Archive for the ‘Baseball’ Category
Recap of MLB World Series Game 1 Cardinals and Rangers
Those who thought that Game 1 of the 2011 World Series between the Cardinals and Rangers would develop into a slugfest on the strength of each side’s powerful bats were in for a disappointment. Sure, Mike Napoli hit a two-run home run to tie the game in the fifth inning, but Texas’s biggest sluggers were strangely quiet. Josh Hamilton, Michael Young and even the red-hot Nelson Cruz did little of significance at the plate. In fact, it was a Nelson Cruz fielding blunder at a key moment that ultimately made the difference and handed the game to the Cardinals, whose only two scoring plays occurred on underwhelming singles hit to the right side.
With the exception of Lance Berkman, who collected first blood on a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth, the Cardinals’ power hitters were largely absent as well. A hitless Pujols was credited with a run after reaching on a walk while Matt Holliday and David Freese provided one hit and one run each. With the temperature around 50 at game time and falling Read the rest of this entry »
CIN Reds best 2011 Batter
2010 was in many ways a magical year in Cincinnati. They received better than expected production from nearly everyone in their lineup, and their pitching staff arrived in bloom earlier than expected. They did benefit from a late season swoon by the Cardinals that allowed them to take first place in the National League central and return the playoffs, but there is no reason not to expect great things from this Reds team for many years to come.
A contributor to the Reds’ success last year was the giant break out campaign by first baseman Joey Votto. Not only did he see big surges in his numbers, but he supplanted the reigning MVP Albert Pujols from his throne. Votto saw increases in nearly every offensive category including 37 homeruns, an increase of 12 over 2009, a .424 on base percentage and 91 walks. Truly MVP caliber numbers. He even stole more bases and ended the year with 13.
For years many scouts and baseball minds thought that Jay Bruce would be the player to take over the mantle of best Reds hitter when he came to the big leagues and forced Ken Griffey Junior’s to move to right. To this point Bruce has been successful, but hasn’t come close to the numbers Griffey put up. Bruce played
Do the Braves have it in the bullpen for 2011
Say what you will about the Atlanta Braves I know I have, but the Braves have had a lot of success in the past 20 years. Starting in 1991 they won division title after division title. Throw in there several National League champion titles and one World Championship. Not too bad.
What has been the consistent key the success of the Atlanta Braves? One word, pitching. Pitching has been the backbone of the Atlanta Braves starting in 1991 with names like Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Steve Avery. As the success continued add names like Greg Maddox, and Kevin Millwood. Think of a pitching staff with the first three starters are Greg Maddox, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz. Absolutely dominating. Hitters didn’t stand a chance. So will the Braves continue the tradition of great pitching in 2011? Let’s look at the starting staff. Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe, Jari Jurrgens, and Tommy Hanson. Tim Hudson and Derek are experienced established veterans. Jari Jurrgens, and Tommy Hanson are young lions who have come into their own very quickly.
The Braves have the potential of repeating the dominating starting pitching that they had with Maddox, Glavine, and Smoltz with this staff. Hudson, and Lowe are possible Cy Young award candidates, and Jurrgens, and Hanson are well established beyond their years. If the braves’ hitters can give these guys a little run support the rest of the league better look out for the Braves in 2011. With that said how about the bullpen? The bullpen for the Braves has always been a weak spot and a nervous item for Braves fans. That is not to say that the Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t crown the Royals just yet
The Kansas City Royals are a young and exciting team. But don’t expect to see them in the World Series because they are young and inexperienced. The team skipper, Ned Yost, will have fun night in and night out filling the line up sheet this year. The Royals had a lot of key losses this season but gains as well.
Third baseman Mike Aviles could blossom into something special. He has a lively bat and good range in his arm to be a legitimate playmaker at third. First baseman Kila Ka’aihue is close to being a twenty plus homerun and eighty plus RBI specialist. The two midfielders are a concern. Second baseman Chris Getz and shortstop Alcides Escobar show little power and below batting average. They need to contribute in their field play or in base running. Designated hitter Billy Butler should be able to fill his role quite nicely with the team, and if need be, pick up some time at first. Catcher Jason Kendall is still a reliable glove behind the plate, but the older he gets the slower his bat becomes. The Royals need help at catcher.
New centerfielder Melky Cabrera should help at the defense of the club. He is an average hitter. If centerfielder Derrick Robinson gets his chance, the speedster is a stolen base away. Rightfielder Alex Gordon shows flashes of being Read the rest of this entry »
Compton hosts Japanese Ball Players
It would seem like just a day ago that the MLB Urban Youth Academy within Compton 1st opened their doors & beautiful diamonds to the huge amount of young men, women & kids who arrived to discover about life, & who they were and may grow to be through baseball. The Academy had additionally carried on to be host to a high-school baseball tournament, setting the Academy squad versus their baseball brothers from Japan, the Koshien High-School School All Star team, within a 2 day, 3 matchup set.
Big during the holiday weekend suspended matchups planned for this previous Sunday. having the Academy’s primary diamond wet and muddy, Miller have been nicely surprised that baseball has been the only language Read the rest of this entry »
The Silver Slugger Awards
Most Valuable Player prospects Josh Hamilton & Carlos Gonzalez both grabbed a Silver Slugger honor Thursday. Hamilton had been 1 of 2 Texas Rangers, in addition to designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero, to earn the accolade. The Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers & St. Louis Cardinals all featured 2 award winners.
St Louis Cardinals 1st baseman Albert Pujols received it for the 6th occasion, his 4th being at the 1st base position . He is accompanied by felllow team member Matt Holliday, winning his 4th in the outfield position .
Gonzalez is among 7 1st time winners . Tampa Bay Rays Carl Crawford Read the rest of this entry »
2010 World Series Game 2 Recap
World Series Game 2 starting pitchers C.J. Wilson for the Texas Rangers and Matt Cain for the San Francisco Giants started game 2 much quieter than the game one eighteen run event. The Giants won game one 11-7. The first two innings were scoreless for each team. Cody Ross of the Giants got the games first hit a double down the left field line in the second inning, but was stranded after the Giants could not drive him in.
The starting pitchers remained locked in a pitcher’s duel after a scoreless 3rd and 4th inning. After Ian Kisler of the Texas Rangers just missed a home run in the top of the fifth inning the Giants Edgar Renteria blasted a home run over the left field wall to give the Giants the first score of the game and a 1-0 lead. The Rangers made a scoring Read the rest of this entry »
MLB – Comparison of Giants vs Phillies
Both teams boast remarkable pitching. The Phillies have a stellar big three. Roy Halladay is a former Cy Young winner who figures to take that award again this year. Cole Hamels has reclaimed the fire that saw him win the World Series MVP in 2008. Roy Oswalt joined the team at the trade deadline. All three have been remarkable since the beginning of September. Halladay threw a no-hitter in the NLDS and Hamels hurled a shutout. Meanwhile, San Francisco is formidable at pitching as well. Tim Lincecum has won two National League Cy Young awards. He struck out 14 hitters while pitching a shutout in his postseason debut against Atlanta. Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez have also blossomed in to great pitchers. Madison Bumgartner has emerged as the fourth starter. With pitching like that, it will be hard for either team to get hits.
In the bullpen, San Francisco has a slight advantage. Their middle relief has been more consistent than the Phillies. However, Philadelphia has an edge at the closer position. Brad Lidge has struggled since not blowing a save in 2008. Despite that, Lidge is starting to regain form. Giants closer Brian Wilson doesn’t give up many home runs, but he doesn’t have the pedigree of Lidge.
On offense, the Phillies have a distinct edge. Each team hit .212 in the NLDS, but the Phillies have threats from top to bottom. Their 8th place hitter, Carlos Ruiz, led the team in batting average. Ruiz has delivered several big hits in the postseason. Chase Utley and Jayson Werth are near the top of the list for career playoff home runs in the National League. The rest of the offense is getting healthy in time and can strike at any time. Meanwhile, the Giants don’t have the same offensive potency. Rookie catcher Buster Posey has been great all year. Meanwhile, Cody Ross and Andres Torres have become threats in the Giants batting order. Overall, the Phillies have a major edge in run production. With the pitching on both sides, that could prove to be the edge in this series.
Tags:
6th Inning Stretch
6th Inning Stretch
In the 6th innning, winning was still very hopeful, and still possible for the Braves to turn around the 2-1 lead, the Phillies had over them, but what had happened was……
In the 6th inning, Braves down 2-1, Jimmy Rollins stepped up to plate, digging in the same two feet that every man possesses, he looked, he swung, and he went……
Jimmy Rollins, the shortstop of the Phillies, on the first pitch, the baseball floating in mid-air, coming, coming, coming, he streched, he looked, and he…..
Jimmy Rollins gripped the wooden bat, and did what heroes do, he swung hard, pressing the small white leather ball, and deposited, the first pitch thrown by Mike Dunn, into the far away left bleachers of the Atlanta stadium. The crowd goes wild.
The crowd went wild, and Jimmy Rollins pushed foward the Philllies into a 6-1 lead over the Braves.
After another run scored in the 6th, the game appeared even more bleak, and it was. The Braves would not over come Jimmy Rollins strong shot in left. The ending score of 11-5 Phillies, after Braves tried to ralley in 9th, the
Braves now must win the next two in a storybook ending of hard and long season. Facing the tough Phillies in the next two, will Mr. Bobby Cox see his post season play? Only time will tell.
Jimmy Rollins, game changer.
Boom!
Rangers and Rays
Coming into 2010, the Texas Rangers were still the only Major League Baseball team to have never won a playoff series. But, it appears that the weight of that will soon be lifted off their shoulders having taken a 2-0 game lead as the series moves to Arlington. The Rangers are led on and off the field by center fielder Josh Hamilton. A former number one pick by the Rays in 1999, Hamilton had the talent but off the field trouble prevented him from making it to the show. He cleaned up his act and made his debut for Cincnnati in 2007. This season, he batted a blistering .359 with 32 home runs and 100 RBIs in 133 games. Texas also relies on veterans Michael Young, Vladimir Guerrero, and Ian Kinsler as well as younger players Elvis Andrus, Jeff Francoeur, and Daniel Murphy as Hamilton’s supporting cast. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, was actually 26th in the majors in batting average at .247 but led the league in stolen bases. Evan Longoria, rookie of the year in 2008, and Carl Crawford lead the charge for the Rays. Longoria, batting .294 with 22 home runs and 104 RBIs, bats cleanup in the Rays lineup behind Jason Bartlett, B.J. Upton, and Crawford, who are all terrors on the basepaths, giving him many chances to drive in runs. Texas’s pitching staff had an interesting story this season. They made the big splashes in free agency, grabbing Rich Harden from the Cubs and hoping he would be healthy enough to be their number two pitcher. However, Harden faltered and was injured or inefficient most of the year, finishing only 5-5 with a 5.58 ERA. Cliff Lee, acquired in a trade with Seattle last year, led the staff at 12-9 with a 3.18 ERA. Neftali Feliz, acquired in the Mark Teixeira trade with Atlanta, has been fantastic as the closer. The Rays pitching has been phenomenal in the regular season. David Price, Matt Garza, and James Shields all finished the season with over 12 wins. Price is a leading candidate for the Cy Young Award; he struck out 188 batters in 208 2/3 innings pitched. Rafael Soriano anchors the bullpen. He saved 45 games in 48 attempts and only gave up 12 runs all season. Tampa Bay has their backs to the wall, but they aren’t out yet.