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We are closing in on the real opening day for baseball. The A’s and Mariners technically opened the season last week in Japan but I am not sure how many people watched or knew. Tomorrow night the Cardinals visit the Marlins to open up the season in the United States. Kyle Lohse gets the opening day start for the Cardinals and he will go up against Josh Johnson for the Marlins.
The big news out of Mets camp this week was that Johan Santana will make the opening day start against the Braves on Thursday afternoon. We really need Johan if we have any chances of a Wild Card this season so it is a good start for the Mets to have him start the season. The Braves will counter with Tommy Hanson.
For some reason the Mets are always great on opening day and we’re really going to need a fast start this year after the terrible 5-13 start last year. David Wright also started playing in Spring Training games last week after missing most of the spring with a tear in his abdomen. This could potentially be his last season as a Met as well.
We’ll get more into the roster either tomorrow or Thursday
Another week brings another top 5. This week's list looks very similar to the one posted last week; the only change coming at the 5th and final spot. As the weather's been warming, so have some teams.
The talk of the week surrounds the Boston Red Sox. They have turned up their level of play and are sitting right at the .500 mark. Though they do not quite make my list this week, there is no denying their talent and the fact that they will be frequenting these posts in the near future.
Another team that has been playing well of late is the Florida Marlins. They are 8-2 over their last 10 games and are pressing the Phillies in the NL East. However even with this recent success, there are still doubts about how consistent this young group will be. They have only played 6 games against teams .500 or better so far this year. This next week they have a chance to prove themselves as they face off against the Dodgers, Reds and Cardinals.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies remain at the top of the list this week. A late comeback in the series finale against the Brew Crew last week propelled the Phils to a 5 game winning streak. This run ended last night as Ian Kennedy outpitched Cliff Lee. The bats have cooled as of late as the team is averaging only 2.5 runs per game over their last 10, but even so the team went 6-4 over that stretch because of its dominant pitching staff. One thing to watch over this next week will be how Philadelphia handles the loss of closer Jose Contreras.
How will the loss of Contreras impact the Phils pen?
New York Yankees
The Yankees find themselves in the number 2 spot and the current leaders of the AL Beast. Up until Monday night, offense was king in New York. Before last night, the team was averaging 6.5 runs a game over its past 9. While this lineup will cause many opposing pitchers and managers to lose sleep, their rotation is still filled with question marks. Phil Hughes had another setback and the Yankees are now counting on Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia to provide consistent innings. As long as they can get some contribution from their starters, New York will look to the lineup to continue its winning ways.
Colorado Rockies
Sitting at 15-7, the Rockies are tied with the Phillies for the best record in baseball. They've had early success, but several things jump out at me as I look through their stats. The Rockies are 5th in the league in runs scored, but they are only 24th in team batting average. This tells me a lot of their runs are being scored thanks to timely hitting which usually levels out during a season. The team has also won a lot of close games, 9 of their 15 wins have been by 2 runs or less. While teams can only play who is on their schedule, the Rockies have only faced teams .500 or better 8 times, going 4-4 in those contests. I'm not trying to say this start is a fluke, but I don't think this team is the 2nd best in baseball as their record shows.
Tulowitzki leads the Rockies offense
Texas Rangers
Texas finds itself in the four hole in this week's top 5. The Rangers lost 3 consecutive series before getting healthy against the Kansas City Royals. In that series, the Ranger's lineup found their bats, scoring 22 runs in the 3 games. While its offense has become Texas's trademark, the pitchers have been able to maintain a respectable 3.71 ERA. The Rangers look to continue their recent success against the Blue Jays before setting off on a west coast road trip against the A's and Mariners.
St. Louis Cardinals
For the 2nd week in a row I had to ponder over the list's 5th spot. I debated between the hot Red Sox and the young Marlins, but I eventually decided to go with the Cardinals. St. Louis's 2011 season got off to a rough start, but they have recovered in recent weeks and currently stand at 12-10. After taking a series against their rival Cincinnati Reds, the Cardinals have climbed back to the top of the NL Central. The Cardinals have been on fire since the return of slugger Matt Holliday who is a big reason the team leads the league in batting average and OBP. What I like most about St. Louis is the balanced success of their batters and pitchers; the team ERA sits at 3.19. It probably pains Cardinal's fans to think of the possibilities if Adam Wainwright was holding down a spot in their already solid rotation.
We'll finish up with the best and worst pitching the National League produced this week. The Cardinals make another appearance and we check in on this week's most impressive performance of futility.
While the Cardinal's recent turnaround has had a lot to do with their offensive surge, the pitching has also played its part. Chris Carpenter and Kyle McClellan have performed well for the club, but another starter is this week's NL pitcher of the week. Kyle Lohse won twice this week, going 16.1 innings and allowing only 2 ERs. Lohse gave up a mere 8 hits while striking out 12 over this span. Lohse has given the Cards at least 7 innings in his 4 starts so far this year. He gave up 4 ER in his debut against the Pirates, but since then over his last 3 starts he has only given up a combined 3 ERs. Lohse and St. Louis look to continue their winning ways against their NL Central rivals the Cincinnati Reds this weekend.
Lohse has gone at least 7 innings in each of his starts
There's not too much to say for this week's NL pitching dud, the numbers pretty much speak for themselves. James McDonald of the Pittsburgh Pirates had an ugly week. He started two games and only lasted a combined 7.1 innings. Over those painful innings, McDonald allowed 15 hits and 5 walks, resulting in 14 ERs and a whopping 17.18 ERA. McDonald came into the week sporting an ERA of 5.56 and was able to nearly double that number, moving his mark up to the danger zone of double digits, 10.13. The former top prospect has shown glimpses in the past, but may find his true calling is coming out of the pen. With such a ridiculous ERA, even the Pirates have to be searching for alternatives.
McDonald has posted an ugly 10.13 ERA this season
There's the best and worst of baseball this week. Some were amazing, some just downright ugly. Check back in to find out who makes the cut and who just deserves to be cut next week.
Time to see how the best and worst of the NL stack up against the Amercan League's performances we've looked at.
The Cardinals received some bad news coming into the 2011 season. They lost Cy Young candidate Adam Wainwright during spring training and also began the year without slugger Matt Holliday. The Cards began the year losing 5 of their first 7, scoring a measly 2.6 runs a game. While they are going to be without Wainwright for the year, they were able to get Holliday back in the lineup. Holliday plays second fiddle to all-world performer Albert Pujols, but since Holliday has returned to the lineup the Cardinals have gone 8-3 and scored 7.5 runs a game. Holiday is this week's NL offensive stud, hitting for a .524 batting average and a 1.439 OPS. Holliday has managed to make it on base at a rate of .630 due not only to his hitting but also his ability to draw 6 walks this week. The Cards hope that Holliday and the offense can keep up this current level of production
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Earlier today I shared this week's studs and duds from the AL. Now it's time to see how the NL fared over the past 7 days.
Kemp brought all 5 tools to work this week
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