit 9 homeuns last year, "Laser Show" has a Batting Average above 300. That always makes any Baseball fan think of the player as an elite ballplayer. Not to mention the Sox went all the way last year!





**1.** Robinson Cano- Seattle M's
This one was no shocker. Cano is a "Stud" as my blog partner Borja likes to say. Cano got a humongous deal over the offseason to play ball with Seattle, and its only so happens he turns out on top of our Prime list!

Face of MLB Finals!

Hey everyone! Tommorow, the #FaceOfMLB will be crowned! The 2 players left are #DavidWright for the Mets and #EricSogard for the A's. After a month long search ( and my Vote Wright campaign) it will finally end tomorrow. Don't forget to #VoteWright for #FaceofMLB tonight!!!!!

Trout Signs Record Deal

Mike Trout and the Angels have agreed to a 1 year deal worth $1 million. It may seem hard to believe that a deal for $1 million is a record, but for a player who has yet to reach arbitration, it is the most expensive ever. Trout, who earned only $510,000 in 2013, has done more than enough to earn this big of a raise. He is only 22 years old, but already has arguably become the best player in the game today. He has made the all-star game and finished 2nd in AL MVP voting in each of his first 2 seasons, and won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2012. In 2013, Trout hit .323 with 27 homers and 97 rbi's, which were similar to his rookie season stats of .326/30/83. Trout also possesses amazing speed, stealing 49 and 33 bases in the past 2 seasons, and also has spectacular defense in center field.

Spring Training Plus- 2-26-14

Today was the first day of Spring Training for most teams. The Blue Jays won a 7 inning shortened game versus the Phillies  4-3 today. Jose Bautista hit a bomb to left field during the game. The Pirates beet the Yanks today, which means the Yankees are  now 1-1 on the spring. The A's crushed their rival Giants 10-5 as well. We saw some early examples of the new catching rule in today's Indians VS Reds game. You can find out more about spring training and find out when your favorite team plays here : (link) 

Pepper Archives: 2001 WS Game 7

Spring Training wrap up

Today the first exhibition games of the year were held as the New York Yankees played the Florida State Seminoles and the Detriot Tigers faced of against the Florida Southern Mocs. Both MLB teams got the win today, the Yankees winning 8-3. The yanks only had two regular starters on their line up but still managed the W over the college team. The Tigers on the other hand played most of their stars the first 3 innings and routed the Mocs 12-0. Tomorrow many more games get under way as opening day nears

Prime Catchers

This list is less dramatic, I promise. As a matter of fact, this is my favorite list so far, though it will be surpassed by Second Baseman on Thursday, (my favorite position). Well here we go!

5. Johnathan Lucroy- Milwaukee Brewers

If I can remember correctly, Lucroy is the first Brewer to make the list. (Maybe a trend?) Lucroy, who might be considered as the face of the BrewCrew, batted 280 with over 15 homers and 80 RBI's. Lucroy has a 31% caught stealing percentage. Which is good, for a catcher. Lucroy could have a breakout season this year.



4. Jason Castro- Houston Astros
The first, and probably only Astros player on the list is Jason Castro. The 23 year old catcher, has a reasonably good Slugging percentage at 478. His caught stealing percentage was also in  the low 32%. Castro and Lucroy and maybe even Miguel Montero (who didnt make the list). Castro was also playing some DH games last year.






3. Sal Perez- Kansas City Royals

Perez had somewhat of an underrated all star year. Perez batted just under 300, and serves great behind the plate. Perez had a 42% caught stealing percentage. Perez hit a lot of doubles last year, with 25. He works good with the Kansas City pitching staff, which is important.





2. Buster Posey- San Francisco Giants 

Posey had a good year last year. Who dosent want two WS rings in 4 years? Posey had virtually equal stats that Salvador Perez did, however his presence gives him the edge. Hopefully Posey bounces back, as his batting average droped nearly 30 batting average points, which is big. The Giants as a team are going to rebound if they want to make the playoffs. Obviously, in A&TT park, its hard to hit homeruns, Posey hit 34 doubles last year, yet players like Pablo Sandoval need to shoeten their swing. Back to topic, Posey barely got to #2, hopefully he can improve this year.


1.***Yadier Molina*** - St.Louis Cardinals
Congrats to Yadier Molina for being baseball's prime catcher. Molina's 319 batting average is plain awesome. Especially from an aging catcher. Molina is a catcher that you dont run on. Its common knowledge, his pop has slowly deteriorated, but he will have a place on top of the list for a couple more years.



Next up is Second Baseman, which airs on Thursday.

Pepper Preseason Podcast

Also don't forget to check in tomorrow for "Prime Catchers" 

Spring Training Plus- 2/24/14

- Today is the last day of the offseason. It's back! Only 24 Hours away. 

- Johan Santana is gaining interest from 3 AL Teams. 

- A announcemnt on Home Plate collisions could come as early as today.

- An announcement on Stephen Drew is imminent, still very few teams interested. The Mets and Red Sox have become less interested, considering he is asking for 14 million. 

-Masahiro Tanaka expects to be the Yankees opening day starter.

-Check in later for a #PPP

Pepper 30: New York Mets (Mets Flash)

The last week, I've been giving my Mets Flash readers a Mets roster projection. I have converted that into a Pepper30, the last Pepper 30 for the NY Mets. Also, im sorry if I didn't get to your team. I did around 20 Pepper30's this year, and will try to do all 30 next year.

Well here it is!:
I believe the Mets Starting Rotation will look a little bit like this:
1. Jon Niese
2. Zack Wheeler
3.Dillon Gee
4. Bartolo Colon
5. John Lannan or Daisuke Matsusaka
Report= B+
The Rotation is good, yet I think people are overvaluing Colon. He is a number #4 pitcher at best, and has very little stamina. I believe Lannan wins the battle for the Fifth Starter, as I truly dont like Dice-K's stuff.
Bullpen:
Carlos Torres
Scott Rice
Kyle Farnsworth
Jose Valverde
Vic Black
Bobby Parnell
(The loser of the #5)
Report: A-
I think the bullpen is a strength of this years Mets Club, Valverde was a steal, because if he can find his pitch, he can be dominant.
Catchers:
Anthony Recker
Travis D'arnaud
report : B
D'Arnaud's offense was mediocre last year, but if he can give us 15 HR's I will be satisfied.
Well that's all for today, I'll give you Part 2 later this week.
Here's two notes:
Come MLB Season, expect two posts daily, a Pre and Post review. Until then posts will be on a once a week basis.

Infielders:

1B Lucas Duda

2B Daniel Murphy 

SS Wilmer Flores

3B David Wright

Review: A

This Infield is really good. Though we could potentially have a different 1B and SS, I believe that this is the best alignment. It's time for the Mets to move on from Ike. I'm sick of seeing Davis struggle in Spring. Enough is enough eventually. Also Tejada seriously needs to hit in Spring Training. Tejada's average needs to be above 250, and that's mediocre at best! 

Outfielders:

LF Eric Young Jr

CF Chris Young

RF Curtis Granderson

Review: B+

The additions of Young and Granderson will certainly help the Mets cause. I hope Lagares makes the team as a back up if he doesn't start. I like him on the Mets.

Bench:

IF-Josh Satin

C- Anthony Recker ( last post)

OF- Juan Lagares

OF- Matt DenDekker

IF- Omar Q.

Review- C+

I will be going to Spring Training next weekend, 2 of the 3 will be Mets games, will post pictures! 

Dont forget to check out Mets Flash here (LINK)

Gardner gets extension; Trout close to an extension

The Yankees recently extended Borja's favorite player Brett Gardner to a 4 Year $52 Million Dollar deal. I believe this is a little bit of a bad move for the Yankees, a team that is currently overflowing with outfielders. I believe Gardner won't get a starting role with the Yankees. Also, the Angels are hoping to lock Mike Trout, who could easily be considered as the best player in Baseball. Trout and Anaheim are looking at about 150 Million for 6 years. Don't forget to tune into another Pepper Preseason Podcast.

Pepper Show Goes on the Road! This Saturday and next Monday!

Andrew Bailey signs with Yanks

2-time all-star Andrew Bailey has signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees. The deal is worth $2.5 million, but if Bailey can make the major league team, there will be an option for a second year and incentives. Bailey was the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year with Oakland and was one of the best closers in baseball, saving 26 games and putting up a dominating 1.84 ERA in 83.1 innings. He had solid seasons in 2010 and 2011, but was often injured. In 2012 and 2013 with Boston, Bailey struggled on the mound and with injuries. If Bailey can stay healthy and pitch like he did in Oakland, he could play a big part in the Yankee's bullpen.

Pepper Show! Thanks FANS 10,000 Views!

Thanks fans for making Pepper as great as it is. Blogging about baseball has truly been an unforgettable experience! Thanks to all 10,000+ of you, that make this blog so incredibly awesome.

To thank you I want to premiere to you a brand new Pepper Show, from the Bench!

Pepper's giving you all of Spring Training!

Starting Saturday March 1st , Pepper will be live from Spring Training! We will be giving you inside access from multiple camps!

Ny Mets (March 1-2) 

Miami Marlins (March 1,3) 

St Louis Cardinals ( March 2) 

Houston Astros (March 3)

Get ready for a Pepper Show LIVE FromSpring  Training. And, don't forget to tune into a "regular" Pepper Show airing tomorrow!

Orioles catch Cruz!

The Baltimore Orioles, a team that recently signed Ubaldo Jimenez to a 4 Year Deal, just signed Star Nelson Cruz. Cruz will earn 8 Million for 1 year. Not a mega sign, but still large. This year the Orioles are bringing a lot of veterans to camp. The Orioles are head contenders for the AL East. That leaves Stephen Drew and Ervin Santana, two amazing players, still in the FA Pool. 

Movie Review: 42 (2012)

The movie "42" starring Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford. Chadwick plays Jackie Robinson, the second African American player in Major League Baseball. Robinson starts the movie playing with the Kansas City Monarchs. Robinson gets visited by a Brooklyn Dodgers scout, informing him that he has been invited to play for the Dodgers. The next thirty minutes focuses on the 1946 Baseball season in which he plays for the Dodgers minor league affiliate in Montréal. The following Spring Training turns out controversial when the Dodgers sign a petition stating they don't want to play with Robinson. As the 1947 season approaches, he gets called by Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), telling him that he has a contact for Jackie to sign. During that year, Jackie's Dodger teammates start to embrace the fact that Jackie is a teammate. Especially Pee Wee Reese (Lucas Black), who tells Robinson in Cincinnati (Reese's hometown), that he is proud to be on the same team with Robinson despite family members calling Reese a disgrace for playing with him. Out of all the racist mini-plots in the movie, the most symbolic one was when Phillies manager Ben Chapman (Alan Tudyk) constantly called Robinson a "nigger" while at bat. His Dodger teammates eventually stick up for Robinson. The movie fashionably ends with Robinson hitting a home run to clinch a NL Pennant for the Dodgers. I give the movie 4.5 out of 5 stars. I praise Harrison Ford's performance as Branch Rickey, he did a phenomenal job. 

Spring Training +

-The Seattle Mariners, are looking to trade Nick Franklin, their current shortstop. Teams like the Mets and the Red Sox are in the market. The same teams in te market for Stephen Drew.

- Stephen Drew is asking for 14 Million per year, for 3 Years. 

- Wil Myers is using a GoPro Camera Hat around Spring training. 

- Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols of the Angels, state that they are looking for improved results this year.

- In case you missed it: A. Simmons of the Braves got a 7 Year extension.

- The next Pepper Show comes at you tommorow, and some cool programming notes will hit the blog tonight.

Prime First Basemen (Cabrera vs. Davis)

This is one of the harder lists of this series. There are so many good first basemen in the game today, and there are some really good ones who I had to leave of the list. Players who just missed the cut include Adrian Gonzalez, Allen Craig, and Prince Fielder.

5. Freddie Freeman - Atlanta Braves

Freeman an RBI machine, and was Atlanta's best hitter last season. They wouldn't have made it to the postseason without him. Freeman is coming of the best season of his career in which he hit .319, drove in 109, and hit 23 homers. 

4. Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds

Votto is an on-base machine with insane walk totals (135 last season), but has taken a lot of criticism for not swinging enough with runners in scoring position, when his team needs an rbi hit and not just a walk, which resulted in his relatively low RBI total of 73. Still, he remains to be one of the best first basemen in baseball due to his good defense at 1B and consistency at the plate. Last season, Votto hit .305 with 24 homers. 

3. Paul Goldschmidt - Arizona Diamondbacks

Goldschmidt matured into one of the best hitters in baseball last season, finishing second in the NL MVP voting and nearly leading his team to the postseason. Last season, he lead the NL in home runs with 36, and RBI's with an amazing 125. He had a very good walk total of 99 and a solid average of .302. Goldschmidt is also solid defensively, as he won a gold glove at first base last season.

2. Chris Davis - Baltimore Orioles

Davis had a huge breakout season in 2013, leading all of baseball with a remarkable 53 homers and 138 runs batted in.  He is also one of the few power hitters who are able to hit for average, as he hit .286 last season. The only things keeping Davis from being #1 on this list are Miguel Cabrera, a very high strikeout total of 199, and bad defense. 

1. Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers

Since Cabrera is moving back to first base for the 2014 season, that made the decision of who's #1 on this list a lot easier. Cabrera won the AL triple crown and MVP in 2012, and followed that up with another amazing MVP season in 2013. The only thing that kept Cabrera from being the first player to win back-to-back triple crowns was injuries, as his hip, groin, and abdomen bothered him for the last month of the season. But Cabrera is reportedly completely healthy for spring training. In 2013, Cabrera hit .348 which lead the league, and was second to Davis in homers with 44 and RBI's with 137. And at  30 years old, in the middle of his prime, Cabrera has hit 365 homers so far in his career.