Sully Baseball

The Giants want Pablo Sandoval back? Holy cow, whatever they want, the Red Sox should make the deal NOW! Meanwhile the Diamondbacks continue to be very very strange.

WHY WHY WHY won't the Padres embrace their identity? Why won't they put brown in their uniforms? Fans want it! Baseball wants it! What do they gain with these boring uniforms?

Happy Turkey Day! And what better way to pay tribute to Turkeys today than talking about Negro League Star and Hall of Famer Turkey Stearnes. His granddaughter, Vanessa Ivy Rose (nee Vanessa Thompson) is a friend of the podcast and joined me to talk about her granddad, his legacy and the Cooperstown experience.

For Episode 1492, I looked at Columbus... the city, not the explorer. I wonder if Columbus could have been a major league city if the American League was formed differently.

What team has the most pressure on them going into 2017? It has to be the Dodgers, who despite a galaxy of stars could be going into their third decade without a pennant.

The Rays and Marlins might not have the rich tradition of teams like the Yankees, Giants or Cardinals. That does not mean we shouldn't savor the fact that the greatest players of their history, Evan Longoria and Giancarlo Stanton, are currently playing for them.

SUNDAY REQUEST - @IlliniDodgers and others wanted me to follow through on a joke premise I made after Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. I oblige and give my emotional thoughts regarding the Mariners hats over the years.

The Reds might not contend in 2017, but they SHOULD have the best lead off man in baseball in the rebuilding process... if only they would bat Joey Votto lead off. Along the way, I discuss why I won't play James Bond and I tie it into the discussion.

Mike Trout is half way to his Hall of Fame clinching. Kris Bryant has already gotten some of the hard parts over with. Now just imagine a World Series match up featuring the two.

The Cy Young results came in. While Max Scherzer is a solid choice, Rick Porcello's election is as strange as any as we have seen this month... and that is saying something.

The Indians haven't won the World Series since 1948. If they had better timing with their aces, they could have won titles in the 1990's and the 2000's. They are close to one in 2017, but maybe they should add a second ace to join Cy Young front runner Corey Kluber.

Ryan Howard's time in Philadelphia is done and maybe his career is as well. Why he became a cautionary tale of signing sluggers to long term deals, he also did enough to be given a salute for his accomplishments.

There is another team in Chicago besides the champion Cubs. The White Sox are at a cross roads and could contend in 2017 if they choose to.

SUNDAY REQUEST - Friend of the Podcast @IlliniDodgers had issues with something I said in a previous podcast. I think he was right. Along the way I tried to talk about a 60 second wait time to respond on Twitter and minority manager hirings.

The Tigers are at a cross roads and it could mean selling Justin Verlander now when his value is skyhigh.

Sure the 3,000 hit club is cool, but the 5,000 times on base list might be the best group of offensive players.

Recorded after the election, I look at distractions, how soon an election takes place after the World Series and how negative feelings expressed through baseball can be constructive.

On Election Night, I avoided politics and talked about the award ballot for MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year.

While driving late at night in the East Bay, I wondered if maybe the answer to the stadium issue for the A's would be a ballpark that didn't have to stand all season long. It made sense late at night.

The tradition of the Indians name is not as ironclad as you would think. They were almost the Cleveland Raiders, which would have been amazing. Plus I bring up Chief Wahoo again and showed how easy the solution would be for it.