How Bout That For Your Second Career Start?

By now everybody has heard about the monumental collapse of the Red Sox and the amazing play of the Rays that landed them the AL Wild Card spot. On September 3rd the Red Sox lead the Rays by 9 games but the Rays roared all the way back to pull within even of the Sox on the last day of the season. After trailing 7-0 after seven innings and failing to produce offensively with minor league pitchers like Dellin Betances and George Kontos pitching for the Yankees, the Rays sparked a furious comeback to win in extra innings shortly after the Red Sox had fallen to the Orioles in Baltimore 4-3. The Rays were obviously fatigued by the long month of baseball and the crazy ups and downs of the last night of the season. The Rays arrived at Rangers Ballpark at 4:30 the next day, about 24 hours before their playoff game there the next day. Rays manager Joe Maddon said, "It really draws a lot out of you. It's difficult to bring everything together from the conclusion of the last night to this curren moment. We celebrated. As we should have. We had some benign conversations on how to shape the roster. We're not even there yet." With all of the emotions and the lack of rest for the Rays, many people doubted their chances in game 1 on the road against the AL West champion Texas Rangers, whose potent lineup scored the 3rd most runs in the MLB during the regular season. Further questions were raised when Joe Maddon tabbed Matt Moore as his game 1 starter. However, Moore showed why he is touted as one of the top pitching prospects and one of the top 10 overall prospects according to Baseball Prospectus. More importantly, Moore has put the Rays in a great early position to advance to the ALCS.

To many people, the move to start a rookie, who has only started one game in his career, was not the best option for Joe Maddon. Maddon could have gone many other ways instead of throwing such an inexperienced pitcher onto the mound in such a pressure situation. Maddon could have called on his best pitcher all year, James Shields, to pitch on three days rest. Shields had been great the entire regular season for the Rays posting the third best ERA in the AL at 2.82. If Maddon felt that he wanted to save Shields until game 2 when he would be fully rested and at full strength, he could have also gone with established starter Wade Davis, who had pitched 8 innings and allowed just 2 runs in his last start. Another element that made many people disagree with the decision was that the left handed Moore would be throwing to a Texas lneup that is entirely made up of right handed batters aside from Josh Hamilton. 

Although there were obvious risks in starting a guy with such limited experience, Moore showed in his only start of the season against the Yankees on September 22nd that his stuff is good enough to frustrate any team on a given day from the Yankees to a great hitting team like the Rangers. Moore's combination of a mid 90's fastball and a devastating changeup makes him a difficult pitcher to hit against. In that game against the Yankees, Moore pitched 5 solid innings and let up no runs, while adding 11 strikeouts. After that game Joe Maddon said, "His composure, Yankee Stadium, throwing strikes, all those things speak to the makeup of Matt Moore." That statement by Maddon describes the reasoning behind why he chose Moore to start game 1 of a huge playoff series.

Moore definitely did not let his manager down by pitching an unbelievable game to give the Rays a 1-0 lead over the Rangers and a huge road victory. Moore pitched 7 innings of 2 hit baseball, while allowing no runs with 6 strikeouts. Moore got a big lift from his Rays offense as well, which clearly lifted a lot of pressure off of the 22 year old. By the time Moore came out to pitch in the bottom of the 3rd, the Rays already lead the Rangers 6-0. The early 6 run lead took the crowd out of the game as well and eased the nerves that Moore was feeling at the beginning of the game. Moore said, “I may have looked a little more clam than I was, especially early. The first inning, I had a little bit of nerves and adrenaline going. But these guys made it really easy for me, putting up those numbers. Looking up there are the fourth, I think it was 8-0, it was just a matter of throwing strikes and getting out of the innings as fast as possible.” Moore was also able to keep his pitch count down including having 2 half innings where he made less than 10 pitches, so he was able to last 7 innings and give a tired Rays bullpen a much needed extra day of rest. The Rays closer, Kyle Farnsworth, who had pitched in every Rays game except one since September 24th, got an extra day of rest with the Rays up 9-0 coming into the bottom of the 9th. Now that’s what you call an impressive second major league start.

The Madness Of The Last Night Of The Season

If you go on twitter, you will be able to find tweets like these that describe the final night of the MLB season: Buster Olney said, "Anybody remember a better series of regular-season games on one day?" Andrew Siciliano said, "One of the most incredible, amazing. shocking nights I've ever seen." Joel Sherman said, "Has there ever been a better 2 hours in MLB history than the last 2 hours. My hand has cramped from hitting my remote on baseball package." Kevin Millar said, "It was an absolute honor to be a fan of baseball tonight. Amazing, crazy, wild and much props to the teams who won! Show time." Aaron Boone said, "Wow! Gotta be the most dramatic final day of a regular season ever. Couldnt script the events of tonight." Trey Wingo said, "Tonight.. is why I don't watch reality TV. Sports... is the ultimate reality show. unscripted.. you just never know." Coming into the final night of baseball's regular season, the Red Sox had lost a 9 game lead in the AL Wild Card as the Rays had come back to tie it up in the standings. In the NL, the St. Louis Cardinals had come back from 8.5 games to tie the Atlanta Braves for the NL Wild Card lead. With the final two-playoff spots available, and the two biggest collapses in MLB history on the line, the final night of baseball was the most dramatic, unbelievable single night that any MLB fan has ever been apart of. Here is my reaction to the events on my twitter page:

6:00: The Rays were 9 games behind the Red Sox on September 1st and are now heading into the final game of the season tied with the Bo Sox. (In that span the Red Sox have been 7-19, while the Rays have been 16-10)

6:00: The Cardinals were 8.5 games behind the Braves on September 1st and are now heading into the final game of the season tied with the Braves. (In that span the Braves have been 9-17, while the Cardinals have been 17-8, including a 12-2 stretch from September 6th to September 21st)

6:00: Pitching matchups in the AL: Jon Lester (15-9, 3.49 ERA for the Red Sox) vs Alfredo Simon (4-9, 4.96 ERA for the Orioles), and David Price (12-13, 3.35 ERA for the Rays) vs Betances (0-0, 27.00 ERA for the Yankees)

6:00: Pitching matchups in the NL: Tim Hudson (16-10, 3.23 ERA for the Braves) vs Joe Blanton (1-2, 5.03 ERA for the Phillies), and Chris Carpenter (10-9, 3.59 ERA for the Cardinals) vs Brett Myers (7-13 with 4 consecutive wins in September, 4.31 ERA for the Astros)

7:00: What a night for baseball fans.

7:00: Two home runs later and Ryan Lavarnway is batting 5th for the Sox tonight. Need a big start from Lester. (Lester has lost his previous three starts and has allowed at least 4 runs in each of those starts)

7:21: Big error by Ben Zobrist at second to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead. The question remains though how Dellin Betances will pitch tonight. (It was just Zobrist's 6th error all season at second base)

7:54: Red Sox nation has to be loving Mark Teixeira right now. Huge grand slam for Tex to give the Yanks an early 5-0 lead. (Texeira has 110 RBI's for the 6th time in his career and the Sox, scoreboard watching, are feeling optimistic)

7:55: Michael Bourn is the fastest guy in the MLB. Huge stolen base off Hamels to put himself in scoring position. (The steal gives Bourn his 61st on the year, which is 21 more than any other National League player)

8:03: Big home run by Dan Uggla to give the Braves a 3-1 advantage in the bottom of the 3rd. Phillies have two runners on right now though. (Gives Uggla more than 35 home runs for the first time in his career and more importantly, gives Tim Hudson a two run lead)

8:20: A bad mistake by Alfredo Simon to give the Sox their 2nd run off of a balk. Scuarto got inside of Simon's head down at third.

8:28: Five runs in the first for the Cards to put the pressure back on the Braves. Pujols, Berkman, Freese, Schumaker, and Punto all with RBI's.

8:35: Tex hits his second home run to give the Yanks a 6-0 lead and a few seconds later Pedroia hits a solo shot to give the Sox a 3-2 lead. (The 6 runs that Price has allowed is the most he has ever allowed in one start in his MLB career)

9:25: Jonny Venters looks wild in the 8th with 2 walks and a HBP but he comes up huge with the bases loaded to strike out Ibanez and keep the lead.

9:54: Just like Venters, Craig Kimbrel has been very wild in the 9th, as he's walked Ben Francisco and Jimmy Rollins to load the bases. (Venters gets his 35th hold of the season, which is the 2nd most in the NL)

9:56: Blown save for Kimbrel, as Utley hits a sac fly out to left field. The Braves will have to move on quickly because there are still men on. (Kimbrel's 8th blown save of the season, 3 of which have come in September, including 2 in his last 3 appearances)

9:58: The Braves are in deep trouble. They've brought in Kris Medlen, who has made just one appearance all season after coming back from injury. (Medlen has missed 13 months after having Tommy John surgery)

10:03: How bout that for your second start of the season. Medlen comes in and gets Michael Martinez to pop out to third with the bases loaded.

10:10: Valverde gets his 49th save in 49 opportunities for the Tigers. Waiting on the Rangers to see where their final position in the AL will be. (Dating back to last season, Valverde has saved 51 consecutive games)

10:18: Don't forget about an AL Wild Card playoff so quickly. The Rays have the bases loaded and have cut the Yanks lead to 7-2 in the 8th.

10:21: Red Sox nation can breathe somewhat easily for a minute. Luis Ayala gets Desmond Jennings to strike out and then gets BJ Upton to fly out to left.

10:23: I take that last post back. Evan Longoria hits a three-run home run to bring the Rays to within 1 run of the Yanks at 7-6. (Ayala lets up his first runs in all of September on the Longoria home run)

10:27: Damon pops up to second to end the threat and the Rays go into the top of the 9th down 7-6. Who will come in in the 9th for the Yanks?

10:28: Cards finish off the Astros with an 8-0 victory. Chris Carpenter pitches a complete game 2-hit shutout with 11 K's. (Carpenter allows 1 run or less for the third straight start and finishes the season with a sub 3.50 ERA for the 4th year in a row)

10:47: Down to their last pitch, Dan Johnson hits a solo home run off of Cory Wade to complete the Rays comeback and tie the game at 7 in the 9th. (It was Johnson's first hit since April 27. He had been hitless in his last 20 plate appearances. Johnson's .108 batting average coming into the at-bat was the lowest among any position player with at least 50 plate appearances. Talk about a good time to get out of a horrible slump)

10:50: With the Rangers 3-1 victory over the Angles, they clinch the 2nd best record in the AL and the Tigers finish with the 3rd best record. (The Rangers capture their 5th division title, and 2nd in a row.)

10:50: Therefore, the Rangers will play the AL Wild Card winner (the Red Sox or the Rays) and the Yanks will open with the Tigers.

10:58: The Red Sox have to be frustrated that they are coming back onto the field after the rain delay with the Rays and Yanks now going into extra innings.

10:58: Just remember that the Rays haven't knocked off the Yanks yet and that they still have to go out and score more runs in extras.

11:05: With the Brewers 7-3 victory over the Pirates, they clinch the 2nd best record in the NL and the Diamondbacks finish behind them in 3rd. (The Brewers capture their 1st NL Central division title)

11:05: Therefore, if the Cardinals win the NL Wild Card, the Brewers will play the Diamondbacks and the Phillies will play the Cardinals.

11:05: If the Braves win the NL Wild Card, the Brewers will play the Braves and the Phillies will play the Diamondbacks.

11:13 To the 13th we go in Atlanta, as Martin Prado grounds out to third with the winning runner 90 feet away from home. (The horrible month for Prado continues as he is batting just .236 in September)

11:18: Rays bring in Brandon Gomes in the 11th, who has allowed just 1 earned run in September during 11 appearances.

11:24: Bard finally catches a break in a month where he has allowed 13 earned runs in 11 appearances, as Guerrero and Wieters just miss home runs.

11:28: The Phillies go up 4-3 in the 13th as Hunter Pence drives in Brian Schneider on a bloop single by Freddie Freeman at first. (That's why the Phillies acquired Pence from the Astros before the trading deadline)

11:40: Tough way for Freddie Freeman to end his great rookie season, as he grounds into a double play and the Braves fall in 13 to the Phillies and complete a monumental collapse. (The Braves 8.5 game lead was the largest lead for a team to not make the playoffs since 1964 when the Phillies led the Cardinals by 8.5 games and missed out on the playoffs.)

11:40: The NL playoff matchups are set for Saturday. Phillies-Cardinals and Brewers-Diamondbacks.

11:50: Papelbon tries to get the save for the Sox in the 9th. The Yanks and the Rays head to the 12th after Desmond Jennings pops up with runners on base.

11:55: With no outs and runners on first and third, Longoria fields a grounder to third and inexplicably, Greg Golson of the Yanks gets caught off third base and is tagged out. (In just Greg Golson's 9th game of the season, he makes a horrible mistake that could cost the Red Sox dearly)

12:02: One pitch away from extending their season, Papelbon gives up a double to Nolan Reimond and then a single to Roberto Adindo as the O's win. (Papelbon blows just his 3rd save of the season, but it's in the most important game of the year)

12:05: Longoria, who hit the big three run home run in the 8th, hits a walk off solo home run in the 12th to send the Rays into the playoffs. (The home run completes the collapse for the Boston Red Sox, who led the Rays by 9 games on September 1st)

12:05: The AL Playoff matchups are now set: Yankees-Tigers, Rangers-Rays.

Post-Game: What an unbelievable night of baseball. We've never seen a night like this in MLB history. Just when you think you've seen it all....

Post-Game: The Red Sox are going to have the longest, hardest off season of any team in MLB history after losing a 9 game Wild Card lead.

Post-Game: Nobody can really put this day into perspective. The collapses of Red Sox and Braves will go down in baseball infamy.

Post-Game: The Yanks had runners on first and third with no outs, and Papelbon had just struck out two guys and was one out away from the victory. Funny how things can change so quickly. Golson gets tagged out between 3rd and home for the Yanks, and then Papelbon lets up a double and then the walk-off single to Andino. Longoria hits a walk-off home run to send the Rays to the playoffs and complete the worst 5 minutes of a Sox fan's life.

Post-Game: What a horrible finish for the Sox and just a terrible year for Carl Crawford. How weird is it that the final ball of the season finds Crawford, and he can't corral in left?

Post-Game: Everyone's reaction is the same - WOW! This night in baseball will always be remembered.

Justin Verlander Shouldn't Win The AL MVP Award

Justin Verlander is having one of the best pitching seasons in recent memory. He leads the league in nearly every pitching category including wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, and WHIP. Not surprisingly, he has been the ace of the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers. After beginning the season with a 2-3 record, he is an incredible 18-2 and has not recorded a loss in the months of May, June, and August. To go along with his 20-5 record and 218 strikeouts, Verlander has also thrown a no hitter, which he did on May 7th against the Blue Jays. Verlander is no doubt the clear front-runner to win the AL Cy Young, but he shouldn't win the AL MVP award ahead of guys like Adrian Gonzalez and Curtis Granderson.

In order for a pitcher to win an MVP award there has to be a combination of two things. First, the pitcher has to be having an incredible, record-breaking season. Second, and most important, there has to be no position player who has had a season worthy enough to deserve the award. Although Justin Verlander is having a great pitching year, there are definitely position players who have had seasons worthy of the MVP. Adrian Gonzalez is having an outstanding first season with the Red Sox and has been on a tear lately. He is in the top 5 in nearly every batting category in the AL. He is 1st in hits, 3rd in on base percentage, 4th in slugging percentage, 4th in runs, 4th in doubles, and 4th in on base plus slugging percentage. Gonzalez also leads the MLB with a .345 batting average and is tied with Curtis Granderson for the league lead in RBIs with 103. Often times, the MVP race comes down to the last 2 months of the season. Gonzalez is stating his case that he deserves to win the award as he has led the Red Sox to a two game lead in the AL East over the Yankees. In his last 7 games, Gonzalez is 12-31 (.387) and has 5 home runs and 10 RBIs. Curtis Granderson is another position player who has had an MVP season. Granderson is second in the league with 36 home runs and he is tied for the league lead in RBIs with 103. Granderson's 119 runs scored lead the league, and he has scored 24 more runs than any other player in the league this season. The Yanks centerfielder has also caused havoc on the base paths with his 24 stolen bases. Gonzalez and Granderson have both had seasons that are worthy of an MVP.

It is extremely rare for pitchers to win an MVP award. Since 1931, only 11 pitchers have ever won the AL MVP award, and just 4 have won the award since 1972. The pitchers who have won the award have had an all-time, great season and they have also been in a year where there was no position player who was a clear-cut MVP candidate. In 1971, Vida Blue won the AL MVP as a starting pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. Vida had an incredible season, as he was 24-8 with an astonishing 1.82 ERA, 24 complete games, and 8 shutouts. None of the players that finished in the top 20 of the MVP voting in 1971 had over 35 home runs or more than 100 RBIs. Sal Bando, who finished in 2nd that year, had just 24 home runs, 94 RBIs, and batted only .271. In 1992, Dennis Eckersley won the AL MVP award as the closer for the Oakland Athletics. Eckersley had a record-breaking season as he had 51 saves, an MLB record for the most in a single season at the time, and he also had an ERA of 1.91 in 69 appearances. That same year, Kirby Puckett was the runner-up for the MVP, but he had only 19 homers. Joe Carter, who finished third, had 34 home runs, but batted just .264. Verlander is having a great season, but it is not like Vida Blue’s year in 1971 or Dennis Eckersley’s in 1992 where they were the only dominating performer in all of baseball. 

Many pitchers have had great seasons, even better than Verlander's, and have not won the MVP award because there were position players who deserved it. In 1989, Bret Saberhagen of the Kansas City Royals had one of the best single seasons in AL history and won the AL Cy Young award. Saberhagen led the major leagues with 23 wins and only one pitcher since then, Bob Welch in 1990, has had more than 23 wins in a single season in the AL. Saberhagen also led the league with a 2.16 ERA, but didn't win the AL MVP because guys like Robin Yount and Ruben Sierra had terrific seasons.  In 2000, Pedro Martinez had one of the greatest pitching seasons in American League history. The Red Sox pitcher was 18-6 with a 1.74 ERA, which was the lowest in the AL since Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees had a 1.74 ERA in 1978. Pedro's finished 2000 with a WHIP of 0.737, which was the lowest single season WHIP in MLB history. However, Pedro didn't win the AL MVP because there were position players who had great seasons. Jason Giambi, Frank Thomas, Alex Rodriguez, and Carlos Delgado all had over 40 home runs, 130 RBIs, and batted over .315 and all received more votes than Pedro for MVP. By the way, Jason Giambi, who later admitted to using steroids, won the award. 

Verlander's season is easy to compare to Roger Clemens's year in 1997 with the Toronto Blue Jays. Like Verlander, Clemens won his 20th game before the end of August and was the clear cut AL Cy Young favorite. If you put their numbers next to each other they are very similar. Clemens pitched 264 innings and was 21-7 with a 2.05 ERA and 292 strikeouts. With about 6 starts remaining, Verlander has pitched 215.2 innings and is currently 20-5 with a higher ERA than Clemens at 2.38 and 218 strikeouts. Verlander's innings and strikeouts will look much more like Clemens's after his final 6 starts. When the AL MVP voting was tallied in 1997, Clemens finished in 10th place. 

Tiger's manager Jim Leyland recently said, "I don't think a pitcher should be the Most Valuable Player. I'm not looking for arguments or controversy. I just think when a guy goes out there 158 times or 155 times and has a big year, an MVP type year, I don't think the guy that goes out there 35 times should be named over that guy. To me right now if you really wanted to look at it who is our Most Valuable Player? Is it Verlander or at this point today under all circumstances is it Alex Avila? You can make a case for what this kid has gone through. I'm certainly not taking anything away from Verlander and I'm not trying to change the voting.”

Jim Thome Is A First Ballot Hall Of Famer

After hitting his 599th home run over the porch in left-center field in the 6th inning, Jim Thome wasted little time to join the exclusive club of 600 home run hitters. With a 2-1 count, and Daniel Schlereth on the mound, Thome got a breaking ball on the outside corner and crushed it over the fence in left to become the 8th player in major league history to hit 600 home runs. Thome has now joined the 600 homer club, but that is not the last club he should be joining. He should also be recognized as one of the greatest baseball players of all-time and enter Cooperstown as a first ballot hall of famer.

Only 7 other players aside from Thome have hit at least 600 home runs in their career. From April 27, 1971 until August 9, 2002, a span of over 30 years, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays stood as the only three players in MLB history to have hit 600 homers. Although Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Sammy Sosa joined Aaron, Ruth, and Mays in the 600 home run club, all three have had connections with performance enhancing drugs. Baseball numbers, like 600 home runs, are sacred and the numbers that Bonds, Rodriguez, and Sosa have put up are tainted and inflated. In contrast, Jim Thome has never failed a steroid test and he has, by all indications, never used performance enhancing drugs. Therefore, if you take out guys like Bonds, Rodriguez, and Sosa, Thome is just the 5th player in MLB history to have hit 600 home runs. It should be noted that Ken Griffey also hit 600 homers, so he would be the fourth man to have accomplished the milestone. If you think about all the great power hitters that have played in the big leagues such as Frank Robinson, Mike Schmidt, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, and Willie McCovey, none of them hit 600 home runs in their career, and all of them were first ballot hall of famers.

Although Thome's lifetime batting average is just under .280, he had 8 seasons where he batted over .280, including three seasons where he has batted over .300. His career average has dropped a few points as he has gotten older, but when he was in his prime, he hit for power and average. In 2002 he hit 52 home runs and had a batting average of .304. There have been many other first ballot hall of famers with similar averages as Thome. Willie McCovey was a career .270 hitter and never batted over .280 in his final 10 seasons. Johnny Bench had a .267 lifetime batting average, Joe Morgan had a .271 lifetime batting average, and Ernie Banks had a career .274 batting average. 

Thome is not a very fast guy by any stretch of the imagination, but he is a run-scoring-machine. He scored over 100 runs 8 times during his career, including 2002 when he scored over 100 runs on an Indians team that was 74-88 and finished more than 20 games out of first place. Thome's 1,553 runs scored are more than first ballot hall of famers and speedsters Rod Carew, Tony Gwynn, Ozzie Smith, and Jackie Robinson. 

Thome has also been very productive at driving guys in. He has had 9 seasons where he has driven in over 100 RBIs, including a career high of 131 in 2003. Here is an unbelievable stat - if you combine the 100 RBI years of Jackie Robinson, Kirby Puckett, Robin Yount, and Paul Molitor, it equals the amount of 100 RBI years of Jim Thome. His 1,662 RBIs are good for 27th all-time, ahead of guys like George Brett, Mike Schmidt, Al Kaline, Mickey Mantle, Tony Gwynn, and Rod Carew. Thome's on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and on-base plus slugging percentage have always been at the top of the league. His on-base percentage was in the top 5 of his league six times, with his career high at .450. Thome's career on-base percentage of .4033 is better than first ballot hall of famers Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Mays, and Frank Robinson. His ability to be very patient at the plate and take his walks has really helped his on-base percentage. He led the AL in walks three times and is eighth all-time in career walks. He led the AL in slugging in 2002 and his .558 slugging percentage is good for 20th all-time. His on-base plus slugging percentage for his career is .961, which is 17th all-time and better than hall of famers like Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, and Carl Yastrzemski.

Thome's productivity and longevity shows that he deserves to be a first ballot hall of famer. This is Thome's 21st season in the big leagues, and he has had season after season of solid hitting. From 1994 to 2010, that's 17 years, he's had more than 20 home runs every year except for 2005, when he missed over 100 games with an injury. He's had 12 seasons of 30 or more home runs, including one as recently as 2008 with the White Sox. It's pretty impressive that a guy who began his MLB career in 1991 can hit 34 home runs at the age of 37. He's also had six 40 home run seasons, the most recent in 2006, also as a member of the White Sox. To put how good Thome has been for an extended period of time in perspective, in Willie McCovey's final 10 seasons in the big leagues, he never hit more than 30 home runs and had less than 20 homers 6 times. In Brooks Robinson's final 6 seasons, he never hit more than 10 home runs and never scored more than 53 runs. The ability of Thome to be productive and consistent for more than 20 seasons, through the age of 39, is something very special. Only a very few ball players can lay claim to his accomplishments over the course of 20-plus seasons.

Some people argue that Thome shouldn't be a first ballot hall of famer because he never won an MVP. That is ridiculous! Thome has been a consistent MVP candidate although he has never won the award. In 2002 he hit 52 home runs, but finished 7th in the AL MVP voting because his Indians team finished more than 20 games out of first place in the AL Central. The next year he finished in fourth place in the NL MVP voting after he hit 47 home runs and drove in 131 runs in his first year with the Phillies. Thome was unlucky because that same year, Gary Sheffield, Albert Pujols, and Barry Bonds all hit at least 39 home runs. Barry "Steriod" Bonds won the MVP that year. Of the last 9 batters that were first ballot hall of famers, seven of them, Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith, Dave Winfield, and Kirby Puckett never won an MVP. All-time greats and first ballot hall of famers Al Kaline and Lou Brock never won an MVP during their careers as well. Others argue that Thome made just 5 all-star games in his career. Robin Yount made just three all-star games and was a first ballot hall of famer. Lou Brock, Willie McCovey, and Jackie Robinson made just one more all-star game than Thome and were all first ballot hall of famers. 

To keep in perspective what a prolific home run hitter Jim Thome has been, over 17,000 people have played major league baseball, and only 8 guys have hit 600 homers!

MLB Awards Watch

AL Cy Young: The AL Cy Young is a three man race between Justin Verlander, Jered Weaver, and CC Sabathia. Verlander has been the ace of the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers, and has been their horse the entire season. Verlander began the season 2-3, even though his ERA was just 3.75 at the time, but since then he has gone 15-2, including an outstanding 9-0 record in the months of May and June. Verlander's unhittable stuff has been highlighted by his 1 walk no hitter on May 7th against the Blue Jays and his two other near no hitters against the Indians on June 14th and the Angles on July 31st. Verlander leads the league in nearly every pitching category including innings pitched, strikeouts, wins, WHIP, and is also 3rd in ERA. With the inconsistency of A.J. Burnett and the injuries to Phil Hughes and Bartolo Colon, CC Sabathia has been the main cog in keeping the Yankees in reaching distance of the first place Boston Red Sox. Sabathia has eaten up innings when the bullpen has needed rest, evidenced by being second in the MLB with 190.2 innings pitched. He went 11-1 from May 19 to July 16, and kept the Yankees in the AL East race. Sabathia's 16 wins are second in the MLB, and the only thing holding him back from winning the AL Cy Young is his struggles against the Red Sox. CC is 16-3 against every team other than the Sox, but is 0-4 against the Yanks arch rivals. In his last three starts against the Red Sox he has been rocked for more than 6 runs each time. Jered Weaver has had a roller coaster season. He began the year 6-0 with a sub 1.00 ERA, but then lost his next four starts and fell to 6-4. Weaver bounced back once again and improved his record to 14-4 with an unbelievable 1.79 ERA. However, Weaver was knocked around yesterday in the shortest start of his career, as he was lit up for 8 runs in just 4.2 innings. His ERA skyrocketed from 1.78 to 2.13 and Verlander has now surpassed him as the front runner for the award.

AL MVP: The AL MVP will most likely go to either Adrian Gonzalez or Curtis Granderson. When Gonzalez was acquired by the Red Sox, they knew he was a great player, but they could of never have expected him to be this good in his first season with a new team in a different league. Gonzo has exceeded expectations and has the Fenway faithful jumping with joy every time he steps up to bat. The power hitting first basemen leads the MLB in hits and has a .351 average, which is 15 points higher than any other player in the league. He also is second in the AL in RBIs and doubles. Gonzalez has never been held hitless for more than 2 games in a row, and he is also a gold glove first baseman to go along with his outstanding batting numbers. The only thing that Gonzalez is struggling with is his power numbers, especially since the all-star break when he participated in the home run derby. Before the All-Star game, Gonzalez had 17 home runs and was 10th in the AL in the category. Since the home run derby, he has just 1 home run and is now 20th in the AL in homers. Curtis Granderson has no doubt been the Yankees MVP and the surprise of that team. Coming into this season, Granderson's career high in home runs was 30 in 2009, and his career high in RBIs was 74 in 2007. With 44 games remaining, Granderson has an astonishing 33 home runs, which is tied for the most in the league, and leads the AL in RBIs with 94. Joe Girardi said about all the home runs Curtis is hitting, “The real difference is really against left-handers too, I think he has 11 home runs off left-handers, and more homers off lefties than anyone in baseball and that's not common that you see a left-handed hitter be the guy leading in that category. He just seems to make solid contact and he's got bat speed and pulls the ball, and we've seen him hit homers the other way into left-center and we've seen them all over, he just has a lot of power and when you look at his frame, that's not what you necessarily think of, but he does." Granderson also leads the league in runs scored with 107, 22 more than any other player, and leads the AL with 9 triples. If the Red Sox win the division, Gonzalez will likely win the award, but if Granderson can continue to hit well and lead the Yankees to a division win, he will likely take home the MVP.

NL Cy Young: Unlike the AL, where Verlander, Weaver, and Sabathia have been the three dominating pitchers, the NL Cy Young race is much more up for grabs. The most likely candidate is last year's winner, Roy Halladay. Doc is once again having a great season with a 15-4 record and a 2.51 ERA. There was a stretch from mid-May to early July when in 10 straight Roy Halladay starts, the Phillies were victorious. During that stretch, Doc allowed 2 runs or less 6 times. If Halladay were to win the award, he would be just the fourth pitcher to win the NL Cy Young award in back to back years. The only other contenders to Halladay are Ian Kennedy of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kennedy has revived his career in his second season with the NL West leading Diamondbacks. He struggled mightily as a starter for the Yankees, but he has looked great in Arizona as he has a 15-3 record with a 3.12 ERA. Kennedy has made a furious charge for the award in the last month. Since July 8th, he is 7-0 and hasn't allowed more than 3 runs in any of his starts. Clayton Kershaw is 14-5 and leads the NL in strikeouts with 193 and is tied with Halladay for the most innings pitched. Clayton has had 6 games where he has struck out more than 10 batters. Kershaw began the year 2-3, but turned it around and went 6-0 in May and June, and is now 14-5. 

NL MVP: Much like the NL Cy Young, the NL MVP is still up in the air and still has many contenders for the award. The leading candidates for the award, Prince Fielder, Justin Upton, and Matt Kemp, and all have a chance to gain a stronghold on the award in their last 40 games or so. Fielder looks like the frontrunner today. His team is beginning to run away with the NL Central, and he is having a career year in all categories. Fielder has always been a big power hitter with the ability to drive in runs in a very good Brewer lineup. He is third in the NL in home runs with 27, and is second in RBIs with 89. Those kinds of numbers are expected from Fielder, but his average is also way up from last year and he has cut down on his strikeouts. Last year he batted .261, but this season his average is up 47 points to .308. In the Brewers 15-2 stretch since July 26, Fielder had 5 home runs, 16 RBIs, and his average had risen from .287 to .308. Just like how Fielder has been instrumental in helping the Brewers stretch their lead in the NL Central to 5 games over the Cardinals, Justin Upton has done the same thing for the Diamondbacks. His hot hitting has led the Diamondbacks to a 1.5 game lead over the Giants in the NL West. Upton has had an all around solid year and is in the top 10 of nearly every single NL batting category. He is batting .306, has 24 home runs to go along with his 74 RBI's, and also has scored 78 runs, which is tied for the 4th most in the NL. Like Upton, Matt Kemp has had an all around solid season. He is fifth in batting average at .318, third in home runs with 27, third in RBIs with 88, and is fourth in the NL with 30 stolen bases. Although Upton may have slightly worse numbers than Kemp, Upton probably has a leg up on him in the race because the Diamondbacks are leading the West, and the Dodgers are 12 games behind.

How 'Bout Those Bucs?

Go ahead, try and name 5 players on the Pirates. No, their starting lineup doesn’t include Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente, but that hasn’t stopped the Bucs from leading the NL Central. The Pirates haven’t been above .500 after the All-Star break since 1992. They haven’t had a winning season since that year either, and their 18-year drought is the longest in history of the four major sports. And by the way, that losing streak which began in 1993, well it is the same year that Barry Bonds left for San Francisco.

To show you what winning does, the Pirates have had the second-largest attendance increase in the National League this season and television ratings are up 32%. What makes their success even more unbelievable is that they have nine players on their roster that opened the year in the minors, including 7 who made their major league debut this season. In addition, injuries have forced the Pirates to use 7 catchers. The Bucs opening day payroll was about $ 45 million, the lowest in the National League. Interestingly, the Pirates have spent more than $ 30 million signing draft picks the last 3 years. That is more than any other team in the majors, and it’s a result of having many top draft picks. Things are usually so hopeless around the end of July that the Pirates have typically traded veterans to contenders. Now the Pirates are looking to add salary for the pennant race.

The Pirates rank 13 amongst the 16 NL teams in runs scored, and their .245 team batting average is near the bottom as well, but their pitching staff has a 3.34 ERA, 5^th best in the league.  Ironically, the pitching staff ranks last in strikeouts, and they’ve issued very few walks, so they challenge the opposing team to put the ball in play. This only magnifies the cliché that good pitching and defense is what wins ballgames. Clint Hurdle has brought an enthusiasm to the team that has obviously been contagious. It is amazing what winning can do for a team’s confidence. Hurdle is a master motivator, and he has made sure to surround the clubhouse with photos of the 5 Pirate championship teams between 1909 and 1979.

Maybe now the Pirates can break another streak. They haven’t hosted a national Sunday night telecast in 11 years! 

It’s A Numbers Game!

There is something about baseball and numbers that fans love to talk about and debate. If you say the number “56” one immediately thinks of DiMaggio. If you say “406” everyone knows that was Ted Williams batting average in 1941. There is something about our national pastime that makes these numbers so sacred, and why the steroid era infuriates the baseball purist who can’t stand that their sport has been tainted. As Derek Jeter approaches his 3000^th hit, the argument heard around office water coolers is what stat is more significant, 500 homers, 3000 hits, or 300 wins.

Years ago, 500 homers was a plateau few guys reached. For a long time the big three were Aaron with 755, Ruth with 714, and Mays with 660. You also had guys like Frank Robinson, Mickey Mantle, and Ernie Banks as members of the club. Now you have Bonds, A-Rod, Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro, and Ramirez in the top 14, and all have been implicated in steroid usage. Their inflated home run totals have tarnished this previous gold standard of success. Also, parks are smaller now and the pitching is watered down from yesteryears. There are currently 25 men in the 500-homer club, but many are in hot pursuit.

Two hundred hits in a season has always been the benchmark of a very good offensive year, so if one can do that for 15 years, they would have 3000 hits. Jeter is set to become only the 28^th player to join that club, which shows that it’s a terrific accomplishment. There is also a great amount of consistency, and good health, needed to accumulate that many hits. There are also 3 active players with more than 2700 hits – Ivan Rodriguez, Omar Vizquel, and A-Rod.

However, getting 300 wins is the most difficult! One must average 20 wins a year for 15 years. From 2006-2010 the number of 20 game winners in the majors was 0, 1, 4, 0, 2. Not an easy task in any one year, let alone doing it 15 straight years! Remember also that pitchers now have 5-7 fewer starts with a 5-man rotation than years ago. When talking about records that will never be broken, one has to mention the 1971 season when the four Oriole starting pitchers each had at least 20 wins – Palmer, Cuellar, McNally, and Dobson. To reach 300 wins, the pitcher has to play on a very good team and have a solid bullpen so as not to increase the likelihood of leads being lost. The stats also bear out the fact that there are far more non-decisions for pitchers now than at any other time in baseball history. We may not see another 300 game winner for many, many years. Jamie Moyer leads all active players with 267 wins and he is followed by Tim Wakefield’s 198! Roy Halladay is third amongst active players with 180 wins to date. If the season ended today, Halladay would have to pitch 6 more seasons and win 20 games each one. To gain a perspective on how hard it is to win 20 games, as great a pitcher as Halladay is, he has won at least 20 games only 3 times in his 13 year career. It is a pretty safe bet than to say that Halladay will not win 300 games either. Any by the way, I think it is a pretty safe bet to say that no one will ever top Cy Young’s record of 511 wins!

Carl "Walk-off" Crawford

When the Red Sox signed Carl Crawford in the off-season to a seven year, 142 million dollar contract, they couldn't have envisioned a much worse start for the left fielder. Crawford looked extremely uncomfortable and wasn't relaxed at the plate for all of April. In April, Crawford was 15 for 97 and had a .155 batting average. He had 5 extra base hits in 97 at bats. He also struck out 17 times including 6 strikeouts in 4 games to begin the season. Crawford's numbers don't even look that bad compared to after April 17th when he was 7 for 55 and was batting .127 with just 1 extra base hit in 13 games.

May has been much kinder to Crawford. He is starting to look like the player the Sox signed to a huge contract during the off-season. In May, Crawford's fortunes have changed. He is 20 for 68 in May, which means that in 29 less at-bats, Crawford has five more hits. He is batting .294 during the month and has brought his average up from .155 to .212. 

Crawford has also earned the title of "Papi Jr." as the new clutch Red Sox. His first walk-off hit came on the 1st of May. The Sox has lost two in a row and were struggling at four games under .500 at 11-15. In the bottom of the ninth, Crawford came up with two outs and Jed Lowrie on third. Crawford singled to center to give the sox a 3-2 win a Fenway. Crawford said after the game about the hit, "After seeing it go through the middle, it was like a big weight off my shoulder. It's been a while since I felt this good. It's been tough on me; I can't sit here and act like it hasn't been. But you try to minimize that and keep positive thoughts in your head. As a team, we just wanted to put the month of April behind us," Crawford said. "We wanted to start fresh and act like the month of April never happened." Something began to click for Crawford after that game. He obviously felt like some pressure was off his back and he looked more comfortable, especially after his new teammates mobbed him after his first walk-off hit.

Crawford was not done with his clutch hits just yet. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Crawford came up with a runner on first and one out with the game tied at 1-1. Crawford hit a high shot off the monster and Jose Iglesias came around from first to score the winning run for the Sox. Crawford's hit in the 11th, extended his hitting streak at the time to 9 games dating back to May 1st. Crawford said after the game, "It's always nice to get walk-offs. I'll take 'em all the time. Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek said about Crawford, "He's still settling in." Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon added about Crawford, "I think we're seeing a guy that goes out there, that's a great athlete and is doing what he can to pick up the ballclub."

Crawford came through once again for the Red Sox last night in the clutch. The Red Sox were looking for their 6th win in a row lat night against the Tigers at home. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Crawford hit a bases-loaded single to lift the Sox over the Tigers. Crawford said after the game, "You always want to get a hit in those situations," the left fielder said. "You know it's gonna win the game, you definitely don't want to go to extra innings. So you just try to tell yourself to focus a little harder and hope for the best. It's always nice to come through in those situations. I've been struggling so whenever I get a chance to do something good like that it definitely feels good." Red Sox manager Terry Francona said about Crawford hitting yet another wal-off, "It's gotta be good for his confidence. It's a good time to hit, the infield is playing in, the outfield is playing in. He stayed on the ball really well, that's the one thing you don't wanna do -- roll over and pull off -- and he stayed on it really well."

In just the month of May, Carl Crawford has three walk-off hits for the Red Sox. In his last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, Crawford had just 2 walk-off hits.

Adrian Gonzalez Has A Great Shot At The Triple Crown

It has been 44 years since someone has hit for the Triple Crown. Boston Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski was the last player to achieve the feat in 1967. Yaz is confident that his Triple Crown won't be the last in MLB history. He said, "Somebody will break it. All the records, you would think [get broken]... Usually, somebody wins two of the three categories. To get that third one makes it more difficult. There's always somebody that pops up and has more home runs or something like that, or RBIs. So you just never know."

The player who may finally hit for the Triple Crown is wearing the same uniform as Yaz did for all 23 years of his career. It is very possible that Boston Red Sox first basemen Adrian Gonzalez can achieve the feat. Gonzalez is 7th in the AL with a .325 batting average, 4th in the AL with 9 home runs, and leads the AL with 34 RBI's. Gonzalez has a rare combination of outstanding power and consistency to get on base. There is no doubt that Gonzalez is going to hit a lot of home runs and is going to have a lot of chances to knock guys in, batting third in a very dangerous Red Sox lineup. If Gonzalez can keep his average up, he has a real chance of joining Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski as the only Red Sox players to hit for the Triple Crown. 

Adrian has benefited from leaving Petco Park, a pitcher friendly park, and coming to Fenway Park, a hitter friendly park. Petco Park has been the 3rd hardest park to get hits in this season, while Fenway Park has been the 5th easiest park to get hits in this year. Gonzalez's swing is made for Fenway Park. He is one of the best hitters in the MLB at hitting the ball the other way and will be able to continue to launch balls on the outer half of the plate over the Green Monster in left field. 

Recently Gonzalez has been on a tear. Sox fans are expecting the daily Adrian Gonzalez home run these days. In his last 8 games, he has 7 home runs and he has 5 in his last 4 games. If Gonzalez can hit a home run tonight, he will join Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Dick Stuart, George Scott, and Jose Canseco as the only Red Sox players to hit a home run in five straight games. Gonzalez has 8 home runs in May and needs 5 more homers to tie Jim Rice's team record for the most home runs as a Red Sox in the month of May. Gonzalez also has 19 RBI's in May. He is currently on pace for 44 in May, which would be the team record for the most RBI's in a month. 

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said about his slugging first basemen, "He amazes me. He's really good, he's intelligent and he knows what he's doing." Red Sox third basemen Kevin Youkilis said about Gonzalez, “This is the player that we got here for a reason. He was brought over here for a reason. It’s fun to sit back and watch. I get a great look on deck. He’s one hell of a player. It’s definitely a lot of fun to watch him hit balls to left field, right field. He’s a special player and he’s showing why the Red Sox were so adamant in getting him.”

The Key To The Cleveland Indians Quick Start: Pitching

The Cleveland Indians don't by any stretch of the imagination have any big name pitchers on their staff. Their rotation of Fausto Carmona, Carlos Carrasco, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin, and Mitch Talbot isn't exactly eye popping. The Indians, one year removed from a 93 loss season, have begun their 2011 campaign winning 12 of their first 16 games, largely due to the consistency of their pitching.

The Indians lead the league with 13 quality starts. They rank 1st in WHIP at 1.10 and in opponents batting average at .214. The Indians also rank 5th in ERA at 3.13. Justin Masterson and Josh Tomlin have been the pleasant surprises of the staff.

Justin Masterson is 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA in three starts this year. He didn't get his third win last season until July 1st on his 16th start of the season. A big reason behind Masterson's early season success is his control. Justin has 12 strikeouts and has only allowed 4 walks, which is the fewest of any starter on the Indians staff, through three starts. Indians pitching coach Tim Belcher told Masterson "to throw that little white thing over that larger white thing as much as you can." He added, "If he [Justin] does that, his stuff is so sick. If he throws strikes over the plate, he's going to give us a chance to win." In his first two starts combined, Justin threw 137 of 209 pitches for strikes. After Masterson's first start of the season against the White Sox, where he let up 1 run in 7 innings, his manager Manny Acta said when asked what he liked about Justin's performance, "Strike one. He threw plenty of them. I believe 17 of 29 first-pitch strikes." In his third start against the Orioles, Masterson threw 66 of 90 pitches for strikes. That includes throwing first pitch strikes to 20 of the 26 batters. Justin said, "Throwing that first pitch in there allows you to expand the zone a little, which is great with the stuff that I have. It's been very simple, subtle stuff but I've done it enough to just go out and pitch and gain confidence with what I have." Masterson's improved slider and change-up have been able to compliment his fastball and his nasty slider. Masterson got 12 of 21 hitters on the Orioles out on ground balls, mainly using his off speed pitches. After the Indians played the Orioles, Indiana manager Manny Acta said, "Justin had good velocity and a good sinker. All they could do was beat the ball into the ground."

Josh Tomlin is also 3-0 and has an ERA of 2.75. Tomlin has the best WHIP of any Indians starter at .92 and he has only allowed 12 hits in 19.2 innings. Tomlin doesn't strike out many guys, as he doesn't have overpowering stuff. However, Manny Acta has praised Tomlin for "making pitches he has to" and for having good "damage control" skills. Josh has minimized the damage in all of his starts, not allowing more than 3 runs in any games he has pitched thus far. After Tomlin's first start against the Red Sox, where he pitched 7 innings and allowed only 1 run, Manny Acta described his pitcher best when he said, “Tomlin did a fantastic job out there tonight. He especially did good against left-handed batters, getting 13-of-15 out. He used his change-up to keep them off balance, then when they were looking for the change-up he would sneak in that cutter... and that pitch gets in on the batters quickly.” Acta continued by saying, "He throws a lot of strikes. They are either going to him him or he's going to get them out. He'll be out [of the game] after 70 to 80 pitches because he pitches to contact." Tomlin uttered his manager's words by saying, "I try to get the ball in play. Those guys behind me get paid millions of dollars to do what they do... and they do a great job."

The White Sox Can't Find A Closer

Matt Thornton came into the 2011 season as the closer for the Chicago White Sox. It hasn't gone as planned for him. Thornton is 0-2 and has allowed 10 runs on 11 hits in just 5 appearances for the Sox. He has no saves and 4 blown saves to go along with his 7.71 ERA through just 12 games. Chris Sale has been just as bad as Thornton. He has allowed 6 runs in just 7 appearances. Sale has a 7.36 ERA and has blown 1 save for the Sox. The White Sox bullpen have allowed 21 earned runs in just 12 games and only two other bullpens in the league have a higher ERA than the White Sox bullpen. Thornton and Sale have a combined .367 opponents batting average and they have blown a combined 5 saves. The White Sox have lost 5 games this season...

The White Sox bullpen struggles came to a season high yesterday. The White Sox were leading 4 to 1 after 8 innings when Chris Sale came into the game. He allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and couldn't record one out before being pulled by manager Ozzie Guillen. Matt Thornton came into the game in the 10th inning and also allowed 3 runs on 3 hits. The Sox lost to the A's in 10 innings 7 to 4 and wasted a great 8 innings of pitching from starter John Danks.

Ozzie Guillen was obviously very frustrated with his team's bullpen following their third meltdown in less than a week. He said, "The closer situation: I don't have any closer. I don't have any closer. I don't. We will see. Because from this point on, you're just scratching your head and second-guessing yourself what you're doing wrong, bringing people to the mound with a three-run lead for a third time and we can't hold the lead... When you have a bad bullpen, that's what happens. That's what happens."  That's not a good sign... I might call Bobby Thigpen [the former White Sox closer, who had 57 saves in 1990] to help us. I see the same [expletive] you guys see. Exactly the same [expletive]."

Matt Thornton said, "Oh man. There's nothing to even describe it right now. Frustration is pretty high... Confidence isn't the problem. It's my frustration right now. It's the most frustrated I've been in a long time. I can't remember a run of games like this where I haven't gotten the job done that many times in a row." Chris Sale added, "Just location. Leaving balls up and there were too many hittable pitches."

The White Sox may have to turn to their young, 27 year old pitcher Sergio Santos to close games for them. Sergio has pitched 7.2 innings and has been fantastic. Santos has only allowed five hits and he hasn't surrendered a run yet in five appearances. Santos also didn't allow a run in 9.2 innings in Spring Training. "I like where I'm at. With the fastball changeup and slider that I have, I feel confident that if I make my pitch I'm going to get outs. It's not always the case. You can make a great pitch and they get a hit off it and that happens, but I'll take my chances as a pitcher and the way I'm feeling right now." Many White Sox fans hope that Guillen will give the ball to Santos the next time they are leading in the ninth inning and they aren't the only ones. I would really like Santos to become the White Sox closer becuase he is available in my fantasy baseball league and I really need a closer!

Daisuke Matsuzaka Not Out Of The Red Sox Rotation, Yet

I'm not sure what was more painful to watch: Rory McIlroy's horrible collapse on the final day of the Masters or the Red Sox game last night against the Tampa Bay Rays, especially the first two innings. Coming into the game, the Rays had scored a total of 20 runs in 9 nine games, which was the least runs scored in the league at the time. In just two innings, the Rays scored 7 runs off Daisuke Matsuzaka and handed the Sox their largest loss of the season, 16 to 5.

In Matsuzaka's first start of the season, he had trouble throwing first-pitch strikes. Daisuke had to leave the game after 5 innings because he had already thrown 96 pitches. In a huge start for Matsuzaka, as people had already begun to speculate whether Matsuzaka would be replaced in the rotation even before his second start, he was a horrible from the beginning of the game. Although Daisuke wasn't wild and limited his walks, he was tagged for seven runs on eight hits including two home runs. Red Sox manager Terry Francona said, "It looked like he was trying to establish fastball and breaking ball, and he pumped strikes. Then we got into the second and everything went to the middle of the plate. There was one walk and seven balls hit right on the barrel. We love when guys throw strikes, but there were balls middle-middle for seven hitters." Daisuke could only last two plus innings before being pulled by Francona. The Rays scored 6 runs in the second inning before Daisuke could even record an out on a Matt Joyce ground out, which got an extremely loud, sarcastic cheer from the crowd. Terry Francona put it best when he said, “It was a horrendous second inning."

Although Daisuke has begun the season with an 0-2 record, a horrific 12.86 ERA, and has only been able to pitch in just seven innings in two starts, the Red Sox don't plan to make any moves with Matsuzaka just yet. Terry Francona said about replacing Daisuke in the rotation, “I think if we do things like that, we’ll set ourselves up for some really bad mistakes. It was tough to watch. Shoot, if you make decisions based on emotion and after [two] bad starts, we wouldn’t have a team left. You can’t do that.’’

Concerns for the Red Sox

The Red Sox are off to their worst start at 1-7 since 1945 when they lost a team record 8 straight games, as Johnny Pesky, Ted Williams, and others were serving in WWII. The Red Sox came into the season looking as the favorite according to many with their acquisition of all-star left fielder Carl Crawford and first basemen Carl Crawford. Kevin Youkilis said, "It can't get any worse than this. There's only one way to go. That's up." Red Sox manager Terry Francona said, "The slate's not really clean," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "The record is what it is, but I don't want us to have a hangover. We need to pick it up. We're going to play a good team now. We haven't done a very good job to this point. I don't want us to be trying to win for this week because we can't do that." The Red Sox have several issues that they will need to address.

Francona needs to find a spot where Carl Crawford is comfortable in the lineup. Crawford has had a horrible first 8 games with his new team. Carl has batted .152 (5-33) with 2 runs, no extra base hits, and has 1 RBI. Crawford's batting average is the 10th worst in the AL and no other player in the top 10 is being paid over 20 million dollars like Crawford. He also has career lows thus far in on base percentage at .200 and slugging percentage at .152. Crawford's on base percentage is 9th worst in the AL and his slugging percentage is 3rd worst in the AL. Crawford has batted all over the lineup. He began the season batting 3rd for the first two games, then batted 7th for a game, then 2nd for three games, and now has been batting first for the last two games. Crawford hasn't batted lead off since 2007 when he did it for the first seven games of the year before moving to second in the lineup. Crawford said about batting lead off, "I just thought I (stank) at it, to be honest with you. Lou [Piniella, Crawford's manager at the time] put me second. Maybe I could have gotten better at it, but I just wasn't comfortable. It didn't have anything to do with stats. I just don't think I'm a good lead off hitter." However, when the Red Sox returned for their home opener, Crawford was leading off and Jacoby Ellsbury dropped to 8th and then 9th for the second game of the season against the Yankees. Francona said, “When he’s swinging good, I really want him to be hitting lead off. He hasn’t been swinging terribly good, but a lot of guys haven’t. Saying that, it’s not so much a demotion. I don’t want him to start going up there and be somebody who is taking pitches. I want him to be himself and create some havoc." Wherever Crawford is batting, it will be very important for him to hit well, especially with his ability to cause havoc on the base paths, as he had 47 stolen bases last season and 60 the year before that. 

With most of the attention on Carl Crawford, the rest of the Red Sox struggles from the plate have flown a little bit under the radar. Through six games the Red Sox were batting .181 and were even worse with runners in scoring position, as they were batting just .81 (3-37). Dustin Pedroia is the only starting Red Sox batting over .300 and even he was batting .227 over the Sox first six games. The struggles have been all over the lineup from top to bottom. In the middle of the lineup, the always reliable Kevin Youkilis has no home runs, 2 RBI's, and is batting just .125 (3-24). At the bottom of the lineup, the Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is batting just .182 (4-22) and only has 1 extra base hit. The Sox have the 27th worst batting average in the league at .215 and have scored the 5th fewest runs in the AL. Francona isn't as worried as some other Red Sox supporters saying, "It's a long season. If you treat every game like it's the seventh game of the World Series, I think you'll burn your team out. Some people may think differently. But I think there are times when you have to trust these guys. Sometimes there might not be the best match-ups. You might lose the battle but win the war... A lot of times these numbers don't even come into play, but I feel a responsibility to at least know. I feel like if I ask the players to do their best, I just feel like I have a responsibility to do everything I can. And it helps me relax."

Most people expect the Sox's hitting to come around but the pitching staff is a serious question mark. The Sox have let up the second most runs in the league through their first 8 games with 53. They have the worst ERA in the league at 7.09, have the least quality starts in the league with 1 (they lost that game anyway), are 28th in the league with a 1.56 WHIP, and are 27th in the league in opponents batting average at. 274. To sum it up, the Sox pitching hasn't been too great. John Lackey has looked the worst out of the Sox starting rotation. In two games, he has pitched a total of 8.2 innings, has allowed 17 hits including 3 home runs, and has given up 15 runs. The home run ball has killed the Red Sox pitching. Buchholz has allowed five home runs in two starts, Lester has allowed three in two starts, and the starters have allowed 12 home runs in total. Terry Francona said about the struggles of the rotation, "We're not even two times through. I don't think it's been a very good first time through the rotation, but I don't think we're going to pack it in. We need to try to get better. We all feel that way... We're walking some people and there are a lot of deep counts. All the things that we talk about that we want to do [offensively] is being done to us right now. We're getting a lot of early exits and asking a lot of our bullpen right now, especially early in the season."The bullpen has also struggled for the Red Sox allowing 7 home runs but they have had to pitch a lot of innings with the ineffectiveness of the starters. Out of the Sox first eight games, their starting pitching has only pitched more than 5 innings twice. The Sox rotation is confident that their early season struggles will not continue for much longer. Clay Buchholz said, "Everything’s there. It’s just a matter of throwing pitches in situations when I can throw them. Last year, I threw a lot of off-speed pitches when I was behind in the count and had a lot of success with it. I just haven’t thrown them for strikes, yet. It’s only two starts in and it’s a game of adjustments.”

Detroit Tigers Season Preview

Coming off a year hitting 38 home runs, driving in 126 runs, batting .328, and having arguably the best year of his career, things were only looking up for Tigers slugging first baseman Miguel Cabrera. However, in February, Cabrera was arrested for suspicion for drunk driving and resisting arrest. Miguel, who has had drinking and legal problems in the past, left all of his teammates stunned. Tigers catcher Alex Avila said, "It was obviously a shock to everybody... Millions of people have problems with alcohol throughout the entire world. It's not something that can't be overcome. It's something that can be overcome, but you need a lot of help.... You think about Miguel personally, and what he's going through." The off the field issues surrounding Cabrera will not be resolved quickly and he is currently on an MLB regulated program for his drinking problems. Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski, who appointed former major league outfielder Raul Gonzalaez to help Cabrera, said, "He's focused on the field, and he's dealing with the issues he needs to deal with. He'll do what's necessary to get back on track." Everything that is coming out from Tigers camp though is that his off the field transgression will not affect his on the field performance. Veteran manager Jim Leyland said abut Cabrera, "He's fine. There's absolutely no problem, whatsoever. He's playing baseball. He's playing every day. He's stronger than he's ever been and quicker than he's ever been. I think Miguel Cabrera is probably going to have the biggest year of his life." Cabrera will have some protection behind him with the acquisition of catcher Victor Martinez from the Red Sox. Although Martinez has never been known for his defense behind the plate, he is a great hitter and has always hit for power, while keeping his average above .300. Dombrowski said about the new signing, “We expect Victor to be in our lineup on a daily basis, serving primarily as our club’s designated hitter and catching two to three times a week. He also has the ability to fill in at first base, and his versatility allows us to keep a premier bat in our lineup every day. We’ve discussed this role with Victor, and both sides are very pleased with what he brings to the Tigers organization.” The Tigers also hope that injuries will not catch up to their veteran outfielder Magglio Ordonez, who only played 84 games last season. He fractured his ankle sliding into home in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 24th and he didn't play a game for the rest of the year. The numbers are there for Ordonez when he is on the field, as he has hit over .300 every year since 2007 and over .290 every year since 1999.

Projected starting lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF

2. Will Rhymes, 2B

3. Magglio Ordonez, RF

4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B

5. Victor Martinez, DH

6. Brennan Boesch, LF

7. Jhonny Peralta, SS

8. Alex Avila, C

9. Brandon Inge, 3B

Many Tiger fans hope that pitching will not derail their chances of winning the AL Central and making the playoffs. They ranked 25th in the major leagues last season in ERA at 4.30. After having a great rookie season in 2009, Porcello hit a sophomore slump last year. Porcello began the season 4-7 and was sent down to the minor leagues for a stint. Although Porcello finished the year 10-12 and posted an ERA just under 5, he finished the season very strong going 5-1 in his last seven starts. Jim Leyland admitted, "I think Porcello's a big key for our ballclub next year, to be honest with you. "He can get his breaking ball much more consistent, and if he does, he can be pretty good." Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski is confident in Porcello though as he said, "[Porcello] is one of our best starting pitchers... He has quality stuff and throws strikes. Rick is confident and mature beyond his years. And he has a very, very nasty sinker that gets him out of trouble." Last season, Justin Verlander became the first pitcher since Dwight Gooden to have 17 wins in four and of his first five years in the big leagues. He had a career low in ERA at 3.37 and a career low in WHIP at 1.16. Verlander was also 4th in the AL in wins at 18, 3rd in the AL with 224.1 innings pitched, and 4th in the AL in strikeouts with 225. Verlander has been the stud of the Tigers rotation since 2006 but the bigger surprise last season for the Tigers was former 1st round pick Max Scherzer. Coming off two extremely disappointing season with the Diamondbacks, Scherzer proved that he can be affective in the big leagues. He has very good stuff that includes a high 90's fastball with a good changeup and slider. The 26 year old starter will be huge for the Tigers, as they need a pitcher to step up and be a strong number 2 behind Verlander. Scherzer has shown some very good signs but has been inconsistent at time including an extremely poor spring traning this year, where he was 1-3 with a 10.38 ERA (yes 10.38 ERA). Tigers pitching coach Rick Knapp said about Scherzer's poor start to this season, “We figured out the issue. His arm gets a little too long and it doesn't take a direct route. That gets everything going in the direction. It's important to be in line, and get less torque in the delivery. What most people don't realize is how slight a difference there is in the position of the wrist at release point between an inside and outside pitch.” Scherzer had to get this issue corrected when he was in the minor leagues last season. After he returned to the Tigers from the minors, Scherzer was 3-1 with a 1.25 ERA in seven starts. Scherzer said, “It's a matter of establishing your fastball and off-speed stuff and making them [batters] uncomfortable.”

Projected starting rotation:
1. Justin Verlander
2. Max Scherzer
3. Rick Porcello
4. Brad Penny
5. Phil Coke
Projected closer:
Jose Valverde