The New York Yankees have had their rivals throughout the years. You’d have to have a lot of teams that hate you when you consistently win year after year. Whether it was the Mariners, the Indians, the Rangers, the Braves, the A’s, or of course, the Red Sox; the Yankees have had heated games against all of them, including in the postseason. In the end, the Yankees won their fair share, earning the respect of all of the teams; not so much their fans. With all of those power houses that gave the Yankees a hard time, who do they have the most trouble with? How about none of them. Going back ten years, the Yankees have a record above .500 against all of the mentioned teams and have beaten them in the playoffs at least once. The Yankees are unbeatable right? Wrong. Who is this almighty team that has crushed the Yankees for the past ten years? The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. That’s right, the same team that has only made the playoffs six times and has won only one championship in their franchise history.
It might come as a shock to some that the Angels have constantly harassed the Yankees over time, however, consider the numbers. Here are the series standings involving the Yankees and Angels from the past ten years.
2007: 6-3, Angels
2006: 6-4, Angels
2005: 6-4, Angels
2004: 5-4, Angels
2003: 6-3, Yankees
2002: 4-3, Yankees
2001: 4-3, Angels
2000: 5-5, Tie
1999: 6-4, Angels
1998: 6-5, Angels
The most important statistic that’s not including in those numbers? The playoffs… The Yankees have never beaten the Angels in the postseason. The two times the teams faced off, in 2002 the Angels defeated the Yankees 3-1 in the ALDS and in 2005 the Angels again defeated the Yankees 3-2 in the ALDS. Including those numbers, in the past ten years, the Yankees have had only one winning season against the Angels, ONE!
Here’s another mind blowing statistic. In 1998, the New York Yankees finished the season with the most wins in franchise history, 114. That year, the Yankees played .500 baseball or better against every single team that year, except one. You guessed it; that team was none other than the Angels.
Fast-forwarding to today, since that’s what really matters most, the Yankees just finished their final regular season series of the year against the Angels and once again, lost the series. The Yankees have been on a hot streak since the All-Star break; they were 27-11, having lost just two series out of eleven (both to Baltimore). They were gaining serious ground in the AL East and Wild Card race, which they needed really badly after an embarrassing first half. Then came the Angels… Going into the series, the Yankees were confident as they defeated the Angels right before the All-Star break 2-1 (Earlier, in the first series of the season, the Angels swept the Yankees 3-0). With a series victory here, they could have had their first season series victory over Anaheim since 2003. It didn’t turn out that way as the Yankees went on to lose the first game 6-7 in the 10th inning. The second game was only more embarrassing; the Yankees were rocked 18-9. At this point, the Yankees lost two games on the AL East lead (6 games back) and two games on the Wild Card lead (2.5 games back). They did manage to bounce back in game 3 to avoid the sweep 8-2. The series loss was the forth straight season series loss to the Angels.
The problem the Yankees face doesn’t seem to be that big because the Yankees and Angels aren’t in the same division, but fans should now be paying attention to these showdowns more than ever. Both teams have recently made the playoffs numerous times and by looking at their rosters, they can stay in playoff contention for a very long time. It will only take a few more defeats for people to start taking notice that the bad guy, self-embraced Evil Empire, has been beaten pretty badly by the good guy, Halos of the Heavens.
Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Who Better to Give Up a Sleazeball the Record, Than Another Sleazeball?
By now, there has been much reaction to Barry Bonds’ record breaking night last night. Some people enjoyed it, some, not so much. This is not a piece on Barry and his record hitting 756th homerun, but rather ‘the other guy’.
His name is Mike Bacsik. This Washington Nationals pitcher has been in the majors for five years now playing for four different teams. With about 30 games started in his entire career in the majors, not much is known about Bacsik. Frankly, no one cared who he was, until last night. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Mike Bacsik gave up the record breaking homerun to Barry Bonds forever writing his name in the history books.
The average person would not want this achievement, especially the average athlete. Most athletes would rather be the one that struck out Bonds on his quest for 756. The thought that someone went out of his way to be that guy, is almost unbelievable and a completely insane thought to think. Not so fast; Bacsik knew what he was doing and he did it on purpose.
Mike Bacsik’s contributions to the historic night were major. He did everything possible to be the guy that allowed Bond’s 756th homerun. Looking at the statistics, Barry Bonds went 3 for 3 last night with no walks. This was the first time during the entire season that Bonds hit 1.000 with no walks. In the second inning on Bonds’ first at-bat, Bacsik threw two consecutive strikes and then three consecutive walks. Everyone knows that hitting the ball on a 3-2 count is a lot easier than other counts because you’re almost certain the pitcher will try and throw into the strike zone so he doesn’t draw the walk. On Bacsik’s 6th pitch to Bonds, Bonds doubled to deep right center field. Mission failed… for now. On Bonds’ second at-bat in the 3rd inning, Bacsik threw the first pitch for a strike and then threw his second pitch in the strike zone again. This time Bonds hit it for a single. Again, mission failed.
With time running out for Bacsik, in the 5th inning, Bacsik made the most of the opportunity. On another 3-2 count allowing Bonds to chase the ball, Bascik threw an 84 mph pitch down the center of the plate for Bonds to smash it into the right field stands. Mission accomplished! An 84 mph pitch on a full count is a very weak pitch that is easy to hit, especially for guys like Bonds. What makes it worse is that during his post-game press conference, Bacsik says that he was trying to throw a fastball down and away for a strike. Really Bacsik? Are you really that bad that you ended up throwing an 84 mph pitch right down the strike zone? He stated “I wanted to go after him; I was trying to get him out. I threw a pitch that he really likes to hit and he did it.” Well if Bonds really likes to hit those pitches, and you know that for a fact, then why are you trying to strike him out with that pitch? Wouldn’t logic dictate that you throw a pitch he doesn’t like?
Bacsik was no doubt very excited for the moment. You’re probably asking yourself why this would make sense and that there is no way he did this intentionally. Well consider these facts. Coming up to the historic moment, there were many discussions and interviews around the league on whether ball players would want to give up the historic homerun. Not surprisingly, everyone said they wouldn’t. Discussions talked about how people would rather want to be the ones that struck Bonds out during his run. Well let me ask everyone this. Do you know even one pitcher that struck out Hank Aaron during his run? Do you even know who the last pitcher that struck out Bonds was? No one knows and your feat will not be recognized if you did.
The guy that gives up the homerun though, is set for life. Now, Mike Bacsik joins the company of Al Downing, the pitcher that gave up the 715th homerun to Hank Aaron, as the people set for life by the moment. It was found out, before Bacsik stepped on the mound, that Downing and Aaron would go to autograph sessions and card shows together to sign memorabilia for fans. Also noted, is that Downing made just as much money for the autograph sessions as Aaron. Bacsik knew that he was just another guy until the end of the 5th inning last night. He was a below average player in the prime of his career with a 4.47 ERA. He is so average that in the beginning of the year, he was in the minors for the Nationals. His baseball career isn’t going anywhere and he knew that. Now that he gave up the famous homerun? His baseball career is extended by 50 years. He and Bonds will go onto do the same thing Aaron and Downing have done during their retirement and get paid very well.
Bacsik didn’t hold his emotions after the game. Although he held his feelings inside on the mound, in the post-game press conference, he was ecstatic. One reporter even pointed out, “You seem genuinely tickled by this whole thing.” Bacsik replied, “Yea I’m excited, we won the game and I got to see history.” He went on to say the following, “You either have to be a really special player to be remembered in this game or be a part of a special moment” and “I didn’t want to give up the homerun but I’m lucky enough to be apart of a very special moment in sports history.” Bacsik knew what he was doing and did everything in his power to make sure he was the one that gave up the homerun. After the celebration, Bacsik then tried to become Bonds’ best friend by congratulating him; he stated that he told Bonds “He’s the best I’ve ever faced and probably the best of all time.” Let’s face it, Bonds is a jerk; unless you make the effort to become his friend, there’s no way he’s doing autograph sessions with you. No autograph sessions, no money…
Barry Bonds would have eventually hit number 756 barring an unlikely injury during the next week or so. However, the fact that a pitcher actually helped him out just so he could make money off of it is disgusting. Bacsik said, “Giving it up to Barry Bonds is nothing to be ashamed of.” Maybe so, but trying to be that pitcher that gives up 756 is something certainly to be ashamed of. Mike Bacsik is a sleezball that doesn’t deserve any profit from his ability to play poorly. He should not be linked to Barry Bonds, but rather as a guy with no integrity and no self respect.
His name is Mike Bacsik. This Washington Nationals pitcher has been in the majors for five years now playing for four different teams. With about 30 games started in his entire career in the majors, not much is known about Bacsik. Frankly, no one cared who he was, until last night. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Mike Bacsik gave up the record breaking homerun to Barry Bonds forever writing his name in the history books.
The average person would not want this achievement, especially the average athlete. Most athletes would rather be the one that struck out Bonds on his quest for 756. The thought that someone went out of his way to be that guy, is almost unbelievable and a completely insane thought to think. Not so fast; Bacsik knew what he was doing and he did it on purpose.
Mike Bacsik’s contributions to the historic night were major. He did everything possible to be the guy that allowed Bond’s 756th homerun. Looking at the statistics, Barry Bonds went 3 for 3 last night with no walks. This was the first time during the entire season that Bonds hit 1.000 with no walks. In the second inning on Bonds’ first at-bat, Bacsik threw two consecutive strikes and then three consecutive walks. Everyone knows that hitting the ball on a 3-2 count is a lot easier than other counts because you’re almost certain the pitcher will try and throw into the strike zone so he doesn’t draw the walk. On Bacsik’s 6th pitch to Bonds, Bonds doubled to deep right center field. Mission failed… for now. On Bonds’ second at-bat in the 3rd inning, Bacsik threw the first pitch for a strike and then threw his second pitch in the strike zone again. This time Bonds hit it for a single. Again, mission failed.
With time running out for Bacsik, in the 5th inning, Bacsik made the most of the opportunity. On another 3-2 count allowing Bonds to chase the ball, Bascik threw an 84 mph pitch down the center of the plate for Bonds to smash it into the right field stands. Mission accomplished! An 84 mph pitch on a full count is a very weak pitch that is easy to hit, especially for guys like Bonds. What makes it worse is that during his post-game press conference, Bacsik says that he was trying to throw a fastball down and away for a strike. Really Bacsik? Are you really that bad that you ended up throwing an 84 mph pitch right down the strike zone? He stated “I wanted to go after him; I was trying to get him out. I threw a pitch that he really likes to hit and he did it.” Well if Bonds really likes to hit those pitches, and you know that for a fact, then why are you trying to strike him out with that pitch? Wouldn’t logic dictate that you throw a pitch he doesn’t like?
Bacsik was no doubt very excited for the moment. You’re probably asking yourself why this would make sense and that there is no way he did this intentionally. Well consider these facts. Coming up to the historic moment, there were many discussions and interviews around the league on whether ball players would want to give up the historic homerun. Not surprisingly, everyone said they wouldn’t. Discussions talked about how people would rather want to be the ones that struck Bonds out during his run. Well let me ask everyone this. Do you know even one pitcher that struck out Hank Aaron during his run? Do you even know who the last pitcher that struck out Bonds was? No one knows and your feat will not be recognized if you did.
The guy that gives up the homerun though, is set for life. Now, Mike Bacsik joins the company of Al Downing, the pitcher that gave up the 715th homerun to Hank Aaron, as the people set for life by the moment. It was found out, before Bacsik stepped on the mound, that Downing and Aaron would go to autograph sessions and card shows together to sign memorabilia for fans. Also noted, is that Downing made just as much money for the autograph sessions as Aaron. Bacsik knew that he was just another guy until the end of the 5th inning last night. He was a below average player in the prime of his career with a 4.47 ERA. He is so average that in the beginning of the year, he was in the minors for the Nationals. His baseball career isn’t going anywhere and he knew that. Now that he gave up the famous homerun? His baseball career is extended by 50 years. He and Bonds will go onto do the same thing Aaron and Downing have done during their retirement and get paid very well.
Bacsik didn’t hold his emotions after the game. Although he held his feelings inside on the mound, in the post-game press conference, he was ecstatic. One reporter even pointed out, “You seem genuinely tickled by this whole thing.” Bacsik replied, “Yea I’m excited, we won the game and I got to see history.” He went on to say the following, “You either have to be a really special player to be remembered in this game or be a part of a special moment” and “I didn’t want to give up the homerun but I’m lucky enough to be apart of a very special moment in sports history.” Bacsik knew what he was doing and did everything in his power to make sure he was the one that gave up the homerun. After the celebration, Bacsik then tried to become Bonds’ best friend by congratulating him; he stated that he told Bonds “He’s the best I’ve ever faced and probably the best of all time.” Let’s face it, Bonds is a jerk; unless you make the effort to become his friend, there’s no way he’s doing autograph sessions with you. No autograph sessions, no money…
Barry Bonds would have eventually hit number 756 barring an unlikely injury during the next week or so. However, the fact that a pitcher actually helped him out just so he could make money off of it is disgusting. Bacsik said, “Giving it up to Barry Bonds is nothing to be ashamed of.” Maybe so, but trying to be that pitcher that gives up 756 is something certainly to be ashamed of. Mike Bacsik is a sleezball that doesn’t deserve any profit from his ability to play poorly. He should not be linked to Barry Bonds, but rather as a guy with no integrity and no self respect.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Gagne to the Yankees Spells Trouble
Although it hasn't been officially announced yet, the Yankees are very close to landing the Texas Rangers closer, Eric Gagne. The Yankees are one of the three teams chasing him right now with less than 24 hours remaining until the trade deadline; the others being the Mets and the Red Sox. However, Eric Gagne has a partial no-trade clause that blocks trades toward specific teams. The team that is blocked by this clause out of the three? The Boston Red Sox. This opens the door for the Yankees and Mets to duel it out throughout these last few hours to grab the all-star closer. Yankee fans can pretty much smell Gagne's odor at this point just like they smelt Abreu's odor last year.
The question then comes, is this a good move for the Yankees? Before we get into what Gagne can bring to the table for the Yankees, let's look at what the Yankees will possibly lose in the trade. The positive is that the Yankees have made it perfectly clear to Texas that there is no way they are parting with pitchers Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. Texas has moved down the line of prospects to ask for the next two guys, Ian Kennedy and Alan Horne. The Yankees are again hesitant to give up these guys as well. Horne has an ERA lower than 3 with the AA Trenton Thunder and Kennedy has recently been promoted to the AAA Scranton Yankees after posting a 5-1 record with a 2.59 ERA in AA Trenton. Kennedy is clearly the prize prospect that the Rangers are looking at and with Kennedy's ceiling higher than the ceiling of Yankee Stadium, it seems like the Yankees will give up too much.
To give a little background, Eric Gagne has been a dominant closer since his move to the spot with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002. His best season perhaps was 2003 when he recorded 55 saves with a 1.20 ERA; he won the NL Cy Young Award that year. In 2005, Gagne's career took a turn for the worst when he suffered a sprained ligament in his right elbow. He had to undergo Tommy John surgery once again which ended his season (His first Tommy John surgery was back in 1997 before he made it to the majors). When the problem seemed to be fixed, in spring training the following year, it was decided that he would undergo a second surgery in less than a year. He made his way back later that year only to once again get injured after just two games. This time it was his back when doctors stated that Gagne had two herniated discs. The Dodgers decided paying Gagne wasn't worth it just two years following a 2004 season where he saved 45 games posting a 2.19 ERA. Gagne's injuries did not hold back the Texas Rangers who signed the free agent in the 2007 off-season. They were partially right, although Gagne was injured again in 2007, he has come back with a 2.16 ERA and 16 saves so far.
This takes us to his possible arrival to the Yankees. If this trade takes place, what will become of Gagne and the Yankees bullpen? There is no question Gagne will have an immediate impact that will help the Yankees' struggling bullpen. Gagne will most likely be used as the setup man to Mariano Rivera for the rest of the season giving the Yankees a pretty much guarenteed scoreless 8th and 9th innings. This is huge for a team who is expected to make the playoffs every year.
Those are the positives. As far the future, this is exactly what the Yankees shouldn't be involved in... more drama and more uncertainity. Gagne has made it clear that he only wants to be a closer and anything else will not leave him satisfied. The current Yankee closer, Mariano Rivera, is in his last season of his contract. Although he is 37 years old, Rivera has done more for the Yankees than any other player in over 20 years. Of course, baseball is a business, and Rivera has not been as dominate as he has in the past. Furthermore, the Yankees weren't expected to resign him after the season anyway. Rivera's factor in this potential mess is only immediate. Who knows whether this could mean locker room drama for the next two months. Gagne will not be happy setting up for Rivera and the Yankees will most likely refuse to take Rivera out of the closer spot. Can tempers heat up in the locker room or even worse, the dugout? It's certainly a possibility. Rivera is known to speak his mind and if he senses tension between himself and Gagne, he will no doubt confront him. The Yankees' chances of making the postseason will become slimmer and the 2007 season will be one the worst of recent memory.
Success this year, is more important to the Yankees than it has been for the past few years. There can be many changes in the off-season this year including Alex Rodriguez's status, Rivera's contract up, Jorge Posada's contract up, and manager Joe Torre's contract up. Success can be a selling point for these guys to return to the team as well as a higher interest in the Yankees managerial job. Not that that job is unwanted, most managers would kill to manage the Yankees, but you can't deny it would be so much sweeter if the team was coming off of a championship.
As for Gagne himself, he will assume the closer's role for the long term starting in 2008. The Yankees will believe the postion to be filled and will not seek other players for that role. How is this bad? The question is more like, how is this good? With Gagne's injuries, he is as reliable as a Ford with more than 25,000 miles on it. If the Yankees put their confidence in Gagne for the next 5 or 6 years and Gagne goes down to injury, who will be the closer? There are no potential suiters for the job currently. The Yankees will be forced into making a desperate move to grab a closer via trade and probably trade some high quality prospects in the process. Worse, when Gagne comes back from the injury, what will happen then? No doubt Gagne will be the one to go and teams will be turned off by his injury history and give the Yankees peanuts for the former Cy Young winner.
If, if not when, Gagne is traded to the Yankees tomorrow, it will definitely raise the spirits of Yankee fans everywhere. The problem is, the future consequences will be far greater setting the Yankees back a few more years in their quest for 27. Gagne's arrival will spell trouble for the Yankees which is why Yankee fans everywhere should pray that the Mets push just alittle bit harder to grab the injury prone former Cy Young winner.
Sports Moment of the Week
Carlos Zambrano won his 14th game on Sunday taking the lead in wins in the majors. He has won 8 of the last 10 games he started and has turned his season around after the Cubs went 1-4 in his first 5 starts.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Trade DEAD-line
With the MLB Trade Deadline less than five days away, little buzz is being generated about potential deals that can affect the rest of the season. There are a number of reasons for this; one being, the contract extension of Mark Buehrle. Before the White Sox could work out this deal, Buehrle’s name was the most talked about because of his great season and the White Sox’ awful season. Everyone was sure he was going to be traded until the Sox decided to keep him. Another pitcher, Dontrelle Willis fell out of trade talks for the complete opposite reason. No one wants him due to his awful season, a 7-10 record with a 5.15 ERA. Another reason the deadline buzz is sluggish is because big market teams are playing well at the point of the deadline to where they don’t need to make big moves to be contenders for the postseason including the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs. With all of these events taking place before the deadline, it seems like it will be a boring next few days. There are some intriguing talks none-the-less, involving a few players that can heighten the deadline buzz.
Mark Teixeira 1B
Here is the premiere player that can single handedly save the trade deadline headlines. The Texas Rangers have stated that they will trade Teixeira before the deadline. His .299 BA, 13 HR, and 49 RBI make him a highly pursued player among teams right now, but the catch is that he can opt out of his contract after the 2008 season meaning only teams that can win a championship now will pursue him.
Of the teams interested in Teixeira, the Atlanta Braves look like the most logical choice. They have a hole to fill in the first basemen slot which is currently filled in by young backup catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Teixeira will not only fill this hole but he will also help the Braves significantly decrease the gap between them and division leader, New York; this will also help the Braves pull away in the tight wild card race.
Another possibility is the Yankees, however that looks dead due to New York’s unwillingness to give up young prospects Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. Also, Andy Phillips has been filling in the role quite nicely as of late. Other possibilities that seem unlikely are the Red Sox who already have Kevin Youkilis, the Angels who already have Casey Kotchman, the Padres who already have Adrian Gonzalez, and the Dodgers who have stated they are comfortable with James Loney.
The Yankees and Red Sox Bullpen
Although both the Red Sox and Yankees are doing quite well right now with no huge holes to fill in their roster, they are both looking for relief pitching that can help them out, especially with their older starting pitchers. The bullpen proved to be an important role in last year’s postseason race when the Yankees swept the Sox 5-0 in the battle of the bullpens. The Yankees’ bullpen is worse than the Red Sox’ this season, however the Sox don’t want to give the Yankees the oppurtunity to grab a big name reliever to use against them when the season comes to a close.
A few possible names that are being tossed around are Texas’ Eric Gagne, Kansas City’s Octavio Dotel, Washington’s Chad Cordero, Cincinnati’s David Weathers, Pittsburgh’s Salomon Torres, Pittsburgh’s Damaso Marte, Colorado’s Brian Fuentes, Houston’s Brad Lidge, Houston’s Chad Qualls, and Houston’s Dan Wheeler.
The other factor that plays a role in the Yankees’ and Red Sox’ pursuit of a better bullpen is that they both have guys in the farm that can come out and help them in August and September, so they do not need to go out of their way to make a deal. The Yankees are very high on Joba Chamberlain and they also have Ross Ohlendorf who looks great when he’s healthy.
The Red Sox farm is equally as good as they have brought up Manny Delcarmen and he has looked very promising this season. Clay Buchholz may also join Manny in the bullpen later on this season. The big question with the Sox is which starter will be axed once Curt Schilling comes back? Longtime Red Sox pitcher, Tim Wakefield has not been great this season, so he might be a possibility. Both Kason Gabbard and Jon Lester have come up from the minors and have been great. It will be interesting to see how Boston handles this situation.
Eric Gagne RP
As mentioned above, Gagne is being pursued as he is having a great season with 16 saves and a 2.16 ERA. However, the Yankees and Red Sox aren’t the only teams looking at Gagne. In fact, the list of interested teams is quite long including the Tigers, Braves, Dodgers, Rockies, and Indians.
The only catch to pursuing Gagne is that Gagne has a no-trade clause and has stated that he wants to be a closer not a setup man, which rules out a lot of teams that want to use him as a setup man.
Jose Contreras SP
Despite his horrible performance this season, 5-13 with a 6.22 ERA, teams around the league are willing to take a chance on Contreras hoping to bring him back to his dominant form of the first half of last season. The good thing about this is that Contreras’ price will be low making it easier to grab him for next to nothing. Interested teams include the Cubs, Braves, Mariners, Marlins, Indians, Phillies, and Mets.
Phillies Pitching & Pat Burrell OF
The Phillies’ problems are as clear as a sunny day. Their offense is ranked third in the majors with runs scored and OPS. Their team pitching however, is ranked 27th in the majors in ERA. Their starting pitching besides Cole Hamels is awful and their bullpen is nothing to brag about either. If the Phillies don’t get help as far as pitching is concerned in the next four days, you can count them out of the playoffs.
The good news is that the Phillies have a huge trading token in Pat Burrell who is having an off year. Since the Phillies don’t need help from Burrell, and Burrell has shown some great stuff in the past, they can trade him for some quality pitching. Possible players include Oakland’s Joe Kennedy, Chicago’s Jose Contreras, San Fransisco’s Matt Morris, Florida’s Dontrelle Willis, Cincinnati’s Kyle Lohse, and Houston’s Jason Jennings.
Seattle Pitching
The Mariners are another team that has major pitching issues. Although lately the Mariners have been losing, they had made a nice run to stay 3.5 games back from the division leading Angels. If they want to make another run, they need help in their pitching rotation. Any of the pitchers mentioned above can be likely options for Seattle.
Padres Hitting
The Padres have the opposite problem. The Padres pitching is one of, if not the best pitching staff in the league. The problem is that they have little to no offense. The Padres are ranked 28th in the majors in runs scored and 27th in the majors in OPS. They did acquire outfielder Milton Bradley recently but he will not be enough. The Padres look to be seriously considering Tampa Bay’s Ty Wigginton, Chicago’s Jermaine Dye, and Cincinnati’s Adam Dunn.
This season’s trade deadline seems to be taking a backseat in the headlines. The dark ages for commissioners have something to do with that but even without that, there’s not enough on the table to be seriously excited over. It is very likely that any of the deadline deals done will have little impact on the postseason race. As everyone counts on the Texas Rangers to save the day by trading Mark Teixeira, we all sit and wait for a potential blockbuster deal. Will it happen? Probably not. But where there are storm clouds, the sunshine awaits above in the off-season.
References: Baseball-Reference.com
Sports Moment of the Week
The Yankees defeated the Devil Rays 3-1 over the weekend scoring a combined 38 runs on them. This is the 2nd most in franchise history.
Mark Teixeira 1B
Here is the premiere player that can single handedly save the trade deadline headlines. The Texas Rangers have stated that they will trade Teixeira before the deadline. His .299 BA, 13 HR, and 49 RBI make him a highly pursued player among teams right now, but the catch is that he can opt out of his contract after the 2008 season meaning only teams that can win a championship now will pursue him.
Of the teams interested in Teixeira, the Atlanta Braves look like the most logical choice. They have a hole to fill in the first basemen slot which is currently filled in by young backup catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Teixeira will not only fill this hole but he will also help the Braves significantly decrease the gap between them and division leader, New York; this will also help the Braves pull away in the tight wild card race.
Another possibility is the Yankees, however that looks dead due to New York’s unwillingness to give up young prospects Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. Also, Andy Phillips has been filling in the role quite nicely as of late. Other possibilities that seem unlikely are the Red Sox who already have Kevin Youkilis, the Angels who already have Casey Kotchman, the Padres who already have Adrian Gonzalez, and the Dodgers who have stated they are comfortable with James Loney.
The Yankees and Red Sox Bullpen
Although both the Red Sox and Yankees are doing quite well right now with no huge holes to fill in their roster, they are both looking for relief pitching that can help them out, especially with their older starting pitchers. The bullpen proved to be an important role in last year’s postseason race when the Yankees swept the Sox 5-0 in the battle of the bullpens. The Yankees’ bullpen is worse than the Red Sox’ this season, however the Sox don’t want to give the Yankees the oppurtunity to grab a big name reliever to use against them when the season comes to a close.
A few possible names that are being tossed around are Texas’ Eric Gagne, Kansas City’s Octavio Dotel, Washington’s Chad Cordero, Cincinnati’s David Weathers, Pittsburgh’s Salomon Torres, Pittsburgh’s Damaso Marte, Colorado’s Brian Fuentes, Houston’s Brad Lidge, Houston’s Chad Qualls, and Houston’s Dan Wheeler.
The other factor that plays a role in the Yankees’ and Red Sox’ pursuit of a better bullpen is that they both have guys in the farm that can come out and help them in August and September, so they do not need to go out of their way to make a deal. The Yankees are very high on Joba Chamberlain and they also have Ross Ohlendorf who looks great when he’s healthy.
The Red Sox farm is equally as good as they have brought up Manny Delcarmen and he has looked very promising this season. Clay Buchholz may also join Manny in the bullpen later on this season. The big question with the Sox is which starter will be axed once Curt Schilling comes back? Longtime Red Sox pitcher, Tim Wakefield has not been great this season, so he might be a possibility. Both Kason Gabbard and Jon Lester have come up from the minors and have been great. It will be interesting to see how Boston handles this situation.
Eric Gagne RP
As mentioned above, Gagne is being pursued as he is having a great season with 16 saves and a 2.16 ERA. However, the Yankees and Red Sox aren’t the only teams looking at Gagne. In fact, the list of interested teams is quite long including the Tigers, Braves, Dodgers, Rockies, and Indians.
The only catch to pursuing Gagne is that Gagne has a no-trade clause and has stated that he wants to be a closer not a setup man, which rules out a lot of teams that want to use him as a setup man.
Jose Contreras SP
Despite his horrible performance this season, 5-13 with a 6.22 ERA, teams around the league are willing to take a chance on Contreras hoping to bring him back to his dominant form of the first half of last season. The good thing about this is that Contreras’ price will be low making it easier to grab him for next to nothing. Interested teams include the Cubs, Braves, Mariners, Marlins, Indians, Phillies, and Mets.
Phillies Pitching & Pat Burrell OF
The Phillies’ problems are as clear as a sunny day. Their offense is ranked third in the majors with runs scored and OPS. Their team pitching however, is ranked 27th in the majors in ERA. Their starting pitching besides Cole Hamels is awful and their bullpen is nothing to brag about either. If the Phillies don’t get help as far as pitching is concerned in the next four days, you can count them out of the playoffs.
The good news is that the Phillies have a huge trading token in Pat Burrell who is having an off year. Since the Phillies don’t need help from Burrell, and Burrell has shown some great stuff in the past, they can trade him for some quality pitching. Possible players include Oakland’s Joe Kennedy, Chicago’s Jose Contreras, San Fransisco’s Matt Morris, Florida’s Dontrelle Willis, Cincinnati’s Kyle Lohse, and Houston’s Jason Jennings.
Seattle Pitching
The Mariners are another team that has major pitching issues. Although lately the Mariners have been losing, they had made a nice run to stay 3.5 games back from the division leading Angels. If they want to make another run, they need help in their pitching rotation. Any of the pitchers mentioned above can be likely options for Seattle.
Padres Hitting
The Padres have the opposite problem. The Padres pitching is one of, if not the best pitching staff in the league. The problem is that they have little to no offense. The Padres are ranked 28th in the majors in runs scored and 27th in the majors in OPS. They did acquire outfielder Milton Bradley recently but he will not be enough. The Padres look to be seriously considering Tampa Bay’s Ty Wigginton, Chicago’s Jermaine Dye, and Cincinnati’s Adam Dunn.
This season’s trade deadline seems to be taking a backseat in the headlines. The dark ages for commissioners have something to do with that but even without that, there’s not enough on the table to be seriously excited over. It is very likely that any of the deadline deals done will have little impact on the postseason race. As everyone counts on the Texas Rangers to save the day by trading Mark Teixeira, we all sit and wait for a potential blockbuster deal. Will it happen? Probably not. But where there are storm clouds, the sunshine awaits above in the off-season.
References: Baseball-Reference.com
Sports Moment of the Week
The Yankees defeated the Devil Rays 3-1 over the weekend scoring a combined 38 runs on them. This is the 2nd most in franchise history.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
We’re Halfway There
Since my preseason picks, I haven’t talked much about baseball besides the Yankees’ unexpected struggles. Since we’re halfway through the baseball season and there’s no way to milk another article on the NBA, I’ll analyze what’s going on with select teams and what will happen with the rest of the season, including updated award predictions and World Series predictions.
Boston Red Sox (Runs Scored: 8th, ERA: 3rd, Errors Committed: 11th)
It goes without saying that the Sox are playing extremely well. Both Kevin Youkilis (.328 BA) and Dustin Pedroia (.318 BA) have stepped up big time to be key pieces in the Red Sox’ success. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are doing fine as well. Julio Lugo (.197 BA) has been the anchor that keeps the Sox from pulling full speed ahead but it isn’t enough to keep the team down. Pitchers Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield have also been struggling, but their efforts have been balanced out by the great performances of Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Schilling has been on the DL as well as future-star Jon Lester, and their return should help out a lot. What I like most about this Sox team is the fact that their bullpen has dramatically improved. Their bullpen was awful last year which is one of the main reasons they went through a second half slump last season causing them to ultimately finish 3rd in the division. This year, Hideki Okajima, Brendan Donnelly, and Javier Lopez have allowed the Sox to close out games. Jonathon Papelbon’s continued success is also a giant factor. The big question still remains, will the second half slump occur again this season? Signs of it already exist as they were swept by the Tigers right before the break. The Sox will probably cool off, but it won’t be enough for them to fall out of the division lead.
New York Yankees (Runs Scored: 3rd, ERA: 15th, Errors Committed: 7th)
Despite failing to achieve their goals in the first half of the season, the Yankees are far from finished for the simple fact that they are 3rd in the league in runs scored and 15th in the league with lowest ERA (Cleveland ranks worse). No one should ever count the Yankees out of the competition until they are deep into the second half of the season. Still, the Yanks have a lot of work ahead of them. Certain players need to play well now. Clemens is already back in the groove winning his 350th game two starts ago and going 8 innings with one earned run his next start. Andy Pettitte has had a recent history of playing much better in the second half along with Bobby Abreu. Alex Rodriguez is looking at his second MVP award with the Yankees, and Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada are playing excellent as well. Chien-Ming Wang has been excellent as well continuing his success as the ace of the Yankees pitching staff. Look for the Yanks to grab some bullpen help before the deadline which seems to be their biggest weakness.
Detroit Tigers (Runs Scored: 1st, ERA: 13th, Errors Committed: 18th)
The Tigers are in a tight race with the Indians at this point but are performing very well under the circumstances. They’ve won six of their last seven and look like the best team in baseball right now. Last year, one of the key pieces they were missing was the power hitter in the lineup. In the off-season they grabbed Gary Sheffield who seems to be performing to his expectations with 21 homeruns and 58 RBI. Although the pitching hasn’t been the best, Kenny Rogers is back and his addition should help out a lot. Their biggest weakness is their bullpen so it will be interesting to see if they wait it out and rely on their injured guys to get better or grab help before the trade deadline.
Cleveland Indians (Runs Scored: 2nd, ERA: 17th, Errors Committed: 15th)
The Indians are 1-2 in batting with the Tigers. The bad news is that the Tigers are in their division. Contrary to popular belief, there is no guarantee that the wild card team comes from the Central Division which puts pressure on the team to do well. Look for the struggling Travis Hafner to heat up in the second half as he has had a batting average of over .300 the past three seasons. C.C. Sabathia has become one of the elite pitchers in the league and Fausto Carmona has been a great young guy. After those guys, the pitching isn’t very good however. One of the bigger disappointments is Jeremy Sowers, who is going through a bad sophomore slump with an ERA of 6.92. A lot will depend on him if the Indians want to make the playoffs.
Minnesota Twins (Runs Scored: 7th, ERA: 11th, Errors Committed: 2nd)
The Twins' pitching has been mediocre but that can change. Matt Garza recently came back from the minors to pitch an excellent first game (6 IP, 0 ER). If he can keep that up, this will be a big boost to the Twins who don’t have too many reliable pitchers after Johan Santana. Boof Bonser has looked great at times this season and should do a lot better in the second half. Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter lead the offense but it won’t be enough to compete in the Central Division while they are 8 games back right now. I don’t see them catching the Tigers and Indians.
Los Angeles Angels (Runs Scored: 6th, ERA: 8th, Errors Committed: 16th)
The Angels starting pitching is pretty good. They have three solid guys in John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, and Jered Weaver. Their bullpen is even better; one of the strongest in the league. Coupled with a powerful offense led by Vladimir Guerrero, Orlando Cabrera, Casey Kotchman, Reggie Willits, and Chone Figgins, this team is a lock for the playoffs.
Oakland A's (Runs Scored: 23rd, ERA: 2nd, Errors Committed: 12th)
With the A’s, the question since the preseason was whether anyone on the offense can step up. The pitching was not really a question and the A’s proved it by having the second lowest team ERA in the bigs. The problem is the offense is horrible and the Angels are too strong. It’s safe to say at this point, the A’s won’t be seeing any October action.
New York Mets (Runs Scored: 21st, ERA: 5th, Errors Committed: 5th)
Moving onto the National League, the Mets pitching has surprised everyone ranking fifth in the league. One has to question how good this really is however. Oliver Perez has a surprising 3.14 ERA when in the last three season he’s posted an ERA over six. Whether he will continue his success in the second half of the season is very questionable. Another question is the eventual return of Pedro Martinez; will he be back in time to help the Mets out and if he is, will he be effective enough? Another surprising stat about the Mets is that they are 21st in the league in runs scored. You have to believe that that will get a lot better in the second half of the season when last season with pretty much the same offense, the team was ranked seventh. The Mets will win the NL East.
Atlanta Braves (Runs Scored: 15th, ERA: 12th, Errors Committed: 23rd)
The Braves look like a promising team. While the defense needs work, the pitching and the offense are pretty good; the bullpen is even better. If the defense steps up, look for the Braves to grab the wild card.
Philadelphia Phillies (Runs Scored: 4th, ERA: 28th, Errors Committed: 13th)
With the Phillies, it’s very simple, the pitching is terrible. Besides Cole Hamels, the Phillies have noone, both as a starter or reliever. Of course it doesn’t help that a number of relievers are injured but even with their return, the pitching staff doesn’t look that much better. What has kept them at .500 is that their offense is really good. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Aaron Rowand have been nothing less than great. If the Phillies want to contend, they need to invest in pitching before the break or grab some help from the minors.
Milwaukee Brewers (Runs Scored: 9th, ERA: 10th, Errors Committed: 22nd)
The Brewers are a great team when it comes to pitching and offense. They have a lot of great young guys who are performing up to their expectations. The problem is the team is too young which means they are very capable of collapsing in the second half of the season due to the pressure and lack of experience on how to deal with it. The disadvantage of their age is already showing with their defense which is not so great. While they will dominate the NL for years to come, I don’t see them closing out the deal this year.
Chicago Cubs (Runs Scored: 20th, ERA: 7th, Errors Committed: 9th)
Look for the Cubs to have a huge second half and take the lead in the Central Division. They have solid pitching with Carlos Zambrano looking great once again and Ted Lilly proving he was a good investment after all. The bullpen is pretty decent as well. What the Cubs need to do is to get the bats going, and look for it to happen. Alfonso Soriano is on pace to hit 66 RBI when in the past five seasons, he’s hit over 90. Derrek Lee should also catch fire as he is on pace to hit 84 RBI when the season prior to his injury, he hit 107 RBI.
Houston Astros (Runs Scored: 18th, ERA: 23rd, Errors Committed: 14th)
The Astros have been one of the bigger disappointments. Their batting has been pretty solid for the most part with the emergence of Hunter Pence and the continued success of Carlos Lee and Mark Loretta. Lance Berkman, batting .263 when he was supposed to be in the race for MVP, has been one of the big factors for the team underachieving. But the biggest problem is that a team once known for its pitching has taken a step in the opposite direction. Woody Williams, who had an ERA of 3.65 last year, is pitching 5.34 this season and Chris Sampson has not been helping either with his first year as a full time starter. To make it even worse, the bullpen for the Astros has been awful, one of the worst in the majors. Even though I had this team representing the NL in the World Series in the beginning of the year, I can safely say, this team has little chance of competing in the second half.
San Diego Padres (Runs Scored: 24th, ERA: 1st, Errors Committed: 8th)
The Padres have the best pitching in the league with Jake Peavy and Chris Young leading their starters. Their bullpen is also the best in the league which helps out other starters who might struggle early on. Why are they not running away with the best record in the league? Their offensive is terrible. How terrible? No starter from the beginning of the season has a batting average over .300. Adrian Gonzalez will heat up in the second half but he will need help. I don’t think Milton Bradley’s addition is the solution to this problem; it helps, but it’s not enough. They have to grab someone else before the deadline to help them out on offense if they want to seriously contend for the championship because they won’t get to smell it with the lineup they have right now.
Los Angeles Dodgers (Runs Scored: 19th, ERA: 4th, Errors Committed: 28th)
The Dodgers have the worst defense out of all of the contenders with 68 errors committed. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the starting pitching is very good and their bullpen is even better; one of the best in the majors along with the Angels. Their offense is pretty decent, at least better than the Padres’ which should work to their advantage in the two-team battle for the NL West. It should be fun watching these two teams duking it out for the division title.
My updated predictions with the season half over are as follows:
World Series: Detroit Tigers over Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez
AL Cy Young: Johan Santana
AL ROY: Daisuke Matsuzaka
NL MVP: Derrek Lee
NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy
NL ROY: Hunter Pence
References: Baseball-Reference.com
Sports Moment of the Week
Roger Federer got his revenage against Rafael Nadal on the grass winning his fifth straight Wimbledon title last week. Last month, Nadal defeated Federer on the clay at the French Open.
Boston Red Sox (Runs Scored: 8th, ERA: 3rd, Errors Committed: 11th)
It goes without saying that the Sox are playing extremely well. Both Kevin Youkilis (.328 BA) and Dustin Pedroia (.318 BA) have stepped up big time to be key pieces in the Red Sox’ success. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are doing fine as well. Julio Lugo (.197 BA) has been the anchor that keeps the Sox from pulling full speed ahead but it isn’t enough to keep the team down. Pitchers Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield have also been struggling, but their efforts have been balanced out by the great performances of Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Schilling has been on the DL as well as future-star Jon Lester, and their return should help out a lot. What I like most about this Sox team is the fact that their bullpen has dramatically improved. Their bullpen was awful last year which is one of the main reasons they went through a second half slump last season causing them to ultimately finish 3rd in the division. This year, Hideki Okajima, Brendan Donnelly, and Javier Lopez have allowed the Sox to close out games. Jonathon Papelbon’s continued success is also a giant factor. The big question still remains, will the second half slump occur again this season? Signs of it already exist as they were swept by the Tigers right before the break. The Sox will probably cool off, but it won’t be enough for them to fall out of the division lead.
New York Yankees (Runs Scored: 3rd, ERA: 15th, Errors Committed: 7th)
Despite failing to achieve their goals in the first half of the season, the Yankees are far from finished for the simple fact that they are 3rd in the league in runs scored and 15th in the league with lowest ERA (Cleveland ranks worse). No one should ever count the Yankees out of the competition until they are deep into the second half of the season. Still, the Yanks have a lot of work ahead of them. Certain players need to play well now. Clemens is already back in the groove winning his 350th game two starts ago and going 8 innings with one earned run his next start. Andy Pettitte has had a recent history of playing much better in the second half along with Bobby Abreu. Alex Rodriguez is looking at his second MVP award with the Yankees, and Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada are playing excellent as well. Chien-Ming Wang has been excellent as well continuing his success as the ace of the Yankees pitching staff. Look for the Yanks to grab some bullpen help before the deadline which seems to be their biggest weakness.
Detroit Tigers (Runs Scored: 1st, ERA: 13th, Errors Committed: 18th)
The Tigers are in a tight race with the Indians at this point but are performing very well under the circumstances. They’ve won six of their last seven and look like the best team in baseball right now. Last year, one of the key pieces they were missing was the power hitter in the lineup. In the off-season they grabbed Gary Sheffield who seems to be performing to his expectations with 21 homeruns and 58 RBI. Although the pitching hasn’t been the best, Kenny Rogers is back and his addition should help out a lot. Their biggest weakness is their bullpen so it will be interesting to see if they wait it out and rely on their injured guys to get better or grab help before the trade deadline.
Cleveland Indians (Runs Scored: 2nd, ERA: 17th, Errors Committed: 15th)
The Indians are 1-2 in batting with the Tigers. The bad news is that the Tigers are in their division. Contrary to popular belief, there is no guarantee that the wild card team comes from the Central Division which puts pressure on the team to do well. Look for the struggling Travis Hafner to heat up in the second half as he has had a batting average of over .300 the past three seasons. C.C. Sabathia has become one of the elite pitchers in the league and Fausto Carmona has been a great young guy. After those guys, the pitching isn’t very good however. One of the bigger disappointments is Jeremy Sowers, who is going through a bad sophomore slump with an ERA of 6.92. A lot will depend on him if the Indians want to make the playoffs.
Minnesota Twins (Runs Scored: 7th, ERA: 11th, Errors Committed: 2nd)
The Twins' pitching has been mediocre but that can change. Matt Garza recently came back from the minors to pitch an excellent first game (6 IP, 0 ER). If he can keep that up, this will be a big boost to the Twins who don’t have too many reliable pitchers after Johan Santana. Boof Bonser has looked great at times this season and should do a lot better in the second half. Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter lead the offense but it won’t be enough to compete in the Central Division while they are 8 games back right now. I don’t see them catching the Tigers and Indians.
Los Angeles Angels (Runs Scored: 6th, ERA: 8th, Errors Committed: 16th)
The Angels starting pitching is pretty good. They have three solid guys in John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, and Jered Weaver. Their bullpen is even better; one of the strongest in the league. Coupled with a powerful offense led by Vladimir Guerrero, Orlando Cabrera, Casey Kotchman, Reggie Willits, and Chone Figgins, this team is a lock for the playoffs.
Oakland A's (Runs Scored: 23rd, ERA: 2nd, Errors Committed: 12th)
With the A’s, the question since the preseason was whether anyone on the offense can step up. The pitching was not really a question and the A’s proved it by having the second lowest team ERA in the bigs. The problem is the offense is horrible and the Angels are too strong. It’s safe to say at this point, the A’s won’t be seeing any October action.
New York Mets (Runs Scored: 21st, ERA: 5th, Errors Committed: 5th)
Moving onto the National League, the Mets pitching has surprised everyone ranking fifth in the league. One has to question how good this really is however. Oliver Perez has a surprising 3.14 ERA when in the last three season he’s posted an ERA over six. Whether he will continue his success in the second half of the season is very questionable. Another question is the eventual return of Pedro Martinez; will he be back in time to help the Mets out and if he is, will he be effective enough? Another surprising stat about the Mets is that they are 21st in the league in runs scored. You have to believe that that will get a lot better in the second half of the season when last season with pretty much the same offense, the team was ranked seventh. The Mets will win the NL East.
Atlanta Braves (Runs Scored: 15th, ERA: 12th, Errors Committed: 23rd)
The Braves look like a promising team. While the defense needs work, the pitching and the offense are pretty good; the bullpen is even better. If the defense steps up, look for the Braves to grab the wild card.
Philadelphia Phillies (Runs Scored: 4th, ERA: 28th, Errors Committed: 13th)
With the Phillies, it’s very simple, the pitching is terrible. Besides Cole Hamels, the Phillies have noone, both as a starter or reliever. Of course it doesn’t help that a number of relievers are injured but even with their return, the pitching staff doesn’t look that much better. What has kept them at .500 is that their offense is really good. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Aaron Rowand have been nothing less than great. If the Phillies want to contend, they need to invest in pitching before the break or grab some help from the minors.
Milwaukee Brewers (Runs Scored: 9th, ERA: 10th, Errors Committed: 22nd)
The Brewers are a great team when it comes to pitching and offense. They have a lot of great young guys who are performing up to their expectations. The problem is the team is too young which means they are very capable of collapsing in the second half of the season due to the pressure and lack of experience on how to deal with it. The disadvantage of their age is already showing with their defense which is not so great. While they will dominate the NL for years to come, I don’t see them closing out the deal this year.
Chicago Cubs (Runs Scored: 20th, ERA: 7th, Errors Committed: 9th)
Look for the Cubs to have a huge second half and take the lead in the Central Division. They have solid pitching with Carlos Zambrano looking great once again and Ted Lilly proving he was a good investment after all. The bullpen is pretty decent as well. What the Cubs need to do is to get the bats going, and look for it to happen. Alfonso Soriano is on pace to hit 66 RBI when in the past five seasons, he’s hit over 90. Derrek Lee should also catch fire as he is on pace to hit 84 RBI when the season prior to his injury, he hit 107 RBI.
Houston Astros (Runs Scored: 18th, ERA: 23rd, Errors Committed: 14th)
The Astros have been one of the bigger disappointments. Their batting has been pretty solid for the most part with the emergence of Hunter Pence and the continued success of Carlos Lee and Mark Loretta. Lance Berkman, batting .263 when he was supposed to be in the race for MVP, has been one of the big factors for the team underachieving. But the biggest problem is that a team once known for its pitching has taken a step in the opposite direction. Woody Williams, who had an ERA of 3.65 last year, is pitching 5.34 this season and Chris Sampson has not been helping either with his first year as a full time starter. To make it even worse, the bullpen for the Astros has been awful, one of the worst in the majors. Even though I had this team representing the NL in the World Series in the beginning of the year, I can safely say, this team has little chance of competing in the second half.
San Diego Padres (Runs Scored: 24th, ERA: 1st, Errors Committed: 8th)
The Padres have the best pitching in the league with Jake Peavy and Chris Young leading their starters. Their bullpen is also the best in the league which helps out other starters who might struggle early on. Why are they not running away with the best record in the league? Their offensive is terrible. How terrible? No starter from the beginning of the season has a batting average over .300. Adrian Gonzalez will heat up in the second half but he will need help. I don’t think Milton Bradley’s addition is the solution to this problem; it helps, but it’s not enough. They have to grab someone else before the deadline to help them out on offense if they want to seriously contend for the championship because they won’t get to smell it with the lineup they have right now.
Los Angeles Dodgers (Runs Scored: 19th, ERA: 4th, Errors Committed: 28th)
The Dodgers have the worst defense out of all of the contenders with 68 errors committed. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the starting pitching is very good and their bullpen is even better; one of the best in the majors along with the Angels. Their offense is pretty decent, at least better than the Padres’ which should work to their advantage in the two-team battle for the NL West. It should be fun watching these two teams duking it out for the division title.
My updated predictions with the season half over are as follows:
World Series: Detroit Tigers over Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez
AL Cy Young: Johan Santana
AL ROY: Daisuke Matsuzaka
NL MVP: Derrek Lee
NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy
NL ROY: Hunter Pence
References: Baseball-Reference.com
Sports Moment of the Week
Roger Federer got his revenage against Rafael Nadal on the grass winning his fifth straight Wimbledon title last week. Last month, Nadal defeated Federer on the clay at the French Open.
Monday, April 2, 2007
2007 MLB Preview
Let’s skip the introduction and jump right in here. I’m only going to concentrate on who I believe can potential contend this year. And this year it seems as if the entire league can contend which should make for an exciting and unpredictable season.Starting with the American League and the New York Yankees which I have the most knowledge of being a fan and all; the Yankees suffered last season due to starting pitching and timely hitting. In the off-season they fixed one of these problems by signing Andy Pettitte and Kei Igawa. They also decided not to trade Carl Pavano giving them a little more depth. If starting pitching struggles in the first half of the season look for the Yankees to make a blockbuster trade by July which can include the likes of Dontrelle Willis. Top pitching prospects Philip Hughes, Humberto Sanchez, and Jeff Karstens can also step in if injuries occur. The bullpen can use improvement but closer Mariano Rivera is always reliable. With arguably the best lineup in all of baseball, the Yankees look like a lock to win their division. The problem is not the regular season but rather the playoffs. Players must come up with hits and move runners around the bases. If they can continue their regular season performance in the postseason, they will be very hard to stop.
The Boston Red Sox seem like the only other team that can contend with the Yankees in the AL East. Their rotation has dramatically improved since last year. The signing of Daisuke Matsuzaka was huge and look for Jon Lester to have an incredible season after undergoing chemotherapy last season, kind of looks like a potential Lance Armstrong story. The lineup, which was not necessarily a problem last season, is slightly better with the signings of Julio Lugo and J.D. Drew. I see Josh Beckett and Coco Crisp having great comeback seasons. The biggest problem I have with the Red Sox is their bullpen, which is exactly why they finished third place last season. The Red Sox improved their bullpen this season by signing… NO ONE… With the current bullpen they have I don’t see them in the postseason this year.
The AL Central is the most unpredictable division seeing how they have four potential contenders. The Detroit Tigers look the strongest not only because they haven’t gotten rid of anyone but they added the key element that they were missing, a power hitter in Gary Sheffield. This team will be very dangerous this season due to the good hitters in Sheffield, Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez, and Ivan Rodriguez. Their lineup seems a little older which doesn’t necessarily mean anything this year but it can mean a sharp decline in incoming years if players are not replaced. The Tigers also have a great rotation with Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, and Nate Robertson. The bullpen is also very good but there can be issues in closing games out with closer Todd Jones. This team also plays great defense which can kill any lineup along with their pitching.
The Cleveland Indians look like a great comeback team this season. They have great batters in Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, and Victor Martinez and great starters in C.C. Sabathia and Jeremy Sowers. The rest of the starting rotation looks okay along with their bullpen. They do have some insurance in starting pitching prospect Adam Miller who can help out midseason if other guys struggle.
The Minnesota Twins are another team with a great batting lineup. The problem is their only proven starting pitcher is Johan Santana which will cause them to lose a lot of games. They do have great relievers and a great closer in Joe Nathan which may help the less than mediocre rotation. I just don’t think it’s the Twins year this season but I do think they will the one of the strongest teams next year with the return of starting pitcher Francisco Liriano and the development of Matt Garza.
The Chicago White Sox have fallen off hard after their 2005 championship. They still maintain a great lineup of batters but their starting pitching is awful. Their best pitcher is Jose Contreras and he fell off harder after the all star break last season than the team as a whole did the past year. Some buzz has been going on about the White Sox and I honestly don’t see why.
The AL West seems the easiest to predict with the Los Angeles Angels. They have two great batters in Gary Matthews Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero. The rest of the lineup is decent at best however, which can cause them to put out small numbers. They do have a great pitching staff all around with starting pitchers John Lackey, Evrin Santana, and Jeff Weaver; a great bullpen with Kelvim Escobar, Scot Shields, and Justin Speier; and perhaps one of the best closers this season in Francisco Rodriguez. Look for the Angels to runaway with the AL West title.
The Oakland A’s, last years AL West champions, have fallen off harder than the White Sox. They have absolutely no great batter and no proven starting pitcher. Rich Harden and Dan Haren could come out and perform very well but they are questions, just like the rest of the team.
Before I begin to discuss the National League, let me warn you that I don’t have nearly as much knowledge on this league as I do on the American League. I’m not the best person to listen to when it comes to predicting this league but I did my best researching which is why I still feel confident with my picks.
In the National League East, the New York Mets’ lineup looks excellent. Besides the Yankees, the Mets could have the best lineup in all of baseball. Their starting pitching is the giant question mark. The pitchers are very old, I mean Roger Clemens old, and since there’s only one Roger Clemens, I don’t see them taking over the “ace” role in the rotation. They do have John Maine who can help the rotation a lot. Also, they have good pitching prospects in Phillip Humber and Mike Pelfrey can help out with pitching struggles early on. The 2007 Mets remind me most of the 2006 Yankees; a great season and a disappointing early exit in the playoffs.
The Atlanta Braves look to come back to glory after losing the NL East title last season for the first time in 11 seasons. They can do it with a good lineup including Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, and Jeff Francoeur. Starting pitchers John Smoltz and Chuck James can help out a lot as well. Their bullpen and closer will not disappoint either.
The Philadelphia Phillies have gotten better over the past year. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are both potential MVP candidates and their starting pitching has improved with Brett Myers maturing and the signing of Freddy Garcia. Wes Helms is a player to watch as he hit a quiet .329 last season. I like this team but I don’t see them contending with the Mets. Ryan Howard’s slumping spring training this year is also something to pay attention to. Yes, I know its just spring training and its not a big deal, except Howard is making it a big deal with can hurt his mental state at the plate.
The Florida Marlins had an excellent second half of the season last season. Their horrendous first half prevented them from reaching the postseason however. Their lineup and rotation is good and the only thing that’s preventing them from becoming a lock is their horrible bullpen. This can be fixed however if pitcher Matt Lindstrom turns out to perform well (he has never played in the big leagues before). Also pitcher Josh Johnson can help out a great deal when he comes back from his injury in June. The Marlins are my surprise special with a potential to finish as high as second in the East.
The Washington Nationals are also a team to be discussed. Not because of their ability to contend with their division but because of their ability to contend with history. That’s right, place your bets now; How many games will the Nationals lose this year? The single season record was set by the 1899 Cleveland Spiders who finished their season 20-134. I don’t believe the Nationals can lose more games with their team batting average at .265 and their team earned runs average at 6.24 but I have my money at 121 losses this season.
In the NL Central, the defending World Series champions St. Louis Cardinals, maintain their core batting lineup. It’s their rotation which bothers me. They lost Jared Weaver and Jeff Suppan in the off-season and replaced them with former bullpen pitchers Adam Wainwright and Braden Looper. This creates a huge question mark along with closer Jason Isringhausen coming off an injury.
The Houston Astros added the big bat of Carlos Lee which will greatly improve their lineup along with Lance Berkman. I actually have Berkman as my MVP runner-up. Having said that, they don’t seem to have enough hitters but that didn’t stop them in 2005, why should it stop them this season? Plus they have a potential big bat in Luke Scott and prospect Hunter Pence is a future all star. Their starting pitching is great with Roy Oswalt, Jason Jennings, and Woody Williams. I see this team contending early on which will convince Roger Clemens to stay an Astro this season.
The Chicago Cubs were the busiest team this off-season. They have beefed up their lineup tremendously and their rotation is pretty good too. I see Ted Lilly helping out a lot even though his ERA last season was over four. I’ll tell you why, he pitched in the AL East last season; plus everyone knows that pitching in the NL is a lot easier than in the AL. Starting pitcher Rich Hill is a question mark but he does look promising. Mark Prior could help out as well if he can stay healthy for once in his life. They will have to spend a few more dollars picking up a closer before the deadline because closer Ryan Dempster is not going to cut it.
The Milwaukee Brewers is a team I have been mulling over a lot. They are a young team with great potential batters. They also have Ben Sheets, Jeff Suppan, and Chris Capuano in their rotation. The fact that the bullpen is mediocre and their batters are young made me decide not to have them moving onto the postseason this year but I do look forward to watching them 2008.
In the west, the Los Angeles Dodgers look to be favorites. Their lineup is good along with their rotation which now includes Jason Schmidt. Their bullpen and closer is phenomenal which can bail out starting pitchers that will struggle.
The San Diego Padres have a great rotation. Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Greg Maddux, and Clay Hensley will provide much needed help due to the fact that they don’t have a lot of great batters besides Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Bard. Their bullpen and closer are great too.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have a good lineup along with 2006 Cy Young winner Brandon Webb. The problem is they ONLY have Webb. This spells trouble for their rotation and their closer is awful as well.
To round out the year, I have the New York Yankees defeating the Houston Astros, 4-1, in the World Series including a game where long-time friends, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens square off against each other.
As for individual awards, the AL MVP will go to Derek Jeter for two simple reasons. One, he was robbed last season for the award which I think he’s secretly pissed off about and two, it will be manager Joe Torre’s last season with the Yankees and I know that Jeter has a lot of love for Torre causing him to perform greater than he has ever before. In the NL, I was originally leaning toward Albert Pujols, but the award must go to a playoff contender and I don’t see the Cardinals in the postseason so I’m giving it to Derrek Lee who almost won the award two seasons ago. Last season, injuries kept him out but I see a huge comeback on the horizon. Johan Santana will runaway with the AL Cy Young and in the NL, I see Roy Oswalt taking the Cy Young due to his increasing performance every season. The AL Rookie of the Year will be Tampa Bay Devil Ray outfielder Delmon Young and in the NL, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Homer Bailey, perhaps the best pitching prospect besides Philip Hughes, will grab the award.
Recap:
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Detroit Tigers
AL West: Los Angeles Angels
AL Wild Card: Cleveland Indians
NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: Houston Astros
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Chicago Cubs
World Series: New York Yankees over Houston Astros, 4-1
AL MVP: Derek Jeter
AL Cy Young: Johan Santana
AL ROY: Delmon Young
NL MVP: Derrek Lee
NL Cy Young: Roy Oswalt
NL ROY: Homer Bailey
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Photos: MLB.com
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