Baseball Recaps

The San Francisco Giants look to clinch the National League West division title tonight at home as they play host to division rival, San Diego. The Giants have clawed their way back into the playoff race after being nearly 7 games behind the Padres back in the end of August. A win tonight will give the Giants their first playoff appearance since 2003, when the G-Men made it all the way to the World Series. Game time tonight at AT & T Park is 10:05 pst. Bruce Bochy will send Clayton Richard (13-9, 3.71 ERA) to the mound for the Padres and the Giants will counter with Matt Cain (13-10, 2.95 ERA) on the hill. This will be the fourth time this season that these two have hooked up. Cain is on a hot streak having gone 4-0 in his last seven starts. He is sporting a 2.45 ERA over that stretch. Clayton has had the Giants number all year. In his five total starts against the Giants this year, Clayton is 3-1 with a 1.95 ERA. The downside to this though is that Clayton is 1-4 over his last six starts. He also has an ERA over 4 during this time. Tonight’s game should be a good one and could definitely be a look at the playoffs. The Padres are currently 2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the Wildcard race heading into the final weekend. So this weekend series between the Giants and Padres is important for both teams.

On Wednesday, September 29, 2010 the White Sox took the game 5 to 2. The two teams kept it at an even zero game until the top of the 4th inning when Ortiz singled to left and Scutaro scored, making the score 1-0 Red Sox. The White Sox answered back in the bottom of the 4th with a home run made by Pierzynski. The Red Sox held their own until the bottom of the 7th inning.

Chicago got serious in the the bottom of the 7th inning and things started to heat up. Vizquel singled to center field and De Aza scored and Pierre ran to second. Lillibridge to a bunt and sent Pierre on to score and Vizquel to third. Ramirez singled to left and Vizquel scored, making the game 1-4 White Sox. M. Ramirez struck out and A. Ramirez was out on second base and the inning was over. The White Sox put a big show on in this inning and gained a solid lead over the Red Sox.

Freddy Garcia pitching for Chicago and Lowell hit a home run in the top of the 8th inning. Putz relieved Garcia and the inning went on with no one scoring until the bottom of the 8th. Tim Wakefield was pitching for Boston when Pierre grounded into a double play which led to Morel scoring on the hit. The game was 5 to 2 White Sox.

The Red Sox were not able to answer to the White Sox and the game ended 5 to 2. Freddy Garcia was having back problems but did not let it hold him back from playing his best. He lasted until the 8th inning and gave up two 2 runs on 4 hits. This was his first starting game since he was sidelined for lower back stiffness on September 7, 2010.

Beckett caused a lot of issues that led to the loss of this game for the Red Sox. They were eliminated from post season contention on Tuesday. Beckett only lasted six innings before he was pulled and replaced by Tim Wakefield to finish out the game. It ended up being a disappointing night for the Red Sox and the fans are hoping for better next season.

The Cleveland Indians rookie pitcher Mitch Talbot finished his season on a much needed high note by shutting out the Detroit Tigers in Cleveland’s home Progressive Field September 29th. The game was the first game of a double header played by the Tigers and the Cleveland Indians.

Talbot finished the 2010 campaign with a 10-13 record and won only his third game in 13 starts to close the season. Talbot’s poor finish was attributed to his stint on the disabled list for two weeks with a strained back. Talbot also missed one start in that period with a sore shoulder. Injuries and dead arms are not uncommon for rookies in Major League Baseball but the Cleveland Indians had high expectations for Talbot to start the season.

Talbot pitched seven innings of scoreless ball until he was replaced by middle reliever Jensen Lewis and rookie Vinnie Pestano. Both pitchers threw an inning each without giving up a run and preserving the shutout win for Talbot.

The Detroit Tigers Max Scherzer took the loss and finished his season with a 10-12 record. Scherzer was the hot pitcher coming into the game he was 5-2 with a 1.93 ERA in his last 11 starts but he could never find the strike zone and it was ultimately his undoing.

The Indians jumped on Scherzer in the third inning by scoring two runs on Travis Hafner’s 13th homer with Shin-Soo Choo on base after a bunt single. Choo then added two runs in the fifth with his 21st home run of the season, driving in Asdrubal Cabrera after Cabrera walked. The Detroit Tigers staff contained the Indians on the home field after the two home runs.

The Detroit Tigers were without the services of Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera is in the running for Most Valuable Player with his 38 home runs 126 runs batted in and a batting average of .328. Cabrera is done for the 2010 MLB campaign with a sprained right ankle.

The Detroit Tigers have managed only one win on Cleveland’s Progressive Field this year and they ultimately finished with a 1-8 record. Max Scherzer will be happy not to see the Indians Shin-Soo Choo and Travis Hafner for another year. Choo is batting .555 against Scherzer this season and was 3 for 3 in the 4-0 win. Hafner batted .600 against Scherzer this year and was 2 for 3.

Increase in Steroid Use in High School Sports

With the increasing hype all over the news of steroid usage, steroid usage among high school students is reaching a tremendous high. From Barry Bonds to Chris Benoit, stars are being spotlighted for using steroids, and it’s having a negative impact on high school athletes, who are unable to see past the “power” that steroids gives these amazing athletes. In a high school athletes’ eyes, they only see the strength, muscles and power they can have by using steroids to help them succeed in high school sports.

How the Community Pushes Use of Steroids in High School Sports

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Mark McGwire was born on October 1, 1963 in California and is more popular for his nickname, Big Mac. His love for sports was accelerated by the fact that he was born into a family of sports enthusiasts. Mark McGwire had five brothers who were all into sports football, baseball and basketball to name a few.

Before becoming a Major League Baseball player, he played basketball, golf and baseball for his school and participated in all the sports events that he his hands and feet would let him. His name became known in the baseball circle when he played for the University of Southern California for a period of three years. His popularity increased several times fold when he began playing for the US Olympic Team in 1984. It was after this, in 1986 to be exact, that he was drafted into the 10th round of Major League Baseball (MLB). MLB is considered the most professional and highest level of Baseball. The League controls the game in the US and Canada and manages both the National League and American League. The Oakland Athletics drafted him into MLB and he played for them from 1986 to 1997. Following Oakland, he went into the St. Louis Cardinals and he played for them until 2001; that was when he retired.

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He has women falling all over him and screaming when he passes. It doesn’t matter how he wears his baseball cap backwards or forward. Wondering why he chooses to wear it backward, she picks up her racket and places her visor carefully on her head and begins to walk toward the opposite end of the court. The men’s doubles in the next court had just finished with the smaller crowd cheering at whichever team won. The Bryan Brothers were walking in to start their warm up for their practice session in Grandstand Stadium. They always wore their baseball caps forward. They just never ever would be found with their baseball caps backwards during a grand slam, not even in practice, although you might catch one of the Bryans with a backwards cap in their music video.

Still they are not nearly as satisfying to the eye as Rafa is to watch when he moves about the court in practice. Especially in the heat of battle, he never wears any of his favorite baseball caps, but instead he will wear the bandana with his clothing company’s logo in a neon color over black this year at the Open. She watched him complete his session earlier today in practice. He was wearing his baseball cap with the bullhorns logo. It was backwards while his was walloping the balls in practice. Then for some reason after Uncle Tony spoke with him about part of the practice session, he changed it to forward. It must have been the sun blazing in a rather annoying position overhead.

She started to practice her volleys with her hair put back in a long high braid over the back band of her visor. She was feeling the ball well and moving quickly and adeptly as tall as she was pretty. She felt this year would be a vast improvement over last year which was a year where only injuries seem to be the statistic she would be remembered by. Next practice session in Ashe was Roddick and his team. Never, ever would you see Andy in play or practice without his baseball cap. The cap was always placed forward, making proper use of the front visor section of the cap, not to shade the sun, but to give him the privacy his eyes needed while the millions of spectators cheering him on were glaring at his every move.

Baseball is driven by statistics more so than any other sport. Baseball Prospectus was founded in 1996 and is devoted to advanced statistics and analysis of the game. It is a website as well as a radio show and an annual book. Baseball Prospectus uses sabermetrics, meaning they use objectivity instead of subjectivity.

The Baseball Prospectus website offers columns, data, blogs, and other information devoted to baseball statistics of the past as well as forecasts for the future. The annual book recaps all of the statistics from the previous season and uses sabermetric analysis to forecast stats for the upcoming season as well. These forecasts attempt to analyze the impact a potential roster move or injury could have on a team. They also use hard data to determine the value any player has to his team.

One of the major stats used by Baseball Prospectus is called Value Over Replacement Player (VORP). This stat determines the number of runs a player contributes over a potential minimum cost replacement player. This stat is used to determine the number of potential wins a single player accounts for on a single team. This can help teams or fans understand why it might not be worth the money to sign a player to long term contract.

Other statistics from Baseball Prospectus are used to determine the value of a player compared to his peers past or present. The Equivalent Average (EQA) stat combines batting average, slugging percentage, and other hitting numbers to determine where a player ranks overall with regards to offense. The Peripheral ERA (PERA) statistic tracks a pitcher’s projected ERA when accounting for various stadiums. Pitcher abuse points (PAP) determine the impact pitch counts and number of appearances have on the durability of a pitcher.

As you can see, Baseball Prospectus isn’t interested in listing common statistics like batting average and home runs, as they are available everywhere. Baseball Prospectus aims to go deeper in to the importance of a player. Using those baseline statistics, Baseball Prospectus uses data to show that a player who has a higher batting average than another doesn’t necessarily mean he’s more valuable offensively. The information used by Baseball Prospectus isn’t always correct, but it does provide general guidelines for teams to use to determine value. For fantasy baseball, the numbers offered by Baseball Prospectus can help drafters rank players. Baseball Prospectus is constantly updated and run by a network of people endorsed by The Baseball Writers of America.

Playoff spots in baseball are prized possessions. When two teams tie for one spot, a special situation arises. Unlike other major sports, which have elaborate tiebreaking procedures involving points scored and records against common opponents, baseball settles ties on the field. This is done by having a one game playoff after the regular season ends. If two teams are tied for the division title or the wild card spot, they play one game to determine who gets to the next round. This one game playoff ultimately counts as part of the regular season, with the results reflected in the standings and statistical boards.

Before 2009, a coin toss was used to determine which team hosted the one game playoff. However, starting in 2009 a new format was implemented. Now, the team with better head to head record in the regular season hosts the playoff game. If two teams are tied atop a division in a situation where both teams have records that are good enough to qualify them for the playoffs, there is no tiebreaker needed. The team with the better head to head record would be awarded the division, while the other team would be the wild card team. Though it has never happened, Major League Baseball also has an elaborate method to determine tiebreakers should more than two teams be tied involving playoff spots.

There have been a total of 13 tiebreakers in Major League Baseball history. Prior to 1963, these were best-of-three rounds. Since that time, there have been a total of 8 single game playoffs. The first came in 1978, when little known Yankee player Bucky Dent hit a home run that doomed the Boston Red Sox. In the wild card era that began in 1995, six one game playoffs have taken place. Three of those decided the wild card team, most recently in 2007 when the Rockies defeated the Padres in extra innings. 2009 marked the third straight season that one game playoff took place. The Minnesota Twins beat the Tigers in extra innings to win the 2009 AL Central Division title.

The 1978 Yankees went on to win the World Series. Since that time, no team that won a one game playoff has won the World Series. Only the 2007 Rockies even reached the World Series. The past two winners of one game playoffs were eliminated easily in the Division Series.