MLB GM Meetings in Phoenix, Arizona

The MLB GM meetings began on Monday and will be finishing up on Wednesday.  This is usually a time where not much action occurs but a lot of groundwork laying does happen.  This year it does seem to be more active than in the past though.  What have we learned so far, let me take you through that. 

The Yankees signed Chris Young to a one year 2.5 million dollar deal with incentives.  That actually occured before the meetings.  GM Brian Cashman has said he is set in the outfield with him being the fourth outfielder.  They are looking at several options at SS and the two latest rumored names are Elvis Andrus from the Texas Rangers and Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies.  They would have to be acquired in a trade.  There is risk with both, Andrus is young which is good for the Yankees but he has an 8 year 120 million dollar contract ready to kick in next year.  Rollins is older and declining although he is still capable of putting up decent numbers.  I am kind of leaning towards resigning Stephen Drew on this one.  Cashman has said that he will be talking to him and his agent and will see what happens there.  Troy Tulowitzki is a sexy name but he is always hurt, costs a lot of money and will cost a lot of prospects. 

The Mets made the first big splash of the offseason by signing Michael Cuddyer to a two year/ 21 million dollar deal.  He will be their RF with Curtis Granderson moving over to left field.  I think this was a good move for them, they will forfeit the number 15 pick in the draft.  I say who cares though, they are close to contending and they need a veteran bat in their lineup.  If they aren't done and he isn't the only signing then it is a really good move. 

The Red Sox are said to be all in on Pablo Sandoval.  I find it hard to believe he will leave San Francisco but we shall see.  There were some minor moves such as Zoilo Almonte signing a major league deal with the Atlanta Braves and Chien Ming Wang signing with the Braves also but to a minor league contract and an invite to spring training. 

There are talks that the Seattle Mariners want to sign a big bat so they will push also for Sandoval or maybe Victor Martinez.  They feel they are close to getting over the top and after spending a lot on Cano last year they aren't done yet. 

My take on the Yankees and Mets needing shortstops is they will find them through trades most likely.  I think the Mets definitely will and I think the Yankees will if Stephen Drew and them can't come to an agreement.  I do think the most likely is for that to happen as they really seem to want to protect their best prospects and start using them in the majors very soon. 

The winter meetings will begin in a little under a month and that is where the hot stove will really heat up and a lot of movement will happen.  Until then most of this is just speculation and the start to a busy off-season.   

The New York Giants lose their fourth straight game as they are trounced in Seattle

The New York Giants were defeated by the Seattle Seahawks by the score of 38-17 on Sunday evening.  The game took place in Seattle, Washington.  The New York Giants were competitive for most of the game on Sunday evening.  The final score though wouldn't indicate that as they lost in Seattle by the score of 38-17.  Eli Manning was good and Odell Beckham Jr. looks to be the real deal.  The Giants can't run the ball at all though and their defense is really bad as they gave up over 300 yards rushing. 

Eli Manning was 29-44 for 283 yards and one touchdown.  He also was intercepted once.  Andre Williams rushed the ball for 33 yards on 13 carries and Beckham had one carry for 11 yards.  Beckham led the receivers with seven catches for 108 yards and Preston Parker also had seven catches for 79 yards. 

Russell Wilson was 10-17 for 172 yards and no touchdowns.  Marshawn Lynch had 140 yards rushing on 21 carries and Wilson had 107 yards rushing on 14 carries.  Kearse was the leading receiver with three catches for 70 yards. 

The Giants defense statistically is the worst they have ever had.  They came in to the game allowing around 27 points per game.  They have given up 5 300 rushing yard games which is pretty hard to do.  It was the most rushing yards that any team in the NFL has allowed in five years. 

The Giants are now 3-6 and on a four game losing streak.  They most certainly will finish under 500 for the second straight season and miss the playoffs for the third straight season.  They will now face the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys in back to back weeks at home.  It is looking more and more like the Giants will make major changes to their coaching staff after this season especially if they can't turn it around even a little bit. 

Madison Bumgarner leads the San Francisco Giants to their third title in five years

The San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.  The game took place at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri and the final score was 3-2.  Tim Hudson started for the Giants but the story was Madison Bumgarner who pitched five innings in relief on two days rest.  Jeremy Guthrie started for the Royals and pitched pretty well, their big guys in the bullpen also came in to the game early.  Pablo Sandoval led the Giants offense once again. 

Hudson pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up three hits and two runs.  He walked one and struck out one.  Jeremy Affeldt pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up a hit and Bumgarner pitched five innings giving up two hits and no runs with four strikeouts.  He earned his third win of the World Series and is 5-0 career in the World Series. 

Guthrie lost the game pitching 3 1/3 innings and giving up four hits and three runs.  He walked none and struck out three.  Kelvin Herrera pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up three hits and he struck out four, Wade Davis pitched two innings giving up a hit and struck out three and Greg Holland pitched an inning and he struck out two. 

Sandoval had three hits, Hunter Pence had two hits and Brandon Belt had two hits.  Michael Morse had  ahit and two RBI, Brandon Crawford had an RBI and Sandoval hit a double.  The Giants were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Blanco committed an error. 

Alcides Escobar had a hit, Nori Aoki drew a walk and Lorenzo Cain had a hit.  Billy Butler had a hit, Alex Gordon had two hits and an RBI and Omar Infante had a hit and an RBI.  Gordon hit a double and the Royals were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. 

In the second Morse hit a sacrifice fly to give the Giants a 1-0 lead and then Crawford hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.  In the bottom of the second Gordon hit an RBI double to make it a 2-1 game.  Infante hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at two.  Morse hit an RBI single in the fourth to make it 3-2 Giants and that would be the final score.  The San Francisco Giants won their third World Series in five years and the MVP was Bumgarner. 

The Kansas City Royals win game six to force a game seven

The Kansas City Royals defeated the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri and the final score was 10-0.  The series is even at three games each with game seven to be played on Wednesday night.  Jake Peavy started for the Giants and he wasn't good at all, Yordano Ventura started for the Royals and was very good.  Every player in the Royals starting lineup had a hit and six of them had two hits. 

Peavy pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up six hits and five runs with a walk and two strikeouts.  He lost his second game of the series.  Yusmeiro Petit pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs, Jean Machi pitched three innings giving up five hits and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts and Hunter Strickland pitched two innings giving up one hit and one run with a walk.  Ryan Vogelsong pitched an inning with a walk and a strikeout. 

Ventura picked up the win and pitched seven innings giving up three hits and no runs.  He walked five and struck out four.  Jason Frasor pitched an inning giving up two hits and no runs with a strikeout and Tim Collins pitched an inning giving up a hit and struck out two. 

Gregor Blanco drew a walk, Joe Panik had a hit and drew a walk and Pablo Sandoval had a hit and drew a walk.  Hunter Pence had a hit, Brandon Belt had a hit and Travis Ishikawa drew a walk.  Juan Perez had a hit, Brandon Crawford had a hit and drew a walk and Pence hit a double.  The Giants were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. 

Alcides Escobar had two hits and an RBI, Nori Aoki had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Lorenzo Cain had two hits, three RBI and drew two walks.  Eric Hosmer had two hits and two RBI, Billy Butler had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Alex Gordon had a hit.  Salvador Perez had two hits, Mike Moustakas had two hits and two RBI and Omar Infante had two hits.  Moustakas, Hosmer, Butler, Infante, Cain and Escobar each hit a double.  Moustakas hit a homerun and the Royals were 7-16 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. 

The Royals scored seven runs in the second inning.  Moustakas hit an RBI double, Aoki hit an RBI single, Cain hit a two run single and Hosmer hit a two run double.  The inning was capped off with a Butler RBI double.  In the third Cain hit an RBI double to make it 8-0 Royals.  Escobar hit an RBI double in the fifth to make it 9-0 and they capped off the scoring with a run in the seventh.  Moustakas hit a solo homerun.  The series is tied 3-3 and the Royals have the game at home in game seven on Wednesday night. 

The San Francisco Giants even the World Series with a 11-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals

The San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals 11-4 on Saturday night.  The game took place at AT+T Park in San Francisco, California.  Ryan Vogelson started for the Giants and wasn't very good and Jason Vargas was ok but not great either for the Royals.  Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval and Joe Panik led the Giants offensive attack.  Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez led the Royals with three hits each. 

Vogelson pitched 2 2/3 innings for the Giants giving up seven hits and four runs with a walk and two strikeouts.  Jean Machi pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a walk and a strikeout, Yusmeiro Petit pitched three innings giving up two hits and struck out two and earned the win.  Jeremy Affeldt pitched an inning giving up a hit, Sergio Romo pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Hunter Strickland pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one. 

Vargas pitched four innings giving up six hits and three runs.  He walked two and struck out three.  Jason Frasor pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run, Danny Duffy pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout and Brandon Finnegan took the loss pitching an inning and giving up five hits and five runs.  He walked two batters and Tim Collins pitched two innings giving up three hits and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts. 

Gregor Blanco had two hits and drew a walk, Panik had two hits and two RBI and Buster Posey had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks.  Pence had three hits and three RBI, Sandoval had two hits and two RBI and Brandon Belt had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks.  Juan Perez had a hit and an RBI, Brandon Crawford had a hit and Duffy had a hit.  Petit had a hit, Arias had a hit and Michael Morse drew a walk.  Panik hit two doubles and Pence hit a double.  The Giants were 7-19 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.  Blanco had a stolen base. 

Alcides Escobar had a hit, Alex Gordon had a hit and Lorenzo Cain had two hits.  Hosmer had three hits and an RBI, Mike Moustakas drew a walk and Omar Infante had a hit and two RBI.  Perez had three hits and an RBI, Jarrod Dyson had a hit and drew a walk and Hosmer and Gordon each hit a double.  The Royals were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Gordon had a stolen base and Collins committed an error. 

In the first Pence grounded into a forceout scoring a run and giving the Giants a 1-0 lead.  In the third Hosmer hit an RBI single, Infante hit a two run single and Perez hit an RBI single.  The Royals took a 4-1 lead.  Posey hit an RBI single in the third to cut the lead to 4-2.  In the fifth Pence hit an RBI single and Perez hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at four.  In the sixth Sandoval hit a two run single and Belt hit an RBI single giving the Giants a 7-4 lead.  In the seventh Blanco hit an RBI bunt single, Panik hit a two run double and Pence hit an RBI double.  The Giants had a 11-4 lead and that was the final score.  The World Series is tied at two games each with game five on Sunday night in San Francisco.  Game six will be Tuesday in Kansas City and if they need a game seven it will be on Wednesday night in Kansas City