Twins

Remember back when I predicted that the Twins would get into the playoffs? Well, they are still very much in the picture. Right now, the Twins are 3 games behind the Tigers for 1st place in the AL Central. They have won 6 of their last 10, while the Tigers have only won 4. The Twins have it pretty easy in the next couple of weeks too. They will play 3 against the White Sox, 4 against the Tigers, and 6 against the Royals. The 6 against the Royals are a sort of gimmes… The important thing to look at is the 4 games that the Twins and Tigers will play against each other next week. This could come right down to the wire in the Mid West. Get ready.

My Playoff Predictions

AL East- It’s going to be very hard for Boston or Tampa to catch the Yankees. They are firing on all cylinders right now. They are clearly the best team in baseball, and I have a hard time believing they will blow this 6.5 game lead with 30 games to play… You need to give this one to the Yankees.

AL Central- I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the Twins are going to win the Central. They are only 3.5 behind the Tigers, and they have won 8 of their last 10, while the Tigers have won 5 of their last 10. The only issue is that they have no pitching at all. Bonser, Liariano, Slowey, and Perkins are all on the DL. As a matter of fact, the only starters on the depth chart are Scott Baker, Carl Pavano, and Nick Blackburn. The Tigers could very well win the division, simply because they have very solid pitching. Verlander and Jackson have pitched very well for the Tigers this year. Jarrod Washburn has pitched badly though. I’ll go with the Twins, just for fun.

AL West- Angels, no doubt. They have the second best record in baseball, and they will not give up their lead in the division. Definitely Angels.

Wildcard- I liked the Rangers a week ago, but this 4 game deficit is looking a little troublesome. The Red Sox have a very good offensive team, and the 1-2-3 punch of Beckett, Lester, and Buchholz is looking pretty good for them. I don’t think they’ll give up that lead. Good effort by the Rangers though…

Billy Wagner

The Red Sox have acquired reliever Billy Wagner from the Mets. He was traded for 2 PTBNL. According to the Boston Herald, OF Chris Carter was involved in the deal. This is a pretty good pickup for the Red Sox. It never hurts to add a quality arm to the bullpen. Despite coming back from Tommy John surgery at 38, he has had a pretty stellar career as a reliever. In 15 seasons with Houston, Philly, and New York, Wagner pitched to the tune of a 2.39 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and 385 saves. I’ll be interested to see how Wagner comes back from the surgery. We’ll see…

Pitching Match up Analysis

I’m pretty excited for the up coming series at Fenway. The Yankees obviously had an impressive showing during the last go-round with the Sox, but whenever these teams play, its anybody’s guess as to what will happen. Anyway, lets take a look at the pitching match ups for the series.

Game 1- Andy Pettitte vs. Brad Penny:

Brad Penny hasn’t been too great for the Red Sox this season. His ERA is up there at 5.22. His WHIP sits at 1.50. Not so hot. His last four starts have been really bad too. He gave up 7 ER over 5 innings against Oakland (7 hits, 4 BB), 5 ER over 6 innings against Tampa (6 hits, 2 BB), 3 ER over 6 innings against Detroit (this was a fine outing), and 4 ER over 5.2 against Texas (8 hits and 4 BB). Penny has been struggling, and facing the high powered Yankee offense could spell more trouble for Penny.

Pettitte, on the other hand, has been pitching very well, especially in his recent starts. For the season, his ERA is 4.09 and his WHIP is 1.40. His last 4 starts have been pretty fantastic though. He gave up 1 ER over 6.1 innings against Chicago (5 hits, 0BB), 1 ER over 6.2 against Toronto (5 hits, 4 BB), 0 ER over 7 innings against Boston (5 hits, 2 walks), and 2 ER over 6 against Seattle (6 hits, 1 walk). To put it in a few words, Andy has been dandy.

Advantage- Pettitte. He’s pitched better all season, and his last 4 have been great, compared to Penny’s last 4, which have been pretty awful.

Game 2- AJ Burnett vs. Junichi Tazawa

Tazawa has only started 2 games this year. He had one pretty good one and one really bad one. The good one was against Detroit, where he went 5 innings and only gave up 1 ER (4 hits, 2 BB). He was really bad against Texas though. He gave up 4 ER, 10 hits, and 3 walks over 5 innings.

AJ is having a very solid season thus far. His ERA is lower than we usually see from Burnett, sitting at 3.69. His WHIP is 1.37. He hasn’t been great recently, except for his GEM against the Red Sox (7.2 innings, 1 hit, 6 walks, 0 ER). Over his last 4, he’s given up 7 ER, 0 ER, 3 ER and 3 ER.

Advantage- Burnett. He pitched fantastically last time he faced the Sox.

Game 3- CC Sabathia vs. Josh Beckett

This is a tough one. Beckett has been really good this season. He has a 3.38 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP over 24 starts. He was really bad two days ago against the Blue Jays (7 ER over 5.1 innings), but he was awesome during the 3 starts before that. He didn’t give up a run against the Orioles or the Yankees in two consecutive starts (both 7 innings). He then pitched very well against Detroit, going 7 innings and giving up 2 ER (3 hits, 1 BB).

CC Sabathia is having a great year as well. His ERA is at 3.58 and his WHIP is at 1.13 as well. CC is known for his second half success, and his last 3 starts have been proof. He pitched 7.2 innings of scoreless ball against the Sox 12 days ago, gave up 1 run over 8 against Seattle, and gave up 2 over 8 against Oakland.

Advantage- This one is a toss up. This is a great pitching match up of two aces. I don’t see a clear winner.

What do you think?

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David Wright

Via Robby Rubin of the NY Daily News, we learn that David Wright has been put on the DL because of the concussion he suffered after being hit in the head with a pitch. In the article, Jerry Manuel is quoted saying that it is a “possibility that David is shut down for the season”. I really wouldn’t be against this. The Mets are 12 games out of first place and basically have no healthy players. Delgado, Reyes, Beltran, and JJ Putz are all on the DL and do not look like they’ll be returning too soon. It would be a shame to lose a guy like that for the rest of the season, but at the same time, rushing him back from a concussion is bad news. Look at what the Mets did with Ryan Church last year. It has been a rough season for the New York Mets…

Ouch…

Adrian Beltre of the Mariners suffered an unfortunate injury last night. Via Mlb.com, “Adrian Beltre suffered a contusion to his right testicle, landing him on the disabled list. Beltre could miss 10 days or more, depending on whether surgery is required. There’s bleeding in the testicle and, if surgery is required, it would have to occur within 72 hours of the injury. And, no, he wasn’t wearing a cup”. That is a bummer for Beltre. It is a rather embarrassing injury to sustain, especially since it is easily preventable with the, um, “proper equipment”. Well I suppose that he can be the only one to blame. I think he’s learned his lesson…

2009 Draft Update (First Round Picks)

As the signing deadline for draft picks rapidly approaches(August 17th), only 13 of 32 picks in the first round have signed or agreed to contracts. MLBTR has a great list of all of the first round picks and the amount they signed for, if you want to check that out. So far, Tony Sanchez (Pirates), Matt Hobgood (Orioles), Mike Minor (Braves), Drew Storen (Nationals), AJ Pollock (Diamondbacks), Jiovanni Mier (Astros), Jared Mitchell (White Sox), Randal Grichuk/ Mike Trout (Angels), Eric Arnett (Brewers), Reymond Fuentes (Red Sox), Brett Jackson (Cubs), and Tim Wheeler (Rockies) have signed or agreed. Only Sanchez, Hobgood, Minor, and Storen were picked Top 10 in the first round.  The top 3 picks in the draft (Stephen Strasburg, Dustin Ackley, and Donovan Tate) have all been in the news recently. Via MLBTR, Keith Law expects top pick Strasburg to sign for around 20 million dollars. That is a ton of money to be throwing at a guy just out of college, but he did post gaudy numbers at San Diego State. He pitched 109 innings over 15 starts with a 1.32 ERA and 195 strike outs. His 102 mile an hour fastball has turned heads, so it will be no surprise if and when the Nationals make him the highest paid draft pick ever. Dustin Ackley, arguably the best college hitter in the draft, has begun talks with Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, according to Geoff Baker. As for Donovan Tate, news broke today that he has left the football program at UNC. I imagine that he must be preparing to sign with the Padres if he left he football scholarship at UNC.

That’s all the draft pick news for today. We will surely keep you updated as people sign.

Boston… You have a problem

Remember back in March when writers and fans were raving about the impeccable pitching depth that the Red Sox had? Ben Reiter, in his “Spring Postcard” for Boston, wrote, “they’ve got what has to be the deepest starting pitching corps in the majors. After the set-in-stone top four of Josh Beckett, Matsuzaka, Lester and Wakefield, they’ll have the luxury of choosing from new additions Brad Penny and John Smoltz, as well as Justin Masterson and Clay Buchholz“. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, their pitching depth has virtually disappeared, which is bad news considering their recent 6 game losing streak (4 to the Yankees), 8-14 record after the All-Star break, 6.5 game deficit in the AL East, and tie in the Wild Card standings. So let’s break down the rotation.

The top spot in the rotation is still owned by Josh Beckett. Beckett is having another great year for the Sox, going 13-4 with a 3.12 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and a 3.39 K/BB. The Sox have not lost anything in their number one. Same goes for their number 2 (number 3 in March), John Lester. The 25 year old is 9-7 with a 3.67 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and a 3.59 K/BB. He is having another solid season for the Sox. After number two, things get a little dicey for the Sox. Tim Wakefield, questionable All-Star, was 11-3 with a 4.31 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 17 starts, landed on the 15 day DL with a lower back strain. Matsuzaka has been abysmal this season with an 8.23 ERA and 2.20 WHIP in 8 starts. He is on the 60 day DL with a shoulder injury. So what used to be a solid top 4 is now a solid top 2 with question marks all the way down. Brad Penny, who was supposed to be in competition for the 5 slot, is not pitching up to snuff. His ERA is at a miserable 5.20, and his WHIP is at 1.48. These are clearly not number 3 type stats. Clay Buchholz, one of the Sox top prospects, isn’t pitching very well himself. His ERA is above 5 as well (5.33) and his WHIP is up in the stratosphere (1.97). He, like Penny, was supposed to be in the conversation for the 5th starter. The fifth starter now is Junichi Tazawa, who has only pitched 1.2 IP in the majors this year. He gave up 2 runs, 4 hits, and a game-winning HR in the outing. John Smoltz has been DFA’d after pitching rather terribly (8.32 ERA and 1.70 WHIP through 8 starts). The other potential number 5, Justin Masterson, was traded to the Indians in exchange for Victor Martinez, which has not turned out so badly for the Red Sox so far.

So what can they do now? Even with Wakefield coming off the DL soon, they will still have 2 spots that will be in no way secure. They can look for a waiver deal. According to MLBTR, Arroyo and Harang have cleared waivers, but they are so insanely overpaid. As for internal solutions, Michael Bowden has been pitching well in AAA. He has a 3.40 ERA in 20 starts. I guess we’ll see what happens, but the Red Sox certainly need to sure up their rotation if they want to make the playoffs.

Read more:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ben_reiter/03/12/redsox.postcard/index.html#ixzz0Np5TQwSB