Napoli is Going Going, Back Back to TEXAS

Photo: Mike Napoli Instagram

First Josh Hamilton, and now Mike Napoli.

Oh yeah, Napoli is once again a Texas Ranger. The deal went down last Friday which will send Napoli back to Texas for cash or a player to be named.

This could be huge for Texas. If you can remember, Napoli was a huge contributor to the Rangers during their road to the World Series in 2011. Although they would end up losing to the St. Louis Cardinals, Napoli’s clutch hits did not go unnoticed.

But hey, props to him, because he did what they couldn’t do over at the Red Sox- Won himself a championship and a nice piece of bling in 2013. 💁💍

Nap has said he doesn’t care where he plays back in Texas, he just wants to contribute to the team and help them win. This year he is batting .205, has 13 HR and 40 RBIS.

But what he can bring back to Texas goes beyond the field. Napoli is THAT guy. A leader with playoff and World Series experience. He knows how to fire up his teammates, as well as the stadium with his badass walk up songs.

Globe Life Park in Arlington will be hearing the chants of “NAP­O­LI” once again.

Love ya Nap, you the BOMB!

– Paige

MLB & FBI- The Communist Cardinals (SMH)

The 2015 season thus far for the St. Louis Cardinals was almost too good to be true. Clenching 1st in the NL Central and holding the best record in the MLB, they literally had it all.

Oh yeah, until they were hit with an FBI investigation.

And as usual, an animated show predicted it (just like with Bruce Jenner’s gender change). The Simpsons to be exact.

There are accusations that a Cardinals employee hacked into the Houston Astros’ database in attempts to steal the team’s statistics, trades, scouting reports, and the list goes on. Since the initial investigation began, William Dewitt, Jr., the owner of the Cardinals, has been working closely with the FBI to determine if this breach of privacy did, in fact, happen and identify the employee(s) of the Cardinals’ organization who were involved. He has reported that the Cardinals are “committed to getting to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible, and if anyone within our organization is determined to be involved in anything inappropriate, they will be held accountable.”

Jose Bautista took a stab at the Cardinals and even took a stab at good ole Bill Belichick.

Here’s what Bautista said in an interview with Yahoo Sports Radio:

“I’m, though, intrigued to know why the FBI is involved and not just the MLB’s investigations department,” Bautista said. “So, that’ll be interesting to see. But it looks like they just took a page out of Bill Belichick’s book.”

Thank the internet for this photo.

SMH. America you’re doing too much.

Safe to say this little scandal will be all over our radar the next few days. But, in the meantime, hats off to the Houston Astros for still being seen as the team to beat!

– Adrienne

Remember the Name- MLB Players Who Are Killing it

Article published June 10, 2015- all stats up to date as of then

Yes. My favorite thing to talk about.

Baseball is a team sport, but let’s be real, every team has that one player that every fan knows of. With the season rolling along and the all-star game (half-way through the season) approaching, I figured we’d take a look at the big names putting the team on their back, Greg Jennings style.

Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers

Gonzalez is all over the stats board for the Dodgers. He is in the top of all offensive categories with a .324 batting average, 11 HR, 39 RBIs and has an OPS of .985. He is an extra-base hitting machine, delivering doubles left and right in clutch situations. The Dodgers are first in the NL West and can thank their all-star game bound first baseman for his contributions to the team.

Brian Dozier, Minnesota Twins

The Twins are in second place in the AL Central with a record of 33-26, just trailing the Kansas City Royals. Brian Dozier has stepped up big time and can be thought of as the best second baseman in the AL. He is batting .265, has 11 HR, 28 RBIs and an OPS of .863. He also leads the MLB with 47 runs. Not only can he perform at the plate, he is great in the field.

Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

The question is what can’t Harper do? Not only can he chase down baseballs in the outfield and throw runners out, Harper is a threat at the plate. He is batting .330 and leading the MLB with 20 HR (yes, I said TWENTY) and OPS of 1.187. OW, OW! Harper has also knocked in 47 RBIs helping his team move to first place in the NL East at 31-28. With the numbers to show, Harper has proved this season he can hit any pitch from any pitcher. Harper is playing “put your money where your mouth is” kind of ball.

Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays

Talk about an ace! Archer seems pretty much untouchable. He is 7-4 with a 1.84 ERA and leading the MLB with 108 strikeouts. He surely is doing all he can to keep his team in the race, as they trail the New York Yankees by 1.5 games. With Archer’s crazy ability to find the strike zone, you hardly ever see this guy walk a batter. It’s not even all-star break yet and he is already going down in history for what he has done this season.

Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros

Can Keuchel pitch every night? He can be thought of as one of the best pitchers in the AL. No, I am not being biased – he has been named the AL pitcher of the month for April and May. He is 7-2 with an ERA of 1.9 and 72 strikeouts. He has been dominant all year and is a big reason why the Astros are in first place in the AL West. Keep your eyes on Keuchel to see if he will be the starting pitcher in this years all-star game.

Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals

Hosmer really emerged last season when he helped his team to the World Series. This season he is looking to do the same, and he is off to the best start of his career. He is hitting .301 with 7 HR and an OPS of .859. Although Hosmer is not always the long-ball hitter, he is efficient at the plate with 35 RBIs. On top of his stats, Hosmer is the backbone of the Royals composure on the field and in the clubhouse – just the type of player you would want on your team.

Jacob deGrom, New York Mets

Last year’s NL Rookie of the Year is off to a great start again. deGrom is 7-4 with an ERA of 2.42 and 81 strikeouts. This season he has taken a perfect game into the sixth-inning and although he could not pull that gem off, he showed everyone what he was capable of. He also has the ability to settle down after a rough start – something all baseball fans want their pitchers to be able to do. The Mets are second in the NL East and look to deGrom to keep pitching well.

Jhonny Peralta, St. Louis Cardinals

The best team in the MLB (39-21) has many weapons but there’s one in particular. Peralta is leading the Cardinals in almost all offensive categories. He is batting .315, has 10 HR, 35 RBIs and a .900 OPS. He also leads the team with 69 hits. Peralta is the go-to guy to get a rally going, which is what he did recently to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also is great on the field making plays at shortstop look too easy.

Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees

The Yankees are in a close race with the Tampa Bay Rays, but Teixeira is doing all he can to keep them in the top spot. He is batting .238 with 17 HR and a .917 OPS. His batting average is not as high as he is capable of, but with 45 RBIs he proves that he can pull through in the right situations.

Prince Fielder, Texas Rangers

Coming back from an injury-ending season, Fielder is on a roll and proving why the Rangers paid the big bucks for him. He is hitting .354, has 10 HR, 41 RBIs and an OPS of .953. Oh, and he has 81 hits. Not too shabby. Fielder has also come up with a couple of walk off wins, helping the Rangers pull within two games behind the AL West leading Astros. Good news for the Rangers that they got this “Fielder” back.

With the first half of the season almost in the books, it’s time for teams to focus on their play-off push. It is a long season but EVERY GAME COUNTS. Look for these big names to hopefully take their team into October and win the pennant.

But let’s be real. Hopefully I will be sipping some World Series champagne – Go Astros!

XO!

– Paige