Archive for April, 2010

Snakebitten

April 26th, 2010 by Christian | 1 Comment | Filed in General
 

Mark Reynolds is Congratulated After 3-run HR

The Bad: The Diamondbacks score eight runs on fifteen hits to come back to beat the Phillies, 8-6, and win the series, two games to one.

The Good: There wasn’t much good in this game, but Ryan Howard did have two hits to match his two strikeouts. Pssst. Ryan, you cannot do anything with the low, outside pitch, so don’t swing at it.

Commentary: The D-Backs gave the Phillies a taste of their own medicine, utilizing the long ball to snatch two of these three games. It was the Phillies first road series loss the season. Now off to San Francisco, to face one of the best pitching staffs in baseball.

Next Game: Tonight vs. San Francisco, at AT&T Park, San Francisco
Game Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
Pitching Matchup: Roy Halladay (4-0, 0.82) vs. Jonathon Sanchez (1-1, 1.86)

Johnny G’s MLB Power Rankings Part 4

April 26th, 2010 by Johnny G | 6 Comments | Filed in Baseball, General

1. Tampa Bay Rays (2) (14-5)- This is the first time this season the hated Yankees have been knocked from the top spot. The young Tampa Bay Rays sport the best record in the majors. Ten pitchers on this staff have an ERA below 4.00 and they are now first in the MLB in runs scored and stolen bases. They are first in the MLB in batting average allowed and second in the league with a 3.38 team ERA. David Price also threw a complete game shutout on Sunday. This team is playing scary good right now.

2.New York Yankees (1) (12-6)- The Yanks move down one spot in the rankings after a week where they dropped a 3 game set to the Angels and won a 3 game set from the light-hitting Athletics. Javier Vazquez is not making a smooth transition from the NL to the AL, as he struggled mightily on Sunday. On the other hand, Andy Pettite is pitching like he is 10 years younger with a 1.29 ERA and Robinson Cano is sporting a 1.092 OPS.

3. Minnesota Twins (3) (13-6)- The Twins stay in the same spot this week after winning both of their series with the Indians and Royals. Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, and Michael Cuddyer are like murders row right now for opposing pitchers. Liriano, Slowey, and Pavano are anchoring the staff right now and Scott Baker will improve as the season goes on. Jon Rauch blew his first save of the year on Saturday but the team rebounded to get the win.

4. St. Louis Cardinals (5) (11-7)- This team is coming along nicely. Predictably, Albert Pujols leads this team in just about every offensive category imaginable. If you need any evidence of the difference in competition level between the AL and NL, look no further than Brad Penny. Penny has a 0.94 ERA through 3 starts and is absolutely dominating after being cut from the Red Sox almost a year and a half ago.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (4) (11-7)- The Phillies took the series over the Braves early in the week and then dropped a series on the road against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Against Arizona, the Phils faced possibly the three worst pitchers you will see on the same team. Ian Kennedy, Rodrigo Lopez and Kris Benson are all bottom of the barrel retreads. Injuries are taking a toll on this team right now, as they continue to slide down the rankings. Roy Halladay has a 0.82 ERA and Jayson Werth is really hitting the ball well with a .333 average. Joe Blanton will be back soon along with other reinforcements.

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Must See TV

April 25th, 2010 by Christian | 1 Comment | Filed in General

Kevin Durant & OKC Dominate Lakers

If you enjoy watching the L.A. Lakers lose as much as I do, you have to tune into their first round matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Who? Yes, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Last night the Thunder (#8 seed) evened the series at 2-2, by embarrassing the defending world champs, blowing them off the court, 110-89. The Thunder led by as many as 29 at one point, and the Lakers trailed by double digits almost the entire game. It was so bad for Los Angeles (#1 seed) that Kobe Bryant and three other starters sat out the whole fourth quarter. Now that’s what I call entertaining.

Only 3 times in 52 opportunities has the number eight seed defeated the number one seed.

Game Five is Tuesday night. Go Thunder!

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Werth It

April 25th, 2010 by Christian | 1 Comment | Filed in General

Werth Hits Two

The Good: Jayson Werth hit two homeruns, the second in the ninth inning to win the game. Werth also made a great defensive play. Trailing 2-1 in the seventh inning, he ran down a line drive by Gerardo Parra, stranding Chris Young at second base. Raul Ibanez also homered for the Phillies, and Nelson Figueroa, making a spot start, pitched well, giving up two runs over five innings and striking out four.  Phils win, 3-2.

The Bad: The offense continues to struggle, with the top four hitters going a combined 0 for 16.

Commentary: Ryan Madson pitched the ninth inning for the save, and was effective, giving up just one hit. It was nice to see him close the door with relative ease. The Phillies need him.  If you  stayed up late to watch this one, it was werth it.

Next Game: Today vs. Diamondacks, at Chase Field, Phoenix
Game Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
Pitching Matchup: Kyle Kendrick (0-0, 7.24) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (1-0, 3.50)

Hamels Gets Hammered

April 24th, 2010 by Christian | 3 Comments | Filed in General
 

D-Backs Mark Reynolds Connects

The Bad: After retiring the first ten batters he faced, Cole Hamels gave up four homeruns to turn an early 2-0 Phillies lead into a loss. Phils lose 7-4.

The Good: Before he started to get the ball up in the strike zone, Hamels resembled the dominant pitcher he was in the 2008 playoffs.

Commentary: The Phillies need Hamels. His split personality has been concerning. Since the 2008 World Series, Hamels record is 12-13. He needs to do better, and he will.

Next Game: Tonight vs. Diamondbacks
Game Time: 8:10 p.m. ET, Chase Field, AZ
Pitching Matchup: Nelson Figueroa (1-1, 2.45) vs. Ian Kennedy (0-1, 5.65)

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O-Dog Pulls the Race Card

April 23rd, 2010 by Johnny G | 2 Comments | Filed in General

Hudson Defends Dye, Sheffield

I realize I am a bit late stating my opinions on this controversial issue, but better late than never. As most of you already know, Twins second basemen Orlando Hudson made some extremely polarizing comments to the media just about a week ago. His statements were made just days before the MLB was set to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day across the league and hinted that racism was still alive and well across Major League front offices throughout the sport. His first example of racism among front-offices was free-agent Jermaine Dye. Here is Orlando’s take on Dye’s unemployment:

“You see guys like Jermaine Dye without a job. A guy with [27 homeruns and 81 RBI’s] and can’t get a job. Pretty much sums it up right there, no? You’ve got guys who miss a year who can come back $5, $6 million, and a guy like Jermaine Dye can’t get a job.”

Lets examine Orlando Hudson’s well thought out comments here. Obviously the “guys” who miss a year and come back to make 5-6 million are white players by the tone of Hudson’s remarks. Sounds a lot like Ben Sheets, doesn’t it? Well here’s the difference between Jermaine Dye and Ben Sheets, besides the color of their skin; Ben Sheets is 31 years old and was coming off a phenomenal season, when he went down with injury. Jermaine Dye is 36 years old, coming off of a season where he hit .250 with 27 homeruns and 81 rbi’s. That is a pretty solid season, to not have a job, I’ll say that much. When you factor in defense, and salary demands though, that is when we get down to the root of the issue and the reason that Jermaine Dye is sitting at home right now instead of playing baseball. Dye’s defense has been steadily declining for the last four seasons and his UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) dipped to an unbelievably bad -21.8. That means compared to the average Right Fielder, Jermaine Dye is costing you almost 22 runs a season. For that type of defensive liability, you sure as hell better be hitting better than .250 with 27 homeruns. Despite his extreme defensive shortcomings, he was offered a starting position in Washington but Jermaine turned it down. The Chicago Cubs also made an offer only to be turned down. Turns out Dye wants to play in Seattle, too bad they have about 5 Outfielders on that roster. Since when do players think they have the right in Free Agency to just pick the team they most want to go to, when that team has little to no interest in signing you?

Orlando Hudson then went on to talk about some more clubhouse gems (sarcasm) who were still unemployed, specifically Gary Sheffield.

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Phillies Vs Diamondbacks- Series Preview

April 23rd, 2010 by Johnny G | 1 Comment | Filed in General

Pitching Matchups:

Cole Hamels (2-1 3.86 ERA) vs. Kris Benson (0-1 3.00 ERA)

Nelson Figueroa (1-1 2.45 ERA) vs. Ian Kennedy (0-1 5.65 ERA)

Kyle Kendrick (0-0 7.24 ERA) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (1-0 3.50 ERA)

After taking two of three from the Braves in Atlanta, the Phillies head out west for a three-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Obviously, at first glance the Phillies could not have asked for a better time to face the struggling D-backs. They will miss their ace Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson, while facing the horrendous back end of this Arizona rotation. There are some familiar names there with two former Phillies in Kris Benson and Rodrigo Lopez. Kris Benson was signed to a minor league deal two years ago by the Phils but never properly healed from his off-season surgery, leading to his release. Rodrigo Lopez made several starts for the Phillies last year and filled in admirably. Ian Kennedy is a former Yankee farmhand who came over to Arizona in the Curtis Granderson 3-way deal. Cole Hamels will look to build on his successful start last time out, with another solid performance. Nelson Figueroa will step into the rotation now that J.A Happ was placed on the disabled list. He has pitched very well out of the bullpen in his time with the Phillies and hopefully that can continue. Kyle Kendrick will take the hill in the final game of this series after throwing an 8-inning gem against the Atlanta Braves, only to have the lead squandered in the ninth by Ryan Madson. With the way the rotations match-up for this series, anything less than a series win will be pretty disappointing.

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