Monthly Archives: May 2007

Posted by Dan

When the season started, and Alex Rodriguez hit 14 HR in the month of April, my first reaction was “Finally, that will shut up the useless New York media and he’ll get the credit he is due as maybe the best player of this generation.” But, upon thinking about it, I realized that when he stops hitting a HR every 6 ABs, they are going to be all over him again. In fact, I want to go on record and predict that when he doesn’t hit 6 HR in the first round of the MLB playoffs, the media will call him Mr. April and say he still can only produce when it doesn’t count.

Also, check this link out for a sweet story

http://homerderby.com/archives/446

Posted by Steve

…If Roger Clemens faces Daisuke Matsuzaka this season.  We might as well pencil the Yankees into the playoffs now that they have their 44-year old $28 million savior, but first things first.  Will anyone be able to escape the death grasp of the hype machine if The Rocket ever faces Dice-K?

The sports world pretty much stopped when Clemens melodramatically unveiled himself to adoring fans at Yankee stadium.  Sportscenter devoted its first 15 minutes or so to the story, and prognosticators are already making their predictions on how Clemens will perform in pinstripes.

Once you get past the fact that his name is Roger Clemens, the humor of this signing is evident.  Clemens had a great season last year, but he really isn’t more than a six-inning pitcher at this point.  The Yankees are on pace to destroy their bullpen by August, and they paid someone who has two complete games in the last six seasons a boatload of money.  Take into account his age and his switch to the A.L., and there is no way he’s worth half of the 28 mil, even in baseball terms.  I just don’t see him as a savior the way some do.

Posted by Dan

But if there was, one of the games best would be making his debut tomorrow, S.F. Giants Super Prospect Tim Lincecum. Lincecum has simply dominated the Pacific Coast League, to the tune of a 0.29 ERA and 0.74 WHIP. In 31 innings, he has struck out 46 and walked 11. The Pacific Coast League is considered to be a hitters league as well, making those numbers even more outstanding. Interestingly enough, there is another pitcher making PCL hitters look nearly as foolish as Lincecum, and his name is Yovanni Gallardo. The Brewers prospect is the current owner of a 2.70 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP in 30 innings. He’s also struck out 42 and walked just 8. Despite the fact the Brewers pitching staff is pitching very well right now, (5th in MLB with a 3.49 ERA) it will be tough to leave Gallardo in Nashville for the entire season.

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball features Lincecum’s start tomorrow night, and you’ll also get some timeless commentary from Joe Morgan.

Posted by Dan

Something I found interesting, that you may not have seen anywhere since it is just not being covered, is that Red Sox Hero Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched terribly today vs Seattle. 5 Innings, 7 Earned, 1 K, 5 BB. The interesting part is that it is not on the ESPN page, or, if you click on “MLB” it’s not on the MLB Front Page either. I don’t care and will gladly go without constant “Dice-K” updates, but if he had pitched well, I’m sure it would be the ESPN Main Headline, giant picture and constant Baseball Tonight Updates from John Kruk. The only reason I even found out he pitched terribly is because I wanted to see how a couple of guys did in that game for fantasy purposes.

Also, in the same Fantasy Football Draft lottery as Stev-o, I lucked into the 11th pick for the second year in a row. Looking way ahead, and overstepping my bounds by writing about Fantasy Football, I dont mind picking there. I obviously miss out on LT, Stephen Jackson and Larry Johnson, but I can get two guys who I have in my top 14 which is pretty good. I mean, I made the playoffs last year taking Randy Moss (Rd. 3) and Daunte Culpepper (Rd. 6), so I think that proves my fantasy prowess. Either that or totally disproves it because I drafted those guys in the first place. You decide.

Posted by Steve

I don’t even feel like I should talk about the Brewers right now, as if acting like they aren’t playing great will make it continue. As you were, Wisconsinites. Nothing to see here… Just the same old crappy Brewers. We’re just messing around.

But anyways. It scares me to think that the Brewers already have the best record in the bigs, and they have the Pirates and Nats coming to town. I keep thinking back to last year’s eight-game losing streak which included sweeps by each of these two teams.

On the other hand, it’s a different year and a different team. I like the pitching match-ups this series, and three straight lefties should get Bill Hall going again. There’s no reason to think J.J. Hardy won’t continue to mash either.

I’m expecting to see Good Dave Bush tonight at home coming off a poor start.   Turnbow and Cordero are rested, but it would be nice to give the rest of the pen a day off.  Seven strong from Bush, then Turnbow and Cordero sounds about right to me.

In other news, add Mike Piazza to the list of walking-wounded players on my fantasy team.  With two more injured players than DL spots, I was forced to drop Piazza.  Whatever.  At least I just won the first pick in our fantasy football lottery (LT! LT!).

Posted by Steve