Apr
30
2009
News from around the league…
Alex Rodriguez is playing in his first rehab game today under some more drama. Selena Roberts of SI.com is no alleging that ARod used steroids when he was in High School as well as with the Yankees. For what it is worth, Jose Canseco agrees with Robert’s report. ARod is supposed to be addressing the media after the game.
Zack Grienke’s scoreless streak went away yesterday in the first inning, but the Royals still pulled out a win and he improved to 5-0. He is the first one to 5 wins in the MLB, although Johan Santana (3-1) and Dan Haren (2-3) both have legitimate claims to be 5-0 if their team hadn’t blow games / give no run support.
Jonathan Van Every was a star for the Red Sox last night making a great catch to save the game late and then hitting a HR in the 10th to win it against the Indians.
In the Yankees - Tigers game, a fan pulled the fire alarm causing the announcement of “please exit the stadium” alerts. The fans started to walk out but then less than a minute later it was deemed false and play resumed. It was odd to say the least, but the fans did it orderly and it was not chaos at all for that half a minute. Speaking of the game, Joba Chamberlain took the mound against young phenom Rick Porcello. Joba came to pitch, throwing 7 innings and getting the win after the Yankees pounded Porcello out of the game and won 8-6. Mariano gave us a scare giving up some runs in the 9th, but a win is a win.
Edinson Volquez dominated the Astros only giving up 1 hit in 8 innings. He is looking like last year was not a fluke.
Johan Santana had yet another win blown for him. JJ Putz blew the game in the 8th with a 3-2 lead, which Johan left with. He gave up 2 runs in the 8th and blew it, what a surprise.
Apr
29
2009
News from around the league…
Patrick Schuster, the High School pitcher with 4 no hitters in a row, lost his consecutive hitless streak by giving up a solid double in the 3rd inning of his last game. The record was 6 no hitters in a row done twice. He has committed to the University of Florida, but will consider going straight to the draft. Interesting note, Scott Kazmir also threw 4 no hitters in a row in High School.
Yovani Gallardo pitched a gem today, going the distance giving up no runs. They won 1-0. How did they score? Off a Gallardo HR, he did it all today for the Brew Crew.
The Mets bullpen is back to screwing up wins for starters. Johan Santana threw a great game today, going 7 strong, only giving up 2 runs in the first and left with the lead (3-2). JJ Putz came in and walked the first 2 hitters, then after a sac bunt, a single scored 2 to blow the win for Johan.
Hanley Ramirez is likely to return Thursday after being hit on the wrist by a John Maine fastball.
The Nationals traded a minor leaguer for recently DFA’ed Marlins reliever Logan Kensing. The Nationals are trying to find anyone who can come in and relieve. He pitched 55 IP last year for the Marlins so he has some experience.
The Yankees have lowered tickets for some of the premium seats that are not being filled. People who bought into the high prices won’t be mad, as they will receive tickets for free. To view the pricing changes, click this link.
Zack Grienke pitches tonight trying to increase his scoreless, unearned run streak to keep his ERA at 0.00. He hasn’t given up an earned run in 43 innings. He pitches against the Blue Jays tonight. He is the front runner in the AL CY Young at this point, but we are only a month into the season.
Great young pitching matchup tonight: Joba Chamberlain vs. Rick Porcello
Apr
28
2009
News from around the league….
CC Sabathia pitched less than desired last night giving up 4 runs in 8 innings in another Yankees loss. Phil Hughes gets his first start this year in replace of Chien Ming Wang. Hopefully newly added Mark Melancon can add a nice arm to the Yankees bullpen. Hey, he can’t be any worse than anyone else they got! A-Rod could be taking BP very soon, and is needed back because Cody Ransom is now on the 60 day DL.
Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez both hit Grand Slams in another Phillies comeback victory against the Nationals. It was a HR fiest for sure; Nick Johnson, Adam Dunn, and Elijah Dukes also went yard in the 13-11 loss.
Hanley Ramirez got hit by a pitch by John Maine last night. A 95 MPH fastball to the wrist, he left the game. He is day to day
Dexter Fowler, a leading candidate for NL ROY, stole 5 bases last night. The record is 6 by Eric Young, but this kid has a great future.
Dan Haren continued his great start, pitching a CG, giving up 3 hits, 2 runs, and struck out 10. He finally got some run support to improve to 2-3, but he has a 1.53 ERA. If he can get his wins up, it should be a nice CY Young race between him and Johan Santana.
2 top premier closers are trying to stay off the DL; Brad Lidge and Jose Valverde. As this news comes out, another closer comes off the DL in Trevor Hoffman who nailed down his first save last night for the Brewers
Apr
28
2009
News from around the league….
CC Sabathia pitched less than desired last night giving up 4 runs in 8 innings in another Yankees loss. Phil Hughes gets his first start this year in replace of Chien Ming Wang. Hopefully newly added Mark Melancon can add a nice arm to the Yankees bullpen. Hey, he can’t be any worse than anyone else they got! A-Rod could be taking BP very soon, and is needed back because Cody Ransom is now on the 60 day DL.
Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez both hit Grand Slams in another Phillies comeback victory against the Nationals. It was a HR fiest for sure; Nick Johnson, Adam Dunn, and Elijah Dukes also went yard in the 13-11 loss.
Hanley Ramirez got hit by a pitch by John Maine last night. A 95 MPH fastball to the wrist, he left the game. He is day to day
Dexter Fowler, a leading candidate for NL ROY, stole 5 bases last night. The record is 6 by Eric Young, but this kid has a great future.
Dan Haren continued his great start, pitching a CG, giving up 3 hits, 2 runs, and struck out 10. He finally got some run support to improve to 2-3, but he has a 1.53 ERA. If he can get his wins up, it should be a nice CY Young race between him and Johan Santana.
2 top premier closers are trying to stay off the DL; Brad Lidge and Jose Valverde. As this news comes out, another closer comes off the DL in Trevor Hoffman who nailed down his first save last night for the Brewers.
Albert Pujols and Mike Lowell were named Players of the Week.
Apr
26
2009
News from yesterdays slew of games…
The Yankees and Red Sox had a pitchers duel between Josh Beckett and AJ Burnett. I said Pitchers duel, the final score??? 16-11. Both starters gave up 8 runs. The Yanks were up 6-0, but the Red Sox came back with a Jason Varitek Grand Slam and Ellsbury HR. After that, the Red Sox took control, but the game was close up until the 8th when the Red Sox pulled away. Today is the final game with Andy Pettite vs. Justin Masterson. Boston has won 9 straight now, and it is up to Masterson to make it 10. For my team sakes, I hope they start a losing streak of 1!
Albert Pujols yesterday hit another grand slam, his second on the season. It pushed him past 1000 career RBIs and put him at 25 RBI on the year already. He is clearly the best player in the game, surpassing A-Rod (that’s if you thought A-Rod was better to begin with).
Trevor Hoffman is off the DL and will be the Brewers closer. They have desperately needed him since the season begun.
James McDonald, former #1 prospect of the Dodgers earned his first MLB win last night going 5 innings, but gave up 5 runs. They won 8-5 so he got the win, but wasn’t exactly pretty.
Mike Pelfrey did something amazing yesterday. Got a win for the Mets not being named Johan Santana.
Alex Rodriguez is about to start running the bases. I hope he comes back soon, I can’t stand watching Cody Ransom and Ramiro Pena continue to suck it up.
Randy Johnson did not pitch well against his former team, walking 7 and not getting out of the 4th. The Giants pulled out a win though.
Apr
25
2009
Lots of news to cover from yesterdays ball games!
Johan Santana pitched strong yesterday pitching 6 innings, with 10 strikeouts. He gave up 1 run on his first home run given up this year. KRod held down the game barely giving up a 2 run HR to make the game interesting at 4-3 but he got it done. Johan is now 3-1 with a sub 1.00 ERA.
The first Yankees / Red Sox game did not disappoint. The game went into extras and was ended by a Youkilis HR. The game was a lock in the 9th with Rivera coming into a 4-2 game, but Jason Bay hit a 2 run bomb to deep center field to tie it up. Joba pitched decently, but I hope he can continue to throw pitches because his ERA as a starter is low.
Tim Lincecum pitched like his old self, striking out 12 in 7 IP. The Giants won 5-1.
Zack Grienke continued his lightning hot start. He improved to 4-0. His scoreless streak broke after giving up an unearned run. He still has a 0.00 ERA in his starts. He threw 108 pitches and a complete game.
Brandon Webb is being shut down for 3 weeks. He is having shoulder tightness problems. He has been on the DL since opening day so this is even more of a set back. He is looking for a new contract soon, so this only hurts him.
The Phillies stunned the Marlins last night with a huge 9th inning. The Marlins were up 2-0 in the 9th and brought in their flamethrowing closer, Matt Lindstrom. He did not expect what happened next. The Phillies scored 7 runs in the 9th, notably on a Shane Victorino Grand Slam and then a Chase Utley solo HR. It should be noted that 6 of the Phillies 7 wins this year, are comeback wins.
CM Wang has been placed on the DL, despite throwing 7 IP the other day and striking out 11. He is diagnosed with “weak muscles in the hips”.
Yovani Gallardo pitched nicely last night, throwing a complete game, allowing only 2 runs. He only gave up 5 hits, and struck out 7 in 106 pitches. He is needed to become their ace after losing Sheets and CC to free agency.
Cole Hamels wants to make his next start on Tuesday.
Briann McCann is likely heading to the DL, he is having vision problems.
Apr
24
2009
Some news to start of the day….
The Yankees and Red Sox start their first series of the year and it should be a good one. Joba Chamberlain gets the start tonight instead of CM Wang. The good news is that Wang did pitch in a minors game and struck out 11 in 7 innings.
Johan Santana gets the start tonight. Hopefully he adds another win to his belt, he is the only good pitcher the Mets have so far, starters wise. Too bad the Mets can’t have him pitch for every game here on out.
Dave Bush took a no-no into the 8th inning yesterday until Matt Stairs hit a Hr. The Brewers still won though 6-1. Cole Hamels was hit by a Prince Fielder line drive and was taken out. It is being called a contusion. He expects to make his next start on Tuesday.
1. A HS pitcher has thrown 4 no hitters in a row. He is thinking about skipping college and entering the Draft, he does have a 90 mph fastball and is lefty I think. The record is 6 no hitters in a row.
2. A 12 year old girl pitched a perfect game in little league. She got on Sportscenter today as the #7 top play. I am not biased at all, but I don’t think this is a HUGE accomplishment. No I never threw a perfect game, had a slew of no hitters, but the few highlights they showed of the games, the other team was just a team of oversized 12 year olds with no ability. Not taking anything away from her since she overpowered them, but it isn’t like they were all stars.
3. A HS softball pitcher has thrown, if I remember correctly 21 perfect games.
Felix Hernandez pitch amazingly well and won the game against the Rays, who had James Shields on the mound. He gave up a lone Hr to Ichiro and that was the game, 1-0.
Luis Vizcaino was dropped by the Cubs. He will be owed over 3 MM but they did trade Jason Marquis for him, so in essence instead of paying 10 MM for Marquis, now it is only about 5 MM.
Pedro is going to begin throwing on mounds tomorrow, so who will sign him? No one until he lowers his price! Although I can see a team panicking when some starts go down (Angels, Cardinals, Mets, etc) who will come in just because of his experience and lack thereof of good arms on the FA market.
Apr
23
2009
Cole Hamels was hit today on a Prince Fielder line drive. It hit his left pitching arm, it is being called a contusion right now. More info tomorrow. In the same game, Dave Bush took a no hitter into the 8th until Matt Stairs hit a 2 run HR.
Apr
23
2009
Some news from yesterdays games…
More jersey woes, this time in Texas. Darren O’Day who was picked up yesterday had a rough day. He flew straight to Texas and then was supposed to head to the hotel but was called to come to the field since the game was in extras. He arrived in the 10th inning, and then was used in the 11th. He did end up giving up the GW run, but the odd part was his jersey. The team didn’t have a jersey for him, so he wore Kason Gabbard’s jersey!
The Red Sox won both of their games in a day night doubleheader. The first game was cancelled after 7 in order to clear the park for the next game (it was in a long rain delay after the 7th). Teams may complain, but they were up 10-1.
The Yankees and A’s played 14 innings yesterday. The Yankees had the best chance to break the 7-7 tie when they had bases loaded no outs in the 7th and Ros Springer got out Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter. Melky got his revenge as he hit a 2 run HR to win the game in the 14th.
Oddly enough, there were 5 shutouts yesterday and a slew of extra inning games.
Barry Zito looked like the Zito who signed a 126 MM deal years ago. He pitched 7 scoreless innings, but the game went into extras and he got the ND. Bengie Molina got the game winning hit in a pinch hit role.
Joel Piniero improved to 3-0 after defeating the Mets yesterday. He is looking like the old Joel, which is needed for the Cardinals to compete after losing Chris Carpenter.
Manny Ramirez hit an absolute bomb yesterday, hitting it OVER the Citgo sign at Minute Maid Park, and oh yeah, it went COMPLETELY over the train tracks and out of the park.
Are the Indians willing to trade Cliff Lee after an awful start? I can see them trying to make a deal like they did with CC, but they won’t get a prospect like LaPorta back in the deal…
Apr
22
2009
Another rainy day around the country calls for some delays and messy games…here are some rumors / injuries and more.
Darren O’Day was picked up by the Rangers. He was released by the Mets who got him in the rule 5 draft from Anaheim. They need all the help they can get in their bullpen, which is why they called up their #2 pitching prospect phenom, Derek Holland to pitch in the bullpen.
Matt Holliday has mentioned that he would like to play for a NY team. It is likely that he will not resign with the A’s, and that is if he does not get traded midseason to a contender.
The Dodgers are showing interest in Mark Mulder. They have had some SP problems before the season and now face some injuries. I am not sure what he can do now, but worth a shot. I would like them to sign Pedro Martinez, but he is still wanting 5 MM when in these times he should be happy with 1-2 MM max.
Despite some rumors, Miguel Cabrera is not being traded by the Tigers.
In one of todays games, CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and allowed 7 runs. He will get a No Decision, it is currently 7-7 in the top of the 8th.
