Category Archives: R.A. Dickey

2017 MLB Season Preview: Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves have made some interesting moves. The team has mostly relied on young talent over the last few seasons while rebuilding, but they turned the page and acquired some veterans who were once All Stars.

The Braves now have two former Cy Young winners in their rotation (Bartolo Colon & R.A. Dickey) and have acquired two other former All Stars since just before last seasons’s trade deadline (Matt Kemp & Brandon Phillips).

Both of the former Cy Young winners are over the age of 40, but if they can get 175 innings out of each of them, they will be worth their salary to mentor their young talent.

Here is the 2017 MLB season preview for the Atlanta Braves.

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2016 MLB Season Preview: Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays had an impressive season in 2015. They made some of the best trades in baseball and won the AL East.

The Blue Jays arguably have the best offense in baseball. Their lineup is loaded with power hitters who have contended for homer run titles. They also have speed and defense. One underwhelming aspect of their game is pitching. They lost David Price and Mark Buehrle this offseason and replaced them with J.A. Happ and Jesse Chavez. Their rotation needs to step up if they want to repeat as AL East champions.

Can Josh Donaldson win another MVP award?

Here is the 2016 MLB season preview for the Toronto Blue Jays.

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America’s White Boy’s 2015 MLB Un-All-Star Team

It has become a yearly tradition that we look at all the former MLB All-Stars (and a few guys we expected more out of this year) that aren’t having stellar years.

The season is a little more than half over and it’s not too late for some of these players to bounce back and turn their seasons around.

Since I’m an active fantasy baseball owner, it didn’t take me long to make this list. A few of these guys were on my teams early this season, but were quickly dropped after a few weeks of bad numbers. I spent most of my time just baffled that some of these guys were actually All-Stars at one point.

The old benchmark for an All-Star was thrown out with the bathwater when Bud Selig decided each team must have at least one representative in the All-Star Game.

Here is America’s White Boy‘s 2015 MLB Un-All-Star team.

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2015 MLB Team Preview: Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays were a popular pick to make a big leap in 2013, but they ended up finishing in last place in the AL East that season. Expectations leveled out last year and they finished a few games over .500. After acquiring Josh Donaldson in a trade and signing Russell Martin, Toronto is expected to once again contend in the AL East again. Can they pull it off or will they fall flat on their faces again?

Injuries plagued Toronto’s potential resurgent season in 2013 and they were already dealt a huge blow when they learned their young pitching phenom Marcus Stroman tore his ACL. He will miss the entire season. Which one of Toronto’s many young pitching prospects will take his spot in the starting rotation?

Here is the 2015 MLB season preview for the Toronto Blue Jays.

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2014 MLB Team Preview: Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays were the popular pick to make a big leap in 2013. Well, we got the right division for the surprise team (Boston), but Toronto found themselves in the basement of the AL East.

The additions of Jose Reyes, R.A. Dickey and Josh Johnson didn’t pay off at all. Reyes broke his ankle and was out until almost the All-Star Break, Johnson looked like a Four-A pitcher and then Jose Bautista suffered an injury that ended his season early. Can Toronto be a playoff team if both stay healthy all season?

Can R.A. Dickey regain control of his knuckleball?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the Toronto Blue Jays.

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2013 MLB Team Preview: New York Mets

A pitcher on the New York Mets won a Cy Young in 2012. Unfortunately for Mets fans, he’s no longer on the team. R.A. Dickey was shipped to Toronto for “hopefully” the Mets future franchise catcher, Travis d’Arnaud.

Will the Mets survive without R.A. Dickey anchoring their rotation?

Is the Mets financial woes still occurring or is the team still looking to dump more salary?

Here is the 2013 MLB season preview for the New York Mets. Continue reading →

2013 World Baseball Classic: Notable Players

The World Baseball Classic has been lost in the shuffle with the beginning of Spring Training, but it kicks off this weekend on March 2nd.

It’s an event that’s supposed to showcase the world’s best…but at the same time, aggravate the pants off every Major League team’s front office. They must hate seeing their pitchers waste their arms in an International tournament.

Asian countries have had the most success in this format, but the Latin American countries always bring the most individual talent. The rosters have been finalized and we list the notable players who will play in this year’s World Baseball Classic. Continue reading →

Review: "Wherever I Wind Up" by R.A. Dickey

“No one grows up wanting to be a knuckleball pitcher,” is a quote from the memoir of New York Mets starting pitcher R.A. Dickey. Wherever I Wind Up (Penguin/Blue Rider Press) is a book about personal strength, redemption, and the discovery of one’s faith. Dickey was an English Literature major at the University of Tennessee and wrote the book with the help of New York Daily News reporter Wayne Coffey.

Wherever I Wind Up starts off with the story of how his signing bonus of $810k was taken away after an evaluation found that he didn’t have an ulna collateral ligament. The doctors were baffled that he could even turn a doorknob without being in pain. The signing bonus was reduced to 75k and was sent to low-level minor league affiliate of the Texas Rangers. This was one the first obstacles that Dickey had to overcome. The book goes from self-deprecating humor to some dark moments of his life. Continue reading →