Archive for April, 2008
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Dodgers get lucky number 13April 30th, 2008
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13 wins feel good. There is hope for the season.
Jeff Kent came through for the Dodgers, on Tuesday. He helped the team to its fourth straight win, putting them at .500 for the first time in quite some time. The future Hall of Famer drove in Andre Ethier in the ninth to give the Dodgers the lead sending the team to a 13-13 record.
Things have really started to come together for the Dodgers as the young players have really started to step it up over the modest winning streak. Andre Ethier scored three runs in the Dodgers’ most recent victory. What has been most impressive is that the Dodgers have been piling on runs.
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Upon further review…April 29th, 2008
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It’s been a week since I’ve posted, and for good reason: sometimes it’s easy to get too caught up in the early ups and downs of a season, and you (or I) can tend to lose perspective. Once in a while, it should be okay to take a step back and reserve judgement until further games are played. I took a week off, and our baseball data has increased 25 percent; funny how that works. Anyway, let’s examine how the landscape for the Cleveland Indians has changed:
CC is back. Whew. That’s all I can really say about the big guy. Well, I could add that after 14 k’s and 14 walks in his first four starts, Sabathia is back on track with 19 k’s and 3 walks over his last two starts. Gee, you think control and command were the problems here? It’s no wonder he only gave up eight hits during that span (four of which were weak bloop hits). The bottom line: CC is focused, confident, and remembering that strikeouts work a lot better than walks. I expect him to continue like this for the rest of the year.
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Martin on the move?April 29th, 2008
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The Dodgers used Russell Martin at third base out of desperation against the Rockies a few days ago. Yet, this might not have been a fluke. Joe Torre says he is not opposed to giving Martin the occasional inning or two at third, or even using him there instead of giving him a day off. Torre pointed out that catchers need a day off from the mental grind of calling pitches as well as the physical toll the postion takes out of a player. What is interesting is that Torre is serious. It is very possible that Martin will see more time at third base. The Dodgers sit second basemen Jeff Kent for Sunday games. As a replacement, they use Chin-lung Hu. Since Hu is also the primary back up third basemen while Nomar Garciaparra is on the DL, Russell Martin becomes the back up third basemen during games played on Sunday. Garciaparra went down on what seemed to be a routine ground ball. However, Garciaparra pulled up lame and has ended up on the DL for the second time this year. He writes about it on the Dodgers website and you have to feel bad for the guy. Blake DeWitt will continue to be the starting third basemen, but Torre is a former catcher who is mindful of how he should use his young catching star. Martin is the soul of the team. He is regarded by most of the players as the team leader. He is the only catcher in the national league capable of going 20-20 with 100 RBI.
It is out of tribute to No. 55 that I present the five reasons Russell Martin is the best catcher in baseball.
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Close, but . . .April 28th, 2008
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“I’ve been lucky. I’ll be lucky again.”
Bette Davis
Manager Bobby Cox isn’t the only one to whom the phrase “no cigar” applies these days. The season is one-sixth over now, the Braves are falling one by one like sore-armed snowflakes and I’m wondering what it means to lose eight straight one run games.
Not much, probably, other than eight losses. The team hasn’t been overly successful in key situations, true, leaving a combined 100 men on base in those eight games. The offense has struggled late in games, yes, scoring only eleven runs after the sixth inning, with seven of those coming in one game. And the team has squandered opportunities, sure, losing leads in six of the eight games.
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Sickly Sox Regress To The MeanApril 28th, 2008
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Five days. That’s all it takes. From a six-game winning streak filled with memorable late-inning heroics to a five game nose-dive the Red Sox would like to soon forget as the team heads into its first off-day since April 7, a span covering 20 straight games played in between.
But with a run differential that didn’t match their spiffy 15-7 record heading into Wednesday’s contest against the Angels, the Sox were due for a little regression towards the mean—though, ideally, not in the span of 120 hours. Of course, a team-wide bout with the influenza epidemic of 2008 hasn’t helped matters.
Ravaged by a nefarious flu bug, the Sox were forced to dip into the depths of their system when ace Josh Beckett and the so-far-undefeated Daisuke Matsuzaka fell victim to the pervasive virus last week during a three game set with the Angels.
As a result of the unexpected scratches, Boston called up two starters from the minors—Triple-A Pawtucket right-hander David Pauley, a middling young arm who had previously made his debut in 2006, and fellow righty Justin Masterson, a top five prospect in the Sox system making the jump from Double-A Portland. In addition, Jon Lester took to the hill on three days rest in the middle game of the series.
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What have you Dunn for me lately?April 28th, 2008
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.192, three home runs, eight RBIs and 23 strikeouts, those are Adam Dunn’s statistics in 24 games so far this season.
This would be fine if he weren’t our starting left fielder and the highest payed position player on the roster.
My problem isn’t necessarily with the inordinate amount of strikeouts, the pedestrian batting average or even the astronomical salary.
My problem with Adam Dunn is that he’s on the wrong team.
The Cincinnati Reds are a team whose only legitimate threat to bat .300 is a white guy with no clear position. That said, we’re loaded with guys who will hit between .240 and .260 while belting between 30 and 45 home runs every season.
We don’t need another one, especially one who’s a liability defensively and a mortal lock to give my father at least three nervous breakdowns in any given week.
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In an early Cy showdown, Webb has the edgeApril 28th, 2008
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If you’re not a fan of Jake Peavy and Brandon Webb locked in pitching duels, well, you might want to take the next few years of baseball off. Try the Premier League, maybe catch up on all the reading you’ve been putting off since Luis Gonzalez dribbled that blooper past Mariano Rivera. Read more
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From Disabled List to Third in the Order?April 27th, 2008
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February 4, Curtis Granderson signs a five-year contract extension with Detroit.
March 22, Phillies pitcher Travis Blackley breaks a bone in Granderson’s hand.
April 23, Granderson bats 2-4, scoring 3 runs in his season debut.
After missing twenty-one games with a broken finger, Curtis Granderson has picked up right where he left off. Showing the extra base power he displayed in his breakout 2007 season, he has already racked up four extra base hits in as many games. A year removed from hitting 38 doubles, 23 triples, 23 home runs, and stealing 26 bases, Granderson is back on track hitting at a .353 clip. A stabilizing force, he is burning up the gaps at Comerica Park with his glove and bat.
With Granderson back setting the table, lead-off fill-in’s Clete Thomas and Ivan Rodriguez will return to their old roles. Thomas, not expected to see major league action this April, was shifted to Triple-A Toledo where he will pick up regular at-bats. Pudge will revert to the lower half of the order, bringing his .302 lifetime batting average with him. After a rough offensive start, the Tigers can finally trot out all their expected opening day lineup.
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First Time Since… When???April 26th, 2008
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Boston vs. Angels. Angels AT Boston. Angels at FENWAY. None of that sounds good, at least to anyone who is an Angels fan.
Historically, the Angels have more than SUCKED against Boston’s power-house of offense, the one-two Papi-Manny assault, and even with Drew, Lugo, and YOOOOOOOOOUK… but put it AT Fenway, and it’s twice the horrific scene of brutality.
The best instance? Oh, maybe the playoff sweep in 2007? Oh, maybe the same playoff sweep in 2004? It has been a common plague of the Angels organization for several several years – and the fear for this season was that if something drastic didn’t happen in the off-season, that it would continue… something of a plague maybe?
So it has been the Angels staff’s epic journey to find a way to get passed Boston’s hitter’s game. By acquiring Torii Hunter to fill a bit of the power-bat gap they’ve complained about for the past few years, they looked to match wits, so to speak. I think Garland may have been a bit of a risk, in terms of playing Boston, since Garland’s pitching style lends itself to being hit, which is something Boston does exceedingly well. At least, however, he is a sinkerball pitcher, and can get the balls to stay in the park for the most part. But let’s not forget that Fenway is very much a hitter’s park, with a barely over 300-feet away left field “monster.”
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A New BeginingApril 26th, 2008
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The San Francisco Giants’ house has crumbled. Long build on a foundation of veteran players surrounded by a super star left fielder, their recipe for success imploded with three straight losing seasons. The survivors, which make up this year’s roster, are a mixed bag of journeymen ball players and hungry rookies. Out of the wreckage of a 1-5 start to begin 2008, rays of hope have emerged led by the dazzling pitching of Tim Lincecum.
At 4-0, Lincecum is a rare talent and a pitcher worthy of hyperbole and that too often used term of “freak” to describe mind-boggling athletic feats. By all accounts, the righty hurler is different and bucks every traditional method followed by starting pitchers. He’ll throw only a handful of warm-up pitches, doesn’t use ice and bats left handed, exposing his precious right shoulder to an errant fast ball. At 5-10 and maybe 175 pounds, he’s the new Pedro Martinez or Roy Oswalt, slight in build, but a giant on the mound.
After losing back-to-back series against Los Angeles and Milwaukee to open the season, the Giants (11-13) have rebounded to go 6-5 in their last 11 games. San Francisco trotted out a predictable and safe veteran heavy line-up to start the year but recently youth has been served. A knee injury to Dave Roberts has allowed Fred Lewis to play more and become a steady lead-off hitter, while Eugenio Velez finds himself at either second base or right field on most nights. Velez is pure speed, a triple just waiting to happen and sure to find his way around the bases on a ball hit out into the spacious right-center gap at AT&T Park.
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