Day 1 of the 2011 NFL Draft has come and gone leaving many fans happy, sad, mad or stunned. Plenty of surprises from last night's draft rolled out but one thing that wasn't a surprise was the boos commissioner Roger Goodell received last night, although he did handle it rather well. With that said let's get this recap started.
Shockers
Jake Locker - I didn't doubt that Locker would be a first round pick, I did however doubt that he'd be a Top 10 pick. If you missed it last night, this move was so shocking that Denver Bronco fans were seen saying, "wow" over and over. It's rather ironic that they would question this move after last year's move of boldly taking Tim Tebow in the first round. Locker has the tools and the talent to be a good QB, but he needs to work on his accuracy and pocket skills. I'd be surprised if he takes the field next year beyond mop up duty of some blowouts.
Christian Ponder - If the Jake Locker picked shocked you, this one blew your mind out. There's no doubt that the Vikings need a quarterback and maybe they underestimated teams trading up to snatch Blaine Gabbert in the two picks before them. Ponder is a talented kid who was probably the most ready for the NFL, but he was by no means a first round QB. Ponder now has added pressure to be successful because of how high he was drafted. Although the good news for him is he's surrounded by a talented running back (Adrian Peterson) and receivers (Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin).
Baltimore Ravens - The Baltimore Ravens missed their pick last night which allowed the Kansas City Chiefs to move ahead of them. So what happened you may be asking. Well the Ravens believed they had a deal worked out with the Chicago Bears to swap picks. The Ravens thought the Bears would announce it, the Bear thought the Ravens would announce and it turns out the Bears dropped the ball. The Ravens could get a small compensation from the Bears for this.
Surprises
Da'Quan Bowers - You have to feel bad for the kid who was predicted by many as the first overall draft pick in January. Then he started sliding a bit to somewhere Top 10. And then came the news of his knee and possible microfracture surgery looming. He slid out of the Top 10 last night and all the way out of the first round. Someone will draft him, whether it be Day 2 or Day 3 of the draft and he'll make that team very happy once he's healthy.
Nick Fairley - Fairley once was rated the best defensive tackle, then he and Marcell Dareus switched spots but he was still believed to be a Top 10 pick. Fairley fell all the way to the Detroit Lions at 13 where he'll get to team up with Ndamukong Suh, who he sought of before the draft for advice. Now Suh will get to give him all the advice he'll want and need. The Lions have created one beast of a defensive line.
Patrick Peterson - It was no surprise that Peterson was drafted fifth let alone inside the Top 10 but what was surprising was the team who drafted him. The Arizona Cardinals had more glaring needs than drafting a corner back, like finding a quarterback to throw to Larry Fitzgerald. But adding Peterson to their team solidifies their secondary which in turns strengthens their defense as a whole.
Winners
Atlanta Falcons - The Falcons made a huge splash to get Julio Jones, but it was a move they needed to make to give Matt Ryan better options to throw to. They swapped first round picks with Cleveland and gave up their second, fourth and next year's first round pick. If Jones pans out and works well opposite of Roddy White, the Falcons could be unstoppable for years to come.
New England Patriots - The Patriots went into Day 1 with two picks and they came out of it making one pick and trading the other. They traded the 28th overall pick to New Orleans, missing out on Mark Ingram but they got back the 56th overall pick and the Saints' first round pick in 2012. The Pats can still bolster their defense in Day 2 while stocking up for the future like they did yesterday.
New Orleans Saints - The Saints took care of both sides of the ball last night, first drafting defensive end Cameron Jordan 24th overall and then trading up to take running back Mark Ingram 28th overall. Besides the other three teams in the NFC South, the only other person who didn't like this draft was Reggie Bush who has tweeted he's out of New Orleans.
Losers
The NFL - Usually the one boos heard at the draft come from Giants', Jets' and Eagles' fans when they hear the name of their draft pick. However, all of Day 1 was marred by boos and chants of "WE WANT FOOTBALL". The fans let both sides know they aren't happy with this lockout and their patience is running thin.
Jimmy Clausen - The reigning Carolina Panthers starting QB might be reduced to a clipboard holder once the season finally starts. While Clausen had every right to be upset, he wasn't. He sent Cam Newton a text welcoming and congratulating him and he followed that up be being the first person in the building for the Panthers today. Got to hand it to him, he's not just going to roll over and accept his fate, he's going to fight to preserve it.
The Draft Picks' Fashion Sense - Last night was a weird night with the boos and lockout pending, but it was even weirder thanks to the fashion the picks wore up on stage. The bow-ties, the thick lense glasses and other questionable items. For a good look, check out this article. Props to Yahoo!'s Shutdown Corner for the find.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Bring on the Conference Semi-Finals!!
If you haven't been keeping up with the Stanley Cup Playoffs, shame on you! You've missed quite possibly some of the best hockey the Conference Quarterfinals have ever seen. For starters, there has been overtime hockey nine straight nights in a row. There's nothing better than overtime hockey, it keeps you on the edge because one mistake leads to the demise of a team, one odd man rush save can deflate a team there's nothing like it. On top of the overtime streak, we had four series go the full seven games including the Canucks-Blackhawks series which saw Chicago come back from 3-0 only to lose in a heartbreaking Game 7 and the Penguins-Lightning series which saw Tampa come back to win from down 3-1. And if I may brag here before the Law of Averages comes crashing down on me heavily, I went 8-0 in my Quarterfinal predictions and called four of the series down to the games it would go which means my Sharks over Bruins Stanley Cup Finals is still intact. Let's get to the Conference Semis matchups:
Eastern Conference
1. Washington Capitals v 5. Tampa Bay Lightning - The Capitals went 4-1-1 this season against the team that almost dethroned them from their division title. In their last series the Caps had showed us that they were no longer the choke artists they had been in years past by playing great defense and getting even better goaltending. They allowed eight goals in their five game series with the Rangers and rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth had a 1.38 GAA and a .946 save percentage while posting one shutout. In his career Neuvirth has never lost a series, winning back-to-back Calder Cups in the AHL and now winning his first NHL series. The Caps definitely have the skill and goaltending to matchup well with the Lightning.
The Lightning fell behind 3-1 in the Quarterfinal matchup with the Penguins then they came striking back winning 8-2 and 4-2 to force Game 7 which they won 1-0 in Pittsburgh. The Lightning have some great skill and scorers on this team but those guys need to show up as Martin St. Louis had 4 goals and 4 assists in the series. Steven Stamkos can't wait for Game 5 to show up in this series because if he does, he might be the only one showing up to it. The line of Sean Bergenheim-Dominic Moore-Steve Downie was a great third line down the final games for the Bolts. If they want to win they'll need to be effective on the penalty kill (34 for 35 in the series with Pittsburgh) but they'll also need to stay out of it too. They can't afford to give the Caps 35 power plays and win this series. One has to wonder how much the seven game series took out of the 41-year old Dwayne Roloson? One stat to remember, Rollie the goalie is now 6-0 when starting in elimination games for his team.
Ultimately the Caps are too much for the Bolts and win in 5.
2. Philadelphia Flyers v 3. Boston Bruins - The Flyers got all they could handle from Ryan Miller and the Sabres but advanced in 7. One glaring question for the Flyers is how confident are they in their goalies? Philly used three different goalies in this series and they all made at least one start while Brian Boucher eventually started and won Game 7. The Flyers went 1-3-0 against the B's in the regular season but they have to be happy to see Boston the way their power play is performing as the Flyers killed only 75% good for 12th in the playoffs. Getting Chris Pronger back is huge for the Flyers and Jeff Carter is questionable for Round 2 with a knee injury.
The Boston Bruins became the first team in history to win a 7 game series without scoring a power play goal going 0 for 21 in their series with Montreal. If the B's hope to advance they're going to have to figure the power play out and take advantage because Philly's forwards are a bit more talented than Boston's. Tim Thomas appears to be back on his game after a rough start to the series for Boston but the bad news is the team could start the series without defenseman Andrew Ference for his questionable hit he put on Jeff Halpern in Game 7. Boston is 3-0 in overtime games this post season.
In a tough, gritty series Boston wins in 7.
Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks v 5. Nashville Predators - The Vancouver Canucks were one goal away from blowing a 3-0 series lead and becoming the fourth team to do so. Alex Burrows made sure that didn't happen as the Canucks recovered to win Game 7 2-1 in overtime. Not only that but after a horrible three game spell, Roberto Luongo seemed to return to form as he made a big save early in the overtime when the team was shorthanded. One thing the Canucks need to do is to get Ryan Kesler going as he was held without a goal and only had 4 assists, they'll also need him to shutdown Mike Fisher the way he shutdown Jonathan Toews. The Canucks finally beat the Hawks in the playoffs as the last two years the Hawks were the team to bounce Vancouver from the playoffs.
For the first time in their 12 years of existence, the Nashville Predators finally advanced past the first round of the playoffs. Now they have the task of beating the NHL's top team in Vancouver to make their first Western Conference Finals. For that to happen, the Preds are going to need goalie Pekka Rinne to steal them a couple of games. Rinne who was outstanding in the regular season was hardly ordinary in the first round posting a 3.29 GAA with a .876 save percentage. Shea Weber and Ryan Suter draw the task of shutting down the Sedin twins which is no easy task. Good news for the Preds, they went 2-2-0 in the regular season with the Canucks.
Canucks take this in 6.
2. San Jose Sharks v 3. Detroit Red Wings - In their series with LA, the Sharks at times looked like a team that could win the Stanley Cup and looked like a team that still hasn't shed that choke artist label. Well they shed and in a big way. Joe Thornton who has been a big reason for past chokes scored the OT winner and series ender in Game 6 in Los Angeles. The Sharks might be the deepest team in the playoffs when it comes to forwards. Joe Pavelski, Dany Heatley and Ryan Clowe led the team through the series in goals but seven other guys scored for the Sharks as well. Goalie Antti Niemi showed he's not rock solid getting pulled twice but he did go 3-0-0 against the Wings with a .935 save percentage in the regular season. This matchup could come down to the Sharks power play vs the Wings penalty kill. The Sharks went 2 for 23 in the first round while the Wings PK was torched for 6 goals in 18 kills.
The Wings came into the playoffs battered and facing a tough challenge in Phoenix but quickly disposed of them in 4 games hardly trailing at all in the series. With 8 days off between games the Wings have gotten healthy and should have both Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen for the start of this series. 13 different guys scored in the 4 game series against Phoenix which is good news because the Wings can't rely on Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg to carry this team alone if they want to advance. Another thing they'll need to do is stay physical, last year the Sharks took the fight to the Wings and eventually knocked them out in 5 games. Guys like Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader and Todd Bertuzzi have to lead the Wings in a battle to win the tough pucks in corners. One last thing is stay out of the box and improve the PK, killing only 66.7% of the penalties they took in round one was bad. Penalties last year help lead to the Wings downfall. Jimmy Howard posted a 2.50 GAA with a .920 save percentage, he allowed only 4 goals in full strength situations in round one.
The homer in me wants to say Wings in 6 after round one but I have to stick with the team I took to win it all and say Sharks in 7.
Eastern Conference
1. Washington Capitals v 5. Tampa Bay Lightning - The Capitals went 4-1-1 this season against the team that almost dethroned them from their division title. In their last series the Caps had showed us that they were no longer the choke artists they had been in years past by playing great defense and getting even better goaltending. They allowed eight goals in their five game series with the Rangers and rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth had a 1.38 GAA and a .946 save percentage while posting one shutout. In his career Neuvirth has never lost a series, winning back-to-back Calder Cups in the AHL and now winning his first NHL series. The Caps definitely have the skill and goaltending to matchup well with the Lightning.
The Lightning fell behind 3-1 in the Quarterfinal matchup with the Penguins then they came striking back winning 8-2 and 4-2 to force Game 7 which they won 1-0 in Pittsburgh. The Lightning have some great skill and scorers on this team but those guys need to show up as Martin St. Louis had 4 goals and 4 assists in the series. Steven Stamkos can't wait for Game 5 to show up in this series because if he does, he might be the only one showing up to it. The line of Sean Bergenheim-Dominic Moore-Steve Downie was a great third line down the final games for the Bolts. If they want to win they'll need to be effective on the penalty kill (34 for 35 in the series with Pittsburgh) but they'll also need to stay out of it too. They can't afford to give the Caps 35 power plays and win this series. One has to wonder how much the seven game series took out of the 41-year old Dwayne Roloson? One stat to remember, Rollie the goalie is now 6-0 when starting in elimination games for his team.
Ultimately the Caps are too much for the Bolts and win in 5.
2. Philadelphia Flyers v 3. Boston Bruins - The Flyers got all they could handle from Ryan Miller and the Sabres but advanced in 7. One glaring question for the Flyers is how confident are they in their goalies? Philly used three different goalies in this series and they all made at least one start while Brian Boucher eventually started and won Game 7. The Flyers went 1-3-0 against the B's in the regular season but they have to be happy to see Boston the way their power play is performing as the Flyers killed only 75% good for 12th in the playoffs. Getting Chris Pronger back is huge for the Flyers and Jeff Carter is questionable for Round 2 with a knee injury.
The Boston Bruins became the first team in history to win a 7 game series without scoring a power play goal going 0 for 21 in their series with Montreal. If the B's hope to advance they're going to have to figure the power play out and take advantage because Philly's forwards are a bit more talented than Boston's. Tim Thomas appears to be back on his game after a rough start to the series for Boston but the bad news is the team could start the series without defenseman Andrew Ference for his questionable hit he put on Jeff Halpern in Game 7. Boston is 3-0 in overtime games this post season.
In a tough, gritty series Boston wins in 7.
Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks v 5. Nashville Predators - The Vancouver Canucks were one goal away from blowing a 3-0 series lead and becoming the fourth team to do so. Alex Burrows made sure that didn't happen as the Canucks recovered to win Game 7 2-1 in overtime. Not only that but after a horrible three game spell, Roberto Luongo seemed to return to form as he made a big save early in the overtime when the team was shorthanded. One thing the Canucks need to do is to get Ryan Kesler going as he was held without a goal and only had 4 assists, they'll also need him to shutdown Mike Fisher the way he shutdown Jonathan Toews. The Canucks finally beat the Hawks in the playoffs as the last two years the Hawks were the team to bounce Vancouver from the playoffs.
For the first time in their 12 years of existence, the Nashville Predators finally advanced past the first round of the playoffs. Now they have the task of beating the NHL's top team in Vancouver to make their first Western Conference Finals. For that to happen, the Preds are going to need goalie Pekka Rinne to steal them a couple of games. Rinne who was outstanding in the regular season was hardly ordinary in the first round posting a 3.29 GAA with a .876 save percentage. Shea Weber and Ryan Suter draw the task of shutting down the Sedin twins which is no easy task. Good news for the Preds, they went 2-2-0 in the regular season with the Canucks.
Canucks take this in 6.
2. San Jose Sharks v 3. Detroit Red Wings - In their series with LA, the Sharks at times looked like a team that could win the Stanley Cup and looked like a team that still hasn't shed that choke artist label. Well they shed and in a big way. Joe Thornton who has been a big reason for past chokes scored the OT winner and series ender in Game 6 in Los Angeles. The Sharks might be the deepest team in the playoffs when it comes to forwards. Joe Pavelski, Dany Heatley and Ryan Clowe led the team through the series in goals but seven other guys scored for the Sharks as well. Goalie Antti Niemi showed he's not rock solid getting pulled twice but he did go 3-0-0 against the Wings with a .935 save percentage in the regular season. This matchup could come down to the Sharks power play vs the Wings penalty kill. The Sharks went 2 for 23 in the first round while the Wings PK was torched for 6 goals in 18 kills.
The Wings came into the playoffs battered and facing a tough challenge in Phoenix but quickly disposed of them in 4 games hardly trailing at all in the series. With 8 days off between games the Wings have gotten healthy and should have both Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen for the start of this series. 13 different guys scored in the 4 game series against Phoenix which is good news because the Wings can't rely on Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg to carry this team alone if they want to advance. Another thing they'll need to do is stay physical, last year the Sharks took the fight to the Wings and eventually knocked them out in 5 games. Guys like Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader and Todd Bertuzzi have to lead the Wings in a battle to win the tough pucks in corners. One last thing is stay out of the box and improve the PK, killing only 66.7% of the penalties they took in round one was bad. Penalties last year help lead to the Wings downfall. Jimmy Howard posted a 2.50 GAA with a .920 save percentage, he allowed only 4 goals in full strength situations in round one.
The homer in me wants to say Wings in 6 after round one but I have to stick with the team I took to win it all and say Sharks in 7.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Game 7s Galore
With three Game 7s upon us and a possible fourth looming I thought I'd update everyone on what's happening with the Stanley Cup Playoffs and how I've done predicting the series.
Western Conference
1. Vancouver v 8. Chicago - Tied 3-3
When Vancouver took a 3-0 lead eeveryone thought that this series was over and Roberto Luongo had shaken his playoff yips and all was good. Then the Blackhawks lit Luongo up for 10 goals in the next two games. That led to rookie goalie Cory Schneider sstaring Game 6 and playing well enough to keep the team in it before he got hurt. Luongo comes in, game goes to overtime and the Blackhawks win. Now Luongo is going to start Game 7 tonight and no one knows what Luongo they're going to see tonight, the siv from Game 4 and 5 or the stud from Games 1-3. I like Chicago's odds to pull this comeback off.
2. San Jose v 7. Los Angeles - SJ wins 4-2
It looked as if Los Angeles was going to force a Game 7 with the way Jonathan Quick played but unfortunately for him his defense and offense didn't support him enough. Joe Thornton sealed the series with his OT winner last night. One worry for the Sharks going on is their goalie was pulled twice in this series. The Sharks will face either the Chicago Blackhawks or the Detroit Red Wings next.
3. Detroit v 6. Phoenix - Detroit wins 4-0
Detroit looked like the best team in all of hockey the way they disposed of Phoenix in four games, trailing only twice in the series. The Wings played without Henrik Zetterberg for the series and Johan Franzen in Game 4 so just imagine how scary this team will be when they get somewhat healthier. The Wings will face either the San Jose Sharks or the Nashville Predators next.
4. Anaheim v 5. Nashville - Nashville wins 4-2
The Predators have finally won their first playoff series in the franchise existence and are looking to keep it going. They played a hard, physical series with the Ducks and are going to enjoy the little time off they'll have. The Preds will either face the Vancouver Canucks or the Detroit Red Wings next.
Eastern Conference
1. Washington v 8. New York Rangers - Washington wins 4-1
Washington pretty much owned the Rangers for most of this series but after the Rangers lost Game 4 in the fashion they did, you knew the series was over. And the Caps finished them off with 3-1 Game 5 win. The Caps will face either the Buffalo Sabres, the Montreal Canadiens, the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Tampa Bay Lightning.
2. Philadelphia v 7. Buffalo - Tied 3-3
These two teams have come to hate each other in this series because of all the physical play. The Flyers are lucky to have captain Mike Richards available as he escaped two dirty plays suspension free. Ryan Miller has been up and down in this series but has followed a bad game with a great game. The Flyers have used 3 goalies in this series and Brian Boucher is supposed to start tonight. I like Philly tonight given the injury problems Buffalo is facing tonight, plus the Sabres are 0-4 in road Game 7s.
3. Boston v 6. Montreal - Boston leads 3-2
The series started out with the road team winning the first four games before Boston took Game 5 at home in double overtime. If Montreal wants to stick around a little longer they'll have to play better tonight at home and get some luck. The Canadiens are one great Tim Thomas save away from being up 3-2 with the chance to close out tonight at home. That said, I see this series going to a Game 7 in Boston.
4. Pittsburgh v 5. Tampa Bay - Tied 3-3
The Penguins looked to have this series wrapped up after stealing both games at Tampa Bay, but the Lightning didn't go away quietly. They responded with a 8-2 win in Pittsburgh and again last night with a 4-2 win at home to force Game 7. You have to wonder if the Lightning have figured out Marc-Andre Fluery and have rattled his confidence. Bad news for the Pens, they're 1 for 30 on the power play this series. I like the skill and talent of Tampa in Game 7 over the grit of Pittsburgh.
With 4 series complete, I'm 4-0 with nailing 2 of the 4 on the dot. So in theory I could go a perfect 8-0 in the opening round. Check back and find out.
Western Conference
1. Vancouver v 8. Chicago - Tied 3-3
When Vancouver took a 3-0 lead eeveryone thought that this series was over and Roberto Luongo had shaken his playoff yips and all was good. Then the Blackhawks lit Luongo up for 10 goals in the next two games. That led to rookie goalie Cory Schneider sstaring Game 6 and playing well enough to keep the team in it before he got hurt. Luongo comes in, game goes to overtime and the Blackhawks win. Now Luongo is going to start Game 7 tonight and no one knows what Luongo they're going to see tonight, the siv from Game 4 and 5 or the stud from Games 1-3. I like Chicago's odds to pull this comeback off.
2. San Jose v 7. Los Angeles - SJ wins 4-2
It looked as if Los Angeles was going to force a Game 7 with the way Jonathan Quick played but unfortunately for him his defense and offense didn't support him enough. Joe Thornton sealed the series with his OT winner last night. One worry for the Sharks going on is their goalie was pulled twice in this series. The Sharks will face either the Chicago Blackhawks or the Detroit Red Wings next.
3. Detroit v 6. Phoenix - Detroit wins 4-0
Detroit looked like the best team in all of hockey the way they disposed of Phoenix in four games, trailing only twice in the series. The Wings played without Henrik Zetterberg for the series and Johan Franzen in Game 4 so just imagine how scary this team will be when they get somewhat healthier. The Wings will face either the San Jose Sharks or the Nashville Predators next.
4. Anaheim v 5. Nashville - Nashville wins 4-2
The Predators have finally won their first playoff series in the franchise existence and are looking to keep it going. They played a hard, physical series with the Ducks and are going to enjoy the little time off they'll have. The Preds will either face the Vancouver Canucks or the Detroit Red Wings next.
Eastern Conference
1. Washington v 8. New York Rangers - Washington wins 4-1
Washington pretty much owned the Rangers for most of this series but after the Rangers lost Game 4 in the fashion they did, you knew the series was over. And the Caps finished them off with 3-1 Game 5 win. The Caps will face either the Buffalo Sabres, the Montreal Canadiens, the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Tampa Bay Lightning.
2. Philadelphia v 7. Buffalo - Tied 3-3
These two teams have come to hate each other in this series because of all the physical play. The Flyers are lucky to have captain Mike Richards available as he escaped two dirty plays suspension free. Ryan Miller has been up and down in this series but has followed a bad game with a great game. The Flyers have used 3 goalies in this series and Brian Boucher is supposed to start tonight. I like Philly tonight given the injury problems Buffalo is facing tonight, plus the Sabres are 0-4 in road Game 7s.
3. Boston v 6. Montreal - Boston leads 3-2
The series started out with the road team winning the first four games before Boston took Game 5 at home in double overtime. If Montreal wants to stick around a little longer they'll have to play better tonight at home and get some luck. The Canadiens are one great Tim Thomas save away from being up 3-2 with the chance to close out tonight at home. That said, I see this series going to a Game 7 in Boston.
4. Pittsburgh v 5. Tampa Bay - Tied 3-3
The Penguins looked to have this series wrapped up after stealing both games at Tampa Bay, but the Lightning didn't go away quietly. They responded with a 8-2 win in Pittsburgh and again last night with a 4-2 win at home to force Game 7. You have to wonder if the Lightning have figured out Marc-Andre Fluery and have rattled his confidence. Bad news for the Pens, they're 1 for 30 on the power play this series. I like the skill and talent of Tampa in Game 7 over the grit of Pittsburgh.
With 4 series complete, I'm 4-0 with nailing 2 of the 4 on the dot. So in theory I could go a perfect 8-0 in the opening round. Check back and find out.
Monday, April 25, 2011
The Check Swing: Hope you didn't write the Red Sox off...
The past week of baseball has been a good one. We had a few pitchers flirt with no-hitters, including Anibal Sanchez seeking to become the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter while allowing a run since the late Darryl Kile did it. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox seemingly have their act together as they ran off a five game winning streak to end the week pulling within a game of .500. If you wrote the Red Sox off this early in the season, shame on you this team is too good to go through the entire season playing the way they did early. Still like my Red Sox-Phillies World Series prediction.
Arizona Diamondbacks: 8-12, 5.5 GB 4th NL West. Arizona's woes stems from their weak starting pitching that they're getting. D'Back pitchers have made only two quality starts in the last 13 games and Mr. Perfection, Armando Galarraga has allowed eight home runs in 21 innings pitched. Ouch.
Atlanta Braves: 11-12, 5 GB 4th NL East. The Braves spent the week making a road trip in California, starting with the Dodgers (1-2) and the Giants (3-0). The sweep of the Giants is some revenge from last year's playoffs and the Braves first sweep of the Giants since 1998.
Baltimore Orioles: 8-12, 5 GB 5th AL East. Another series with the Yankess, another rain out which led to the Yankees getting another two game sweep. Saturday's 15-3 loss gave us reason to believe that some bad blood might be brewing as Russell Martin was beaned in the 9th after hitting two home runs that night. With 14 more games to go this might not be over yet.
Boston Red Sox: 10-11, 3.5 GB 3rd AL East. The Sox went 6-1 this week and swept the Angels in LA. It would appear the Sox have this thing figured out. One of the funnier hijinks came from the Angels series when fans threw money at Carl Crawford as he stood on-deck. Crawford would get the last laugh hitting a two-run home run Sunday in a 7-0 win.
Chicago Cubs: 10-11, 1.5 GB 4th NL Central. The Chicago Cubs love being .500 in fact they love it so much their record has been; 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9 and 10-10. Only the 1915 Red Sox and 1970 Yankees have accomplished this feat, and only reached 9-9.
Chicago White Sox: 8-14, 5.5 GB 5th AL Central. To say that Ozzie Guillen isn't happy is a bit of an understatement. The team started 6-3 and now find themselves 8-14 meaning they've gone 2-11 in their last 13 games. Offense is the problem here as the Sox have been held to three runs or less in 10 of their last 13 games. Alexi Ramirez, Gordon Beckham, Adam Dunn and Alex Rios are all batting under .240 this season.
Cincinnati Reds: 11-11, 1 GB 3rd NL Central. The Reds lost Scott Rolen to the 15-day DL with a shoulder injury as cortisone shots couldn't help the third baseman. Infielder Chris Valaika was called up Sunday to take Rolen's place. Meanwhile, Mike Leake had a good start after coming back from his arrest receiving some boos with cheers and some razzing. Two fans in Bengals helmets had signs that read, "Mike Leake we gave you the bunt sign not the steal sign" and "Steal us a win Leake". Oh those Cincinnati fans.
Cleveland Indians: 13-8, 1st AL Central. The Indians had a to go this week with some AL Central foes. They went 2-2 at Kansas City and 0-2 at Minnesota. If the Indians hope to contend they'll need to be better than the 3-6 mark they're at right now vs the Central. Good news is they can improve that mark with two home series this week against KC and Detroit.
Colorado Rockies: 14-7, 1st NL West. Ubaldo Jimenez returned this week from the DL and went 0-1 in his two starts. In his start Sunday, both he and Josh Johnson flirted with no-hitters as for the second time in three games the Rockies almost were no-hit. But Dexter Fowler was in no mood for that, Friday night he ruined Anibal Sanchez's no-hitter with a 9th inning lead-off broken bat single and Sunday in the 6th he stroked a lead-off double to the gap.
Detroit Tigers: 12-10, 1.5 GB t-2nd AL Central. The Tigers for the first time this season are over .500 and did so with Victor Martinez on the DL with a groin injury. One reason for the wins is a move of Ryan Raburn to second base for offensive purposes. With Raburn at second, more at-bats opened up for outfielders Brennan Boesch and Casper Wells who are making the most of them. Justin Verlander recorded his 1,000th career strikeout and the Tigers have beaten the White Sox 9 straight times dating back to last year. Also Max Scherzer is off to a 4-0 start.
Florida Marlins: 13-7, 1.5 GB 2nd NL East. While the Marlins might be happy with the pitching their getting from Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez they can't be excited about Hanley Ramirez and his .182 batting average. Not only is he struggling but his power seems to be gone too as Ramirez has only four doubles with zero homers. The Marlins need Ramirez to return to form if they want to contend.
Houston Astros: 8-14, 4 GB 6th NL Central. The Astros scored 16 runs in their first two game in the weekend series at Milwaukee. Apparently they tired themselves out as they scored one run on five hits in Sunday's rubber match.
Kansas City Royals: 12-10, 1.5 GB t-2nd AL Central. Last week the Royals had a chance to jump the Indians for the Central lead at home. They went 2-2 and gained no ground, now they find themselves in position to do it again with a 3 game series in Cleveland starting tomorrow.
Los Angeles Angels: 12-10, 2.5 GB 2nd AL West. Jered Weaver (5-0) and Dan Haren (4-1) were the first pitchers to go 4-0 in the team's first 15 games since the 45 Tigers did it. Tonight Weaver is trying to 6-0 in his team's first 23 games, last accomplished by Randy Johnson who won six games in a similar stretch in 2002 for Arizona.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 12-11, 3 GB 2nd NL West. The Dodgers are going to be taken over and ran by the MLB. That's what happens when your owner uses the money he made for himself and doesn't put any back into the team and when he goes through a messy divorce with his wife. Good news is Andre Ethier is on a 21-game hitting streak.
Milwaukee Brewers: 11-10: 0.5 GB 2nd NL Central. Zack Greinke went 2 2/3 innings in his first rehab start and thinks he's ready to come back but the Brewers want him to make at least one more start, so he's looking at May 2-5 as his 2011 season debut. Meanwhile the Brewers have committed 7 errors all season resulting in an MLB best .991 fielding percentage. Ryan Braun was given a 5-year, $105 million contract extension.
Minnesota Twins: 9-12, 4 GB 4th AL Central. It only took the Minnesota Twins three weeks to do but they have finally won their first series of the season. In all fariness to the Twins they had split a 2-game series with KC and 4-game series with Baltimore. Still no time table for a Joe Mauer return off the DL.
New York Mets: 9-13, 6.5 GB 5th NL East. Things are starting to look up for the Mets after going 4-2 on their recent homestand. They got slugger Jason Bay back after a late July concussion knocked him out for the rest of last year and the start of this one. Bay hit his first home run on Saturday but they also lost center fielder Angel Pagan to the 15-day DL.
New York Yankees: 12-6, 1st AL East. No doubt the Yankees have to be happy with the results they've gotten from Russell Martin. He's hitting .328 with 6 HR and 16 RBI. Last year he hit .248 with 5 HR and 26 RBI. However some cause for concern is Mariano Rivera has blown two saves this week.
Oakland Athletics: 11-11, 3.5 GB AL West. The A's can't hang their hat on much except their pitching. Oakland leads the majors in pickoffs with 8, 4 coming from Brett Anderson alone. Andrew Bailey is on the rehab and could be back by early May.
Philadelphia Phillies: 15-6, 1st NL East. The Phillies could be in trouble for a while here as closer Jose Contreras landed on the 15-day DL with a right elbow strain. Ryan Madison will presumably take over the role until Contreras is ready. Still no time frame for a possible on Chase Utley.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 9-12, 2.5 GB 5th NL Central. This week the Pirates claimed Brandon Wood from the Angels and he could be the possible replacement to Ronnie Cedeno at short. Wood will be used at short, third and possibly second. In other news the Pirates have struckout a major's best 177 times or roughly 8.4 times per game. Could be a painful summer in Pittsburgh.
San Diego Padres: 8-14, 6.5 GB 5th NL West. Not much has been going right for the Padres. Their starting pitchers have combined for a 2.85 ERA in their last 17 games but in those 17 games they're only 5-12 which means the bats have struggled mightily. They scored a combined 3 runs while being swept by the Phillies this weekend in a 4 game series.
San Francisco Giants, 10-11, 4 GB 3rd NL West. A four game losing streak has the defending champs under .500 for the first time this season. Walks were the killer to the Giants this weekend as the Braves swept them in San Fran for the first time since 1998. The Giants can rebound this week with a road trip to Pittsburgh and Washington.
Seattle Mariners: 8-15, 7 GB 4th AL West. The Mariners are still struggling to score runs for Felix Hernandez as he won this week in a 1-0 game. For Felix he might have to keep teams to 2 runs or fewer if he hopes to repeat as Cy Young. The Mariners continue to have the worst record in baseball.
St. Louis Cardinals: 12-10, 1st NL Central. Albert Pujols seems to have broken out of whatever plagued him to start the season, he's hitting .250 with 7 HR and 17 RBI. He left Sunday's game with a mild hamstring strain but isn't expected to miss any time. Meanwhile, Ryan Franklin isn't winning any fans over after getting boo'ed he complained about it and he also blew a game as the set-up man. Mitchell Boggs is the new closer for the time being.
Tampa Bay Rays: 11-11, 3 GB 2nd AL East. James Shields looked impressive on Sunday throwing a complete game shutout and second consecutive complete game. After a career worst 2010 Shields is off to a 2-1 start with a 2.35 ERA. Good news for Tampa.
Texas Rangers: 14-7, 1st AL West. As if losing Josh Hamilton wasn't enough the Rangers have now lost closer Neftali Feliz to the DL with right rotator cuff inflammation. The Rangers sincerely doubt that he'll be ready to come off on the May 6th date and are being extremely cautious considering his age and value to the club. No closer has been named but Darren Oliver and Arthur Rhodes have closed games since.
Toronto Blue Jays: 9-12, 4.5 GB 4th AL East. Since starting the season 5-2 the Jays have proceeded to go 4-10. Jose Bautista is proving last year was no fluke though, he's hitting .359 with 7 HR and 10 RBI, his 7 dingers tie him for the lead with Curtis Granderson and Adrian Beltre.
Washington Nationals: 10-10, 4.5 GB 3rd NL East. With Ryan Zimmerman going on the DL, the Nats have gone 7-5 since he left. It's not bad considering the team still isn't hitting that well which also means their pitching has still been solid. Jayson Werth is still struggling hitting .200 with 3 HR and 5 RBI.
One last thought: After re-upping Braun one has to wonder if the Brewers make any move at Prince Fielder or let him walk when the season is over.
Arizona Diamondbacks: 8-12, 5.5 GB 4th NL West. Arizona's woes stems from their weak starting pitching that they're getting. D'Back pitchers have made only two quality starts in the last 13 games and Mr. Perfection, Armando Galarraga has allowed eight home runs in 21 innings pitched. Ouch.
Atlanta Braves: 11-12, 5 GB 4th NL East. The Braves spent the week making a road trip in California, starting with the Dodgers (1-2) and the Giants (3-0). The sweep of the Giants is some revenge from last year's playoffs and the Braves first sweep of the Giants since 1998.
Baltimore Orioles: 8-12, 5 GB 5th AL East. Another series with the Yankess, another rain out which led to the Yankees getting another two game sweep. Saturday's 15-3 loss gave us reason to believe that some bad blood might be brewing as Russell Martin was beaned in the 9th after hitting two home runs that night. With 14 more games to go this might not be over yet.
Boston Red Sox: 10-11, 3.5 GB 3rd AL East. The Sox went 6-1 this week and swept the Angels in LA. It would appear the Sox have this thing figured out. One of the funnier hijinks came from the Angels series when fans threw money at Carl Crawford as he stood on-deck. Crawford would get the last laugh hitting a two-run home run Sunday in a 7-0 win.
Chicago Cubs: 10-11, 1.5 GB 4th NL Central. The Chicago Cubs love being .500 in fact they love it so much their record has been; 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9 and 10-10. Only the 1915 Red Sox and 1970 Yankees have accomplished this feat, and only reached 9-9.
Chicago White Sox: 8-14, 5.5 GB 5th AL Central. To say that Ozzie Guillen isn't happy is a bit of an understatement. The team started 6-3 and now find themselves 8-14 meaning they've gone 2-11 in their last 13 games. Offense is the problem here as the Sox have been held to three runs or less in 10 of their last 13 games. Alexi Ramirez, Gordon Beckham, Adam Dunn and Alex Rios are all batting under .240 this season.
Cincinnati Reds: 11-11, 1 GB 3rd NL Central. The Reds lost Scott Rolen to the 15-day DL with a shoulder injury as cortisone shots couldn't help the third baseman. Infielder Chris Valaika was called up Sunday to take Rolen's place. Meanwhile, Mike Leake had a good start after coming back from his arrest receiving some boos with cheers and some razzing. Two fans in Bengals helmets had signs that read, "Mike Leake we gave you the bunt sign not the steal sign" and "Steal us a win Leake". Oh those Cincinnati fans.
Cleveland Indians: 13-8, 1st AL Central. The Indians had a to go this week with some AL Central foes. They went 2-2 at Kansas City and 0-2 at Minnesota. If the Indians hope to contend they'll need to be better than the 3-6 mark they're at right now vs the Central. Good news is they can improve that mark with two home series this week against KC and Detroit.
Colorado Rockies: 14-7, 1st NL West. Ubaldo Jimenez returned this week from the DL and went 0-1 in his two starts. In his start Sunday, both he and Josh Johnson flirted with no-hitters as for the second time in three games the Rockies almost were no-hit. But Dexter Fowler was in no mood for that, Friday night he ruined Anibal Sanchez's no-hitter with a 9th inning lead-off broken bat single and Sunday in the 6th he stroked a lead-off double to the gap.
Detroit Tigers: 12-10, 1.5 GB t-2nd AL Central. The Tigers for the first time this season are over .500 and did so with Victor Martinez on the DL with a groin injury. One reason for the wins is a move of Ryan Raburn to second base for offensive purposes. With Raburn at second, more at-bats opened up for outfielders Brennan Boesch and Casper Wells who are making the most of them. Justin Verlander recorded his 1,000th career strikeout and the Tigers have beaten the White Sox 9 straight times dating back to last year. Also Max Scherzer is off to a 4-0 start.
Florida Marlins: 13-7, 1.5 GB 2nd NL East. While the Marlins might be happy with the pitching their getting from Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez they can't be excited about Hanley Ramirez and his .182 batting average. Not only is he struggling but his power seems to be gone too as Ramirez has only four doubles with zero homers. The Marlins need Ramirez to return to form if they want to contend.
Houston Astros: 8-14, 4 GB 6th NL Central. The Astros scored 16 runs in their first two game in the weekend series at Milwaukee. Apparently they tired themselves out as they scored one run on five hits in Sunday's rubber match.
Kansas City Royals: 12-10, 1.5 GB t-2nd AL Central. Last week the Royals had a chance to jump the Indians for the Central lead at home. They went 2-2 and gained no ground, now they find themselves in position to do it again with a 3 game series in Cleveland starting tomorrow.
Los Angeles Angels: 12-10, 2.5 GB 2nd AL West. Jered Weaver (5-0) and Dan Haren (4-1) were the first pitchers to go 4-0 in the team's first 15 games since the 45 Tigers did it. Tonight Weaver is trying to 6-0 in his team's first 23 games, last accomplished by Randy Johnson who won six games in a similar stretch in 2002 for Arizona.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 12-11, 3 GB 2nd NL West. The Dodgers are going to be taken over and ran by the MLB. That's what happens when your owner uses the money he made for himself and doesn't put any back into the team and when he goes through a messy divorce with his wife. Good news is Andre Ethier is on a 21-game hitting streak.
Milwaukee Brewers: 11-10: 0.5 GB 2nd NL Central. Zack Greinke went 2 2/3 innings in his first rehab start and thinks he's ready to come back but the Brewers want him to make at least one more start, so he's looking at May 2-5 as his 2011 season debut. Meanwhile the Brewers have committed 7 errors all season resulting in an MLB best .991 fielding percentage. Ryan Braun was given a 5-year, $105 million contract extension.
Minnesota Twins: 9-12, 4 GB 4th AL Central. It only took the Minnesota Twins three weeks to do but they have finally won their first series of the season. In all fariness to the Twins they had split a 2-game series with KC and 4-game series with Baltimore. Still no time table for a Joe Mauer return off the DL.
New York Mets: 9-13, 6.5 GB 5th NL East. Things are starting to look up for the Mets after going 4-2 on their recent homestand. They got slugger Jason Bay back after a late July concussion knocked him out for the rest of last year and the start of this one. Bay hit his first home run on Saturday but they also lost center fielder Angel Pagan to the 15-day DL.
New York Yankees: 12-6, 1st AL East. No doubt the Yankees have to be happy with the results they've gotten from Russell Martin. He's hitting .328 with 6 HR and 16 RBI. Last year he hit .248 with 5 HR and 26 RBI. However some cause for concern is Mariano Rivera has blown two saves this week.
Oakland Athletics: 11-11, 3.5 GB AL West. The A's can't hang their hat on much except their pitching. Oakland leads the majors in pickoffs with 8, 4 coming from Brett Anderson alone. Andrew Bailey is on the rehab and could be back by early May.
Philadelphia Phillies: 15-6, 1st NL East. The Phillies could be in trouble for a while here as closer Jose Contreras landed on the 15-day DL with a right elbow strain. Ryan Madison will presumably take over the role until Contreras is ready. Still no time frame for a possible on Chase Utley.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 9-12, 2.5 GB 5th NL Central. This week the Pirates claimed Brandon Wood from the Angels and he could be the possible replacement to Ronnie Cedeno at short. Wood will be used at short, third and possibly second. In other news the Pirates have struckout a major's best 177 times or roughly 8.4 times per game. Could be a painful summer in Pittsburgh.
San Diego Padres: 8-14, 6.5 GB 5th NL West. Not much has been going right for the Padres. Their starting pitchers have combined for a 2.85 ERA in their last 17 games but in those 17 games they're only 5-12 which means the bats have struggled mightily. They scored a combined 3 runs while being swept by the Phillies this weekend in a 4 game series.
San Francisco Giants, 10-11, 4 GB 3rd NL West. A four game losing streak has the defending champs under .500 for the first time this season. Walks were the killer to the Giants this weekend as the Braves swept them in San Fran for the first time since 1998. The Giants can rebound this week with a road trip to Pittsburgh and Washington.
Seattle Mariners: 8-15, 7 GB 4th AL West. The Mariners are still struggling to score runs for Felix Hernandez as he won this week in a 1-0 game. For Felix he might have to keep teams to 2 runs or fewer if he hopes to repeat as Cy Young. The Mariners continue to have the worst record in baseball.
St. Louis Cardinals: 12-10, 1st NL Central. Albert Pujols seems to have broken out of whatever plagued him to start the season, he's hitting .250 with 7 HR and 17 RBI. He left Sunday's game with a mild hamstring strain but isn't expected to miss any time. Meanwhile, Ryan Franklin isn't winning any fans over after getting boo'ed he complained about it and he also blew a game as the set-up man. Mitchell Boggs is the new closer for the time being.
Tampa Bay Rays: 11-11, 3 GB 2nd AL East. James Shields looked impressive on Sunday throwing a complete game shutout and second consecutive complete game. After a career worst 2010 Shields is off to a 2-1 start with a 2.35 ERA. Good news for Tampa.
Texas Rangers: 14-7, 1st AL West. As if losing Josh Hamilton wasn't enough the Rangers have now lost closer Neftali Feliz to the DL with right rotator cuff inflammation. The Rangers sincerely doubt that he'll be ready to come off on the May 6th date and are being extremely cautious considering his age and value to the club. No closer has been named but Darren Oliver and Arthur Rhodes have closed games since.
Toronto Blue Jays: 9-12, 4.5 GB 4th AL East. Since starting the season 5-2 the Jays have proceeded to go 4-10. Jose Bautista is proving last year was no fluke though, he's hitting .359 with 7 HR and 10 RBI, his 7 dingers tie him for the lead with Curtis Granderson and Adrian Beltre.
Washington Nationals: 10-10, 4.5 GB 3rd NL East. With Ryan Zimmerman going on the DL, the Nats have gone 7-5 since he left. It's not bad considering the team still isn't hitting that well which also means their pitching has still been solid. Jayson Werth is still struggling hitting .200 with 3 HR and 5 RBI.
One last thought: After re-upping Braun one has to wonder if the Brewers make any move at Prince Fielder or let him walk when the season is over.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Check Swing: Indians and Royals hot early, giving fans hope.
The Check Swing is coming to you a day due to some unforeseen circumstances but is here nonetheless. The Indians, Royals and Rockies are some of the hottest teams in baseball, 2 of the 3 come as a surprise to me (hint: it's not the Rockies). So now the question becomes can all if any of them keep it up? I think the Rockies can but come July I expect the Indians and Royals to fall back down to Earth. Let's take a look at the past week's events.
Arizona Diamondbacks: 6-8, 5 GB 5th NL West. The Diamondbacks host the All-Star Game this year and it seems like every game has been a good prelude to the Home Run Derby. A total of 25 HRs have been hit there this year (15 HR allowed and 10 hit) in 9 games played. Home Run Derby should be fun this year.
Atlanta Braves: 7-10, 4 GB 4th NL East. The Braves activated starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens off the 15-day DL and sent back down Mike Minor. Jurrjens went 7 innings while giving up 2 hits in his first start, good news for the Braves if he can stay healthy.
Baltimore Orioles: 6-9, 3.5 GB 4th AL East. The fighting Showalter's are in the midst of an 8 game losing streak and are averaging just under 2.5 runs a game during this streak. The offense has been struggling, Brian Roberts is the best hitter with a .266 and no other batter qualifies with an average over .250.
Boston Red Sox: 5-10, 4.5 GB 5th AL East. The Red Sox took 3 of 4 from the Blue Jays up'ing their win total to 5. While things appear to be on the up and up, tonight's starter John Lackey is yet to make it past the 5th inning. Meanwhile, Jacoby Ellsbury leads the team in HRs with 4.
Chicago Cubs: 8-8, 1 GB t-2nd NL Central. The Cubbies find themselves in a four-way tie for second in the Central this early in the season. Starlin Castro has been on fire so far this season, kid is hitting an outstanding .408, could he be the first since Ted Williams to hit over .400?
Chicago White Sox: 7-9, 5 GB 4th AL Central. It didn't take long for Ozzie Guillen to give us what we all wanted, the famous Ozzie blow-up. His team has blown 6 saves including closer Matt Thornton blowing 4 leading Ozzie to this. He has no bullpen!
Cincinnati Reds: 9-7, 1st NL Central. Bad news for the Reds is second year pitcher Mike Leake was arrested for stealing six shirts valued at $59.88. In case you were wondering, Leake makes $425,000 a year and received a $2.3 million signing bonus. In good news, Aroldis Chapman returned after 4 days off to hit 106 MPH last night.
Cleveland Indians: 12-4, 1st AL Central. Everything seems to be going well for the Indians, they're tied with the Rockies for the best record in baseball. Hopes are so high right now that the fan base has been calling talk shows proclaiming the Indians to be buyers at the deadline. Let's pump the brakes Tribe fans, July 31st is a long way away.
Colorado Rockies: 12-4, 1st NL West. The Rockies find themselves tied for the best record in all of baseball with the Cleveland Indians largely in part due to Troy Tulowitzki. Tulo is hitting .345 with 7 HR and 14 RBI this season. No doubt the Rockies will go as he goes.
Detroit Tigers: 8-9, 4.5 GB 3rd AL Central. Justin Verlander was involved in the goofiest balk play I've seen in all my years this past weekend in Oakland. But the bad news for the Tigers is Victor Martinez, who has struggled this year hitting .250 with 2 HR and 9 RBI tweaked his groin last night and could miss serious time.
Florida Marlins: 8-6, 1.5 GB 2nd NL East. Marlins fans have to feel well after going 5-3 on a road trip that saw them play Houston, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Concerns though have to be with the struggling middle part of the order, Omar Infante at .222, Hanley Ramirez hitting .244 and Mike Stanton struggling at .194.
Houston Astros: 5-11, 4 GB 6th NL Central. Hunter Pence fouled a pitch off his face this past week but sadly no video clip has been found. The foul ball hit the ground then bounced right back up into Pence's right cheek.
Kansas City Royals: 10-6, 2 GB 2nd AL Central. Designated hitter Billy Butler has expressed his desires to play first base, his manager Ned Yost responded to this by saying he'd like to be an astronaut. With starting first baseman Kila Ka'aihue slumping bad it's only a matter of time before Butler wins out or the Royals bring up prospect Eric Hosmer.
Los Angeles Angels: 10-6, 1 GB 2nd AL West. Jered Weaver became the first pitcher in the majors to win 4 games this season. Meanwhile, the Halos are trying to resurrect Scott Kazmir's career. They placed him on the DL with back stiffness to allow him to clear his head and work his mechanical issues out in Triple-A.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 8-9, 4.5 GB 3rd NL West. The Dodgers promoted top hitting prospect Jerry Sands to try and help the struggling offense. Andre Ethier has extended his hitting streak to 15 games and Rafael Furcal broke his thumb and will be out 4-6 weeks. P.S. Matt Kemp is off the map right now hitting .459.
Milwaukee Brewers: 8-8, 1 GB t-2nd NL Central. Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks continue to lead the Brewers in batting average, home runs and runs batted in. In other news, Corey Hart is to begin his rehab stint in Triple-A Nashville.
Minnesota Twins: 6-10, 6 GB 5th AL Central. Bad news for the Minnesota Joes. Joe Mauer goes on the 15-day DL with weakness in his legs then Joe Nathan blows 2 saves and loses his job to Matt Capps.
New York Mets: 5-11, 5.5 GB 5th NL East. The Mets dropped both games of double headers this week, losing twice at home Thursday to Colorado and twice on the road Saturday to Atlanta. In those 4 games, the Mets scored 11 runs total.
New York Yankees: 9-5, 1st AL East. The Yankees lost Phil Hughes to the 15-day DL with a dead arm. In 3 starts Hughes was 0-1 with 10.1 IP and an ERA of 13.94. With Hughes gone, the Yanks hope that A.J. Burnett keeps his hot starts going. They also hope to get A-Rod back in their lineup soom but Eric Chavez has filled in nicely for him.
Oakland Athletics: 8-8, 3 GB 3rd AL West. The A's placed Dallas Braden on the 15-day DL with left shoulder stiffness and is seeking a second opinion on the prognosis, not good. In other news, Coco Crisp loves the A's throwback jerseys so much he's going throwback himself.
Philadelphia Phillies: 10-5, 1st NL East. The Phillies can't seem to avoid the injury bug in 2011. Roy Oswalt left his last start due to back spasms but shouldn't miss his next start. Now J.C. Romero left last night's game with a right calf injury and might land on the 15-day DL.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 8-8, 1 GB t-2nd NL Central. Pedro Alvarez has started the season slow, hitting .193 while leading the majors with 20 strikeouts in 57 at-bats. So the Pirates gave him Monday off in hopes of clearing his head, Alvarez is a key piece to the Pirates success or lack of it depending on how he hits.
San Diego Padres: 7-9, 5 GB 4th NL West. The Padres are off to a slow start this season, unlike last year when they started hot and fell off late. One reason for the Padres slow start is the fact that they've only won back to back games once this season, which was their first two games of the year.
San Francisco Giants: 9-7, 3 GB 2nd NL West. If you don't have the TV channel Showtime, you might want to get it. Especially if you loved HBO's Hard Knocks because Showtime is giving you the MLB equivalent in The Franchise following the Giants. Brian Wilson is quite the character, if you don't like him you will after watching this show.
Seattle Mariners: 5-12, 6.5 GB 4th AL West. I can't believe I missed this last week but the Mariners are rocking the teal throwbacks from the mid-90s when Junior and Co. reigned over the AL West. Sadly they haven't reversed the club's fortune as they own the worst record in baseball.
St. Louis Cardinals: 8-8, 1 GB t-2nd NL Central. Just as the ship seems to righting for Albert Pujols and the Cards a new leak shows up. This time it's in the form of 38-year old closer Ryan Franklin who has blown 4 saves in 5 chances. No word on if Franklin has lost the job yet.
Tampa Bay Rays: 7-9, 3 GB t-2nd AL East. The Rays are 7-3 over their last 10 thanks in large part to Johnny Damon who had some clutch hits off Joe Nathan this past week. One of those hits also gave us this near shaving cream pie gone wrong courtesy of BJ Upton.
Texas Rangers: 11-5, 1st AL West. Josh Hamilton broke his arm this past week trying to tag up on a foul ball in front of the Tigers dugout. The injury is expected to keep the reigning MVP out 6-8 weeks.
Toronto Blue Jays: 7-9, 3 GB t-2nd AL East. The Jays struggled in Boston this past weekend losing the last 3 games of the 4 game series. In the final 3 games, the Jays scored a total of 3 runs... yikes!
Washington Nationals: 8-7, 2 GB 3rd NL East. Of hitters who qualify for the stat, Danny Espinosa leads the team in batting average with a .256 average. He also leads the team with 14 RBI. But with such poor hitting it's a wonder the Nats have 8 wins. Well they have them thanks largely due to strong performances from the pitching. A team ERA of 3.44 ranks 10th in the Majors.
Arizona Diamondbacks: 6-8, 5 GB 5th NL West. The Diamondbacks host the All-Star Game this year and it seems like every game has been a good prelude to the Home Run Derby. A total of 25 HRs have been hit there this year (15 HR allowed and 10 hit) in 9 games played. Home Run Derby should be fun this year.
Atlanta Braves: 7-10, 4 GB 4th NL East. The Braves activated starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens off the 15-day DL and sent back down Mike Minor. Jurrjens went 7 innings while giving up 2 hits in his first start, good news for the Braves if he can stay healthy.
Baltimore Orioles: 6-9, 3.5 GB 4th AL East. The fighting Showalter's are in the midst of an 8 game losing streak and are averaging just under 2.5 runs a game during this streak. The offense has been struggling, Brian Roberts is the best hitter with a .266 and no other batter qualifies with an average over .250.
Boston Red Sox: 5-10, 4.5 GB 5th AL East. The Red Sox took 3 of 4 from the Blue Jays up'ing their win total to 5. While things appear to be on the up and up, tonight's starter John Lackey is yet to make it past the 5th inning. Meanwhile, Jacoby Ellsbury leads the team in HRs with 4.
Chicago Cubs: 8-8, 1 GB t-2nd NL Central. The Cubbies find themselves in a four-way tie for second in the Central this early in the season. Starlin Castro has been on fire so far this season, kid is hitting an outstanding .408, could he be the first since Ted Williams to hit over .400?
Chicago White Sox: 7-9, 5 GB 4th AL Central. It didn't take long for Ozzie Guillen to give us what we all wanted, the famous Ozzie blow-up. His team has blown 6 saves including closer Matt Thornton blowing 4 leading Ozzie to this. He has no bullpen!
Cincinnati Reds: 9-7, 1st NL Central. Bad news for the Reds is second year pitcher Mike Leake was arrested for stealing six shirts valued at $59.88. In case you were wondering, Leake makes $425,000 a year and received a $2.3 million signing bonus. In good news, Aroldis Chapman returned after 4 days off to hit 106 MPH last night.
Cleveland Indians: 12-4, 1st AL Central. Everything seems to be going well for the Indians, they're tied with the Rockies for the best record in baseball. Hopes are so high right now that the fan base has been calling talk shows proclaiming the Indians to be buyers at the deadline. Let's pump the brakes Tribe fans, July 31st is a long way away.
Colorado Rockies: 12-4, 1st NL West. The Rockies find themselves tied for the best record in all of baseball with the Cleveland Indians largely in part due to Troy Tulowitzki. Tulo is hitting .345 with 7 HR and 14 RBI this season. No doubt the Rockies will go as he goes.
Detroit Tigers: 8-9, 4.5 GB 3rd AL Central. Justin Verlander was involved in the goofiest balk play I've seen in all my years this past weekend in Oakland. But the bad news for the Tigers is Victor Martinez, who has struggled this year hitting .250 with 2 HR and 9 RBI tweaked his groin last night and could miss serious time.
Florida Marlins: 8-6, 1.5 GB 2nd NL East. Marlins fans have to feel well after going 5-3 on a road trip that saw them play Houston, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Concerns though have to be with the struggling middle part of the order, Omar Infante at .222, Hanley Ramirez hitting .244 and Mike Stanton struggling at .194.
Houston Astros: 5-11, 4 GB 6th NL Central. Hunter Pence fouled a pitch off his face this past week but sadly no video clip has been found. The foul ball hit the ground then bounced right back up into Pence's right cheek.
Kansas City Royals: 10-6, 2 GB 2nd AL Central. Designated hitter Billy Butler has expressed his desires to play first base, his manager Ned Yost responded to this by saying he'd like to be an astronaut. With starting first baseman Kila Ka'aihue slumping bad it's only a matter of time before Butler wins out or the Royals bring up prospect Eric Hosmer.
Los Angeles Angels: 10-6, 1 GB 2nd AL West. Jered Weaver became the first pitcher in the majors to win 4 games this season. Meanwhile, the Halos are trying to resurrect Scott Kazmir's career. They placed him on the DL with back stiffness to allow him to clear his head and work his mechanical issues out in Triple-A.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 8-9, 4.5 GB 3rd NL West. The Dodgers promoted top hitting prospect Jerry Sands to try and help the struggling offense. Andre Ethier has extended his hitting streak to 15 games and Rafael Furcal broke his thumb and will be out 4-6 weeks. P.S. Matt Kemp is off the map right now hitting .459.
Milwaukee Brewers: 8-8, 1 GB t-2nd NL Central. Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks continue to lead the Brewers in batting average, home runs and runs batted in. In other news, Corey Hart is to begin his rehab stint in Triple-A Nashville.
Minnesota Twins: 6-10, 6 GB 5th AL Central. Bad news for the Minnesota Joes. Joe Mauer goes on the 15-day DL with weakness in his legs then Joe Nathan blows 2 saves and loses his job to Matt Capps.
New York Mets: 5-11, 5.5 GB 5th NL East. The Mets dropped both games of double headers this week, losing twice at home Thursday to Colorado and twice on the road Saturday to Atlanta. In those 4 games, the Mets scored 11 runs total.
New York Yankees: 9-5, 1st AL East. The Yankees lost Phil Hughes to the 15-day DL with a dead arm. In 3 starts Hughes was 0-1 with 10.1 IP and an ERA of 13.94. With Hughes gone, the Yanks hope that A.J. Burnett keeps his hot starts going. They also hope to get A-Rod back in their lineup soom but Eric Chavez has filled in nicely for him.
Oakland Athletics: 8-8, 3 GB 3rd AL West. The A's placed Dallas Braden on the 15-day DL with left shoulder stiffness and is seeking a second opinion on the prognosis, not good. In other news, Coco Crisp loves the A's throwback jerseys so much he's going throwback himself.
Philadelphia Phillies: 10-5, 1st NL East. The Phillies can't seem to avoid the injury bug in 2011. Roy Oswalt left his last start due to back spasms but shouldn't miss his next start. Now J.C. Romero left last night's game with a right calf injury and might land on the 15-day DL.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 8-8, 1 GB t-2nd NL Central. Pedro Alvarez has started the season slow, hitting .193 while leading the majors with 20 strikeouts in 57 at-bats. So the Pirates gave him Monday off in hopes of clearing his head, Alvarez is a key piece to the Pirates success or lack of it depending on how he hits.
San Diego Padres: 7-9, 5 GB 4th NL West. The Padres are off to a slow start this season, unlike last year when they started hot and fell off late. One reason for the Padres slow start is the fact that they've only won back to back games once this season, which was their first two games of the year.
San Francisco Giants: 9-7, 3 GB 2nd NL West. If you don't have the TV channel Showtime, you might want to get it. Especially if you loved HBO's Hard Knocks because Showtime is giving you the MLB equivalent in The Franchise following the Giants. Brian Wilson is quite the character, if you don't like him you will after watching this show.
Seattle Mariners: 5-12, 6.5 GB 4th AL West. I can't believe I missed this last week but the Mariners are rocking the teal throwbacks from the mid-90s when Junior and Co. reigned over the AL West. Sadly they haven't reversed the club's fortune as they own the worst record in baseball.
St. Louis Cardinals: 8-8, 1 GB t-2nd NL Central. Just as the ship seems to righting for Albert Pujols and the Cards a new leak shows up. This time it's in the form of 38-year old closer Ryan Franklin who has blown 4 saves in 5 chances. No word on if Franklin has lost the job yet.
Tampa Bay Rays: 7-9, 3 GB t-2nd AL East. The Rays are 7-3 over their last 10 thanks in large part to Johnny Damon who had some clutch hits off Joe Nathan this past week. One of those hits also gave us this near shaving cream pie gone wrong courtesy of BJ Upton.
Texas Rangers: 11-5, 1st AL West. Josh Hamilton broke his arm this past week trying to tag up on a foul ball in front of the Tigers dugout. The injury is expected to keep the reigning MVP out 6-8 weeks.
Toronto Blue Jays: 7-9, 3 GB t-2nd AL East. The Jays struggled in Boston this past weekend losing the last 3 games of the 4 game series. In the final 3 games, the Jays scored a total of 3 runs... yikes!
Washington Nationals: 8-7, 2 GB 3rd NL East. Of hitters who qualify for the stat, Danny Espinosa leads the team in batting average with a .256 average. He also leads the team with 14 RBI. But with such poor hitting it's a wonder the Nats have 8 wins. Well they have them thanks largely due to strong performances from the pitching. A team ERA of 3.44 ranks 10th in the Majors.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Western Conference Quarterfinals
I already told you in the first installment that I think the San Jose Sharks will come out holding the Stanley Cup at the end of the playoffs. But I think to West has some potential for upsets, more so than the East does. Who knows for sure though, that's why they play the games on the ice and not on paper.
Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks v 8. Chicago Blackhawks: The Canucks finished as the best team in hockey winning the Presidents' Trophy. They also had to be happy see the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks on the final day of the season only to have the Stars take that joy away by failing to beat the Wild. No doubt the Canucks are better than the Blackhawks but they put some fear into you. The Sedins and the Canucks have seemingly come closer and closer to a Stanley Cup Final and if Roberto Luongo plays like he's capable of it. Ryan Kesler has elevated his game this season and the Canucks go into the playoffs relatively healthy which is always good news.
The Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup winners and almost missed the playoffs so they have to be feeling pretty lucky. They come into the playoffs missing two key players in Dave Bolland (concussion, no return date) and Troy Brouwer (right shoulder, day-to-day). They have experience with the exception of their starting goalie, Corey Crawford. Crawford played a lot more than anticipated this year, seeing action in 57 games and could be burnt out come playoffs not to mention he's never faced this kind of pressure. Ultimately the effort the Hawks put in to make the playoffs might cost them as they could be gassed.
Canucks over Blackhawks in 6.
2. San Jose Sharks v 7. Los Angeles Kings: The Sharks come into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in this thing. The Sharks have a focus that shows they're finally ready to get over the hump and have gone 27-6-4 in their last 37 games. The Sharks seems to be able to get scoring out anybody they throw out there, whether it be Thornton, Pavelski, Couture or even Kyle Wellwood. Their goalie Antti Niemi knows all about the playoffs as won the Stanley Cup last year in his first NHL playoffs ever.
The Los Angeles Kings limped into the playoffs, literally. Two of their top forward got hurt at the end of March, Justin Williams (dislocated shoulder) and Anze Kopitar (torn ankle ligaments). Williams actually could be back for the start of this series if cleared by doctors but Kopitar is lost for the season. A lot of pressure now falls on the Kings defense and goalie Jonathan Quick to keep these games low scoring if they're going to upset the Sharks. Good luck.
Sharks over Kings in 5.
3. Detroit Red Wings v 6. Phoenix Coyotes: The Red Wings have made the playoffs 20 seasons in a row now and have a rematch of last year's Quarterfinal matchup that went 7 games could easily do the same this year. The Red Wings found out that Henrik Zetterberg is out for Game 1 and probably Game 2 of this series but the worse news is he could be out for the series. The Wings need to pick up their play defensively as a team as they've been below average for their standards. They'll also need guys like Johan Franzen, Todd Bertuzzi and Dan Cleary to pick up the slack while Zetterberg is out. Jimmy Howard at one point in this series is going to have to steal a game or two to show he's ready for a long playoff run.
The Coyotes are without doubt channeling the feelings of last year's playoff exit from the hands of the Red Wings and looking for redemption. The Coyotes are healthy with no injuries or guys banged up which is good news for them. When things went right for the Coyotes in last year's matchup, they were money on the power play. They'll need to be that way again and they'll need Ilya Bryzgalov to get hot and steal this series, something the Red Wings run into every 3 years or so in the Quarterfinals.
Red Wings over Coyotes in 7.
4. Anaheim Ducks v 5. Nashville Predators: The Ducks have been playing some of the hottest hockey outside of the San Jose Sharks as they went from 11th in the West all the way up to 4th. Forward Corey Perry led the NHL in goals scoring 50 and he'll have to continue to do so if the Ducks hope to make a run. Not sure who will get the start in net for the Ducks but they have serious depth with the likes of Jonas Hiller, Dan Ellis and Ray Emery on their roster. The Ducks are lucky to have Lubomir Visnovsky as he wasn't seriously injured on a scary play last week.
The Predators are a scary matchup for anyone because of how well they play defensively and the great goaltending they get from Pekka Rinne. The bad news for Nashville is three of their forwards sat out games down the stretch due to injuries but only two of them, Martin Erat and Steve Sullivan are expected to be back for the start of this series. The defense will need to be tight and provide some scoring if they plan on advancing.
Preds over Ducks in 6.
Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks v 8. Chicago Blackhawks: The Canucks finished as the best team in hockey winning the Presidents' Trophy. They also had to be happy see the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks on the final day of the season only to have the Stars take that joy away by failing to beat the Wild. No doubt the Canucks are better than the Blackhawks but they put some fear into you. The Sedins and the Canucks have seemingly come closer and closer to a Stanley Cup Final and if Roberto Luongo plays like he's capable of it. Ryan Kesler has elevated his game this season and the Canucks go into the playoffs relatively healthy which is always good news.
The Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup winners and almost missed the playoffs so they have to be feeling pretty lucky. They come into the playoffs missing two key players in Dave Bolland (concussion, no return date) and Troy Brouwer (right shoulder, day-to-day). They have experience with the exception of their starting goalie, Corey Crawford. Crawford played a lot more than anticipated this year, seeing action in 57 games and could be burnt out come playoffs not to mention he's never faced this kind of pressure. Ultimately the effort the Hawks put in to make the playoffs might cost them as they could be gassed.
Canucks over Blackhawks in 6.
2. San Jose Sharks v 7. Los Angeles Kings: The Sharks come into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in this thing. The Sharks have a focus that shows they're finally ready to get over the hump and have gone 27-6-4 in their last 37 games. The Sharks seems to be able to get scoring out anybody they throw out there, whether it be Thornton, Pavelski, Couture or even Kyle Wellwood. Their goalie Antti Niemi knows all about the playoffs as won the Stanley Cup last year in his first NHL playoffs ever.
The Los Angeles Kings limped into the playoffs, literally. Two of their top forward got hurt at the end of March, Justin Williams (dislocated shoulder) and Anze Kopitar (torn ankle ligaments). Williams actually could be back for the start of this series if cleared by doctors but Kopitar is lost for the season. A lot of pressure now falls on the Kings defense and goalie Jonathan Quick to keep these games low scoring if they're going to upset the Sharks. Good luck.
Sharks over Kings in 5.
3. Detroit Red Wings v 6. Phoenix Coyotes: The Red Wings have made the playoffs 20 seasons in a row now and have a rematch of last year's Quarterfinal matchup that went 7 games could easily do the same this year. The Red Wings found out that Henrik Zetterberg is out for Game 1 and probably Game 2 of this series but the worse news is he could be out for the series. The Wings need to pick up their play defensively as a team as they've been below average for their standards. They'll also need guys like Johan Franzen, Todd Bertuzzi and Dan Cleary to pick up the slack while Zetterberg is out. Jimmy Howard at one point in this series is going to have to steal a game or two to show he's ready for a long playoff run.
The Coyotes are without doubt channeling the feelings of last year's playoff exit from the hands of the Red Wings and looking for redemption. The Coyotes are healthy with no injuries or guys banged up which is good news for them. When things went right for the Coyotes in last year's matchup, they were money on the power play. They'll need to be that way again and they'll need Ilya Bryzgalov to get hot and steal this series, something the Red Wings run into every 3 years or so in the Quarterfinals.
Red Wings over Coyotes in 7.
4. Anaheim Ducks v 5. Nashville Predators: The Ducks have been playing some of the hottest hockey outside of the San Jose Sharks as they went from 11th in the West all the way up to 4th. Forward Corey Perry led the NHL in goals scoring 50 and he'll have to continue to do so if the Ducks hope to make a run. Not sure who will get the start in net for the Ducks but they have serious depth with the likes of Jonas Hiller, Dan Ellis and Ray Emery on their roster. The Ducks are lucky to have Lubomir Visnovsky as he wasn't seriously injured on a scary play last week.
The Predators are a scary matchup for anyone because of how well they play defensively and the great goaltending they get from Pekka Rinne. The bad news for Nashville is three of their forwards sat out games down the stretch due to injuries but only two of them, Martin Erat and Steve Sullivan are expected to be back for the start of this series. The defense will need to be tight and provide some scoring if they plan on advancing.
Preds over Ducks in 6.
The 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
Tomorrow starts up the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Honestly, there is nothing more exciting to me than some playoff hockey. We'll take a look at the Quarterfinal matchups, break them down and predict who'll be moving on but before we do that I'm going to tell you who I have in the finals. I have the San Jose Sharks beating the Boston Bruins in 6. The Sharks have been playing some remarkable hockey since January 15th. They can score from just about every guy on the ice, they play physical and they have a goalie who won the Cup last year.
Eastern Conference:
1. Washington Capitals v 8. New York Rangers: The Capitals have caught fire as of late, so much so that they ended up surpassing the Philadelphia Flyers for first in the East. Their foe the New York Rangers snuck into the playoffs with thanks from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Obviously all signs point to the 1 seed beating the 8 seed but the Caps have been known to choke in the playoffs. Look back to last year when the 8 seeded Canadiens upset the 1 seeded Capitals. Last year the Caps got no production from guys not names Alex Ovechkin or Nicklas Backstrom, I wouldn't look for that to continue. Good news for the Caps is Mike Green has declared himself healthy to play in Game 1 after missing the last 20 regular season games.
The Rangers will need to do what they did in the 09 playoffs that allowed them to take the Caps to Game 7 in the Quarters that year. Block shots, limit Ovechkin and allow goalie Henrik Lundqvist to see the puck and steal some games. With Ryan Callahan out for likely the playoffs the Rangers are going to need Brandon Dubinsky, Vinny Prospal and Chris Drury to step up. Most importantly they'll need game changer Marian Gaborik to show up. He hasn't scored a goal since March 20th and in his last playoff appearance, 2008, he registered 1 assist in 6 games.
Caps over Rangers in 5.
2. Philadelphia Flyers v 7. Buffalo Sabres: The Flyers held the 1 seed in the East for most of the year but they failed to lock up home ice down the stretch by going 3-4-3 in their final 10 games. It's not a good sign going into the playoffs but I look for the Flyers to refocus and break out of this funk. The Fylers are expecting to get Blair Betts (knee) back for Game 1 but aren't sure about Chris Pronger (broken right hand). Last year the Flyers rode hot goalies into the Stanley Cup Finals this year they're hoping Sergei Bobrovsky can be that guy. If he's not they could turn to Brian Boucher.
The Sabres got goalie Ryan Miller back just in the nick of time. Miller has played in the team's last two games of the regular season trying to get back into form for the playoffs after suffering an upper body injury. The Sabres are also getting back forward Thomas Vanek, Vanek is going to play a key role for the Sabres if they intend to upset Philly. Buffalo has the goaltending to pull it off but their offense scares, if they can get some scoring outside of their top 2 lines they could do it, if they don't it could be a quick series.
Flyers over Sabres in 6.
3. Boston Bruins v 6. Montreal Canadiens: This series is going to be the best series in the Quarterfinals from either Conference. To say there is some bad blood between these 2 teams is a bit of an understatement. Zdeno Chara could be arrested when they go back to Montreal for his hit on Max Pacioretty. Boston goes into this series with all of their guys pretty much as healthy as can be at this point, which is good news for them. Tim Thomas who will probably win the Vezina Trophy is going start for Boston as he set the record for save percentage this year at .938. Boston lost the first 3 games and 4 of 6 to their division rival but seems to be clicking on all cylinders now.
Max Pacioretty suffered a concussion and a cracked vertebrae on March 8th from that Chara hit, Pacioretty has started skating on his own but is doubtful to return anytime soon. The Canadiens are also with defensemen Adrei Markov and Josh Gorges for all the playoffs. The Canadiens small forwards on their top 2 lines won't be deterred from hits because they're gritty guys and they're going to have to be gritty in this series if they want to advance. They can't afford anymore injuries to anyone on this team because they're already thin and they'll have to get physical otherwise Boston will hammer them often and quickly.
Bruins over Canadiens in 7.
4. Pittsburgh Penguins v 5. Tampa Bay Lightning: The Penguins go into this series without star forwards Evgeni Malkin (knee) and Sidney Crosby (concussion), but could possibly get Crosby back. Jordan Staal, Tyler Kennedy and Chris Kunitz have all stepped up since those guys went down but the Penguins need more offense than that. If they don't get it, then they'll rely heavily on Marc-Andre Fluery, the only guy who could steal the Vezina from Tim Thomas. Ironically enough Crosby hasn't played since suffering his second concussion against the Lightning on January 5th.
The Lightning posses two of the top five scorers in the NHL in Martin St. Louis (99 points) Steven Stamkos (45 goals, 91 points). They've also got guys like Vincent Lacavalier, Simon Gagne, Dominic Moore and Ryan Malone to support. GM Steve Yzerman traded for Dwayne Roloson who got so hot he took 8 seeded Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006. He can steal you a series if he's on. The Lightning will need to play better defensively as they were only a meager +7 in goal differential on the year.
Lightning over Penguins in 7.
Eastern Conference:
1. Washington Capitals v 8. New York Rangers: The Capitals have caught fire as of late, so much so that they ended up surpassing the Philadelphia Flyers for first in the East. Their foe the New York Rangers snuck into the playoffs with thanks from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Obviously all signs point to the 1 seed beating the 8 seed but the Caps have been known to choke in the playoffs. Look back to last year when the 8 seeded Canadiens upset the 1 seeded Capitals. Last year the Caps got no production from guys not names Alex Ovechkin or Nicklas Backstrom, I wouldn't look for that to continue. Good news for the Caps is Mike Green has declared himself healthy to play in Game 1 after missing the last 20 regular season games.
The Rangers will need to do what they did in the 09 playoffs that allowed them to take the Caps to Game 7 in the Quarters that year. Block shots, limit Ovechkin and allow goalie Henrik Lundqvist to see the puck and steal some games. With Ryan Callahan out for likely the playoffs the Rangers are going to need Brandon Dubinsky, Vinny Prospal and Chris Drury to step up. Most importantly they'll need game changer Marian Gaborik to show up. He hasn't scored a goal since March 20th and in his last playoff appearance, 2008, he registered 1 assist in 6 games.
Caps over Rangers in 5.
2. Philadelphia Flyers v 7. Buffalo Sabres: The Flyers held the 1 seed in the East for most of the year but they failed to lock up home ice down the stretch by going 3-4-3 in their final 10 games. It's not a good sign going into the playoffs but I look for the Flyers to refocus and break out of this funk. The Fylers are expecting to get Blair Betts (knee) back for Game 1 but aren't sure about Chris Pronger (broken right hand). Last year the Flyers rode hot goalies into the Stanley Cup Finals this year they're hoping Sergei Bobrovsky can be that guy. If he's not they could turn to Brian Boucher.
The Sabres got goalie Ryan Miller back just in the nick of time. Miller has played in the team's last two games of the regular season trying to get back into form for the playoffs after suffering an upper body injury. The Sabres are also getting back forward Thomas Vanek, Vanek is going to play a key role for the Sabres if they intend to upset Philly. Buffalo has the goaltending to pull it off but their offense scares, if they can get some scoring outside of their top 2 lines they could do it, if they don't it could be a quick series.
Flyers over Sabres in 6.
3. Boston Bruins v 6. Montreal Canadiens: This series is going to be the best series in the Quarterfinals from either Conference. To say there is some bad blood between these 2 teams is a bit of an understatement. Zdeno Chara could be arrested when they go back to Montreal for his hit on Max Pacioretty. Boston goes into this series with all of their guys pretty much as healthy as can be at this point, which is good news for them. Tim Thomas who will probably win the Vezina Trophy is going start for Boston as he set the record for save percentage this year at .938. Boston lost the first 3 games and 4 of 6 to their division rival but seems to be clicking on all cylinders now.
Max Pacioretty suffered a concussion and a cracked vertebrae on March 8th from that Chara hit, Pacioretty has started skating on his own but is doubtful to return anytime soon. The Canadiens are also with defensemen Adrei Markov and Josh Gorges for all the playoffs. The Canadiens small forwards on their top 2 lines won't be deterred from hits because they're gritty guys and they're going to have to be gritty in this series if they want to advance. They can't afford anymore injuries to anyone on this team because they're already thin and they'll have to get physical otherwise Boston will hammer them often and quickly.
Bruins over Canadiens in 7.
4. Pittsburgh Penguins v 5. Tampa Bay Lightning: The Penguins go into this series without star forwards Evgeni Malkin (knee) and Sidney Crosby (concussion), but could possibly get Crosby back. Jordan Staal, Tyler Kennedy and Chris Kunitz have all stepped up since those guys went down but the Penguins need more offense than that. If they don't get it, then they'll rely heavily on Marc-Andre Fluery, the only guy who could steal the Vezina from Tim Thomas. Ironically enough Crosby hasn't played since suffering his second concussion against the Lightning on January 5th.
The Lightning posses two of the top five scorers in the NHL in Martin St. Louis (99 points) Steven Stamkos (45 goals, 91 points). They've also got guys like Vincent Lacavalier, Simon Gagne, Dominic Moore and Ryan Malone to support. GM Steve Yzerman traded for Dwayne Roloson who got so hot he took 8 seeded Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006. He can steal you a series if he's on. The Lightning will need to play better defensively as they were only a meager +7 in goal differential on the year.
Lightning over Penguins in 7.
Monday, April 11, 2011
The Check Swing: Opening Week Full of Weirdness
The Opening Week of baseball has come and gone and has left us with weirdness on all sorts of weirdness. We had sluggers Adam Dunn and Matt Holliday both needing appendectomies, Hanley Ramirez(leg contusion, day-to-day) and Tsuyoshi Nishioka(broken leg, 15-Day DL) getting hurt on runners breaking up double plays and most notably Manny Ramirez retiring rather than serve his 100 game suspension for breaking MLB's rules on performance-enhancing drugs. Now that we got that out of the way, The Check Swing is going to breakdown every team's week.
Arizona Diamondbacks: 4-4, 2.5 GB 3rd NL West. The Diamondbacks had a rather bland week this week. They capped off their week with a big comeback on Sunday over the Reds and were snowed out earlier in Colorado.
Atlanta Braves: 4-6, 3.5 GB 5th NL East. The Braves made a trade for Dan Uggla in the offseason but it's like they've gotten bizarro Dan Uggla. His defense has superb so far this season but he's only hitting .158 with 2 HR and 2 RBI. Jason Heyward homered on his first AB of the season for the second straight year.
Baltimore Orioles: 6-3, 1st AL East. The Fighting Showalters have picked where they left off last season. This year they're doing it with their pitching, their team ERA is 3.33, team WHIP is 1.19 and opponents are hitting .219 off them. Staying healthy is important and they just lost J.J. Hardy for 2-3 weeks with a sore oblique.
Boston Red Sox: 2-7, 4 GB 4th AL East. The Red Sox are struggling to hit with runners in scoring position and Carl Crawford has been struggling period. He's hitting .132 with 1 RBI and has failed to register an extra base hit this season not to mention he's walked twice. He's hit leadoff, second, third and seventh in the lineup already.
Chicago Cubs: 4-5, 2 GB 4th NL Central. The Cubs lost their fourth and fifth starters to the DL this week. Their first three of Dempster, Zambrano and Garza all have ERAs over 5.00: 6.59, 5.25 and 5.68 respectively.
Chicago White Sox: 6-3, 1 GB 2nd AL Central. Adamn Dunn had an appendectomy and should return later this week. Jake Peavy is set to start his rehab assignment this week and could join the team by the end of the month if he has no set backs. But Ozzie is upset with his bullpen who blew 3 saves this week(Thornton 2, Sale 1).
Cincinnati Reds: 6-3, 1st NL Central. The Reds opened their season by hitting a walk off home run to win. Last year they were one of the top teams in comeback wins. Three of their five starters have an ERA of 5.25 or higher so far this season. They blew their first save of the season yesterday.
Cleveland Indians: 7-2, 1st AL Central. The Cabreras have led this team in their dominating run this week. They're doing it on both ends, offensively and defensively. Orlando is hitting .375 with 1 HR and 7 RBI while Asdrubal is hitting .316 3 HR and 9 RBI. The Indians are on a 7 game winning streak.
Colorado Rockies: 6-2, 1st NL West. After giving CarGo and Tulo big contract extensions this offseason the two are firing on all cylinders. Jhoulys Chacin and Jorge De La Rosa have been lights out so far this season. The only downside to the week is Ubaldo Jimenez with a cracked cuticle on his right thumb.
Detroit Tigers: 3-6, 4 GB 5th AL Central. The Tigers have struggled horribly this week hitting and pitching. They were dominated this weekend by Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar. But bigger concerns are their pitching. Starters Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and Brad Penny have struggled. Brad Thomas continues to show he can't pitch in close games and could be on his way out if this continues.
Florida Marlins: 5-4, 2 GB 2nd NL East. The Marlins lost stud shortstop Hanley Ramirez Friday night after Bill Hall slid in hard to breakup a double play, HanRam is listed as day-to-day. However, the Marlins didn't forget about it as they plunked Hall in Sunday's 7-1 loss. The two teams won't meet again until July 7th-10th. I don't see the bad blood carrying over until then, unless Ramirez's injury proves to be worse than a contusion.
Houston Astros: 2-7, 4 GB 6th NL Central. Bill Hall injured Hanley Ramirez on a clean play as he slid hard to break up a double play Friday night. Hall was later hit in his last AB on Sunday's game. That led to the Astros hitting Gabby Sanchez in the ninth inning of Sunday's game. Everyone on both sides denies the beanball incidents. Will bad blood carry over in their next meeting July 7th-10th?
Kansas City Royals: 6-3, 1 GB 2nd AL Central. The Royals started their season off by winning their first 4 games of the season on their last at-bats. Then they took their act on the road and won 2 of 3 from Detroit getting good outings from Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar.
Los Angeles Angels: 5-4, 3 GB 2nd AL West. The Angels blew saves in 3 out of their first 4 games prompting skipper Mike Socia to make a change in his bullpen. Fernando Rodney is now a set-up man and rookie Jordan Walden who had 1 career save before this season is the new closer. No word on if the two will reverse roles.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 5-4, 1.5 GB 2nd NL West. The Dodgers took 3 out of 4 from rivals and defending champs the San Francisco Giants to start their season but had it overshadowed by 2 fans. After their Opening Day game, 2 fans savagely attacked a Giants fan leaving the 42-year old father in critical condition with possible brain damage. Hopefully the fans are found and get what's coming to them.
Milwaukee Brewers: 5-5, 1.5 GB 2nd NL Central. The Brewers have been led by their bash brother duo of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Braun is hitting .353 with 4 HR and 8 RBI while Fielder is hitting .400 with 2 HR and 11 RBI. Chris Narveson has been a surprise for them, in his 2 starts his ERA is 0.00 with 14 Ks.
Minnesota Twins: 3-6, 4 GB 5th AL Central. The Twins lost Tsuyoshi Nishioka when Nick Swisher broke his leg on a clean double play breakup. Outside of Nick Blackburn, the Twins starting pitching has been getting roughed up. Carl Pavano, Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano have ERAs of 6.00, 6.55 and 7.71.
New York Mets: 4-5, 3 GB 3rd NL East. The Mets slumping bullpen is seeking help from call-ups Jason Isringhausen and Ryota Igarashi. What has to be more alarming is Ace of the staff Mike Pelfrey and his 15.63 ERA in 2 starts but on the bright side Chris Young has a 1.46 ERA in his 2 starts.
New York Yankees: 5-4, 1 GB 2nd AL East. Yankee fans have to be happy with the performances they've gotten out Mark Teixeira and Russell Martin. But they can't be none too happy with Phil Hughes and his 16.50 ERA in 2 starts or that they dropped 2 of 3 to the slumping Boston Red Sox.
Oakland Athletics: 4-5, 4.5 GB 3rd AL West. Gio Gonzalez has been dominating this year to start, he's 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA. The A's gave Trevor Cahill a $30.5 million 5-year extension and they took 2 of 3 from the Twins at Minnesota to end their weekend.
Philadelphia Phillies: 7-2, 1st NL East. 7 of the Phillies 8 position players are hitting over .300 this season to start and Shane Victorino is hitting .417. But the bad news is Cliff Lee is struggling with a 7.84 ERA and Brad Lidge could miss the first half of the season. No updates on Chase Utley which is even worse.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 5-5, 1.5 GB 2nd NL Central. The Pirates are 5-5 to start but whol could resist putting this up.
You stay classy Pittsburgh.
San Diego Padres: 4-4, 2 GB 3rd NL West. Aaron Harang seems to have rebounded well in San Diego while Cameron Maybin and Orlando Hudson have too. Nick Hundley is hitting a remarkable .440 this season but the best news of all is Mat Latos makes his return off the DL for the Padres.
San Francisco Giants: 4-5, 2.5 GB 5th NL West. Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval seems to be in the best shape of his life and he's playing like it. He's hitting .400 and moving well down on the hot corner. Good news for the Giants is they got closer Brian Wilson and his beard back this week.
Seattle Mariners: 2-7, 6.5 GB 4th AL West. Not much has gone right for Seattle so far this season. While Jack Wilson turned possibly the web gem of the year and Felix Hernandez has been King Felix nothing else has been positive. Wilson and manager Eric Wedge were caught in a he said he said as to who pulled Jack Wilson from Hernandez's 2nd loss. Also the Mariners have lost 7 in a row.
St. Louis Cardinals: 3-6, 3 GB 5th NL Central. Not much to be happy about in St. Louis. Adam Wainwright was lost before the season, Albert Pujols has stopped contract negotiations and now Chris Carpenter has said he would waive his no-trade clause. Oh by the way Pujols is hitting .143 with one extra base hit this season. Starting pitcher Kyle Lohse is also hitting .143 this season.
Tampa Bay Rays: 1-8, 5 GB 5th AL East. The Rays scored 1 run in 6 of their first 9 games this season. They also lost Evan Longoria to the 15-Day DL and Manny Ramirez to retirement. They'll miss Longoria greatly while he's gone but won't be so sad to see ManRam and his 1 for 17 leave. Ben Zobrist has 2nd best average of all players who qualify with a .147 this season.
Texas Rangers: 8-1, 1st AL West. Nelson Cruz became the third player in history to hit 4 home runs in his first 4 games, joining the likes of Willie Mays and Mark McGuire. Just about everything has gone right for Texas to start. Alex Ogando has made fans forget about losing out on Cliff Lee with his performances this season. And the Rangers as a team have a 2.48 team ERA with opponents hitting .199 this season.
Toronto Blue Jays: 5-4, 1 GB 2nd AL East. Ricky Romero and Kyle Drabek have made quite the 1-2 punch this season. Each have 1 win and respective ERAs of 1.32 and 1.38 while posting 12 Ks each. Jose Bautista is hiting for a much better average this early in the season, hitting .364 with 2 HR. The Jays did strand 18 runners in their 14 inning loss on Saturday.
Washington Nationals: 4-5, 3 GB 3rd NL East. Many critics didn't think Danny Espinosa would hit well this season, so far he's off to a .280 start with 1 HR and 5 RBI. Jayson Werth, the Nats big signing of the offseason is off to a slow start of .200 with 1 HR and 1 RBI. He should turn it around, they hope.
Check back next week for The Check Swing.
Arizona Diamondbacks: 4-4, 2.5 GB 3rd NL West. The Diamondbacks had a rather bland week this week. They capped off their week with a big comeback on Sunday over the Reds and were snowed out earlier in Colorado.
Atlanta Braves: 4-6, 3.5 GB 5th NL East. The Braves made a trade for Dan Uggla in the offseason but it's like they've gotten bizarro Dan Uggla. His defense has superb so far this season but he's only hitting .158 with 2 HR and 2 RBI. Jason Heyward homered on his first AB of the season for the second straight year.
Baltimore Orioles: 6-3, 1st AL East. The Fighting Showalters have picked where they left off last season. This year they're doing it with their pitching, their team ERA is 3.33, team WHIP is 1.19 and opponents are hitting .219 off them. Staying healthy is important and they just lost J.J. Hardy for 2-3 weeks with a sore oblique.
Boston Red Sox: 2-7, 4 GB 4th AL East. The Red Sox are struggling to hit with runners in scoring position and Carl Crawford has been struggling period. He's hitting .132 with 1 RBI and has failed to register an extra base hit this season not to mention he's walked twice. He's hit leadoff, second, third and seventh in the lineup already.
Chicago Cubs: 4-5, 2 GB 4th NL Central. The Cubs lost their fourth and fifth starters to the DL this week. Their first three of Dempster, Zambrano and Garza all have ERAs over 5.00: 6.59, 5.25 and 5.68 respectively.
Chicago White Sox: 6-3, 1 GB 2nd AL Central. Adamn Dunn had an appendectomy and should return later this week. Jake Peavy is set to start his rehab assignment this week and could join the team by the end of the month if he has no set backs. But Ozzie is upset with his bullpen who blew 3 saves this week(Thornton 2, Sale 1).
Cincinnati Reds: 6-3, 1st NL Central. The Reds opened their season by hitting a walk off home run to win. Last year they were one of the top teams in comeback wins. Three of their five starters have an ERA of 5.25 or higher so far this season. They blew their first save of the season yesterday.
Cleveland Indians: 7-2, 1st AL Central. The Cabreras have led this team in their dominating run this week. They're doing it on both ends, offensively and defensively. Orlando is hitting .375 with 1 HR and 7 RBI while Asdrubal is hitting .316 3 HR and 9 RBI. The Indians are on a 7 game winning streak.
Colorado Rockies: 6-2, 1st NL West. After giving CarGo and Tulo big contract extensions this offseason the two are firing on all cylinders. Jhoulys Chacin and Jorge De La Rosa have been lights out so far this season. The only downside to the week is Ubaldo Jimenez with a cracked cuticle on his right thumb.
Detroit Tigers: 3-6, 4 GB 5th AL Central. The Tigers have struggled horribly this week hitting and pitching. They were dominated this weekend by Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar. But bigger concerns are their pitching. Starters Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and Brad Penny have struggled. Brad Thomas continues to show he can't pitch in close games and could be on his way out if this continues.
Florida Marlins: 5-4, 2 GB 2nd NL East. The Marlins lost stud shortstop Hanley Ramirez Friday night after Bill Hall slid in hard to breakup a double play, HanRam is listed as day-to-day. However, the Marlins didn't forget about it as they plunked Hall in Sunday's 7-1 loss. The two teams won't meet again until July 7th-10th. I don't see the bad blood carrying over until then, unless Ramirez's injury proves to be worse than a contusion.
Houston Astros: 2-7, 4 GB 6th NL Central. Bill Hall injured Hanley Ramirez on a clean play as he slid hard to break up a double play Friday night. Hall was later hit in his last AB on Sunday's game. That led to the Astros hitting Gabby Sanchez in the ninth inning of Sunday's game. Everyone on both sides denies the beanball incidents. Will bad blood carry over in their next meeting July 7th-10th?
Kansas City Royals: 6-3, 1 GB 2nd AL Central. The Royals started their season off by winning their first 4 games of the season on their last at-bats. Then they took their act on the road and won 2 of 3 from Detroit getting good outings from Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar.
Los Angeles Angels: 5-4, 3 GB 2nd AL West. The Angels blew saves in 3 out of their first 4 games prompting skipper Mike Socia to make a change in his bullpen. Fernando Rodney is now a set-up man and rookie Jordan Walden who had 1 career save before this season is the new closer. No word on if the two will reverse roles.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 5-4, 1.5 GB 2nd NL West. The Dodgers took 3 out of 4 from rivals and defending champs the San Francisco Giants to start their season but had it overshadowed by 2 fans. After their Opening Day game, 2 fans savagely attacked a Giants fan leaving the 42-year old father in critical condition with possible brain damage. Hopefully the fans are found and get what's coming to them.
Milwaukee Brewers: 5-5, 1.5 GB 2nd NL Central. The Brewers have been led by their bash brother duo of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Braun is hitting .353 with 4 HR and 8 RBI while Fielder is hitting .400 with 2 HR and 11 RBI. Chris Narveson has been a surprise for them, in his 2 starts his ERA is 0.00 with 14 Ks.
Minnesota Twins: 3-6, 4 GB 5th AL Central. The Twins lost Tsuyoshi Nishioka when Nick Swisher broke his leg on a clean double play breakup. Outside of Nick Blackburn, the Twins starting pitching has been getting roughed up. Carl Pavano, Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano have ERAs of 6.00, 6.55 and 7.71.
New York Mets: 4-5, 3 GB 3rd NL East. The Mets slumping bullpen is seeking help from call-ups Jason Isringhausen and Ryota Igarashi. What has to be more alarming is Ace of the staff Mike Pelfrey and his 15.63 ERA in 2 starts but on the bright side Chris Young has a 1.46 ERA in his 2 starts.
New York Yankees: 5-4, 1 GB 2nd AL East. Yankee fans have to be happy with the performances they've gotten out Mark Teixeira and Russell Martin. But they can't be none too happy with Phil Hughes and his 16.50 ERA in 2 starts or that they dropped 2 of 3 to the slumping Boston Red Sox.
Oakland Athletics: 4-5, 4.5 GB 3rd AL West. Gio Gonzalez has been dominating this year to start, he's 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA. The A's gave Trevor Cahill a $30.5 million 5-year extension and they took 2 of 3 from the Twins at Minnesota to end their weekend.
Philadelphia Phillies: 7-2, 1st NL East. 7 of the Phillies 8 position players are hitting over .300 this season to start and Shane Victorino is hitting .417. But the bad news is Cliff Lee is struggling with a 7.84 ERA and Brad Lidge could miss the first half of the season. No updates on Chase Utley which is even worse.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 5-5, 1.5 GB 2nd NL Central. The Pirates are 5-5 to start but whol could resist putting this up.
You stay classy Pittsburgh.
San Diego Padres: 4-4, 2 GB 3rd NL West. Aaron Harang seems to have rebounded well in San Diego while Cameron Maybin and Orlando Hudson have too. Nick Hundley is hitting a remarkable .440 this season but the best news of all is Mat Latos makes his return off the DL for the Padres.
San Francisco Giants: 4-5, 2.5 GB 5th NL West. Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval seems to be in the best shape of his life and he's playing like it. He's hitting .400 and moving well down on the hot corner. Good news for the Giants is they got closer Brian Wilson and his beard back this week.
Seattle Mariners: 2-7, 6.5 GB 4th AL West. Not much has gone right for Seattle so far this season. While Jack Wilson turned possibly the web gem of the year and Felix Hernandez has been King Felix nothing else has been positive. Wilson and manager Eric Wedge were caught in a he said he said as to who pulled Jack Wilson from Hernandez's 2nd loss. Also the Mariners have lost 7 in a row.
St. Louis Cardinals: 3-6, 3 GB 5th NL Central. Not much to be happy about in St. Louis. Adam Wainwright was lost before the season, Albert Pujols has stopped contract negotiations and now Chris Carpenter has said he would waive his no-trade clause. Oh by the way Pujols is hitting .143 with one extra base hit this season. Starting pitcher Kyle Lohse is also hitting .143 this season.
Tampa Bay Rays: 1-8, 5 GB 5th AL East. The Rays scored 1 run in 6 of their first 9 games this season. They also lost Evan Longoria to the 15-Day DL and Manny Ramirez to retirement. They'll miss Longoria greatly while he's gone but won't be so sad to see ManRam and his 1 for 17 leave. Ben Zobrist has 2nd best average of all players who qualify with a .147 this season.
Texas Rangers: 8-1, 1st AL West. Nelson Cruz became the third player in history to hit 4 home runs in his first 4 games, joining the likes of Willie Mays and Mark McGuire. Just about everything has gone right for Texas to start. Alex Ogando has made fans forget about losing out on Cliff Lee with his performances this season. And the Rangers as a team have a 2.48 team ERA with opponents hitting .199 this season.
Toronto Blue Jays: 5-4, 1 GB 2nd AL East. Ricky Romero and Kyle Drabek have made quite the 1-2 punch this season. Each have 1 win and respective ERAs of 1.32 and 1.38 while posting 12 Ks each. Jose Bautista is hiting for a much better average this early in the season, hitting .364 with 2 HR. The Jays did strand 18 runners in their 14 inning loss on Saturday.
Washington Nationals: 4-5, 3 GB 3rd NL East. Many critics didn't think Danny Espinosa would hit well this season, so far he's off to a .280 start with 1 HR and 5 RBI. Jayson Werth, the Nats big signing of the offseason is off to a slow start of .200 with 1 HR and 1 RBI. He should turn it around, they hope.
Check back next week for The Check Swing.
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