
April 25th, 2023
Hello and welcome to Hoff's Hot Takes - sponsored by The New Super Mario Brothers Movie, Coconut water with pineapple, and Epiphone Guitars.
Dirty Dozen Drama and a ton of Early rants on each team:
Jordan (9-23-4) - "Air" Jordan got destroyed by Micah this past week, 1-9-2. Ronald Acuna batted like .375 with 5 SB with 4 runs, but had 0 RBI or HR. Eduoard Julien got called up, and Jordan nabbed him, he produced, but got optioned. He is more of a 2024 play, so stay tuned, cause he will be good. This also means my 2B/SS are available...Nobody else batted over .263 this week for him. He is struggling with his staff but is starting to figure this thing out. Watch out for him to dominate from late May to July, and then fade back to being terrible. Xander and Acuna are as good as advertised. Man, fuck the Red Sox. Mookie, Devers, Xander, could have been great. Sale was a huge part of that, but it kind of didn't work there... Framber and Pete Fairbanks have a combined 40 IP, and 5 earned runs 2 wins and 3 saves. Nestor and Wheeler and Morton are good too, logging about 70 IP combined with an era about 3.50, but my relievers suck. DONG. I AM ANNOUNCING SCWARBER and WILLY ADAMES ARE AVAILABLE FOR A CLOSER.
Star (21-14-1) - "Saving Private" Ryan got handed his first loss this season, but still got some points for long term success. Ryan lost 7-5 to Berrones this week. Man, Julio Rodriguez just is a stat sheet stuffer. He must be so fun to have. He had at least 2 of every counting category except SB. He also had an OPS of about .900. Trout and Outman both have over a 1.200 OPS this week. Star has 10 pitchers that season long have ERA under 3.86 on his roster - so this can go one of two ways -> 1) He is the best pitching scout of all time, or 2) his staff is due to regress hardcore... Jorge Lopez, Jordan Romano, and Jhoan Duran have combined for 26 IP, 6 ER, 13 saves, with like a WHIP of 1, and a K/9 of 10. His staff is gonna ride if they stay healthy. He is not Micah with the saves, but he is close.
Nolan (18-15-3)- Nolan lost 3-7-2. We are moving past how he sucked last week. Just skipping it. Just duffing it like a JB chip in the thick rough of Steeplechase... Tristan Crasas had 5 BB in 4 AB this week. The guy from TB Randy whoever his name is just mashes the ball. Really missed out on that guy. Check his certificate; there may be a Danny Almonte situation going on. Brandon Nimmo alert -> A guy who sounds like a MLB the Show 23 minor leaguer. No way "Brandon Nimmo" is a name. Actually ya know what, next week I am gonna rank the names in our league according to the likelihood they would be randoms in the Show 23... Eloy and Robert batted about .200 this week.
Berry (4-27-5) - Alex"i Lalis"Berry lost 1-9-2 to Bill Brey. (As of Monday evening at 7:30PM CST he is batting .400 with a 1.155 OPS). Berry has a guy names Lars Nootbaar, which is another "name you see in the MLB the Show 2023 that is an obvious AI generated name" of the week. Bieber and Freeland already have 7 QS combined in the first month. Mr. Nola needs to stop giving up runs. Berry also had exactly 69 innings pitched this last matchup, which is nice. George Springer went 2/25 this week...
Berrones (22-13-1) - A mark of a good team is that they do not pussy foot around, and tie. Mike has only tied in 2% of categories this year. I respect that. "If I could be like" Mike took down Star this week 7-5. No ties. No fuss. No drama. I think Mike has final 4 potential and will be around. Suzuki for the Cubs stepped up and gave him some action here. Aaron Judge and Matt Chapman went 5/44 this week however.
Kloss (25-7-4) - Mikeunnah Muttata Kloss beat Nolan 7-3-2. He seems to be the favorite this season, and I do not think anything besides injury can change that. That is all I got. No need for anything else. I could talk about Nico Horner and his hot start, is that sustainable? Kloss has the best OF group in the league.
Joe (15-17-4)- I think Joe " Nathan" Gaza landed gold with Bryson Scott. I like the cut of his jib. I think he can write a good country tune any day now on 99.5... I honestly think Joe will finish as the 5 seed and his infield will be the best in the league. Zach is Effin good, am I right? Ohtani... He has the tools apparently. He may one of the 5 best baseball players thats ever lived...He needs to ship some hitters and pitchers and picks for some studs like Framber, or Nestor, or anyone who will not be in contention probably... Kyle Finnegan has 4 saves for the Nationals but has an ERA of 9.001
Brey (22-12-2) - As of writing, Billy Billy Billy Boy is up 5-0-7 for this next week. He also has Glyber Torres on the bench with an 1/1 with a 2.000 OPS. Hope he doesn't lose by that margin... As for last week, Bill won 9-1-2 over Alex Berry. Bill won runs by 15, RBI by 17, average by .60, and OPS by .200. Marcus Simien, and Alec Bregman carried him, and an all-around effort was had. How about Nolan Gorman's eye?... I am rooting against Jorge Polanco as a Edouardo guy... Anthony Volpe watch -> he has 8 SB and is batting .188. I remember owning Billy Hamilton once upon a time. As for his starters, I am jealous of Gausman. I am thinking Steele will come to Earth, but this will be the 5 seed in the playoffs. You watch.
Alex K (13-19-4) - I love the 'Topes. I love Max Fried just dinking and dunking his way to good stats. Devin Williams and Kenley Jansen have tossed a combined 14 innings, they have not given up a run, and they have 3 wins and 8 saves combined. If Alex K gets to the big time, they need more of these guys doing these guys things. Kyle Gibson is on pace to win like 25 games. As far as ths week goes, Alex beat Joe 8-2-2 to get his team back in the mix. Josh Bell gave Joe monster numbers, but I mean, Josh Bell? I know I am in 9th place, and don't know a ton, but I remember Josh Bell... Paul Goldschmidt was 3/19 this week too. I think Alex will be the 6 seed. If I were to guess, I would bet the playoffs will be Kloss, Star, Berrones, Nolan, Micah, Joe, Alex.
Micah (16-18-2) - Is Adley the next Buster Posey? 18 walks thus far, and a ton of big moments. Dude gets on base and makes things happen! What a good ball player. Jordan tried to trade for Witt Jr. this offseason, and we know why now... Hopefully Arraez injury isn't too bad. Corbin Carrol is OF4, and a guy who I am jealous of as well. This week, Micah beat Jordan 9-1-2. It was really close all week, but Micah kind of pulled away at the end. The trade for Gunnar may have been great for Micah. I believe that deserve to get mashed by Cody Bellinger for the number of times I have ranted against him to Micah. I think it is my fault. Cease finally slowed down, but the rest of his staff was amazing. Micah will save you to death, kind of like filling up with bread at a fancy Italian restaurant or chips at Mexican joint.
Fun Stats and Random Things- James Outman of the Dodgers hit 4 HR in the series at the Cubs this week. He is the second rookie to hit 4 HR in a series at Wrigley ever... Garret Cole joins 1991 Roger Clemens as the only players ever to have a first 5 starts of 30 IP, 30K, 3 Runs allowed, 0 HR allowed, 0.80 WHIP.... in his last 3 starts on the mound, Shohei Ohtani allowed three hits, and had 4 hits at the plate as a batter... Orioles pitching staff went 34 innings this week without allowing a run, most since 1995... CBS Fantasy baseball top 12 players in terms of trade value according to an article posted on 4/20> Aaron Judge, Jose Ramirez, Ronald Acuna, Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Yordan Alvarez, Julio Rodriguez, Kyle Tucker, Juan Soto, Feeddie Freeman, Mike Trout, Shohei Otani...
Random Ball Players of the Week - This week, we do not have a random ball player per se, but a bunch of first basemen. Below is a slide show of the primes of a bunch of "Hall of Good" guys. We can argue that some deserve to make it, and some WILL end up making it, but these guys are all first basemen who we love and respect. Side Note - Love me some Big Cat, look at him stealing 11 bases per 162.
Interview with Micah - Today we interview Micah. Mr. Choad Blaster himself. We speak on baseball, and much more
Question 1) Name three ball parks you would like to visit that you have not been to...
Micah - Fenway, Oracle, and Petco
Question 2) Give me a rant on something related to baseball... GO!
Micah -
Question 3) What do you want the Bears to do with the 9th overall pick?
Micah - A premium defensive player. Hopefully a pass rusher, thats what I would like to see.
Question 4) Three favorite Texas Rangers ever?
Micah - Michael Young, Juan Gonzalez, and Josh Hamilton. Honorary Mention to Rick Helling and Hank Blaylock.
Question 5) How's life pal? How is Micah doing?
Micah - I am doing aright, ya know? Pretty good actually, baseball is heating up, and so is the weather. Im getting close to being fully healed from shoulder surgery and ready to get back out there. We need to get some golf on the books.
Hoff's Hot Takes Power Rankings - Kloss, Brey, Nolan, Star, Berrones, Joe
Playoff Standings - Kloss, Berrones, Brey, Star, Nolan, Joe