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2011 MLB Preview: National League West

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MlbHlSqHome to the reigning World Series champions, the NL West ended up being a two-horse race in 2010, with the Padres just missing out at the last.  The Giants’ subsequent postseason success should be a great incentive to their division rivals, both in terms of showing what is possible and in making the rest just that little more determined to knock the Giants back down.

2010 standings (Team, win-loss record)

1. San Francisco Giants. 92-70 * World Series champions
2. San Diego Padres. 90-72
3. Colorado Rockies. 83-79
4. Los Angeles Dodgers. 80-82
5. Arizona Diamondbacks. 65-97

The 2010/11 Offseason

The Giants inched past the Padres to set them on course to a World Series championship in 2010 and they look well-placed to get back to the postseason again in 2011.  They haven’t done a great deal over the offseason; their main efforts have involved keeping hitters Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell and Cody Ross.  However, their challengers have not taken significant strides forward to chase the Giants down.

In the Padres’ case, they’ve gone the other way by losing their best player.  First baseman Adrian Gonzalez was traded to the Boston Red Sox for a host of prospects, which should be good news for the future but is liable to see the Padres drop back a bit in 2011.  The Rockies invested heavily in signing young stars Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez to multi-year contracts and brought back free-agent starting pitcher Jorge de la Rosa.  These are all good moves that will help to keep the team in contention for the foreseeable future, but they don’t obviously make the 2011 Rockies a tougher proposition compared to the 2010 team.

The Dodgers are still in limbo as a result of their owners’ bitter divorce proceedings and they had a quiet offseason as a result, although they retain enough talented players to potentially get into the division race if things fall right.  In contrast, the D-Backs continued down the rebuilding road by trading third baseman Mark Reynolds to the Baltimore Orioles and allowing Adam LaRoche and one-time ace Brandon Webb to depart as free agents. 

Returning stars

Without wishing to downplay their batting heroes, San Francisco’s World Series triumph lived up to the age-old theory that quality pitching often proves to be the difference-maker.  The Giants’ staff will once again catch the eye, led by two-time Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and the extrovert closer Brian Wilson.  Catcher Buster Posey may be coming off his rookie year, but he already looks the type of talent who can lead a team, while the ‘Kung Fu Panda’ Pablo Sandoval has lost some weight over the offseason and will look to bounce back from what was personally a disappointing year in 2010.

The Rockies’ hopes, both now and in the future, revolve around their three young stars: starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, shortstop Troy Tulowizki and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.  The exciting young pitching talent in the NL West continues with the Padres’ Mat Latos, who was outstanding in his first full season last year.  Heath Bell is one of the best closers in the business and he plays an important role as a veteran of the Padres’ pitching staff, something that new recruits Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson will look to do on the postition-player side too.

In Los Angeles, their crop of young talent has reached the stage where they now need to turn promise and potential into a playoff run.  James Loney, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp all need to produce in 2011, with Kemp in particular coming off what was for him a below-par year.  Clayton Kershaw has established himself as one of the best young starters around alongside Chad Billingsley, while closer Jonathan Broxton needs to restore his confidence (and the Dodgers’ confidence in him) after a nervy second half to 2010.  Hard-throwing reliever Kenley Jansen is one to keep an eye on from a European perspective.  He was the Netherlands’ catcher in the 2009 World Baseball Classic before the Dodgers turned his rocket-arm over to pitching, to stunning immediate effect. 

As for the Diamondbacks, they are hoping that Ian Kennedy and Dan Hudson can build on their promising 2010 seasons in the rotation.  The team was let down badly by a historically terrible bullpen and closer J.J. Putz has been recruited as part of the process of building a group of relievers that provide relief rather than panic and misery.  Right-fielder Justin Upton has all of the tools to be a star and this might just be the year he takes a big step forward, while centre-fielder Chris Young and second baseman Kelly Johnson will provide plenty of power in the lineup

Managers

Kurt Gibson took over in Arizona on an interim basis midway through the 2010 season and he is now in charge on a full-time basis.  In L.A., Don Mattingly steps out from Joe Torre’s shadow following the latter’s retirement.  Bruce Bochy (Giants), Jim Tracy (Rockies) and Bud Black (Padres) all return for another season.

Contenders?

Should be: Giants, Rockies

Could be: Padres, Dodgers,

Won’t be: D-Backs

The Giants will be at the front of the battle. From there it’s a case of whether the Rockies can make up ground from 2010 and if the Padres can cover for the loss of Gonzalez.

A busy early January in MLB

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MlbHlSqIt has been a busy start to 2011 as the early days of January have produced a number of notable bits of transaction news in MLB.

Beltre joins the Rangers

The news-making started in Texas, where the Rangers didn’t leave their ‘Cliff Lee’ money in the bank for long.  They used some of the cash that would have gone to the Phillies’ new recruit to sign Adrian Beltre to a 5 year deal worth $80m (just a shade under £200k per week for the duration of the contract), with a $16m option for a sixth year on top. 

Beltre turned down some multi-year offers twelve months ago and signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox with the aim of having a big year and getting a better deal.  As so often happens with clients of agent Scott Boras, the plan worked out perfectly (well, arguably almost perfectly as the Red Sox’s signing of Adrian Gonzalez took them out of the equation of re-signing the third baseman.  Their involvement in the bidding process may have lead to a guaranteed sixth year).

It’s a nice upgrade for the Rangers as he figures to put up some good offensive numbers in Texas and is far superior with the glove than Michael Young at the hot corner, although quite how much of an upgrade it will be overall depends on what value they get out of Young as a DH/utility infielder. 

This is the third time Young has been moved from a position to accommodate someone else by the Rangers; not the typical way a sports team would treat their captain.  For all of the qualities he does bring to a team, defensive excellence at one position isn’t one of them.  This latest move is a pragmatic decision and Young appears to accept it as such. 

Will the Yankees be quite so pragmatic with Derek Jeter and will their captain be so obliging when the time comes?  I’m not convinced.

Knock-on effect for the Angels

The above move had the added benefit for the Rangers of taking away another target from their division rivals the L.A. Angels (the A’s also put a strong bid in for Beltre, for the second year in a row, but the player’s apparent reluctance to join Oakland made that interest seem almost inconsequential).  First Carl Crawford, then Beltre: this offseason isn’t going the Angels’ way so far.  Continue reading →

2010 Season Review: NL West

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MlbHlSqWe’re going to look back at each of the six Major League divisions one-by-one over the next six weeks.  We start with the home of the 2010 World Series champions.

BaseballGB predictions

Joe Dodgers
Mark Rockies (WC: Dodgers)
Matt Rockies
Russ Rockies (WC: Giants)
Steve Rockies

 

San Francisco Giants (92-70)

The Giants’ World Series triumph was an incredible story.  Their pitching staff was certainly ‘World Series worthy’, yet the offence was patchy at best for much of the season and they were not your typical dominant force defeating all-comers on the road to glory.  They pushed past the Padres midway through September and almost came unstuck in the final series of the season, only securing their playoff place with a win over San Diego on the final day.

It was almost a case of their great pitching going to waste.  Instead, they snuck into the postseason and then rode the crest of a wave all the way to the big prize.  

The question then is can this relatively unfancied World Series-winning team retain their title in 2011?  The pitching staff is likely to be just as good, while Buster Posey is a fantastic young player to build an offence around.  Some would say that if this 2010 Giants team can win a World Series then there are plenty of others good enough to win it all in 2011.  That may be true, but it’s also true that the Giants will be one of those teams in the mix.   Continue reading →

Saturday’s early MLB games: Phillies-Braves and Padres-Giants lead the way

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The last Saturday of the 2010 MLB regular season brings us seven ‘early’ games starting before midnight UK time.  There are four to choose from at 18.10, then three at 21.10.

All times are in BST

18.10. Toronto at Minnesota (Shaun Marcum – Brian Duensing)

The Twins were the first team to clinch a postseason berth, wrapping up the AL Central back on 21 September.  They’ve been able to rest some of their regulars in preparation for a tilt at the World Series; however during that time they’ve also gone on a bad losing sequence, including a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays last night. 

Clearly the Twins haven’t turned into a lesser team and the ALDS will immediately reignite their competitive spirit, but Ron Gardenhire will surely be hoping that his team can finish the season with two wins to take away the possible distraction of people talking about their poor form heading into the playoffs. 

18.10. Milwaukee at Cincinnati (Chris Capuano – Homer Bailey)

Casey McGehee’s infield single in the eleventh inning sent Milwaukee to a 4-3 victory yesterday and has put Cincinnati on course for an NLDS against either the Philadelphia Phillies or the NL West winner.  The Reds had a 9-1 season record over the Brewers heading into this series, but are now 5-5 over their last ten games.

18.10. Washington at NY Mets (Yunesky Maya – Raul Valdes)

Not a match-up to whet the appetite of non-Nationals or Mets fans, if we’re being honest.  In fact the game may also seem incidental against the backdrop of the continuing rumblings about the futures of the Mets’ General Manager Omar Minaya and Manager Jerry Manuel.

The Mets’ scheduled starter will provide a reminder of one of Minaya’s biggest mistakes. Reliever Raul Valdes is set to make a rare start because their only other option is Oliver Perez, he of the 3 year/$36m panic contract from the 08/09 offseason.  The Nationals will send the Cuban Yunesky Maya out for his fifth Major League start.  He’s 0-3 so far with a 6.43 ERA and he conceded four runs in five innings against the Mets on his debut on 7 September.

18.10. Colorado at St. Louis (Ubaldo Jimenez – Kyle Lohse)

It’s been a disappointing end to the season for these two teams, both of whom hoped to be in the playoff mix and are now playing out the string with nothing but pride and personal achievements on the line.  The main personal achievement in the offing today involves the Rockies’ starter.  Jimenez was landed with a loss against Dodgers last time out, so he’s now trying to get to twenty wins in his final start of what’s been an outstanding season.  

21.10. Philadelphia at Atlanta (Vance Worley – Tommy Hanson)

The Braves still have work to do if they are to send off manager Bobby Cox in style.  The Phillies beat the Braves 11-5 yesterday, ensuring that it will be another nervy day at Turner Field with the team on the verge of clinching the NL Wild Card.  Tommy Hanson is exactly the pitcher they would want on the mound today.  His 10-11 record doesn’t look like much, but every baseball fan knows that win-loss records only give you a very broad idea of how a season has gone.  He is 1-0 over his last four starts, but in the three no-decisions he conceded just three runs in 20.2 innings. 

As for the Phillies, the last piece in their playoff preparation jigsaw was for Jimmy Rollins to return from injury and to start swinging the bat well.  His grand slam yesterday suggests he’s firmly on his way back.  With Ryan Howard and Chase Utley over their mid-season injuries and their triple-headed starting monster of Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels in ominous form, few would be surprised if the Phillies make it all the way back to the World Series for a third straight year.

21.10. San Diego at San Francisco (Tim Stauffer – Barry Zito)

It’s all come down to this final series in the NL West.  The Giants need just one more win to clinch the division, but there’s no such thing as ‘just’ one more win in that situation.  The Padres came out with a do-or-die attitude yesterday and kept their hopes alive with a 6-4 victory, albeit with the Giants rallying from 6-0 down. 

The playoff picture in the National League is a bit complicated (all the permutations are explained on MLB.com here), but for the Padres and Giants today the goal is simple: win the game.  The home fans at AT&T Park will be in full voice, if not perhaps full of confidence with Barry Zito taking the mound.  Indeed the Giants themselves didn’t show great confidence in Zito yesterday as they pushed Matt Cain into Zito’s scheduled starting slot to try and wrap up the division.  Since July 21, Zito has a 5.01 ERA over fourteen appearances (thirteen starts and one extra-inning relief appearance).

21.10. NY Yankees at Boston (Andy Pettitte – Tim Wakefield)

The rain was the winner yesterday at Fenway Park, setting up a double-header today.  Currently the plan is for Andy Pettitte to start the opener and Yankee fans will be watching intently as the team admitted a couple of days ago that Pettitte had pitched through a back problem last time out. 

All the above games can be followed via various resources on MLB.com (Gameday, At Bat with Gameday Audio and MLB.tv).  A complete schedule of MLB games can be found on MLB.com

Saturday’s early MLB games: Division races continue

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CovHlSqThere are five games beginning before midnight UK time today. 

The A’s and Twins start us off at 18.10 before four games get underway at 21.10.  They include the Twins’ AL Central rivals and battles involving teams from each division in the National League.

All times are in BST.

18.10. Oakland at Minnesota (Dallas Braden – Kevin Slowey)

The A’s beat the Twins 3-1 yesterday, although the Tigers’ win over the White Sox meant that Minnesota maintained their nine game lead in the AL Central.  Braden pitched superbly against the Rangers back on 28 August (a complete game shutout) to level his win-loss record at 9-9 but has suffered three straight losses since then, never making it through six complete innings.  He’ll be looking for a better performance today.  As for Slowey, he’s pitched well, if not going deep into games, in his two starts since coming off the DL.

21.10. Detroit at Chicago White Sox (Justin Verlander – Lucas Harrell)

The always combative Ozzie Guillen will not be prepared to concede the Central to the Twins just yet, but the White Sox’s recent poor form has all but ruled them out of making the postseason.  Chicago has won only two of their last ten games and  their current losing streak was extended to four games last night after Max Scherzer tied them up in knots as the Tigers prevailed 9-2.  Today’s pitching match-up heavily favours Detroit as well.  Harrell makes the start in place of the injured Freddy Garcia.

21.10. Colorado at LA Dodgers (Jhoulys Chacin – John Ely)

Never rule out the Rockies.  They’re on yet another September surge and are now just 1.5 games behind the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants after winning the series-opener against the Dodgers yesterday.  The Rockies host the Giants for three games over 24-26 September, so if they can take some more games from the Dodgers and the D-Backs in the run-up to that series, they could put themselves in pole position: a real turnaround from only a couple of weeks ago. 

Chacin has been a useful addition to the Rockies’ rotation, although he lasted only four innings against the D-Backs last time out.  Ely filled in for Vicente Padilla against the Astros last Saturday and is expected to pitch again today.  This game is presumably one of the FOX offerings, so expect plenty of chatter about Don Mattingly’s transition to being the Dodgers’ manager in 2011 and speculation about Joe Torre’s plans for next year.

21.10. Atlanta at NY Mets (Tim Hudson – Dillon Gee)

With the Phillies riding a five-game winning streak, the Braves are now three games behind in the NL East and have just a 1.5 game lead over San Diego in the Wild Card race.  Time to start winning some games.  Tim Hudson has had a terrific season for the Braves and has become another example of a pitcher returning strongly after Tommy John surgery.  The Mets are having another disappointing season and, frankly, there doesn’t appear to be much fight left in them.  However, a young starter like Gee has every reason to give his all and to make a good impression.  He’s given up just one run in his two starts, although he has walked seven batters over those thirteen innings.

21.10. San Diego at St. Louis (Chris Young – Jeff Suppan)

Yesterday’s game couldn’t have gone much worse for the Padres.  Mat Latos was chased by the Cards after just 1.1 innings having given up eight earned runs.  Not only did that put them in a hole that they couldn’t recover from, they lost 14-4, a short start was the last thing the Padres needed as Chris Young is not expected to work very deep into today’s game.  He has made only one Major League start this season, back on 6 April, and has been working his way back from a shoulder injury.  The Cardinals trail the Reds by six games in the NL Central and might still feel they have an outside chance of causing an upset and winning the division at the last.  Needless to say, both teams will be desperate to win this one to keep their postseason hopes alive.

All the above games can be followed via various resources on MLB.com (Gameday, At Bat with Gameday Audio and MLB.tv).  A complete schedule of MLB games can be found on MLB.com

Weekly Hit Ground Ball: Senior Circuit Superiority

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WhgbHlSq2010 may well be a banner year for the National League.

There’s no doubt that the American League, the so-called Junior Circuit, has been the stronger of the two in recent years.  It’s been fairly even in terms of World Series winners over the last ten years, with the AL shading it 6-4, but if we stretch that out to 1991 then the National League falls back to 6-12 (no World Series was played in 1994). 

Additionally, the AL has been seen as the stronger competition overall, not least in the shape of a team like the Toronto Blue Jays of 2006-07 who were probably good enough to win a National League division in both years, but didn’t even make the postseason due to the AL competition they were up against.

And then there was the All-Star Game.  Prior to this year’s Mid-Summer Classic, the National League hadn’t won the annual get-together since 1996.  A single exhibition game each year doesn’t really tell you anything about the respective strengths of the two leagues, but that didn’t make the run any less annoying to National League fans.

So when the Atlanta Braves’ Brian McCann doubled home three runs for the National League All-Star team on 13 July and led his team to a 3-1 victory, one part of the AL’s dominance was pushed to one side.  Continue reading →

Out of Left Field: Hair!

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MLBLogoHowdy! Looking for your (semi-regular) fix of the weird and wonderful from the fine old sport of baseball? Well, lucky you! You’ve come to the right place. We might be reaching the ‘business end’ of the season, with pennant races and all that on the horizon, but let us not forget that there is more to baseball than that. Take my (virtual) hand, as I guide you through this week’s more interesting stories…

This week’s major story in the Out of Left Field offices has to be legendary broadcaster Vin Scully discovering the mullet. Sadly, this wasn’t in the barber’s chair as he looked at himself in the mirror, but still, this is clearly a major development. During Wednesday’s Rockies/Dodgers game he spent some time discussing Troy Tulowitzki, and in particular, Tulowitzki’s hair.

After ascertaining that Troy’s mullet was not a fish, Scully explored the matter further. He didn’t seem to reach a truly satisfactory conclusion, however, stating, “Ah… alright now… so it’s just a lot of hair, the mullet?” which while factually correct doesn’t really articulate the full majesty of this particular hairdo. Knowing Scully he will soon be conjuring up a wonderful turn of phrase to describe ‘the mullet’.

In all honesty, I’m kind of surprised he hasn’t come across this haircut before. I mean, professional baseball has not been afraid of bad hairstyling decisions in the past, has it? But then again, maybe this just illustrates the timelessness of Vin Scully. Here is a man who commentated on the 1953 World Series, after all. Incredible. I hope there are many, many more hair styles he gets to commentate on.

Has all this hair talk whetted your appetite for more fashion news? I bet it has! And I’ve got just the story for you. The Tampa Bay Rays have introduced the “BRayser”.

In case you hadn’t guessed, it is combination of “Rays” and “Blazer”, and boy is it a sight to behold, with some incredible, big, bold checks. It is also mandatory dress for the team this weekend. This should be some real motivation for all players in professional baseball. If you can put together one of the best records in the whole of Major League Baseball, you can wear a stupid jacket too!

I guess it could be worse. Season’s surprises the San Diego Padres have put in an incredible performance this year. Yet, they are being rewarded (if that’s the word…and frankly it’s not) by their team hosting a football match between Chivas USA and Chivas from Mexico, which means not only will the field get damaged, but the mound will have to be removed and then rebuilt. For a team that relies on its pitching staff, this isn’t the best move, eh? Still, let me make a prediction right here and now. Chivas will win the game.

And now on to this column’s favourite long-haired pitcher, Tim Lincecum – yes, this week’s column is developing into some kind of ‘hair special’. Hence the title. For the slower readers out there. This week Lincecum went that extra yard for the fans, climbing atop a bin to speak to them and sign autographs. Most players just let security guards hand items from fans to them, so thumbs up Tim for yet again being one of the good guys and just seeming like a normal, fun person. I heart him. I really do.

And I leave you with, quite possibly, the best catch ever. The hair, however, is average.

See you soon, folks!

Saturday’s early MLB games: A-Rod has 600 in his sights

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Dugout scuffles in Seattle, Kelly Johnson hitting for the cycle, trade talks heating up over Dan Haren: yesterday was a typically action-packed day in the Majors and you can expect more of the same today. 

There are five early games to enjoy live in the British evening.  All times are in BST. 

18.05. Kansas City at NY Yankees (Kyle Davies – Sergio Mitre)

This series is being dominated by Alex Rodriguez’s quest for career home run number 600 and the presence of Kyle Davies has many expecting the milestone to be reached today.  Davies was on the mound when Rodriguez hit his 500th home run in August 2007 and a little under three years later, the symmetry-loving baseball gods have conspired to place him in a potentially historic situation yet again, one that he would prefer not to be a part of.  Sergio Mitre begins his stint as Andy Pettitte’s substitute in the Yankee rotation today.  The trade rumours surrounding the Yankees suggest that they don’t expect him to be in that position for too long, but it’s up to Mitre to put together a string of good starts to change their mind.

18.05. St. Louis at Chicago Cubs (Blake Hawksworth – Tom Gorzelanny)

The Cubs shut-out the Cardinals in the only day game yesterday.  WGN broadcasters Len Kasper and Bob Brenly noted that due to the luck of the schedule, the Cubs will only have to face one of the Cardinals’ three top pitchers (Chris Carpenter tomorrow night) in this series and they need to take advantage of the situation.  They did that yesterday by beating Jeff Suppan, although they didn’t beat him quite as badly as the first two innings suggested they would, with Suppan struggling to find the strike zone early and the wind howling out at Wrigley.  Hawksworth is another unheralded pitcher that the Cubs need to attack. Gorzelanny has recorded three straight wins for the Cubs, but he walked twelve batters in those three games and if he keeps giving out free passes, his luck will soon run out.

21.10. Chicago White Sox at Oakland (Freddy Garcia – Vin Mazzaro)

Mark Buerhle pitched a gem for the White Sox yesterday, giving up just four hits and one run over nine innings as Chicago won the series opener 5-1.  That landed Trevor Cahill with a hard-luck loss and if another of the A’s young starters, Vin Mazzaro, can put on a  repeat performance of Cahill’s strong showing today, the A’s will fancy their chances of levelling the series.  Mazzaro’s recent form suggests there’s a good chance he’ll do just that: he’s 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA from his three starts in July and, just as importantly, he’s given the A’s at least 7 innings each time.

21.10. NY Mets at LA Dodgers (Mike Pelfrey – Carlos Monasterios) * ESPN America

If yesterday’s contest between these two was any indication, this game is going to be eventful.  The Mets’ manager Jerry Manuel was thrown out of the game in the second inning and his team responded by making a series of spectacular fielding plays, coupled with Ike Davis taking Vicente Padilla’s ridiculously slow ‘eephus’ pitch into the seats for a home run.  The Dodgers’ bullpen imploded yet again as the Mets ran out 6-1 winners, snapping a four-game losing streak and adding to L.A.’s woes in what has been a testing period for the team since the All-Star break.  ‘Encore’, bellows the crowd!

21.10. Colorado at Philadelphia (Ubaldo Jimenez – Kyle Kendrick)

The Phillies chucked their ace at Colorado in the series opener yesterday and Roy Halladay was his normal outstanding self, pitching eight scoreless innings as Philadelphia won 6-0.  The Rockies will look at today’s starting pitcher match-up and think that the shoe will now be on the other foot.  However, over his last few starts, Jimenez has not been the unhittable monster that we saw back in April and May.  Now’s the time for him to re-find that form. As for the Phillies, Kyle Kendrick was sent down to the minors earlier this week, but an injury to the ‘Old Man of the Majors’ Jamie Moyer has given him a stay of execution.

All the above games can be followed via various resources on MLB.com (Gameday, At Bat with Gameday Audio and MLB.tv).  ESPN America is showing Mets-Dodgers from 21.00. A complete schedule of MLB games can be found on MLB.com

Saturday’s early MLB games: After the madness

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It’s a daily ritual of mine, and many other UK baseball fans as well I’m sure, to get my breakfast ready and then log on to MLB.com to catch up on all that happened while I was asleep the night before.

This morning I logged on to a headline story of ‘Freaky Friday: Wild night in The Show has it all’, summing up the night’s play as including “A four-base error. A birthday walk-off. A nasty collision at home plate. An inside-the-park homer that wasn’t. Infield fly confusion. Friday had everything but the kitchen sink”.

Knowing MLB, we’ll probably get the kitchen sink today.  Maybe it will appear in one of the eight early games that begin before midnight UK time?  Details of those games are provided below, with start times in BST, alongside how you can follow the action. Any iPhone/iPod Touch owners who have purchased the MLB At Bat app can watch all of the games this weekend for free on their device.

18.05. LA Dodgers at Washington (Clayton Kershaw – Craig Stammen)
18.10. San Diego at Cincinnati (Wade LeBlanc – Johnny Cueto)
18.10. Atlanta at NY Mets (Jair Jurrjens – Jonathon Niese)
21.05. Cleveland at Oakland (Fausto Carmona – Brett Anderson)
21.10. NY Yankees at LA Angels (Andy Pettitte – Joel Pineiro)
21.10. Seattle at Chicago White Sox (Doug Fister – Freddy Garcia)
22.10. Florida at Colorado (Nate Robertson – Aaron Cook)
23.10. Toronto at Tampa Bay (Ricky Romero – Jeff Niemann) 

A Clayton Kershaw start is always worth watching and the Dodgers need a big performance from him today after being dealt several blows yesterday, with Manny Ramirez heading to the 15-day DL (a blow to my spluttering, to put it politely, fantasy team as well) and Adam Dunn smacking two homers against them in a 1-5 loss to the Nationals.  Meanwhile the Dodgers’ NL West rivals the San Diego Padres are the form team in the Majors having won seven in a row. Can they make it eight straight today?

Series between the Braves and Mets normally produce plenty of drama and last night’s opener suggests this series will be no exception.  Rookie Ike Davis hit his first Big League bomb for New York and Chipper Jones made an odd error to let another run across as the Mets won 5-2.  Netherlands pitcher Jair Jurrjens starts for the Braves today.

Lastly, I’ll be watching my A’s at 21.05 as they aim to improve to 12-7. Brett Anderson takes the mound at the Coliseum today against Fausto Carmona after the A’s beat the Tribe 10-0 yesterday.

All the above games can be followed via various resources on MLB.com (Gameday, At Bat with Gameday Audio and MLB.tv), while ESPN America is broadcasting the Yankees-Angels game. A complete schedule of MLB games can be found on MLB.com.

MLB 2010 Predictions

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MlbHlSqThe long offseason is almost over, teams only have a few Spring Training games left to play and many of the roster decisions have now been made.  The 2010 Major League season begins on Sunday (early hours of Monday for us in the UK) and it’s set to be another fantastic year of baseball.

So, it’s time to make some predictions.  As always, none of us really knows what is going to transpire over the next six months, which is precisely why it’s so much fun.  Five of us have picked out the division winners and wild cards from the regular season and then took a shot at how we think the postseason may unfold.  There’s a bit of personal bias in there, while Steve has decided to pick out the teams who have perhaps been undervalued by bookies and pundits alike.

Feel free to pass on your own predictions in the comments section below.  Continue reading →