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The Mets have started playing real baseball games two days ago. I watched a pretty good amount of the game on Monday night. I was really excited to watch one of their top prospects, Matt Harvey, pitch. He didn’t have his best command but he was able to pitch two scoreless innings in relief of Dillon Gee. You can tell he has good stuff but he still has to work on getting his off speed pitches over the plate.
I was really happy to see how aggressive the Mets were on the base paths. I believe they had 4 or 5 stolen bases and got caught once. Andres Torres led off the game with a walk and on the very first pitch to Daniel Murphy; he stole second and then came around on a hit by Murphy. As great as Jose Reyes was, he could be maddening to watch on the base paths. If a lefty was on the mound, he almost never ran it seemed. Also, he would never go on the first pitch like Torres did. I hope this keeps up during the regular season.
It was nice to see Ike Davis back in action even though there are rumors he has something called Valley Fever. As a Mets fan, I just shook my head when I heard that. I mean really, can’t we go a few days without something going on. It’s bad enough that our owners are going to trial over that whole Madoff Ponzi Scheme. I’m also at the point where I wish MLB would make Fred and Jeff Wilpon sell the team. How a New York team can operate like a small market team is depressing. Anyway I saw Davis get a hit in his four innings of play and I’m hoping he’s healthy for the entire season.
Johan Santana, remember him, pitched two innings in a game against the Cardinals yesterday. He didn’t give up any runs and didn’t leave injured so that has to be a positive right? We should know more today to see how he reacts to throwing yesterday. I saw Jeurys Familia got hit pretty hard yesterday as well just proving that he’s not quite yet ready for the big leagues, but pitching in camp should help him.
It’s really good to have baseball back; I went into how much I loved baseball yesterday. I like being able to come home and watch a game basically every day. It would make it that much better if the team stays competitive for the majority of the season. If we can get a healthy Johan, which is a big if, maybe we can do some things. The Mets will see former friend Jose Reyes as the Mets play the Marlins today at 1 pm ET.
I don’t know why it happened, but I was really excited to watch baseball last night. One reason has to be that Winter is almost over. One of the best feelings I have is when I can start packing up the Winter clothes and swap over to shorts and t-shirts. The other reason I was pumped up is because I love baseball.
Growing up baseball was my first true love. Some of my fondest memories growing up were the endless amount of hours we would play wiffle ball. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that we would start playing at 8 or 9 in the morning and not finish our games until it was dark out. We used to keep stats too which was pretty cool. I think my high in homeruns was 18; I wasn’t quite the slugger back then. We would play the majority of games at my house which was one of the bigger yards we would play in. This is also the reason we never had any grass in the yard either.
My family wasn’t into baseball that much. My dad claimed to be a Yankee fan but I never saw him watch a game. I don’t think my mother was a fan either because I would take Met losses pretty hard and if they lost I would be in a pretty bad mood the rest of the day. I do remember playing catch with my dad and my mom and grandfather hitting me grounders in the yard. As I’m writing this I can’t really put into words how special those moments were to a young kid.
I honestly don’t remember when I started playing organized baseball but I remember it was in the summer. I played at Toms River East Little League (future winners of the Little League World Series) and signed up for a summer league. I was awful; I literally hit the ball once that entire season. The one time I hit the ball it wound up being a force out but every other plate appearance ended in a strikeout or a walk.
I eventually got better but I was more of a hitter than anything else. Fielding definitely wasn’t my game; I would have been a great DH. My younger brother played a lot more baseball than I did; he seemed to play all year round and even in school. I didn’t get to as many of his games as I should have but I do remember watching him hit a home run which was pretty cool. I think my mom misses us playing more than anything.
People claim that baseball is boring but I disagree. I don’t think there is anything better than a playoff game in October where every single pitch matters. It’s definitely not as fast as basketball, football or hockey but then again they do play 162 games where basketball and hockey play half that and football only has 16. This is why there is nothing better than having your baseball team be good because you can watch a game practically every day.
How great was it collecting baseball cards too, yeah I’m getting a little off topic here but man I miss those days too. I miss going to card shows on Saturdays at the firehouse that was near my house. I miss the trades we would complete during class in elementary school and then middle school.
I was intending to write a short post about the Mets game from last night but this started to become something more meaningful to me and I hope it came out. I could really have written all day and maybe I will sometime soon.
Major League Baseball announced this week that they are adding two wild card teams to bring the total amount of playoff teams to ten. The two wild card teams will square off in a one game playoff. With ten teams making the playoffs, this will be largest playoff pool in baseball history according to mlb.com.
I really like this for a couple reasons. The most important reason being it should keep the last few weeks of the regular season interesting. Secondly, it rewards a team for winning its division. The division winner now gets additional rest between the end of the regular season and their playoffs beginning. The wild card teams are going to have to pitch their best pitchers in the one game playoff as well which should help the division winners.
Another reason to like the change is you won't see teams trading away their best players near the trade deadline. In the years past if you were 5 or 6 games out of the wild card near the deadline you might think about trading your top players, especially if you didn't feel you can re-sign them. With the addition of the extra wild card berth a team is really going to have to be well out of the race to pack in their season.
I really hope this allows teams like the Royals or Pirates especially to have some hope. I can't imagine being a fan of a team where you just know you can't compete and you know you can't keep your own players. Honestly, the Mets aren't too far away from that but I have seen a little bit of success out of them.
What is your feeling on the new playoff, will this make you more interested in watching?
It didn't dawn on me until today that I need to start prepping for my keeper league baseball draft in a few weeks. I love fantasy sports; I've done baseball, football, basketball and hockey along the way. I had to start playing fantasy sports in high school so I've had my share of good and bad teams.
My keeper league team was horrendous last season and it really killed me inside since I made the playoffs the year after. I always have the notion that you build around pitching in baseball and last year I had nothing pitching wise. I may have made a foolish move when I traded Cliff Lee late last year but I was so far out of it that it really didn't bother me
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One thing I'm not very proud of is the fact I've only been to one NJ Devils game since they moved over to the Rock. It's really odd to think that I used to go to a lot of games at the Izod Center aka Continental Airlines aka Brendan Byrne arena, whatever it was called at that time, where there was no public transportation.
The team has really passed all of my expectations coming into this season. It was really sad to see them miss the playoffs last year as they have been my only team I’ve seen win a championship and be successful in my lifetime. Once again, they changed their coach which Lou Lamoriello seems to do as much as he changes his socks. They hired former Panther coach Peter DeBoer after Jacques Lemaire decided to retire again
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Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that I've been upgraded to an inactive domain, so if things look differently that would be the case.
I love when Spring Training begins because that starts to let us know Winter is almost over and we'll soon be able to watch a baseball game basically every day.
This maybe the first year I'm not fully excited about the season. The Mets did next to nothing this offseason and we have question marks all over. On paper the offense should be decent but we're talking about a lot of if's. When healthy a middle of the lineup consisting of David Wright, Ike Davis, Lucas Duda and Jason Bay looks pretty good. Of course with the Mets, there are no assurances
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Besides the fact that Spring Training is about to begin, the biggest Mets news this past week is the passing of Hall of Fame Catcher, Gary Carter. Carter was only 57, leaving us way too early.
I can’t imagine any Met fan who followed the team in the 80’s would believe that The Kid would be the first to leave us. I think the saying only the good die young really applies here. I’m definitely sad that he’s gone but happy in the fact that he’s no longer suffering and has gone on to a better place. My condolences go out to his family
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If you can find a more loyal but tortured fanbase, I would love for it to be pointed out to me. I became a fan of both teams through family as I imagine most fans did. I remember being a kid going to watch a Mets vs Expos game at my cousin's house. I remember this day vividly because my sister was getting baptized that day and for whatever reason I didn't have to go. The Mets won that day and I was hooked. Who knows I may have become a Nationals fan that day and would own a Strasburg jersey.
My earliest memory of the Jets was watching the regular season finale in 1991 against the Dolphins. The winner of that game was going to make the playoffs. I remember watching the game at my Grandmother's house and watching in horror as Marino led the Dolphins on a scoring drive late in the 4th quarter to put them ahead. I was 10 years old at the time and started crying (should have been a hint right there) and my grandparents' drove me home
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Looking back, the 2005 draft was packed full of talent, with names like Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki and Ryan Zimmerman. The Red Sox found three members of their current roster in Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz and Jed Lowrie. At the time however, none these players were the cream of the draft crop.
The Kansas City Royals came into the draft in a prime position. They held the rights to the 2nd overall pick. The top two prospects were well known by this point; one a high school phenom collecting Ken Griffey Jr. comparisons, the other a college stud who had swept NCAA player of the year awards. Justin Upton was taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks as the first pick, leaving the Royals with Nebraska Cornhusker 3B Alex Gordon
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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
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The big story of this early season has been the slow start of the Boston Red Sox. After losing their first 6 games, the Red Sox astonished many by compiling a record of 2-10 over their first 12 contests. The stat geeks spoke, no team that started a season 0-6 has gone on to make the playoffs. Fans panicked, analysts dissected the issues and asked the question, could this bunch really not manage to make the postseason? After their performance this past week, the Red Sox are quickly showing that they are not your usual 0-6 start team, but they are certainly one to be feared in 2011.
Due to their recent hot streak, the Red Sox are poised to return to the .500 mark and are steadily rising in the AL East standings. The Sox have won 5 straight games and 8 of their last 9. The team is playing great baseball and has beaten reputable teams in the Blue Jays, Athletics and Angels. Their offense has been solid, contributing 5.1 runs a game over their previous 9. Struggling star Carl Crawford has picked his play up a bit in the last week, hitting at a .259 clip with 3 extra base hits including a homerun. Boston is hoping his contribution continues and he begins hitting as he did in a Rays uniform
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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
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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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One team was able to sweep this week's AL Pitching studs and duds. Several high profile pitchers came close to becoming this week's pitching stud, but a not so recognizable name took home the prize. This week brought a complete reversal for this week's dud, and he will see how it feels to go from the top to the bottom.
There were some solid pitching performances this week in the American League. Josh Beckett has put together two more above quality starts to move his ERA below 2.00. Jered Weaver remained sharp and became the first to 5 wins, but this week Scott Baker of the Minnesota twins gets my nod for best pitcher. Baker had two impressive performances last week and was able to lower his ERA from 6.55 to 3.24. Baker held the Rays to 1 ER over 7 innings of 4 hit baseball and then last night held the Orioles scoreless over another 7 innings. During this two game stretch, Baker recorded 15 strikeouts while only walking 2 batters. The Twins hope Baker can help the club continue their climb back to .500
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Another week brings another session of studs and duds. This week had its normal share of accomplishments as well as disappointments. We'll start off with the AL offensive studs and duds.
Travis Hafner almost earned my vote as the AL masher of the week. He has been solid so far this season and is one of the reasons the Tribe has had such an impressive early showing. However, I was not able to crown Hafner after taking a look at the damage Curtis Granderson had done this week. The Yankee OF had a batting average of .435 to go along with a ridiculous 1.130 slugging %. His 1.565 OPS jumped out at me as I reviewed the stats and upon spotting it I knew I had found my stud. Granderson had 7 extra base hits this week; 4 homeruns, 2 doubles and a triple. During this offensive surge Granderson has seen his average rise from .156 to .273
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The title may be a little misleading. When I saw similar headlines, I assumed that Milwaukee had come to an agreement with first baseman Prince Fielder. However, it was another power hitting Brewer that got paid Thursday. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee's stud left fielder, has reached an agreement on an extension with the team.
Braun has set himself up nicely through his 37th birthday
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There was a little reshuffling in my top 5 this week, with one team dropping off the list. The 4 that remain from last week change slots, and the World Series champs make the cut for this week's top 5. It's still very early and there are some other teams with solid records, but it's hard to compare wins and losses when teams are still rounding into regular season form. With that I felt like I had a little explaining to do with my choices.
The Cleveland Indians share the best record in baseball with the Colorado Rockies, but the Indians did not make the cut. They only have played in one full series against a team playing at least .500 baseball and they lost that series to the Angels. Their pitching has been lights out but it's still too early for me to tell if this streak is due to scheduling or a legitimate turnaround. Two other teams that I seriously looked at for spots on the list were the LA Angels and Cincinnati Reds; maybe next week guys
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Monday brought its share of dominant pitching performances. Yesterday alone, seven pitchers went at least 7 innings and gave up no more than 1 earned run. This stat isn't even including the Pirate's Kevin Correia who threw a complete game against the Reds, only surrendering 2 earned runs.
Red Sox find hope in Monday's outing
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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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