Baltimore Orioles's Baltimore Orioles friend's fan blogs

Following Andy Pettitte’s retirement announcement last week, the New York Yankees are left with a big hole in their starting rotation.  CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and A.J. Burnett are the team’s top three starters, while the last two spots are up for grabs.  Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre are options for Joe Girardi, but their limited experience in The Show may hurt their chances, as the Bronx Bombers tend to go with more established pitchers.  That leaves Freddy García (35) and Bartolo Colón (37), both of whom will try to prove they are not washed-up.

García won 12 games last season for the White Sox, but his 4.64 ERA is more indicative of the type of year he had.  I went to Chicago one weekend and actually saw him give up seven earned runs in just 2.1 innings of work against the Marlins.  The ChiSox eventually lost the game 13-0 in front of their home fans.  García surrendered three home runs in that game and 23 overall in only 157 innings pitched, numbers that are unlikely to improve if he makes half his starts at New Yankee Stadium.

Continue reading "Yankees look to fill Pettitte’s shoes in rotation"

While it should come as no surprise that a professional baseball player holds the state of Georgia's high school home run record, it may come as a shock that the record-holder is not a slugging outfielder like Jason Heyward, Mike Cameron, Jeff Francoeur, Nick Markakis, or J.D. Drew.  It isn’t a catcher with pop like Buster Posey or Brian McCann.  It isn’t even “The Big Hurt” Frank Thomas or “The Georgia Peach” himself, Hall of Famer Ty Cobb.  In fact, the record-holder isn’t a position player at all: it’s Diamondbacks pitcher Micah Owings.

Owings’s 69 career high school home runs are fourth in the United States behind Jeff Clement (75), James Peterson (73), and Drew Henson (70), who have combined to hit a grand total of 14 in the majors.  Peterson hit 11 in the minors but never even played in the big leagues, and Henson collected one hit in eight major league at-bats before deciding he had a better chance of succeeding as a quarterback in the NFL.  Clement has shown decent power in the minors but has yet to prove he can hit major league pitching.  If he doesn’t do it soon, Owings – who won a Silver Slugger as a pitcher during his rookie year (2007) and has hit nine homers in his brief big league career – will likely pass him.

Continue reading "Who ever said pitchers can’t hit?"

Trevor Hoffman, Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader, announced his retirement this week after an illustrious 18-year big league career.  The seven-time All-Star finishes his career with 601 saves, a 61-75 record, a 2.87 ERA, and 1,133 strikeouts.  In 1089.1 innings pitched – spanning 1035 games – he surrendered exactly 100 home runs.  Hoffman spent the bulk of his career with the Padres, with whom he won four division titles and one National League pennant.

Hoffman was drafted as a position player, but after hitting .249 and .212 in his first two seasons in the low levels of the minors, the Reds turned him into a pitcher.  Hoffman found immediate success on the mound, going on to become a dominant closer for nearly two decades, but Cincinnati lost him to the Marlins in the 1992 Expansion Draft.  After half a season in the majors, he was traded to San Diego in a deal that sent Gary Sheffield to Florida.  Hoffman would spend the next 15 and a half seasons in a Padres uniform.

Continue reading "Trevor Time calls it a day"

Two cities that produce NBA Eastern Conference contenders also have the two teams that are favored to win the Super Bowl as the NFL playoffs are set to begin this weekend.

NBA spread betting experts might recognize that Atlanta and Boston produce two East contenders and with the Falcons and Patriots, both cities have the Super Bowl XLV juggernauts as well.

Just as in the NBA’s East, Atlanta’s team is viewed with an eye of pessimism. The Falcons had a great regular season but don’t have a ton of playoff experience. They’re a young squad that is gaining it on the fly.

Meanwhile, Boston’s team - just like in the NBA – is experienced, savvy and has done it before. The Patriots are the odds-on favorites to do it all and considering they’ve won it three times this decade, why bet against them?

Continue reading "Patriots, Falcons Super Bowl Favorites"

Basketball betting is not quite as common as betting on some other sports, but if you do your research, take your time and keep accurate records, there’s no reason you can’t be as successful at betting on basketball as betting on anything else. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Top Basketball Betting Tip: NCAA vs. NBA

Of course you are welcome to bet both college and pro basketball (including the WNBA), like placing your bets in online video poker games, you need to be aware that each type of basketball may have very different factors in play. In college basketball, every game counts, whereas pro teams can afford to drop a few games here and there and still have a great shot at the championship. There may be a much larger disparity between two competing college teams. Know the league you’re betting.

Continue reading "Top Basketball Betting Tips"

One of the most talented hitters of the nineties did not receive enough votes for induction to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, but I’m hoping Edgar Martínez does not have to wait too much longer.  I don’t expect him to be elected in 2011 because too many voters don’t think a Designated Hitter is a full-time player.  (Martínez came up as a third baseman, but injuries forced him to become Seattle’s regular DH in 1995.)  In my opinion, if a poor defensive player can make it to Cooperstown based on his offensive contributions, then someone who does not play a defensive position should be able to do the same.

Martínez’s career stats include a .312 batting average, .418 on-base percentage, .515 slugging percentage, 2,247 hits, 309 home runs, and 1,261 RBIs.  His best season came in 1995, when he slugged .628 while leading the AL in batting average (.356), OBP (.479), OPS (1.107), doubles (52), and runs (121).  Despite his monster year, Martínez still finished third in the MVP race.  Fifteen years later, he remains the only designated hitter ever to win a batting title.

Continue reading "Edgar Martínez’s case for Cooperstown"

It’s hard to believe, but Jeff Bagwell has not played in the majors in five years.  That means, of course, that in the upcoming election, he is eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Bagwell’s stats speak for themselves: 449 home runs, four All-Star appearances, and several notable awards: three Silver Sluggers, Rookie of the Year (1991), and MVP and a Gold Glove in the same year (1994).  He is the Houston Astros’ career leader in Home Runs, RBIs (1,529), Walks (1,401), Sacrifice Flies (102) and Intentional Walks (155).  Additionally, he is second in franchise history behind former teammate Craig Biggio in Games, At-Bats and Plate Appearances, Runs Scored, Hits, Doubles, Extra-Base Hits, and Total Bases.

He also holds 11 of the team’s single season records: Batting Average (.368 in 1994), On-Base Percentage (.454 in 1999), Slugging Percentage (.750 in 1994), OPS (1.201 in 1994), Runs (152 in 2000), Total Bases (363 in 2000), Home Runs (47 in 2000), Walks (149 in 1999), Times on Base (331 in 1999), Intentional Walks (27 in 1997) and At-Bats per Home Run (10.3 in 1994).

Continue reading "Bagwell has one more stop in baseball career"

Shin-Soo Choo likely earned an exemption from South Korea’s two-year military service requirement, as his country won this year’s just-completed Asian Games.  Led by none other than Choo, who hit .571 (8-for-14) with three home runs, six walks, eight runs scored and 11 RBIs during the tournament, South Korea defeated Taiwan, 9-3, in the final game earlier today.

In addition to becoming the first Asian to join the 20-20 club in 2009, Choo is the first player in Indians franchise history (bear in mind the Tribe is more than a century old) to hit .300 with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in consecutive seasons.  Joe Carter, who played in Cleveland for six years, accomplished the feat in 1986 and even went 30-30 the next season, but saw his average fall from .302 to .264.  Roberto Alomar almost did it

Continue reading "Shin-Soo Choo: one of a kind"

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants, who are World Champions for the first time since moving to the west coast more than 50 years ago.  Their last title in New York came in 1954, when Willie Mays made “the catch” that will be played on highlight reels forever.  The Giants came unbelievably close to not even making the playoffs this year, but the fans who claimed that watching their team was “torture” are now the happiest fans in baseball.

How ‘bout that?

How about Matt Cain?  The San Francisco hurler was nearly untouchable throughout the playoffs, outshining staff ace Tim Lincecum, who had a bad outing in Game 1 of the Fall Classic.  In three postseason starts, Cain allowed only an unearned run over 21.1 innings of work, going at least 6.2 innings in each outing and providing a huge boost to his team’s hunt for glory.  He might be the best #2 starter in the majors, but Matt Cain looked like the second coming of Cy Young when it mattered most for the Giants.

Continue reading "A new champion is crowned"

Postseason sweeps are great if your team comes out victorious, but for the fan who just wants to see a good series because his team is already done for the year, sweeps make October less exciting.  The Phillies and Yankees outplayed their first-round opponents so it was no surprise that the Reds and Twins failed to win a single game, but the other two division series were more fun to watch.  Additionally, the League Championship Series in both the AL and NL will last a minimum of six games, which is how it should be.  A postseason series that features one team in complete control over the other is like a boxing match in which one fighter KO’s the other in the first round, but then fights him again the next night and does it all over again.  A series that goes the distance (or a game shy of it), on the other hand, is good for ball.

Continue reading "Longer series are good for ball"