Ugh, the Indians are melting down right now. There was talk of them making a move for Carlos Quentin because they desperately need a RHB, but no dice. And their starting pitching has been lousy the last couple of weeks. And they got swept by the friggin Twins. And Derek Lowe suddenly remembered he’s old. And Ubaldo Jiminez is just agonizing to watch.
They better get their acts together quick, because they’ve got a road series against Detroit coming up, and they need to keep pace. Oh, and a couple of wins against the friggin Royals would be nice.
Last time out against the Tribe, they did nothing against Verlander until the 7th, when they hit back to back HRs on his first two pitches and scored 5 in the inning. He seems to have bad innings where teams just sit on his fastball.
Last night in 5 innings, the Red Sox fouled off 26 of his pitches. That’s gotta be aggravating.
I’ve had tickets for a few months now to see a couple of the Tribe games when they get to SoCal later this month. I have been hoping for some time now that I’d get to watch those games with them being a contending team, but unless they get off to a hot start this month, I’m not sure that’s going to happen.
So, I watched two of the three games. Is the Dodgers offense that lethargic, even with its new additions? Or is the D-backs’ pitching that hot right now?
I’m going to have to say the Dodgers offense is really that bad right now and the D-backs are firing on all cylinders right now. Those games were a treat to watch and Paul Goldschmidt is something special.
The D-backs pitching is solid, but not spectacular. However, I think they go out there knowing that the offense is kicking ass and taking names. So, they can relax more and not have to worry about a random run or falling behind by a run or two.
Not one person in Toronto understands why Travis Snider was traded for Brad Lincoln. I sure don’t.
I’m not saying Snider has yet lived up to his promise, but the alternatives are pathetic. Rajai Davis is a pinch runner, Anthony Gose is a good two years from being a real hitter if he ever will be one, and David Cooper is not really a major league ballplayer. Adam Lind is hurt and sucks when he’s healthy. Why the highest-ceiling player of them all was traded for a relief pitcher, when what the team desperately needs is a healthy starting pitcher or a first baseman/DH who can hit, I cannot begin to understand.
Mariners complete a 3-game sweep of Toronto, right after sweeping 4 from KC. First 7-game winning streak for the Mariners since 2007! The M’s bats have suddenly come alive at home, and the pitching has been as good as it’s been all season.
Eric Thames, the M’s new pickup (from Toronto!) hit a 2-run homer in his first game in a Seattle uniform.
The Cards keep plugging along with the best run differential in baseball (by a lot, actually), yet 7 games back.
Time will tell how much the season will mimic last year. So far we have: ace starter out for the season, team under-performs their run differential due to a weak bullpen, division foe gets unreasonably hot after the ASB, the Pirates decide to mix it up for awhile.
Hopefully the rest of the script plays out the same.
