Hey guys, busy today with some other journalistic duties, so I’m just going to jot down some thoughts and post a video that I’m sure many of you have seen this week already.
- Someone needs to slow down those Brewers and Rangers so I don’t look like a fool for saying they are pretenders.
- Those Dodgers are really suffering without that Manny presence (Another thing I was wrong about). The Dodgers should say thanks, but no thanks when Manny returns. I feel like everyone has had enough with ‘Manny being juiced Manny.’
- The Angels look real good now for not re-signing Francisco Rodriguez or Mark Teixeira, saw this coming a mile away.
- When are the Rays going to start showing that last year wasn’t a fluke?
- If Roy Halladay becomes available, any contending team should do whatever it takes to get him.
-That Matt Wieters debut was sure uneventful, glad I didn’t start him in fantasy.
- Game to watch tonight, Red (Harang 3.36) vs. Brewers (Bush 3.92). Even match-up.
I am looking for a baseball blogger who would like to join Baseball Beat. Someone who has experience blogging and knowledgeable about baseball. You don’t have to post everyday, just a few times a week.
I do this for free, so the position is obviously unpaid.
If your interested shoot me an e-mail at AroundTheMajors@Gmail.com (My old blog e-mail, I still have to change that).
I’m tired of reading in the New York Tabloids and from Mike Francesca that pitcher Joba Chamberlain should go back to setting up Mariano Rivera. Francesca argues that it would be the best thing for this year’s Yankee club if he goes back to the bullpen.
Joba is only 23 and is too good of a pitcher to be put in the bullpen. First off, he has too many pitches to be a reliever. Mariano is a closer not because he throws hard, but because he has one good pitch. Also, would you put Roy Halladay, CC Sabbathia, or Johan Santana in the bullpen? I’m sure all of those aces could be awesome in the bullpen. The Yankees believe Joba will be an ace of those pitchers caliber.
Jobahas a 3.25 ERA in 21 starts, not bad at all for a 23-year old. Joba does need to work on lasting longer in games, but that will come. Putting him in the pen just this year because of question marks in the Yankee’s bullpen will hurt him in the future. He needs to get his innings and if he is in the bullpen that sets him back another year.
The Yankees have reiterated time after time that Joba is a starter, not a reliever, and isn’t going back, but that doesn’t stop ESPNPostDailyNews people from fueling ‘Joba to the bullpen’ rumors. Joba doesn’t belong in the bullpen and should and won’t be going back. So give it a rest.
I found this on River Ave. Blues a week or so ago. I though it was pretty interesting. It basically explains and show the optical illusion a curve ball produces when pitched.
Sorry for the last few weeks, it has been pretty crazy. I had finals and graduation from college. But, back to baseball with my top contenders & Pretenders.
Contenders
1. St. Louis Cardinals- Even though the offense is mostly just Albert Pujols, this team is a real contender. Pujols is the best hitter in the game and he is one of the few players in baseball who can carry a team all season. The rest of the offense hasn’t been very good, but I feel it will get better as the season goes on and outfielders Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel recover from their injuries. The pitching has been the strong point of the team. Starter Chris Carpenter has been pitching great and if he can stay healthy, this pitching staff will continue to stay strong.
2. Detroit Tigers- Last season I predicted that the Tigers would be one of the best teams in the AL and they had a terrible season. This year I picked against the Tigers and they proved me wrong again. I think this team is the real deal and will continue a weak AL Central. Besides Miguel Cabrera and Curtis Granderson, the offense hasn’t been as good as it could be. But, much like the Cardinals, the strength of the Tigers is in their pitching. Ace Justin Verlander seems to be back to his old self and Edwin Jackson has been incredible. Rick Porcello and even Dontrelle Willis, who seems to be recovering well from his social anxiety, have been very solid. I don’t see this team abandoning first in the AL Central anytime soon.
Pretenders
1. Toronto Blue Jays- Even before this recent slide they have been on and were rolling, I always believed that the Blue Jays wouldn’t last long atop the competitive AL East. The offense had been really carrying this team, but it has seemed to cool a bit. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a strong offense and I believe that second baseman Aaron Hill and outfielder Adam Lind are the real deal offensively. However, the Jays won’t keep putting up the crazy offensive numbers they have since the beginning of the season. The main issue on this team is the injuries of the starters. Roy Halladay, who I believe is the most underrated pitcher of my generation, is still an ace and putting up ace numbers. The problem is the injuries to Jesse Litsch, Dustin McGowan, and Shaun Marcum. Even though the staff has done a decent job so far, especially Scott Richmond who I like a lot, without those pitchers healthy they can’t compete among the elite of the East.
2. Texas Rangers- The West is a very weak division, especially with the struggles of the Angels, but this team doesn’t have the pitching to keep it number #1 all season. The offense is extremely good, might be the best lineup in baseball, but a good offense make you a threat all season. Maybe I’m wrong, the Rangers can just mash all the bad teams and stay competitive all season, teams have done it before. It’s just the pitching once again isn’t there. The Rangers have always had a good offense and haven’t produced a payoff team since the late 90’s. Kevin Milwood has pitched well for the Rangers, but that’s not enough and it is also Kevin Milwood.
3. Milwaukee Brewers- I thought the losses of pitchers C.C. Sabbathia and Ben Sheets would cripple this team. But, this team has performed well thus far. Yovani Gallardo is quickly developing into the front line starter the Brewers hope he he will be and Dave Bush has been pretty solid. The offense is also doing a good job behind the bats of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. Even closer Trevor Hoffman, who had some early season injury issues, is doing what he did in San Diego for so many years and performing well at age 41. The issue I have with this team is that the pitching depth isn’t good and the offense is average. I don’t believe the Brewers have enough to compete with the Cardinals and the Cubs. Even though the Cubs are under-performing right now, I still believe it’s their division to lose.
Apparently Dodger’s outfielder Manny Ramirez has been caught testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. MLB has issued a 50-game suspension effective immediately.
According to ESPN,
“Citing a source familiar with the matter, The Times reported Ramirez is expected to say the positive test results were a result of medication received from a doctor for a personal medical issue.”
If this suspension does start today as reported, it would be a devastating blow to the first place Dodgers. I would even say that this will cost them the division if Manny can’t play until July. Ramirez was hitting .348 with 6 homers and 20 rbis.
What a dumb move by Manny if it is true he knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. It’s a real risk to do those things presently in baseball.
Update 4:52 pm- Apparently Ramirez used a women’s fertility drug that contains hCG which is traditionally used by steroid users. Idiot.
The weak spot for the 2009 New York Yankees hasn’t been their starting pitching, offense or the rash of injuries they have had. It’s the bullpen. The bullpen has been so awful that if a starter goes 7 innings with an 8-run lead, Yankee fans are still terrified.
The bullpen was supposed to be the one reliable thing carried over from the Yankees sub-par 2008 season. The one area Brian Cashman felt there was no need to improve, even in a free agent market flush with relievers and many of them on the cheap.
The formula was simple, the reliable Mariano Rivera to close, righty Brain Bruney or lefty Damaso Marte in the 8th. Then there would be capable relievers Jose Veras,EdwarRamirez, and Phil Coke for the middle. The Yankees felt their bullpen was deep. Even if one or two relievers had trouble, there was still enough depth in the minors to replace them.
Except everything went wrong with the bullpen. The only exception is Mariano Rivera, who had only one bad game against the Red Sox but has otherwise been his typical self.
Brian Bruney was steamrolling batters in the eighth in his last few games before he was sidelined with injury, a major blow to the Yankees.
Take a look at the rest of the numbers of the relievers so far this season compared to their 2008 numbers.
Damaso Marte-2008:4.02 ERA2009:15.19 ERA
Jose Veras- 2008:3.59 ERA2009:8.03 ERA
Edwar Ramirez-2008:3.90 ERA2009:5.40 ERA
Other relievers Jonathon Albaladejo and Phil Coke saw limited time in 2008, but were very successful in their time up. Coke has been shaky sometimes, but decent for most of his appearances this season. Albaladejo has been terrible with a 7.30 ERA.
The Yankees have made some changes and even put Marte on the DL because of a shoulder injury that dates back to him pitching in the 2009 WBC.
The Yankees need the bullpen to stabilize in order to be a great team. They can’t keep blowing big leads or having a game where they are a run or two behind turn into a blowout for the opposing team.
Maybe the Steinbrenners can figure out a way of using all that money they spend on free agents on cloning a bullpen full of Mariano Riveras instead.
Sorry guys for the lack of posts, had a personal issue this week and was unable to do any posts. Anyway, so the first month of the 2009 baseball season is over, it speeds by doesn’t it? Here is some of my observations of April.
- The MVPs of both leagues so far are Albert Pujols in the NL and Kevin Youkilis in the AL, those two are off to crazy starts.
- I hope that attendance does pick-up in the summer for baseball games, because right now it’s just embarrassing.
- I’m tired of hearing about A-Rod off the field issues. Sadly once the Selena Roberts book hits shelves there will be a lot more about Rodriguez.
- Homeruns up this year, attendance down, coincidence? Baseball knew the economy would be affecting attendance. Could they have done something to the ball to increase offense and bring more fans to the park?
- Zack Greinke is out of his mind right now, good to see Greinke living up to his potential.
- Talk about how bad Yankees pitching is, is overblown. The starters for the most part have been very good, it’s the bullpen and Wang who have been awful.
-Watch out for those Marlins.
-How many injuries can the Angels and Blue Jays handle to their staff.
-Very surprised of the good starts of the Blue Jays, Royals and Mariners.
-If the season ended today the playoffs would read Red Sox, Royals, Mariners, Blue Jays (Wild Card) in the AL and Marlins, Cardinals, Dodgers, Brewers (Wild Card) in the NL. Out of those teams I would say there would be a Red Sox vs. Marlins World Series, with the Red Sox winning.
1. St. Louis Cardinals- Even though the offense is mostly just Albert Pujols, this team is a real contender. Pujols is the best hitter in the game and he is one of the few players in baseball who can carry a team all season. The rest of the offense hasn’t been very good, but I feel it will get better as the season goes on and outfielders Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel recover from their injuries. The pitching has been the strong point of the team. Starter Chris Carpenter has been pitching great and if he can stay healthy, this pitching staff will continue to stay strong.
2. Detroit Tigers- Last season I predicted that the Tigers would be one of the best teams in the AL and they had a terrible season. This year I picked against the Tigers and they proved me wrong again. I think this team is the real deal and will continue a weak AL Central. Besides Miguel Cabrera and Curtis Granderson, the offense hasn’t been as good as it could be. But, much like the Cardinals, the strength of the Tigers is in their pitching. Ace Justin Verlander seems to be back to his old self and Edwin Jackson has been incredible. Rick Porcello and even Dontrelle Willis, who seems to be recovering well from his social anxiety, have been very solid. I don’t see this team abandoning first in the AL Central anytime soon.
1. Toronto Blue Jays- Even before this recent slide they have been on and were rolling, I always believed that the Blue Jays wouldn’t last long atop the competitive AL East. The offense had been really carrying this team, but it has seemed to cool a bit. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a strong offense and I believe that second baseman Aaron Hill and outfielder Adam Lind are the real deal offensively. However, the Jays won’t keep putting up the crazy offensive numbers they have since the beginning of the season. The main issue on this team is the injuries of the starters. Roy Halladay, who I believe is the most underrated pitcher of my generation, is still an ace and putting up ace numbers. The problem is the injuries to Jesse Litsch, Dustin McGowan, and Shaun Marcum. Even though the staff has done a decent job so far, especially Scott Richmond who I like a lot, without those pitchers healthy they can’t compete among the elite of the East.
2. Texas Rangers- The West is a very weak division, especially with the struggles of the Angels, but this team doesn’t have the pitching to keep it number #1 all season. The offense is extremely good, might be the best lineup in baseball, but a good offense make you a threat all season. Maybe I’m wrong, the Rangers can just mash all the bad teams and stay competitive all season, teams have done it before. It’s just the pitching once again isn’t there. The Rangers have always had a good offense and haven’t produced a payoff team since the late 90’s. Kevin Milwood has pitched well for the Rangers, but that’s not enough and it is also Kevin Milwood.
