Week Four
(April 25th – May 1st)
“Never Say Die,
cause if you’re dead you can’t speak”
New York Mets
(9 -13)
5th place/6.5 GB
The Past (week three): Houston Astros Series… Mets fell to 1 – 8 at Citi Field after losing the first two games against Houston. Embarrassing, sad and awful as the bats disappeared and the pitching continued to give up runs. This all of course took place until my lady and I walked in to witness this sorry looking team ourselves. After paying double the price of our tickets to get into Citi Field for parking, we saw and diagnosed something different since the Mets opened in Florida on April 1st.
During Houston’s second batter (Angel Sanchez) of the game it appeared that he swung and missed at strike three. Home plate umpire Doug Eddings quickly showed the visible sign of a foul tip…and Terry Collins was out of the dugout. At first it looked calm and collected as my seats in section 524 were way too far away to really understand the emotion, but the longer Collins stayed out there the more I inched to the edge of my seat. Finger pointing and huge flailing arms began gesturing about and now Terry Collins was on fire spitting out his disgust in the face of Eddings. Top of the 1st, one out and Terry Collins was getting booted! The crowed woke up rapidly and started cheering loudly. Looking around I thought maybe this would be the most entertaining portion of the night banking on how horrible the Mets have been. Whether Terry Collins wanted to start a spark Thursday night, or was just so stressed and fed up he didn’t want to coach the team anymore it worked. The Mets hit and hit well. D. Wright broke out of a 0 for 20 slump going 2 for 3 with a HR and a 2 RBI double. Backup catcher Mike Nickeas hit his first Major League HR of his career and Ike Davis hit a bomb to the bridge in right-center field. Chris Capuano (2-1, 5.95) took a dog’s day to throw the damn ball to the plate but pitched very effectively. News of the night was the return of concussed Jason Bay who had the song “Alive” from Pearl Jam playing as he walked up to bat. Funny huh, “I’m still alive” blasting through the Citi Field speakers made me have a chuckle given that its been ten months since the last time he suited up for a Major League game. The team played well and hopefully the Top 6 in the lineup will produce together and make a difference.
· In 2004 Seattle Mariners manager Bob Melvin was ejected while handing in his lineup card before the game. He said a few words about the night before (what he thought was a bad call) and the umpire through him out prior to the first pitch of the game.
Arizona Diamondbacks Series… Well, the Mets woke up! The lineup is in tack, and the pitchers lasted some innings. A sweep can make anyone feel better about their situation even if they are still in last place in the division. Pelfrey finally pitched a good game on Friday going a strong 7 innings giving up five hits and one run. On a rainy Saturday afternoon Dillon Gee got his second win in as many starts pitching a solid 6 innings while giving up five hits and two runs. In both games Ike Davis hit what I like to call monster homeruns making it three days in a row with a “Citi-Field Bomb”, which is never easy to do. Jason Bay, who now has a hit in all four games since his return to the ballpark also added a HR of his own. On Sunday another Mets pitcher showed up. Jon Niese pitched 7 stellar innings getting over the 0-3 hump this April snatching his first victory and leading the Mets to their first four game winning streak of the season.
It’s funny, but plain to see…pitch 6 or 7 innings of good solid baseball, giving the offense a chance to produce without playing catch up and good things will happen. The bad this week was losing the first two to Houston…never should of happen, but they did what they needed to do and that was to take all three from Arizona. This will give the Mets some confidence needed in taking the next step towards playing .500 baseball.
Player of the Week: No doubt about this one folks, David Wright showed off some of his power waking up the Mets and the diehard fans this week. 3 HRs and 7 RBI’s this week and only struck out one time in 14 at bats against the Diamondbacks this past weekend. EXTRA NEWS: D.J. Carrasco was sent down to Triple-A Buffalo to make room for Chris Young who should be activated for Tuesday nights start. Dillon Gee will move to the bullpen. Angel Pagan was placed on the 15 day DL earlier in the week after colliding with Turner chasing a short fly ball.
The Future (week four):
Projected Pitching Match-ups
Game 23: Mets @ Nationals on Tuesday April 26th at 7:05pm
(Chris Young 1-0, 1.46) vs. (Jordan Zimmermann 1-3, 3.70)
Game 24: Mets @ Nationals on Wednesday April 27th at 7:05pm
(R.A. Dickey 1-3, 4.10) vs. (Tom Gorzelanny 0-2, 4.16)
Game 25: Mets @ Nationals on Thursday April 28th at 7:05pm
(Chris Capuano 2-1, 5.95) vs. (Livan Hernandez 2-2, 3.48)
Game 26: Mets @ Phillies on Friday April 29th at 7:05pm
(Mike Pelfrey 1-2, 7.32) vs. (Joe Blanton 0-1, 5.92)
Game 27: Mets @ Phillies on Saturday April 30th at 1:05pm
(Jon Niese 1-3, 5.10) vs. (Roy Halladay 3-1, 2.41)
Game 28: Mets @ Phillies on Sunday May 1st at 8:00pm
(Chris Young 1-0, 1.46) vs. (Cliff Lee 2-1, 3.91)
Game Twenty-Three thru Twenty-Five – A spark was set by Terry Collins early Thursday night and the team followed with wins. Starting pitching that lasted, bats that produced and wins at Citi Field hopefully getting the Mets on the right path. This all should and will continue with a trip to the President’s city. Washington, still without Ryan Zimmerman whose on the DL and a pitching staff with more questions than answers put the resurging Flushing crew in good shape starting of week four of the 2011 season. They need two out of three here and can’t settle for anything less. Chris Young should return from his first DL stint of the season and R.A. Dickey will follow.
Game Twenty-Six thru Twenty-Eight – Another big weekend against the city of brotherly love. The bad thing about a city slogan like that is if you’re not someone’s brother in Philly, they fucking hate you. What can I say about this series besides the fact that the Mets need to maintain this winning streak a go into Philadelphia hot. It’s their only chance as they are scheduled to face some masters of the mound, in Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee by week’s end. As when these teams first met earlier this month if the Mets steal one they’ve done their job…however they need, and I can’t stress this enough, they need to win in Washington first.
(A “weak” long prediction 3-3)
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New York Yankees
(10 - 6)
1st place by 3 games
Three questions bear down on the necks of the Yankee top suites and it’s what are we going to do about Brett Gardner? His bat is like a turtle running, almost still at .128 and he even lost his step on the base paths getting caught swiping bags 3 out of 6 times this year. He was only caught 9 times all of last year! Secondly, is Ivan Nova going to be in the rotation after his Sunday start this weekend? (This will be answered next week.) Finally, I have to bring it up…is Girardi already over using Mariano, when the set-up man can be used as a closer as well? Mo is and will be the best at his position long after he retires from baseball and life itself, but Joe…the man’s 42 and it’s only week three.
Baltimore Orioles Series… The bombs were dropped in Baltimore for two games this weekend. The Yankees are now averaging 2 HRs a game leading the Major Leagues with 36 total HRs in 16 games and it’s coming from all over the lineup. After another rainout on Friday night the Yankees put on a show the following night for what seems to be their second home. If you were a blind man, you would think by the reaction of the crowed every time the Yankees scored in Camden Yards that they were the home team. Five missiles were hit on Saturday night in the 15-3 romp the Yankees put on the now regularly losing Orioles. Russell Martin had his second multi-homer game of the season and continues to be a work horse behind the plate. Posada seems to only hit HRs knocking out his 6th of the season while holding a dismal .153 batting average. The greatest smack of the night came from the future Hall of Famer Alex Rodriguez, blasting his 5th of the season with the bases juiced. With an astounding total of 22 grand slams in his career A-Rod is now just one more big hit away from tying Lou Gehrig in that category. C.C. finally got his first win of the season pitching well against the team he recorded 7 wins against last year and Brett Gardner hit his first HR of the season putting a nice period on the exciting offensive night.
Day two of the series wasn’t as pretty. A wins a win, but Mo blew his second save in as many tries. Joe Girardi went to the sandman in the bottom of the 8th and runners on the corner. A four out save…Mo has done this many times in his career so why worry? Brett Gardner’s speed saved Rivera right away tracking down a sharp hit ball making a beautiful catch to end the 8th inning Baltimore threat. Then Rivera started off the 9th with a walk…worst thing you can do. The Orioles then strung a couple hits together to tie the game at three for extra innings. Two blown saves this week, but the Yankees won one and lost the other. You’ll take it right? Now he just needs to shut down the door on his next outing to regain some support in his ever long dominance Mariano Rivera is known for. Other notes, Freddy Garcia pitched extremely well Sunday afternoon giving up only 2 hits and striking out 7 batters in 6 innings. Boon Logan also pitched well in relief holing Baltimore hitless for an inning and a third, gaining his first victory of the season.
Player of the Week: I understand that this jinxed the hell out of Mariano last week so I’ll do my best to keep this quiet, but with the return of Alex Rodriguez Wednesday night after missing just two games he still looks the best I’ve ever seen him. So comfortable at the plate and real confident this man is a wrecking ball. With his 22nd grand slam of his career and a few walks here and there A-Rod has now reached base in all 15 games he has played this season.
EXTRA NEWS: Francisco Cervelli could come off the DL by Wednesday to back-up the used and abused Russell Martin.
The Future (week four):
Projected Pitching Match-ups
Game 22: White Sox @ Yankees on Monday April 25th at 7:05pm
(Philip Humber 1-2, 4.42) vs. (A.J. Burnett 3-0, 4.37)
Game 23: White Sox @ Yankees on Tuesday April 26th at 7:05pm
(Gavin Floyd 2-1, 4.00) vs. (Ivan Nova 1-2, 7.63)
Game 24: White Sox @ Yankees on Wednesday April 27th at 7:05pm
(Mark Buehrle 1-2, 5.40) vs. (Bartolo Colon 1-1, 3.50)
Game 25: White Sox @ Yankees on Thursday April 28th at 7:05pm
(Edwin Jackson 2-2, 4.88) vs. (C.C. Sabathia 1-1, 2.73)
Game 26: Blue Jays @ Yankees on Friday April 29th at 7:05pm
(Ricky Romero 1-3, 3.00) vs. (Freddy Garcia 1-0, 0.69)
Game 27: Blue Jays @ Yankees on Saturday April 30th at 4:05pm
((Kyle Drabek 1-0, 3.00) vs. (A.J. Burnett 3-0, 4.37)
Game 28: Blue Jays @ Yankees on Sunday May 1st at 1:05pm
(TBA) vs. (Ivan Nova 1-2, 7.63)
Game Twenty-Two thru Twenty-Five – I’m excited, I’m really intrigued to see how far a ball can fly in the perfect setting…Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers lead the majors in HR’s with 36 on the season and a show it has been. Four Yankee starters have six or more homeruns and A-Rod is relaxing in the background with five. I see the White Sox as the other city with bats that can cry out fury and change games in seconds. Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin have 11 HRs between them and 16 RBI’s each. This four game series is going to be explosive and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the “Bleacher Creatures” out of breath from chasing down all the long balls. The only downer about this series is the bad start Chi-Town is walking through a 2-11 stretch where they can’t seem to do anything right. Can Ozzie straighten the ship on the biggest stage in the in baseball? If not I’m sure it could say a bunch of things that could get him fired.
Game Twenty-Six thru Twenty-Eight – Oh those Blue Jays…well I said the Yankees would split last week’s two game series and they did…that’s because they were playing in Canada. Toronto was 4–6 last year at Yankee Stadium and that’s nothing to write home about, but with Drabek and Romero slated to start I’m sure Toronto can get one again.
(A “weak” long prediction 3-3)
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Living in a Fantasy 1-2-3:
- Who Killed It? – 1. Ryan Braun signed a sweet contract extension and then blasted away this week in Milwaukee. He slammed 3 HRs this week, driving in 9 RBI’s and killed it with a .480 batting average raising his season average to .377. The chase to Votto begins! 2. Once again a Phillies starting pitcher had an untouchable outing. This week it was Roy Halladay’s pitching performance in the beautiful city of San Diego. He went 8 and 2/3 innings throwing 130 pitches, striking out 14 Padres. It’s really sick to watch this guy pitch every time he takes the mound and since moving to the NL last year he has been flawless 90% of the time. 3. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Jarad Weaver is on fire getting his 5th win in as many starts this past week. He was a fantasy breakout last year and all you people who got your hands on him after the 6th or 7th rounds on draft day, a big pat on the back in worth it. Also, he's a two-start pitcher this week so no fooling around...start the bitch!
- Who Thrilled It? – 1 & 2. This week is special. The top two spots in the “Thrilled It” section has to go to the three and four hitters over in LA. The dodgers have quietly gained some confidence at the plate scoring some runs last week. Some of this has to do with the promotion of the rookie power bat Jerry Sands, who was called up last week, but most of the offensive surge came from Andre Either and Matt Kemp. Andre is running with a 21 game hit streak and Matt Kemp had two game winning hits over the past week and is now batting .402…what more can you ask for as the approach the Rockies and fall into 2nd place. 3. In some shape or form I was continuing the Kansas City Royals trend in this section and I didn’t have to look far. Riding an 18 game hit streak is the third baseman turned Outfielder Alex Gordon. The teams didn’t have such a fantastic week losing three straight to Texas this weekend, but Gordon has helped the team stay just over .500 at 12-10 on the season. He is batting .356 on the year and hopes to continue his hit streak into week four when his team travels to Cleveland.
- Who’s on Deck? – 1. Jed Lowrie the backup 2B and SS on a Boston red Sox team had some luck with the team starting off so slow. It gained this 27 year-old a chance to start over the past week and accumulate some at bats. Since he began seeing some regular playing time on April 16th he has hit in every game but one and stacked up 3 HRs and 10 RBI’s. 2. Tampa bay’s new Left Fielder Sam Fuld persist to get on base frequently in his new lead-off spot role on the team and dominate in multiple ways each game. His OBP is scorching at .388 with a .346 AVG. He has stolen 10 out of 13 bases as well, but did achieve his first “golden sombrero” Sunday afternoon. I have now taken my own advice and will be starting Fuld and Gordon on my fantasy team. Watch the reality kick in people…also I want to give a shout out to James Shields going the distance in two games straight winning both games striking out 16 and giving up only one run. 3. On September 6, 2006 Anibal Sanchez pitched a no hitter. It was his rookie season and he had his amazing night. For the following five years he had been nothing but a hot and cold pitcher who frequently jumped up and down from Majors to the minors. On April 22nd, he almost did it again bringing a no hit bid into the 9th inning against the big bats of Colorado.
Adam Hammer’s Loose Lips
- “Baseball had 21 rainouts in 2010 and we already have 16 this year. Bud Selig is considering the Mr. Burns (The Simpsons) idea and have giant "rain-blockers" installed over the stadiums.”
- “Mariano Rivera pulled a Joe Nathan pulling a Ke$ha and blew two saves this week. When reached for comment about all these closers taking after her Ke$ha said, ("Slurp -slurp").”
- “Roy Halladay struck out 14 Padres on Sunday. Imagine what he could do if he was brought back up to the Big Leagues, you know, the American League.”
Best Series You Missed – Astros @ Brewers, as the hit barraged was on. The series was won by the Brewers taking two games of three, but the Astros would not give in easily until game three. The first two games had a total of 60 hits, 36 runs scored and an extra-inning game for good measure on Saturday night. The Brewers attempted a comeback, only to come up short and fall in defeat in the 10th. Oh, and how many times did that silly mascot slide down that ridiculous yellow twirling slide in Left Field? 6 times, but also had to stand clear from Houston’s 3 HR’s in the series.
Best Series for you to Catch –
SERIES 1: Reds(11-11) @ Brewers (11-10) – The Reds are coming off a long hard stretch since losing 3 out of 4 to the Pirates, getting swept by the D-backs and losing 2 out of 3 against another division rival, St. Louis. Now on a 2-8 breaking wave since their last off day on April 14th the Reds need to show the fans in Milwaukee that backing down is not an option. The Brew crew on the other hand started out the season 0-5 and has now gained some ground taking 2 out of 3 against the Phillies earlier this week in Philly. They also just gained a team spark by signing Ryan Braun, who was on a tear last week, though 2020 for a 105 million dollar contract extension. With R. Weeks and Braun all signed up what will happen with Cecil Feilder’s little (big) boy? The Brewers lineup is just as good as the Reds and both teams are filled with young talent pitching and behind the scenes lurking in the background. This will certainly be a series to watch for any baseball fan.
SERIES 2: White Sox (8-14) @ Yankees (12-6) – I know that Chicago’s record shouldn’t boast this serious series, but two simple reasons of why I’m picking this series as one to watch will explain all…
ONE: The powerhouse lineups get ready to swing their bats for four big games at Yankee Stadium, where the balls seem to fly out on a check-swing. The starting pitching is edged by the White Sox, (regardless of ERA) but their bullpen is an atrocious piece of work. The White Sox bullpen reminds me of the manure filled pick-up truck in “Back to the Future pt. 2” that has spilled all over the road. The White Sox bullpen foiled leads regularly. The bullpen has blown 6 of 7 save chances, four by Matt Thornton alone. To add another punch while they’re knocked out, four out of the seven relief pitchers in the bullpen have ERA’s over 6.23. Awful, I know. Chicago doesn’t even know who their closer is right now. As I say give Sergio the shot! On the other side of things the Yankee’s starting pitching has been purely average, while the bullpen has become their strongest defense…don’t prove me wrong Joba…Soriano…wake up!
TWO: For the completely selfish reason that I picked these two teams to be the only ones left, playing in the AL Championship in late October. I can dream, so I will.
And now for your reading pleasure…
***
The Future; According to the Late-Great George Carlin
“A time machine will be built, but no one will have time to use it.”
NEXT WEEK
Monday May 2nd
(Week Five May 2nd – 8th)
“One Month Down,
&
Plenty to Go”
Last Quip by Doctor KAS – “The New York Knicks were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs and The New York Rangers lost four out of five to the Washington Capitals losing in their 1st round of the NHL Playoffs………...
I guess a sad statement is to follow for the traumatic week in New York sports, but my brain never seemed to care in the first place.”
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