New York Mets

The hype over Washington Nationals’ phenom Stephen Strasburg has been followed by terrific pitching from the young right-hander, but the Nats’ front office also deserves a lot of credit.  In his first three starts, Strasburg has faced the Pirates, the Indians, and the White Sox, all of whom rank near the bottom offensively.  While I think Strasburg has a tremendous amount of talent and is going to be a great pitcher for quite some time, I’d like to see how he fares against the heavy-hitting lineups of the Yankees, Reds, and Red Sox.

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As if Ubaldo Jimenez’s no-hitter was not enough excitement for one day, the Mets and Cardinals took part in a marathon contest, playing a 20-inning game Saturday in St. Louis.  If that does not…, the most remarkable part of the monumental occasion was that the two teams went scoreless through the first 18 frames!  That’s like back-to-back shutouts being thrown by both teams!  In a game that took nearly seven hours and featured an astounding 18 pitchers (two of whom were actually position players that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa sent to the hill), three Met hitters – Jose Reyes, Jason Bay, and Jeff Francoeur – went a combined 0 for 21.  That is an ugly line in the box score for three of the team’s four best offensive players.

Continue reading "Oh, what a night!"

The 12-inning thriller that was the last regular season game ever played at the Metrodome was exactly what I wanted to see.  When the Twins and Tigers played a four-game series in Detroit last week, I found myself rooting for the Twins to close the gap in order to create an exciting finish to the regular season – ideally a one-game playoff.  When that happened, I decided it would be great for the city of Detroit to send their team to the playoffs, but what I wanted most was to see a great game.  My wish came true when the two teams played a nail-biter that could have gone either way, but eventually sent Minnesota to the postseason.  Props to both teams for giving the fans what they deserved.

Continue reading "Twins-Tigers game was exactly what I wanted"

Francisco Rodriguez just signed a big-money contract with the Mets, who have missed the playoffs the last two seasons.  CC Sabathia chose to become the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history, signing with the Yankees in spite of the fact that they play in what is considered the toughest division in baseball and failed to make the postseason in 2008.  What drew Sabathia to the Bronx and K-Rod to Queens?  It wasn’t a near-guarantee to return to the playoffs, which they could have had with the Angels.  They didn’t grow up in New York dreaming of wearing Yankee Pinstripes and Met blue and orange one day.  There’s only one thing it could be: money – $161 million for seven years of Sabathia and $37 million for three years of Rodriguez.

Continue reading "Greed takes away from the game"

With the MLB playoffs set to begin, there is a subtle difference in the air compared to start of any other postseason. In the NHL, fans can potentially look forward to a great Canadians/Bruins series that is not only exciting, but has a historical kick to it. Likewise basketball fans always have the chance to see if the Suns can finally get past the Spurs and football fans love seeing the rivalry of the Eagles Vs the City of Philadelphia when the Eagles so much as get tackled for a loss.

Continue reading "The Ups and Downs of the MLB Playoffs"

It’s the annual midpoint of the baseball season, and for the brief span that is the All-Star break, all eyes are upon the Bronx. As everyone is well aware of, this campaign is the last go around for the world’s most famous, largest, and most prominent ballpark, Yankee Stadium. It seems hard to believe, and even more sacrilegious that this living legend’s days are numbered. Built in 1923 and christened by the greatest ballplayer to ever live, Babe Ruth, the cathedral of baseball will never truly be replaced. Although the Bombers will move a block to Yankee Stadium’s heir, the Mecca of America’s Pastime will still live on in our hearts. Whether you’re a diehard Yankee fan, or Yankee-hater, you still can respect the history and awe that the stadium brings. So when the All-Stars take the field Tuesday night, sit back on your couch, crack open a cold one and soak up the history of Yankee Stadium, as its final chapter is unveiled to all of us.

Continue reading "National League Looks to End Rut"

One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.

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My attention is divided today, between the two coasts, and between moves major and minor.

Beginning in the East and the earlier time zone is appropriate to the biggest story: the firing of Willie Randolph. Say what you will about Willie, he’s been a classy guy in both New York teams (he earlier served as a Yankees’ bench coach) and deserved better. That Minaya reportedly declined to fire him on Father’s Day, only to axe Randolph in the middle of the night on Monday, replaces a reprehensible act with a cowardly one.

Continue reading "Two Brief Bits"

emy Hermida and Mike Jacobs who are capable of potentially hitting 25 home runs each this season.

New York Mets

What will the Mets get from Pedro Martinez this year?

While Johan Santana gives them the legitimate number one starter they lacked last year and should easily be the most dominant starter in the Majors this season, he can still only take the ball once every 5 games. Pedro Martinez, however, will be the key to the pitching staff. He has shown in the past that he can still be very effective even though he no longer throws 97 thanks to his command and assortment of pitches. Now, though, he will probably have to live in the low to mid 80's and rely even more on guile than he ever has. Pedro remained effective in his brief stint last season and should put up good numbers if he can stay healthy.

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: National League East"

st year when the hitting went bad, it stayed bad, for a very long time.  And, they are not the New York Mets.  After aquiring Johan Santana, they have become World Series contenders and I do not see the Cubs marching pass them in the playoffs.  After their historic collapse from grace, the Mets are out for blood.

Continue reading "Carlos Zambrano Injured!!!"

sion was far superior even with the lack of hitting Diamondbacks had.  All I got to say is the New York Mets are out for blood after their historic fall from grace with their new top gun Johan Santana.  No way is any team going to march pass them.

Continue reading "Is this the year of Dreams? Think ..."