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2014 Arizona Gameday HQ

By Darryl Howerton Advanced Metrics That was the New York Yankees’ valuation, according to Forbes (March 2013). That’s the same price tag applied to the NFL’s most valuable team, the Dallas Cowboys, and almost a billion dollars more than the NBA’s most-valued franchise, the New York Knicks ($1.4 billion). That’s why principal owner Hal Steinbrenner straddles the line between spending the max to win, stepping only a little now over the punitive $189 million luxury-tax line with his $195 million payroll, scaling back from six straight seasons of the win-at-any-cost organization paying out $200-plus million payrolls (the Yanks had a $237 million final payroll in 2013, topped with a $28 million luxury tax bill). PitchF/x data tabbed Miami Marlins pitcher Nathan Eovaldi with the fastest pitch in baseball, with his four-seam fastball registering an average speed of 96.19 miles per hour throughout the 2013 season. Over the course of a year, Eovaldi basically added 1.24 mph to his fourseamer’s average speed, and as a result, used the pitch more, with the frequency rate rising from 41 to 71 percent. We’ve yet to see it register big-time on his strikeout totals so far, but rest assured, the 24-year-old prospect is developing well. In 18 starts in 2013, the 6-2, 215-pound Marlins right-hander had a 4-6 record with a 3.39 ERA, while fanning 78 in 106 innings. Keep an eye on him. The Baltimore Orioles hit an MLB-leading 212 home runs in 2013— when Chris Davis smacked 53 homers and three teammates hit 20- plus—following seasons where the O’s hit 214 (2012) and 191 (2011). The forecast in 2014 for Oriole Park At Camden Yards is still home runs, home run, home runs, with FantasyPros, one of the most accurate fantasy projection sites, tabbing these Orioles for big 2014 homer projections: Davis 40, Adam Jones 29, Nelson Cruz 25, J.J. Hardy 22, Matt Wieters 21. That’s 137 homers projected from only five players from a website taking a consensus conservative stance, yet highly accurate. What happens if Davis hits 53 again? Or Jones hits 33 again? Looks like another 200-plus season in homer-humid Baltimore. Albert Pujols has been a disappointment with the Los Angeles Angels, hitting only 47 home runs the last two seasons after amassing 445 in the previous 11 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. That aside, Pujols is on the verge of history with the magical 500 home run mark only eight homers away. If the 34-year-old first baseman regains his St. Louis form and pops 40 out the park, that would give him a 532 career total, placing him 18th in the all-time baseball record books, passing Willie McCovey, Frank Thomas, Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott, Gary Sheffield, Eddie Murray, Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff. DUSTIN BRADFORD/GETTY IMAGES


2014 Arizona Gameday HQ
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