As you may have heard, the NFL Draft has started. I hate it. The big fuss is ridiculous. Yeah it's cool to see these kids realize their dreams, but come on people, lets be rational. Is Andrew Luck going to succeed this season in Indy? Nope. What about RGIII in Washington? Nuh uh. Think about it, last year's number 1 overall pick lead his team to a 6-10 record. Was he impressive? Absolutely, but they were a sub-.500 team. Not exactly exciting stuff.
My biggest issue with the draft is by far the mock drafts. How many talking heads do we need to tell us which team is taking who and why and how they'll fit in and blah blah blah. It's incredibly ridiculous. Don't get me started on Mel Kiper Jr. either. If there is one person I cannot stand that works for ESPN it's him. I'd rather listen to Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith argue about the NBA than listen to Mel Kiper Jr. tell me why the Redskins need a new QB. We all know why. Because the last 15 or so that played there sucked.
I won't go into draft busts, we all know how bad Ryan Leaf, Jamarcus Russell, and Matt Leinart have been. But I did see one incredible stat on Thursday. The Miami Dolphins have drafted 15 quarterbacks since 2000. That right there tells you how stupid the draft is. Oh, and they drafted another one tonight, Ryan Tannenhill, in the first round. You would think out of all the ridiculousness of the combine and private workouts they would've drafted halfway decent starter. Nope. It's all the luck of the draw. I mean think of it this way. Tom Brady was drafted 199th in 2000. Too bad the Dolphins took Todd Wade, Ben Kelly, Tyrone Carter, Arturo Freeman, and Ernest Grant before the 199th pick. Those guys all had better careers than Brady has had. Derp.
I guess my biggest beef with the draft is the amount of coverage it gets. To be honest, 5 years from now, aside from a very small group of guys, no one will ever hear the names of the rest of the players who are drafted. The endless hours of analysis are completely unnecessary. Am I happy for each and every player who gets drafted? Absolutely. I cannot imagine the thrill they must feel along with their families. I just wish it wasn't so commercialized.
All that being said, I'm freakin' stoked my Cowboys traded up to draft Morris Claiborne. Secondary help is exactly what they need. It's not like he scored a 4 on his Wonderlic or anything........
Friday, April 27, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Red Sox Sweep Twins In Minnesota
Well Wednesday's game certainly was eventful, but in the end, the Red Sox eeked out a victory over the struggling Twins. For the second time in the series Alfredo Aceves came on to get the save and made it more than interesting, but he was able to secure the victory, and the Sox have themselves a 3-game winning streak.
I actually thought after Monday and Tuesday, the Sox had taken a big step. They had pitched well, hit the ball on the screws, and were taking it to a team they should be beating. Wednesday however seemed to be a step backwards. The bullpen pitched well enough in all three games, but Wednesday it just didn't seem like they had the same confidence as earlier in the week. The scariest moment of the series by far was when Justin Thomas hit Chris Parmelee in the helmet with a fastball in the 6th inning. It was very obvious that Thomas was incredibly shaken up by this, and even said after the game that there was absolutely no intention and that he hopes Parmelee is alright.
The biggest bright spot of the series was the Red Sox are finally starting to score runs like they have been expected to. While the pitching was good enough, it's still not where it needs to be. Beckett was effective, but 5 strikeouts with 3 walks over 6 innings isn't exactly going to get the job done on a consistent basis. Lester didn't fair any better, he walked and struck out 4 each over 7 innings while giving up 5 earned runs. Buccholz was by far the least ineffective of the three starters. He lasted 5.1 innings, gave up 5 earned runs, walked 3 and only struck out 2. This kind of starting pitching from the front three of the rotation is concerning. Lester typically starts slow, so I'm not terribly worried about him, and while Beckett may not be striking out as many hitters as he has in the past, he does seem to be hitting his spots. Buccholz is by far the most concerning of the three. His velocity is down from last year and he isn't finding the strikezone.
In total, the Red Sox outscored the Twins 24-11 in the series, but the games on Monday and Wednesday were decided by a single run. Monday's game saw Daniel Bard make his first (and hopefully not last) relief appearance and Cody Ross ended up being the hero. Ross belted two home runs, one of which came in the 9th inning which proved to be the game winning run. Aceves gave up a bomb of a fly ball that would have probably been a home run in most parks, but thankfully for Boston fans, it was caught. While the bullpen did come through in all three games, I'd be lying if I said I still wasn't concerned. Aceves did earn 2 saves in three games and didn't give up any runs, but he sure seems to like to provide drama. I did think it was strange that Bobby Valentine brought Bard in to get 2 outs in the 8th inning, but pulled him in favor of Aceves for the 9th. Whatever though, it worked, and it actually earned Bard his first victory of the season.
The Sox are now off to Chicago to face the White Sox. Felix Doubront will take the mound Thursday facing Philip Humber, who threw a perfect game in his last start. While the Pale Hose aren't an intimidating team, they do have a winning record. If Boston can sweep this series as well, they'll head back to Fenway with a winning record, which sure would be a nice welcome home present.
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I actually thought after Monday and Tuesday, the Sox had taken a big step. They had pitched well, hit the ball on the screws, and were taking it to a team they should be beating. Wednesday however seemed to be a step backwards. The bullpen pitched well enough in all three games, but Wednesday it just didn't seem like they had the same confidence as earlier in the week. The scariest moment of the series by far was when Justin Thomas hit Chris Parmelee in the helmet with a fastball in the 6th inning. It was very obvious that Thomas was incredibly shaken up by this, and even said after the game that there was absolutely no intention and that he hopes Parmelee is alright.
The biggest bright spot of the series was the Red Sox are finally starting to score runs like they have been expected to. While the pitching was good enough, it's still not where it needs to be. Beckett was effective, but 5 strikeouts with 3 walks over 6 innings isn't exactly going to get the job done on a consistent basis. Lester didn't fair any better, he walked and struck out 4 each over 7 innings while giving up 5 earned runs. Buccholz was by far the least ineffective of the three starters. He lasted 5.1 innings, gave up 5 earned runs, walked 3 and only struck out 2. This kind of starting pitching from the front three of the rotation is concerning. Lester typically starts slow, so I'm not terribly worried about him, and while Beckett may not be striking out as many hitters as he has in the past, he does seem to be hitting his spots. Buccholz is by far the most concerning of the three. His velocity is down from last year and he isn't finding the strikezone.
In total, the Red Sox outscored the Twins 24-11 in the series, but the games on Monday and Wednesday were decided by a single run. Monday's game saw Daniel Bard make his first (and hopefully not last) relief appearance and Cody Ross ended up being the hero. Ross belted two home runs, one of which came in the 9th inning which proved to be the game winning run. Aceves gave up a bomb of a fly ball that would have probably been a home run in most parks, but thankfully for Boston fans, it was caught. While the bullpen did come through in all three games, I'd be lying if I said I still wasn't concerned. Aceves did earn 2 saves in three games and didn't give up any runs, but he sure seems to like to provide drama. I did think it was strange that Bobby Valentine brought Bard in to get 2 outs in the 8th inning, but pulled him in favor of Aceves for the 9th. Whatever though, it worked, and it actually earned Bard his first victory of the season.
The Sox are now off to Chicago to face the White Sox. Felix Doubront will take the mound Thursday facing Philip Humber, who threw a perfect game in his last start. While the Pale Hose aren't an intimidating team, they do have a winning record. If Boston can sweep this series as well, they'll head back to Fenway with a winning record, which sure would be a nice welcome home present.
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Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The 1st Time I've Ever Rooted For Chelsea
As a Manchester United fan, I'm obligated to hate Chelsea. But, seeing as Barcelona embarrassed United in last year's Champion's League, I could really go without seeing them with a chance at another title. So Tuesday's match between the two provided me with a bit of a conundrum. Who do I root for? Or, more importantly I guess, who do I root against?
My buddy Craig came up with a very simple philosophy and posted it on Facebook. ABB. Anyone But Barcelona. While I'll be the first one to admit that Barcelona is an amazing club, possibly the best in the world right now, I'm sick of hearing about them. Outside of the true fans they do have, the rest of their fanbase is incredibly annoying. Yes, Lionel Messi is a fantastic player. Once in a generation for sure. Anyone who follows soccer (or football if there is anyone outside of the USA reading this) already knows this, so shut up about it Barca fans. Barcelona fans has become the hipsters team, at least out here in Orange County. You can't go anywhere to watch a game they're involved in without having to deal with these idiots. During last year's Champions League finals, my friends and I went to our local English pub to watch. The place was packed, as was expected, and the crowd was pretty much split down the middle. The more annoying fans were easily the Barca fans. To be specific, the fans who had no Barcelona gear on, no jersey, hat, scarf, or anything related to the team. Yet when they won, (and Barca definitely deserved to win that game) they were the ones leading the cheers, dancing on tables, and even spraying the rest of the bar with champagne.
Now I'm all for celebrating, especially huge wins. But if you care that much, don't you think you could stand to spend a few bucks on some team related apparel? Barcelona fans, at least in this area, are what have forced me to root against them. They're arrogant, incredibly biased, and they complain more than any other group of fans I've ever met in my life. It should be noted, that I don't think much of Chelsea fans either. This is simply a case of choosing between the lesser of two evils. I can't stand Chelsea. I think Drogba is among the whiniest players in the Premier League, not to mention dirty, and I find Petr Cech to be horribly annoying. Needless to say, it was very difficult for me to not root against Chelsea, but, it had to done.
So during Tuesday's game, I've found myself rooting for Chelsea, or rather, against Barcelona. The offensive pressure Barca put on Chelsea for the first 40 minutes was incredible. After the first goal, and John Terry's subsequent, yet questionable, red card, I thought the game as over. Then, when Barca added a second, I figured there was no way Chelsea could claw their way back in. They had no true center-back and no offense to speak of. It was just a formality at that point. I almost turned the game off, but decided to at least finish the 1st half. Then Ramires gives Chelsea a huge shot of life with his beautiful chip in stoppage time near the end of the first half. In fact, because of aggregate scoring, the Ramires goal actually put Chelsea in the lead.
The second half was very much like the first. A lot of offensive pressure from Barcelona, Chelsea rarely had possession in the attacking third. The two most shocking moments were provided by Barcelona's own Chosen One, Lionel Messi. Messi found the woodwork not once, but twice. One of which came when he hit the crossbar on a penalty kick. He has been on fire this season, but for whatever reason, he didn't have that spark. In fact, this is probably the first time in a while that I've watched a match involving Barcelona where he wasn't the star. The fact that Chelsea played such disciplined defense after losing their captain was incredible. They didn't play with desperation. In fact, Drogba's foul that awarded Barcelona the penalty kick (which again, Messi inexplicably missed) was the only ugly play. Then Fernando Torres somehow became the story of the match. Nearing full time, he calmly slipped the ball into the net, and the story was written. The $50 million goal (as it will be known) propelled Chelsea, with 10 men, to victory over Barcelona. The final score of the match was 2-2, but again, the aggregate scoring was 3-2, so Chelsea moved on.
Was it easy to root for Chelsea? Absolutely not. Was it easy to root against Barcelona? It was incredibly natural. Chelsea deserved to win, plain and simple. I'm not one to put the blame on one single player, but Messi really let Barcelona down. What makes it even sweeter is that Chelsea will be without a few key players for the finals, so I don't think they'll be emerging victorious. They'll face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, both of which should be able to run through Chelsea with very little trouble.
Follow me on Twitter- @TwittinSports
My buddy Craig came up with a very simple philosophy and posted it on Facebook. ABB. Anyone But Barcelona. While I'll be the first one to admit that Barcelona is an amazing club, possibly the best in the world right now, I'm sick of hearing about them. Outside of the true fans they do have, the rest of their fanbase is incredibly annoying. Yes, Lionel Messi is a fantastic player. Once in a generation for sure. Anyone who follows soccer (or football if there is anyone outside of the USA reading this) already knows this, so shut up about it Barca fans. Barcelona fans has become the hipsters team, at least out here in Orange County. You can't go anywhere to watch a game they're involved in without having to deal with these idiots. During last year's Champions League finals, my friends and I went to our local English pub to watch. The place was packed, as was expected, and the crowd was pretty much split down the middle. The more annoying fans were easily the Barca fans. To be specific, the fans who had no Barcelona gear on, no jersey, hat, scarf, or anything related to the team. Yet when they won, (and Barca definitely deserved to win that game) they were the ones leading the cheers, dancing on tables, and even spraying the rest of the bar with champagne.
Now I'm all for celebrating, especially huge wins. But if you care that much, don't you think you could stand to spend a few bucks on some team related apparel? Barcelona fans, at least in this area, are what have forced me to root against them. They're arrogant, incredibly biased, and they complain more than any other group of fans I've ever met in my life. It should be noted, that I don't think much of Chelsea fans either. This is simply a case of choosing between the lesser of two evils. I can't stand Chelsea. I think Drogba is among the whiniest players in the Premier League, not to mention dirty, and I find Petr Cech to be horribly annoying. Needless to say, it was very difficult for me to not root against Chelsea, but, it had to done.
So during Tuesday's game, I've found myself rooting for Chelsea, or rather, against Barcelona. The offensive pressure Barca put on Chelsea for the first 40 minutes was incredible. After the first goal, and John Terry's subsequent, yet questionable, red card, I thought the game as over. Then, when Barca added a second, I figured there was no way Chelsea could claw their way back in. They had no true center-back and no offense to speak of. It was just a formality at that point. I almost turned the game off, but decided to at least finish the 1st half. Then Ramires gives Chelsea a huge shot of life with his beautiful chip in stoppage time near the end of the first half. In fact, because of aggregate scoring, the Ramires goal actually put Chelsea in the lead.
The second half was very much like the first. A lot of offensive pressure from Barcelona, Chelsea rarely had possession in the attacking third. The two most shocking moments were provided by Barcelona's own Chosen One, Lionel Messi. Messi found the woodwork not once, but twice. One of which came when he hit the crossbar on a penalty kick. He has been on fire this season, but for whatever reason, he didn't have that spark. In fact, this is probably the first time in a while that I've watched a match involving Barcelona where he wasn't the star. The fact that Chelsea played such disciplined defense after losing their captain was incredible. They didn't play with desperation. In fact, Drogba's foul that awarded Barcelona the penalty kick (which again, Messi inexplicably missed) was the only ugly play. Then Fernando Torres somehow became the story of the match. Nearing full time, he calmly slipped the ball into the net, and the story was written. The $50 million goal (as it will be known) propelled Chelsea, with 10 men, to victory over Barcelona. The final score of the match was 2-2, but again, the aggregate scoring was 3-2, so Chelsea moved on.
Was it easy to root for Chelsea? Absolutely not. Was it easy to root against Barcelona? It was incredibly natural. Chelsea deserved to win, plain and simple. I'm not one to put the blame on one single player, but Messi really let Barcelona down. What makes it even sweeter is that Chelsea will be without a few key players for the finals, so I don't think they'll be emerging victorious. They'll face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, both of which should be able to run through Chelsea with very little trouble.
Follow me on Twitter- @TwittinSports
Monday, April 23, 2012
You Win This Round Juan Uribe
If you've been keeping up with my posts about the Dodgers, you undoubtedly are used to me trashing Juan Uribe. I hate his swing, I hate the approach he has at the plate, I hate the fact that he starts at 3rd base, and am generally just not a fan of the guy. Well, I've got to give him credit for his performance during Monday's game, even if it might kill me.
4-4, 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs, and none left on base. Someone take a picture of the box score, because I seriously doubt we'll see a line like that next to Uribe's name again this season. But, this post isn't about the future, it's about Monday's game. A game in which Uribe delivered every single time he stepped up to the plate. Were his at bats pretty? Not in the least, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is he put the ball in play with runners on base, which is all I will ever ask from him. He didn't swing at great pitches, but he somehow put the bat on the ball, and it found a hole. Every single time he stepped up to the plate. Call it luck, call it being due, call it whatever you want, but Juan Uribe was the MVP of Monday's game. Uribe's 4 hits tied a career high, and the runs he scored Monday night were his first of the season. Whether it was just a great night, or the start of something that will hopefully continue from here on out, it was nice to see Uribe produce at the plate.
Uribe wasn't the only Dodger who had a good night at the dish. Dee Gordon and Matt Kemp both went 2 for 3 and Andre Ethier went 3-4. Altogether, the Dodgers compiled 15 hits against a Braves pitching staff that is struggling. While Chris Capuano wasn't stellar Monday night, he got the job done. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous in the top of the 1st with the bases loaded and Jason Heyward batting. But Capuano struck him, and while he did labor at times, he only gave up 1 run through 7 innings, which came on a towering blast by former Dodger David Ross. The only really ugly moment for the Dodgers was when Kemp and Ethier somehow combined to hit back-to-back singles yet end up in a double play. I've said previously how much I like aggressive baserunning, but that was just unnecessary.
The Dodgers will send Aaron Harang to the bump on Tuesday to face Mike Minor. Minor got shelled in his first start of the season, but he's been pretty solid afterwards. So it should be a pretty decent pitching matchup.
Follow me on Twitter- @TwittinSports Like the blog on Facebook facebook.com/abloopandablast
PS-Hey Mike, sorry this is the first time the Braves get mentioned. I promise I'll get something up focusing more on the positive side of Atalanta's squad sometime in the near future.
4-4, 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs, and none left on base. Someone take a picture of the box score, because I seriously doubt we'll see a line like that next to Uribe's name again this season. But, this post isn't about the future, it's about Monday's game. A game in which Uribe delivered every single time he stepped up to the plate. Were his at bats pretty? Not in the least, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is he put the ball in play with runners on base, which is all I will ever ask from him. He didn't swing at great pitches, but he somehow put the bat on the ball, and it found a hole. Every single time he stepped up to the plate. Call it luck, call it being due, call it whatever you want, but Juan Uribe was the MVP of Monday's game. Uribe's 4 hits tied a career high, and the runs he scored Monday night were his first of the season. Whether it was just a great night, or the start of something that will hopefully continue from here on out, it was nice to see Uribe produce at the plate.
Uribe wasn't the only Dodger who had a good night at the dish. Dee Gordon and Matt Kemp both went 2 for 3 and Andre Ethier went 3-4. Altogether, the Dodgers compiled 15 hits against a Braves pitching staff that is struggling. While Chris Capuano wasn't stellar Monday night, he got the job done. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous in the top of the 1st with the bases loaded and Jason Heyward batting. But Capuano struck him, and while he did labor at times, he only gave up 1 run through 7 innings, which came on a towering blast by former Dodger David Ross. The only really ugly moment for the Dodgers was when Kemp and Ethier somehow combined to hit back-to-back singles yet end up in a double play. I've said previously how much I like aggressive baserunning, but that was just unnecessary.
The Dodgers will send Aaron Harang to the bump on Tuesday to face Mike Minor. Minor got shelled in his first start of the season, but he's been pretty solid afterwards. So it should be a pretty decent pitching matchup.
Follow me on Twitter- @TwittinSports Like the blog on Facebook facebook.com/abloopandablast
PS-Hey Mike, sorry this is the first time the Braves get mentioned. I promise I'll get something up focusing more on the positive side of Atalanta's squad sometime in the near future.
Bard Back To Bullpen
In what should come as a less than surprising move, the Red Sox have announced that Daniel Bard will be available out of the bullpen until Friday, when he's scheduled to be back in the starting rotation.
All of this bouncing around is the result of Sunday's rain out, which caused Bard to miss his scheduled start. It's not rare that a pitcher will get his spot in the rotation skipped when something like this happens, it keeps the rest of the staff on their regular schedule. But with the way the Red Sox have been playing, I think we can all agree that no one would be shocked if Bard makes at least two or three appearances in relief this week. While I do think Bard belongs in the bullpen right now, more specifically as the closer, it really is unfortunate. He hasn't done anything as a starter to deserve to be sent to the bullpen. Hopefully this doesn't shake his confidence.
The biggest thing this "temporary" move says to me is that the Sox are willing to put Bard back in the bullpen until Andrew Bailey can return if they have to. What the casual Red Sox fan may not know, is that the Sox have a pretty good starter in Triple A right now. Aaron Cook has been cruising so far in the minor leagues. He's 2-0 in three starts with a 1.35 ERA and a complete game. Now I'll be the first one to admit that the difference between Triple A and the big leagues is great. But Cook pitched in for the Rockies for the better part of 9 years, and was named an All-Star as recently as 2008. He also has a May 1st opt-out clause in his contract. It may be unfortunate for Bard, but it would be a shame for the Sox to waste a decent veteran pitcher by just letting him go. Especially with the starting staff struggling the way they have so far this season.
I said as soon as it was announced that Bailey was going to miss significant time that I thought Bard should go back to being the closer. It quickly became clear that Melancon and Aceves weren't going to be able to get the job done, and there really aren't any other options. What I would love to see this week is Bard get the save in 2 games, and then turn in 7 or 8 quality innings on Friday. Not only would this boost the team's confidence, but he would see just how valuable he is to the team. It would be ideal if he stepped up and said he would take over closing until Bailey can return, but I can't blame the guy for wanting to start. However, based on what is happening this week with him, and the timeline with Cook, it wouldn't surprise me if Bard finds himself as the closer before the end of the month. At least until Bailey returns. Then the problem is who gets bumped from the starting rotation. But we'll cross that bridge if/when we get to it.
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All of this bouncing around is the result of Sunday's rain out, which caused Bard to miss his scheduled start. It's not rare that a pitcher will get his spot in the rotation skipped when something like this happens, it keeps the rest of the staff on their regular schedule. But with the way the Red Sox have been playing, I think we can all agree that no one would be shocked if Bard makes at least two or three appearances in relief this week. While I do think Bard belongs in the bullpen right now, more specifically as the closer, it really is unfortunate. He hasn't done anything as a starter to deserve to be sent to the bullpen. Hopefully this doesn't shake his confidence.
The biggest thing this "temporary" move says to me is that the Sox are willing to put Bard back in the bullpen until Andrew Bailey can return if they have to. What the casual Red Sox fan may not know, is that the Sox have a pretty good starter in Triple A right now. Aaron Cook has been cruising so far in the minor leagues. He's 2-0 in three starts with a 1.35 ERA and a complete game. Now I'll be the first one to admit that the difference between Triple A and the big leagues is great. But Cook pitched in for the Rockies for the better part of 9 years, and was named an All-Star as recently as 2008. He also has a May 1st opt-out clause in his contract. It may be unfortunate for Bard, but it would be a shame for the Sox to waste a decent veteran pitcher by just letting him go. Especially with the starting staff struggling the way they have so far this season.
I said as soon as it was announced that Bailey was going to miss significant time that I thought Bard should go back to being the closer. It quickly became clear that Melancon and Aceves weren't going to be able to get the job done, and there really aren't any other options. What I would love to see this week is Bard get the save in 2 games, and then turn in 7 or 8 quality innings on Friday. Not only would this boost the team's confidence, but he would see just how valuable he is to the team. It would be ideal if he stepped up and said he would take over closing until Bailey can return, but I can't blame the guy for wanting to start. However, based on what is happening this week with him, and the timeline with Cook, it wouldn't surprise me if Bard finds himself as the closer before the end of the month. At least until Bailey returns. Then the problem is who gets bumped from the starting rotation. But we'll cross that bridge if/when we get to it.
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Saturday, April 21, 2012
Beast Mode Never Sleeps
I hope I'm not jinxing the guy, but Matt Kemp looks unstoppable right now. He leads all of MLB in the major hitting categories except for average and on base percentage. He trails David Wright in both of these, but he's also played in 4 more games and has 17 more at bats.
If you haven't been following along, Kemp is hitting .481 with 8 home runs, 20 RBIs, and his slugging percentage is 1.000. Yes, you read that correctly, a 1.000 slugging percentage. The closest person to him right now is Chris Young who is sitting at .897. Kemp has as many or more home runs that 5 teams in the league right now. So yeah, he's on fire.
Not only is Kemp killing the ball right now, but he's hitting the ball exactly where the Dodgers want him to. All of his home runs have been to either center or right field. The Dodgers don't want Kemp over-swinging and trying to pull the ball. His approach at the plate is perfect. He doesn't look like he's trying to hit home runs, he looks like he's just trying to make contact. But with his size, when he puts the barrel of the bat on the ball, it's flies.
Most baseball fans are aware of Kemp's preseason prediction of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases. While he's definitely on base for the home runs, he is going to have to pick it up on the base path. He's only swiped one bag and he's been caught twice. Although, in all fairness it is tough to steal bases when you only have to jog around them. 12 of Kemp's 26 hits have been for extra bases. So his chances of stealing second are already diminished. Not only that, but he has Andre Ethier hitting right behind him, who isn't a player anyone is going to figure for an easy out.
Kemp was rewarded for his MVP-candidate (sure wish I could delete the word candidate there) season last year with a huge contract. It's nice to see a player actually earning that money. Right now he's the offensive and emotional leader of the team, and I absolutely love it. Early this year Matt Kemp has said Beast Mode Never Sleeps, and right now, I don't think anyone would disagree with him.
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If you haven't been following along, Kemp is hitting .481 with 8 home runs, 20 RBIs, and his slugging percentage is 1.000. Yes, you read that correctly, a 1.000 slugging percentage. The closest person to him right now is Chris Young who is sitting at .897. Kemp has as many or more home runs that 5 teams in the league right now. So yeah, he's on fire.
Not only is Kemp killing the ball right now, but he's hitting the ball exactly where the Dodgers want him to. All of his home runs have been to either center or right field. The Dodgers don't want Kemp over-swinging and trying to pull the ball. His approach at the plate is perfect. He doesn't look like he's trying to hit home runs, he looks like he's just trying to make contact. But with his size, when he puts the barrel of the bat on the ball, it's flies.
Most baseball fans are aware of Kemp's preseason prediction of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases. While he's definitely on base for the home runs, he is going to have to pick it up on the base path. He's only swiped one bag and he's been caught twice. Although, in all fairness it is tough to steal bases when you only have to jog around them. 12 of Kemp's 26 hits have been for extra bases. So his chances of stealing second are already diminished. Not only that, but he has Andre Ethier hitting right behind him, who isn't a player anyone is going to figure for an easy out.
Kemp was rewarded for his MVP-candidate (sure wish I could delete the word candidate there) season last year with a huge contract. It's nice to see a player actually earning that money. Right now he's the offensive and emotional leader of the team, and I absolutely love it. Early this year Matt Kemp has said Beast Mode Never Sleeps, and right now, I don't think anyone would disagree with him.
Follow me on Twitter- @TwittinSports
Friday, April 20, 2012
Happy Birthday Fenway
As you probably already knew, Friday marks the 100th birthday of Fenway Park. While it does seem a bit ridiculous to be wishing a baseball stadium happy birthday, in this case, it's completely justified.
Think about it, Fenway is a historical landmark. In two years we'll have the 100th birthday of Wrigley Field, but after that, no stadium is even close to approaching the century mark. Dodger Stadium is the 3rd oldest, and they're celebrating the 50th birthday this year. So for Fenway to reach 100 years is pretty amazing. Yes the dimensions are weird, there's a giant wall in left field, and it's not exactly built for comfort. But anyone who is a baseball fan can appreciate the nostalgia. This is the park where legends like Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, and Carl Yastrzemski played. Babe Ruth debuted on that field, the Sox won 4 titles in the first 7 years the park was open, and of course it played host to the beginning of the greatest comeback in MLB history back in 2004.
Although I'm admittedly biased, there is no way you will ever convince me that Fenway should be torn down. Sure it's not the most fan-friendly park, and even though it has been somewhat renovated in the past few years, it's still not an ideal place to see a baseball game. But walking into Fenway is like stepping back in time. Fenway has been open longer than Mt. Rushmore, and think about this, the United States had only been a country for 136 years when Fenway Park opened. That's crazy.
Fenway was added to the National Register of Historic Places earlier this year in March. Hopefully, this will preserve it for the rest of time. There was some talk about a decade ago about building a new park. Thankfully this didn't happen, nor should it ever happen. As much as I hate the Yankees, I wish the old stadium had never been torn down. That place had a ridiculous amount of history attached to it as well, all of which is now gone. The Red Sox, and the city of Boston itself for that matter, despise the Yankees, so keeping Fenway around is just another way to they can stick it to them.
So Happy 100th Birthday Fenway, cheers to 100 more years!!
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Think about it, Fenway is a historical landmark. In two years we'll have the 100th birthday of Wrigley Field, but after that, no stadium is even close to approaching the century mark. Dodger Stadium is the 3rd oldest, and they're celebrating the 50th birthday this year. So for Fenway to reach 100 years is pretty amazing. Yes the dimensions are weird, there's a giant wall in left field, and it's not exactly built for comfort. But anyone who is a baseball fan can appreciate the nostalgia. This is the park where legends like Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, and Carl Yastrzemski played. Babe Ruth debuted on that field, the Sox won 4 titles in the first 7 years the park was open, and of course it played host to the beginning of the greatest comeback in MLB history back in 2004.
Although I'm admittedly biased, there is no way you will ever convince me that Fenway should be torn down. Sure it's not the most fan-friendly park, and even though it has been somewhat renovated in the past few years, it's still not an ideal place to see a baseball game. But walking into Fenway is like stepping back in time. Fenway has been open longer than Mt. Rushmore, and think about this, the United States had only been a country for 136 years when Fenway Park opened. That's crazy.
Fenway was added to the National Register of Historic Places earlier this year in March. Hopefully, this will preserve it for the rest of time. There was some talk about a decade ago about building a new park. Thankfully this didn't happen, nor should it ever happen. As much as I hate the Yankees, I wish the old stadium had never been torn down. That place had a ridiculous amount of history attached to it as well, all of which is now gone. The Red Sox, and the city of Boston itself for that matter, despise the Yankees, so keeping Fenway around is just another way to they can stick it to them.
So Happy 100th Birthday Fenway, cheers to 100 more years!!
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Thursday, April 19, 2012
This Should Teach Me To Shut Up. It Won't Though
So I thought Tuesday was going to be one of the worst days for me in regards to the sports teams I follow, and I was wrong. Wednesday saw the Dodgers lose on another walk-off, although the play at the plate was pretty questionable, the Red Sox lost again, and the Kings lost to Vancouver. Not a good day in this house.
First, let's examine the Red Sox game. Shockingly Melancon was sent down to the minors prior to Tuesday's matchup. He and his 49.50 ERA were replaced by Junichi Tazawa, who spent a little time with the big league club last year. To me this means one thing. Aceves is the closer. They won't call on Tazawa to close, at least I don't think they will, and there are no other options right now. There were a couple bright spots in the game, Youkilis hit a 2-run bomb that will hopefully put him on the right track (man I'm getting tired of writing that) and other than one mistake to Mike Napoli, Josh Beckett pitched pretty well. I really like Shoppach catching for Beckett too, it seems as though they've developed a good relationship, which as any Sox fan will tell you, is incredibly important for Beckett. Aside from all that, this team still looks bad. The 2,3, and 4 hitters all went 0fer on the night, although Cody Ross hitting cleanup is something I don't think anyone ever thought they would see in Boston, and the team combined to leave 7 runners on base. I did like seeing Mike Aviles running though. He's not Ellsbury quick, but he is fast enough to cause some havoc out there. Lastly, Franklin Morales just didn't have it tonight. He faced 7 hitters, gave up 2 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and didn't strike anyone out. Not taking anything way from Texas, who looks like the best team in the AL right now, but Morales needs to step it up if he's going to remain part of the bullpen.
The Dodgers, oh the Dodgers. Everything that was bouncing their way last week, is bouncing the other way this week. The play at the plate was close. But after watching numerous replays, it sure looks like Ellis gets the tag on Nyjer Morgan before his foot touches the plate. I'm a big fan of instant replays for safe/out calls, and this one gets filed in the evidence for that category. Matt Kemp wasn't his usual self at the plate, he did drive in a run, but he was only 1-3 with a single and walk. Plus he struck out in a big spot late in the game with runners on base. But, that's going to happen. He swings hard, he knows he's carrying the majority of the weight on this team, so it's nothing anyone should really think twice about. James Loney was back to normal going 0-4 and looking completely helpless while doing so. I just don't get it. How can a man of his size look so powerless at the plate? The majority of the Dodgers pitching looked pretty good, except for Matt Guerrier. He walked the bases loaded and gave up the game-winning sacrifice fly. He wasn't helped by Ellis' throwing error that allowed Morgan to go from 2nd to 3rd on his stolen base attempt. But with 1 out, he has to throw strikes. I realize he isn't a big clutch time pitcher, which raises another question I'll get to in a minute, but he just didn't trust his defense tonight and that cost him. The other question, is where was Javy Guerra? With 2 on and 1 out in a tie game in the bottom of the 10th inning, Don Mattingly chose to stick with Guerrier. I just don't understand this. I'm all for trying to save your closer, but he's the guy you go to with the game on the line. I'd be surprised if Mattingly does this again, I think he'll learn from this mistake.
Lastly, my Kings finally lost to the Canucks. They looked like 2 totally different teams tonight, which was to be expected. From the start the Kings looked really nervous and the Canucks looked like a team that was facing elimination. I do think that goal that was waved off in the 2nd period should have counted for the Kings though. It looked like a scrum in front of the net and the puck slid through. Apparently not. Also, I wasn't very impressed with Dustin Brown's penalty shot attempt. He made his move, Schneider didn't bite, and then it looked like Brown just gave up. Not what you want to see from your captain. All that being said, I'm not worried right now. The Kings have 3 days off before Game 5 in Vancouver, and I think they'll close it out on Sunday. They were too anxious Wednesday night, and it showed. That's fine though, they only have to win 1 out of the next 3 games. The Kings only lost 4 or more consecutive games 3 times during the regular season. However I do think Sunday is huge for the Kings. They need to put the Canucks away. You don't want to give a team like Vancouver any sort of momentum.
So yeah, Wednesday night should teach me to just shut my mouth and not complain about a couple of losses. I didn't do that, and all 3 teams that I root for that played lost. That's OK though, I'm not looking for a bridge or anything. Just have to remember that no one is out of anything at this point. Plus, after Wednesday, it can't get too much worse. Onwards and upwards I say.
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First, let's examine the Red Sox game. Shockingly Melancon was sent down to the minors prior to Tuesday's matchup. He and his 49.50 ERA were replaced by Junichi Tazawa, who spent a little time with the big league club last year. To me this means one thing. Aceves is the closer. They won't call on Tazawa to close, at least I don't think they will, and there are no other options right now. There were a couple bright spots in the game, Youkilis hit a 2-run bomb that will hopefully put him on the right track (man I'm getting tired of writing that) and other than one mistake to Mike Napoli, Josh Beckett pitched pretty well. I really like Shoppach catching for Beckett too, it seems as though they've developed a good relationship, which as any Sox fan will tell you, is incredibly important for Beckett. Aside from all that, this team still looks bad. The 2,3, and 4 hitters all went 0fer on the night, although Cody Ross hitting cleanup is something I don't think anyone ever thought they would see in Boston, and the team combined to leave 7 runners on base. I did like seeing Mike Aviles running though. He's not Ellsbury quick, but he is fast enough to cause some havoc out there. Lastly, Franklin Morales just didn't have it tonight. He faced 7 hitters, gave up 2 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and didn't strike anyone out. Not taking anything way from Texas, who looks like the best team in the AL right now, but Morales needs to step it up if he's going to remain part of the bullpen.
The Dodgers, oh the Dodgers. Everything that was bouncing their way last week, is bouncing the other way this week. The play at the plate was close. But after watching numerous replays, it sure looks like Ellis gets the tag on Nyjer Morgan before his foot touches the plate. I'm a big fan of instant replays for safe/out calls, and this one gets filed in the evidence for that category. Matt Kemp wasn't his usual self at the plate, he did drive in a run, but he was only 1-3 with a single and walk. Plus he struck out in a big spot late in the game with runners on base. But, that's going to happen. He swings hard, he knows he's carrying the majority of the weight on this team, so it's nothing anyone should really think twice about. James Loney was back to normal going 0-4 and looking completely helpless while doing so. I just don't get it. How can a man of his size look so powerless at the plate? The majority of the Dodgers pitching looked pretty good, except for Matt Guerrier. He walked the bases loaded and gave up the game-winning sacrifice fly. He wasn't helped by Ellis' throwing error that allowed Morgan to go from 2nd to 3rd on his stolen base attempt. But with 1 out, he has to throw strikes. I realize he isn't a big clutch time pitcher, which raises another question I'll get to in a minute, but he just didn't trust his defense tonight and that cost him. The other question, is where was Javy Guerra? With 2 on and 1 out in a tie game in the bottom of the 10th inning, Don Mattingly chose to stick with Guerrier. I just don't understand this. I'm all for trying to save your closer, but he's the guy you go to with the game on the line. I'd be surprised if Mattingly does this again, I think he'll learn from this mistake.
Lastly, my Kings finally lost to the Canucks. They looked like 2 totally different teams tonight, which was to be expected. From the start the Kings looked really nervous and the Canucks looked like a team that was facing elimination. I do think that goal that was waved off in the 2nd period should have counted for the Kings though. It looked like a scrum in front of the net and the puck slid through. Apparently not. Also, I wasn't very impressed with Dustin Brown's penalty shot attempt. He made his move, Schneider didn't bite, and then it looked like Brown just gave up. Not what you want to see from your captain. All that being said, I'm not worried right now. The Kings have 3 days off before Game 5 in Vancouver, and I think they'll close it out on Sunday. They were too anxious Wednesday night, and it showed. That's fine though, they only have to win 1 out of the next 3 games. The Kings only lost 4 or more consecutive games 3 times during the regular season. However I do think Sunday is huge for the Kings. They need to put the Canucks away. You don't want to give a team like Vancouver any sort of momentum.
So yeah, Wednesday night should teach me to just shut my mouth and not complain about a couple of losses. I didn't do that, and all 3 teams that I root for that played lost. That's OK though, I'm not looking for a bridge or anything. Just have to remember that no one is out of anything at this point. Plus, after Wednesday, it can't get too much worse. Onwards and upwards I say.
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Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Not A Good Baseball Day For Me
Well if you haven't noticed, the two teams I follow are the Dodgers and the Red Sox. If you paid attention to either of their games on Tuesday night, you can understand the title of this post. The Sox got absolutely obliterated by the Rangers at home by a score of 18-3, and the Dodgers lost their 2nd game of the season on a walk-off double.
I don't have much to say about the Red Sox game that you can't tell by the score. It was utterly embarrassing. There were only two teeny tiny bright spots in the game. The bottom of the first inning saw the Sox take a 2-0 lead on Dustin Pedroia's home run, and David Ortiz hustled down the line in late in the game on a play he knew he had zero chance of beating out. I love seeing Pedroia swing the bat well. As he goes, the rest of the team seems to go usually. It looked like the Sox were going to make quick work of Rangers starter Colby Lewis, but obviously things didn't work out that way. I always like to see guys hustle. I know Pete Rose isn't a popular guy in baseball circles, but he ran as hard as he could on every single play. For that, I will always respect him. So it was great to see Ortiz run like the game was tied or close, or not a football score. It showed he hasn't given up, which during a game like today, no one could have really blamed him if he did. The worst part of the game was Kevin Youkilis, he went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts. I don't know what's going on with Youk, but he needs to figure it out. I'll never boo a guy for trying, but something is obviously wrong. Hopefully he rights the ship soon.
The Dodgers on the other hand were in it until the very end. They were down early, battled back to tie it up, finally took the lead, and lost it in the bottom of the 9th. You have to respect Ron Roenicke's decisions to play for the win. One of the baseball mantras I absolutely love goes, "on the road, you play for the tie, at home, you play for the win." He did just that and his gamble paid off. All in all, it was a really good game, spoiled for Dodgers fans by one half inning. Should the Dodgers have won Tuesday's game? Probably, but that's baseball. There will be games where they come back in the 9th inning to win. What concerns me is still James Loney. He went 2-4 today with an RBI which was great. But when he looks bad, he looks awful. He doesn't make productive outs, and, the two times he got on base today, he got thrown out. Once trying to steal, which he had no business doing, and once while trying to go from 2nd to 3rd on an infield ground ball. Again, something he had no business doing. I like the idea of being aggressive on the basepath, but there is a time and place. The time is not when James Loney is doing the running.
Tomorrow the Sox send Josh Beckett to the hill to face Derek Holland and that hideous lip lettuce he calls a mustache. I hope Boston is able to rebound, but I'll be surprised if they do. They haven't shaken the stink of last September off yet, and until they do, they're going to continue to disappoint. The Dodgers will have Chris Capuano on the mound opposite Zack Greinke. Unlike the Sox, I think the boys in blue will rebound. Greinke hasn't been sharp this year, and the Dodgers will be looking to take advantage of that.
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I don't have much to say about the Red Sox game that you can't tell by the score. It was utterly embarrassing. There were only two teeny tiny bright spots in the game. The bottom of the first inning saw the Sox take a 2-0 lead on Dustin Pedroia's home run, and David Ortiz hustled down the line in late in the game on a play he knew he had zero chance of beating out. I love seeing Pedroia swing the bat well. As he goes, the rest of the team seems to go usually. It looked like the Sox were going to make quick work of Rangers starter Colby Lewis, but obviously things didn't work out that way. I always like to see guys hustle. I know Pete Rose isn't a popular guy in baseball circles, but he ran as hard as he could on every single play. For that, I will always respect him. So it was great to see Ortiz run like the game was tied or close, or not a football score. It showed he hasn't given up, which during a game like today, no one could have really blamed him if he did. The worst part of the game was Kevin Youkilis, he went 0-4 with 4 strikeouts. I don't know what's going on with Youk, but he needs to figure it out. I'll never boo a guy for trying, but something is obviously wrong. Hopefully he rights the ship soon.
The Dodgers on the other hand were in it until the very end. They were down early, battled back to tie it up, finally took the lead, and lost it in the bottom of the 9th. You have to respect Ron Roenicke's decisions to play for the win. One of the baseball mantras I absolutely love goes, "on the road, you play for the tie, at home, you play for the win." He did just that and his gamble paid off. All in all, it was a really good game, spoiled for Dodgers fans by one half inning. Should the Dodgers have won Tuesday's game? Probably, but that's baseball. There will be games where they come back in the 9th inning to win. What concerns me is still James Loney. He went 2-4 today with an RBI which was great. But when he looks bad, he looks awful. He doesn't make productive outs, and, the two times he got on base today, he got thrown out. Once trying to steal, which he had no business doing, and once while trying to go from 2nd to 3rd on an infield ground ball. Again, something he had no business doing. I like the idea of being aggressive on the basepath, but there is a time and place. The time is not when James Loney is doing the running.
Tomorrow the Sox send Josh Beckett to the hill to face Derek Holland and that hideous lip lettuce he calls a mustache. I hope Boston is able to rebound, but I'll be surprised if they do. They haven't shaken the stink of last September off yet, and until they do, they're going to continue to disappoint. The Dodgers will have Chris Capuano on the mound opposite Zack Greinke. Unlike the Sox, I think the boys in blue will rebound. Greinke hasn't been sharp this year, and the Dodgers will be looking to take advantage of that.
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Just Another Halo Disappointment
The Angels were by far the biggest story of the offseason. Owner Arte Moreno gave Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson more money combined that what he initially paid for the team. While I don't blame either player for taking the cash, the Angels don't look so good thus far in the early part of the season. I feel like a broken record when I say this, but it's still really early. Although I wouldn't be too stoked if the franchise I was a fan of dropped a fortune on two players but didn't address the real issues.
I don't think I really need to go into the kind of player Albert Pujols is. Lets just put it this way, last year in the regular season he hit .299, with 99 RBIs, 37 home runs, and had a .366 OBP. All of these were career lows for him except for his home run total. Read that again, career lows. Just about anyone else in the league would be thrilled with number like that. For him, it was a down year. This would concern me a bit, he is getting older, he does seem to be a bit more prone to injury, but he's still a terror at the plate. Not so much this year yet, but he'll get there. I expect him to hit above .300 and to be near 100 RBIs again. What I do think will suffer is his home run total. He's not on the senior circuit anymore. He's in the AL for the first time in his career and will be facing pitchers he hasn't seen before. I think this could have a negative effect on him, but he'll still put up ridiculous stats. We've seen evidence of this already, he still hasn't hit a home run, which is the longest homerless start to a season for him in his career.
CJ Wilson is the more curious signing to me. The Angels already had a great 1-2 punch with Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. I'm in no way suggesting having 3 excellent starting pitchers is a bad idea, but I just don't think they spent wisely on Wilson. His career ERA is 3.56 and he's only won 10 more games than he's lost. That doesn't justify a near $80 million contract. But what about his postseason stats? He was the ace of the Rangers staff that has been to back-to-back World Series right? Wrong. His postseason stats are what make me even more skeptical of the contract he was given. Over his career he is 1-5 with a 4.82 ERA, not exactly what you're looking for. He's started 10 games and only won once, which was actually last year, when his playoff ERA was 5.79. Compare these stats to Jered Weaver, whose contract is just a bit higher, and you can see the disparity I'm talking about. Weaver has a 2-1 postseason record in 6 starts with a 2.61 ERA. This is more along the lines of what you're looking for in a young, high-priced starting pitcher.
If I was an Angels fan, I would have preferred if there was significant money spent on the bullpen. Last year they were in the middle of the pack in ERA, but they were tied for 3rd most blown saves in all of baseball. As a team they had 39 saves and blew 25. In today's game, you need a lockdown closer in order to be successful. The Angels don't have one. They have Jordan Walden, who had 32 of the saves from last year, but he blew 10 as well. His ERA was 2.98 but his batting average against was only .229 which is a bit confusing. All in all, I think the Angels could have spent their money a bit wiser when it comes to pitching.
Even though the Angels were picked by many as World Series favorites during Spring Training, I don't think they will win their division. The Rangers are a good team, emphasis on the word team there. They are more complete when it comes to the entire roster. While the Angels may have the bigger names, the Rangers role players are better, and they're also younger. I think the Angels will make the playoffs thanks to the expanded postseason we're going to have this year, but I don't see them going far. Maybe win their ALDS but I highly doubt they'll be successful in the ALCS. Just another Halo disappointment.
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I don't think I really need to go into the kind of player Albert Pujols is. Lets just put it this way, last year in the regular season he hit .299, with 99 RBIs, 37 home runs, and had a .366 OBP. All of these were career lows for him except for his home run total. Read that again, career lows. Just about anyone else in the league would be thrilled with number like that. For him, it was a down year. This would concern me a bit, he is getting older, he does seem to be a bit more prone to injury, but he's still a terror at the plate. Not so much this year yet, but he'll get there. I expect him to hit above .300 and to be near 100 RBIs again. What I do think will suffer is his home run total. He's not on the senior circuit anymore. He's in the AL for the first time in his career and will be facing pitchers he hasn't seen before. I think this could have a negative effect on him, but he'll still put up ridiculous stats. We've seen evidence of this already, he still hasn't hit a home run, which is the longest homerless start to a season for him in his career.
CJ Wilson is the more curious signing to me. The Angels already had a great 1-2 punch with Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. I'm in no way suggesting having 3 excellent starting pitchers is a bad idea, but I just don't think they spent wisely on Wilson. His career ERA is 3.56 and he's only won 10 more games than he's lost. That doesn't justify a near $80 million contract. But what about his postseason stats? He was the ace of the Rangers staff that has been to back-to-back World Series right? Wrong. His postseason stats are what make me even more skeptical of the contract he was given. Over his career he is 1-5 with a 4.82 ERA, not exactly what you're looking for. He's started 10 games and only won once, which was actually last year, when his playoff ERA was 5.79. Compare these stats to Jered Weaver, whose contract is just a bit higher, and you can see the disparity I'm talking about. Weaver has a 2-1 postseason record in 6 starts with a 2.61 ERA. This is more along the lines of what you're looking for in a young, high-priced starting pitcher.
If I was an Angels fan, I would have preferred if there was significant money spent on the bullpen. Last year they were in the middle of the pack in ERA, but they were tied for 3rd most blown saves in all of baseball. As a team they had 39 saves and blew 25. In today's game, you need a lockdown closer in order to be successful. The Angels don't have one. They have Jordan Walden, who had 32 of the saves from last year, but he blew 10 as well. His ERA was 2.98 but his batting average against was only .229 which is a bit confusing. All in all, I think the Angels could have spent their money a bit wiser when it comes to pitching.
Even though the Angels were picked by many as World Series favorites during Spring Training, I don't think they will win their division. The Rangers are a good team, emphasis on the word team there. They are more complete when it comes to the entire roster. While the Angels may have the bigger names, the Rangers role players are better, and they're also younger. I think the Angels will make the playoffs thanks to the expanded postseason we're going to have this year, but I don't see them going far. Maybe win their ALDS but I highly doubt they'll be successful in the ALCS. Just another Halo disappointment.
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Monday, April 16, 2012
Shut Up Bobby
Well it took 9 whole games before Bobby Valentine show
just how much he doesn't get what managing the Red Sox really means. If you
don't know what I'm talking about, when speaking about Kevin Youkilis and his
slow start he said, "I don't think he's as physically or emotionally into
the game as he has been in the past for some reason." In all
fairness, he did go on to praise Youk, sorta. But what this illustrates more
than anything else, is Valentine is completely clueless to this point as to
what it means to manage a team like the Red Sox.
Yes the Red Sox are big market team, and the word big probably doesn't describe it well enough. The Sox are one of the most popular teams in the game, we all know that. The fan base is die-hard and deeply committed. So when the new guy in town openly criticizes a fan favorite after 9 games for starting slowly, it's not going to go over well. Valentine was loudly booed during Monday's game, which curiously saw Youkilis not in the lineup with what Valentine said was a sore groin. He also said he has apologized to Youkilis for his comments and didn't mean to be criticizing him. Let's back up a bit, didn't mean to criticize? What else would you be trying to do when you come out and say one of the stars of your team doesn't care anymore? Valentine clearly stuck his foot in his mouth, and while he thinks he may have apologized, if I was Youkilis, I'd be less than satisfied at this point.
Dustin Pedroia put things in perspective when he said he didn't really understand what Valentine was trying to do, but that whatever it was, that's not the way things work in Boston, and he's absolutely right. While the Sox may have a rabid fanbase and play in a huge market, they are a team that sticks together. Pointing fingers isn't going to help anyone, especially right now. Pedroia is the Sox sparkplug and has become their emotional leader over the past few seasons. So he was absolutely correct to make a statement and back his teammate. It wouldn't surprise me if the entire dugout felt the same way. If anything, Youkilis has been criticized in the past for caring too much.
It's obvious Valentine doesn't know how to manage this team, at least at this point. That's not to say he can't figure it out, but I'd be shocked if he gets it by the All-Star break. That's what made Francona so great, he always backed his guys, no matter what happened. I just don't see Valentine ever doing that. He's not going to take responsibility for a loss, which is what a manager should do, even though he's not the one on the field. I have a bad feeling this isn't going to be the last time Valentine throws one of his players under the buss and then offers a half-assed apology. He spends far too much time talking, especially about things he has no business speaking to the media about. It's time for him to shut up and get his team motivated. This should ring as a loud wakeup call to him too, Boston isn't going to tolerate a manger ripping his own players, and as it sits right now, Valentine's got a better chance of finding himself out of MLB again than he does returning as the Red Sox manager.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Ellsbury? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Ellsbury
Ok, so that's total BS. While the Red Sox poured it on the Rays again on Saturday, to the tune of 13 runs including 5 home runs, Ellsbury's absence is going to have an effect. That's not to say it will be an overly negative effect though.
If you ask me, and again I'm totally biased, Ellsbury should've been the AL MVP last year. There is no way any team in all of baseball wouldn't miss a guy like him. He's great in the field, he's exactly what you want as a leadoff hitter, and he seems like a total team player. So yes, he will be missed for the 6-8 weeks he is presumed to be out. But it may not be as bad as it looks upon first glance. There are options.
If you ask me, and again I'm totally biased, Ellsbury should've been the AL MVP last year. There is no way any team in all of baseball wouldn't miss a guy like him. He's great in the field, he's exactly what you want as a leadoff hitter, and he seems like a total team player. So yes, he will be missed for the 6-8 weeks he is presumed to be out. But it may not be as bad as it looks upon first glance. There are options.
So what are those options for centerfield? Saturday's lineup featured Darnell McDonald in left, Ryan Sweeney in Right, and Cody Ross in center. Personally, I think D-Mac would be better suited for center as I feel like he's a bit more mobile than Ross. But I understand putting the guy with the most Fenway experience in left to deal with the Monster. The Red Sox also called up Che-Hsuan Lin from Triple A, but I'd be shocked if he lasts long. While he's a good fielder with an above average arm, I'm concerned with his bat. He only hit .235 last year and his career minor-league average is .257 which just won't cut it in The Show. So I think the outfield that played today is just fine, and if we can get Ross a little more accustomed to left and switch him with D-Mac, I think we could be even better off.
While Saturday was a great display by the Sox hitter that Ellsbury wasn't needed, it was just one game. I'm hoping they will band together and get through the next 2 months or so without him and still be in the race when he returns. Given the guys on the team right now, I do think this is possible. Cody Ross performed on the big stage in San Francisco and D-Mac has already played a season in Boston, so he knows what the pressure is like. Couple them with Ryan Sweeney, who was at one time the number 1 ranked prospect in the White Sox system, and we've got very capable outfield.
What it really all boils down to is pitching. Shocker, I know. I'm a huge believe in the "good pitching will beat good hitting everytime" mantra. Outside of Buccholz shaky first, he looked pretty good. 104 pitches through 7 innings with 66 strikes isn't bad at all. While giving up 5 ER isn't great, consider that after that rough 1st inning, he only gave up 1. He'll be a work in progress, but he showed good potential today. He could have easily imploded and been done after 3 like David Price was yesterday. All in all, I think this is a game he can draw experience from as the season progresses. Also, the Red Sox bullpen was perfect today. Aceves threw 15 pitches, 10 for strikes, in a very clean 8th inning, and Morales followed suit by needing only 10 pitches to breeze through the 9th.
Oh, remember all that talk about the Rays bullpen? Yeah, good job there analysts. Right now they're dead last in team ERA when it comes to relievers. I know it's still really early, but I think a lot of people jumped the gun on their entire pitching staff, especially the bullpen.
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You're Welcome Canada, Except For BC
Going to stray away from my normal baseball posts are talk about some hockey. The Kings beat the Canucks Friday night to take a 2-0 series lead. While this may not mean much to the casual sports fan, I assure you, this is a pretty big deal. The Canucks lost the Stanley Cup in Game 7 on their home ice last year, and are the number 1 overall seed in this year's playoffs. So a team from LA coming into their house and putting the beat down on them should be pretty demoralizing.
I can honestly say these two playoff games are the best I've seen the Kings play all year, and you know what they say, timing is everything. They're passing better, they're scoring more (the Kings were the second lowest scoring team in the entire NHL this season,) and they're hitting. Not only that, but they are out-working and out-hustling the Canucks on both ends of the ice. Typically the Kings are a bit sloppy with their passing and don't mix it up in front of the opposing goalie too often. Completely different in their first 2 playoff games. The passes are crisp and on target, and they look totally unafraid to stand in the slot and take their lumps. This is hockey folks. This is the way the Kings should have been playing all year. They don't have an enforcer, so they tend to get bullied by the bigger teams. Vancouver is learning a lesson, you can only push the small dog so far before he bites back.
Friday night we also saw a great display of goaltending by Kings net-minder Jonathan Quick. He has been the one of the few things Kings fans have been able to count on this year. The guy is an absolute wall. He stopped 46 of 48 shots on Friday, many of which came from very close range and many different angles. It may seem a bit premature, but that was vintage Quick. Dustin Brown put the Kings on the board in the first period with a short-handed goal and then put them back on top with another shorty in the second period. All year the penalty killing unit for the Kings has been on fire, 4th best in the league, so it's great to see that continuing.
Now, I am an admitted Canucks hater. I think they play dirty, take cheapshots, dive, and complain more than any other team in the league. The only thing that could make me happier than the Kings beating the Canucks in this series would be if they were beating the Ducks or Red Wings, but it's really, really close. I'm sure the city of Vancouver, and most if not all of British Columbia for that matter, is shaking in their boots or whatever they wear up there, I don't know, mukluks maybe? Either way, I'm very pleased with this series so far.
The teams will meet on Sunday at the Staples Center in Game 3 with the Kings looking to take a commanding lead in the series. If I'm being truthful, and I always try to be, I must say it wouldn't surprise me if the Canucks win Game 3. They know it's do or die. But for them to stand any chance of winning the series, they're going to need to win Games 3 and 4. It's obvious the Kings aren't intimidated by playing on the road. Right now, I'm going to venture a guess and say the Kings wrap this series up in Game 6 in LA.
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I can honestly say these two playoff games are the best I've seen the Kings play all year, and you know what they say, timing is everything. They're passing better, they're scoring more (the Kings were the second lowest scoring team in the entire NHL this season,) and they're hitting. Not only that, but they are out-working and out-hustling the Canucks on both ends of the ice. Typically the Kings are a bit sloppy with their passing and don't mix it up in front of the opposing goalie too often. Completely different in their first 2 playoff games. The passes are crisp and on target, and they look totally unafraid to stand in the slot and take their lumps. This is hockey folks. This is the way the Kings should have been playing all year. They don't have an enforcer, so they tend to get bullied by the bigger teams. Vancouver is learning a lesson, you can only push the small dog so far before he bites back.
Friday night we also saw a great display of goaltending by Kings net-minder Jonathan Quick. He has been the one of the few things Kings fans have been able to count on this year. The guy is an absolute wall. He stopped 46 of 48 shots on Friday, many of which came from very close range and many different angles. It may seem a bit premature, but that was vintage Quick. Dustin Brown put the Kings on the board in the first period with a short-handed goal and then put them back on top with another shorty in the second period. All year the penalty killing unit for the Kings has been on fire, 4th best in the league, so it's great to see that continuing.
Now, I am an admitted Canucks hater. I think they play dirty, take cheapshots, dive, and complain more than any other team in the league. The only thing that could make me happier than the Kings beating the Canucks in this series would be if they were beating the Ducks or Red Wings, but it's really, really close. I'm sure the city of Vancouver, and most if not all of British Columbia for that matter, is shaking in their boots or whatever they wear up there, I don't know, mukluks maybe? Either way, I'm very pleased with this series so far.
The teams will meet on Sunday at the Staples Center in Game 3 with the Kings looking to take a commanding lead in the series. If I'm being truthful, and I always try to be, I must say it wouldn't surprise me if the Canucks win Game 3. They know it's do or die. But for them to stand any chance of winning the series, they're going to need to win Games 3 and 4. It's obvious the Kings aren't intimidated by playing on the road. Right now, I'm going to venture a guess and say the Kings wrap this series up in Game 6 in LA.
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Friday, April 13, 2012
Beckett Bounces Back Beautifully
Now that was the kind of pitching Red Sox fans have come to expect from Josh Beckett. 94 pitches over 8 innings, scattering just 5 hits, allowing 1 run, and walking just 1. Not too shabby. It would have been nice to see him strikeout a few more hitters, he only had 1 K, but I'm not complaining one bit. His velocity did seem a bit down, but he located well so it wasn't really a problem.
The story of the game will of course be the hitting clinic the Sox put on in the bottom of the 8th. They scored 8 runs and actually batted around before making their first out. Why is this significant you might ask. Well, one of the Rays strong points is supposed to be their bullpen. In fact, their entire pitching staff was widely hailed as one of the best during Spring Training. I've never been all that impressed with David Price, though I admit there is probably some rivalry based bias there, but he did nothing today to improve my opinion of him. He struggled to get through 3 innings by throwing 83 pitches, with 3 walks, 3 K's, giving up 4 hits, and 3 runs. Not exactly what you want to see from your All-Star pitcher. Especially facing a division rival that has been struggling in the early part of the season.
The other big story to come out of the Red Sox home opener will be Jacoby Ellsbury and his shoulder. Ellsbury was hurt while trying to break up a double play at 2nd. The slide wasn't dirty, but Rays 2nd baseman Reid Brignac landed right on Ellsbury's back/shoulder. The play sounds worse than it looked, but it was quite obvious Jacoby was in a good deal of pain. He walked off the field under his own power, but was cradling his arm as if it were in a sling. So far the Red Sox have reported that he has a right shoulder injury and will need further evaluation. This could not have come at a worse time for the Sox or Ellsbury. The offense exploded today, which he was right in the middle of. He was 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored before leaving the game. Just when it looks like he's about to pull himself out of this little season starting slump, he gets hurt. At best, my guess is this will be a mild shoulder sprain and he'll be out 4-5 games. At worst, he could have torn ligaments and/or a dislocation and he'll need surgery and likely miss the rest of the season. Let's all hope for the best.
I've still yet to be impressed with Mark Melancon. He came on to pitch the 9th inning, although it looked pretty certain Beckett would have been given the chance to pitch a complete game had the Sox not put 8 more runs on the board. He gave up a solo home run to Ben Zobrist and struck out 1. While 15 pitches is very efficient, I just don't see "it" yet. Hopefully that will change. Also of note, Kelly Shoppach had himself a hell of a day. 3-4 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI, plus his first career stolen base. Although it must be mentioned his slide was less than graceful, to say the least. It will be on Not Top 10, guaranteed.
Final Box Score- Rays 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 error. Red Sox 12 runs, 16 hits, 0 errors.
Tomorrow the Sox send Buccholz to the mound to square off against reigning AL Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson. Hopefully Buccholz does like Beckett did today and rebounds after that ugly first start in Detroit. Would be nice if the offense kept firing on all cylinders too.
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The story of the game will of course be the hitting clinic the Sox put on in the bottom of the 8th. They scored 8 runs and actually batted around before making their first out. Why is this significant you might ask. Well, one of the Rays strong points is supposed to be their bullpen. In fact, their entire pitching staff was widely hailed as one of the best during Spring Training. I've never been all that impressed with David Price, though I admit there is probably some rivalry based bias there, but he did nothing today to improve my opinion of him. He struggled to get through 3 innings by throwing 83 pitches, with 3 walks, 3 K's, giving up 4 hits, and 3 runs. Not exactly what you want to see from your All-Star pitcher. Especially facing a division rival that has been struggling in the early part of the season.
The other big story to come out of the Red Sox home opener will be Jacoby Ellsbury and his shoulder. Ellsbury was hurt while trying to break up a double play at 2nd. The slide wasn't dirty, but Rays 2nd baseman Reid Brignac landed right on Ellsbury's back/shoulder. The play sounds worse than it looked, but it was quite obvious Jacoby was in a good deal of pain. He walked off the field under his own power, but was cradling his arm as if it were in a sling. So far the Red Sox have reported that he has a right shoulder injury and will need further evaluation. This could not have come at a worse time for the Sox or Ellsbury. The offense exploded today, which he was right in the middle of. He was 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored before leaving the game. Just when it looks like he's about to pull himself out of this little season starting slump, he gets hurt. At best, my guess is this will be a mild shoulder sprain and he'll be out 4-5 games. At worst, he could have torn ligaments and/or a dislocation and he'll need surgery and likely miss the rest of the season. Let's all hope for the best.
I've still yet to be impressed with Mark Melancon. He came on to pitch the 9th inning, although it looked pretty certain Beckett would have been given the chance to pitch a complete game had the Sox not put 8 more runs on the board. He gave up a solo home run to Ben Zobrist and struck out 1. While 15 pitches is very efficient, I just don't see "it" yet. Hopefully that will change. Also of note, Kelly Shoppach had himself a hell of a day. 3-4 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI, plus his first career stolen base. Although it must be mentioned his slide was less than graceful, to say the least. It will be on Not Top 10, guaranteed.
Final Box Score- Rays 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 error. Red Sox 12 runs, 16 hits, 0 errors.
Tomorrow the Sox send Buccholz to the mound to square off against reigning AL Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson. Hopefully Buccholz does like Beckett did today and rebounds after that ugly first start in Detroit. Would be nice if the offense kept firing on all cylinders too.
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Dodgers Break Out The Brooms
I really hope I’m not jinxing this, but damn the Dodgers
look good this year. Best record in baseball, a pitching staff that seems to be
finding a groove, an offense that looks like they’re ready to explode at any
minute, and a closer who is just nasty.
Thursday night they swept the Pirates in the first series at
Dodger this season, and they’ll face the Padres this weekend. I’ll be the first
to admit that these aren’t exactly the cream of the crop, but hey, it’s a
start. I’m looking at this kind of like the college football season. Most high
profile schools that are projected to contend for a title play some small
school who gets the absolute snot kicked out of them, this is to build the
confidence of the team. Well the scheduling Gods smiled on the Dodgers and
handed them a pretty easy first half of the month of April. Started in San
Diego, just swept the Pirates, the Padres will be in town this weekend, then it’s
off face the Brewers (and boo the hell out of Ryan “PED” Braun), and then they’ll
be in Houston for 3 before returning home to face the Braves. Yes Milwaukee did
make the playoffs last year, but they lost the catalyst to their team. I’m not
worried about them. Going into the series with the Braves, they could
potentially have only 1, maybe 2, more losses on their record. I can see the
Brewers winning one, and maybe losing a close one in Houston simply because it will be the first time they're on the road for back-to-back series.
It was good to see Loney get his first hit Thursday,
hopefully he’ll be able to pull himself out of this slump, and it was hilarious
to hear Matt Kemp yell “Hey get that ball!!!” after he scored on Loney’s
single. I said it in an earlier post,
but Kemp just seems so relaxed right now, and I think it’s really helping the
team, especially the new guys. I would love to complain about Uribe, as is
becoming a theme, but he went 2-4 with an RBI that actually came with 2 outs,
so for this post, I won’t rip him. I was
also pretty impressed with Capuano on Thursday. He didn’t pitch spectacular,
but he didn’t walk anyone and he struck out 7 over 5 and 1/3 innings. Also, I don’t think I’ve mentioned how
impressed I’ve been with Javy Guerra so far. He just looks ridiculous right
now. His fastball has good late life and his breaking ball looks unhittable. I
am worried about Friday night though. Guerra has pitched in the last 3 games,
and I’m not so sure he’s going to be available. This means one thing, the
Dodgers are going to need to score a good amount of runs.
Again, I realize it’s incredibly early in the season. But
getting off on the right foot is very important for this team. The negativity
that was present last year and during the majority of the offseason could have
easily crippled this squad. Instead, the team looks like they’re ready to
battle for the division. It’s rare that I’m so optimistic this early in the
year, but these Dodgers have me pretty excited. Oh, and Vin Scully is
improving, and while he will miss Friday’s game, it’s possible he’ll be back in
the booth Saturday or Sunday. I think I speak for all Dodger fans when I say,
take as much time as you need. If he isn’t 100% then he should take the weekend
off and use the team’s upcoming road trip to get to 100%.
As always, feel free to hit me up on Twitter, @TwittinSports
and/or leave a comment here if there is something you would like me to talk about in a later post, Dodgers related or not.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Tito Says No
By now you've probably heard that Terry Francona has rejected the Red Sox invitation to appear at their 100th anniversary game later this month. While many feel like this may be a case of sour grapes or a disgruntled former employee, he's actually making the right decision.
It pains me to say that it was time for Francona to leave Boston after what happened last September. Someone had to take the fall, and unfortunately the axe landed on his head. But he will be the first to tell you that it was time to go, that's not the issue. The issue is how he was portrayed by the ownership after they parted ways. Why should he accept an invitation from the people who attacked his character and essentially placed all the blame on him for the team's collapse? I know I wouldn't.
While it would be great if he did attend, as I truly believe he would get the loudest cheers of anyone, it's completely understandable that he's decided not to. Francona is arguably the greatest manager in Red Sox history. Like Mike Wilbon said, he guided them to their first World Series in like 400 years. It would be absolutely amazing if during the pre-game ceremony, when there is an appropriate time, the entire Red Sox Nation who faithfully fill Fenway starts chanting, "Tito, Tito, Tito!!!"
Francona tried to take the high road on his way out of Boston, it was the ownership who sucker-punched him. There was no reason to go after him personally. By inviting him, and for what it's worth expecting him to show up, Lucchino, Werner, and Henry seem to think it's all water under the bridge. While I'm the first one to say don't dwell on the past, it's easy to say that as an outsider. Think about it, if you got fired from a job you loved, and the boss publicly trashed you, then invited you to a party a few months later, would you show up? Probably not. Francona absolutely deserves to be there that day, but I don't blame him one bit for skipping it. Tito knows Red Sox Nation still loves him, and will always have a place for him in their hearts. He doesn't need to do the ownership any favors, he's did more than enough in his 8 years as manager.
UPDATE-Here is a link to a story from ESPNBoston.com in which Francona actually says he regrets some of the things he said about the team. Seriously, talk about taking the high road. Good for you Tito, the Nation misses you.
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It pains me to say that it was time for Francona to leave Boston after what happened last September. Someone had to take the fall, and unfortunately the axe landed on his head. But he will be the first to tell you that it was time to go, that's not the issue. The issue is how he was portrayed by the ownership after they parted ways. Why should he accept an invitation from the people who attacked his character and essentially placed all the blame on him for the team's collapse? I know I wouldn't.
While it would be great if he did attend, as I truly believe he would get the loudest cheers of anyone, it's completely understandable that he's decided not to. Francona is arguably the greatest manager in Red Sox history. Like Mike Wilbon said, he guided them to their first World Series in like 400 years. It would be absolutely amazing if during the pre-game ceremony, when there is an appropriate time, the entire Red Sox Nation who faithfully fill Fenway starts chanting, "Tito, Tito, Tito!!!"
Francona tried to take the high road on his way out of Boston, it was the ownership who sucker-punched him. There was no reason to go after him personally. By inviting him, and for what it's worth expecting him to show up, Lucchino, Werner, and Henry seem to think it's all water under the bridge. While I'm the first one to say don't dwell on the past, it's easy to say that as an outsider. Think about it, if you got fired from a job you loved, and the boss publicly trashed you, then invited you to a party a few months later, would you show up? Probably not. Francona absolutely deserves to be there that day, but I don't blame him one bit for skipping it. Tito knows Red Sox Nation still loves him, and will always have a place for him in their hearts. He doesn't need to do the ownership any favors, he's did more than enough in his 8 years as manager.
UPDATE-Here is a link to a story from ESPNBoston.com in which Francona actually says he regrets some of the things he said about the team. Seriously, talk about taking the high road. Good for you Tito, the Nation misses you.
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Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Dodgers Are Tops In MLB
Cherish it Dodger fans, the boys in blue have the best record in all of Major League Baseball. I'll be the first one to admit that this seems like a silly thing to celebrate or even talk about, but hey, last season was ROUGH. We'll take what we can get.
Thoughts from Wednesday's game- Is Chad Billingsley going to make a return to his 2008 form? 2nd start of the year and it sure looks good so far. Granted he has only faced the Padres and Pirates, but hey, a little confidence boosting may be exactly what he needs. It seemed in the past few season, Bills always had one inning that doomed him. So far this year, aside from one pitch to Clint Barmes tonight, he's looked untouchable. If he can keep this up, he and Kershaw could very well be the best 1-2 combo in all of baseball. My only real gripe about tonight was the decision to have Loney pinch hit for him. I agree that it was right to pinch hit for Bills, but why Loney? It's well known that Loney doesn't hit left-handed pitching well at all, that's why he didn't start tonight. But Mattingly sends him up to pinch hit versus a lefty. I guess Mattingly is trying to get James some confidence, but it wasn't the smartest of moves in my opinion. Whichever way you slice it, Loney is still hitless on the year, but the team got the win. So I guess, no harm, no foul.
In other shocking news, Uribe still sucks, Kemp and Ethier are still making great contact, and Dee Gordon is still lightning quick. I know I'm not alone on this one but it bears repeating, Dee Gordon is fast. It's seriously ridiculous. Any weakly hit ground ball the left side of the infield is going to be a really close play at first. Nearly anything that makes it to the outfield is guaranteed to be extra bases. If he walks, he'll be standing at 2nd base within a matter of 1-2 pitches. He's a total game changer. I would like to see him attempt some steals of third though. At least once a game, just to see what the opposition does. Andre Ethier is about as locked in as he could be right now. His swing is so pure. As I've said in the past, he always rakes in April, but for some reason, I have a good feeling he'll be able to sustain his stroke throughout the season. By now you're probably familiar with my feelings on Uribe. He swings so hard it's amazing he doesn't throw out his back or pull a hamstring every time he steps in the box. Matt Kemp is still Matt Kemp. After going 0-4 yesterday, he bounces back by going 3-4 with a double and a run scored tonight. He looks so relaxed right now, and it sure seems like the rest of the team (minus Uribe and Loney) are feeding off his energy.
Back to the whole best record in baseball, it sure would be nice if they could face the Padres and Pirates for the next 156 games, but that's not the case. However, starting the season on a winning streak can't hurt. Hopefully it will also bring the fans back. Wednesday night's crowd looked a bit thin, and was being referred to as a McCourt Crowd. I'm sure the fans will start to return with the new ownership, the crazy amount of giveaways this year, and a team that looks promising. They're going for the sweep tomorrow, so if you're heading about to Chavez Ravine, make sure you take your broom.
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Thoughts from Wednesday's game- Is Chad Billingsley going to make a return to his 2008 form? 2nd start of the year and it sure looks good so far. Granted he has only faced the Padres and Pirates, but hey, a little confidence boosting may be exactly what he needs. It seemed in the past few season, Bills always had one inning that doomed him. So far this year, aside from one pitch to Clint Barmes tonight, he's looked untouchable. If he can keep this up, he and Kershaw could very well be the best 1-2 combo in all of baseball. My only real gripe about tonight was the decision to have Loney pinch hit for him. I agree that it was right to pinch hit for Bills, but why Loney? It's well known that Loney doesn't hit left-handed pitching well at all, that's why he didn't start tonight. But Mattingly sends him up to pinch hit versus a lefty. I guess Mattingly is trying to get James some confidence, but it wasn't the smartest of moves in my opinion. Whichever way you slice it, Loney is still hitless on the year, but the team got the win. So I guess, no harm, no foul.
In other shocking news, Uribe still sucks, Kemp and Ethier are still making great contact, and Dee Gordon is still lightning quick. I know I'm not alone on this one but it bears repeating, Dee Gordon is fast. It's seriously ridiculous. Any weakly hit ground ball the left side of the infield is going to be a really close play at first. Nearly anything that makes it to the outfield is guaranteed to be extra bases. If he walks, he'll be standing at 2nd base within a matter of 1-2 pitches. He's a total game changer. I would like to see him attempt some steals of third though. At least once a game, just to see what the opposition does. Andre Ethier is about as locked in as he could be right now. His swing is so pure. As I've said in the past, he always rakes in April, but for some reason, I have a good feeling he'll be able to sustain his stroke throughout the season. By now you're probably familiar with my feelings on Uribe. He swings so hard it's amazing he doesn't throw out his back or pull a hamstring every time he steps in the box. Matt Kemp is still Matt Kemp. After going 0-4 yesterday, he bounces back by going 3-4 with a double and a run scored tonight. He looks so relaxed right now, and it sure seems like the rest of the team (minus Uribe and Loney) are feeding off his energy.
Back to the whole best record in baseball, it sure would be nice if they could face the Padres and Pirates for the next 156 games, but that's not the case. However, starting the season on a winning streak can't hurt. Hopefully it will also bring the fans back. Wednesday night's crowd looked a bit thin, and was being referred to as a McCourt Crowd. I'm sure the fans will start to return with the new ownership, the crazy amount of giveaways this year, and a team that looks promising. They're going for the sweep tomorrow, so if you're heading about to Chavez Ravine, make sure you take your broom.
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Tuesday, April 10, 2012
One Step Forward, Three Steps Back
Not sure what there is left to say about the Red Sox at this point that hasn't already been said. The bullpen isn't up to par, they aren't producing runs, Bobby Valentine seems completely unprepared, and Tuesday night, the infield defense wasn't good. It would normally feel pretty ridiculous to be worried about these things at such an early point in the season, but last year was proof that every game truly does matter. If they start 1-5 last year instead of 0-6 then the collapse never happens.
Youkilis at least looks like he's getting back to normal. Yes he did hit into an inning ending double play, but he also had his first two hits of the season, one of which went for a double. Ellsbury hasn't quite got his swing on track, but he did walk and score twice. These aren't the guys I'm concerned with though. It's the back end of the lineup. Salty, Cody Ross, Ryan Sweeney, and Nick Punto aren't driving in runs. As a team the Sox were 2-12 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base. I don't care who you're facing, this isn't going to win ball games.
Daniel Bard didn't look terrible in his first career start; his line looks far worse than he actually pitched. He really didn't get much help from the infield. Youk looked like he was glued in place and Nick Punto, is well, Nick Punto. There were also a few lucky hits that fell in. So don't look at the 5 earned runs given up in 5 innings pitched and think he was ineffective. He struck out 6 and only walked one while throwing 96 pitches. Admittedly this isn't a great night, but for a first career start, it's acceptable. This isn't to say he doesn't need to improve, and do so quickly, it's just that he shouldn't be hammered over his performance.
Now, onto Bobby V. I'm sure every Red Sox fan was thinking the same thing while Justin Thomas was on the mound, why is he still out there? Valentine has already admitted that this was a mistake. Well someone needs to tell him that mistakes like this aren't acceptable in Boston. He was chosen to help right the ship from last year, and these mental lapses aren't going to do it.
The bright spots tonight were what you would expect. Dustin Pedroia went 3 for 5 and Adrian Gonzalez drove in 3 runs. It was also nice to see the offense put up some fight in the 9th inning when they were trailing by 6 runs. Unfortunately it was a little too late, but still, they didn't give up, which is encouraging.
Tomorrow Lester is scheduled to be on the bump, hopefully he continues the style of pitching he displayed in Detroit on Opening Day. Ricky Romero is penciled in for the Blue Jays, who the Sox have historically hit hard. So who knows, tomorrow may be primed for win number 2.
Youkilis at least looks like he's getting back to normal. Yes he did hit into an inning ending double play, but he also had his first two hits of the season, one of which went for a double. Ellsbury hasn't quite got his swing on track, but he did walk and score twice. These aren't the guys I'm concerned with though. It's the back end of the lineup. Salty, Cody Ross, Ryan Sweeney, and Nick Punto aren't driving in runs. As a team the Sox were 2-12 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base. I don't care who you're facing, this isn't going to win ball games.
Daniel Bard didn't look terrible in his first career start; his line looks far worse than he actually pitched. He really didn't get much help from the infield. Youk looked like he was glued in place and Nick Punto, is well, Nick Punto. There were also a few lucky hits that fell in. So don't look at the 5 earned runs given up in 5 innings pitched and think he was ineffective. He struck out 6 and only walked one while throwing 96 pitches. Admittedly this isn't a great night, but for a first career start, it's acceptable. This isn't to say he doesn't need to improve, and do so quickly, it's just that he shouldn't be hammered over his performance.
Now, onto Bobby V. I'm sure every Red Sox fan was thinking the same thing while Justin Thomas was on the mound, why is he still out there? Valentine has already admitted that this was a mistake. Well someone needs to tell him that mistakes like this aren't acceptable in Boston. He was chosen to help right the ship from last year, and these mental lapses aren't going to do it.
The bright spots tonight were what you would expect. Dustin Pedroia went 3 for 5 and Adrian Gonzalez drove in 3 runs. It was also nice to see the offense put up some fight in the 9th inning when they were trailing by 6 runs. Unfortunately it was a little too late, but still, they didn't give up, which is encouraging.
Tomorrow Lester is scheduled to be on the bump, hopefully he continues the style of pitching he displayed in Detroit on Opening Day. Ricky Romero is penciled in for the Blue Jays, who the Sox have historically hit hard. So who knows, tomorrow may be primed for win number 2.
Dodgers Celebrate 2 Big Birthdays In Style
Chavez Ravine turned 50, Andre Ethier turned 30, and the Dodgers won their home opener. The only thing that could have made today even better is if Clayton Kershaw would have been able to get the win. He certainly pitched well enough to deserve it. Hell, Juan Uribe even 3-3 today, so you know it was a pretty magical day at Blue Heaven on Earth.
The only dull spots on the day were James Loney at the plate and Juan Rivera's mental lapse in left field. If you know me, which I'm pretty sure all of you don't, you know that I really want to love Loney. He's damn good defensively, he seems like a pretty good teammate, and he's part of the Dodgers young core. But good Lord what is he doing at the plate? Still doesn't have a hit on the year, although he did work a walk today to reach base for the first time. He just looks so damn lost up there. I was thrilled when he flew out to centerfield today in the 7th inning, he actually swung the bat with some authority. I feel like all the talk of the Dodgers possibly signing Prince Fielder this past offseason may have had an effect on his mindset. Hopefully he's not thinking he needs to be anywhere near the kind of player Fielder is. The Dodgers already have their big bat combo, Kemp and Dre, Loney should be striving to be a doubles machine. I know it's still incredibly early, but I hope this funk he's in wears off quickly.
Regarding Rivera's mental error that cost Kershaw a shot at the W, it's really unfortunate that it came down to a stupid mistake. The only thing I can think is that he forgot how many outs there were. Rivera has been in the league long enough to know where that throw should go. It was a simple mental lapse on his part. I think we can all agree we're just happy it didn't cost the Dodgers the game. Matt Kemp also made a mistake in the outfield, but thankfully Clayton was able to Kershaw his way out of it. And we can blame the sun for Kemp's gaffe, whereas Rivera's was just a big fat derp. I don't expect to see this happen again the rest of the season, but if it does become a problem, Jerry Sands is waiting.
Also, I read something interesting today regarding (hopefully) soon to be free agent Cole Hamels. It seems some people are thinking he is going to seriously consider going to Boston, apparently his Dad is from South Boston. While it won't surprise me if the Red Sox throw a ton of money his way, I really think Magic and Colletti are going to be able to sway him our way. While his pops may be from Southie, Hamels grew up in San Diego. I think the trio of Kershaw, Billingsley, and Hamels would instantly make the Dodgers the favorite in the West and probably all of the National League. What do you think?
Speaking of signing, when is Ethier going to get a contract? What could Colletti be waiting for? The guy has shown how clutch he can be, he's an all around good player, and he is absolutely loved by the fans. We've all seen what he can do at the plate and in the field, the only thing I can think of is that the suits are worried about his health. He's missed 50 games over the past two years, and caused a bit of a stir last year when he said he was being forced to play hurt. He later backed off from that stance and said it was his choice. I just hope this hasn't caused too big of a rift between him and Colletti and won't be an issue. The only other concern I have is that Magic is very publicly praising Matt Kemp, and I haven't heard or seen anything regarding Ethier. I'm afraid this may make him feel like he is playing second fiddle to Kemp, which honestly he is, and cause him to want out of LA. Hopefully Dre will see what he means to the fans and to the team and they'll be able to come to an agreement before the season ends.
Lastly, the legend Vin Scully missed today's game because he has what is being described as a pretty bad cold. I know I'm not the only one who missed him today, so send him your prayers or good vibes or whatever. I'm sure he could use them.
STOP THE PRESSES, THE RED SOX ARE NO LONGER WINLESS!!!
Deep breath everyone, we're out of the hole. Well the
winless hole at least. It took a 9th inning rally and Alfredo Aceves, but the Red Sox beat
the Blue Jays Monday
night by a score of 4-2.
The Good-Pedroia hit his first home run, Aceves got his
first save, Doubront was effective although shaky at times, and Scott Atchison came up huge. I don't know why, but when Dustin is
hitting the ball on the screws, I feel like the rest of the team can't be far
behind. Maybe it's because they figure they better not be outhit by such a
small dude, or he just lights the fire under their asses, but I feel like his
swing has a big effect on the team. Aceves looked great, but I'm still nowhere
near ready to call him a legit option as a closer. I was actually encouraged by
Doubront's outing. While his 102 pitches over 5 innings isn't going to work, he
was under a good amount of pressure. Obviously he knows the team has lost their
last 3 games, he's facing a divisional opponent who has the AL home run leader
from both of the previous seaons, and it's their home opener. So I think his
outing was quite successful given the circumstances, and I think it's something
he is going to build on. For me though, the star of the game was Atchison. His
3 scoreless innings allowed the Red Sox the opportunity to come back in the
9th. He only allowed 1 hit, he didn't walk anyone, and he struck out three, not
bad for the oldest guy on the team.
The Bad-What the hell is going on with Kevin Youkilis? He doesn't have a hit or a walk yet, and has struck out in
5 of his 12 at bats. Anyone else remember when he was widely regarded as one of
the most patient hitters with one of the best eyes in the game? He's swinging
at pitches out of the zone and looks like he's pressing harder than Crawford
was at the beginning of last season. Someone needs to tell Youk to take a deep
breath and relax. Otherwise we're going to have to find him one hell of a
slumpbuster. The only other thing I didn't like was David Ortiz and
his ill-fated stolen base attempt. I'm all for taking risks on the base path,
especially when you're only down a couple of runs. But come on Papi. If you're
going to make the decision to run, you have to commit. He could have taken at
least 1 more, probably 2 more steps on his lead off and then he's there no
problem. This is not to take away from the throw Arencibia made though. If it
was exactly where it was, we'd all be laughing about Papi's first stolen base
of the season. It was a good idea, just poor execution, which I felt was
disappointing from a veteran player.
So yes, we can all breath and back away from the ledge. But
it's no time to relax. Daniel Bard is
making his first start tomorrow, and outside of Ortiz, Gonzo, Sweeney, and
Punto, no one is hitting above .300 right now. I fully expect Ellsbury and
Pedroia to cross that mark by Friday though. All in all, this game should serve
as a big boost in confidence for the bullpen, which is exactly what the doctor
ordered.
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Monday, April 9, 2012
Is Ozzie Out?
So Ozzie Guillen loves Fidel Castro because no one has been able to kill him? If there has ever been a list of terrible reasons to admire someone, that has to be near the top. But really, people need to calm down.
I fully support the Cuban community in Florida in their protest/demonstration. Most of us will never understand what the Cuban people suffered through, and I'm sympathetic to their plight. However, that being said, I highly doubt any of these people are Marlins fans. As someone on ESPN said today, (I think it was Bob Ryan on Around The Horn, but I'm not positive) the Cuban population in Florida has never supported the Marlins the way they have supported the Heat. Which is really funny to me. I mean, how many Cuban NBA players are there compared to Cuban MLB players? Also, those calling for him to be fired or resign really need to chill. The guy said something stupid, not offensive or horribly inflammatory, it was just dumb. We've all done that.
The other thing I heard on ESPN (I think this was from Tony Kornheiser who was quoting Dan LeBetard, but again, I'm not sure) in regards to this story, was comparing Castro to Hitler, and that's just wrong. While you cannot argue that Castro has been good for humanity, he pales in comparison to Hitler. Now if Ozzie had said he loved Hitler, then yeah, he probably should lose his job, and I don't think anyone would be upset by this. I realize this is a bit of a contradiction, and I have no personal connection to the suffering caused by either of these two horrible people, it's simply my opinion.
Lastly, IT'S OZZIE FREAKIN' GUILLEN!!!! What did the Marlins think, that he was going to be a choir boy? He runs his mouth, that's just his style. I'm shocked that he has been this apologetic and is holding a press conference to apologize and not just issuing a statement he didn't write. Not only that, he has invited anyone who has a question to his press conference tomorrow, whether or not they are a member of the media. I'm usually very skeptical when it comes to apologies from sports stars, but he sure sounds like he's being sincere. I think he should be given the benefit of the doubt, and another chance.
Follow me on Twitter- @TwittinSports
I fully support the Cuban community in Florida in their protest/demonstration. Most of us will never understand what the Cuban people suffered through, and I'm sympathetic to their plight. However, that being said, I highly doubt any of these people are Marlins fans. As someone on ESPN said today, (I think it was Bob Ryan on Around The Horn, but I'm not positive) the Cuban population in Florida has never supported the Marlins the way they have supported the Heat. Which is really funny to me. I mean, how many Cuban NBA players are there compared to Cuban MLB players? Also, those calling for him to be fired or resign really need to chill. The guy said something stupid, not offensive or horribly inflammatory, it was just dumb. We've all done that.
The other thing I heard on ESPN (I think this was from Tony Kornheiser who was quoting Dan LeBetard, but again, I'm not sure) in regards to this story, was comparing Castro to Hitler, and that's just wrong. While you cannot argue that Castro has been good for humanity, he pales in comparison to Hitler. Now if Ozzie had said he loved Hitler, then yeah, he probably should lose his job, and I don't think anyone would be upset by this. I realize this is a bit of a contradiction, and I have no personal connection to the suffering caused by either of these two horrible people, it's simply my opinion.
Lastly, IT'S OZZIE FREAKIN' GUILLEN!!!! What did the Marlins think, that he was going to be a choir boy? He runs his mouth, that's just his style. I'm shocked that he has been this apologetic and is holding a press conference to apologize and not just issuing a statement he didn't write. Not only that, he has invited anyone who has a question to his press conference tomorrow, whether or not they are a member of the media. I'm usually very skeptical when it comes to apologies from sports stars, but he sure sounds like he's being sincere. I think he should be given the benefit of the doubt, and another chance.
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Sunday, April 8, 2012
All Those People On The Cliff About To Jump Are Red Sox Fans
Remember last year when the Red Sox started off the season by losing their first 6 games? Apparently they do too, and they're going to do their best to replicate the feat. Now keep in mind, they had their closer of choice last year, so this 0-3 start is a bit more concerning.
As it sits right now, the two pitchers expected to close games for Boston this season have a combined ERA of 63 and WHIP of 9. Yes, these numbers will go down, (I mean, they have to, right?) but it's still pretty alarming. Twice they blew the save on Sunday. Sadly, I can't say that I'm all that surprised. Neither Melancon or Aceves is a closer, especially an upper echelon closer which Boston desperately needs.
Regarding Beckett's poor performance on Saturday, I'm not too worried. I think his thumb was still bothering him, and he'll be able to work through it. It does concern me that he doesn't have Varitek behind the plate anymore, but that's something he knew was coming, and I think he'll be able to work with Salty just fine.
It was very nice to see the Red Sox bats finally come alive on Sunday though. I'd be lying if I said Saturday's performance didn't worry me. 7 total hits and only 1 extra-base hit against Doug Fister and the Detroit bullpen isn't going to get it done. Honestly though, the hits will come. They didn't start off scoring a ton of runs last year either, and ended the season as the highest scoring team in all of MLB. The problem is pitching. It's a clear as day.
Lester and Beckett will be fine. I have no doubts about them. I'm cautiously optimistic about Buccholz and Doubront, and I have no idea how Daniel Bard will fair. As I said in my prior post, I think Bard needs to go back to the bullpen. He should be the closer. While Padilla isn't exactly who you want as a starting pitcher, having Melancon and Aceves to pitch the 7th and 8th, with Bard closing, is very workable. Padilla is that wiley veteran that teams often pass on but he ends up filling a huge role. I just don't feel like he is going to have a chance to live up to his potential if he's stuck in the bullpen.
Lastly, and I highly doubt this is going to happen but I'd be stupid not to mention it, Ben Cherington and Bobby Valentine need to seriously consider signing Roy Oswalt. This would allow them to move Bard to the closer's spot and not have to fill the starting rotation with someone who was slotted for a bullpen role this season. Again, I highly doubt this will happen, but it's something that deserves consideration at the very least. Because the way it looks right now, the Red Sox aren't going to have to worry about another historic September collapse, they'll be out of contention by mid-August.
Ok, I lied, this is actually my last point. Don't forget Sox fans, the enemy are in the same boat we are in regards to overall record. That's right, the Yankees (eeww, I don't even like typing that) are 0-3 as well, and they're pretty much healthy. Yes, the Rays are a very good team, but I think we can all agree no one saw them sweeping NY to open the season. What should scare Sox fans, is that the Yanks have Andy Pettitte on the way, and they're bullpen is set up the way they want it. Basically, they didn't have to scramble to figure out who was going to close games for them. All of that being said, it's still incredibly early, there are 159 games left to be played. Let's see how the Sox respond in Toronto this week, if it's just as bad, I'll put up directions to the nearest cliff and meet you all there.
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As it sits right now, the two pitchers expected to close games for Boston this season have a combined ERA of 63 and WHIP of 9. Yes, these numbers will go down, (I mean, they have to, right?) but it's still pretty alarming. Twice they blew the save on Sunday. Sadly, I can't say that I'm all that surprised. Neither Melancon or Aceves is a closer, especially an upper echelon closer which Boston desperately needs.
Regarding Beckett's poor performance on Saturday, I'm not too worried. I think his thumb was still bothering him, and he'll be able to work through it. It does concern me that he doesn't have Varitek behind the plate anymore, but that's something he knew was coming, and I think he'll be able to work with Salty just fine.
It was very nice to see the Red Sox bats finally come alive on Sunday though. I'd be lying if I said Saturday's performance didn't worry me. 7 total hits and only 1 extra-base hit against Doug Fister and the Detroit bullpen isn't going to get it done. Honestly though, the hits will come. They didn't start off scoring a ton of runs last year either, and ended the season as the highest scoring team in all of MLB. The problem is pitching. It's a clear as day.
Lester and Beckett will be fine. I have no doubts about them. I'm cautiously optimistic about Buccholz and Doubront, and I have no idea how Daniel Bard will fair. As I said in my prior post, I think Bard needs to go back to the bullpen. He should be the closer. While Padilla isn't exactly who you want as a starting pitcher, having Melancon and Aceves to pitch the 7th and 8th, with Bard closing, is very workable. Padilla is that wiley veteran that teams often pass on but he ends up filling a huge role. I just don't feel like he is going to have a chance to live up to his potential if he's stuck in the bullpen.
Lastly, and I highly doubt this is going to happen but I'd be stupid not to mention it, Ben Cherington and Bobby Valentine need to seriously consider signing Roy Oswalt. This would allow them to move Bard to the closer's spot and not have to fill the starting rotation with someone who was slotted for a bullpen role this season. Again, I highly doubt this will happen, but it's something that deserves consideration at the very least. Because the way it looks right now, the Red Sox aren't going to have to worry about another historic September collapse, they'll be out of contention by mid-August.
Ok, I lied, this is actually my last point. Don't forget Sox fans, the enemy are in the same boat we are in regards to overall record. That's right, the Yankees (eeww, I don't even like typing that) are 0-3 as well, and they're pretty much healthy. Yes, the Rays are a very good team, but I think we can all agree no one saw them sweeping NY to open the season. What should scare Sox fans, is that the Yanks have Andy Pettitte on the way, and they're bullpen is set up the way they want it. Basically, they didn't have to scramble to figure out who was going to close games for them. All of that being said, it's still incredibly early, there are 159 games left to be played. Let's see how the Sox respond in Toronto this week, if it's just as bad, I'll put up directions to the nearest cliff and meet you all there.
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Friday, April 6, 2012
Billingsley Tosses A Game and My Other Thoughts On Tonight's Dodger Game
I cannot remember the last time I was this happy after a Chad Billingsley start. It's been quite awhile since he avoided what I like to call the Billingsley blunder. Seems there is always 1 inning where he struggles mightily and can't get back on the proverbial horse. Not tonight. He was everything Dodger fans used to expect from him. 108 pitches, 11 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 3 hits over 8 and 1/3 innings. That's better than I ever expect from Bills these days. I'm usually thrilled to get 6-7 innings of 2-3 run baseball. He had a rough Spring Training, so this was definitely a good sign.
What Else I Liked-Andre Ethier. The guy just tears the cover off the ball in April, in fact his average is .322 for his career in April games. So it's good to see him riding that train yet again, lets just hope he stays on it. Matt Kemp had another good night as well. 2 for 4 with 2 runs, an RBI, and a stolen base. That means he's only 49 home runs and 49 stolen bases away from the 50/50 season he projected. Do I think he'll attain this goal, probably not. But remember, Beast Mode never sleeps, which makes me cautiously hopeful, so we'll just have to wait and see. But he did look more prepared to run tonight compared to yesterday on his stolen base attempt where I thought he looked a bit too relaxed. I was also happy to see Don Mattingly go to the bullpen in the bottom of the 9th. Bills tossed a great game, there was no reason to leave him out there and run the risk of hurting that confidence. Sure it would've been nice to see a complete game out of him, and I don't doubt that he could have wrapped things up. But 108 pitches is a ton in a season debut, so I thought it was good that he went to Jamey Wright.
What I Didn't Like-Juan Uribe. Sadly I have a feeling this is going to be a common theme this year. Uribe went 0-4 tonight, following last night's 0-3 performance. His approach at the plate is just awful. Swinging for the fence has it's time and place, for Uribe that seems to be every time he steps in the batter's box. He's an average defensive option at 3rd base, but his bat is going to be murder on this team. Also, I'm a bit concerned with Dee Gordon's approach. Yeah he had an error assisted triple last night, and a single tonight, but it doesn't look like he's seeing the ball very well right now. He did get hosed on that stolen base attempt though. Very close play, and a hell of a throw, but the replay clearly showed he was safe. The umpire crew seemed a bit off tonight. There were some questionable strike calls at the plate, notably against Gordon and Ethier, but it what it is. Although I wasn't all that happy that Andre was so pissed about his. Let it go man, it's early in the season, don't want to get tossed in Game 2.
Tomorrow we'll see Chris Capuano make his Dodgers debut, and if he continues what he did in Spring Training, we could be in for a lot of strikeouts. The Padres seem pretty eager to swing, and with Capuano's team leading 22 K's in the Spring, it could be a lot of fun.
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Thursday, April 5, 2012
It's Time For Dodger Baseball
When Vin Scully utters those magical words, a feeling comes over me that's tough to explain. The best I can compare it to is Christmas morning for a little kid. Total excitement. Today's game was pretty fun to watch, even though I could have done without Vin describing the symptoms Clayton Kershaw was experiencing.
What I liked-I was very proud of Kershaw, who powered through 3 scoreless innings despite what can only be described as a nasty flu. He worked out of a bases loaded jam that he put himself into and seemed to hit his spots. Obviously his velocity was down, but that was to be expected. I was also pretty impressed with Josh Lindblom. It's all but certain that he's going to be sent down to the minors within the next week or so, but today I think he showed that he can be a valuable arm out of the bullpen. Also, Matt Kemp put those who were worried about all of his Spring Training strikeouts at ease. His opposite field 2-run bomb was a sight for sore eyes. Dee Gordon looked good too. There is no way he shouldn't make Web Gems and the SportsCenter Top 10 with his diving stop and putout. He also hit a ball further than I think anyone thought was possible, and if it had a little more angle on it, he probably could have legged out an inside the park home run.
What I Didn't Like-Simply put, Juan Uribe. He swings out of shoes on every single pitch no matter the situation. There is just no need for an approach like that on this team. Sure, he'll probably hit 15 home runs, but I'll be shocked if he hits above .230 without a change in his mindset. Also, I feel like there was no reason for him to waive home Ethier on that wild pitch. Granted, it looked like the umpire got the call wrong, but it was very close. Either way, Uribe should have recognized that the ball was straight behind the catcher and not waived Andre home. I must admit that Tim Wallach may have sent Ethier and I just don't know about it, but I'll take any chance I can to complain about Uribe, I just don't think he's good for the Dodgers. I'm also not thrilled with James Loney. Although I was happy to see him not chase pitches with the bases loaded and he made a couple really good defensive plays; he just looks timid at the plate. Loney should be attacking the ball. Not necessarily swinging for the fence, but swing with some authority James. Lastly, I didn't like Kemp's stolen base attempt. I'm thrilled that he's willing to run, especially with Davey Lopes there to guide him. However he looked very lackadaisical when taking his lead, he didn't look ready to run at all. Not to take away from the throw though, it was absolutely perfect and they had Kemp nailed by 3 steps.
Again, I have no idea if anyone is reading this. If you are, let me know either through the comments or on Twitter. If you have a subject you'd like me to write about, send it my way. If you hate what I'm doing, well that's fine too, it is what it is.
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Red Sox Game 1-Panic in the bullpen
First off, welcome to my blog. I've written for a few different websites over the years, but I decided to start a casual baseball (and probably some other sports) blog for this season.
So the Red Sox bullpen took the loss in their first game of the 2012 season. While this should come as no real surprise to anyone, the level of concern is unnecessarily high. No one would say the Boston bullpen is anywhere near the top of the list on things the Red Sox are confident in. Aceves is not a closer, plain and simple. However at this point, they don't have a true closer. Melancon has 20 career saves, though that is more than Aceves, Padilla doesn't have closer stuff, and Morales simply doesn't have the control yet.
My idea would be to move Daniel Bard back to the closer's and have either Padilla or Aceves to the 5th starter position. Either that, or figure out a way to sign Roy Oswalt and then move Bard back to the bullpen.
All of that being said, the Red Sox didn't look terrible today. They faced one of the best pitchers in the game, and while Lester did struggle at moments, the defense backed him up. The bats were a bit quiet, but again, Justin Verlander was pretty dominant today. Although it would have been nice if they could have scored with a runner on 3rd with 2 outs. Also, I do expect there to be an improvement to the offense once Carl Crawford returns. Nothing against Ryan Sweeney and Cody Ross, but having both of them in the lineup doesn't exactly raise my level of confidence.
Anyways, hope someone actually reads this, if you do let me know, even if you hate it. I'll mostly be writing about the Red Sox and Dodgers for the majority of the season, as those are the 2 teams I follow the closest, but I'm sure there will be some posts about other random teams as well.
Follow me on Twitter- @TwittinSports
So the Red Sox bullpen took the loss in their first game of the 2012 season. While this should come as no real surprise to anyone, the level of concern is unnecessarily high. No one would say the Boston bullpen is anywhere near the top of the list on things the Red Sox are confident in. Aceves is not a closer, plain and simple. However at this point, they don't have a true closer. Melancon has 20 career saves, though that is more than Aceves, Padilla doesn't have closer stuff, and Morales simply doesn't have the control yet.
My idea would be to move Daniel Bard back to the closer's and have either Padilla or Aceves to the 5th starter position. Either that, or figure out a way to sign Roy Oswalt and then move Bard back to the bullpen.
All of that being said, the Red Sox didn't look terrible today. They faced one of the best pitchers in the game, and while Lester did struggle at moments, the defense backed him up. The bats were a bit quiet, but again, Justin Verlander was pretty dominant today. Although it would have been nice if they could have scored with a runner on 3rd with 2 outs. Also, I do expect there to be an improvement to the offense once Carl Crawford returns. Nothing against Ryan Sweeney and Cody Ross, but having both of them in the lineup doesn't exactly raise my level of confidence.
Anyways, hope someone actually reads this, if you do let me know, even if you hate it. I'll mostly be writing about the Red Sox and Dodgers for the majority of the season, as those are the 2 teams I follow the closest, but I'm sure there will be some posts about other random teams as well.
Follow me on Twitter- @TwittinSports
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