by Deborah on July 17, 2010
The 2nd half of the MLB season is just underway and one trend has become painfully evident – the division leaders and wannabe leaders are losing. Some of the losing in their divisions and some losing to teams they should be beating. Did the All-Star break put them off their games that much?
Rays lose to the Yankees, Red Sox lose to the Rangers, White Sox lose to the Twins, Tigers lose to the Indians, Braves lose to the Brewers, Mets lose to the Giants, Phillies lose to the Cubs, Rockies lose to the Reds, and Dodgers lose to the Cards. That’s a lot of losses to start the second half. The in division losses are of course the most damaging. Will this trend continue? Read more... (250 words, 2 images, estimated 1:00 mins reading time)
by Deborah on July 12, 2010
It’s the All-Star break and time to examine the races in the National League, some of which are extremely tight and some which are changing right before the break.
NL EAST
Braves 52-36 Last 10 7-3 Next Up Brewers
Mets 48-40 Games Back 4 Last 10 4-6 Next Up Giants
Phillies 47-40 Games Back 4.5 Last 10 6-4 Next Up Cubs
The Mets and Phillies were both coming right before the break. The Braves took 2-3 from the Mets while the Phillies had bested the red hot Reds. Heyward should return after the break for the Braves, but the Mets and Phillies will still be without some of their big names for a few more weeks.
NL CENTRAL Read more... (392 words, 2 images, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)
by Deborah on June 24, 2010
The White Sox and Braves take their series to the third game tonight with the White Sox holding a 2-0 advantage. The Sox send Gavin Floyd to the hill and the Braves send Derek Lowe. On paper, it might look like Lowe has the advantage, but over the last several games that Floyd has pitched he has been stellar.
In Floyd’s last 3 starts he has had 22 strikeouts but the stats belie that truth only showing him 0-1 with two no decisions. He has allowed very few runs and very few walks. With a little more run support he could have come away with 3 wins easily. Read more... (252 words, 2 images, estimated 1:00 mins reading time)
by Deborah on June 18, 2010
The Mets have been nothing short of amazing the last few games. In fact, they have won 7 games in a row. That’s right, 7 in a row. The Mets currently sit 0.5 games behind the Braves in the NL East. Coming from almost the basement to almost the top in the span a few games is nothing short of amazin’.
Game by game the Mets have creeped back into the race. With each win, they get closer and closer to the Braves at the top. Now comes the series with the Yankees. If anything is going to derail their amazing comeback this series will be it. Their one true baseball rival and these games could be the difference in the Mets getting to the top and the Mets falling back to 3rd place. Read more... (249 words, 2 images, estimated 60 secs reading time)
by Ben Millikan on May 21, 2010
Today marks the beginning of the 14th season of interleague play. Where as in the past few seasons, these games between teams from opposing leagues has been lacking in intrigue, the 2010 interleague schedule doesn’t need any extra hype from the advertising wizards. Read more... (388 words, 1 image, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)
by Patton on May 15, 2010
Trey Hillman got fired by the Royals–is anybody surprised? I mean, the Royals are terrible and the front office doesn’t help and they’ve been terrible since the ’85 World Series. So, this doesn’t really come as a surprise anymore.
However, Ned Yost takes over and he’s got some pedigree. He was a coach with the Braves through alot of their 15-straight division title run. He did something with the Brewers and had them cooking pretty well until the front office screwed things up and he got fired.
Between those two things you’d think that he might be able to do something with this crew–not really. It isn’t going to happen. You can’t convince me for one second that anyone could make this team good. Yeah, a couple years ago they tried to hold it together and missed the playoffs after having the best record in baseball for a time–that’s not enough. Read more... (331 words, 3 images, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)
by Patton on February 20, 2010
photo credit: OlympianX
I’ve taken a couple really big shots at the Mets lately because of poor organizational skills, but perhaps the Mets have something going right for them. Charlie Manuel seems like a good guy and I think he has a quality that may help to turn this team around.
I think his players trust him. Moreover, I think he trusts his players. Reports are surfacing that Manuel is willing to bat Jose Reyes 3rd in the lineup while Carlos Beltran (still really stupid) is out following knee surgery.
Why do I say he trusts his players?
Basically he’s telling Jose Reyes. “Listen, I think you can get on base consistently and I’m TRUSTING you to make a good 3-hitter until Carlos gets back and we can re-order this thing”. Read more... (312 words, 3 images, estimated 1:15 mins reading time)
by Patton on February 3, 2010
This is your best shot folks…
The New York Mets have tried to get “right” more times than Oprah’s tried to lose weight and nothing seems to be working. First, we’ve got the Carlos Beltran situation which looks like a “cop out” and you’ve got the speculation as to whether Jose Reyes can get it together for 2010.
I remember when Jose Reyes was supposed to be the Mets‘ savior coming out of the minors and he’d hit, steal bases, field, and shine a bright aura over the team. Well, he hasn’t exactly done that and he hasn’t been leading this team either.
David Wright has been leading this team since he “broke out” in 2007. Jose Reyes has been just enjoying the ride. Read more... (326 words, 2 images, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)
by John Zakour on January 30, 2010
The Mets are rumored to be dipping into the aging pitcher pool again, this time they are interested in ex-Braves starter / closer / 21 year veteran John Smoltz. Yep, 31 year old Ben Sheets was apparently too much of a risk for the Mets to invest in, yet even more apparently they are willing to take a chance on Smoltz. Last year, while pitching for St. Louis and Boston (not at the same time of course) Smoltz was 3 and 8, with a 6.35 ERA and a 1.449 WHIP. If the Mets actually pull the trigger on Smoltz I have some other pitching staff additions for them. Read more... (374 words, 1 image, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)
This is a preview of
More Mets Pitching Options (Now with my Apologizes to Cy Young’s family)
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Read the full post (374 words, 1 image, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)
by John Zakour on January 26, 2010
The Mets are holding their collective breath today as Johan Santana is going to throw off a mound as a test of his left elbow which had surgery late last season. Saying the Mets need Santana to be healthy is as much of an understatement as saying, “Brett Farve has trouble making up his mind.” Last year Santana had an ERA of 3.13, with a 13-9 record and 146Ks. He was nearly untouchable until his elbow problems crept in. Until that time he was one of the few bright spots on the Mets team. When he’s healthy he is a true number 1 pitcher. Read more... (463 words, 1 image, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)
