4-for-4 with two home runs, Steven Souza of the Rays is the MVP of Yesterday.
Standings:
Francisco Liriano: 1
Clayton Kershaw: 1
Noah Syndergaard: 1
Steven Souza: 1
4-for-4 with two home runs, Steven Souza of the Rays is the MVP of Yesterday.
Standings:
Francisco Liriano: 1
Clayton Kershaw: 1
Noah Syndergaard: 1
Steven Souza: 1
Noah Syndergaard, the Mighty Thor, struck out nine Royals and allowed just three hits in seven shutout innings for the Mets yesterday, also getting him Yesterday’s MVP.
Standings:
Francisco Liriano: 1
Clayton Kershaw: 1
Noah Syndergaard: 1
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post (of varying amounts of seriousness) about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to (and aftermath of) the beginning of the 2016 season. Earlier installments can be found here. This is the Padres entry.
I know nothing about the Padres. Okay, not nothing, but they are probably one of my biggest weak-spots. I… basically know nothing about them. Oh, I know Matt Kemp is still pretty good, and both Tyson Ross and James Shields are not bad pitchers, despite the beating the Dodgers gave Ross on Monday. Oh, and Will Myers is still a guy!
But…. yeah, I really don’t know much about them. And I won’t insult you by claiming otherwise.
So instead, let’s talk about how awesome the logo is:

I mean, look at that. It combines the best portions of previous Padres graphical identities into a nice combo.
And that’s cool.
Uh oh, Kershaw has learned how to throw a change-up. This is very bad for opposing hitters but very good for him and his odds at getting the MVP of Yesterday, like he did… yesterday, when he allowed only one hit and struck out nine as the Dodgers ran amuck on the Padres.
Standings:
Francisco Liriano: 1
Clayton Kershaw: 1
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post (of varying amounts of seriousness) about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to the beginning of the 2016 season. Earlier installments can be found here. This is the Tigers’ entry.
Some of the best T-shirts for baseball teams aren’t from the teams themselves, but rather from fans and artists! Here are some of the best unofficial Detroit Tiger shirts!
For example, here’s a shirt that combined the Tigers with the Lions, creating a…. Liger, I guess. Tigon?
Or, hey, why not do ALL FOUR Detroit teams in one t-shirt?
Want a pixel-art shirt of the Tigers mascot? Because that totally exists:
I may have featured this in a previous round-up of unofficial shirts, but it’s a good one… CRUSH-IT CABRERA:
Bane and the Detroit Tigers logo go together way better than you would think:
Here’s a cool-looking Justin Verlander shirt:
Or, you can go classic and pay tribute to baseball’s greatest battery:
You can also pay tribute to the late, great, Ernie Harwell:
Or, finally, you could salute the Tigers teams of the 1980s with this Kirk Gibson minor league shirsey:
Pretty cool, huh?
It’s time once again for MVP of Yesterday! The first MVP of Yesterday of 2016 is Francisco Liriano, who struck out 10 and gave up just three hits in six innings of work (although he did walk five), while also batting in a run!
Standings:
Francisco Liriano: 1
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post (of varying amounts of seriousness) about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to the beginning of the 2016 season. Earlier installments can be found here. This is the Cardinals’ entry.
In 2010, the St. Louis Cardinals went 86-76, and missed the playoffs.
They have made it every year since then. They are now the playoff constant that the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees once were. And yet, in the tough NL Central, it’s entirely possible that this season may see them finally miss the postseason for the first time since that 2010 team.
It’s not that the Cardinals will be bad, so much as that they are in the NL Central, with the Cubs and the Pirates. They also are, slowly, getting older. Matt Holliday is 36. Adam Wainwright is 34. Yadier Molina is 33 and those catching legs can’t be in the best shape. The Cubs and Pirates are younger, the Brewers are on their way up (although it’s doubtful they will be a threat this season). The window maybe, just maybe, could be closing.
On the other hand, these are the Cardinals. They excel at beating expectations. The “Devil Magic” may never stop.
Or will it?
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post (of varying amounts of seriousness) about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to the beginning of the 2016 season (and in some cases the aftermath). Earlier installments can be found here. Now, the Indians.
The Cleveland Indians, have, wisely, decided to demote Chief Wahoo. It’d be even better if they banished him entirely, or at least relegated him only to throwback uniform days, but it’s a start. Instead, they’ll be going with the block-C logo.
But… why not actually pay tribute to the person who Cleveland has claimed was the inspiration of the name? Louis Sockalexis. Oh, whether or not Cleveland is actually called the Indians because of Sockalexis is… complicated, the fact remains, as the great Joe Posnanski said in that article:
“I don’t believe the Indians were named to honor Louis Sockalexis, not exactly. But I do believe the Indians name could honor him. That choice is ours.”
So… why not honor him? Change the logo to show him or acknowledge him. Perhaps the logo can BE Louis Sockalexis. oh, sure, he wasn’t the most handsome guy, but to honor him would be a much better logo than the hyper-racist Chief Wahoo.
So do it, Cleveland. Make Louis Sockalexis the icon and logo of your team.
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post (of varying amounts of seriousness) about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to (and in some cases the aftermath of) the beginning of the 2016 season. Earlier installments can be found here. This is the Nationals entry.
Last season, the Nationals were the trendy pick to win the World Series. This year, they are not.
Which probably means they’ll go and win the NL because baseball history is full of teams going on to win after everyone else has moved on to a new pick. The best Cardinals team of this century (2004) didn’t win the World Series, but two years later (2006) a 83-76 team won it, for example. Plenty of people probably picked the Cardinals in 2004. I doubt as many picked them in 2006, at least once the playoffs started and they only had a 83-win season.
So… why not the the Nationals? They still have Bryce Harper, they still have Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. Jonathan Papelbon is…well…. Jonathan Papelbon, for better and for worse. Maybe Daniel Murphy will be even half as good as he was in the postseason last year. Are they as good on paper as some previous Nationals teams? No. But, well, these games aren’t played on paper.
So… why not the Nationals?
In 30 Teams, 30 Posts, I write a post (of varying amounts of seriousness) about every MLB team in some way in the lead-up to (and in some cases the aftermath of) the beginning of the 2016 season. Earlier installments can be found here. This is the Brewers entry.
Let’s look at the Milwaukee Brewers’ “Beer Barrel Man” logo of the 1970s and their time in the minor leagues:

What does that look like to you?
To me, it looks like a robot. You are never going to convince me otherwise, so don’t even try.
(For more substantial Brewers talk, listen to my conversation with Travis Sarandos of Brew Crew Ball in the most recent Continuucast.)