Filed under: Uncategorized
By Wes Yee
By: Tiffany Rutledge
The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays have both started the 2011 campaign with an 0-6 record. With two series completed, these two AL East teams are still winless. Six games into the season, is it time to panic?
The Red Sox came into the season favored by many to win the World Series. Everyone was talking about their lineup with the additions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. How could they be stopped? The Rangers and Indians showed how to stop this team. Take advantage of that shaky pitching staff. After Jon Lester and youngster Clay Buchholz, their staff is shaky at best. John Lackey is not the same pitcher he used to be. Neither is Josh Beckett. And Daisuke is well, Daisuke. He has not been the pitcher the Red Sox hoped to be getting for much of his time in the states. It might not be time to panic because with that offense, they should win a lot of games but they need another arm to solidify that rotation. Their weakness has been discovered and they do not look as scary to other teams as they did going into the season.
The Rays might need to be a little quicker to push the panic button because they do not have the offensive threat that the Red Sox have. They not only have not won a game, they also have put their biggest offensive threat Evan Longoria on the DL and have lost their biggest offseason acquisition Manny Ramirez to an abrupt retirement. Things are going from bad to worse down in Tampa. The defending AL East Champions are reeling and in that division, a slow start could be the end of it. My question now is, will the fast-starting Baltimore Orioles end the season with a better record than the Rays? In this game, anything can happen.
The Red Sox bats came to life today to help them get their first win of the season. They defeated rivals New York Yankees 9-6. Lackey gave up 6 earned runs but the offense backed him up today. It felt good to be back at Fenway for the Sox and they look to right the ship and get back to winning games. The Rays take on the Chicago White Sox later today as they look to be the last team to get in the win column.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Hideki Matsui's bat needs to be hot for the A's this season
By Tiffany Rutledge
There are a few question marks surrounding the Oakland A’s going into the 2011 season, but for the first time since the 2006 team that lost in the ALCS there are expectations. The expectations are not sky high but they are there, which is new for this club. Some say they can overtake the reigning AL Champion Texas Rangers and win the AL West. With the Rangers losing a major piece of their postseason run in Cliff Lee, the A’s have hope. They can win the West, but it will take more than strong arms to lead the way.
It is well documented how good the A’s pitching staff is and can be. They led the AL with a team ERA of 3.56 and their arms are young. All-Star and Cy Young Candidate Trevor Cahill led the staff last year at the age of 22 while Brett Anderson was great as well at the same age. Gio Gonzalez matured on the mound and became a dominant force out there at the age of 24. We all know what Dallas Braden accomplished last year, hurling a perfect game at the young age of 26. This rotation is young and extremely talented. They started to come together as a unit last season and expectations for them this year are sky high. This staff has the potential to be great for years to come. The bullpen should be solid as well with the additions of Brian Fuentes and Grant Balfour. They will accompany Craig Breslow and Michael Wuertz in setting things up for All Star closer Andrew Bailey in the 9th (when healthy). The pitching looks to be rock solid, but where will the runs come from? This is and always has been the biggest concern for the Green and Gold.
With such a great pitching season last year, how is it the A’s only won 81 games? Runs. They did not scratch across enough runs to support the great outings from their staff. Their home run leader, Kevin Kouzmanoff, had a not-so-impressive 16 dingers in the 2010 campaign. The team ranked 23rd overall in runs scored, making it much harder on their young arms. Getting runs on the board is a concern for the club even with a few new bats in the lineup and a revamped offense. The A’s acquired Hideki Matsui in the offseason and hope he can provide some pop as the DH in the middle of the lineup. Also acquired were outfielders David Dejesus and Josh Willingham via trades this offseason and the A’s are hoping they too provide some much needed timely hitting and also a little power to an offense starving for it. Injuries have plagued the A’s in the past as well and they hope leadoff man Coco Crisp can stay healthy this year and get on base and in scoring position for these new guys to have the RBI opportunities. Only time will tell if these three additions to the lineup will make the difference and get the A’s back over that hump and back into the playoffs. It should be a fun year to watch and a great race to follow in the AL West.
Some have compared this team poised with pitching to the reigning Champion San Francisco Giants across the Bay but the A’s want to make a name for themselves and prove they can win with their own great pitching and a little bit of hitting on the side.
Filed under: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Uncategorized
By Wes Yee
2010 was a year of serious emergence in baseball. Much hyped prospects Buster Posey of the Giants and Jason Heyward of the Braves stepped forward and established themselves as bona fide stars. St. Louis’ Jaime Garcia threw up a sub 3 ERA and Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez nearly won the MVP.
This season there’s a whole new list of players primed to make an impact. While perhaps the biggest names in the prospect world (Bryce Harper and Mike Trout) may not see major league time this season, there is a group of young players who will influence playoff races.
1. Jesus Montero, Yankees – This beastly catcher has drawn comparisons to Frank Thomas and Miguel Cabrera in the batter’s box. He improved consistently as a 20 year old in AAA in ’10 and should break camp with the team thanks to the injury to Francisco Cervelli. While his defense has drawn serious long term questions, Montero has a cannon arm and is blocked only by a declining Russell Martin and the hobbled Jorge Posada. An injury (not unlikely given their histories) to either would open up full time at bats for Montero. With a healthy and reinforced Red Sox lineup, Montero’s bat will be counted on to provide additional offense in an aging lineup. If he succeeds early, Yankees Manager Joe Girardi will have no choice but to find a place for him to play.
2. Michael Pineda, Mariners – Baseball Reference lists the intimidating Pineda at 6’5, 180. Reports from Spring Training, however, have him at 6’7, 260. He’s a flamethrowing righthander who can touch the high 90’s. Opponents hit just .227 against him in the minors and he showed good control. Philadelphia GM Ruben Amaro has to be upset that he picked Phillipe Aumont over Pineda when trading Cliff Lee after the 2009 season. Pineda has shown that he’s ready now, and he too should break camp with the major league club.
3. Brandon Belt, Giants – Belt led the minors in hitting and OPS in 2010 and has held his own in Spring Training. Giants management has already announced that he’ll hit 7th if he breaks camp with the club, and even if he doesn’t, he’ll be up by June. While it’s his bat that entices people, his defense is outstanding, starting with an arm that touched 93 mph in high school. He moves well and could offer a consistent RBI man with 20-30 HR power. Think of Belt as a first baseman in the Todd Helton mold. Athletic with a great approach and ability to hit for average.
4. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Twins – Nishioka won the Pacific League batting title in 2010 and is known for plus speed. He’ll be an integral part of a contender in Minnesota, playing up the middle for a strong defensive team. Don’t expect any power, but I’d be surprised if he didn’t hit at least .300 with 25 steals.
5. Manny Banuelos, Yankees – Banuelos won’t break camp with New York, but he should be in the majors sometime this summer. He’s a lefty who sits in the low 90’s and can touch 95. He has outstanding command and major league capable off speed pitches. The major concern with Banuelos is workload, he’s never gone more than seven innings in a game or 108 innings in a season. This could work out for the Yankees though, as limiting his workload early could conserve some innings for the big league club upon his call up. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him break in as a reliever, a la Aroldis Chapman.
6. Jake McGee, Rays – McGee was one of the top starting pitching prospects in the minors in 2008 when he blew out his elbow. He moved to the bullpen last year and showed a high 90’s fastball. With Rafael Soriano and the rest of the Rays bullpen gone, McGee is expected to step in and pitch crucial innings. He’ll be a big reason behind the Rays success or failure in 2011.
7. Freddie Freeman, Braves – Freeman has received a decent amount of hype already, as he’s been photographed as a Jason Heyward sidekick. He’ll open the season as the starting first baseman and will be counted on to fill the void left by Chipper Jones’ youth and Derrek Lee’s departure. He’s strong athletically and I expect to see an Ike Davis type rookie season.
8. Julio Teheran, Braves – Teheran, the minors’ top pitching prospect, sits in the 94-96 mph range and throws a dominating changeup. He’s just 20 years old and will probably start the season in AAA. His stuff is elite and if Atlanta gets desperate due to injury in the rotation or ineffectiveness in the bullpen you could see him get a callup. Atlanta’s bullpen lacks experience after the retirement of Billy Wagner and their rotation includes Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson, two older pitchers.
9. Jeremy Hellickson, Rays -Hellickson has been much discussed. He has a relatively low ceiling compared to the other pitchers on this list but is also more proven than any of the others. He’ll be the #4 or #5 starter but really slots in behind David Price as the Rays second best pitcher.
10. Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians – Chisenhall isn’t big at 6’1, 200 but hit for good power in 2010 (17 HR in 460 AB) and tore up Spring Training this year. He’s been sent to minor league camp, but that was before Jason Donald injured his hand. Jack Hannahan, Jason Nix and Luis Valbuena should start the season at third for the Tribe, but none have the pedigree or staying power that Chisenhall will offer once he’s called up, likely in May or June – late enough to delay his arbitration clock.
The Dugout Report 