Have the Rockies locked up the NL Wild Card? posted by John Frascella

As it stands right now, the Colorado Rockies are 4.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the National League Wild Card race. The Rockies have been a bit of a surprise team this season, after an unimpressive '08 campaign and the loss of Matt Holliday during the offseason. They've thrived after the firing of Clint Hurdle, as Jim Tracy has pushed the right buttons, rarely ever taking a misstep.

Considering the way they've played in recent months, is a 4.5 game cushion plenty for the Rockies? Can the Giants, Marlins, and Braves kiss their playoff hopes goodbye?

Well, I've never quite been a believer in the Giants. Sure they have Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain at the top of their rotation, but it's difficult to gather momentum with an offense as impotent as theirs. They'd be tough in a short series because of their starting pitching, but I doubt they'll get to that point. 

I thought the Braves would put up more of a fight than they have, but Chipper Jones is clearly spiraling toward the end of his spectacular career. Like the Giants, the Braves don't score enough to rattle off consecutive victories at the right juncture in time. 

The Marlins are hungry -- I feel like we've all been saying that for years -- but I don't trust their starting pitching outside of stud Josh Johnson. All things considered, it looks like relatively smooth sailing for the Rockies the rest of the way out. 

"Giants Have Reportedly Signed Brad Penny" posted by Michael McGauley

  The Giants desperately need a number five starter, and have apparently filled that void with today's waiver acquisition of former Dodger and Marlin Brad Penny.  After a brief stint in Boston, Penny was released after 24 starts, and cleared waivers.  The Giants were one of at least six teams interested in the one-time all-star; who won 16 games in back-to-back seasons with the Dodgers in '06 and '07.  

  Penny posted a 7-and-8 record and a 5.61 ERA (1.53 WHIP) with the Red Sox this season.  Penny spent four-plus seasons in L.A. following a six-player trade in 2004, that sent him West from the Florida Marlins for Paul LoDuca and Guillermo Mota.  Penny was once a part of the same rotation as Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett in South Florida - what were the fish thinking in breaking up that trio?  

  San Francisco has got to do something short of going to a four-man rotation.  The combination of Joe Martinez and Ryan Sadowski has not been the answer.  Too bad things have gone so terribly wrong for Noah Lowry - remember him?  I was kind of hoping to see Lowry eventually return from injury (as well as some legal allegations made against the Giants' medical staff), and grab that number five slot.  

  What about Madison Bumgartner?  The kid has thrown a lot of innings between Single-A and Double-A, and it makes sense NOT to throw him into such a pressure-cooker at this point of the season.  Bumgartner, who was a combined 12-and-2 with an ERA under two; just recently turned twenty August 1st.  He will likely pitch most of next year at the Triple-A level before getting called to the Giants. 

Poor behavior on and off the field is Bad for Ball posted by David

In the last week, baseball fans have been exposed to a number of unfortunate incidents that involved big-name, All-Star players.  My thoughts on each of them follow.

Kevin Youkilis charging the mound: Youk let his emotions get the best of him on Tuesday night after getting plunked in the back for the second consecutive night.  The Red Sox need Youk’s bat in the lineup and his glove in the field.  Now they have neither for five games.

Josh Hamilton’s relapse: A man’s personal struggle with alcohol is his business, but when a recovering alcoholic is a role model for young people, he needs to take responsibility for his actions before the public finds out from someone else.  In this case, Hamilton should have made a statement prior to the release of the photos taken at the bar this past January.

A Cubs fan throwing a cup of beer at Shane Victorino in left-center field as he was preparing to make a catch: That behavior is uncalled for; that fan should be banned from Wrigley Field for a minimum of one year.

How ‘bout that?

How about the Nationals?  Though they still hold the worst record in the majors, the Nats pulled off a string of eight wins in a row, including a three-game sweep of division rivals and Wild Card contenders the Marlins.  During the streak, Washington outscored its opponents 57-33 – an average of three runs per game.

How about Cliff Lee?  Since donning a Phillies uniform after being acquired just before the trade deadline, Lee has hurled 24 stellar innings over three starts, striking out 23 batters and surrendering just three earned runs – good for a 1.12 E.R.A.  To top it off, Lee collected two hits of his own in his debut with his new club.

"Have You Voted For Pablo Sandoval For The MLB All-Star Game?" posted by Michael McGauley

It's still not too late to vote for Pablo Sandoval, in fact, it's not too late to vote 1,000 times for Pablo before Thursday's "unlimited" voting deadline!  I guess it depends on how much extra time you've got on your hands, but in this quick-click society, what's 10 (or 100) votes over the course of the day.  I must admit, I've voted for Sandoval and Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers 40 times since Sunday, and feel very good about my contribution.  However, let's not get too carried away this process.  If everyone had just one vote, or maybe 10 votes?  That, to me would be a better indicator of who is deserving for the final roster spot.   What I REALLY think is that the players should vote for that final spot, and have it over and done with when the main rosters are announced in the first place.  Why drag it out?  Oh...I forgot, the "Mid-Summer Classic" has become a crucial match-up between leagues in JULY, to determine home field advantage in October.  That sure makes sense Bud Selig - brilliant idea!   I think the players (or coaches) would see the value of Pablo as a multi-positional option later in the game. Extra Catcher? Extra third baseman? Extra first baseman? Hello?? As for Wednesday's finale with Florida, the Giants were shutdown 7-to-0 by Marlins' right-hander Chris Volstad, who tossed a complete game five-hitter.  Easily his best effort of the season, improving to 6-and-8, Volstad (zero BBs and Six Ks in 105 pitches) helped Florida avoid the three-game sweep at the hands of the Giants.   The "Big Sadowski," Ryan Sadowski didn't have his best control with four walks allowed, as well as his first two earned runs in three starts.  Sadowski worked five innings, gave up five hits, three runs (two earned), walked four and struck out four. Sadowski has posted an ERA of 1.00 with only today's two runs allowed in 18-total-innings of work.  The bats were completely silenced by Volstad, while Merkin Valdez in relief served-up a three-run bomb to Dan Uggla, his 16th homer of the season.  As appealing as Uggla may be in a possible trade scenario, I would have to say that he strikes out way too much and needs to think more about his batting average (.223 after today) and on-base percentage, (around .332) rather than his home run count. Hey, I'll take two out of three over the "fish," but it sure would have been fun to see super stud short stop Hanley Ramirez.  Ramirez, an all-star starter, missed his fourth consecutive game with a hip injury.  Oh well... The Giants are 26-and-15 since Memorial Day, and welcome San Diego for a four-game weekend series.  The Padres are a team on the ropes and already willing to trade some of its pieces, including Scott Hairston to the A's.  Tim Lincecum gets the ball Thursday night, and looks to match fellow all-star Matt Cain with 10 victories.
Continue reading ""Have You Voted For Pablo Sandoval ..."

"Have You Voted For Pablo Sandoval For The MLB All-Star Game?" posted by Michael McGauley

It's still not too late to vote for Pablo Sandoval, in fact, it's not too late to vote 1,000 times for Pablo before Thursday's "unlimited" voting deadline!  I guess it depends on how much extra time you've got on your hands, but in this quick-click society, what's 10 (or 100) votes over the course of the day.  I must admit, I've voted for Sandoval and Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers 40 times since Sunday, and feel very good about my contribution.  However, let's not get too carried away this process.  If everyone had just one vote, or maybe 10 votes?  That, to me would be a better indicator of who is deserving for the final roster spot.   What I REALLY think is that the players should vote for that final spot, and have it over and done with when the main rosters are announced in the first place.  Why drag it out?  Oh...I forgot, the "Mid-Summer Classic" has become a crucial match-up between leagues in JULY, to determine home field advantage in October.  That sure makes sense Bud Selig - brilliant idea!   I think the players (or coaches) would see the value of Pablo as a multi-positional option later in the game. Extra Catcher? Extra third baseman? Extra first baseman? Hello?? As for Wednesday's finale with Florida, the Giants were shutdown 7-to-0 by Marlins' right-hander Chris Volstad, who tossed a complete game five-hitter.  Easily his best effort of the season, improving to 6-and-8, Volstad (zero BBs and Six Ks in 105 pitches) helped Florida avoid the three-game sweep at the hands Continue reading ""Have You Voted For Pablo Sandoval ..."

"Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are very deserving All-Stars" posted by Michael McGauley

  Congratulations Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain!  The Giants' pitching staff, for a second year in a row, have two representatives on the National League All-Star team.  Third Baseman Pablo Sandoval did not make the roster today, but is one of five finalists that can still be voted in by the fans.  Go to sfgiants.com or mlb.com to log your votes for Pablo, and from what I understand, there is no limit on how many times one can vote.  The deadline to cast your ballot is Thursday. Here's a look at Pablo's competition for the final roster spot:

1.   Cristian Guzman, WSH
2.   Matt Kemp, LAD

Posada's shoulder holding up nicely for the Yankees posted by Cesar Valverde

Dateline: last season. New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada injures his shoulder. He ends up needing season-ending surgery leading to a Pudge Rodriguez summer rental. Fast forward to this season. There is no doubt his shoulder's gotten better. It just seems like every time I turn on the Yankee game on TV, some baserunner is trying to steal 2nd and the throw from Jorge is...........IN TIME! He's caught a couple stealing in last week's series against the Washington Nationals. I remember him catching somebody stealing against the Marlins. I believe it was Hanley Ramirez and if I remember correctly Ramirez was perfect so far this season until he got caught by Posada. Cool, huh? There is no doubt that Jorgie is back to form before the injury. Throw in a couple of home runs here and there and you've got yourself one of the most exciting Yankee players to watch. I love it! Every time he throws the ball to second and catches a baserunner stealing, it shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there who think he's coming off shoulder surgery and he's an easy stolen base. It shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there that think he's done. It shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there that think the Yanks should have kept Pudge. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against Ivan Rodriguez. Congrats Pudge on beating Carlton Fisk for most appearances as a catcher. I have a lot of respect for him. He's just too clutch against the teams I root for and a straight-up dud when he plays on teams I root for. This frustrates me just a little bit. Let Pudge be a journeyman going from team to team making history. I'll just stick with Jorgie, the best catcher in baseball as a staple on the New York Yankees.

Rainy Nite costs Red Sox posted by Dodger

Boston Red Sox; Rainey Night Costs the Sox!!

J. Lester started last night for the Sox and has been outstanding, winning his last 3 games in a row, 2 were almost no hitters and allowing only 1 run in the other and 11 strikeouts in all 3 games--Sick!!! So I expected Lester to come out last night and do the same thing as he has been doing.

Lester would get an early lead in the 1st inning thanks to Youkilis' who hit a solo shot giving the Sox a 1-0 lead. And lately that would be enough for Lester to get a win, but not last night, because in the 2nd inning D. Uggla and R. Paulino would both hit solo shots of their own giving Florida a 2-1 lead and with the rain that's all they would need.

The starter for Florida was Nolasco and he has been up and down this year, but not last night after he gave up that homer to Youk that would be the only hit the Sox would get all night He struje out 5 and then the Boston skys opened up and the rain came down and this was just a sign that last night wasn't the Sox night. They waited for 2 hours until they called the game and since it was in the top of the 6th that's a win for Florida and a loss for the Sox with the 2-1 final.

So the Sox took 2-3 from the Marlins and I believe if the game wasn't rained out we still had a great chance to win, but some times that's how the cards fall, or  in this case--The Rain.  The Red Sox are now 40-26 in 1st place in the East and are up 3 games on the Yankees, sweet!!!  Next the Sox face the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park for a 3 game series, but Boston weather says it's only going to keep raining so let's see if we can get a couple games in.  Tonight at 7:10 it would be Atlanta's Kamakami who is 3-6 versus Dice-K who is 1-4 with a horrible ERA of 7.55,.So weather permitting hopefully Dice can have a good game and Sox can start off winning against the Braves so let's go Sox!!!!  Sox Nation Here.

Scouting the Opposition: Florida Marlins P Chris Volstad posted by Cesar Valverde

The New York Yankees have a 3-game series this weekend against the Florida Marlins. One of the pitchers they could be facing is Chris Volstadt. An interesting little article in the MLB Insider section of the May 18 issue of ESPN the Magazine shed a little light on his background. His dad was a golf tutor to Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. This was a great help to Chris when he was in little league growing up in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. He had a very awkward delivery. As a favor to his dad, Jim Palmer gave him some tips. The result: Chris Volstadt grew up to be 6'8". He's got a killer sinking fastball that causes opposing batters to hit a lot of ground balls. Through the month of April, he had an ERA of 2.67. How's will he fare against the Yankees? Well, since April his ERA ballooned to 3.46. His last start was against the Cardinals. He gave up a career high 6 runs in 5 2/3 innings in the Florida Marlins loss to them. I believe if the Yankees end up facing him at some point this weekend, it's going to be straight up domination. If the Cards can jump on Volstadt like that, so can the Yankees. Don't miss out on this upcoming series this weekend.

One sidenote on the Florida Marlins: the consensus is that they have a crappy ballpark with a lot of rainouts. I guess it's not easy when you share a stadium with the Miami Dolphins. Football is more rain friendly than baseball is. Nobody wants to come to their games, hence one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. Within the next few years, that's going to change. The city of Miami has approved construction of new stadium at the site of the old Citrus Bowl. It's going to have a retractable roof. That's going to mean more fans attending their games, which means more money coming in, a name change from the Florida Marlins to the Miami Marlins, and possibly a higher payroll. Ultimately, being able to pay $$$ for better talent. When this stadium is completed, I don't want to hear any excuses that the Yankees dominate them because of their higher payroll.

Florida Marlins' crippled by inconsistency posted by Matthew McCabe

The Florida Marlins' 2009 season got off to nothing short of a dream start back in April. Two full weeks into the season the Fish were 11-1 with the best record in baseball and a wide lead in the NL East. Sure it was early in the season, but it was the best start in team history and it energized South Florida with prospects that the franchise was finally ready to see its youth movement served with a strong post season run. Then the team hit a bit of a road block. After their fast start the Marlins would finish April on a 3-7 run, dropping their record to 14-13. At this point the team still had a winning record and had finished the month with a 3 game win streak against strong opponents, perhaps the 7 game slump was just a hiccup. The month of May however would prove it was no hiccup as the Marlins went from bad to worse as the Marlins went 9-20 and won back to back games only twice. So far in June the Marlins appear to have only leveled out as they are on a current stretch of 13 games in which they’ve won back to back only once and typically win one night and lose the next.

Where has it all gone wrong you ask? Everywhere! Inconsistency abounds on this team, which is to be expected out of a young team, but this is perhaps more than should be tolerated. The Marlins can literally be two different teams from one night to the next. No one particular part of the team is free of guilt in the matter, but the pitching staff bears the majority of the blame in this case. Ten different pitchers have started a game for the Marlins through 58 games of the season, three of the ten don’t have a win to their credit, and Josh Johnson is the only one to compile a winning record at 5-1. What was suppose to be a vaunted, albeit young, pitching staff with Josh Johnson, Chris Volstad, Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez, and Andrew Miller has deteriorated rapidly. Sanchez is currently on the DL after a terrible start to the season saw him go 1-4 with a 5.55 ERA, Nolasco is just returning from the DL and his season didn’t start much better as he compiled a 2-6 record and an ERA of 8.17. Miller had his own stint on the DL, but is a more tolerable 2-2 with a respectable 4.31 ERA. In fact, among the entire rotation, Johnson and Volstad have been the saving grace. Johnson has a 5-1 record, a 2.63 ERA, and 72Ks to his credit this season. Volstad has been good in his 2nd year with a 4-5 record and 3.65 ERA.

Marlins may sign Russell Branyan (Yahoo! Sports)

ESPN is reporting that the Florida Marlins have made a one-year offer o free agent first baseman Russell Branyan... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Marlins lock in star 2B Uggla with 1-year, $7.8M deal

The Florida Marlins are spending some more money, agreeing to a$7.8 million, one-year contract with second baseman Dan Uggla. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB

Marlins agree to increase team payroll

The perennially frugal Florida Marlins have reached an agreementwith the players' union to increase spending in the wake ofcomplaints the team payroll has been so small as to violate MajorLeague Baseball's revenue sharing provisions. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB