The Morning Edition (May 9, 2013)
From Last Night:
- A’s lose 4-3 to the Indians after umpires fail to correctly overturn a double that should have gone for a homerun in the 9th
- Vernon Wells homers as the Yanks beat the Rockies, but also plays third base! (?!)
- Twins and Red Sox play football at Fenway and the Twins win by a touchdown, 15-8, as Ortiz’s streak is snapped
- Felix outduels Burnett for a 2-1 win at PNC
- Kershaw gives up 1 ER in 7 innings, but doesn’t get the necessary offense to win
What I’m Watching Today:
- Bartolo Colon faces Scott Kazmir in what I can only assume is a game from 2005 (12p Eastern)
- Dickey and Price face off in a battle of underperforming reigning Cy’s (7p Eastern)
- Hamels and Corbin in the desert (930p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- How will the league handle the incorrect upheld double in Cleveland?
I’ve been pretty outspoken about the need for more replay in MLB, but the umpiring crew in Cleveland on Wednesday couldn’t even use the replay they have properly. It’s really hard to imagine what they saw that didn’t result in a homerun, and if they didn’t have the right angle to overturn the call, why didn’t they have that angle? But the more exciting news from Wednesday was Vernon Wells playing 3B for the Yankees. He had played 1592 games in his career entering the day and none of them had been anywhere but the outfield or designated hitter. That ended as he played 3B in the 9th inning Wednesday. I don’t have the resources to look this up at the moment, but I’m very interested in players who play only one inning at a position in their career like Wells did tonight that was clearly out of strange necessity. Who remembers when Pudge Rodriguez played 2 innings at 2B back in 2006?! He caught a popup in his only chance.
The Morning Edition (May 2, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Zimmermann strikes out 8 and walks none across eight shutout innings as the Nats beat the Braves 2-0
- Red Sox bats rock the Jays as Buchholz dominates again
- Raburn has 4 more hits to power Bauer to his first win despite 6 walks in 5 innings against Cliff Lee
- Feldman K’s 12 in a CG win over the Padres
What I’m Watching Today:
- Ervin Santana looks to keep his early season success going against the Rays (2p Eastern)
- Haren tries to stay on track as Medlen tries to bounce back in Atlanta (7p Eastern)
- Jake Westbrook’s 0.98 ERA on display against the Brewers (8p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- How series is Bryce Harper’s injury?
Ryan Raburn was always fun to watch in my opinion, even though most Tigers fans didn’t feel that way. He’s up to his old tricks in Cleveland destroying the baseball over the last three days (11 for 13, 4HR). This is his updated line: .364/.407/.655 with a 193 wRC+ and a positive 1.9 UZR which is good for 1.0 WAR in just 16 games. Obviously he won’t keep that up, but Ryan Raburn is basically Babe Ruth so far this season. He’s capable of amazing things and from 2009-2011 was incredible in the 2nd half of the season. He’s doing it early this year. Watch out.
The Morning Edition (April 12, 2013)
From Last Night:
- Zach Greinke breaks his collarbone after a Carlos Quentin charges the mound after being hit by a pitch
- The Giants come back from being down 5-0 to beat the Cubs at Wrigley 7-6
- Felix gives up 10 hits enroute to a loss against the Rangers
What I’m Watching Today:
- Jon Niese and the Mets meet old division foe Vance Worley at Target Field (8p Eastern)
- The Blue Jays face the Royals in a battle of AL makeovers (8p Eastern)
- Clayton Kershaw takes the hill for appointment viewing against the Dbacks (940p Eastern)
- Yu Darvish faces the struggling Mariners (10p Eastern)
The Big Question:
- Is Clayton Kershaw making a bid to unseat Verlander as baseball’s best starter?
Thursday brought us an abbreviated MLB schedule with just eight games (one of which was rained out) and resulted in MLB Network filling unaccounted for air time with a rerun of Intentional Talk hosted by Chris Rose and Kevin Millar. This leads me to my only idle musing for the day: how good does a network have to be for IT to be its worst program? That’s insane. It’s a solid show, but it’s their worst show. MLB Now, MLB Tonight, Quick Pitch, Clubhouse Confidential, The Rundown, etc are all the best in their class as far as sports programming goes. It’s no wonder they win so many Emmys.
I haven’t heard the timeline on the Greinke injury, but it’s a blow to the Dodgers who were counting on him to pitch at ace levels this season. It will probably only cost them a couple games in the standings in total due to the time he misses, but I would be concerned about how the injury might affect his delivery when he returns give its location. We should know more later today that will help clear up those questions.
Finally, 42 opens today nationwide. I’m looking forward to seeing Jackie Robinson immortalized further on the silver screen and am excited for young and casual fans to get a glimpse into one of the great baseball players of all time, who just happens to double as one of the most pivotal figures of the 20th century. But no pressure on the actors. I plan to review the film sometime in the next week or two.
2012 Season in Review: American League East
What most consider baseball’s toughest division was tough this year as well. The Yankees led the way and the Orioles played out of their minds. The Rays won 90 games. The Sox were bad. The Blue Jays built well in the offseason.
Final Standings:
Playoff Odds across time:
Early 2013 Projected Standings:
2012 Grades:
AL East Cy Young: David Price
AL East MVP: Robinson Cano
New English D 