The Weekend Ahead: Unlikely to top Buerhle

Before I get started on the weekend preview I would like to take some space to congratulate Mark Buerhle on his perfect game and DeWayne Wise for making this catch

With that said lets the games begin.........

As always games are rated from 1 to 5 with 1 being borderline-unwatchable and 5 being must-see tv.....i've also added a new feature to this the expect/don't expect a good game out of feature......these predictions are based off of players career numbers against the starting pitchers....this info is found on baseball-reference.com


Saturday---FOX

Cardinals (Lohse) vs. Phillies (Lopez) =3.5

Possible playoff preview as both teams are in first place. This game is definitely more important for the Cards than the Phils since they have the Brew Crew, Astros and Cubs are chomping at the bit for their spot at the top while the Phils have gotten a comfortable distance from the rest of the NL East.......Rodrigo Lopez has been pitching suprisingly well this year and provided he's able to pitch around Pujols the Phils should win this one

Expect a good game out of: Ryan Howard
Don't expect a good game out of: Jimmy Rollins

Twins (Blackburn) vs. Angels (TBD)= 3.5

Another possible (but not) likely playoff preview. Blackburn is having a nice year but he has two things going against him. 1) The Angels are the better team 2) The Angels hit very well against Blackburn

Expect a good game out of: Chone Figgins
Don't expect a good game out of Nick Blackburn

White Sox (Floyd) vs. Tigers (Jackson) =4

This is bound to be a good game. Both teams come into this weekend tied for 1st place with each other....I could easily see either team winning....the Tigers because they always have a chance to win with Edwin Jackson winning but i'm picking the White Sox here since I see them carrying the momentum from Buerhle's perfect game through at least the weekend.

Expect a good game out of: Jim Thome
Don't expect a good game out of: Miguel Cabrera

Saturday night MLB Network--

Giants (Sanchez) vs. Rockies (De La Rosa)= 4

Another close intense match-up. The Rockies currently lead the Giants in the wild card by a game so this series could be the difference between the playoffs and no playoffs this year. This one could go either way because I don't like Jorge de la Rosa (having a 6.23 ERA in 61 career games for the Brewers will do that)

Expect a good game out of: Chris Ianneta
Don't Expect a good game out of: Aaron Rowand

Sunday TBS

Phillies (Blanton) vs. Cardinals (Wellemeyer) =3

Decent match-up......possible play-off preview....Phils win this one

Expect a good game out of: Mark DeRosa
Don't Expect a good game out of: Jimmy Rollins

Sunday Night Baseball

White Sox (Danks) vs. Tigers (Porcello) =4

Good Pitching Match-Up....Two teams fighting for first.....couldn't ask for too much more...if it was later in the season this would have been bumped to a 4.5 or 5....Sox win this one

Expect a good game out of: Magglio Ordonez
Don't expect a good game out of: Curtis Granderson