Phillies slip up
The Phillies have revealed that they are, in fact, human. They're 3-7 in their last 10 games, and had a recent four-game stretch in which they scored just six total runs. Obviously it's very early, but with the Phillies stumbling a bit, no one in the National League is doing anything that even resembles running away with their respective division.
Roy Halladay also proved last night that he is not a pitch-throwing droid sent from the future to destroy the National League. He gave up five earned runs to the Giants and took his first loss of the season.
Staying in the NL East ...
If you'll kindly scroll down your NL East standings, you'll find that the Mets are surging while those Phillies fall back to the pack. After taking three of four from the Cubs, they swept the Braves over the weekend. They're now above .500, in large part because they're fourth in the majors with a 3.17 ERA.
Did you know ...
Second baseman Kelly Johnson, who struggled mightily with the Braves last year and was signed as a free agent by the Diamondbacks in December, is tied for the National League lead in home runs with seven (his career high is 16). Even more impressive, he's third in the majors with a 1.162 OPS (the league average is about .770).
Showing posts with label Diamondbacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diamondbacks. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 27, 2009
Having a Ball
Is it just me, or are the NBA playoffs about 180 degrees (okay, maybe 150 degrees) different from the regular season? It's the selfishness, the lackadaisical play, the lack of teamwork that limits my interest in the sport from October through March. But the first round of the playoffs--highlighted by the Bulls-Celtics series--has nearly lived up to the not-so-great slogan, Where Amazing Happens.
The 76ers came back from an 18-point deficit in Game 1 to beat Orlando, then hit a game-winning shot with two seconds left in Game 3, and had a chance to tie Game 4 at the buzzer.
Three of the four Rockets-Blazers games have been decided by four points or less.
Deron Williams hit a game-winning shot with under five seconds left in Game 3 to keep the Jazz in their series with the Lakers.
But the best of them all has been the Bulls and Celtics. Game 4 managed to top the Game 1 thriller, as Ben Gordon grabbed the ball (pun intended) and drilled a game-tying three-pointer to send the game into double overtime. Ben Gordon must never need an ice bath after games because he's got ice-cold blood running through his veins. He's also got something in his shorts he'd like you to see:
After playing Game 3 as if they thought it was a best-of-two series, the Balls--I mean Bulls showed up in a big way Sunday, going back and forth with the defending champs and giving the United Center faithful a game to remember. Young guards Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose engaged in battle, and with one more Rose assist, they both would have finished with triple-doubles.
All seven Bulls who saw action scored in double figures, and all five Celtics starters did the same. The win guaranteed that the United Center will see more NBA playoff action, and while it's anyone's guess as to which Bulls team will take the court that day, here's hoping for some more excitement the likes of which we haven't seen since last June. Hopefully Ben Gordon will be at full strength for Game 5--he strained his left hamstring during Game 4.
Cubs salvage one
The Cubs are quickly turning into an Abbott and Costello routine. Ramirez and Marmol were unavailable Sunday, and after Lee left the game early with neck spasms, it appeared for a second after Soriano was hit in the helmet by a pitch that Lou Piniella would have to add himself to the 40-man roster and play left field (remember, Bradley's out as well). For most of Sunday's 10-3 victory, the Cubs had an atrocious defensive infield comprised of Mike Fontenot, Ryan Theriot, Aaron Miles and Micah Hoffpauir.
Luckily, they don't expect Lee to go on the DL, and Ramirez and Marmol could be ready as early as today. Bradley's status remains more mysterious than that polar bear on Lost.
Despite all the injuries, the Cubs offense finally exploded, scoring 10 runs behind Fukudome's five RBI (o
n his 32nd birthday), Micah Hoffpauir's second homer of the season, and a solid six innings from Rich Harden. Fukudome is now fourth in the league in batting and tied for eighth in RBI. Kosuke started strong last year as well, so I'm not quite ready to assume he'll do this all year. But he sure looks a lot more confident at the plate than he did post-All-Star Break last year. And it's worth pointing out that through April last year, Fukudome had one home run and 10 RBI; so far this year he has four home runs and 15 RBI.
The Cubs now head to the desert to face a struggling 7-11 Diamondbacks team with no Stephen Drew. Lilly, Zambrano and Dempster will face Dan Haren, Yusmeiro Petit and lefty Doug Davis.
Did you know ...
-Fukudome's home run Sunday was the 14th of his career, but his first off a left-hander.
-The Rays have struggled and find themselves in last place, 6.5 games out of first.
The 76ers came back from an 18-point deficit in Game 1 to beat Orlando, then hit a game-winning shot with two seconds left in Game 3, and had a chance to tie Game 4 at the buzzer.
Three of the four Rockets-Blazers games have been decided by four points or less.
Deron Williams hit a game-winning shot with under five seconds left in Game 3 to keep the Jazz in their series with the Lakers.
But the best of them all has been the Bulls and Celtics. Game 4 managed to top the Game 1 thriller, as Ben Gordon grabbed the ball (pun intended) and drilled a game-tying three-pointer to send the game into double overtime. Ben Gordon must never need an ice bath after games because he's got ice-cold blood running through his veins. He's also got something in his shorts he'd like you to see:
After playing Game 3 as if they thought it was a best-of-two series, the Balls--I mean Bulls showed up in a big way Sunday, going back and forth with the defending champs and giving the United Center faithful a game to remember. Young guards Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose engaged in battle, and with one more Rose assist, they both would have finished with triple-doubles.
All seven Bulls who saw action scored in double figures, and all five Celtics starters did the same. The win guaranteed that the United Center will see more NBA playoff action, and while it's anyone's guess as to which Bulls team will take the court that day, here's hoping for some more excitement the likes of which we haven't seen since last June. Hopefully Ben Gordon will be at full strength for Game 5--he strained his left hamstring during Game 4.
Cubs salvage one
The Cubs are quickly turning into an Abbott and Costello routine. Ramirez and Marmol were unavailable Sunday, and after Lee left the game early with neck spasms, it appeared for a second after Soriano was hit in the helmet by a pitch that Lou Piniella would have to add himself to the 40-man roster and play left field (remember, Bradley's out as well). For most of Sunday's 10-3 victory, the Cubs had an atrocious defensive infield comprised of Mike Fontenot, Ryan Theriot, Aaron Miles and Micah Hoffpauir.
Luckily, they don't expect Lee to go on the DL, and Ramirez and Marmol could be ready as early as today. Bradley's status remains more mysterious than that polar bear on Lost.
Despite all the injuries, the Cubs offense finally exploded, scoring 10 runs behind Fukudome's five RBI (o
n his 32nd birthday), Micah Hoffpauir's second homer of the season, and a solid six innings from Rich Harden. Fukudome is now fourth in the league in batting and tied for eighth in RBI. Kosuke started strong last year as well, so I'm not quite ready to assume he'll do this all year. But he sure looks a lot more confident at the plate than he did post-All-Star Break last year. And it's worth pointing out that through April last year, Fukudome had one home run and 10 RBI; so far this year he has four home runs and 15 RBI.The Cubs now head to the desert to face a struggling 7-11 Diamondbacks team with no Stephen Drew. Lilly, Zambrano and Dempster will face Dan Haren, Yusmeiro Petit and lefty Doug Davis.
Did you know ...
-Fukudome's home run Sunday was the 14th of his career, but his first off a left-hander.
-The Rays have struggled and find themselves in last place, 6.5 games out of first.
Monday, April 6, 2009
MLB predictions
NL Central
Cubs
The Cubs core returns from '08, and they should hold off the Cardinals and Brewers.
NL East
Phillies
The Mets spent the offseason fixing their primary problem in '08--the bullpen--by acquiring J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez. But their rotation is a question mark, and the Phillies' is not.
NL West
Diamondbacks
Webb and Haren return, and their young hitters will continue to come into their own. I came this close to picking the Rockies based solely on the fact that they acquired Jason Marquis, who has made the playoffs every year of his nine-year career. I also think the Giants could be a surprise team.
NL Wild Card
Cardinals
NL playoffs
Cubs over Diamondbacks
Cardinals over Phillies
Cubs over Cardinals
AL Central
Indians
A strong offense, a new closer (Kerry Wood), and a rotation led by Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona. The Twins have a healthy Francisco Liriano and should compete, and the Tigers, with all that talent, can't be terrible two years in a row, right? This division should be up for grabs.
AL East
Yankees
What can I say? They have a $207 million payroll. The Red Sox and Rays are certainly no slouches either.
AL West
Mariners
The Angels are getting old, and it's time for a new champion out West.
AL Wild Card
Red Sox
AL playoffs
Yankees over Mariners
Red Sox over Indians
Red Sox over Yankees
World Series
Cubs over Red Sox
Cubs
The Cubs core returns from '08, and they should hold off the Cardinals and Brewers.
NL East
Phillies
The Mets spent the offseason fixing their primary problem in '08--the bullpen--by acquiring J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez. But their rotation is a question mark, and the Phillies' is not.
NL West
Diamondbacks
Webb and Haren return, and their young hitters will continue to come into their own. I came this close to picking the Rockies based solely on the fact that they acquired Jason Marquis, who has made the playoffs every year of his nine-year career. I also think the Giants could be a surprise team.
NL Wild Card
Cardinals
NL playoffs
Cubs over Diamondbacks
Cardinals over Phillies
Cubs over Cardinals
AL Central
Indians
A strong offense, a new closer (Kerry Wood), and a rotation led by Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona. The Twins have a healthy Francisco Liriano and should compete, and the Tigers, with all that talent, can't be terrible two years in a row, right? This division should be up for grabs.
AL East
Yankees
What can I say? They have a $207 million payroll. The Red Sox and Rays are certainly no slouches either.
AL West
Mariners
The Angels are getting old, and it's time for a new champion out West.
AL Wild Card
Red Sox
AL playoffs
Yankees over Mariners
Red Sox over Indians
Red Sox over Yankees
World Series
Cubs over Red Sox
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Prospectus Projections
Baseball Prospectus unloaded their 2009 predictions today (click post title to visit projected standings). For the record, BP predicted 4 of 8 playoff teams correctly in '08, so, like all sports predictions, they're completely worthless.
For '09, they have the Cubs racking up 95 victories and winning the NL Central by 12 games over the Brewers (me likey). BP had the Cubs winning 89 games last year, while they actually won 97. Therefore, we can add eight victories to their projections, and safely assume the Cubs will win 103 games in 2009.
Also according to BP, the Mets and D'Backs win their respective divisions (which they also predicted in '08, incorrectly), while the Braves sneak in there to win the wild card.
In the AL, it's Boston, Cleveland, and a surprising Oakland team, along with the Yankees winning the Wild Card by five games over the Rays.
I'll address these and some of the other projections in the coming days and weeks, and make my own boldly inaccurate predictions as the season approaches. For now, let's just bask in the glory of baseball projections in general, along with the thought of a third straight NL Central title for the Cubs.
For '09, they have the Cubs racking up 95 victories and winning the NL Central by 12 games over the Brewers (me likey). BP had the Cubs winning 89 games last year, while they actually won 97. Therefore, we can add eight victories to their projections, and safely assume the Cubs will win 103 games in 2009.
Also according to BP, the Mets and D'Backs win their respective divisions (which they also predicted in '08, incorrectly), while the Braves sneak in there to win the wild card.
In the AL, it's Boston, Cleveland, and a surprising Oakland team, along with the Yankees winning the Wild Card by five games over the Rays.
I'll address these and some of the other projections in the coming days and weeks, and make my own boldly inaccurate predictions as the season approaches. For now, let's just bask in the glory of baseball projections in general, along with the thought of a third straight NL Central title for the Cubs.
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