Dodgers [Haeger] vs. Reds [Maloney] Saturday FOX =2
These teams have had very opposite seasons. Despite their recent struggles, the Dodgers are still the team to beat in the NL West and start the weekend with a 4-game lead. The start knuckleballer Charlie Haeger who pitched very impressively last weekend against the Cubs, getting his first win of the season. The Reds [despite their sweep of the Brewers] are still a team going nowhere and nowhere fast....despite playing well enough to be within striking distance in the first half of the season....they still sit a whopping 16 games under .500.....they counter with rookie Matt Maloney who is making his fourth start and still seeking his first ML win...thus far his closest claim to ML fame was being traded for Kyle Lohse in 2007.....another fun fact is if you look up Matt Maloney on wikipedia it defaults to the ex-Houston Rocket of the same name.....
Mets [Parnell] vs. Cubs [Dempster] =2---Saturday FOX
A match-up between two teams who have played worse than expected this year. The Mets have been decimated by injuries and start Bobby Parnell who has pitched primarily in the bullpen this year. The Cubs counter with Ryan Dempster.....who has regressed back to his career averages...not the best way to follow-up a career year and the ensuing contract extension.....
Rays [Price] vs. Tigers [Robertson] =3.5 Saturday FOX
Not the most exciting match-up...but it gets bumped up a point since there are playoff implications. The Rays are sitting 3 1/2 games out of the wild-card starts David Price. The Tigers are up 4 games in the AL Central and they are giving Nate Robertson his first start of the season...
Giants [Zito] vs. Rockies [Marquis]---Saturday MLB Network =4
Easily the best game on TV this weekend. The Giants and Rockies are in a battle for the wild card spot. As of this writing, the Rockies are up 3 games. It will take a lot to out-do the series they had last week culminating in a 14th inning grand slam.
White Sox [Garcia] vs. Yankees [Chamberlain] = 2 Sunday TBS
This game gets a point knocked off because the Yankees are involved. The White Sox despite struggling this year are still only 4 games behind the Tigers. They trot-out injury prone Freddy Garcia who is making his 3rd start of the season. The Yankees trot out Joba Chamberlain.....who is definitely gets more hype/publication than than he would if he didn't play in New York.....but hey not if you lead the league in hit batsmen....well i can't think of anything else significant he's done this year
Braves [Jurrjens] vs. Phillies [Blanton] = 3.5 Sunday ESPN
A Solid NL-East battle to finish off the weekend. The Braves bring in start Jurrjens who has pitched much better than his 10-8 record. The Phillies counter with Joe Blanton...a very prototypical mid-rotation pitcher....the Braves need to take at least 2 of 3 this weekend as they are sitting 7 back in the NL East and need to go on a tear to make a deeper impact on the wild card..........
Looking at the Brewers week-by-week power rankings on ESPN. From 27th in April to 5th in June and now at 19th. When does football season start?
ReplyDeleteAggies at Fresno State next weekend. Get excited!
ReplyDeletePerfectly sums up the tragic bi-polarity of the Brewers season....terrible in April....elite in may.....slowly sloping downward the rest of the way.......can't wait to see UCD pull off the upset in Fresno...they've beaten a Pac-10 team (although that team was Stanford) i'm sure they can handle a mid-major (albeit a good one)
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