Saturday, October 13, 2012

Cardinals Have No Right to Advance Any Farther

The St. Louis Cardinals advanced to the NLCS late last night after beating the Washington Nationals in a miraculous comeback. Closer Drew Storen had the Cardinals down to their last strike when he threw two balls and walked two batters in a row. The poor pitching by Washington and the luckiest call in the postseason is why the Cardinals have reached the NLCS and deserve to go home after that. Why?

In the Wild Card play-in game about a week back, there was the most controversial call in at least this year's playoffs, possibly the the most controversial call in the history of the postseason. When Braves shortstop Anderton Simmons popped a ball up in the eighth inning rally against the Cardinals, shortstop Pete Kozma and Matt Holiday looked at each other expecting other one to catch the can of corn. Kozma backed away from the ball allowing Holiday to catch who was standing ten feet away. The play happened when the Braves were down 6-3 and there were runners on first and second. Veteren umpire, Sam Holbrook, the left field ump signaled that the ball was an infield fly meaning that Kozma was camped under the ball at its climax. The call was late and wrong. All the base runners were confused and Freddy Gonzalez came bolting out of the dugout to argue the call. After the sellout crowd figured out what had happened a responded by tossing beer bottles and other items onto the field causing an 19-minute delay as the grounds crew had to clean up the field. Do we now need replacement umps?

Here is the problems with that call:

1. Pete Kozma was not camped under the ball at its climax and was not under the ball when it fell.

2. The call was too late to be correct. It needs to be called earlier to protect the base runner and let them know what is going on.

3. Is it really the left field ump's call? There is no rule against it yet but when the ball is out that far it is the left fielders' ball and not the shortstops'.

If this call wasn't blown the outcome of the game could be completely different. The Cardinals got lucky when the Braves had three errors of their own allowing them to score. Although the Braves didn't play like a playoff type team, nor did the Cardinals. The Cardinals took advantage of that and had only one solid hit in the entire game. If Drew Storen could throw some more strikes the Cardinals wouldn't be in the position they are in right now. This is all due to the infield fly call heard 'round the world.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Strasburg Shut Down for the Season

The Washington Nationals lead by Davey Johnson decided to shutdown star pitcher Stephen Strasburg for the season. In a game on August 28, he gave up seven runs in five innings in the 9-0 to the Miami Marlins. On Friday, he lasted only three innings throwing 67 pitches, 37 strikes. He gave up five runs on six hits in the loss. Strasburg pitches in 28 game and had a 15-6 record with a 3.16 ERA and 197 strikeouts.

Manager Davey Johnson claimed it was more of a mental reason than a physical reason that Strasburg was shut down early before the postseason.  

NL Rookie of the Year Wide Open

With Bryce Harper slumping, the NL Rookie of the Year award is still wide open. Todd Frasier, Mike Fiers, Anthony Rizzo, and several others are all in the running for the honor. Here is my predictions:

1. Todd Frasier
2. Wilin Rosario
3. Anthony Rizzo
4. Bryce Harper
5. Wade Miley
6. Jordan Pacheco
7. Mike Fiers
8. Andrelton Simmons
9. Zack Cozart
10. Yonder Alonzo

Monday, September 3, 2012

Game Recaps: 9/2/2012

National League:
San Diego Padres 10 at Colorado Rockies 11
DENVER-Four Rockies homered in the series final against the Padres. Chris Nelson hit a three run shot and Jordan Pacheco had two hits in the victory. The Rockies survived the Padres 20 hits.

Arizona Diamondbacks 4 at Los Angeles Dodgers 5
LOS ANGELES-Adrian Gonzalez hit a two out, two run double in the bottom of the ninth to end the Dodgers losing steak of eight.

San Francisco Giants 7 at Chicago Cubs 5
CHICAGO-Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro hit back to back RBI singles in the top of the ninth inning. Matt Cain had a shaky start giving up five runs in five innings.

Pittsburgh Pirates 8 at Milwaukee Brewers 12
MILWAUKEE-Rickie Weeks went 5-for-5 with a home run, one of the five the Brewers hit in the Sunday afternoon game. Yovani Gallardo had a rough start giving up seven runs with 11 hits in 4 and 2/3 innings.

Cincinnati Reds 5 at Houston Astros 3
HOUSTON-The Reds bats finally came alive in the eighth inning after being shutout out by Bud Norris and the Astros. In the five run eighth inning, Jay Bruce hit a three run homer and Chris Heisey and Miguel Cario hit RBI doubles to center field.

St. Louis Cardinals 3 at Washington Nationals 4
WASHINGTON D.C.-Stephen Strasburg threw six scoreless inning while still available and Kurt Suzuki hit a solo home run in the victory.

New York Mets 5 at Miami Marlins 1
MIAMI-Jason Bay hit a grand slam in the first inning against starter Mark Buehrle. Chris Young and four relievers kept the game under control to complete a three-game sweep in Miami.

American League
Baltimore Orioles 8 at New York Yankees 3
BRONX-Mark Reynolds had his second two homer game in the last three days as he lead the Orioles to a victory over the Yankees in the Bronx.

Texas Rangers 8 at Cleveland Indians 3
CLEVELAND-Jurickson Profar hit a solo home run becoming the first player to hit a home run in his first major league at bat for the Rangers. Profar ended up going 2-for-4 in his major league debut. His home run was one of four the Rangers hit in the victory.

Tampa Bay Rays 9 at Toronto Blue Jays 4
TORONTO-David Price threw 6 and 2/3 innings of two run ball for his 17th victory of the season. Ben Francisco went 2-for-4 with a solo home run.

Minnesota Twins 4 at Kansas City Royals 6
KANSAS CITY-Tony Abreu had three hit and three RBIs in the victory over the Twins on Sunday.

Boston Red Sox 2 at Oakland Athletics 6
OAKLAND-Brett Anderson threw six one run innings for his third win of the season as he lead the A's to their ninth victory.

Los Angeles Angels 1 at Seattle Mariners 2
SEATTLE-Hisashi Iwakuma struck out seven in seven and 2/3 innings for hit fourth straight victory, sixth of the season.

Chicago White Sox 2 at Detroit Tigers 4
DETROIT-Justin Verlander struck out 11 over eight innings of work for his 13th win defeating Chris Sale (15-6) and the White Sox. Delmon Young hit a three home run in the victory.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Profar Called Up for Rangers

Jurickson Profar has the opportunity of a lifetime. On Saturday, Ron Washington decided to give everyday shortstop Elvis Andrus some rest and allow top prospect Jurickson Profar a chance to shine. At only 19 years, 194 days, Profar is the third youngest player to every play with the Rangers. The last player to be a teenager with the Rangers was Ivan Rodriguez in 1991.

"It's great to be with these guys," Profar said. "It's special. It was kind of a surprise to me. I was thinking about it a little bit but I wasn't expecting it.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Game Recaps: 9/1/2012

National League
San Diego Padres 1 at Colorado Rockies 9
DENVER-Jhoulys Chacin threw seven innings of on run baseball backed up by Tyler Colvin and Dexter Fowler's home runs as the Rockies beat the Padres 9-1. Edinson Volquez had a shaky start for the Padres as he struggled with his command throughout the game.

Pittsburgh Pirates 2 at Milwaukee Brewers 3
MILWAUKEE-Corey Hart hit a walk off homer in the bottom of the ninth off Joel Hanrahan. Hanrahan is the current saves leader in the National League but hasn't a save opportunity since August 8.

New York Mets 5 at Miami Marlins 3
MIAMI-The Mets rallied in the top of the ninth inning scoring four runs to out-slug the Marlins in this Eastern matchup. Miami's Justin Ruggiano misplayed a bases loaded single allowing the bases to clear. Josh Johnson threw eight innings of one run ball in the loss to the Marlins.

Cincinnati Reds 1 at Houston Astros 2
HOUSTON-If Brandon Phillips wasn't ejected in the eighth, this game might not have turned out in the Astros favor. Wilson Valdez, replacing Phillips, let a routine ground ball go through his legs allowing Matt Downs to score the winning run. With the bases loaded and two outs, if Valdez had fielded the ball cleanly the Reds would have had another chance to bat.

St. Louis Cardinals 10 at Washington Nationals 9
WASHINGTON D.C.-The St. Louis Cardinals battled back in the ninth to score the go ahead run beating the Nationals in the late inning drama. David Freese hit the go ahead single with one out. The real credit belongs to Allen Craig thanks to his steal of second after his lead off single during Freese's at bat.

Philadelphia Phillies 5 at Atlanta Braves 1
ATLANTA-Cliff Lee threw seven innings of shutout, five hit ball while the Phillies offense was highlighted by Jimmy Rollins who went 3-for-5 with a solo homer in the third.

San Francisco Giants 5 at Chicago Cubs 2
CHICAGO-Tim Lincecum earned his eighth win in a down year for the youngster. Xavier Nady, who was recently called up due to the expanding of the rosters, hit a three run double in his first at bat.

Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers-Late

American League
Texas Rangers 3 at Cleveland Indians 4
CLEVELAND-Scott Feldman had a shaky first inning giving up four runs but then retired the next 18 of 20 batters. Carlos Santana hit a two run single in the Tribe's victory.

Minnesota Twins 3 at Kansas City Royals 1 Game One
KANSAS CITY-Cole De Vries threw 6 and 2/3 innings of one run ball in the Twins victory over Kansas City on Saturday.

Minnesota Twins 8 at Kansas City Royals 7 Game Two
KANSAS CITY-Joe Mauer hit his first grand slam since 2009 in the doubleheader sweep over the Royals. Chris Parmalee also hit a three-run home against former first overall pick Luke Hochevar.

Tampa Bay Rays 5 at Toronto Blue Jays 4
TORONTO-Matt Joyce fueled the Rays offense in this Eastern matchup as he hit a solo homer and a two-run double. B.J. Upton helped secure the victory by throwing a strike to home plate from center field in the bottom of the ninth.

Los Angeles Angels 5 at Seattle Mariners 2
SEATTLE-Ervin Santana outdueled All Star pitcher Felix Hernandez in the 5-2 loss in Seattle. Mark Trumbo had a two-run single and Howie Kendrick had an RBI double in the loss.

Chicago White Sox 1 at Detroit Tigers 5
DETROIT-Francisco Liriano struggled with his command for the White Sox giving up seven walks in four plus innings of work. Max Scherzer was outstanding for the Tigers giving up only four hits in this eight inning shutout for his 15th win of the season.

Baltimore Orioles 3 at New York Yankees 4
BRONX-Robinson Cano hit a solo home run in the Yankees win over the Orioles on Saturday.

Boston Red Sox at Oakland Athletics Late

Friday, August 31, 2012

Pacheco Staying Strong with Rockies

Colorado Rockies third baseman Jordan Pacheco exceeded his expectations as a rookie this season and should at least be considered in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Players such as Todd Frasier have been favorites in the 2012 National League Rookie of the Year voting which will take place after the season. Pacheco has proven himself in the Rockies organization but maybe not in the National League. He is currently batting .306 with three homers and 37 RBIs. Although his stats might not prove to many people that this is a top class rookie. When watching Pacheco it appears that he never has a bad game. In 100 games, he has 110 hits but has been consistently having two hit games.

Jordan Pacheco has the ability to hit the ball on the inside half of the plate, up and down, and the ability to hit on the outside part of the plate. This is a player who has the skills to be a future star in the Rockies organization.

Currently, the Rockies are losing to the Padres 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth. Andrew Brown, Wilin Rosario, and Jordan Pacheco homered in the Friday night matchup.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Live: Giants Take Lead After One

The San Francisco Giants have taken a 1-0 lead against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are a half game behind the Giants in the NL West. Angel Pagan smashed a double leading off the game followed by former Rockie Marco Scutaro's bunt down the first base line advancing the runner to third. Pablo Sandoval followed by hitting a fly ball to left fielder Shane Victorino scoring Pagan on the sac fly. Clayton Kershaw struck out Buster Posey on three pitches to finish the inning. Stay tuned for more live updates on this game.

Pacheco Making a Difference at Third

Jordan Pacheco began the year looking to be the Rockies third catcher and maybe a backup third and first basemen from time to time. The Rockies sent him to Triple-A in mid-April to get some practice at third thinking he could audition for the role of the everyday third basemen the Rockies needed. They called Pacheco up in early May and stuck him in at third base. Pacheco has now started 77 times there, and Rockies manager Jim Tracy plans to keep him there.

Pacheco's defensive skills have improved along with his offensive skills. The rookie has played 90 games batting .312 (99-for-317) with 20 doubles, three triples, two home runs, and 33 RBIs. His ability to extend his hands and hit for power along with the inside jammed shots that can drop for a base hit, has made Pacheco an everyday player for the Rockies.

Yesterday afternoon, Jordan Pacheco went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.

"He's making plays now that you go back four and a half months ago, as soon as the ball came off the bat you're saying to yourself 'That's trouble. They've got a base runner,'" manager Jim Tracy said.




Sunday, August 19, 2012

Blackmon is Back!

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon has finally returned to the Rockies after his foot injury from last year. Unfortunately, Blackmon will be up in the majors for only a few games due to the return of Carlos Gonzalez. Gonzalez's grandmother passed away on Friday so he has taken a few days off to visit Venezuela for a minimum of three days but no more than seven. He will attend a funeral and will technically be available on Tuesday.

Blackmon will have trouble finding a spot in the outfield due to the big outfield roster the Rockies have this year. During the offseason, the Rockies picked up Michael Cuddyer and Tyler Colvin. Their regular outfield consisted of Cuddyer, Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler but with Cuddyer on the DL, Tyler Colvin and Eric Young Jr. have taken over. The outfield has been full for the Rockies not allowing many outfield prospects to move up into the majors. Matt McBride and Andrew Brown were the only two who were called up this season. They played outfield only once while playing first three times each. Andrew Brown is now back in the big leagues taking over for Cuddyer as he has returned to the DL.

Charlie Blackmon was in the majors last year playing 27 games while batting .255. Blackmon injured his right foot rounding second base costing him to the rest of the season and the beginning of the 2012 season. He was able to return to short season Tri-Cities rehabbing then was promoted to Triple-A where he hit .303 with 18 doubles, four triples, five homers and 34 RBIs.

It is great to see Blackmon up in the majors again even if he will only be up for a short time.