From the "Things We Already Knew" department...
David Wright is good. The Mets' young third baseman picked up right where he left off last year. After finishing 19th in National League MVP voting in his first full year in the majors, Wright is apparently interested in climbing up the list. He's hitting .474/.478/.895 and leading the team with 9 RBI. Those averages may come down in time. Then again, they may not.
The Marlins stink. Surprisingly, they have scored as many runs as they've allowed so far this season. Unsurprisingly, they've still lost four out of five games. They have some good young talent that could turn into a dangerous team a couple of years from now. Right now, they could probably beat just about any AAA team. Probably.
From the "Things We Should Pretend Not To Be Concerned About" department...
Pedro Martinez is not Pedro Martinez yet. After a greatly abbreviated Spring Training, Pedro started the season with a rough five-run outing that included five walks and three hit batsmen over six innings. Given how little time he had to prepare for the season due to his injured toe, there's no reason to be alarmed yet. But it sure would be nice if the 2005 Pedro showed up soon.
Billy Wagner isn't quite Billy Wagner, either. The Mets' closer also missed a bit of time in the Spring, and his velocity has been noticeably sub-Wagnerian thus far. The fact that he has as many walks and as many home runs as strikeouts through three outings totaling three innings is not comforting. Still, at least he's not Jorge Julio.
And yet...
The Mets are 4-1. They're alone in first place. They're the only team in the division above .500. And they get to play the Nationals three more times starting tomorrow. Things could be worse.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Home at last
Jeremy Bonderman goes to the hill this afternoon as the Tigers finally get to play at home. Oddly, Bonderman's stats over the past two seasons were better on the road than in spacious Comerica. You'd think he'd dominate there. Maybe this year.
Some things to like from the Tigers 5-1 start, their best since 1985, other than simply the 5-1 start.
* It was all on the road.
* It was without closer Todd Jones.
* No errors.
* Young guns Justin Verlander, 23, and Joel Zumaya, 21, came out firing.
* Chris Shelton smacked the ball all over creation. Shelton had triples in consecutive at-bats the other night in Texas. Previously, he had three triples in his career, all at Comerica.
One reason for concern. Teams are hitting better than .300 against Rogers, Robertson and Maroth. Robertson was hit hard during spring training, too. Might become a problem if the Tigers' bats cool.
Some things to like from the Tigers 5-1 start, their best since 1985, other than simply the 5-1 start.
* It was all on the road.
* It was without closer Todd Jones.
* No errors.
* Young guns Justin Verlander, 23, and Joel Zumaya, 21, came out firing.
* Chris Shelton smacked the ball all over creation. Shelton had triples in consecutive at-bats the other night in Texas. Previously, he had three triples in his career, all at Comerica.
One reason for concern. Teams are hitting better than .300 against Rogers, Robertson and Maroth. Robertson was hit hard during spring training, too. Might become a problem if the Tigers' bats cool.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
This Bud's for you...
In his first start for the St. Louis Cardinals, Sydney Ponson earned no decision throwing 5 innings, giving up 7 hits, 3 earned runs and 0 walks. That's zero walks. Zero.
I believe I'll have some Budweiser delivered to the O's clubhouse c/o Leo Mazzone.
O's Solid in Pursuit of Major League Crown
Entering today's game leading the Major Leagues in Bases on Balls, the Baltimore Orioles pitching staff delivered 6 more BBs in another league leading performance against the Boston Red Sox. Staff ace Rodrigo Lopez got off to a shaky start, delivering a mere 1 BB through the first 5 innings. After craftily walking 3 in the 6th, however, Lopez left no doubt as to why he is Baltimore's Number One.
Relievers John Halama and Tim Byrdak tacked on 1 BB apiece to complete a solid day's work for O's pitching.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, who started the day trailing Baltimore by 1 BB, could only muster 3 BBs in 9 innings of work.
Orioles owner Peter Angelos had this to say regarding the O's pitching performance thus far, "It's very encouraging to see that we can widen our lead, even on a day when we only use 3 pitchers."
Saturday, April 08, 2006
It was 20 years ago today
Dwight Gooden opened the Mets' world championship season with a complete game, 6-hit, 4-2 win at Pittsburgh.
Some of us remember it fondly, even though we're not Mets or Pirates fans. The Pirates threatened in the ninth, but Gooden stayed out there firing away and shut down the Bucs. I remember Johnny Ray -- already with two hits and an RBI -- coming to the plate in the inning, the crowd going crazy, and the organist playing "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." He didn't.
Hard to believe there was a time when baseball started so "late" in April. And that there were organists.
We missed the only homer of the game, R.J. Reynold's lead-off blast in the first off Gooden, but heard the roar of the crowd as we walked from the car toward Three Rivers Stadium. I can still hear that roar. You knew it was a home run.
Rick Reuschel got the loss. Gooden struck out six. The game took 2:24 to play.
Sadly, Sammy "The Egyptian Boy Wonder" Khalifa was hitless.
As they say, you can look it up.
Some of us remember it fondly, even though we're not Mets or Pirates fans. The Pirates threatened in the ninth, but Gooden stayed out there firing away and shut down the Bucs. I remember Johnny Ray -- already with two hits and an RBI -- coming to the plate in the inning, the crowd going crazy, and the organist playing "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." He didn't.
Hard to believe there was a time when baseball started so "late" in April. And that there were organists.
We missed the only homer of the game, R.J. Reynold's lead-off blast in the first off Gooden, but heard the roar of the crowd as we walked from the car toward Three Rivers Stadium. I can still hear that roar. You knew it was a home run.
Rick Reuschel got the loss. Gooden struck out six. The game took 2:24 to play.
Sadly, Sammy "The Egyptian Boy Wonder" Khalifa was hitless.
As they say, you can look it up.
Phils postponed! Phils postponed!
That's as good as a win for the Broad Street Bummers.
There's still time for the Phils to turn things around. A four-game losing streak in the middle of the season doesn't seem as bad as one to start the season. Especially a year that many thought would be different for Philly.
One thing I've hated is the bottom of the Phillies order. Bell and Lieberthal were rally killers last year and there's no speed ahead of them.
Here's what should be done. Rollins bats leadoff followed by Nunez, who hit .352 in 105 AB in the No. 2 slot last year. Abreu, Burrell and Howard follow. Utley bats sixth. Utley hit .343 in 105 AB in that spot last season. Rowand, who is a good No. 2 hitter, bats seventh, where he also has had success in the past.
Having Utley and Rowand together in those spots gives you a chance to manufacture some runs. Interestingly, Rowand has really flourished the last two years hitting in the No. 5 and No. 6 spots. Against lefties, I'd switch Howard and Rowand in the lineup.
Of course, none of that matters if the stating pitching doesn't come around.
There's still time for the Phils to turn things around. A four-game losing streak in the middle of the season doesn't seem as bad as one to start the season. Especially a year that many thought would be different for Philly.
One thing I've hated is the bottom of the Phillies order. Bell and Lieberthal were rally killers last year and there's no speed ahead of them.
Here's what should be done. Rollins bats leadoff followed by Nunez, who hit .352 in 105 AB in the No. 2 slot last year. Abreu, Burrell and Howard follow. Utley bats sixth. Utley hit .343 in 105 AB in that spot last season. Rowand, who is a good No. 2 hitter, bats seventh, where he also has had success in the past.
Having Utley and Rowand together in those spots gives you a chance to manufacture some runs. Interestingly, Rowand has really flourished the last two years hitting in the No. 5 and No. 6 spots. Against lefties, I'd switch Howard and Rowand in the lineup.
Of course, none of that matters if the stating pitching doesn't come around.
Tigers, Tigers burning bright
The Tigers are the only remaining unbeaten in the AL. As I read in the Free Press, they haven't made an error yet, their starters have issued just one walk and they've hit a ML record 16 homers in their first four games.Plus, Detroit is hitting .327 as a team. Baseball is a simple game. You throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball.
Another note from the Free Press: The Tigers have ensured they will open the season with a winning mult-city road trip for the first time since -- 1984.
Cabrera the Embarassment
Daniel Cabrera has solved his problem of only throwing strikes to right handed hitters. Now he doesn't throw strikes to any hitters.
Cabrera's line in his start against the Red Sox last night reads 1 1/3 IP, 3H, 7 BB, 7 ER throwing 60 pitches- 22 for strikes. Several of those strikes were balls that Red Sox hitters helped him out on.
It is time for the Orioles to recognize that the American League is one of the two Major Leagues and that their pitchers must be Major League pitchers. Cabrera has not thrown strikes for a year and a half. Send Cabrera down now. Do not give him another start in the Majors until he proves he can throw strikes.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Hey!
Would someone please let the Phillies know the season has started?
I hate to be pessimistic so early, but the bugaboos of last season have returned. Namely, Lieberthal, Bell and bullpen. Oh well, at least there's Ryan Howard.
I hate to be pessimistic so early, but the bugaboos of last season have returned. Namely, Lieberthal, Bell and bullpen. Oh well, at least there's Ryan Howard.
They did the mash
If the Tigers are going to blast seven homers a game and average 9 runs, Stanley and I might be able to form the back part of the rotation.Nice to see Maggs go yard twice. Chris Shelton certainly looks good too. Shelton's OPS is a mere 2.406.
The Tigers 15 HR in their first three games is a ML record. No team has ever hit more than 10 in the first three games of a season. As one Detroit scribe wrote, “... at this rate, the Detroit Tigers will hit 810 home runs. And Chris Shelton will hit 216. And the Tigers will never lose.”
Jim Leyland believes a good lineup is one that can be effective 1-9 or if you flipped it 9-1. Detroit doesn’t have any top stud, but they’ve got guys that can hit 1-9 and a lineup that easily could be turned 9-1 and be just as good.
You wouldn’t think twice if you saw Inge, Guillen, Monroe hitting 1-2-3 or 9-8-7. Same thing with Granderson, Polanco and Pudge.
The Tigers blasted six homers off knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, tying a ML record. Don’t throw knucklers against the Tigers. They hit six off Tim Wakefield in 2004.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
A Royal butt kicking
It won’t be long before they start construction on a Jim Leyland statue for Comerica. I’d say 162-0 is unrealistic, but maybe 120 wins are within reach.OK, so that’s a little overboard. After pummeling the Royals, this is where we start to see what kind of season the Tigers could have. Rogers and Bonderman did what was expected/hoped. Now, it’s up to Robertson, Maroth and Verlander to give us an idea whether a winning season is a realistic goal.
Detroit needed to take two from KC. Good teams, playoff contenders, generally take care of business against the weaker squads. This is even more important with the unbalanced schedule. Last year, though, the Tigers were 10-9 against the Royals. Since the start of 2003, the Royals have a 34-23 edge. So this wasn’t a gimme.
Love the potential for the Granderson, Polanco, Pudge top of the order. Imagine if Maggs starts to hit like the old days. Could be lots o’ runs. Yesterday, the top three went 11-for-15 with 9 runs, 7 RBI and two dingers.
Now comes a four-game set in Texas. Kenny Rogers faces his old mates on Sunday. Two former Phils, Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla, will toss for the Rangers over the weekend.
O's take two
With a 16-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last night in Camden Yards the Baltimore Orioles are 2-0 for the first time since 1997.
| Team | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 Orioles | 2-0 | 1st |
| 2006 Orioles | 2-0 | 4th |
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Opener in KC is OK
The Tigers couldn't have asked for a much better opener. Jim Leyland gets a win in his debut as manager and Kenny Rogers looks sharp in his debut as staff ace. Plus Chris Shelton blasts two homers to show why Carlos Pena is no longer around.
Detroit has now won three openers in a row, beating KC the last two.
I like Leyland's decision to bring in flamethrowing 21-year-old Joel Zumaya yesterday, even though it was a one-run game and Zumaya is untested. Leyland figured, correctly, that Zumaya's 100-mph heat combined with the late-afternoon shadows would create problems for the Royals. Zumaya tossed two innings of scoreless relief, striking out three.
Tigers play in KC again Wednesday. It's important for Bonderman to throw a good game and establish that the top of the rotation will be a tough 1-2 punch. Plus, the Tigers need to take advantage of weaker teams, like KC, if they want to contend for a playoff spot.
Detroit has now won three openers in a row, beating KC the last two.
I like Leyland's decision to bring in flamethrowing 21-year-old Joel Zumaya yesterday, even though it was a one-run game and Zumaya is untested. Leyland figured, correctly, that Zumaya's 100-mph heat combined with the late-afternoon shadows would create problems for the Royals. Zumaya tossed two innings of scoreless relief, striking out three.
Tigers play in KC again Wednesday. It's important for Bonderman to throw a good game and establish that the top of the rotation will be a tough 1-2 punch. Plus, the Tigers need to take advantage of weaker teams, like KC, if they want to contend for a playoff spot.
O's win opener (me so happy...)
Rodrigo Lopez collected an Opening Day victory over the Devil Rays yesterday. Lopez threw 7 innings giving up 7 hits, 6 runs (5 earned) and 1 walk on 90 pitches. It was by no measure a "good" start. It was, however, a good "bad start". Considering the number of bad starts the O's rotation might reasonably be expected to turn in, credit Lopez for showing the way to pitch poorly.Yesterday was the first time I'd ever seen Ramon Hernandez (O's catcher acquired from San Diego via free agency in the offseason) play. He's been described as one of the "premiere" backstops in the Major Leagues. He looked it in yesterday's game. He has a cannon. An accurate cannon. Given the Orioles pitching staffs' weakness in holding runners close, he has a shot a the record for "runners caught stealing" in a season. I don't know if they even keep such a statistic (I couldn't find it).
The Orioles homered 4 times on Opening Day for the first time since 1982.
| Team | W | L | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 Orioles | 94 | 68 | 2nd |
| 2006 Orioles | 1 | 0 | 4th |
Luis Matos became the first Oriole since Frank Robinson ('69, '70) to homer on consecutive Opening Days.
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robinson | 2808 | 10006 | 1829 | 2943 | 528 | 72 | 586 | 1812 | .294 |
| Matos | 440 | 1473 | 198 | 383 | 75 | 8 | 29 | 136 | .260 |
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Rodrigo can be proud! (Me so sad....)
Rodrigo Lopez has been named Orioles Opening Day starter for 2006. This is Rodrigo's 3rd Opening Day start for the O's in the last 4 years. With this start, Lopez will join exclusive company in Baltimore's record books. Just four other Orioles -- Steve Barber, Dave McNally, Jim Palmer and Mike Mussina -- have pitched as many as three Opening Day games for the O's. Palmer and Mussina are tied for the most with six each, and McNally worked five openers as Baltimore's ace.
| Pitcher | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barber | 121 | 106 | 3.36 | 466 | 272 | 59 | 21 | 1999 |
| McNally | 184 | 119 | 3.24 | 424 | 396 | 120 | 33 | 2730 |
| Palmer | 268 | 152 | 2.86 | 558 | 521 | 211 | 53 | 3948 |
| Mussina | 224 | 127 | 3.64 | 443 | 443 | 56 | 23 | 3013 |
| Lopez | 51 | 43 | 4.56 | 137 | 118 | 5 | 2 | 748.1 |
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Walk this way
At first glance, the Tigers seemed to have some pretty good offensive numbers last season. Especially in batting average, where their .272 mark was fourth best in the AL. They also led the league with 45 triples and were seventh in homers. They were fifth in hits and sixth in slugging.
Yet they ranked 11th in runs. The reason? Walks, or lack thereof. The Tigers walked just 384 times, worst in the AL. The Red Sox, who led the league in runs and bases on balls, drew 269 more freebies than Detroit.
That's 1.7 extra baserunners per game. Not to mention what it does to the opponent's pitch count and helping a team get into their foe's bullpen. And the Red Sox didn't do it at the expense of hitting their way on, either, leading the AL in that category, too. But that also makes sense -- work deeper into counts, see better pitches to hit.
If you looked at the top run-scoring teams in either league last season, most were among the leaders in walks, too. Oddly, strikeouts didn't seem to matter too much as the Red Sox were right up there as well. In the AL, the top six teams in runs were also among the top six in walks. And three of those squads struck out more than 1,000 times.
Much has been made of the Tigers needing to cut down on strikeouts, which would be nice, but they really need to make strides in walks.
If you're a Tigers fan, you have to believe the starting pitching will be good enough to be competitive. If the starters falter, there's no hope, anyway. If the pitching blossoms, then it will fall on the offense to score runs. That will be the key to the first winning season since 1993.
Yet they ranked 11th in runs. The reason? Walks, or lack thereof. The Tigers walked just 384 times, worst in the AL. The Red Sox, who led the league in runs and bases on balls, drew 269 more freebies than Detroit.
That's 1.7 extra baserunners per game. Not to mention what it does to the opponent's pitch count and helping a team get into their foe's bullpen. And the Red Sox didn't do it at the expense of hitting their way on, either, leading the AL in that category, too. But that also makes sense -- work deeper into counts, see better pitches to hit.
If you looked at the top run-scoring teams in either league last season, most were among the leaders in walks, too. Oddly, strikeouts didn't seem to matter too much as the Red Sox were right up there as well. In the AL, the top six teams in runs were also among the top six in walks. And three of those squads struck out more than 1,000 times.
Much has been made of the Tigers needing to cut down on strikeouts, which would be nice, but they really need to make strides in walks.
If you're a Tigers fan, you have to believe the starting pitching will be good enough to be competitive. If the starters falter, there's no hope, anyway. If the pitching blossoms, then it will fall on the offense to score runs. That will be the key to the first winning season since 1993.
Monday, March 27, 2006
'Los is a loss
The Tigers released 1B/enigma Carlos Pena over the weekend. It's not much of a surprise given that Pena was batting .160 in the spring and Detroit will only have to pay a quarter of his $2.8 million salary by dumping him now.
I love the quote by Pena's agent, $cott Bora$:
"Jim Leyland is a pitching and defense guy. If Jim had managed the club last season and gotten to make an independent appraisal of Carlos, I think this might have gone differently."
Differently? Granted, Pena is a smooth fielder, but he hit .235-18-44 last year and was dropped to the minors during the middle of the season. Chris Shelton took over at first base and batted .299-18-59 with an .870 OPS (compared to Pena's .802). Plus, Dmitri Young can back up Shelton. He hit .271-21-72 last year and is a lifetime .291 hitter. Pena is a .243 career hitter.
Pena was one of the centerpieces in the trade that sent Jeff Weaver from Detroit. Good thing the Tigers also got Jeremy Bonderman in return. Pena seems like a classy guy, so we hope he can find himself somewhere else. But it wasn't going to happen in Motown.
I love the quote by Pena's agent, $cott Bora$:
"Jim Leyland is a pitching and defense guy. If Jim had managed the club last season and gotten to make an independent appraisal of Carlos, I think this might have gone differently."
Differently? Granted, Pena is a smooth fielder, but he hit .235-18-44 last year and was dropped to the minors during the middle of the season. Chris Shelton took over at first base and batted .299-18-59 with an .870 OPS (compared to Pena's .802). Plus, Dmitri Young can back up Shelton. He hit .271-21-72 last year and is a lifetime .291 hitter. Pena is a .243 career hitter.
Pena was one of the centerpieces in the trade that sent Jeff Weaver from Detroit. Good thing the Tigers also got Jeremy Bonderman in return. Pena seems like a classy guy, so we hope he can find himself somewhere else. But it wasn't going to happen in Motown.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
O's to repeat
Friday, March 24, 2006
No more suspense
The curtain closed on whatever drama there was in Tigers camp when Jim Leyland named Justin Verlander the team's fifth starter. The rotation is set, as are the starting position players.
Kenny Rogers, Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Mike Maroth and Verlander will form the rotation. Verlander has a fastball in the high 90s and wicked breaking stuff. This has the makings of a solid group, but still needs to prove itself. There is no doubt a ton of potential.
Joel Zumaya, another top prospect who lost the No. 5 slot to Verlander, will begin the season in the bullpen with the Tigers. There is a report Detroit is interested in Phillies left-handed reliever Rheal Cormier. I guess they didn't see him pitch last season.
The batting order, particularly the top, remains unsettled. But you have to like a lineup of Pudge Rodriguez (C), Chris Shelton (1B), Placido Polanco (2B), Carlos Guillen (SS), Brandon Inge (3B), Craig Monroe (LF), Curtis Granderson (CF), Magglio Ordonez (RF) and Dmitri Young (DH). That looks like some runs.
Everyone better stay healthy, though, because depth is lacking.
Kenny Rogers, Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Mike Maroth and Verlander will form the rotation. Verlander has a fastball in the high 90s and wicked breaking stuff. This has the makings of a solid group, but still needs to prove itself. There is no doubt a ton of potential.
Joel Zumaya, another top prospect who lost the No. 5 slot to Verlander, will begin the season in the bullpen with the Tigers. There is a report Detroit is interested in Phillies left-handed reliever Rheal Cormier. I guess they didn't see him pitch last season.
The batting order, particularly the top, remains unsettled. But you have to like a lineup of Pudge Rodriguez (C), Chris Shelton (1B), Placido Polanco (2B), Carlos Guillen (SS), Brandon Inge (3B), Craig Monroe (LF), Curtis Granderson (CF), Magglio Ordonez (RF) and Dmitri Young (DH). That looks like some runs.
Everyone better stay healthy, though, because depth is lacking.
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