Day: August 18, 2016

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Come on Rays!

Seriously Rays! Seriously! Not only do you have the second worst ballpark, but the worst team! This is what bothers me. They have got the best young pitching potential, great defense in Kevin Kiermaier, and great hitting with Longoria, Miller, and Morrison. This doesn’t make sense. Chris Archer has a 7-16 record but is still called a Cy Young candidate. LonGo is having a career year. So has Brad Miller. If Curt Casali could get back on the tear he had last year, the Rays could be great. But why? The answer is pitching. They. Hoard. Pitching. When they sent Matt Moore to the Giants and got Matt Duffy in return, it was like the fountain of youth. But as I said before, LonGo is awesome and Miller, I turn around and see 25 jacks! Where is the Duffman supposed to go! If they want to revamp their team, the should really listen in. The Rays need to send Longoria and Archer out the door. Archer and Casali go to the Dodgers for Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig. Longoria to the Cubs for Javier Baez and cash consideration. Boom! Duffy moves to third, Miller goes back to short, Baez and Forsythe platoon at first, move Souza to DH, let Puig play right and Pederson play left. Of course, Puig needs to get back on track before he slides into the lineup. That is a roster destined for success.

What about the Cubs? Bryant and Longoria platooning? No way! Well Joe Maddon has his players play different positions. Bryant has shown that he is a reliable option in left field. So Longoria stays at third and every thing is happy! No so fast. The Cubs have Kyle Schwarber coming back next year. Kyle can’t play anywhere. The Cubs can get a good deal if they can send him to the American League for prospects.

In conclusion, the Rays can revamp their team if they trade away the things they have been hoarding. If these trades do happen, the Tampa Bay Rays will seriously have a shot at the postseason in the future.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

MLB 2K Sports Baseball Review (Wii)

I have played every one of the games in the MLB 2K Sports baseball Wii series except for 2008. I have found them incredibly fun and entertaining. (2K Sports no longer carries their MLB games on their website.) I decided to write a review on the games since I’ve known them for so much.(Please note: due to my aging Wii console, some of the options are not available to me such as saving franchise mode, saving created players, and updating) Here goes nothing:

  • Pro: The batting stance and pitching windup for the players are extremely accurate. I can identify the players just by their stance.
  • Pro: The covers have been great. I honestly think the 2012 edition cover with Justin Verlander surrounded by fire is the best.
  • Pro: The park dimensions are accurate.
  • Pro: The Cooperstown Legends and the old ballparks are incredible. It is a great way to travel back in time and play as Ted Williams and Reggie Jackson.
  • Pro: The Mini Diamond feature is awesome. It’s basically bobbleheads of players playing ball in Egypt and in space.
  • Pro: Replay is awesome. Period.
  • Con: The broadcasters have some glitches. They will only say a players number if they don’t know how to prenounce the name. If a player makes a great grab in the first inning, Gary Thorne will say “What a way to end the ballgame!” What really gets on my nerves is when I am playing 2012 and call in Mark Melancon (pronounced Melan-Sin) in from the ‘pen. Thorne butchers his name by calling him Mark Melan-Con. Why can’t they pronounce Nolnaho?
  • Con: The numbers sometimes glitch out.
  • Con: I was playing the other night, and for some reason, Hanley Ramirez walked right through Mark Teixeira. At least once an inning, somebody (either an umpire or player), gets impaled by a baseball. Umpires matter too.

The Bleacher Creature is not associated with 2K Sports by any means.