Tomorrow's the Day (Starcraft II Content Incoming)

Well tomorrow is the big day: Starcraft II finally comes out. Unfortunately, I can't afford it, so I will likely have to wait a week or two for one of those lovely birthday checks to come in. But to anybody out there who loves Starcraft as much of me, enjoy the game!

PS: 5th no-hitter of the year thrown tonight by Matt Garza of the Tampa Bay Rays. Crazy. More on that later, perhaps.

My First Link!

I was linked by LenNY's Yankees Blog! Here's the post. I made a post on his site about how I was against moving Phil Hughes to the pen until his innings limit was reached. I was honored to even be mentioned by Len, so I definitely appreciate that. Definitely check out his blog, it is very good. Here is the link to his blog.

The Mariners Are Good at Trades

So remember that Cliff Lee trade? You know, the one where they balked last minute on the Yankees and sent Lee over to the Rangers instead? Well, here is one of the pitchers they got in return.

Good stuff, right?

Girardi's Brilliant Managing

Joe Girardi often gets criticized by fans and the press by how he manages the bullpen. In the playoffs last year, he made some questionable bullpen decisions and he sometimes gets a little obsessed with the mix and matching. But all the credit in the world should go to Joe for today's big win against the Rays. After Andy Petitte had to leave the game with a groin injury with one out and two on in the 3rd inning, Girardi had to go to his bullpen way earlier than he anticipated. He could have turned to somebody who could go longer, such as Chan Ho Park, but he made a gutsy move and called on David Robertson to get the final two outs. This was the right call; the score was still close at 3-2, and this was a huge game. If the Rays won, the Yanks would have had only a one game lead in the AL East. While Robertson walked the first batter he faced on a 3-2 pitch (he came into the game with the count 3-1), he got Sean Rodriguez to pop out to Derek Jeter, and then retired BJ Upton on a fly ball.

Of course, the game wouldn't have been won if it weren't for the great offense. But the great managing by Girardi in that inning was really the key to this 9-5 win.

Why Do People Like John Lackey?

When RHP John Lackey signed a 5 year $82.5 million dollar contract with the Red Sox over the offseason, it was generally agreed that it was a great signing by the Sox. If Lackey stayed healthy, so they said, the Sox would have the best rotation in the league with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Lackey leading the rotation. Lackey has certainly avoided the injury bug that has hit the Sox this season, but that doesn't mean he has been good. Indeed, despite posting 9 wins Lackey sports a 4.78 ERA with 46 walks. To put that in perspective, he had 47 all of last season, and 52 in his best season in 2007, when he won 19 games. So Lackey has certainly been a disappointment; but was he ever really that great to begin with?

As I said before, his best season came in 2007 when he posted those 9 wins as well as a great 3.01 ERA. Before that, he was basically an average pitcher, averaging about 14 wins from 2004-2006. Lackey has basically built his reputation as an elite pitcher with his performances in big post season games. In Game 7 of the 2002 Angels Lackey, then with the Angels, clinched the series, holding the Giants to 1 run over 5 innings. Maybe not the prettiest of lines, but he was just a rookie. But just because you are a great postseason pitcher, doesn't mean you should be up there with the elite pitchers. And really, aside from that 2002 postseason, when he went 2-0, he really was nothing special in the postseason. Sure, his overall ERA is 3.12, and you can't necessarily control your wins in baseball, but he didn't win his third postseason game until last year. He went 0-3 from 2005-2008.

So really, John Lackey got paid ace money when he was really never an ace. Yeah, I guess he was the "ace" of the Angels when he was with them...but that's because they didn't really have anybody that great to begin with, until Jered Weaver came along, and he was developing when Lackey was with them. So when I hear people say how much Lackey is a horse, I can't help but chuckle a bit.

Holy S%$^ the NL Won! Also, thoughts on George Steinbrenner

So the NL finally won the All Star game, the first time since 1996. Brian McCann (the All Star MVP) came up with a three run double off Matt Thornton, who can apparently only throw fast balls, giving the loss to Yankees starter Phil Hughes (who started the inning giving up two singles after getting the first out). I know home field advantage is a big deal, but I still don't think the game is as important as people make it out to be. The good teams are able to win at home and on the road.

Of course, the story of the day was the passing of Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner. Everything has been said already, but this was obviously a sad moment for all of baseball, not just the Yankees. Although The Boss is known for his brash style, I wasn't aware of all the charitable things he did. He was a trailblazer in this business and there will never been someone like him again. RIP, George.

AL/NL Starting Lineups for All Star Game

Watching the All Star press conference on MLB Network (can I just point out this station is one of the best things to happen to baseball?). They are announcing the starting lineups and starting pitchers for each leagues' All Star squad. And here are the lineups:

AL:

Ichiro Suzuki RF
Derek Jeter SS
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Josh Hamilton CF
Vlad Gurrerro DH
Evan Longoria 3B
Joe Mauer C
Robinson Cano 2B
Carl Crawford LF

Starting pitcher: LHP David Price

NL:

Hanley Ramirez SS
Martin Prado 2B
Albert Pujols 1B
Ryan Howard DH
David Wright 3B
Ryan Braun LF
Andre Ethier CF
Corey Hart RF
Yadier Molina C

Starting pitcher: RHP Ubaldo Jiminez

And there ya go. Pretty good lineups on both sides, as well as pitchers. Should be a great game.

Cliff Lee to the Yankees? (UPDATE: Or Not)

UPDATE: Well, so much for that. Over the course of the afternoon, talks between the Yanks and M's broke down, with the Mariners concerned about the health of David Adams. According to Joel Sherman the Rangers are set to acquire Lee (and reliever Mark Lowe...who is injured and will not pitch at all this season. God knows why he was included) for 1B Justin Smoak and three other prospects. I'm guessing the Mariners will pay his salary, given that the Rangers have no owner at the moment. At least the Yankees don't have to face Lee tonight.

We all know that whenever a big name player is available, be it via trade or free agency, the Yankees are always attached. But I never once believed the Yankees were truly interested in acquiring Cliff Lee in a trade. The pitching rotation is very solid right now, with AJ Burnett seemingly back on track. Sure, Hughes is scuffling a bit, but that is to be expected with a young starter. And Javy Vazquez has really picked it up after an awful start. So it came with great surprise when I read this morning that the Yanks were "on the verge" of acquiring Cliff Lee from the Mariners (Link Here.)

Supposedly, the deal involves highly touted catching prospect Jesus Montero as well as 2nd base prospect David Adams. It's a bit tough to lose a prospect like Montero, especially with Jorge Posada's days behind the plate numbered. But the Yanks do have a lot of depth in the minors at catcher, including Austin Romine and Gary Sanchez, and I have read that the Yankees don't consider Montero much of a catcher. And considering what the Yankees get in return, it's a bit of a no-brainer (and I see no way that they aren't able to sign Lee long term).

The big question this trade brings up is who leaves the rotation. I have read that Vazquez would be traded somewhere, perhaps to the Phillies for Jayson Werth. But according to Ken Davidoff of Newsweek, the Yankees aren't close to trading Javy, and may even keep him until the trade deadline. Putting Hughes in the bullpen would be a mistake, in my opinion. They should learn from Joba that constantly changing a starter's role from year to year is not a good idea. It worked last year, but Hughes needs to finish this year as a starter. If anybody is going to go into the bullpen, I would put Javy. He could work as a good long man, I think. I know it's tempting to put Hughes in the pen, given his success last year and the trouble they have had this year with the pen, but I just think that would be a terrible idea.

Regardless, this should make for an interesting day (and here's hoping this trade gets done before the Yankees have to face him tonight!)

Swisher and Votto are In!

Congratulations to Nick Swisher and Joey Votto for making the final spot of their respective All Star Teams! So both of my guys won...go me!

Last Chance to Vote For Last All Star Player; Also, Starcraft 2 Beta Phase 2 Begins

Just a reminder, today is the last day you can vote for the final man on both rosters in the All Star game. Here is the ballot. I voted for Nick Swisher and Joey Votto. But, uh, I'm totally not telling you to do that.

Also, the Starcraft 2 beta is back up! Hooray! There seems to be some trouble with the matchmaking service in the beta, but that should be fixed soon.

And finally, LeBron James will be making his decision tonight on the aptly named ESPN special "The Decision." All signs seem to be pointing to him joining Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat. People are going to vilify him for taking the "easy way out," but the fact is he wasn't going to win a championship with Cleveland. Nor would he win one with New York. He had a shot with Chicago, but Miami certainly is his best chance to get that ring.

OMG WHY WAS VOTTO SNUBBED?

Update: FYI, Votto has two HRs in tonight's game against the Mets, bringing his totals up to 21 HRs and 59 RBIs.

Everyone is making a big deal about how Joey Votto could not have been voted to be a starter for the NL All Stars. There is a pretty obvious reason he isn't there (for the moment, anyway, he is currently leading the votes for 34th player): it's name is Albert Pujols. Let's be honest, the voting for the All Star game is really a popularity contest, and Pujols is a bigger name than Votto. Not that King Albert was having a bad year. In fact, both Pujols and Votto had similar numbers coming into tonight's games:

Pujols: .305 BA 20 HR 60 RBI .413 OBP

Votto: .312 BA 19 HR 57 RBI .412 OBP

Now there certainly were some problems with both All Star rosters (how in the world did Omar Infante make the All Star team?), but Votto not getting in, while certainly a snub, is not the biggest.

Offensive Ineptitudes

It's really amazing to me that the Mariner's co-ace (and soon to be ace, once Cliff Lee is traded) is only 6-5 after last's dominating complete game shut out over the Yankees. I do realize that he did pitch against a struggling Yankees offense (only one run so far of Ryan Rowland-Smith...really?) but he has been like this for most of the year. He did struggle a bit early on in the season, but he has been this dominant for most of the year. His record really speaks volumes about how bad Seattle's offense has been (despite what they've shown against the Yankees).

Speaking of lack of run support, how bad must Roy Halladay feel right now? All we heard after his trade to the Phillies was how he might win 25 games with all the run support he would get. Well, he's gotten almost no run support and he lost his 8th game yesterday (though he did give up the lead). I wonder if he wishes he stayed in Toronto now.

Hey Announcers: Call the Damn Game

I am very well aware that baseball is a slow sport. At times, it is agonizingly slow. So sometimes, announcers have to talk about something else so they aren't stuck saying nothing. I understand that. These days, however, I feel it's going too far. Right now, I'm watching the Yankees-Dodgers game on ESPN. It's the top of the third inning, a man on second, Jeter is at the plate, looking to get his team on the scoreboard in what is currently a scoreless affair. So what are John Miller, Joe Morgan, and Orel Hershiser talking about? Whether Stephen Strasburg should pitch in the All Star Game. Throughout the entire inning. And in the opening of the inning, they were talking about Joe Torre's job security...even after Brett Gardner was hit by a pitch. And an inning before, they spent most of the time talking about the latest injuries to the Boston Red Sox. Are these announcers, or are these just a bunch of guys talking about baseball in their living room? (Over paid guys, at that).

Of course, ESPN is not the only network guilty of this. YES does it a lot, Fox is almost absurd in the way they do it, and many, many other stations do it as well. The only person I know of who doesn't do it all that often is the great Dodger's announcer Vin Scully. Watching games these days really makes me wish he did every game I saw. Because it's getting to the point where I'm having to mute the games a lot because these guys just are giving me no information about the game...you know, the game they are supposed to call.

Edwin Jackson No-Hits The Rays...With 8 Walks

UPDATE: And MLB Network answered my first question. The Padres were the last and only team (in the modern era) to be no-hit twice in one season. That was in 2001 when AJ Burnett (who walked 10 in that game) and Bud Smith no-hit them.

Has a team ever been no-hit twice in the same year? Well, apparently the 1898 Boston Beanbeaters were, but I'm not sure if that counts. Either way, though, the Rays became the first team (this year, anyway) to be no-hit twice after Edwin Jackson of the Dbacks hurled a no-no against them tonight; Dallas "get off my mound" Braden threw a perfect game against them on Mother's Day. This wasn't your typical dominant no-hitter--Jackson walked 8 batters--but in a way, that is what made it all the more impressive. He made some great pitches in hitters counts, and he worked out of a bases loaded no out situation early in the game (third inning, I believe). He also threw a whopping 149 pitches. There was certainly a case to be made to take the young hurler out of the game, but the Dbacks aren't going anywhere, and I thought it was the right call by AJ Hinch to leave him in.

So counting Armando Gallagraga's near perfect game, there have been five no-hitters this year. This certainly is the year of the pitcher.

Insanity of the Day

The Blue Jays are playing the Phillies tonight. It's Roy Halladay against his former club. It's a home game for the Jays, so Doc will also be facing the Toronto crowd, it will be interesting to see how--wait, what? They aren't playing in Toronto? That's right, the Jays are playing a home game...in Philadelphia. Why, you ask? Well, it's because of the G20 summit! So get ready for DH in a National League park! It's going to be funny if there is a walk off for the Jays. I wonder how the "home crowd" will handle that.

Here's what I want to know...why was this game even scheduled at home? I'm pretty sure that they knew the G20 summit was going to be in Toronto. Did they not think it was going to be absolutely crazy? Also, funny note: the Phillies were actually known as the Blue Jays for a short period in the late 40s (1948, I believe).

Epic Wimbledon Match Comes to an End

I have to take a break from baseball right now to write about the absolutely epic Wimbledon match that just ended. John Isner, the American, just defeated Nicolas Mahut, the Frenchman, 70-68 in the deciding fifth set. Now as much as I love baseball, I love tennis just as much. I've watched (and played) a lot of games inn my days, and this was definitely the best I have ever seen. Over 11 hours long; 193 aces between the two players. It was just an epic in every sense of the word. And both players gave their all. Watching each man just absolutely put their entire being into the match was just a sight to behold. And when Isner hit that winning backhand past Mahut, three days of magnificent tennis was summed up by an exhilarated John Isner falling back first onto the grass court. What an incredible game.

Baseball is Screwy Sometimes

So the Red Sox manage no runs, NO RUNS, off rookie pitcher Jhoulys Chacin last night. Now they already have five off Ubaldo Jiminez, who entered the game 13-1 with a 1.15 ERA. I also think it is pertinent to note that Daniel Nava drove in three of those runs. Also, he allowed a game tying home run to Darnell McDonald. Also, he just allowed a double to John Lackey. Sometimes it's best not to predict this game. Yet it's unpredictability is what makes it such a fun game.

Marlins Fire Gonzalez...Really?

The Florida Marlins are 34-36, good for fourth place in the competitive NL East; they are 7 1/2 games back. Certainly they have underperformed this year a little bit, but I would hardly say they are horrible. So what does the Marlins ownership do? They fire him and replace him with AAA coach Edwin Rodriguez. I gained a lot of respect for Gonzalez when he had the courage to bench star shortstop Hanley Ramirez for not hustling for a ball that he booted in the field. I also like how he benched him for a second game. No player should be immune from being benched for being lazy, and Fredi's move showed something to me, as well as to his players I think.

And it's not as if the Marlins have been terrible recently, either. Yeah they are only .500 in their last 10 games, but they took two of three games from the Rays, and they had just beaten the Orioles (yeah I know, big accomplishment) when the news broke. I have to wonder if this move was solely to appease Hanley. He wasn't pleased, to make an understatement, about being benched. Jeffery Loria, the owner of the Marlins, is very close with Ramirez (he even made him a nifty necklace last year to celebrate his batting title). No party is going to admit this, but I am willing to bet this firing is because Mr. Ramirez doesn't care for Gonzalez. And that is just a sad statement, indeed. At what point do players become accountable to their performance on and off the field (I'm looking at you, Orioles).

Slow Day

Only three games on the schedule today (including the Yankees vs. the Dbacks). Does anybody else think the coverage of Manny's return to Fenway was overblown? I even heard someone on the MLB Network say "who cares?" when they asked "what is Manny doing now?" when looking at a ballpark cam view of Fenway. I mean maybe the first day was warrented, but they were obsessed with this all through the series. And now I'm watching this overdramatic recap of his series, complete with generic adventure music. I know that's the state of our media these days, but damn, but it's starting to get obnoxious. I mean, the third start of Stephen Strasburg, a much more exciting player than Manny, was interrupted so we could see Manny's first at bat. Really?

Another thing that is starting to annoy me is the constant interruptions during the game. By this I mean sideline reports about things that have little to do with the game on the field (YES is especially guilty of this) and guests to the booths. These are nice now and again, but do we really have to have Curt Schilling's perspective on the game? Why not, I don't know, just call the game instead of talking to Curt Schilling about games that were played six years ago? I'm more interested in hearing what is happening on the field, not what happened in the past.

Quick Note

Here's a quick thought for you: Marlins announcers are probably the biggest homers I have ever heard. Yes, even more so than Nationals play by play guys.

Is it the Pitcher or the Hitters?

Watching some of the struggles the Yankees have had the last few days (today notwithstanding, although they still only hit 1-8 with runners in scoring position) made me think about what are the root causes for these kinds of slumps. Is it the hitters just really struggling or should we give credit to great pitching? Or should we do a cop out and say it's a combination of both?

In the case of the Yankees, I think I actually will go the cop out route and say it's both. I say this because yesterday, when they were shut out by Hisinori Takahashi, they actually did get 8 hits. Yet they had none with runners on. To me this says they were pressing in those situations. And frankly, the body language for the hitters was not great. There were not many comfortable swings, and I saw a lot of chases of pitches out of the zone. I saw that today at times, too. I wasn't really able to watch the two losses against the Phillie's so I can't comment on those games. But in general, and this is for all teams, I think a great way to see who is to blame for hitting slumps. That is, look at the body language. And to some extent, look for disparities with runners on and off base.

Michael Kay: Not Very Smart

So I'm watching the Yankees-Mets game, and Christ Carter is at the plate for the Amazins. Michael Kay, the YES Network's play-by-play man, tells us that Carter graduated from Stanford in three years. That's pretty impressive. However, Kay then goes on to tell us he thinks Carter majored in stem-cell research. I don't know much, but I'm pretty sure you cannot major in an area of research. Maybe he studied it, but you certainly can't major in it. Still, this isn't quite the stupidest thing Mr. Kay has ever said.

"Baseball's a Funny Game"

As the hopelessly inane John Sterling likes to say, "baseball's a funny game." There is no greater example of this than last night's game between the Phillies and the Yankees. Coming of an absolute whipping of Roy Halladay, the Yankees found themselves unable to solve 47 year-old Jamie Moyer (who I'm pretty sure is the result of some sort of black magic), who was coming off his worst start in his long career. Meanwhile, AJ Burnett was unable to get through three innings, giving up 6 runs.

Yet less you think this was a turn around game for the struggling Phillies offense, think again. Because after Burnett left the game, they were actually no-hit by Boone Logan and Chad Gaudin, of all people. Still the early outburst against AJ was more than enough to propel the Phils to a 6-3 lead. The rubber game of this World Series re-match is tonight, with Andy Petitte (another ageless wonder) taking the hill against Kyle Kendrick.

Yanks Crush the Doctor

This was supposed to be a pitching duel. CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay were set to square off on a cool evening at Yankee Stadium. If each pitcher pitched 8 innings of shut out ball, nobody would be surprised. But as the final out was recorded, only one pitcher would live up to the billing. And it wasn't Halladay. Instead, the good Doctor was unequivocally smacked around for 6 runs in what was certainly one of his worst starts of this season (he was also touched for 6 in a start against Boston a few weeks back). Sabathia, on the other hand, pitched great for 7 innings giving up 3 runs and striking out 7.

Although I wasn't able to actually watch this game (I was in the city for a film critique class), I was told by MLB.com's lovely wrap up that Sabathia dominated for the three four innings before being struck by a come backer on his pitching hand by Sabathia-killer Chase Utley. After that he allowed 3 runs in that frame, but he settled down the rest of the way.

Offensively, the Bombers hit three homers, including a solo shot from the struggling Mark Teixera. But the story here has to be Doc's terrible outing. So far, his two worst starts have come against hard hitting AL teams. Normally you would chalk this down to the old AL is better than the NL cliche, but we have to remember that Halladay was on the Blue Jays his entire career until this season. And he has historically dominated the Yankees. He just obviously didn't have it tonight. Not seeing the game I can't comment on his stuff. But from the highlights I saw, it just looked like had terrible location. His ball to strike ratio seemed pretty good (100 pitches 68 strikes) but it seemed to me there were a lot of breaking balls in the middle of the plate. And according to hitting coach Kevin Long, the Yanks only chased four pitches out of the strike zone. Since they weren't chasing, it seems Doc was forced to be in the strike zone, for the most part. And that's why they had the success they had tonight, it seems.

Rainy Day Win!

Just got back from the Yankees game. They completed the three game sweep of the Astros, winning 9-5. Phil Hughes wasn't great today, but he did good enough to get his ninth win. You could tell from the first inning that he didn't have his best stuff. In that inning, he gave up one run on a sac fly. They also hit a couple of balls pretty hard. Overall, he pitched 5.2 innings giving of five runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out nine. His real trouble came in the sixth inning when he gave up a two RBI hit to Tommy Manzella (who can apparently only hit Yankees pitchers) and a long home run to Kevin Cash, of all people.

On the offensive side, Jorge Posada crushed his second grand slam in two days. Robbie Cano also hit his 13th home run. The rain really made this game annoying, but it was still very enjoyable. All in all, a great win for the good guys.

Welcome to the Show

As much as I despise the Red Sox, this just made me smile. Daniel Nava, called up to replace Jeremy Hermeida in left field, became only the second player to hit a grand slam on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues from the Phillie's Joe Blanton. This kid's story is pretty incredible. He was cut from his college club and ended up being their equipment manager. He ended up signing with an independent league. His contract was eventually purchased by the Sawx for a measly $1. He went 2-4 in his debut with that grand slam and a double. Watching his father video tape his son's unlikely debut from the stands in Fenway really was a sight to see. Stories like this is what makes baseball such a fantastic game.

Thames Leaves Game With Unknown Injury

UPDATE 3:38: Thames left with a strained hamstring. He is currently undergoing an MRI.

UPDATE 6:00: Annnnnnd he's on the DL. MRI was negative but I guess they wanted to give him the time to heal without wasting a roster spot. Via River Ave. Blues, the Yanks called up Chad Huffman, who they claimed off waivers from the Padres in April.

The Yankees injury train rolls on as LF/DH Marcus Thames left the game in the fifth inning with an as of now undisclosed injury (at least I would think it was an injury). He was replaced with the banged up Brett Gardner, who is dealing with a thumb issue. Of course, the Yankees are dealing with a lot of injuries including A-Rod's hip/groin issue. As much as Yankee fans (including myself) might not miss a player like Thames, he does provide good depth to the team and he can hit a little bit. Let's hope it's nothing too serious.

Game Recap, 6/11/10

Here is a quick recap of three games I was interested in:

Yankees 4 Astros 3

This wasn't a particularly fascinating match up, but it's my team so I have to be interested in it. Andy Pettite, as is his norm this season, was absolutely brilliant over 7.1 innings. He gave up only 4 hits, two earned runs, and struck out 4 while walking one. It was also a milestone win for him, as he won his 200th game as a Yankee (it was also his 8th win on the season). There wasn't much offense to speak of, as most of the damage came in the first inning for the Bombers, with Francisco Cervelli hitting a big two out RBI single with the bases loaded to give them a 3-0 lead at the time.

The Astros got a two RBI hit by Tommy Manzella in the second inning, as well as a sac fly by Jeff Keppinger off Joba Chamberlain in the 8th. The biggest out came when Chamberlain struck out Lance Berkman the very next batter with the tying run on third base. It was a questionable check swing call that got the K but hey, I'm not complaining.

Mets 5 Orioles 1

I was mainly interested in this because of the fact that the Mets are such a bad road team, yet the Orioles are such a bad team in general. Something had to give, and it was the Orioles. R.A. Dickey continued to be a revelation for the Mets, winning his 4th game with no losses after 7 excellent innings. He also set a career high with 8 strike outs. The Amazins benefited from Chris Carter's first career home run, a 3 run blast that changed a 1-0 advantage to 4-0. Although 4 runs is very much doable in today's age, it seemed like a ten run advantage against the hapless O's. Their only real threat came in the 4th when they had the bases loaded with nobody out. The result? No runs. Dickey struck out Luke Scott and Adam Jones, and then retired young catcher Matt Wieters on a pop-up. The Orioles simply cannot hit with men in scoring position. As one of the Met announcers said, even when they get hits, the runners never seem to score.

Rockies 5 Blue Jays 3 (6 innings)

This was supposed to be a fantastic pitching match up, but mother nature had other plans. Playing in a torrential downpour for most of the night, the seemingly invincible Ubaldo Jiminez "struggled" giving up 3 runs in a 6 inning complete game (the game was called after). That's a quality start, according to rules, but when you have a 0.93 ERA coming into the game, giving up more than more than one run is alarming. I saw for myself the weather they were playing in, and I chalk his struggles up to that. Of course, facing an AL line up for the first time might have had things to do with it as well. But the usually dominant Ricky Romero also struggled, giving up 4 runs in 5 innings. So count the Rockies lucky that they were able to give Jiminez his major league leading 12th win of the season. This guy might just win 25 games this year.

Starcraft II Commercial

And here's one of those non-baseball posts. I'll be back later in the night with brief recaps of three games I was interested in tonight.

So during the NBA finals, the commercial for Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty was debuted. Here it is:



In case you have been living under some mighty large rock, Starcraft II is the sequel to the best-selling Real-Time Strategy game by Blizzard Entertainment. I was in the beta test (which is currently on hiatus). It's a real fantastic game, and I can't wait until it comes out on July 27th. To put in perspective how long fans have been waiting for this, the expansion pack to the first game came out in 1998. It's 2010 now.

Enter Santana

Holy crap, the Cleveland Indians have called up Carlos Santana!



Oh, not that Carlos Santana. This Carlos Santana

So this year must be the year of the phenom. We have Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals, obviously. But then we have Mike Stanton of the Marlins, Jake Arrieta on the Orioles, and now the 24-year old Santana. Santana, a catcher, is the top prospect in the Cleveland organization. In AAA Columbus, Mr. Santana hit a robust .316 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs already. In his career in the minors, he 1.044 OPS (which I alwasys thought was a stupid stat, but people seem to like it). Like all prospects, it's unsure whether all this will translate to the big leagues. It certainly did for Strasburg in his debut. Switch-hitting catchers with power are always a valuable commodity for teams. We've all seen what catchers like Jorge Posada and Victor Martinez have done. Of course, the Indians saw that first hand with Martinez, who was their catcher/first baseman before they traded him to Boston last year. They certainly hope Santana can bring that kind of power to a struggling (despite dropping 11 runs on Boston Wednesday, and 8 last night) offense.

Unlike Strasburg, I'm not sure there is too much pressure riding on Santana. They are certainly expecting a lot for him, but I don't think he is expected to be the Jesus of the franchise like Strasburg is. Now if he can hit home runs and play the guitar like the other Santana, he might actually be Jesus.

Interleague Begins (again)

Well it's that time of a year again. Yup, it's time for interleague play to begin...again. I never really understood why they play one series of interleague games before the real interleague match ups begin, but that's for another day. So there are certainly a lot of boring match ups out there: Yankees and Astros should be a mismatch (but you never know). And Mariners and Padres? Jeez, there might be like 3 runs scored in that entire series. But one match up for tonight that intrigues me: Blue Jays and Rockies. This is not really because of the teams, though. It's because of the pitchers. The pitching match up for tonight? Ricky Romero and Ubaldo Jiminez.

Now if you look at their stats side by side, Ubaldo certainly is the better pitcher. At 11-1 with an absurd ERA of 0.93, he is clearly the best pitcher in baseball right now (sorry Strasburg). But Romero is no slouch, either. In his second season in the bigs, Romero has a 5-2 record with a 3.06 ERA and 86 Ks in 85.1 innings. In his last start against the Yanks, he dominated, going 8 innings giving up only 2 runs. He was certainly very impressive.

Besides the great pitching match up, it should be intriguing how Jiminez does against such a home run happy club like the Jays. I saw first hand what they could do when they played the Yankees. I also noticed that they seemed to have a real hard time hitting really good off speed pitches. Andy Pettite racked up a season high 10 Ks against them using mostly his curveball, and Javy Vazquez got 9 using a variety of change ups, curves, and sliders. Jiminez is known for his 100 MPH and great sinker and splitter. He does have a slider and change up so it will be interesting to see if Cy Jiminez uses a lot of those pitches.

So that should be a great match up. And another interesting interleague match up? Mets and Orioles. Mets, a terrible road team; Orioles, just a terrible, terrible team. Should be interesting.

First Post and Welcome

Welcome to my blog. So for the most part this blog is going to be about baseball. Although I am a Yankees fan, this is not a Yankees blog. Yes, I will talk a lot about the Yankees but I'm going to focus on all things baseball. Thanks to the wonderful MLB Network, I am able to see a lot of different games. Occasionally I will write things unrelated to baseball (mostly video game stuff) but this will not be too often. So I hope you enjoy this blog.