The Weekend F5ive

A look at the games getting some TV attention this weekend

1-Dodgers vs. Cardinals Saturday FOX

Kuroda vs. Wainwright

Interest Level: 5

The Dodgers and Cardinals continue with their series this weekend. My projection of a duel between Kershaw and Carpenter turned out to be horribly wrong. Carpenter did his part while Kershaw had a rough day in the office.

We're probably looking at another one-sided affair in favor of the Cardinals on Saturday as Wainwright has thus far one-upped his career year in 2009 and it appears very little is going to get in his way in 2010.

2- Rays vs. Yankees Saturday FOX

Niemann vs. Burnett

Interest Level: 7

This game gets extra interest points for fantasy purposes. On one of my teams, the starting pitching has been solid most of the year and Jeff Niemann has been one of the main reasons why...replacing Javier Vasquez with him has been one of the best decisions i've made all year.

While his strong performance has been aided by really good luck (.242 opposing BABIP). Still, he deserves credit for one of the more under-rated pitching performances of the 1st half as he's in 4th in Wins Above Replacement, 5th in WHIP, 5th in ERA+ so on and so forth....should be a likely win for the Rays in this one.

3- Rangers vs. Red Sox Saturday MLB Network

Lee vs. Lackey

Interest Level: 6

A couple things to pay attention to here. First, will the Red Sox be able to make up ground on whoever loses the Rays-Yankees game/series.

Second, OMG....the Rangers have Cliff Lee.....the Rangers traded for Cliff Lee (so who hasn't traded for Cliff Lee in the past year). In all seriousness, does Cliff Lee bounce back against an inexplicably bad start against Baltimore and take his rightful place in the role of that guy that swings a division race and leads his team to the World Series......he was that guy for the Phils last year....and with the Rangers having an 80% chance of making the playoffs....it's likely he's going to have the same role in Texas.

4- Rays vs. Yankees Sunday MLB Network

Price vs. Pettite

Interest Level: 3

While the pitching match-up is better than the rest of the series....this is where the over-exposure of this entire series being on national television and the Third/West coast bias of myself and this blog kicks in. The outcome will tweak the AL East/Wild Card standings but since both teams have at least a 75% chance of making the playoffs.....there will be more meaningful games between these two as we get deeper into the summer.

5-Phillies vs. Cubs Sunday ESPN

Halladay vs. Gorzelanny

Interest Level: 4

The only reason the interest level is this high is because Halladay is pitching. So, yeah this is pretty much a match-up of two high profile teams that have underachieved to various degrees. The Phillies have done so to a more moderate degree (that they have a 18% chance) of over-coming while the Cubs are the front-runners for the underachieving team of the year award. But the game has fantasy implications as I have Halladay which is about the only reason I personally have for paying attention.

Back From Vacation, Back To Previewing

So....i haven't written anything in a week. I was on vacation....had me a nice 4-day weekend. But now it's time to get back to business. With that......on to the games.

Phillies vs. Braves

Kendrick vs.Hanson Tuesday-MLB Network

TBD vs. Hudson- Wednesday ESPN

Interest Level: 7

This might be only the third week of the season, but this NL East match-up is still important. The Phillies have a razor-thin 1 game edge over the Braves. For the Phillies, they have Kendrick starting...he has been absolutely brutal in his first two starts.

The Braves are one of the more interesting teams in the league. Jason Heyward alone makes them worth watching as you never know what he's going to pull off. Both Hanson & Hudson are off to solid starts and if they keep it up....everyone's prediction of the Phillies running away with this division could turn out to be very wrong.

Royals vs. Blue Jays Wednesday MLB Network

Greinke vs. Marcum

Interest Level: 5

The Royals are off to a 5-7 start and considering the job their GM did in the off-season, this could pass as over-achieving. The Royals are giving reigning Cy Young award winner Zach Greinke the start. He is 0-2 this year but this can be attributed to the ineptness of the team around him and not Greinke himself as he has a respectable (though not 2009-level) 114 ERA+

The Blue Jays have gotten off to a better than expected 8-6 start. If they want to sustain this strong start or even stay above .500, they are going to need Shaun Marcum to stay healthy for throughout the season (having Vernon Wells continue to hit the cover off the ball wouldn't hurt either).

Indians vs. Twins Thursday MLB Network

Talbot vs. Baker

Interest Level: 7

A sneakingly interesting early AL Central Match-Up. The Twins have thus far taken their rightful place on top of the AL Central. This game gets extra points due to fantasy implications as J.J Hardy (hasn't done much since hitting a couple homers in the first week) and Michael Cuddyer (off to a nice start) are on my fantasy team. The Twins have Scott Baker starting...text-book definition of a solid but not great pitcher.

The Indians, expected to head straight to the cellar, have a fairly respectable 6-6 record. Speaking of my fantasy team, one player that has allowed the Indians to be respectable 6-6 and my team to be 2-0 is Shin-Soo Choo. Coming off a quietly strong 20-20 season....he's hit the ground running in 2010 and hit the cover off the ball (to the tune of a 240 OPS+!!!!). His last week was insane 11-19 3 Homers 11 RBIs 6 walks (that's a .680 OBP!!!!!!).....is it too early to talk MVP? Not according to this guy. But....one totally epic season does not win a division or allow you to be good (isn't that right Kansas City Royals?)...and some competency from the other 24 players is still needed.

The Indians start Mitch Talbot. He has 3 career starts under his belt. Two of them have come in 2010. So far, so good (1-1 3.21 era 120 ERA+). I'm not sure how sustainable this performance is but if he can continue to play fairly well and Shin-Soo Choo ends up breaking into the elite this year, the Indians could surprise some people this year.

Rangers vs. Red Sox Thursday MLB Network

Wilson vs. Bucholz

Interest Level:5

The Rangers have slogged to a 5-7 start thus far. Not too much about this team screams contender to me. The Rangers are starting C.J. Wilson in this one. Not sure how he will hold up the entire year as a starter (he spent the last 4 seasons exclusively in relief, 3 of them as a closer). One thing at least is for sure, you can't blame the Rangers slow start on Wilson (0-1 2.08 era 206 ERA+).....he even has a complete game under his belt....not bad for a player who has Ed Vosberg as his #1 comparable on baseball-reference.

I'm pretty sure not many people were expecting the Red Sox to start 4-9. Whether this is a sign of things to come or they are getting their worst stretch out of the way early, it is too early to tell. They have Clay Bucholz taking the hill for this game. Like Wilson, the Red Sox early struggles can't really be blamed on Bucholz as he has also started off well (1-1 1.80 era 242 ERA+). Are we in the middle of Clay Bucholz's breakout season? The Red Sox may need it if they want to be in contention.

Early Week National TV Baseball Preview

Time to see what's in store to start the second week of the season

Red Sox vs. Twins Monday ESPN

Lester vs. Pavano

Interest Level:6

The Twins finally get to open Target Field. It should be interesting to see how this stadium plays out in terms of whether it will be hitter friendly or not. The Red Sox come into this game at 3-3, the Twins have started 5-2 and at this point and appear to have not missed a beat despite not having Joe Nathan closing games out.

Reds vs. Marlins Monday MLB Network

Cueto vs. Nolasco

Interest Level: 4

The Reds were a lot of peoples pick to be a sleeper team in 2010. With a 3-3 start, they haven't really done anything to prove or disprove this notion. The Marlins had a nice first week going 4-2 and bring Ricky Nolasco (one of my picks to bounce back in 2010) to the hill.

Angels vs. Yankees Tuesday MLB Network

Santana vs. Pettite

Interest Level: 5

The Yankees started off pretty strong this week at a 4-2 clip. The Angels, well they have had better weeks. Hideki Matsui looks to be an excellent signing for the Angels early on as he came up clutch against the A's in last nights game. One of the few bright spots in their 2-5 week. Speaking of bright spots, Brandon Wood has been the exact opposite of this in his first week with a full time starting gig. Is this a sign of things to come or just the result of a bad week? We'll find out in due time.

D-Backs vs. Dodgers Tuesday MLB Network

Kennedy vs. Kershaw

Interest Level: 6

An early season NL West divisional battle. Not too much of a shock that one of these teams is sitting in second and one of them is sitting in fourth. The surprising thing is that the D-Backs are the team sitting in second and the Dodgers are the team sitting in 4th. One good reason to check this game out is that Clayton Kershaw is taking the hill for the Dodgers. Kershaw still struggles with bouts of wildness from time to time but has the talent/potential to be a Cy Young award caliber pitcher. Does this happen in 2010? Stay tuned to find out.

Nationals vs. Phillies Wednesday MLB Network

TBD vs. Kendrick

Interest Level: 4

The Phillies were expected by just about everyone to take the NL East so the fact that they are 5-1 and hanging out in 1st place shouldn't be shock to anyone. The Nationals were expected to drop straight down to the cellar but had a respectable 3-3 first week which was aided by random big games from the likes of Cristian Guzman and Willy Taveras (who did their part to place me in the basement of my Razzball league).

Astros vs. Cardinals

Myers vs. Penny

Interest Level:5

Another game where there isn't too many surprises about the teams respective places in the standings. No surprise at St. Louis at the top. No surprise that the Astros are at the bottom. The one surprise with the Astros is just the degree of ineptitude they have displayed in the first week of the season. They carry the title of being the only team to not win a game in 2010........ouch.

NL East Preview Part II

Our standings after the first half:

Phillies 17

Braves 22

Nationals 25

Marlins 27

Mets 29

Starting Rotation:

Phillies-4

Braves-8

Marlins-12

Mets-16

Nationals-20

The Phillies by far are best off in the rotation. Halladay ends up in Philly (finally) and it would be shock if he isn't one of the top 5 pitchers in the league. While Hamels didn't exactly light the world on fire in 2009 which was aided more by a high BABIP against and not on him suddenly turning into a mediocre pitcher. Blanton is your protypical mid-rotation pitcher...no better no worse. There's absolutely no way J.A. Happ replicates his breakthrough year but at the same time he's a better #4 option than anyone else has.

The Braves may be weak in the star-power at the top of the rotation but make up for it with depth. There's no way Lowe struggles as much this year as last, Hanson and Jurrjens are likely to come down a little bit from strong 2009 seasons but that doesn't change the fact that both of them are legit pitchers. Hudson pitched well after coming back from injury but 42 innings is too early to tell whether he can stay healthy and whether he can return to his dominant form.

Josh Johnson may not be a household name like Halladay or Santana but if 2009 is any indication, he could be within the discussion for best pitcher in the NL East this year. Nolasco should bounce back after struggles connected more to bad luck than being a bad pitcher. Volstad should hold his own as a #3 but beyond that don't expect much from the Marlins rotation.

For the Mets, its Santana and.....not much else. Maine and Pelfrey are pretty mediocre pitchers, Oliver Perez is an asset to Razzball and anyone that's a fan of pitchers who think the strike zone is a foreign concept.

The Nationals have John Lannan and Jason Marquis as their top two starters......and it gets worse from there......ouch

Bullpen

Mets-4

Braves-8

Phillies-12

Nationals-16

Marlins-20

Not too crazy about what any of these teams have with the game on the line. The Mets do have K-Rod.....while he does make lots of money and racks up lots of saves....i'm not quite sold on him as being elite.....but he has been relatively healthy (Unlike Wagner) and has never racked up blown saves and 7-plus ERAs like they were going out of style (Brad Lidge....cough....cough) so the Mets get this one by default.

Final Rankings

Phillies-33

Braves-38

Mets-49

Marlins-59

Nations-61

No surprises with the top two, no surprise that the Mets are nowhere near the top, not surprising the Nationals are at the bottom....the only difference between conventional thought and the final rankings is how low the Marlins are ranked.

NL East Preview Part I

Last but not least, the NL East:

Catcher:

Brian McCann-1

Carlos Ruiz-2

John Baker-3

Ivan Rodriguez-4

Rod Barajas-5

McCann wins this.....by a lot. The only catcher that you could definitely say is better than McCann is Joe Mauer. Since Joe Mauer plays in the AL Central, McCann is the #1 catcher in both the NL East and on Chedderhead. After McCann, it's the lesser of four evils....Ruiz has some decent upside but if he hasn't broken out already at 31 that's sort of a red light. I-Rod has had a great career and if we were talking about overall bodies of work he would be number 1 but he has seen better days. I could see Rod Barajas working out as a good signing, if he was a left handed hitter playing at Yankee Stadium. However, he ended up on a team that plays their home games at a stadium that suppresses his one strength (hitting home runs) which may explain how he ended up on my Razzball team.

First Base

1-Ryan Howard

2-Adam Dunn

3-Daniel Murphy

4-Troy Glaus

5-Gaby Sanchez

Howard continued to establish himself as one of the elite hitters in the game in 2009. I see no reason why this won't continue into the new decade. Adam Dunn has been and continues to be the Mr. 3TO.......Drawing Walks, Hitting Homers, Striking Out....Dunn has his game down to the basics. On name recognition, Glaus would get the nod over Murphy but a) it's tough to tell whether he will stay healthy all year and b) even if he is healthy, it's unclear whether he will return to form

Second Base

1-Chase Utley

2-Dan Uggla

3-Martin Prado

4-Adam Kennedy

5-Luis Castillo

Another position, another Phillies player amongst the elite of the game. Uggla has established himself as Adam-Dunn lite. Hits for a very pedestrian average, hits plenty of homers (30-ish but not as much as Dunn) he is drawing walks at an increased rate (14% vs. 18% for Dunn) but then again the power standards for second basemen is lower than for first baseman.

Shortstop

1-Hanley Ramirez

2-Jimmy Rollins

3-Yunel Escobar

4-Jose Reyes

5-Ian Desmond

One word.....LOADED. Han-Ram gives you 30-30 potential in any given year and makes a strong case for the best shortstop in the bigs (he even got drafted 1st overall in the league that Cheddarhead plays in). Yes, Jimmy Rollins had a rough season, it still seems odd that he won an MVP and doesn't draw very many walks. However, his struggles look to be linked to low BABIP and he should bounce-back strong in 2010. Escobar is a young talented player and will likely overtake Rollins as a player within a few years, I just don't think it happens this year. Jose Reyes is talented enough to be higher but with the injury problems he is facing/will inevitably face all year and the fact that the Mets fall back plan is Alex Cora, I can't really justify ranking him higher.

Third Base

1-Ryan Zimmerman

2-David Wright

3-Chipper Jones

4-Jorge Cantu

5-Placido Polanco

Seems to be a trend in the NL East where the best player by position is the best by a lot not a little. When that player happens to be the starting third baseman for Chedderhead, even better. Tough to tell what to expect out of David Wright in '10. He's still reliable to hit for a good average but whether his power remains at 2009 levels or returns to historical norms remains to be seen. His hr/fb% dropped last year which also coincided with moving to Citi Field. Too early to tell whether his power drop resulted just bad luck or the stadium. Regardless, this area of doubt is enough to drop him well behind Zimmerman but above Jones whose name recognition has overtaken production, Cantu who had one really good season and many indicators showing that his 2008 level of production is unlikely to replicate himself

Left Field

1-Josh Willingham

2-Raul Ibanez

3-Jason Bay

4-Matt Diaz

5-Chris Coghlan

An overall uninspiring group. I will always associate Josh Willingham as the guy who hit grand slams in consecutive innings off Jeff Suppan (making him single-handedly responsibility for my least favorite Brewers moment of the year). Given a chance to start he has a decent chance to go yard 30-35 times. Ibanez had a nice 2009....his home run totals were inflated by an abnormally high hr/fb ratio and had nothing to do with the weak steroid speculation or the bloggers that Ibanez thinks all live in their mothers basement. Jason Bay is a free agent bust waiting to happen. A combination of decreasing contact percentage (he dropped from 76% to 69% last year......only 3% away from becoming a Bill Hall All-Star) and moving to Citi Field where power goes to die.....a pretty good chance this goes down as another bad Mets contract before all is said and done.....also a generous ranking at 3rd....Also not sold on Coghlan replicating his Rookie of the Year Season.

Center Field

1-Nate McLouth

2-Carlos Beltran

3-Shane Victorino

4-Nyjer Morgan

5-Cameron Maybin

Another less than inspiring crop. McLouth is a decent player but definitely not a superstar. On talent and name-brand recognition Beltran should win this hands down but I have little to no faith in his ability to stay healthy. Victorino (like Bay) is a player i've never been too high on (being the same guy that hit a grand slam off C.C. Sabathia in the 2008 NLDS that made it official that the Brewers playoff appearance was only going to be a cameo don't help either) but get's the #3 spot by default. Not sold on Morgan replicating his strong 2009 season and not sold on Maybin.

Right Field

1-Jayson Werth

2-Cody Ross

3-Melky Cabrera

4-Elijah Dukes

5-Jeff Francoeur

Lost in all the Phillies firepower from players like Ibanez, Howard and Utley the fact that Werth hit 36 homers got lost in the mix. He comes back this year with an epic beard, a contract to play for and secondary numbers that indicate his power spike is legit....could he be dark horse MVP candidate.....not as crazy as it sounds. Cody Ross seems like a slighty improved version of Mike Cameron (at least as a hitter) slighty better average .260 range and 25 homers......but nothing that stands out....(well unless Ross hits 4 of said homers in a game or ever plays drunk and tells the media about it). Speaking of Mike Cameron, the player he almost (and thankfully) didn't get traded straight up for in the winter of 2008-2009 Cabrera gets the #3 spot mostly due to his competition being Dukes who seems determined to not live up to his talent and one of the members of my Razzball team, Jeff Francoeur.

Standings after Part I:

Phillies 17

Braves 22

Nationals 25

Marlins 27

Mets 29

Jamie Moyer......looking to break precedent

To Jamie Moyer, age seems to be nothing more than a silly number. Even though he is 47, an age where most pro ball-players are managing somewhere or moving to the broadcast booth, he is still open to continue his career into 2011 and beyond.

At this point, this raises the question of how much does Moyer need to accomplish in the 2010s to be the greatest 47-and up pitcher of all time.

By even making it to 47, he will pass several pitchers on the all-time oldest pitchers list as several pitchers called it a career at 46. When he makes his first pitch this year, he will be the sixth pitcher in history to pitch in the big leagues at 47 and older. He will join the company of:

Phil Niekro:

A hall of fame pitcher who is in despite what he did after turning 47, not because of what he did. His age 47 year was respectable 11-11 4.32 era 96 ERA+ respectable but not all star worthy. However, his age-48 year the bottom fell out as he went 7-13 6.30 era 72 ERA+ with 3 different teams. An example of being able to use the knuckleball to extend a career deep into middle age.

Hoyt Wilhelm:

Another 47+ pitcher, another knuckleballer (and another Hall of Famer). Wilhelm had a bit more success going 6-5 with a 3.40 era 127 ERA+ and 13 saves in his age 47 year. In limited duty in his age 48 season he was effective going 0-1 2.70 era 122+ before retiring after struggling in his age-49 year.

Jack Quinn:

The first non-knuckleballer and non-hall of famer to make it to 47. Although he is in the unique pitch category, as he was one of the last pitchers legally allowed to throw the spitball. Like Wilhelm, Quinn enjoyed some success after his 47th birthday, leading the NL in saves in his age 47 and 48 seasons.

Nick Altrock:

1 game, 2 innings in his age-47 season.

Satchel Paige:

Pitched 1 game, 3 innings at age-58.

What will Moyer's likely place in history be?

Looking at historical precedent, a pretty good shot to re-write the record books in some areas. Two of the five pitchers (Altrock and Paige) are on the list due to single appearances.

Versus the other three pitchers, Moyer is the only one not to have a specialty pitch that is known for being difficult to hit, although he has a really slow fastball.

It's unlikely he'll be an all-star at this point of his career (like Wilhelm) although it is conceivable he could have the best starting pitching season for a 47-year old (Niekro had a respectable season but Moyer is still capable of pitching at an average to slightly above average level).

A close look at the numbers provided by Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster indicate he could have a solid season. His decreased strike percentage is a cause for concern but his hr/f rate was the highest in 5 years indicating he could give up less homers and thus improve on his disappointing 2009 numbers. Either way, it should be fun to see Moyer strive to make some history in the new decade.

An Award List.....With A Twist

So, it was announced the other day that two ex-Brewers, Bill Schroeder and Greg Vaughn into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame.

This piqued my curiosity about other Major League Players to play in the Cape Cod League. It turns out there are plenty of Cape Cod League Alums playing in the Big Leagues. The most recent list of Active Players is this list from 2008 (I had no luck finding a list from '09). Anyways with many of the major baseball awards being handed out soon, I decided to do my own top 10 list for the Most Valuable Player. The one caveat for making this list is this list is limited to Cape Cod League Alums.

10- Mark Reynolds .260/.349/.543 123 OPS+

Reynolds made some major strides as a player this year. Reynolds seems destined to become the 2010s version of Adam Dunn. He re-wrote the record books as he struck out 223 times this year. Still, he had a solid year and proved to the league that he will be a force to reckon with (when he makes contact)

9-Carlos Pena .227/.356/.537 130 OPS+

The American League, injury prone equivalent to Reynolds. Despite missing the last month of the season, Pena still managed to lead the AL in homers.

8-Adam Lind .305/.370/.562 144 OPS+

The Blue Jays may have had a bad year, but without Lind it would have been much worse. 2009 was Adam Lind's first year playing full-time and he made the most of it. Lind's season definitely qualifies as one of the most secretive 30+ homer seasons of this decade.

7-Evan Longoria .281/.364/.526 130 OPS+

Longoria was able to avoid the sophomore slump and have a solid season. The only damper is Tampa Bay was not able to follow up on last years World Series appearance and leading the AL in GIDP. Still, Longoria is going to be a star for many years to come and he demonstrated why in '09.

6-Lance Berkman .274/.399/.509 139 OPS+

One of the few bright stops in an otherwise terrible year for the Astros. It should be interesting to see how long he can keep his productivity up.

5- Jason Bay .267/.384/.537 134 OPS+

Jason Bay had a strong year in his first full year in Boston. He did a good job keeping the left field spot in Boston productive. He definitely showed why hes going to be one of the most sought after free agents in the winter.

4-Kevin Youkilis .305/.413/.548 145 OPS+

Another solid year from Youk. In these rankings, Youk and Bay are fairly interchangeable.

3- Tim Lincecum 15-7 2.48 era 176 ERA+

The only pitcher to appear on this list. Lincecum had another excellent year and further cemented himself as one of the best pitchers of our generation. He already has one Cy Young Award to his name......with possibly a second one coming soon.

2-Chase Utley .282/.397/.508 136 OPS+

An elite second baseman on a Phillies team that went to a second straight World Series. Plus he was mentioned prominently in an episode of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia as Mac was trying so hard to meet him and hand deliver a letter to him.

1-Mark Teixeira .292/.383/.565 149 OPS+

Teixiera had a strong first year for the Yankees. As much as I don't like the Yankees, Teixiera did enough to rise above the competition from his Cape Cod League Alumni. Still doesn't change the fact that he's not going to get the actual MVP (That goes to Joe Mauer)

World Series Preview

Well, the 2009 season comes down to this. One team will come out as champions...the other team (especially if its the Yankees) will have a long winter ahead of them......the match-ups are as follows

Catcher

Jorge Posada vs. Carols Ruiz

Advantage: Yankees

First Base

Mark Teixiera vs. Ryan Howard

Advantage: Yankees

Second Base:

Robinson Cano vs. Chase Utley

Advantage: Phillies

Shortstop

Derek Jeter vs. Jimmy Rollins

Advantage: Yankees

Third Base

Alex Rodriguez vs. Pedro Feliz

Advantage: Yankees

Left Field

Johnny Damon vs. Raul Ibanez

Advantage: Phillies

Center Field

Melky Cabrera vs. Shane Victorino

Advantage: Phillies

Right Field

Nick Swisher vs. Jayson Werth

Advantage: Phillies

Starting Pitching

C.C. Sabathia

A.J. Burnett

Andy Pettite

vs.

Cliff Lee

Pedro Martinez

Cole Hamels

Joe Blanton

Bullpen

Mariano Rivera

Philip Hughes

Phil Coke

vs.

Brad Lidge

Ryan Madson

Advantage: Yankees

X Factor: Phillies

Posada has a large advantage behind the plate. First Base was a close battle but Teixiera has a slight edge on the numbers and has yet to appear in an annoying Subway commercial. Utley has the edge over Cano......the Yankees left side of the infield is much stronger than the Phillies.

The Phillies have the edge at all 3 outfield positions. Ibanez and Victorino have decent sized advantages. Werth vs. Swisher are about the same production wise but Werth is playing much better than Swisher right now.

The Starting Rotation was a tough call. Both teams have an ace ex-Indians pitcher (Sabathia/Lee) a pitcher who peaked in the 90s but are still viable options (Pettite/Martinez)....The Phils get the edge b/c I think they'll get more out of Blanton/Hamels than the Yankees will get out of Burnett.

The Yankees win the bullpen match-up easily. Mariano Rivera is one of the greatest post-season closers of all time....and Brad Lidge.....well hes Brad Lidge....nuff said.

The X-Factor went to the Phillies for a couple reasons. First, this is pretty much the same team that won it all last year so their confidence in winning is higher. Second, there is more pressure on the Yankees. For them, anything less than a World Series title is a bad season, they haven't won in what they consider forever (2000) and the expectations are so high from both fans and management.......they just have a lot more external pressure and stress than the Phillies do.

Final Tally: Phillies 6 Yankees 5

These teams match-up really well and we could have a classic series in store. For the Yankees its a matter of continue to keep doing all year (win games) plus doing what they've done throughout the off-season (take advantage of other mistakes).

For the Phillies, the major question is can the bullpen not mess things up? So far it hasn't but the bullpen is pretty much a ticking time-bomb. If they survive this series, they repeat...if they don't the Yankees take it. My call: the Phillies do just enough...with the emphasis on just enough to repeat

Prediction: Phillies in 7

The Thursday Morning Rundown

What Sports-Related stuff is running through my mind this morning

Phillies are going back to the World Series

After losing Game 4 with 2 out in the 9th, the Dodgers pretty much went through the motions in last nights loss to the Dodgers. With the exception of a failed rally in the 8th, the Dodgers just didn't seem to interested in the game. For the second straight year, the Dodgers fall short of getting to the World Series. For the 20th straight year we don't get to see their fans leave a World Series game in the 7th inning.

For the Phillies, they get a chance to be the first team since the 1998-2000 Yankees to be repeat World Series Winners. For now, the Phils play the waiting game to see whether they match up against New York or Earth of North America of Los Angeles of Anaheim.

On a personal note, i'm wondering if the Phillies win enough World Series, whether the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will make an episode where they try to capitalize on their championship.........even if they don't its all good as long as the show remains hilarious.

Speaking of the ALCS....it could be ending tonight

The Angels have their backs to the wall and are in danger of having their season come to an end. The Angels have at least shown the resiliency to bounce back from close losses. I'm not saying that the Angels will necessarily win but at least they're going to show up

ESPN Gone Wild

So, yesterday morning the story regarding Steve Phillips' affair with Brooke Hundley broke and went viral. Normally, I wouldn't give a TMZ-esque situation like this the time of the day (i'm not Joe Buck...I actually like sports better than TMZ.com) but for some reason I have a strange fascination with this story.......the rational side of me says this is one of the biggest non-stories ever........the other side of me just can't get enough of this breaking scandal. I don't know whether its rooted in things I don't like about ESPN or what but either way this story has taken on a life of its own. Either way it should be interesting how this story unravels (but probably not in a good way)

The Wednesday Morning Rundown

Alright, I haven't posted anything in the last couple days but that doesn't mean I don't have an opinion on whats gone on the last couple days........

This continues to be the post-season of blown saves

On Monday night the Dodgers and Phillies played an exciting game that went back and forth. For most of the game, it looked like the Dodgers had an edge.....then they brought in Jonathan Broxton to attempt to close things out. Things didn't quite go as planned as he gave up a game-losing hit to Jimmy Rollins. Instead of a potential classic series tied up at 2 all....we appear headed towards another one-sided playoff series. Also, the Broxton blown save has an ironic twist. That being out of all the closers who have imploded in the post-season, none of them have been the closer that seemed destined to pitch his team out of the playoffs (Brad Lidge).

A-Rod isn't the only Yankee making strides towards shedding a bad post-season reputation

Prior to 2009, C.C. Sabathia's one blemish to his fine career was a less than stellar post-season body of work. He struggled with this when he pitched for the Indians in the '07 post-season ( it feels like its been way longer than two years since the Indians almost made the world series) plus a bad start for the Brewers last year (NOT his fault by the way....he was on 3 days rest for two weeks straight at that point) but point being he wasn't a proven post-season winner.

That seems to be changing. He has owned the Angels in the ALCS, pretty much giving them no chance to win in either of his starts.....as much as I don't like the Yankees, i'm glad to see Sabathia shed the only blemish on his reputation.....even though the post-season thing didn't work out last year....Sabathia is still one of my favorite players since he made it possible for me to see the Brewers make the playoffs in my lifetime

Will Josh McDaniels ever lose a game as head coach?

Every year teams randomly become terrible out of nowhere (Titans) and teams become great out of nowhere. If things keep going as they are, the Broncos seem destined to be one of those teams. This continued as the Broncos got a strong special teams effort and just enough from Kyle Orton to beat the Chargers. When the season started, it was debatable whether the Broncos would win six games all year, well they got that done in six games. It took me awhile to come around on them as a legit contender but Josh McDaniels seems to have a pulse on getting the most out of his team (even if he hurt Jay Cutler's feelings in the process).

What sticks out to me for today:

Game 5 of the NLCS--Can the Dodgers make the most out of their last chance to keep 2009 alive or do the Phillies make my NLCS prediction come true by winning in 5 games.

Lots of stuff to talk about.....some NFL, some BCS, some Playoffs?!

Alright, so Saturday was a pretty busy sports day where the Angels-Yankees game overshadowed a pretty good slate of college football games. Today was a strong follow up to yesterday but with no one particular event overshadowing the crowd......my observations from the day in sports

The Saints can and will beat anyone in the league

Going into today, the one non-Packers game that I anticipated the most was the Giants-Saints game. Both teams were undefeated and the upper-hand in the NFC was at hand. The Saints ended up winning the game 48-27. The final score does not do service to how one-sided this affair was. Dree Brews and Marques Colston had their way with the Giants defense. It is scary how good the Saints are with their high-octane offense complemented by a competent defense. At this point, I wouldn't be shocked if the Saints go marching to their first Super Bowl this year.

The Vikings have got to lose at some point.......

The Vikings were thiiiissss close to choking in the 4th quarter against the Ravens. The Vikings D had a bad breakdown in the 4th allowing the Ravens to get back into the game. Joe Flacco had an excellent game and deserved to win this one. If only their kicker would have made the last-second field goal. Still, there is no way Favre keeps up his strong performance this year.....they've narrowly escaped defeat twice and their defense hasn't exactly been top-shelf.

The First BCS Standings are out.....

The top 3 are Florida-Alabama-Texas as expected. While the voters are stretching to place less deserving one-loss teams to pass Boise State on a weekly basis (USC replacing Virginia Tech in this regard)....I was glad to see Boise State being 4th in the BCS standings.....they were dropped to 6th in the AP despite winning their game last week......seriously if two of the top 3 lose, Boise stays undefeated but Boise gets passed up by a 1-loss team...that will only escalate the calls for a playoff.......weak conference or not...if a non-BCS team is one of two teams to run the table they at least deserve a chance to prove they are worthy of winning a national championship....

Whatever dignity the Titans had left is gone....

The first few weeks of the season the Titans were 0-3 but they were at least competitive in their losses. The last couple weeks, things had gotten progressively worse. Today, they bottomed out. I didn't know it was physically impossible to give up 5 touchdowns in a quarter in an NFL game but the Titans proved it was possible today. This is the thing you normally see when Florida schedules some cupcake 1-AA team...........seriously, when I saw that New England went up 45-0 scrolling across the bottom of my tv....I pretty much did a double take.....this goes to prove that any given year a team can go from 13-wins to a laughing stock and vice versa.....

At least today...the Dodgers weaker pitching staff is coming back to bite them

When I previewed the Dodgers-Phillies NLCS series, the one thing that stuck out to me is the discrepancy between pitching staffs. The Dodgers had been getting by on Randy Wolf, Vicente Padilla, etc. However, when your facing Cliff Lee in the playoffs, you can only go so far. The Dodgers started Hiroki Kuroda started and abruptly got rocked for 6 runs in 1 1/3 innings....as a result, the Dodgers have had no realistic shot to go up 2-1 in the NLCS...that combined with the Dodgers offense no-showing leaves the Phils up 8-0 in the 8th and the Dodgers moving one-step closer to having their season ended by the Phils.........

What is it with NFC teams losing to the laughingstocks of the NFL

This is something the Redskins have turned into an art-form. They have found ways to lose to the Chiefs, Lions and Panthers.........not exactly the most imposing schedule. But their divisional rival Eagles one-upped them this week by losing to the Raiders. The Raiders haven't shown this much fight since Tom Cable confronted his assistant in the pre-season. The Eagles may still have a winning record at 3-2 but any team that loses to the Raiders can NOT be taken seriously and from here I see the Eagles joining the Redskins in irrelevancy this year......and for the Redskins, their bad loss puts Jim Zorn one step closer to getting fired........

NLCS Preview Phillies-Dodgers

One shocking thing about the NL playoffs is that two closers helped pitch their team out of wins and out of the playoffs and none of them were Brad Lidge. Well....we got what we have last year, a rematch of the'08 NLCS.....what looked to be a possibly thrilling divisional series set was anti-climatic as 3 series were sweeps and the 4th one was deciding in 4 games....with that on to the NLCS Match-up...since I broke down the players seasons in prior posts, i'm going to list the match-ups and advantages up top and then explain my general thinking below the match-ups.

Catcher:

Russell Martin vs. Carlos Ruiz

Advantage: Phillies

First Base:

James Loney vs. Ryan Howard

Advantage: Phillies

Second Base

Orlando Hudson vs. Chase Utley

Advantage: Phillies

Shortstop

Rafael Furcal vs. Jimmy Rollins

Advantage: Phillies

Third Base

Casey Blake vs. Pedro Feliz

Advantage: Dodgers

Left Field

Manny Ramirez vs. Raul Ibanez

Advantage: Dodgers

Center Field

Matt Kemp vs. Shane Victorino

Advantage: Dodgers

Right Field

Andre Ethier vs. Jayson Werth

Advantage: Phillies

Starting Rotation:

Randy Wolf

Clayton Kershaw

Vicente Padilla

Jon Garland

vs.

Cliff Lee

Cole Hamels

Joe Blanton

Pedro Martinez

J.A. Happ

Advantage: Phillies

Bullpen:

Jonathan Broxton

Ramon Troncoso

Ronald Belisario

vs.

Brad Lidge

Ryan Madson

Clay Condrey

Advantage: Dodgers

X Factor: Phillies

The Phillies have a strong edge on the majority of the infield (third base being the exception)...the Dodgers are stronger in the outfield. Ethier vs. Werth was pretty much a push at right field.....Werth got the nod due to having a better body of post-season work. While the Dodgers starting pitchers were strong vs. St. Louis....I have doubts about a rotation headed by Randy Wolf and Vicente Padilla being able to win every series. While Brad Lidge had a strong NLDS....i'm not quite sold that he can hold up his strong performance through the NLDS and World Series......The Phillies got the X Factor due to a) experience.....when these two matched up last year, the Phillies sent Manny-Wood home for the winter b) The Phillies late season acquisition Cliff Lee has more potential to carry a team through the playoffs than the Dodgers main pick-up (Vicente Padilla). I've learned my lesson from the Divisional Series and that any hope of these playoff series going 7 games just isn't happening....but the Phillies getting a chance to repeat is likely to happen

Phillies in 5

First Impressions of This Years Playoffs

Alright, so the first three days of this years playoffs are in the books....while 3 of the 4 series have teams leading 2-0, the games have been more compelling than this may indicate....my impressions form

Rockies v. Phillies

Well, like most sequels, Rocktober II got off to a lack-luster start. The Phils have already done better in this version than they original as they've actually won a game this time. The weird thing is that while this is the only tied up series...this is the series that I haven't gotten the least into

Cardinals v. Dodgers

Prior to the series, I argued that the Dodgers would win this series due to having a better-rounded team. I also mentioned that while the Dodgers have several players who could step up on any given day...the Cardinals are revolved mostly around Carpenter, Wainwright, Holliday and Pujols.

This series isn't even over and the Cardinals have been hurt by 2 of these players not playing up to their regular season performance. Chris Carpenter did has non-stepping up on a more subtle level as he got out-pitched by Randy Wolf of all people.

Then there is Matt Holliday. Thursday started off well for him with him hitting a home run early on. However, thats not what people are going to remember. He's obviously going to be remembered for his missed opportunity to grab the final out of the game (plus getting hit in the groin with the baseball---usually you have to watch MTV for something like that...and the impending collapse that occurred afterwards.

While Holliday obviously made a crucial error, he definitely can't be blamed entirely for the loss. After this error the Cards were up 2-1 with a runner on base and 2 outs. I get the vibe that the defensive gaffe will cover-up the very non-clutch performance of Ryan Franklin.....its not like he gave up the game-tying/losing hits to the meat of the line-up...he blew this game against two players who did time on some bad Brewers teams in the late 90s (Ron Belliard and Mark Loretta).

Twins vs. Yankees

Todays match-up was a lost opportunity for the Twins. They were up 3-1 on a couple late RBI singles. A normally clutch Joe Nathan blows the game on the biggest stage.....can't capitalize on loading the bases with 0 outs and left 17 men on base...........14 of those potential runners that could have let them win this game......there are some things you can blame on payroll discrepancies...Game 2 is not one of them.........if this didn't ruin the Twins morale...the walk-off home run from Mark Teixeira pretty much finished off the job

Angels vs. Red Sox

Well, the Angels are one win away from beating the Red Sox for the first time in a playoff series. Whether they follow through on this is yet to be seen. They have to travel east to Fenway Park so anything can happen here. For what its worth out of the 4 times a team has come down 2-0 in the ALDS...the Red Sox have been the team to come back two of those times ('99 vs. Cleveland and '03 vs. Oakland)

Still, to pull this off (or win a game) they need to get their offense going. Scoring 1 run in 2 games is not a good things.

For a while this game looked like it was going to be more epic than the preceding Twins/Yankees game. Josh Beckett and Jered Weaver went blow for blow until the 7th inning until the Angels broke through for a 3-run inning.

On a misc. note, this series has allowed C.B. Bucknor has gotten his 15 minutes of shame. How hes umpring in the playoffs is beyond me. His work has been bad enough to have various edits made to his wikipedia page.

Well thats my gut reaction to the first few days of the playoffs......can't wait to see how the rest of this plays out.

Division Series Preview Part 3: Phillies-Rockies

Now for post #3 of the division series preview. This match-up places the 2009 version of Rocktober versus the defending World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Catcher:

Carlos Ruiz .255/.355/.425 103 OPS+

Chris Iannetta .230/.344/.463 105 OPS+

Not the strongest point of either team. The only thing really standing out about Ruiz is he hit a career-high in homers (9) this year.

Iannetta didn't have the greatest year but he has the greatest upside. Iannetta is one of many Rockies players that has recently helped them find ways to win games. Whether this happens in the playoffs is yet to be seen, but I like his chances over Ruiz.

Advantage: Rockies

First Base

Ryan Howard .279/.360/.571 139 OPS+

Todd Helton .325/.416/.489 132 OPS+

Ryan Howard might strike out too much but since he also led the NL in RBIs his strikeouts are not a big deal.

Todd Helton is holding down first base in Rocktober. While he isn't the same hitter he was during his peak, he's still a great hitter and an asset to this squad. Still, Ryan Howard has established himself as one of elite first baseman today and he gets the nod here.

Advantage: Phillies

Second Base

Chase Utley .282/.397/.508 135 OPS+

Clint Barmes .245/.294/.440 86 OPS+

Chase Utley is one of the best second baseman in baseball today period. Also, for what its worth he's led the league in getting hit by pitches for 3 years in a row.

Clint Barmes may have made a clutch catch against St. Louis last Sunday (or at least that's how it got counted) but i'm not quite sold on him. While he has pop in his bat, he is portrayed as a better hitter than he actually is. Clint Barmes Fun Fact: He has yet to have a season where he has even been a league average hitter (his career high OPS+ is 99)

Advantage: Phillies

Shortstop

Jimmy Rollins .250/.296/.423 85 OPS+

Troy Tulowitzki .297/.377/.552 135 OPS+

J-Roll has definitely had better years. He is a much more talented player than his 2009 stats indicate. The last time these teams faced off in the NLDS, Rollins won an MVP...this year he had his least productive season at the plate since 2002.

Troy Tulowitzki is a rising star in this league and he showed why in 2009. He bounced back big time from a sub-par 2008 and season and barring injury, he could be one of the best shortstops of this generation

Advantage: Rockies

Third Base:

Pedro Feliz .266/.309/.387 80 OPS+

Ian Stewart .228/.322/.466 100 OPS+

Pedro Feliz seems like a pretty good major league hitter....well unless you've never looked up his career stats. Feliz has filled the Clint Barmes role of being capable of going yard 20 times a year and still being a below average hitter.

Ian Stewart may be lacking in the batting average area but makes up for having more power. He's still 24 and getting better. He has the potential to be a star but he isn't quite there yet. However, he's at least better than Feliz and he has the edge here.

Advantage: Rockies

Left Field

Raul Ibanez .273/.348/.553 131 OPS+

Seth Smith .293/.380/.511 126 OPS+

When Raul Ibanez wasn't missing time due to injury and accusing all bloggers of living in their mom's basement he was crushing the ball and proving he was worth the contract that he signed.

2009 was the first chance for Seth Smith has gotten significant playing time and hes made the most of it. He may become a better player than Ibanez at some point but that time isn't now.

Advantage Phillies

Center Field

Shane Victorino .291/.357/.444 108 OPS+

Dexter Fowler .263/.362/.401 96 OPS+

Shane Victorino is a good player but overrated. He has proven to play well in the off-season (his grand slam off of C.C. Sabathia last year is still fresh in my memory).....but being voted in the All-Star game over Pablo Sandoval is a pretty good argument against letting fans vote for the All-Star team.

Dexter Fowler is another player who got his first shot at significant playing time in 2009. He has speed, a good eye and lots of potential....but he's running into too many outs by getting caught stealing and his 2009 numbers are too "scrappy" for my comfort. I'm not the biggest Victorino fan but he gets the edge here.

Advantage: Phillies

Right Field

Jayson Werth .268/.373/.508 127 OPS+

Brad Hawpe .283/.382/.511 127 OPS+

Jayson Werth has revived his career since coming to Philly and this as culminated in his career-year where he went yard 36 times and become an All-Star for the first time.

Brad Hawpe has put in another productive year at right field for the Rockies. He's a player that can be penciled in to hit around .280 hit 20-25 homers and hit 20% above league average.

This match-up is too close to call so past post-season performance is used as a tie-breaker. Werth (.292/.386/.597) gets the nod over Hawpe (.282/.404/.410).

Advantage: Phillies

Starting Rotation

Ubaldo Jiminez

Jason Marquis

Jorge de la Rosa

Jason Hammel

vs.

Cliff Lee

Cole Hamels

Joe Blanton

Pedro Martinez/J.A. Happ

For the Rockies, Ubaldo Jiminez has moved deeper into ace-status territory this year. I'm not quite sold on the rest of the rotation as Marquis is decent but there are better #2 pitchers and no matter what Jorge de la Rosa does, to me he's still the pitcher who posted a WHIP of almost 2 when he pitched for the Brewers....he's about reached his peak.

The Phillies have a strong rotation. Cliff Lee has been an impact player in Philly and been the ex-Indians pitcher to help a NL playoff contender this year. Hamels has had a down season but he has proven to be clutch in October. Joe Blanton has put in a solid but not spectacular season as the #3 man..like Hamels, he also has been a proven commodity in the post-season. And how could I discuss the rotation without discussing Pedro Martinez. He is the wild-card in this equation. He may not be as dominant as he was 10 years ago and he may have struggled in his last couple starts. However, he has been through the post-season many times and knows what it takes to win in October. If the Phils get their backs against the wall and need a clutch start..Pedro would be a very good choice to make that start.

Advantage: Phillies

If the game is on the line, these pitchers are likely to appear

Brad Lidge/Ryan Madson

Chad Durbin

Clay Condrey

vs.

Huston Street

Matt Daley

Franklin Morales

The Phillies may need their pitchers to go the distance a couple times because their bullpen is not amongst their strengths. Regardless of whether they keep Madson in the closers role or if Lidge gets his 5th second chance to get things right, the bullpen situation leaves a lot to be desired.

For the Rockies, closing out games is not as tenuous as Huston Street has been one of the best closers this year.

Advantage: Rockies

X Factor:

The Phillies are the defending World Champs until they get knocked out. They have a chance of winning two years in a row and making a case for being a dynasty. They have the post-season experience as this is their 3rd straight playoff experience.

The Rockies are attempting to replicate their '07 miracle run in Rocktober II: Tracy's Redemption. This team was left for dead/written off a couple months into the season. They fire Clint Hurdle when they are 18-28 and in last place, they hire Jim Tracy who had gotten fired from two managerial jobs in the last five years ('05 in L.A. '07 in Pittsburgh). What happens when a manager on his last chance inherits a team going nowhere.....they start winning games left and right...nearly take over the NL West and get back to the playoffs. Over/Under on a when a movie loosely based on this years Rockies gets made: 3.5 years.

Advantage: Rockies

Final Tally: Phillies 6 Rockies 5

The Rockies may be the hotter team but the Phillies are the better team overall. As long as Charlie Manuel is smart enough to not bring in Brad Lidge with the game on the line, we're getting a rematch of last year's NLCS.

Prediction: Phillies in 5

Brewers-Phils Preview

Well, the Brewers were unable to pass the Cubs for second and to crack .500. If nothing else, the Brewers were able to salvage a game and not get swept at home by the Cubs. This weekend, the Brewers play a team that's tuning up for the preseason (Phillies) in a rematch of last year's NLDS. Unlike the Phils, the Brewers are definitely not making a return trip to the post-season as they are mathematically eliminated.

If nothing else, there's no way this series could go any worse than the disastrous 4 game set against the Phils last September that basically cost Ned Yost his job.

Brewers 75-77 vs. Phillies 88-62

Thursday

Happ 10-4 2.77 era 155 ERA+ vs. Suppan 7-10 4.76 era 89 ERA+

Definitely a one-sided pitching match-up in favor of the Phils. J.A. Happ has had an excellent year and I would not be surprised to see him coast through this start. While it has come way too late and is irrelevant since these have been irrelevant games but Suppan has actually pitched well in September(there, I finally said something almost positive about Jeff Suppan.)

Friday

Lee 14-11 2.99 era 150 ERA+ vs. Parra 10-10 6.42 era 66 ERA+

To follow up with a future Cy-Young Award winner in J.A Happ, the Phils follow up with Cliff Lee. Lee has pretty much played the role of this year's Sabathia to a T (left-handed Cy Young Award winner from the previous year, starts solid for an Indians team going nowhere, gets shipped to the National League and becomes a factor in the pennant race)

The Brewers counter with Manny Parra who has by all conceivable measurements underachieved this year. He has too much talent to pitch this bad the rest of his career. I'm pretty sure he'll get it together and at least by a solid 2/3 starter, I just hope it's for the Brewers and not someone else.

Saturday

Martinez 5-1 3.32 era 130 ERA+ vs. Looper 13-7 5.12 era 82 ERA+

If Lee and Happ aren't enough, the Brewers are the next stop on the Pedro Martinez comeback tour. He's pitched and held up a lot better than I expected him to. He could push the Phils over the top for another title (assuming Brad Lidge doesn't single-handedly pitch this team out of it)

The Brewers follow up with Braden Looper. The only reason to watch Looper pitch is to see how many more homers he can give up. Headed into this start, the total is at 37, which is good for a tie for 47th all time.

Sunday

TBD vs. Bush 5-8 6.22 era 68 ERA+

With the arsenal of pitchers the Phillies are bringing out in the first three games, does it really matter who starts Sunday? Phils are cruising to the NL East title, Brewers are coasting to a 3rd place finish and David Bush's disastrous season gets another footnote added to it.

Weekend Baseball Preview: As Much As I Like the NFL, Baseball Still Comes First

Well, we're another weekend closer to the playoffs.....yet there is more baseball yet to be played...some of it relevant....some of it not so much. As always, games are rated on a scale from 1-5....with that, let the games begin.

Mets vs. Phillies -Saturday FOX/Sunday ESPN =2

Saturday [Pelfrey vs. Happ]

Sunday [Redding vs. Martinez]

Well these two teams are heading in opposite directions. It's tough to tell what's been more disapointing this season for the Mets, their team or their new stadium. The Phillies look to be headed to the playoffs for the third straight season. They have a solid chance to win the title for the second straight year (although I have a gut feeling that Brad Lidge will pitch the Phils out of it at some point)

Saturday the Mets start Mike Pelfrey who has had an uninspring season. He goes up against J.A. Happ who is having an excellent season and looks to be a star in this league for years to come. It is definitely easy to see why the Phillies would not give him up (even for Roy Halladay)

On Sunday the Mets start Tim Redding (who's somehow made 13 starts this year....seriously he's still pitching in the bigs?)....the Phillies counter with ex-Met Pedro Martinez who has pitched solid since coming back from injury.

White Sox vs. Angels- Saturday FOX

(Danks vs. Santana)= 2.5

White Sox management seems to have thrown in the towel by trading Jim Thome, but they have shown a strong ability to play well against teams fighting for a post-season spot as evidenced by them taking 3 of 4 from Boston last weekend. The Angels have a 4 1/2 game lead over Texas in the west and seem headed towards another post-season appearance.

The White Sox are starting John Danks who has had a solid season. Even though the White Sox are the weaker team, anytime Danks starts the White Sox have a chance to beat superior competition. The Angels start Ervin Santana who has followed up a strong 2008 by having a horrible season. Even though the Angels are the better team, the White Sox definitely have the upper hand for at least Saturday.

Braves vs. Cardinals =3

(Hudson vs. Lohse)

The Braves are fighting for their NL East and Wild Card lives while the Cardinals are cruising with a large lead over the joke that is the rest of the NL Central.

The Braves start Tim Hudson who is making his 3rd start of the season. Hudson's return bolsters an already strong Braves rotation....unfortunately for the Braves, it seems to be too little too late. The Cardinals counter with Kyle Lohse who is doing what Kyle Lohse has always done....eat innings at the back of the rotation and making sure the 4/5 spot is in decent shape.

Dodgers vs. Giants---Saturday MLB Network/Sunday TBS

(Padilla vs. Sanchez)

(Billingsley vs. Penny)

The Dodgers are struggling at the wrong time of the season and have seen their once insurmountable NL West lead sink to 2 1/2 games. The Giants have also picked a bad time to struggle and are quickly fading behind the Rockies for the Wild Card lead.

Saturday, the Dodgers start Vicente Padilla who has actually pitched well since being cut by the Rangers. The Giants counter with Sanchez who has pitched well in the second-half and is coming off a strong no-decision versus Milwaukee last weekend.

Sunday, the Dodgers start Billingsley who has quietly had a solid season (even though he leads the NL with wild pitches), the Giants start Brad Penny who pitched terrible in Boston, but has pitched like a star in his first two Giants starts. Come to think about, a lot of AL pitchers have gotten cut for being terrible only to factor in NL teams playoff hopes.....even Vicente Padilla.....point being the Giants need Penny to continue his hot streak to keep the Giants postseason hopes alive.

Top 100 Lists/Sports Crossovers: Totalfilm.com

Alright, so i'm chillin watching Terminator 2:Judgement Day [the best of the Terminator movies] on Bravo and was looking at the Wikipedia page for the movie. While doing this I stumbled across a 100 Greatest Movies of all Time from totalfilm.com, released in 2006.

With this in mind, I decided to see if I could use the titles of some of these films and connect them to the sports world, and the results are as follows.

1-Star Wars Episode V-The Empire Strikes Back----Yankees

Or you could go with Baseball Wars episode 161---the Yankees strike back. Even though my Brewers don't play in the AL anymore and haven't played in the same division as the Yankees since 1993....the Yankees have always been one of those teams I've loathed and seen as the bad guys. Their strategy is outspend everyone else and leave the little guys in the dust. In 2008, they fell to third in the AL East behind a surprising Rays team and their long-time rivals, the Red Sox. Well, what did they do. They struck back by throwing bags of cash at CC Sabathia and Mark Teixiera and going into September they have the best fantasy team that money can buy in first place. Well it sucks now, but it will make it all the more amusing when they inevitably stumble in the playoffs

14- Raiders of the Lost Arc----Oakland Raiders

Or you could go with Raiders of the lost mind, decade, etc...........

The Raiders have definitely become the punch-line of the NFL. Since their Super Bowl loss to Tampa, everything this team has done has been terrible. Whether it was losing games by the bunch....throwing money at the wrong players....letting Art Shell coach them (again).....how they handled the Lane Kiffin situation....hiring Tom Cable (whose prior coaching experience was going 11-35 for the University of Idaho)...to Cable punching one of his assistant coaches and fracturing his jaw.......Classy.........

24-Die Hard----- Texas Rangers

This is a team that has refused to fade away. When the Rangers started strong due to their improved pitching, it seemed a given their pitching staff would regress as they had for much of the past decade. However, this is a team that has kept with i, kept pitching well (seriously pitching coach Mike Maddux is a genius.....even Derrick Turnbow had a year-long flash of brilliance under his watch) and as we go into labor-day are only 2 games out of the wild card position.

33-T-2: Judgement Day-----Dodgers

In 1991 and 2009 Movies in the Terminator series were released. In 1991 the Dodgers lead the NL West by as many as 6 games and spent 135 days in first place only to lose the division. This year, the Dodgers have spend 147 days in first place, had a once insurmountable lead of 9 1/2 games but surges by the Giants and Rockies have made the Dodgers not winning the NL West not as certain as previously thought. Does history repeat itself and complete this parallel Terminator movie/Dodgers baseball rant? Or do they hold on and make me look like an idiot? Check back in about a month.

46-The Good, The Bad And The Ugly-----Phillies, Royals, Mets

Teams I pulled off the top of my heads. The Phillies are a good team headed into the playoffs, the Royals are a bad team (more about them at the bottom of this post) and the Mets are an ugly team in an ugly new stadium.

60-The Silence of the Lambs--Mets/Mike Lamb

So, Mike Lamb had 11 uninspiring plate appearances for the Brewers towards the end of 2008. It struck me that I hadn't heard anything about him since. Did he go into coaching? Did he leave baseball? Nope.....apparently Lamb's bat has been silenced to the point that even with their whole team injured, he wasn't good enough to even play for the Mets (he's played 118 games for their Triple-A, and having an awesome .666 OPS. Still, he is one of only five players with the last name Lamb to appear in the bigs, so he can hang his head up high on that (cause trying to do that with the 63 OPS+ he had in the bigs last year is probably a bad idea)

65- The Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl--Pirates

Or Pirates of the NL Central--The Curse of the fire sale. I know I jumped on them a while back with their fire sale but seriously.....they play in the NL Central but they're so inept I can't muster enough strength to hate them.....for the good of baseball.....at least try to act like your trying to field a competitive team.

71-Rocky-Rockies

Rocky a rags to riches story of a fighter in Philly. The Rockies were pretty much afterthoughts (the rags of baseball) for a couple months. Hire Jim Tracy who is on his third (possibly last chance) as a baseball manager.....the win a lot of games and have a chance to compete amongst the riches of baseball (playoffs).

85-The Wizard of Oz--1975 White Sox

So I was wandering aimlessly on baseball-reference and decided to put oz into the search term, just because I could. Well apparently there was a pitcher named Ozzie Osborn who pitched 24 games for the 1975 White Sox only to never appear on a Major League roster again. I know it's not an exact to the rock star but it's the closest any major league team has come to riding the crazy train.

98- This is Spinal Tap- Royals

Spinal Tap is a tale of a satirical rock band that makes a mockery of rock stardom. The Kansas City Royals are a satirical baseball team and a mockery of major league baseball. Despite having the best pitcher in baseball on their team, they are 51-85. Ever since the onion reported they were unable to find themselves in the standings, they are 35-74.

Doing this post makes me realize I know more about baseball than Joe Morgan

Alright so one of my favorite all-time blogs is firejoemorgan.com. Unfortunately, the blog was retired in November 2008. This was one of my favorite blogs as their insight was intelligent, sarcastic and they were not afraid to point out when an "expert" argued witht the logic of a second grader. One of their regular features was a skewering of Joe Morgan's online Q and A [Joe Chat] where they would regularly point to where he was not fulfilling his job as an expert

With nobody taking up the internet void of skewering Joe Chat's ....I figure i'll at least give it a shot.....if it works.....awesome.....if not......at least I gave it a shot

Some of the "highlights are as follows"

joe do what do oyu think the chances of the phils repeatin are? what needs to happen? do you think cliff lee is the best pitcher in baseball right now?

Joe Morgan

(11:32 AM)

They definitely have a chance of repeating. I think the key will be Cole Hamels. If he can get back to being the pitcher he was at the end of last season, with the addition of Lee, I think they have a chance. So, with Hamels and of course Brad Lidge.

Alright, I'll give Morgan partial credit for addressing the first question. However, he fails to answer whether Cliff Lee is the best pitcher in baseball right now. It's obvious that adding Lee gives the Phillies a better chance. Plus, all Morgan would need to do to answer the Cliff Lee question was to look up his ridiculous stats since coming to Philly [5-0 0.68 era 641 ERA+]---ok so that was before his loss to Atlanta tonight--but he's definitely the best pitcher in the NL right now (and even if he didn't think it....he still should have bothered to answer the question. Also, what's with him mentioning Brad Lidge and cutting himself off mid-sentence.

brett...louisville [via mobile]

what is the biggest concern for the reds, pitching or hitting? and can they ever be a contender in the central? thanks joe

Joe Morgan

(11:34 AM)

All of the above. For a while they were hitting very well, scoring some runs and pitching well. Now they look like a team that needs both, pitching and hitting.

This was an answer that was insightful……NOT…..It's also obvious that Joe has no idea what he's talking about. First of all, one quick look at baseball-reference shows that while their pitching has been pretty mediocre (10th in NL in ERA)….their hitting has been a full on trainwreck.

While you could argue that they were pitching well for some point (their team ERA+ is 102), any assertion that they were hitting well at some point this season is preposterous. As a team they are dead last in OPS. Their team OPS+ is 79---their whole team is hitting 21 % worse than average. It's pretty sad when their third best hitter is Laynce Nix. They've given significant playing time to THREE players with an OPS+ below 60 (Alex Gonzales, Willy Taveras and Adam Rosales)……in other words....the hitting has more room for improvement than the pitching

Also, Joe doesn't even address the second question. Obviously the Reds will be a contender in the NL Central at some point…..how soon that happens to be (probably not for another few years) ---is gut instinct answer that popped in my head--but at least I gave an answer which is still a better answer than the one given by some guy who's covered MLB for ESPN since 1990.

Marc (MS)

Joe, of all the divisional leaders, no one is talking about St. Louis. If Carpenter stays healthy, I believe this is a World Series team. Your thoughts?

Joe Morgan

(11:46 AM)

I think at this time St. Louis is the best team in the NL, Carpenter, Wainwright, Pujols, etc. That doesn't mean they're the best team in baseball, but the best team in the NL right now.

So are they a World Series team or not?

Steve (Middletown, CT)

What do you think about Ben Zobrist for AL MVP consideration?

Joe Morgan

(11:47 AM)

There are a lot of guys having a good year on a lot of different teams. But to say that he's an MVP candidate, I don't think so. I think you're looking at Teixiera, Morneau, Mauer. There are guys ahead of him as far as MVP is concerned. But Zobrist is having a good season.

I can't argue too much with picking Mauer/Morneau as being more MVP-worthy than Ben Zobrist. However, just because Zobrist wasn't a big name before 2009 and doesn't means he's not as valuable as Mark Teixiera. The way Morgan answers this question implies that Mark Teixiera is better than Zobrist by leaps and bounds. Taking a look at the numbers…that despite Zobrist's biggest strike against him (playing for Tampa Bay NOT New York)..one look at the numbers shows that he's actually played better than Teixiera up to this point

Zobrist .292/.409/.554 147 OPS+

Teixiera .286/.382/.547 140 OPS+

While Zobrist in the MVP consideration is a stretch, to say that Teixiera is in the discussion while Zobrist is an afterthought is an absolute travesty.

Joe, do you think it was a mistake to bench Juan Pierre right when Manny came back? The Dodgers were so hot with him and he was playing some of the best ball of his life. Do you think they should have found something else for him?

Joe Morgan

(11:50 AM)

Kevin, you are the first guy that thinks like I do. I've said all along that Juan Pierre brought an energy to that team that they didn't have with Manny in the lineup. He's a lifetime .300 hitter, so he wasn't just getting hot with Manny gone. I'm not saying they should have benched Manny, but they should find a way to get him more at bats and get him more time to play. He needs to have more of a chance to play now that they're struggling. Maybe Joe Torre will do that. Manny's not hitting well either. And when he's not hitting well, he's not helping you that much.

Energy…..the new grit….this is the type of thinking that inflates the reputation of weak-hitting middle infielders everywhere…..energy is nice but producing on the field is nicer……while Pierre has been as asset to the Dodgers…..to even suggest that his value even approaches Manny……not buying it……what they've done this year is as follows…..

Ramirez .306/.424/.536 151 OPS+

Pierre .319/.376/.403 106 OPS+

Not even close….even a struggling, distracting Manny Ramirez does more to help the Dodgers than a solid Juan Pierre. It's nice that Pierre hits .300+ but Ramirez does that to. Unlike Pierre….Ramirez also hits the ball beyond the outfield fence more than twice in a given year.

Well, there would have been more skewering but this particular session was fairly short. Still, there was enough there to see that Joe Morgan is still up to his old ways and even if i'm not the one meant to point this out......it's still clear that needs to be done by someone