Let's jump right in with the hottest/most surprising team in the division:
Everyone's been talking about Adrian Gonzalez: whether he'll be traded, to whom, for how much, etc. All this buzz might generate more All-Star talk than his 2010 performance has garnered, but just based on his walks and reputation, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a vote just to be polite. Meanwhile, across the diamond, Chase Headley has been productive, but I don't know about All-Star caliber.
Aside from a couple of very impressive ERA's (Jon Garland's 1.71 and Wade LeBlanc's 1.61), the Friars pitchers have been generally underwhelming. Closer Heath Bell (9 saves, 1.20 ERA) might very well get a nod over the brilliantly-performing relief staff, both long (Tim Stauffer) and middle (Luke Gregerson), the game's true unsung heroes.
Quite frankly, no one on the Giants offense deserves a second look. But their pitchers are a different story: Tim Lincecum's basically a lock, with his miniscule 1.71 ERA and league-leading 64 K's. Barry Zito has an impressive ERA (1.91), but hasn't missed nearly as many bats. Even Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez are putting up impressive numbers, but, again, probably nothing All-Star worthy. Closer Brian Wilson is throwing hard, and with 34 spots, there's more room than ever for an extra one-inning guy.
The only real no-brainer for the Dodgers is Andre Ethier who's currently leading the league in triple-crown categories - in fact, I'll be surprised if he doesn't start in right field. Matt Kemp got off to a good start, but has since slowed down, and apparently stopped trying. Manny's hitting close to .400, and if he can stay hot since coming off the DL, he'll have a shot too. On the pitching side, Hiroki Kuroda's been lights out and Jonathan Broxton has struck out about a bathousand-per-nine-innings, so I wouldn't be surprised if we heard "Iron Man" blaring out of Anaheim's PA system at some point on 7/13/10.
Wow, the Rockies' offense sure fell asleep, huh? The only one with even decent numbers is Carlos Gonzalez, who has a bunch of RBIs and a fair average, but little power/speed. Top brass won't have any trouble filling that one-spot quota, as Ubaldo Jimenez (and his 0.93 ERA) is basically guaranteed a spot - he might even compete with reigning Cy Young-er Tim Lincecum to start the game.
A couple of big power threats hang out in Arizona: surprising 2B Kelly Johnson and 3B Mark Reynolds are tied (with Ethier) for the league lead with 10 HR apiece. Surprisingly enough, Reynolds (who set a major league record with 223 K's last year) doesn't even have the most on his team - he currently trails RF Justin Upton (45 to 42). With Dan Haren struggling, Brandon Webb on the DL, and their bullpen in the midst of an epic collapse, one of the previous two batters will have to go to Anaheim.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
It's a bigger All-Star Game, but Who's Playing???
The 2010 All-Star Game will be bigger than any before it, at least Roster-ically speaking. Rosters have been expanded to 34 players, allowing for yet another pitcher just in case we get stuck in one of those embarrassing 7-7 tie (2002) or another 15-inning nailbiter (2009). The fans will continue to vote on the final player, as they have since 2002... except back then they were voting for the 30th member of the squad.
That's all well and good. If the powers that be want to make more people All-Stars, so be it. Pregame introductions will just take a little bit longer. And certain players will be getting more bonuses for being named All-Stars. Which will force owners to pay more to players, which could cause ticket prices to rise. Whatever. Not like that hasn't been the trend for the past decade...
With the ever-expanding roster, the convention of including at least one All-Star from each team won't be enough. I'd say that once the rosters reach 40, they'll have to amend it to include at least two All-Stars per team. But that's all speculation.
Seeing as the current rule still stands, I'd like to take some time and evaluate each roster for the players most likely to be selected by Messrs. Girardi and Manuel to back up the fans' selections. A month-and-a-half into the season's not too early for such an evaluation, right? I mean, it's not too early to vote on the actual All-Star starters, so there you go.
Let's start with the host team, the Anaheim (they're in Anaheim, so that's what we'll call them) Angels, and their division, the AL West.
Offensively for Anaheim, there's only one candidate: 1B Kendry Morales. Bobby Abreu hasn't taught him how to walk yet, a feat he supposedly performed on teammates Chone Figgins (last year) and Erick Aybar (this year). But he's got 7 home runs and a team-high .821 OPS (just edging Torii Hunter's .820). On the mound, Jered Weaver looks like a pretty strong candidate with a 2.66 ERA and a K/BB ratio of 4.70. New closer Fernando Rodney has been deceptively unimpressive (2.87 ERA, 0.91 K/BB) thus far.
Texas has a few batters that would be good fits. Elvis Andrus: defensive whiz of a shortstop, speedster (13 SB), walks as much as he strikes out (21/22) - no sophomore slump for this ROY-runner-up. Vladimir Guerrero has a chance now that every ASG (even when the NL hosts) will now feature a starting DH; fans love a good comeback story featuring a gimpy 35-year-old with bad knees who drives in runs (26). And Nelson Cruz has an OPS over 1.000 (he'll likely be recovered from his hamstring strain by Friday).
C.J. Wilson, in his first season as a full-time starter, has avoided giving up too many runs (1.51 ERA), but that's mostly due to his not having given up a home run yet, as his peripherals aren't great. His successor in the bullpen - phenom Neftali Feliz - has 9 saves and has struck out nearly 10 batters per nine innings.
The Oakland A's's anemic offense doesn't deserve to send anyone to the ASG this year. Their pitching is a different story. Dallas Braden has all but earned his spot with a WHIP under 1.000 and a perfect game under his belt. Their next most consistent starter, Brett Anderson, might have landed a spot (2.35 ERA) had he not been placed on the DL after just 4 starts. And closer Andrew Bailey hasn't allowed a run yet (fingers crossed, knock on wood) over 11+ innings and 6 saves.
I don't know how much they usually reward defense in the ASG, but Mariners CF Franklin Gutierrez (who's mostly known for his glovework) is also getting on base at close to a .400 clip this year. Ichiro has stolen 9 bases, but hits only singles (.326 avg, .388 slg). Doug Fister's such a surprise/no-name that I wouldn't be surprised if he was passed up this year (despite his league-leading 0.881 WHIP). If Cliff Lee continues to pitch well (he's made only 2 starts this year due to injury) his name recognition could propel him above his more-deserving teammate.
There's my prognosis. I'd be surprised if the West is represented by anyone not among this group. Anyone want to take bets?
That's all well and good. If the powers that be want to make more people All-Stars, so be it. Pregame introductions will just take a little bit longer. And certain players will be getting more bonuses for being named All-Stars. Which will force owners to pay more to players, which could cause ticket prices to rise. Whatever. Not like that hasn't been the trend for the past decade...
With the ever-expanding roster, the convention of including at least one All-Star from each team won't be enough. I'd say that once the rosters reach 40, they'll have to amend it to include at least two All-Stars per team. But that's all speculation.
Seeing as the current rule still stands, I'd like to take some time and evaluate each roster for the players most likely to be selected by Messrs. Girardi and Manuel to back up the fans' selections. A month-and-a-half into the season's not too early for such an evaluation, right? I mean, it's not too early to vote on the actual All-Star starters, so there you go.
Let's start with the host team, the Anaheim (they're in Anaheim, so that's what we'll call them) Angels, and their division, the AL West.
Offensively for Anaheim, there's only one candidate: 1B Kendry Morales. Bobby Abreu hasn't taught him how to walk yet, a feat he supposedly performed on teammates Chone Figgins (last year) and Erick Aybar (this year). But he's got 7 home runs and a team-high .821 OPS (just edging Torii Hunter's .820). On the mound, Jered Weaver looks like a pretty strong candidate with a 2.66 ERA and a K/BB ratio of 4.70. New closer Fernando Rodney has been deceptively unimpressive (2.87 ERA, 0.91 K/BB) thus far.
Texas has a few batters that would be good fits. Elvis Andrus: defensive whiz of a shortstop, speedster (13 SB), walks as much as he strikes out (21/22) - no sophomore slump for this ROY-runner-up. Vladimir Guerrero has a chance now that every ASG (even when the NL hosts) will now feature a starting DH; fans love a good comeback story featuring a gimpy 35-year-old with bad knees who drives in runs (26). And Nelson Cruz has an OPS over 1.000 (he'll likely be recovered from his hamstring strain by Friday).
C.J. Wilson, in his first season as a full-time starter, has avoided giving up too many runs (1.51 ERA), but that's mostly due to his not having given up a home run yet, as his peripherals aren't great. His successor in the bullpen - phenom Neftali Feliz - has 9 saves and has struck out nearly 10 batters per nine innings.
The Oakland A's's anemic offense doesn't deserve to send anyone to the ASG this year. Their pitching is a different story. Dallas Braden has all but earned his spot with a WHIP under 1.000 and a perfect game under his belt. Their next most consistent starter, Brett Anderson, might have landed a spot (2.35 ERA) had he not been placed on the DL after just 4 starts. And closer Andrew Bailey hasn't allowed a run yet (fingers crossed, knock on wood) over 11+ innings and 6 saves.
I don't know how much they usually reward defense in the ASG, but Mariners CF Franklin Gutierrez (who's mostly known for his glovework) is also getting on base at close to a .400 clip this year. Ichiro has stolen 9 bases, but hits only singles (.326 avg, .388 slg). Doug Fister's such a surprise/no-name that I wouldn't be surprised if he was passed up this year (despite his league-leading 0.881 WHIP). If Cliff Lee continues to pitch well (he's made only 2 starts this year due to injury) his name recognition could propel him above his more-deserving teammate.
There's my prognosis. I'd be surprised if the West is represented by anyone not among this group. Anyone want to take bets?
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Perfect Game Watch: No. 19
I must admit that I've been in a sort of Baseball-funk lately. Disasters dominate the news - both man made and natural. Work gets more and more demanding. Other personal projects take precedence. And as much as I try to make this blog about baseball in general, and not just the Oakland A's, my first and foremost team for which to root, when you're boys are slumping in the early goings, it makes it that much harder to pay attention to other stuff around the league. A flurry of disabled list moves (including catcher Kurt Suzuki and lefty starter Brett Anderson), the failure to notch any hit bigger than a single for games on end - these things wear on the casual and devoted fan alike.
So imagine my surprise when I walked into a restaurant for a nice Mother's Day dinner and saw the TV showing a recap of today's A's/Rays game... which ended in Dallas Braden completing the 19th perfect game in Major League history! Just a couple of weeks after going toe-to-toe with one of the game's biggest (and highest-paid) stars (on the mound and via press conference), Braden retired 27 Rays in a row on the day devoted to mothers. A date that's all the more poignant considering Braden's mother passed away while he was in high school.
His grandmother was one the scene to congratulate him, after his teammates finished their barrage of bearhugs and high-fives. What better way to bring your team up to .500 on the season?
Congratulations, Dallas! Let's hope this act of perfection can act as a jump-start not only for a middling A's team, but also for my attention in this our nation's greatest pastime.
So imagine my surprise when I walked into a restaurant for a nice Mother's Day dinner and saw the TV showing a recap of today's A's/Rays game... which ended in Dallas Braden completing the 19th perfect game in Major League history! Just a couple of weeks after going toe-to-toe with one of the game's biggest (and highest-paid) stars (on the mound and via press conference), Braden retired 27 Rays in a row on the day devoted to mothers. A date that's all the more poignant considering Braden's mother passed away while he was in high school.
His grandmother was one the scene to congratulate him, after his teammates finished their barrage of bearhugs and high-fives. What better way to bring your team up to .500 on the season?
Congratulations, Dallas! Let's hope this act of perfection can act as a jump-start not only for a middling A's team, but also for my attention in this our nation's greatest pastime.
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