Wow...

Well, looking back on the Cliff Lee acquisition contest, I guess him choosing Philadelphia makes sense.

From Lee's perspective, he gets to further balance and improve a dominant Phillies rotation. Does the 5th pitcher even matter anymore for the Phils? All last season I harped on the fact that the most successful team in October will be the one with the best 4th pitcher. I don't think there's any doubt that the Phillies now possess the best rotation in the league. I think the Phils may still have some bullpen issues to worry about from a pitching perspective, but I think this move will minimize the Phillies current bullpen problems.

From the Phillies perspective, obviously they get a great pitcher who wants to pitch well and succeed in Philly. However, I question their decision-making in improving an already-solid rotation and not using that money to re-sign Werth. In many ways, I see this meaning the Phillies have essentially handcuffed themselves to Dom Brown even though I'm not completely convinced he's big-league ready. It will be interesting to see if the Phillies have more plans this offseason to clear up some room to help pay for Lee. Any move to acquire an outfielder would be indicative of a lack of confidence by the Phillies that Brown is not ready.

Big night of baseball... Happy winter...

The World Series....

If you've been reading this blog, you'll know that I've talked at length about how baseball is played much differently out west. It's funny that two teams from the west will be competing for baseball's biggest crown. I've spent a countless amount of time trying to formulate who I think will win this series. The fact that I have almost no confidence in my prediction for who will win this series is representative of this idea that anything goes in the "wild west."

The Rangers
If you look at my full playoff preview, I picked the Rangers to get swept by the Rays. The primary reasons for that was the fact that they stumbled into October courtesy of poor pitching and poor health.

Their pitching this postseason has been GOOD but not great. You look at the team ERA of 2.76 and think they've been lights out. But outside of Cliff Lee, nobody else in that rotation; Wilson, Lewis, or Tommy Hunter really scare me. While we're on the topic of Cliff Lee, I just want to point out that he has struck out 34 batters and walked only 1 in 24 playoff innings pitched.

The Rangers offense has scored 59 runs this postseason, which is 23 runs more than the 2nd place Yankees in that category. I'd say the bats have woken up, and have woken up with vigor. Josh Hamilton has shown that he is healthy, Vladamir Guerrero has shown that he still has some gas left in the tank, big hits have come from Elvis Andrus and even former Giant Benjy "the tree trunk" Molina. This offense is clicking on all cylinders right now. The match-up versus the Giants pitching staff is going to be exciting to watch.

The Giants
The epitome of NL West baseball is scraping out wins the way the Giants have. It may not be pretty, it may not be flashy, it may not be sexy, but the Giants are a team that knows how to get the job done.

The Giants starting rotation has been as advertised, out-pitching the Phillies and Braves to get to the Fall Classic. Conversely, their offense has gotten the timely hits needed to reach the World Series. Any offense without significant weapons like a Josh Hamilton is especially reliant on hitting when runners are in scoring position. 23 of the Giants 30 post-season runs have been scored when runners are in scoring position. That ratio of 23 to 30 is the highest ratio of any team in the post-season, showing that they have been reliant on big hits, and have gotten them.

The World Series
Trying to predict this series is like trying to predict what Mike Tyson is thinking; it's very close to impossible. Poorly constructed compulsive jokes aside, there are three dichotomies taking place which I think are the most important things to consider when trying to predict this series: great hitting vs. great pitching, hitters park vs. pitchers park, and AL vs. NL.

Great Hitting vs. Great Pitching
It's going to be strange. The Giants rotation has been dominant. Everybody not named Cliff Lee has been solid for the Rangers, but not scary. From a purely pitching perspective, I'd say the edge goes to the Giants and it's not even that close. I don't trust EVERYBODY in the Rangers bullpen. The types of games the Giants play are the low-scoring, timely-hitting scrapers. The Rangers bullpen has been suspect at best this postseason. The 3 O's: Oliver, Ogando, and O'Day have been far from scary this postseason, and I don't think they're capable of holding it down for the Rangers well enough to hang with the Giants phenomenal pitching. Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the dominance that is Cliff Lee. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he single-handedly gives the Rangers at least one win in this series. His acquisition was great for the Rangers

Conversely, the Rangers offense has been fearful this postseason. I was a big fan of the Rays pitching (hence my pick for them to win the World Series) coming into the postseason, but the Rangers did work against them. The Rangers also did work against the putrid Yankee pitching staff

Hitters Park vs. Pitchers Park
Combine the fact that the stronger offense in this series plays in the 6th best hitters park with the fact that the weaker offense plays in the 8th worst hitters park; this complicates predicting this series even more. To try and get to the crux of this I looked at home-road splits. The Rangers had the third best offense at home this season, scoring 430 runs in Arlington. Contrast that with their 357 runs away from Arlington, and we see a relatively large disparity with the Rangers offensive efficiency. In an attempt to gauge how the Rangers offense will perform in San Francisco, I looked at their performances in two of the most pitcher-friendly parks (which just so happen to be in their division), the A's and Mariners. Their offense was notably worse against those teams at home versus on the road. The A's have a solid rotation, and the Mariners were so-so, but the fact that the Rangers offense didn't put up intimidating numbers versus those teams in their venues makes me think that their bats will fall silent in San Francisco.

The Giants home ERA this season sat at a pretty 3.07. The Rangers away ERA this season was an ugly 4.24. Advantage: Giants.
The Rangers home ERA this season was 3.65. The Giants away ERA this season was the league best 3.67. Advantage: Giants.

I'm pretty sure you all can tell where I'm leaning with my prediction, but the last of these dichotomies may be the most important of them all.

AL vs. NL
The fact that Brian McCann may be the reason that the Giants win the World Series seems a little ridiculous to me, but that's a conversation for another day. This is the classic debate and what makes the World Series as exciting as it is. How will NL pitching do against superior AL hitting and vice versa?

For the Giants, facing Vladamir Guerrero in Texas instead of whatever scrub-hitting pitcher the Phillies would throw out there is a big challenge. But I have faith in this Giants pitching staff. They have been the best rotation in the whole league. I cannot see this Rangers team hitting against the Giants pitching or in AT&T Park because they have struggled in similar pitching-friendly venues.

The fact that the World Series is the AL vs. NL every year makes for enigmatic predictions and compelling storylines, and this year is no different.

The Prediction
I think Cliff Lee and the whole Rangers offense is worth something in this equation. I think the Rangers will win one of his 2 starts in this series, but I cannot see the rest of the Rangers pitching staff matching up with the Giants. The coolest stat I discovered while researching this prediction was that despite their reputation their offense has for being poor, the G-Men have led the NL in Homers since the All-Star break.

That being said, I think the Giants will have success in Texas against Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter in games three and four. Lincecum will beat Cliff Lee in one of their two match-ups, and I have to figure the Rangers offense tees up on somebody, at this point I'm thinking Sanchez.

It may be bold, and I'm pretty unsure about this one: Thanks to home-field advantage and their strong pitching staff, the Giants win the World Series in 6.

Happy World Series!! Become a fan, tell your friends, and comment!!!!!

Oh, how I love October.....

Hello everybody.

I'm pretty bored in class right now, so I'm going to take the liberty of not paying attention and talk about how great these playoffs have been.

I guess we can start with my Rays pick. I'm not upset in the least that they Rays lost to the Rangers. My justification for that pick was that I was completely unsure of both how healthy Josh Hamilton was, and the shakiness of the Texas bullpen. When we read about how Jacoby Ellsbury struggled with his ribs all season, in the back of my mind I thought the same thing would happen with Hamilton.

I had a sneaking suspicion that the Yankees just didn't have the pitching to compete with whichever potent AL offense they'd face in the Championship Series. The Rangers absolutely embarrassed the Yankees bullpen in New York. I like the Rangers chances, especially when Cliff Lee is pitching against the Yankees in game 7 if the fantastic arm of Phil Hughes takes the Yankees there (note the facetiousness of that comment). Obviously the injury to Teixeira doesn't help matters for the Yankees. The Rangers ballpark has benefited other teams better then the namesakes in this post-season, but I think they will get the 1 game they need to make it to the fall classic.

I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch, but I will elaborate on why I made my 'controversial' pick of the Giants. I have said many times on this fantastic website the importance of four man rotations in this post-season. Major League Baseball eliminated three extra off-days that teams had in previous years. It's because of this that having a stronger 4 is exponentially more important than having a stronger 3. Couple this with the fact that the Giants have a much stronger bullpen and the Phillies have never played well at AT&T Park, and this pick was a no-brainer for me. It's also the reason I still thought the Giants were capable of making the playoffs even when they were down 6 games to the Padres in early September.

I kept telling people that the winner of game 4 was going to win this series because of that fourth starter. I by no means want to say I'm completely writing off the Phillies at this point. I am saying that I cannot see the Phillies taking three games off of the Giants top three, I thought two was plausible and obviously one game was too. But the fact that Baumgarner outpitched Blanton makes me feel that the Phillies cannot beat Lincecum, Sanchez, and Cain consecutively. Again, they could prove me wrong, and as an objective baseball fan I would love for them to prove me wrong.

Keep your eyes peeled for a complete World Series preview after the Championship Series reach their exciting conclusions.

Happy October!

Regular Season Awards and Post-Season Predictions....

Well hello and welcome back to The Knurve, the blog that Peter Gammons calls, "the most intriguing thing I've ever read, this Kaplan kid is brilliant."

What a great regular season. I am extremely happy because my fantastic fantasy team took home the crown over its most hated rival. That is neither here nor there, but bragging rights are always fun to have. Let's get right to my picks for post-season awards:

AL MVP:
The AL MVP and the AL Cy Young aren't as clear-cut as the NL awards. There can be a case made for the monster seasons that the likes of Miguel Cabrera and Jose Bautista had, but when you're not on a playoff team, how valuable can you really be? Not to knock the incredible years those two put up, but it's hard for me to legitimize an MVP candidate on a team who didn't make the playoffs. That being said: it comes down to Carl Crawford and Josh Hamilton for me. It's hard to compare the two because they do relatively different things.

But when I look at the horrid performance by the Rangers in September, I have to say Hamilton is the AL MVP. The team looked lost without him. Seldom would I advocate giving an MVP to someone who missed the whole last month of the season (Joe Mauer missed the first month last year), but Hamilton put up monster numbers and almost single-handedly carried the Rangers into an easy playoff berth. The guy only hit .359 with 32 home runs and 100 runs batted in. The main question will be how healthy he is to help his lost Rangers find their way against the mighty Rays.

AL Cy Young
While I can't justify giving a hitter on a non-playoff team, I think the case can be made for a pitcher. The hapless Mariners offense was never enough to give Felix Hernandez the wins or recognition he deserved. I believe very strongly that he was the best pitcher in the majors this season, though. He was a work horse for the Mariners, tossing 249.2 innings. He gave up one, only one run in 26 innings pitched against the mighty Yankees this season. He gave up four earned runs in the whole month of August. He sports a 1.53 ERA since the All-Star break, while striking out over 100 batters in that time. The man was truly and purely dominant, and should be considered the Cy Young winner going away.

NL MVP
This is probably the most difficult award to hand out, but I can't see anybody who has been more valuable to his team than Joey Votto has been to the Reds this season. Sure, he has the fortune of playing in a stadium where lefties can almost bunt homers, but a closer look at the numbers shows that he hit way better on the road this season. He hit .297 at home and .349 on the road, and actually hit one more home run on the road than he did at home. So for those who think he's lucky to play in the Great American Small-Park, take another look at his dominance on the road. The man does it all. He has the benefit of a strong Reds line-up around him, but he's the best player on what I think is one of the best teams in the playoffs. I'm a believer in the Reds, and Joey Votto is the superstar face of that franchise. To think that he makes in a year what A-Rod makes in a week is pretty astounding, he's about to get paid.

NL Cy Young
I had a really tough time with this one. Just kidding. I didn't make Roy Halladay my first pick for no reason in my primary fantasy league. I wanted a guy who would eat a ton of innings, Roy did that. I wanted a guy who could strike guys out, Roy did that. I wanted a guy who strike out at least 200, Roy did that. I wanted a guy who could win a bunch of games, Roy did that. You could throw out Johnson or Wainwright, but neither had as complete a season as Halladay did. Johnson was injured, and even though a case could be made for Wainwright, the Cardinals just didn't help him out enough to legitimize choosing him over Halladay. I look forward to many continuing years of Roy Halladay dominance over the National League.

Playoff Predictions
Well, I guess I have to admit now that I didn't think the Phillies would get that hot or the Braves offense would go that cold. But it happens. I'm sorry to all the Philly fans who were offended by my lack of trust in the Phillies, but a look at the atrocious stretches that offense went through were hard to eradicate. While the Padres collapse was hard to watch, I think many people could have seen it coming. Even when the Padres were up 6 games on the Giants, I still believed the Giants had more offensive firepower and a comparable pitching staff. The Reds have been the model of consistency this season. The team has played solid baseball all season, and although they didn't have the strongest September, I think they prove a dangerous match-up with the Phils in the first round.

NL
Reds V. Phillies
I actually think this series will be a dogfight. There's a huge part of me that thinks the Reds win, but I lack the gumption to put them over the top. If the Reds can somehow manage to get to H2O then power to them, but the Phils took five of seven during the regular season. If there's a Division Series upset to be had, I honestly think it's this one, but I'm taking the Phillies in 4.

Giants V. Braves
This is going to be another great series. I was all over the Braves earlier in the year, but their starting pitching has shown some pretty big holes since the All-Star break. With top ace Tim Hudson struggling alongside his starting colleagues, I just don't see the Braves winning this series, especially given the way the Giants played in September. If the Braves offense hits like they've shown they can, then I'll take them, but I think the Giants pitching is too good. Giants in 5.

AL
Rays V. Rangers

Simply put, the Rangers don't have the pitching to compete with the Rays. If there's a sweep to be had in the divisional series, I think it's the Rays. They just have all the pieces in place to make a great run at the World Series. The Rangers offense was pretty bad in September, and nobody fears Cliff Lee quite the way they did when he was in Seattle. I don't know how healthy Josh Hamilton is, but the rest of that offense isn't as fearsome as it was in the first half. I'll take the Rays in 3.

Yankees V. Twins
I have zero, and I mean zero faith in a Yankees pitcher not named C.C. or Mariano. I think the Yankees are going to be a tough team to predict because of their terrible pitching and superb hitting. The Twins have been in this spot before and gotten crushed by the Yankees. As much as I think the Twins are capable of winning this series, I just don't think they have the rotation to outlast the Yankees. The Twinkies lineup is a lot less scary without a healthy Mauer and a Morneau in there. I think this series will be a lot closer than people think, but I think this is a case where the Yankees offense reigns supreme. Yankees in 5.

Championship Series
NL
Off the cuff, I think the Phil's Giants series is going to be phenomenal. The Giants and Phillies split the season series 3-3 and roughed up Halladay in the beginning of the season. The Giants have the better 4th option to stick into their rotation than do the Phillies, and I think it could come down to that. The Phillies do not play well in AT&T park, going 2-5 there in the past two seasons. I think the stronger 4th starter, coupled with the stronger bullpen and a pretty distinct advantage at home makes me say the Giants will take this one in 7. Sorry to all my Philly readers.

AL
In a sense, the whole season in the AL has led to this. I have been saying all year that the Rays are the most complete team in baseball, and I stick by that. What the Yankees will be able to get away with against the poor Rangers rotation and bullpen, they won't escape against the Rays. I see the offensive fire-power of the Yankees being somewhat stymied by a relatively experienced Rays pitching staff. I just can't see the Yankees getting away with what they call their starting rotation now. Hughes has been terrible, Pettitte could still be hurt, and the Yankees clearly don't trust Vazquez or Burnette at all. I think when push comes to shove, the Rays win this one in 6.

World Series Prediction
When the Rays face the Giants, I will be watching very closely. This series could have a game 7 written all over it, and I think it will. While the edge would go to the Giants pitching staff, I think the Rays offense could prove a bit too much. It'll be interesting to see how Joe Maddon would test the arm of Buster Posey, who threw out 23 of 52 runners, which is solid, but no team is faster than the Rays, and I think the spacious AT&T will help the Rays way more than it would the Phillies.
So, I wish an early congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays for overcoming their historic futility to reach the pinnacle of baseball by beating the San Francisco Giants in an exciting 7 game series.

Let's get some discussion going, any comments, questions, concerns, leave a comment.....

Happy October!

The week that was...

Padre Meltdown
Well, I'm not trying to get ahead of myself, but I saw this coming. Quite simply, the Padres may be running out of gas. Their offense has been pretty putrid all season, but they have only scored 25 runs during their 10 game losing streak. I predicted on this very blog a week ago that the Giants would win the West and I will absolutely stand by that. As for the Padres and their wildcard chances, it really looks like the Phils are rounding into form pretty nicely for a solid September, something that they're built for.

I guess the one thing that scares me about the Phils is just that, their age. But looking at that team, the roster is filled with players who know how to perform when it matters. I think if the Phils don't win the East then they're going to get the wildcard. I will stand by my predictions, though, and say that the Pads still get the wildcard, but I think the Phils are going to have a great Septmeber. It's hard to put a lot of faith in a team that's lost 10 straight, but the NL West has been an enigma the whole season. So have the Phils.

NL Central
I was a believer in the Reds, but I don't think anybody could have seen this coming. The Reds were swept by the Cardinals just a few weeks ago, and they have responded by playing beautiful baseball since then. They currently sit perched above the Cardinals (you see that metaphor) by 7 games and they aren't showing any signs of slowing down.

Their offense has been a model of consistency this season with a nice power/speed combination. The starting pitching has been solid as well, and the bullpen has been great. Oh yea, and they just added a guy to that bullpen that throws the ball 104 miles per hour. While Chapman has been a sight to see, the Reds have been concerned with his control issues. I watched his inning of work on Saturday, and there was a point that he couldn't throw a strike, luckily he rolled Albert Pujols into a 6-4-3 to get himself out of his jam. But the Cardinals were taking, taking, taking.

AL
It's just looking like your good old two horse race for the AL East. The Yankees pitching still really worries me and I don't think they will be successful in October if they can't resolve those issues. I think C.C. is running away with the AL Cy Young, but that bullpen is just not one that exudes confidence and an ability to finish games. The bridge from the Yankees subpar starters to Mo Rivera is a big question mark, but when you consider that offense, who really cares?

The Rays just seem like the most well-rounded team in the AL and the League for that matter. From top to bottom they have a great manager, great speed, decent power, great rotation, crazy good bullpen, and the best closer in the league this season.

The Rangers are in trouble. With injuries to Cliff Lee and Josh Hamilton, I think it's panic time for this team. Granted, they will win the West with relative ease, I'm starting to think it's even more so because of the weakness of the rest of the division. This will also really hurt Josh Hamilton's fantasy owners who have ridden him into their fantasy playoffs. Dealing wit that injury is a problem I'm really happy I don't have.

As for the Central, who really cares? I know I'm writing the Twins and White Sox off, but there's just nothing too scary about either of those teams. Looking back at Morneau's concussion, it will prove to have been a huge blow to the Twins in the AL Pennant race.

That's it for tonight. Everybody have a great Labor Day. Hooray America.

Predictions...

So with my AL and NL breakdowns in; here are my playoff predictions:

AL:
East Rays
Central Twins
West Rangers
Wildcard Yankees

NL:
East Phillies
Central Reds
West Giants
Wildcard Padres

WORLD SERIES PREDICTION IN SEPTEMBER
Rays over Reds in 6.

Have a great week....

NL Breakdown...

Sorry there was a bit of a delay between my NL and AL predictions, but here it is. I think this race is going to be the most intriguing. I still think that the World Series will go to the AL, but all three races in the NL are contested; a recipe for a delicious September.

I broke the AL down by the teams that I think can win the pennant. With the NL, I'm going to break it down by division.

West
You can look back at my earlier posts to see how I feel about the way baseball is played on the west coast and how they are pitcher-friendly parks with rotations and bullpen's built to keep scores below 4 runs. It is the depth of pitching and the fact that teams will HAVE to employ 4 man rotations (unlike what the Yankees did last year with Sabathia, Burnette, and Pettitte).

With this west race coming down to the Padres and the Giants, who are 1st and 5th in the NL respectively in team ERA, it's going to come down to the wire. While I realize that the Padres sit atop the west by a healthy 6 games, there are still a few reasons I think the Giants can win the west; they still have 7 head to head matchups with the Padres, and they have zero, yes, zero games against the Braves, Phillies, Cardinals or Reds. No games against playoff contenders the rest of the way and 7 head to head matchups sounds like a recipe for good things.

I think the Giants have a much better offense than the Padres, but the Padres have sat atop that division the whole year. The Padres DO have to play the Reds and Cardinals 6 times before the end of the year on top of playing the Giants 7 times, giving them one of the toughest remaining schedules in baseball. This is a place for bold predictions, and I'm going to make one right now: Giants win the west with their great pitching, but their offense is just a tad better than the Padres.

Central
I've been obsessing over the Reds all season and this race they've got going with the Cards. How could you hate a hot pennant race? Throw in an extremely intriguing triple crown race between Sirs Pujols and Votto, and you've got an interesting brew. I think the central will go to the Reds, and I think they will further pull away from the Cards. The Cards would have the perfect 4 man rotation for the playoffs between Wainwright, Carpenter, Garcia, and Westbrook, but I just think the Reds offense is so much more well rounded.

However, I think Brandon Phillips' injury is something to be concerned about. If he doesn't come back then I think things will get a little tighter down the stretch, especially considering the Cards have 6 games left to beat up on the Pirates. It's going to be an exciting finish in the Central, but at this point I feel more confident that the Giants can erase a 6 game deficit in the West than the Cards can erase a 4 game deficit in the Central.

East
Like the Red Sox, the Phils have been dealt injury blow after injury blow, but here we are, still in the thick of what's going to be an incredible September. It doesn't take much to convince you that this is the most intriguing division race in September.

The Braves are doing this year what they did in all the 90's: play solid baseball, and that's exactly what they're doing in Bobby Cox's last season. From their incredible rotation to their shut down bullpen to their solid all-around contributors on offense, this team appears to be the most well-rounded coming down the stretch. It's hard to dislike the Phillies though. A solid, but still under-performing offense, is backed by 3 of the bestg starters in baseball. I think the biggest question marks for the Phils are the reason they will NOT win the East. Their offense has just shown to be too anemic at times; not able to establish any sort of flow or consistency at all this year. Couple that with a bullpen that has few people in Philadelphia confident, and you don't have a team that can go far in October.

That being said, I think the wildcard is going to come down to the Padres and the Phillies, and I think the Phillies will be golfing in Florida come October. This team has done some pretty crazy things in September, but I just don't think this is the year.

I'm Back...

Hello Americans. I'm sorry it's been a while since I've written. I just finished up my internship, which was great, and now I'm home for a bit so I have more time to write.

I apologize for not having the gumption to stick with it, but I just didn't have the time. However, I am going to jump straight to the good stuff right now as though I have been blogging this whole time.

I can't tell you how excited I am for these last 6 weeks of the season. I think the AL playoff race is pretty much set. Considering how irrelevant the AL Central is, I am very excited to see the Yankees, Rays, and Rangers duke it out in October. All kidding aside, I think the AL Central race will be a fun one to track, but none of those teams seem as sexy as the Yankees/Rays/Rangers.

There are some pretty consistent performers on the White Sox and Twins with plenty of playoff experience, and there are some really fantasy relevant players on both teams that have done a lot for fantasy rosters. But, like their respective teams, none of those players are very sexy. The injury to Justin Morneau will also play a large role in this race. The Twins have been managing just fine, how their offense has scored the 3rd most runs in the majors is beyond me, but I just don't see a world series in their future. I do think they will edge out the ChiSox for the AL Central.

Now, moving on to the 3 teams that can actually win the World Series from the American League:

Yankees:

This lineup is the best in baseball from top to bottom. Their two weak links on offense have been Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson, but they both haven't been completely terrible. The rest of that offense has been ridiculous. Teixeira and A-Rod have really turned it on. Nick Swisher has gone from random schmo to All-Star, and Jorge Posada is on pace for a solid 20-60 campaign. Posada's 13 home runs is 5th among major league catchers.

I do see reason for concern with the Yankees pitching staff. Other than Sabathia, I don't think I trust Vazquez or Burnett to win games in October. Both of them have ERA's nearing 4.5 in the past month. With Hughes rules already slightly taking shape, I think there's reason for concern for the Yankees pitching staff. Sure their stupendous offense can easily carry them to a second consecutive championship, but when you've traded for Kerry Wood to help anchor your bullpen I don't think that's necessarily a good thing. The reason the starting pitching is so important is because they will not be able to get away with their 3 pitcher system that they employed in October last year. Major Leauge Baseball eliminated 3 October off-days to quicken up the playoffs and partially to prevent teams from getting away with what the Yanks did with Pettitte, Sabathia, and Burnett last year.

Rays:
Speaking of sexy. I think everything about this Rays offsense is sexy. They run- the Rays lead the majors in steals.... BY 31 STOLEN BASES.... and they get on base, their .338 OBP is 5th in the A.L. Joe Maddon is a man who knows how to manufacture runs and get the most out of what he's got on offense. There's no way a Ben Zobrist, Sean Rodriguez, or Matt Joyce would be any good in another manager's system where they don't run or don't draw walks. Plate discipline and the ability to manufacture runs definitely helps win championships.

I think their pitcting has "it". David Price is the real deal, Matt Garza has had a phenomenal year, Jeff Niemann has also had his best year of his career yet, and the Rays have one of the best young pitchers in baseball in Jeremy Hellickson tearing it up for them. I am not even mentioning James Sheilds and Wade Davis, guys who have shown what their upside can be, but haven't quite put it all together. Assuming Niemann can get healthy, that is an extremely dangerous pitching staff. Couple that with having the best middle reliever in baseball, Joaqin Benoit. Oh, their other three relievers have ERA's below 3 and WHIP's below 1.08. I'm not sure if you can tell, but I love this Rays team.

Texas:
This team is just running away with AL West. I think that's equally a function of the division being terrible and this team being very good. Their offense has most certainly cooled off here in the past month, 8th in the AL in runs (17th in the majors). But when their offense has slowed, their pitching has been amazing. Cliff Lee's K/BB rate is one of the most dominating statistics of this season. He strikes out almost 15 guys for every one, ONE, uno, EIN, 1, batter than he walks. That's just stupid good. With him anchoring that pitching staff of Tommy Hunter, Colby Lewis, and C.J. Wilson, I think that the starters can really make some noise. I think the fact that Hunter, Lewis and Wilson are so inexperienced makes me believe that they won't be there at the end, but this team is so much fun to watch. I don't count the Rangers out by any means because they can turn it on at any time, but I don't see them having the firepower to make serious noise in the AL pennant race.

That's it for tonight, welcome back to the blog. My thoughts on the NL will be coming tomorrow.

Shalom.

SORRRYYYY

For the long delay in between posts. The past couple weeks have been pretty crazy with the beginning of the internship and what not.

However, here are a bunch of random thoughts, both baseball and non-baseball:

- I don't think Ubaldo Jimenez is this good. There's no way anything like this is sustainable. He's gotten very lucky, especially with his strand rate and the fact that he pitches in that ballparkk. As the summer heats up I fully expect Jimenez to cool down.

- Troy Glaus is the real deal. I think he's going to be one of the top corner infielders by the time the season is over. He's not as old as everybody thinks he is (33) and that lineup is not too bad.

-Speaking of the Braves: I put on my facebook before the season started that they had the best rotation in baseball. While it may not be THE best, it's still pretty good. And the back end of that bullpen has been nothing short of spectacular with Saito, Venters, and Wagner holding it down for them.

- I hate pitchers in the AL. I don't trust any of them. I realized today that on most of my mixed league teams I have a propensity to go NL-heavy with my pitching. Even guys like C.C. are guys that I don't completely love. However, C.C. does heat up in a big way once July hits.

- I think that Blake Lively is beautiful.

- I can't believe the U.S. actually won today.

- I really want a long-sleeved away German national team Bastian Schweinsteiger jersey and can't find it anywhere: is that too much to ask?

- Robinson Cano seems to have finally put it all together. He is easliy one of my favorite players to watch, and although he isn't built like your average 2nd baseman, he's still quick enough to play the position well. If you think about it, some of the Yankee's offense hasn't really played up to expectation. Teixeira and A-Rod have been decent, but not spectacular. It will be scary when those two guys actually do wake up and sprint away from the AL East.

- I think the Rangers are about to run away with the AL West relatively early. This is their division for the taking. The Angels will stick around because of Mike Scioscia, but not for very long. If the Rangers somehow manage to acquire Roy Oswalt (which I think they shouldn't because of their poor economic situation), then they turn into a World Series contender, and I honestly believe that.

- The Orioles are absolutely terrible. Maybe one of the worst teams I have ever seen.

- The Padres will fade. I don't know when they will do it, and I don't know how they will do it. But they will fade. The Dodgers and Rockies are too talented to not win the NL West. The top 4 teams are separated by 4 games as of today, but the cream will rise to the top. It always does.

- Stephen Strasburg is this good. I saw his first start at AAA Syracuse and was absolutely mesmerized. I think he'll have a few rouch patches, but they will be in innings not games. Damage control is the biggest thing all ace pitchers possess, and Strasburg's ability to locate anywhere in the zone is the most significant contributor to his success thus far.

- The Diamondback's bullpen is absolutely atrocious. I feel bad because that offense has such a great young core. They are the 8th best offense and have THE WORST ERA in the majors by .3 runs/9 IP.

- Josh Hamilton has been ridiculous in June. He's hit in 17 straight games and is getting on base 1 out of every 2 plate appearances. since June 1. That's absolutely filthy. From a fantay perspective I'm selling selling selling because he hasn't proven that he can stay healthy for a whole season. Every great game he has serves as a smaller reminder of what his career could have been. His success now is a great story though.

- It took me a while, but I now think Adam Wainwright is the best pitche on the Cardinals staff. I have always been a huge Carpenter fan, and still am, but if it weren't for that Jimenez guy, Wainwright would be the clear cut NL Cy Young winner. Those two guys, coupled with the sudden and pleasant success of rookie Jaime Garcia has made this a formidable rotation for an NL roster. I'm still pretty shocked they went out and got Suppan, but Dave Duncan proves year after year that he's a pretty good pitching coach.

- The World Cup has been fantastic. I realized I like soccer for the same reasons I love baseball. It's a little bit slower, but when that window of opportunity opens and the team takes advantage of it, it's a beautiful thing. The game happens slow and it's great to watch.

- I'm legitimately worried about the Phillies. This has been a very long funk, and I know Rollins just got back, but something just hasn't been right. I will give it more time before I write them out of the playoffs, but this team has some holes in it that are being exposed, like the poor middle-relief and the absence of a consistent offense. I'm still confident they'll make the playoffs, but I'm worried they may start losing their heads soon.

- How irrelevant is the AL Central?

- I'm more confident that Miguel Cabrera could win the triple crown than I have ever been with somebody this late in the season. This guy turns it ON in the 2nd half, and I think that he's got the skills. I love me some Miggy.

- I'm trying to come up with another intriguing storyline for the AL Central and I just can't do it. Other than Mauer not hitting for power. Indications seem to be that Target field is playing very pitcher-happy. Target Field ranks 28th in the Majors in Home Runs.

-I agree with the Marlin's firing of Freddie Gonzalez today. They needed to do something different. Yes, it sucks that they are in the NL East, one of the toughest divisions in baseball, but there's so much talent on the Marlins team. That offense has a lot going for it, and the pitching isn't awful. That team should be winning more. The offense is 5th in the NL in runs and in the middle of the pack in pitching. The infield defense has always been a problem, even since Girardi was let go a few yeras ago, and Gonzalez didn't do anything to fix it.

- Sorry for the delay between posts, but I hope you enjoy. Become a fan. Give feedback!!!

The Week that was...

There it is. I'd like to first start by saying that I don't think ALL the animosity towards Jim Joyce is fair. In my opinion the ball was still moving a little bit when Galarraga caught it, so everybody should hold their horses just a bit. Do I think that he was out, yes. Was it as close as everybody said it was, no.

That being said (for all the Curb Your Enthusiasm watchers), WHAT A TERRIBLE CALL?!?!? I don't care if it was close or not, you still have to call that out. Jim Joyce had to be saying to himself that if it was close, it was an out, no matter what. And nobody would have argued. To just jack a perfect game away from a completely mediocre pitcher is absolutely astounding. What the hell was he thinking?? Even if it was one of the more unimpressive perfect-game bids in history, with just 3K's and a ton of ground balls, it was still an amazing game by Galarraga. To get through 28 batters on just 88 pitchers with 3 K's means 2 things: a.) It's just his night and he was feeling it. b.) He got lucky as hell.

From the baseball perspective, I'm actually very happy that Bud Selig didn't overturn the call despite it being in his power to do so. Aside from the fact that it would have opened up a whole can of worms as far as making calls retroactively, it's just not good for the game. Letting the call stand was the right thing to do, and instituting replay on calls like these is the wrong thing to do. I'm furious enough as it is that they have the home run replay. As maddening as it is to have a fantasy player have a home run robbed from him, it's just not a part of the game. Baseball has always prided itself on being judged to the fullest based solely on the human element. Umpires are an integral part of the game, and they are completely qualified to make these judgement calls. I would trust the commissioner to remove them from duty if they weren't.

Onto other news and notes:
- Great series played by the Reds and Cards. I don't know why the NL Central has become a big topic of discussion on the blog, but I always feel obliged to comment on it. These two teams are very good baseball teams.

- Ubaldo Jiminez will not keep his ERA under 1 or win the 30 games he's on pace to. It's too impossible for him to do because he pitches at Coors. That being said, he sure did make Lincecum look silly on their Memorial Day tilt. While he's clearly the best pitcher in the NL right now, I don't think he will be in the top 3 at the end of the season: Wainwright, Lincecum, Halladay.

- Orioles fire Trembly. Who cares? This is a lost season already for the O's. They might as well bring Reimold back up and pray that they have a good draft. They need it, and they'll have the first pick in next year's draft.

- Bravo!- The Atlanta Braves are now playing great baseball. This team may be one of the most complete teams in the NL, offensively and defensively. Their pitching has been pretty good. Even poor old 0-7 Kenshin Kawakami has only allowed 5 earned runs in his last 3 starts. This team has really turned it on, and while I think the Phillies are too good to lose this division, the Braves could make it very interesting. I will note that my 23rd round Troy Glaus pick is making me look veeeery good. Their hot hitters vs. the Dodgers hit pitching should make this weekend's tilt one of the most competitive series of the weekend.

- The Diamondbacks haven't won in June. Granted it's only June 4th, but considering they also lost their last 8 games of May, things aren't looking too good. It's really ashame that this offense has so much pop, but the pitching has been terrible. Their acquisition of Dontrelle Willis perfectly encapsulates how desperate this team is for pitching. I wish I was a professional writer so I could think of something truly brilliant to properly insult the Diamondbacks for making this move.

- Cliff Lee needs to be traded. When you strike 50 guys out and walk only 4 and pitch for one of the worst offenses in baseball, it's clear what should be done. The guy just wants to win, and he can't do it for this team. All of the Mariner's top prospects have turned out to be busts and they have gotten rid of them: Adam Jones, Wladamir Balentein, and Jeff Clement to name a few. They need to trade Lee to get something in their farm system.

-Speaking of the Mariners, I think that Ken Griffey Jr. did one of the most noble things I've ever seen on a baseball field. For him to call it quits right now was doing a huge favor to the Mariners. He's been a classy guy for his whole career and this was no exception. I don't think it's embarrassing at all, he realized he didn't have it and he gave it up. He had some of the most prolific seasons in major league history and has done it all completely clean (at least I really hope so).

- Red Sox Red Hot- With the Buchholz/Lester 1-2 punch coming up tonight and tomorrow, look for the Red Sox to continue their hot streak. They've won 12 of their last 16, and it's because of these two as well as the hitting really stepping it up a notch. I bet most readers don't realize that Adrian Beltre is hitting .332 and has been a success in the Red Sox lineup thus far this season.

Everybody have a great weekend. Sorry the posts haven't been as regular lately. Check back every weekend for updates. And PLEASE become a fan of the blog.

The Weekend...

Quick thoughts from the weekend...

Everyday's a Halladay when Roy's on the Bump: What a performance by Halladay on Saturday night. It's pretty amazing to see a perfect game, let alone twice in 3 weeks. When someone asked Marlins Outfielder Cody Ross if the Marlins were embarrassed about getting no-hit, and he said "Of course not, Roy Halladay's the best pitcher in baseball."

Speaking of the best players in baseball...: Pujols hits 3HR against the Cubbies yesterday, and each of them were absolute bombs. It's pretty cool to see the best pitcher in the game throw a no-hitter and the best hitter hit 3 homers.

Speaking of good pitching performances: Carlos Silva of the Cubs would have had the best pitching performance of the weekend if not for Halladay. This guy just loses 30 pounds and all the sudden he's been one of the more solid pitchers for the Cubs. Lilly looks like he's coming around, and with Zambrano coming back to the rotation soon after a pretty successful stint in the bullpen, the Cubs could make a run for the NL Central, but I'm not too optimistic about that unless Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez start hitting.

Red Alert: The Reds scored 27 runs in 2 games. Granted, it was against the lowly Astros, but that's just a potent sample size of what this team is capable of. But Pujols and Holliday look like they're ready to turn it on for June with a solid end to May. I know I keep talking about it, but this Cards-Reds race is going to get exciting, and the two square off in St. Louis this week.

Mighty Max: Max Scherzer recorded 17 outs yesterday. 14 of them were strikeouts. He looks like he could be this years Ricky Nolasco: struggles out of the gate, but a short stint in the minors corrects things in a big way. I think it's something to be cautious about from a fantasy perspective, because it took him 113 pitches to record those 17 outs, and he walked 4.

That's it for today, happy memorial day....

What's Wrong With the Phillies Offense???

Headscratcher...
I debated whether or not this would be my top headline, but the Phillies inability to score over the past week has made me slightly worried. This offense is easily the best in the NL, but for some reason they haven't done much offensively. With their 8-0 loss tonight at the hands of the mighty knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, the Phils have dropped 5 of their last 7. Their run totals in the five losses: 1, 1, 0, 3, 0. Their win totals haven't been much better, scoring 5 in both wins last week: one against the Red Sox, and one against the Cubs. And it's not like they're facing fantastic pitching, Dice-K almost no-hit the Phils, which is a crime. And Tim Wakefield just embarrassed the Phillies, making me curious as to what is going on. I'm going to chalk it up to just a team-wide dry-spell, but it might be something to keep an eye on to see if pitchers have figured out how to fool that lefty-heavy lineup. But, between Dickey and Wakefield, maybe every team will just throw knuckle-ballers against the Phils.

Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are carrying the Red Sox
I talked a little bit last week about how much these two guys meant to the Red Sox. Their two performances last night and tonight against the Rays are keeping the Red-Hot Red Sox in the thick of the AL East. If Lester and Buchholz continue to pitch like this, especially against the offenses in the AL East, then the Red Sox may surprise some people. This is contingent on Lackey, Beckett, and Dice-K improving at least a little bit.

Quick Hitters

- Vlad hits 2 more- The guy is leading the AL in all-star votes for the DH slot, and he's filling it in perfectly. He's looking like vintage Vlad, and assuming he stays healthy I think he will put up numbers just below what he was doing in his prime. I would not be surprised by .320, 30 HR, 115 RBI at the end of the year from him.

- Kawakami can't buy a win- The guy's not pitching poorly, but his team isn't doing anything for him. Kawakami's one of those guys who's valuable to his team, but just not a great fantasy player. He doesn't do anything sexy, but to be 0-7 in the majors with an ERA under 5 is just a bummer.

- Ryan Dempster puts in the performance of the night- Shutting down the potent Dodger offense is no easy task, but Dempster did just that. 8 IP with none earned and 4 base runners is pretty solid work. But performances like this against the Dodgers may not last long, as some miracle splint has been created to minimize pain in Andre Ethier's bad finger. Fingers are tough to guage, but adding Ethier to a team that's been 15-6 in May will finally put the Dodgers on top of the NL West for good.

- Tulo's heating up- Sometimes the 1st half-2nd half split really amazes me. How can some players be so bad in one half of the season and then just turn it on or off with the snap of a finger. Tulo has been a consistent 2nd half player in his whole career, and it seems like those 2nd half numbers are going to be coming a little earlier this year. He's hit 4 home runs in 5 games after hitting just 1 in the whole season before that.

- Short post, but tomorrow is the first day of my internship at NBC. Much love.

Why Interleague Play Stinks....

It's simply unfair. Sure, most things in life aren't fair, but it still stinks. I completely agree with the arguments against Interleague play. The only reason Interleague play exists is because after the strike in the mid-90's, the commissioners office wanted a way to generate more interest in the game. So they decided that the two leagues would play against each other in June, directly coinciding with the end of the school year so that more families would go to the ballpark and would want to see games they wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to see.

I'm not here to argue that a Mets-Yankees, Reds-Indians, or an A's-Giants series isn't intriguing, of course it is. I am here to argue that it creates an imbalance in the scheduling, and it gives some teams an unfair advantage. For example, the Detroit Tigers have series against the last place Rockies, the last place Mets, and the terrible Pirates. Then look at the Phillies who have to play AL East powers- the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays, who have been one of the best teams in baseball this year. As if that wasn't enough, throw in a series against the AL Central leading Twins, and the Phillies all the sudden have a really tough schedule.

Baseball doesn't need interleague play anymore. The game has been restored to it's lair as America's greatest past-time. Attendance has been on the rise every year since 2004. We should save interleague play for one all-powerful series at the end of October.

Quick Thoughts from Friday's Games
- Edwin Encarnacion hits 3 of the 6 Blue Jay solo shots on Friday. I don't really understand how Chase Field is such a hitters park. That place looks absolutely huge, but balls fly out of there, as the Diamondbacks are the NL Home Run leaders. 3 home runs in a game is pretty impressive, but to hit 6 and lose might be more impressive.

- Mark Buehrle turns in the pitching performance of the night. I was originally going to say it was Tim Hudson, but Buehrle faced a much tougher offense in the Marlins. Buehrle spread 3 hits and 3 walks over 8 innings of shutout ball. The Marlins actually made some decent contact against Buehrle, so there was a bit of luck involved. Buehrle has struggled a bit this year, and he's not a guy i'm touching in 10 or 12 team leagues.

- Mariners drop a 15 spot. Pretty impressive seeing as how much I hate that offense. The wily 36 year old Mike Sweeney had a great game for the M's knocking in 6 with 2 homers. It took an out-of-the-blue performance to get their offense a little attention, but you have to think that the return of Milton Bradley has given that offense a slight boost.

- Shin-Soo Choo may be the most underrated fantasy player. He hits for power with a good average and he runs very well. The reason he's so underrated is because he's got no one around him. The Indians offense has also been terrible, but Choo gets lost in the shuffle. He hit 2 homers tonight which drove in 3 runs, but got no help from the rest of his offense.

- I was completely and utterly shocked that Ted Lilly didn't get rocked by the Rangers tonight.

- Roy Oswalt wants a trade. He's one of those guys that sort of deserves it. He has had some health problems in the past and he makes a ton of money. ESPN's Buster Olney doesn't think a deal is going to happen. Oswalt has been great thus far this season, but no team is going to want to give up elite prospects for Oswalt.

- Brad Penny's a dude for hitting a grand slam. It may have cost him, though. He left the game while he was warming up for the 4th inning after he hit the granny in the 3rd. Another reason to love the DH for the national league, but he doesn't seem to have sustained a really bad injury.

- I'm exhausted.

Everybody have a good one. Enjoy the weekend of baseball. I probably won't post again until Sunday night, but check back then.

Pardon the Colorblindness...

For those of you who don't know, I'm very colorblind. Honestly, it sucks. Picking the new layout for the blog was easy, and then picking the colors out was absolutely hellish. I think I got it the way I want it, but if there's something that doesn't look right or manly, please let me know. If the background is beige instead of green then I guess someone will comment and let me know. Anyways, speaking of colorblindness, let's start with the guy who has hitters seeing blue. (Note: That was an awesome segway.


Jimenez Shines Again
There are very few pitchers that I watch on television and just say "I really gotta see this guy pitch." That short list for me includes guys like Lincecum, Halladay, and Carpenter. Granted, it was the Astros atrocious offense that Jimenez embarrassed, it was still a very impressive outing and if he didn't get leg cramps he probably would have finished the shutout himself. The Rockies haven't been afraid to let him get into high pitch counts. He's 3rd in the majors in pitches thrown, and as a fantasy player that has to alarm you a little bit. Couple the high pitch counts with the fact that only 3 of his 9 starts have been in hitter-friendly Coors Field, and I say that he ends the year with an ERA around 2.50. This is still very solid, but the main point of me saying that is that I don't think he's going to be this good the rest of the way.

Believe it or not...
...I don't think Jimenez turned in the best pitching performance of the night. With all the emphasis on pitch counts these days, it seems like Terry Francona couldn't have asked for a better gift than Jon Lester's performance against the Twinkies tonight. Jon Lester threw just 103 pitches in his complete game, walking none and striking out 9. Despite being the two youngest pitchers on the Red Sox staff, Lester and Clay Buchholz are carrying that struggling rotation. They forced the potent Mauer/Morneau/Cuddyer combination to go 5 for 23 from the plate in the two game series. If Lester and Buchholz, two great fantasy options the rest of the way, pitch this well all year long, the Red Sox might not be out of the playoff hunt as quickly. It should be noted that the Red Sox are still way far off from that playoff hunt with the way the Yankees and Rays are playing, those two teams are on a whole other level.

Oh, The Bravery
I wasn't watching the game, but I kept checking the score. The 9th inning rolls around and I stopped checking. I get a text from friend of the blog Matthew Mull saying that the Braves won and then checked again. The Braves actually won. In one of the most astounding comebacks I've ever seen, the Braves scored 7 runs in the 9th inning. The top-off to their rally was the highlight of the day for me, which was Brooks Conrad thinking that he just had the walk-off grand slam robbed from him. As Conrad starts to head back to the dugout he sees his teammates and hears the crowd celebrating. The shock on his face when he actually realized the ball left the yard was one of the best moments of the season for me. He ran those bases like he just hit his first home run in little league and it was truly awesome to watch.

On the other end, what a terrible loss for the Reds. They have officially squandered their NL Central lead thanks to a great pitching performance by Adam Wainwright against the Marlins. I am still very high on them and think that they are still contenders for the NL Central. Mike Leake gave them another fantastic start tonight. Leake is not getting too much attention because of Strasburg, but he's been absolutely fantastic so far. From a fantasy perspective, he's a guy I'm absolutely selling high on if you can get some sort of value. Teams have a way of figuring out rookie pitchers the 2nd and 3rd time they see him in the season, and I just think Leake's lack of Major League experience has to catch up with him eventually. But that's just a hunch. All of his peripherals look ok, not great. His K/BB rate isn't fantastic and his GB/FB rate isn't so great, which is something somewhat alarming when you're pitching in the Great American Ballpark. So if you can get good value for him, I'd make a deal.

First Quarter Fantasy Thoughts
There have been some great, but unexpected fantasy players that have really stepped up and given a lot of teams a good lift in the first quarter:

-Dan Uggla- Did you know that Uggla in Swedish means "owl". Well his first quarter numbers are something to "hoot" about (I did it.). Uggla has shown that he, not Chase Utley may be the best 2nd baseman in the NL. OK, that may be a stretch, but Uggla's been very hot to start this season. He's a guy who's hit 30 HR with at least 88 RBI in each of the past 3 seasons and he looks like he's well on his way to do that this season. That Marlins lineup is looking solid, and even though he's hitting 5th he should continue to produce. He's hitting .291, which he won't maintain, but he draws walks and is a very underrated fantasy player.

- Vlad the Impaler- I talked a little bit about him the other night, but he's truly shined as the DH in the middle of the Rangers offense. He's hitting .342 with 9 Homers and 35 RBI and scoring a ton of runs. All signs were that he was absolutely finished after his last year in Anaheim, but the Rangers took a chance and it is really paying off. I have Ted Lilly on my main team and with Vlad and Nelly Cruz leading the way in the Rangers yard, there's no way I'm starting him tomorrow.

-Vernon Wells- I had a chance to get Wells, and I thought long and hard about it, but didn't do it. I didn't do it for the same reason most didn't take him, because we'd all been down this road before. Ever since his fantastic '06 campaign where he hit 32 bombs with 106 RBI and 17 steals while hitting .306, he has done nothing but disappoint. Not that the years between 2006 and now were terrible, they were injury plagued and nowhere near the value he was drafted. This year he is making up for lost time, belting 11 homers and hitting .300. He looks like he's turned back the clock to his mid-20's and he has cooled down since he hit 5 home runs in his teams first 4 games, but he has not stopped producing.

- Casey McGehee - While 3rd base has been touted as an extremely shallow position this season, McGehee owners have been very happy that he slipped through the cracks. He's given great late-round value to a very weak position. That Brewers offense around him means he's going to continue to get pitches to hit, and he will continue to hit them very far. He was never a top prospect, and this will be his first full season in the majors, but he's been very impressive at the hot corner.

Those were 4 hitters. I will get to the pitchers tomorrow night. Everybody have a great day, and thanks for reading. If you are a reader, please sign up as a follower. I would promise that you'd get extra special features, but I can't do that, so I'll just promise you that you'll have a better day than you normally would had you not signed up as a fan. Think about it. Much love.

Play of the night happened on the bases...

AP PHOTO

Zobrist Scores from 2nd on a Sac Fly
Brett Gardner's going to get a lot of attention for this catch (seen above). What's not going to get attention is the fact that Ben Zobrist was on 2nd base, and advanced 180 feet instead of 90 while tagging up. Never in my life have I seen anybody tag up from 2nd and go all the way home without an error of some sort, and this hustle is the reason the Rays are going to win the AL East. The Rays offense was nothing short of impressive tonight. They absolutely dominated A.J. Burnett and they did it with a brilliant combination of power, pitching (minus Andy Sonnanstine's performance in the 9th), and speed, stealing 6 bags. Their starting pitching's ERA is a tad below 3, and all of their pitching is definitely fantasy-worthy. Garza, Price, Niemann, Davis, and James Shields. They just look like the most complete team in the AL. With plays like the one Zobrist made tonight, it's hard to argue that there's a more well-rounded team in the AL.

The Diamondbacks Offense is a Fantasy Team
Sometimes I look at an offense and think to myself, "Self, how is this team so bad when their offense is so good." The Diamondbacks are one of those teams. This team is one of the best ones to look at when understanding the true difference between fantasy and real-life baseball. When you look at the D-Back's offense, you see guys like Justin Upton, a potential 30/30 guy. Then there's Stephen Drew, a quality fantasy short stop. Adam LaRoche was a great bargain for many fantasy owners at a very deep position. Chris Young is looking like he's finally taking walks. Chris Snyder is a bargain catcher who looks like he's on his way to 20 HR. Kelly Johnson looks like he's resurrected his career in Arizona, leading the NL in Home Runs. Mark Reynolds is one of the best power hitters in the majors.

With all of those great hitters, you can then look at their pitching and truly want to vomit. The fantasy baseball world doesn't allow us to recognize that one team has to have good pitching and good hitting to win. And if you don't have both, you won't get it done. The majors aren't like fantasy, if you sweep your hitting categories, you still need to have some pitching success to be a top tier fantasy team. No Diamondbacks reliever has an ERA under 3.80 and their starting pitching has been absolutely atrocious, but their Home Run display this evening was truly spectacular. They could be the best offense in the NL West by the end of the year, but the worst pitching.

Heyward Does it Again
As someone who is just a month younger than Jason Heyward, I'd like to be the first to admit that the kid is pretty good. It's amazing how much attention he garnered during April, but May's been his better month so far. It seems like so many young players want to get up to the majors and just hit home runs, and they really struggle with it (See: Bruce, Jay). There seems to be an adjustment period where these young hitters take time to realize that they don't have to hit home runs to be successful, they just have to make good contact, and that's exactly what Heyward's done. I was pretty high on the Braves today, and despite my recent obsession with the Reds, it was nice to see the Braves squeak out the win today despite blowing the lead.

I was pretty high on the Braves this season, thinking that they had a great shot for the wild card. But the poor performance of guys like Nate McLouth and Brian McCann, coupled with injuries to Matt Diaz and Jair Jurrjens makes me think that they won't be in the hunt come September. But that rotation is capable of getting things together. Tim Hudson doesn't look like he's going to strike a ton of guys out, but he's been a solid fantasy pitcher this season.

Closers Closing the Door on Themselves
I talked about him yesterday, but I feel pretty confident that Carlos Villenueva is the next closer in Milwaukee. The fact that Ken Macha said that Hoffman won't pitch in the Brewers series with the Pirates, coupled with the fact that it was Todd Coffey that he brought in with the game tied at 4 in the 7th, makes me think that had Coffey not blown it, Villenueva would have gotten the save. I went ahead and picked him up for 6 bucks in my main league and if you need saves, I think this is the guy I'd get.

I also watched Kerry Wood implode today against a relatively weak Royals lineup. It can be pretty amazing how a bad offense only seems to get that sense of urgency when the game is on the line, but the Royals just took batting practice on Kerry Wood. While Chris Perez didn't dominate in his role as closer for the first 5 weeks of the season, he didn't have any games like Wood had tonight. 5 earned runs and only recording 1 out is just not going to get it done. Wood was throwing in the high 90's, but the ball was straight as an arrow. I think if you need saves, that Perez could get this job back eventually.

Notable Injury News
I'm one of many extremely frustrated Grady Sizemore owners, and I hope that this DL stint ends up being really good for him. He just hasn't gotten it together at all, and it's quite a conundrum to own him right now. Maybe some time off will help him refocus. As someone who drafted him in the 3rd round, it's been very frustrating having to own him.

Josh Beckett is another guy like Sizemore who has just underperformed more than every Super Bowl halftime show since Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction." Backs and pitchers can be very tricky, so this is something I'm definitely keeping an eye on. Beckett is someone I might be trying to buy low on depending on the severity of the back injury. He's a notoriously slow starter and watching him, it looks like he's making some good pitches, but he's not in his perfect form yet.

Asdrubal Cabrera goes on the 60-day DL. Doesn't the 60-day DL just scare you? 60 days feels like a really long time. But if you saw that play where he collided with Jhonny Peralta, it looked like he was in a lot of pain and he's going to be out for, well, at least 60 days. This really hurts people in a lot of leagues. Short stop looks like it's a shallower position than we thought this year, and losing one who was leading off and hits for good average really hurts a lot of fantasy owners. I don't think I stash him on the DL even if I had the space. I think he may be a lost cause and I'd look elsewhere for SS or MI options.

Strasburg's a Dude
Any baseball fan has heard all there is to hear about this kid. Having seen him pitch in Syracuse, I can honestly say it's all real. He is this good. He hasn't allowed a single run in 18.2 innings in AAA, and has just made these offenses look stupid. I understand why the Nationals are making him stay down, but he honestly is just wasting everybody's time down there. The Nationals look like a team that might be starting to slip a little bit, but I honestly believe that calling him up sooner rather than later will only help the team. The Nats can't honestly expect guys like Livan Hernandez and Scott Olsen to keep up their hot starts. While there are obviously many merits to keeping Strasburg down, I worry he may get into some bad habits. I feel like it's easy to become somewhat complacent when you dominate opponents, which is why I thought it was interesting that the Nationals moved Strasburg to AAA right after his shaky performance at AA where he gave up 3 Earned Runs in 4.1 innings. Either way, when he gets to the majors he's absolutely going to do work. I see him being a top-20 starter, in the same level as Kershaw/Oswalt/Price, when he gets up to the majors.

Those were just some quick thoughts from the night that was. I still really think the Mariners should move Ichiro to 2nd or 3rd in that order, as crazy as that may seem.

Another note: MLB Network just introduced their "Solid 60" segment where they show an hour of live look-ins from 9:30 to 10:30 which coincides directly with the end of the 7 o'clock games. The best part about "Solid 60" is that there were no commercials. It was absolutely awesome and a great idea. Just figured I'd share.

Enjoy tomorrow's games. If you are a reader, please sign up as a follower so I can see if the blog is growing.

Thanks.

Vlad's Homer Highlights Great Night of Baseball...

mlb.com

Did that really go out?
It's the home runs like this that Vlad hits, that makes a baseball fan like me truly appreciate how strong these guys are. It seems like he has a solid 10 home runs like this where he just takes a golf swing and somehow manages to get it to leave the yard. The Vladamir Guerrero-Texas Ranger experiment looks like it's paying off in a big way. People forget that Vlad had a 49 game hitting streak as an Angel against the Rangers. So since they couldn't beat him, the Rangers joined him and it's paying off. He seems to have resurrected his career when people said he was done in Anaheim. He's hitting .345 with 8 HR and 32 RBI, and that Ranger offense is absolutely scary. It's very possible that team scores 850+ runs with the hitters and speed that team has. Another interesting tidbit: tonight Vlad became the 31st person in baseball history to hit a home run against all 32 teams.

Pirate Pride
I make this my 2nd headline because in my quick hitters last night, I said to watch Roy Halladay do work on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although he is on my fantasy team, it was a pleasant surprise to see the Pirates squeak out a rather impressive victory. The Pirates pitchers out-dueled Halladay, and they manufactured 2 runs, which was enough for them to get the win. Halladay's 132 pitches were tied for the most thrown this season, and it's amazing that almost every time Halladay takes the bump for the Phils, it's a day off for the bullpen.

Yankee's Blow It This Time
Well Marcus Thames goes from hero last night to zero tonight. He dropped a relatively routine fly-ball which would have kept 2 runs off the board for the Yankees. Then 2 batters later with the game tied Jeremy Hermida hits a fly ball to left. I was ready to watch the Yankee's head into the bottom of the 9th with the game tied, but for some reason, Randy Winn must have been standing 4 feet behind Derek Jeter, as the opposite field hit flew way over his head and the Red Sox win the game. It's amazing that the Yankees outfield was the one to blow the game, when the Red Sox outfield has been getting most of the attention for being so atrocious. That outfield will be much improved when Jacoby Ellsbury comes off the DL, most likely by the end of the weekend. The Red Sox offense has started to heat up, with the help of David Ortiz and J.D. Drew being hot in May. Kevin Youkilis has also been getting on base 1 of 2 plate appearances in May, which is just absurd. A lot of fantasy analysts are down on Ortiz, but I think he's definitely own-able in 10 and 12 team mixed leagues. He looks like he's healthy and is able to catch up to some of the fastballs that he couldn't hit in the first 2 months last year.

How Could I Not Talk About the Reds?
Well, I'll start by saying that I own Trevor Hoffman in my most important league, and he will not be on the starting roster for The Naturals tomorrow. It's hard to have faith in Hoffman anymore, and while I think Brewers manager Ken Macha is trying to stick with Hoffman until he gets save 600, it's just not a good idea. You can't keep coughing up games for sentimental purposes, even though Hoffman is at 596. I don't think it's a question that Carlos Villenueva is the guy for the job. Todd Coffey is the only other logical candidate to take over the closing duties in Milwaukee, but Villenueva has been so much better this year. He has great strikeout and walk rates, he's inducing a ton of groundballs and hitters are batting below .200 against him.

That being said, how about them Reds? What resiliency, eh!?! I know I can't go one day without mentioning this team on my blog, but another great start by Homer Bailey which kept the Reds around to make their comeback in the 9th. They are among the hottest teams in baseball, and retain a half game lead over the Cards in the NL Central.

Why can nobody on the west coast hit?
Not to detract from the pitching in the NL West, but how are these games so low scoring all the time? The pitching, especially in the NL West, is absolutely fascinating to watch. These teams all are phenomenal defensively: Only 1 team of the 10 in the NL and AL West is not in the top 20 in team fielding percentage, which I think is a pretty amazing stat. The Dodgers bats are starting to get things together despite Ethier going on the DL today for his broken pinkie. Their pitching has also started to return to form. I think the 2 horse race for the NL West between the Dodgers and the Rockies will begin shortly. I can't see the Padres and the Giants maintaining this start, solely because their pitching can't stay this good the whole season. The AL West offenses are a little better, but they don't have pitching their National League counterparts in the West have. It's looking more and more like the division will be the Rangers to lose with that great offense.

Just a quick thought for the Mariners offense. I know he's established as their lead-off man, but Don Wakamatsu needs to hit Ichiro second and Figgins lead-off. Ichiro is easily one of the best pure hitters in the league, and if you bat Figgins lead-off, then that enables more RBI opportunities for your best contact hitter. If Figgins gets out, then Ichiro's just leading off with one out. Just a quick thought.

Fantasy Time
- It's time to drop Dexter Fowler in all leagues except NL only. Jim Tracy seems like he wants to stick with Seth Smith. While I'm a little baffled by the move, I think you can't hope Fowler will get back in the lineup if one of the Rockies outfielders gets hurt.

- Shaun Marcum is legit. I know he's only at 3 wins after today's performance, but he struck out both Mauer and Morneau, two tough lefties who dominate righties. That's obviously not the only justification, but he's looking like he's healthy and pitching to contact. Pitching to contact is good when you have the 4th best defense in the AL behind you. And that Jays offense looks somewhat legit, so there's your run support.m

- Zach Greinke owners are probably furious. I would be too if I just couldn't get a win despite having a 2.72 ERA in 59 and 2/3 innings work. His 1-4 record despite great numbers is infuriating, and another reason Quality Starts are a better fantasy category than wins in my opinion.

- I think Juan Pierre only weighs 92 pounds. That dude is tiny. No wonder he has 18 steals so far this season. If you need cheap speed, he's available in a lot of leagues.

- Carlos Lee may have hit the furthest foul ball I've ever seen in his 3rd AB tonight. He looks like he's getting over those April woes one at bat at a time. I think he will be great the rest of this season, the lone bright spot in an otherwise terrible offense sans Berkman and Pence. Also, how could you not like a guy whose nickname is the horse.

- David Price became the winningest pitcher in the AL thus far with his stellar 6 innings of 4 hit ball today. Despite walking 3 he looked like he has found a nice groove, striking out 5. The only word of caution is that his flyball rate seems a little too high, and some of those balls will leave the yard with all the games against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox, and teams like the Rangers in their hitter-friendly park. He's a guy I'd sell high on if you can get great value for him, top tier starting or top 50 player value if you have significant hitting needs to fill.

That's all for today, everybody have a great day. Please tell your friends and please sign up as a follower and leave comments, positive or negative feedback is much appreciated. Be well.

Quick Hitters....

It's pretty late and I'm pretty tired, but here are some thoughts from the day that was:

- Edwin Jackson is still not own-able in anything other than deep mixed or NL only leauges.

- Papelbon looked terrible tonight, blowing that game in pretty amazing fashion. The Red Sox need some major bullpen help. Dice-K also doesn't look like he's ever going to figure things out again.

- Doesn't it feel like every game in the NL West has 5 runs or less scored? There are so many amazing pitchers in that division, but the offenses seem to be atrocious.

- Am I the only one who didn't realize the Dodgers were on a 7 game winning streak that they made 8 tonight? I guess that's what happens when you actually have a decent offense in the NL West, but how long will it hold up without Ethier?

- How awesome was that Dan Uggla tag out today in the Diamondbacks-Marlins game? I have never seen anything like that, and it was awesome how he kept his glove between Tony Abreu's foot and the bag. If you haven't looked at this play, I highly suggest it.

- Hanley Ramirez should be embarrassed after that play tonight. The only way that's excusable is if we find out that he was hurt much worse than he led on. I think Freddie Gonzalez did the right thing, and that sends a message to a great young team.

- Did that Ryan Howard grand slam land yet?

- Another win for Cincy, and another great starting performance by Cueto, just sayin'...

- Nats have dropped 4 in a row, how will a team that doesn't have a track record of winning that's gotten off to a solid start rebound from a losing streak like this? Do the wheels fall off now?

- Justin Morneau might be one of the most underrated players in the league. There are a lot of people who forget that the guy has an AL MVP.

- Jason Heyward has shown that he's much more than a power hitter: He's hitting .367 in May and getting on base at a ridiculous .512 clip. If only the rest of the Braves offense produced as well as he was.

- For some reason, I can't stop watching Pawn Stars on the History Channel.

That's it, everybody have a good one. Get ready for Roy Halladay to embarrass the Pirates tomorrow, should be great.

Thoughts from the Weekend that was...

What's going on everybody? Let's get right to it...

Mo Blows It




A great day of Sunday baseball, so many headlines, but how about Mariano Rivera.

When a guy like Kerry Wood or Chad Qualls, or half of the relievers in this league blow a save in the way that Rivera did today, we go nuts, but say this is part of the risk. But I can't imagine how many leagues out there lost some ERA and WHIP categories/points because of Rivera. I think it's safe to say that this is merely an aberration and that Rivera is fine. It's just interesting that he blew this save after the Yankees got so much attention for their dominance of the Twins at Yankee Stadium.

Reds Reds Reds
They are playing some great baseball right now, and had a great week. If their starting pitching can produce like they did this past week then they are going to be in great shape the rest of the season. From a fantasy perspective, they have one of those rotations that aren't any top or even 2nd tier pitchers, but they have guys that are getting the job done. And that offense in that ballpark can be pretty dangerous. Look for them to extend their NL Central lead this week with games against Atlanta and Cleveland, 20th and 26th in the league in offense, respectively. Great performance by Arroyo today, although he needs a haircut. But they're better than those dreads he rocked with the Red Sox.


AP Photo

Ethier's Pinky
I hated all the attention on LeBron's elbow, and the way he's playing, the media should focus as much attention to Andre Ethier's pinky. The Dodgers have been underperforming thus far. They rank 9th in offense, but their pitching, which was number 1 in the majors last season, is in the bottom 3rd this season. Performances like Billingsley to Kuo to Broxton are exactly what's going to put them in the thick of things again in the NL West, but not if their offense only puts 1 run on the board. Kemp has cooled down, Manny is showing his age a bit, and if it won't for the James Loney power surge then this team might be in some real trouble. They look like they need Furcal back soon, he really is that spark plug for that offense. Ethier's potential injury could really be bad for the Dodgers, good thing it's only May.


latimes.com

Hudson Dominates Haren, the D-Backs Bullpen is Weeeeak


mlb.com

Tim Hudson looked like an ace on Sunday, shutting down the 3rd best offense in the NL to the tune of 8 innings, 3 hits, one ER, and 1 walk while striking out 6. Granted, his K:BB rate isn't as great as we'd like to see, he's still finding ways to get people out. As a fantasy player, I'd try to trade Hudson for a guy like Haren, who really seems to be struggling right now. Haren looked like he started getting things together, but his last 2 starts haven't been as good as we would expect from an "ace" such as himself.

But the Diamondbacks bullpen is what should be getting most of the attention anyways. The D-Backs have the second-worse pitching staff in the majors. The NL West is very win-able, but not if you can't get guys out. That offense has a lot of promise, especially since Adam LaRoche is hitting before the all-star break and Chris Young seems to have figured himself out. Stephen Drew and Justin Upton (both of whom I own in my most dedicated league) are great young players, and a great core that this team is built around. But the pitching staff hasn't been able to keep a game under control, and Edwin Jackson has been a mess. It's a good thing former Yankee's stud prospect Ian Kennedy is doing for the D-Backs what he couldn't do for the Yankee's, be successful.

Classic Mariners

Phenomenal game by Cliff Lee today, awful game by the Mariners offense. It's just a waste of a gem of a pitching performance. I equate Cliff Lee's performance to a wonderful meal, absolutely perfect, home cooked and delicious. But the "delicious meal" forgets one main ingredient that makes it taste good. So when you're expecting this amazing meal, you finally taste it and realize that the person who made it really has no idea what the hell they're doing. So, in this analogy: Cliff Lee= the delicious-looking meal, Lack of an ingredient= Everybody except Franklin Gutierrez and Ichiro, and the Mariners Front office= the person making the meal. You dig?

Granted Garza's been great this year, but when Ichiro and Figgins go 0 for 8, the team really doesn't stand a chance. The Mariners had a rough week with all the attention surrounding their awful offense and The Kid's naptimes. With the way things are going, even just through Lee's first few starts, I don't think it's crazy to say that Lee will not be a Mariner by the end of the year.

Quick Thoughs From the Weekend
- Kevin Gregg got the save for the Jays, his 11th on the year, and he has a 2.00 ERA. It's looking like Cito Gaston made the right decision by giving Gregg the gig despite his failures as a Cub last year.

- The Marlins sweep the Mets this weekend. The NL East could prove to be one of the toughest divisions in baseball by seasons end. I think the Braves are much better than this, I think the Nationals could be a .500 ballclub at seasons end, and I think the Mets will finish last in the NL East.

- The Baltimore Orioles will be this years Washington Nationals. The AL East has 4 teams that could make the playoffs. I think the Jays are for real after their sweep of the Rangers last weekend. I'm still selling high on Wells and Romero, but they could be legit, great bullpen. Oh, and I'm going to be at the Sunday Orioles-Nationals game on Sunday, should be a real doozy.

Great weekend of baseball, everybody have a good week and check back for updates. Leave comments or give any feedback to dhkaplan17@yahoo.com.

How Great is Sunday Baseball???

I need not be the first to tell you how great all the day baseball on Sunday is. Something about day baseball makes everything seem so exciting. It's a day for some unlikely heroes to step up when some of the stars get days off after the previous day's night games.

Now that I've gotten my man-crush out of the way, here are some thoughts for Sundays game, both fantasy and non-fantasy. Speaking of non-fantasy, I think that because I try to mold the two together, I need to come up with a real word for non-fantasy. I don't want to say "real baseball" because it sounds funny. Either way:

- The Pirates have been extremely impressive thus far in their series with the Cubs. If they finish off the series today, it would be one of the more impressive sweeps of the weekend. I say that because if you look at McCutchen and Garret Jones, they are the reason that Pittsburgh is down 0-2 in this series if it were played last season. There's also something to be said about the Meek to Dotel combination that is saving those games.

- Even without Rollins, the Phillies are on another level in the NL. They have just embarrassed the Brewers in Milwaukee this weekend. The Brewers offense is pretty good as long as guys like Weeks stay healthy. But their starting pitching is just not that great. Gallardo has been phenomenal this season, but guys like Randy Wolf, Doug Davis, Chris Narveson, and Dave Bush don't scare me at all. If the Brewers somehow manage to be in earshot come mid-July, they could be one of the bigger pushers for better starting pitchers come the end of the trade deadline.

- I hate the one weekend of interleague play coming up next weekend.

- Matt Thornton looked pretty good in his 2-out save last night. I think he gets to 20 because Ozzie doesn't seem to trust Bobby Jenks too much.

- Oliver Perez is terrible.

- The Pat Burrell experiment in Tampa has proven to be extremely unsuccessful as he was sent down to the minors yesterday. It's a bummer that Burrells decline came with his change of scenery, but I think the Rays offense will be ok (that was me being sarcastic).

- I saw Date Night last night and I thought it was pretty good. I think Steve Carrel is the man, and Tina Fey's one liners are great. I also think Tina Fey is very attractive for a lady her age.

Enjoy the day baseball....

Despite Today's Performance, I'm Still Not a Romero Fan....

http://infieldfly.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/ricky-romero.jpg


The Time is Now...

...to sell high on Ricky Romero. Sometimes performances like this are nice if you own the pitcher, because it further enables your sell-high chances in fantasy because it showcases upside that you can market, even if the player doesn't actually have that upside. Don't get me wrong, Romero is good, but not this good.

I have two guys in the league I pay most attention to that I am trying to sell high on right now. Tim Hudson has gotten fairly lucky thus far keeping his ERA down. He is walking a lot of batters and hardly striking anybody out, which makes me really question if he's someone I should hold onto. The other guy I'm looking to deal is Jaime Garcia. These guys have been solid parts of my rotation, but Garcia and Romero fall into this "upside enigma" category that I think fantasy owners can exploit. Romero is only 25, and despite being drafted high, he doesn't have those stellar minor league stats that you would see in a guy who is striking out 12 guys on one of the best major league offenses. Given his past, you can only assume that this is a hot streak for Romero, but, just as they did last year, hitters will figure him out the second and third time they see him, which is why I'm selling high. Garcia's stats have to even out eventually. While I really want him to keep producing quality starts, I don't really think it will happen. He's doing everything right, all his numbers look good, but you have to ask yourself "Can he really be this good the whole year?" Obviously he won't finish with an ERA around 1.40, but he could be a solid sleeper that takes you far. That being said, I think there are some solid pitchers to be had that you might be able to buy low. The Josh Beckett's of the world being the main example.

Quick Hitters
- Andrew McCutchen is quite the dude. Another multi-hit game today. He is only 7 of 8 against the Cubs so far in this series, nothing major though.
- Adam Dunn is also a dude. 1 for 4 with a solo shot in both games of the Nats-Rockies double-header is not only Classic Adam Dunn, but further exemplifies his dude-ness. Adam Dunn is a big reason the Nats have been successful early on this year, and if he just does what he's been doing for the past 6 years, the Nats might not fall out of the playoff hunt until late July instead of late June this year.
- Brad Lidge goes on the DL. Ryan Madson doesn't know how to kick properly when frustrated. Enter... Jose Contreras? He's been lights out thus far and got out of a very sticky situation to save the game for the Phils. I'm glad I snatched him for the cheap 2 bucks out of my FAA Budget, I could be getting a ton of value. If you haven't picked up Contreras, do it. He could be the closer for the rest of the season for the Phils.
- Clayton Kershaw throws another quality start against the first-place San Diego Padres. Makes me wonder if he just ate something a little funky before his debacle against the Pirates a few weeks ago.
- In a fantasy season with 3rd base so weak this year, my 24th round pick of Troy Glaus is making me look good. A somewhat slow April, but he's hitting .362 in May and has driven in 14 batters, good for 4th among all hitters in the month of May.
- Grady Sizemore's really starting to piss me off, there's no way he's healthy.
- After killing my fantasy team last year, Jose Valverde has been lights out in Detroit. He could be a top 5 closer in the AL by the end of the year.


That's it for today. Goodnight everybody. Check back tomorrow...