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Dealing To The Dish: American League 6.18.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Injuries, MLB, News,
The following interleague games will be played in an American League Ballpark.
Arizona Diamondbacks @ Texas Rangers
E. Gonzalez (2-0, 1.64) vs. K. Loe (3-6, 5.57)
- Gonzalez has been a nice surprise for the N.L. West contending Diamondbacks, but it’ll be tough to keep that ERA down against the Rangers who not only have Michael Young, Mark Teixiera, and Hank Blalock as the de riguer threats, but Brad Wilkerson, Gary Matthews, Jr., and Ian Kinsler have been turning it up lately.
San Diego Padres @ Los Angeles Angels
C. Park (4-3, 4.15) vs. B. Colon (0-2, 7.07)
- Colon makes his first start coming off the DL after a two-month stint. He probably couldn’t have asked for a better team to pitch against considering that there is no real power threat on the Padres. All respect due to Brian Giles, Mike Cameron, and Mike Piazza, but they’re getting a bit long in the tooth. And a sad farewell to Jered Weaver who was optioned down to the minors to make room for Colon. Trust me, Weaver will be back up at some point and with more seasoning in the minors could actually be better when he returns to the big show.
Los Angeles Dodgers @ Oakland Athletics
A. Sele (3-1, 2.32) vs. J. Blanton (6-6, 5.04)
- I personally love to watch Blanton pitch. He’s quick, he doesn’t waste time between pitches and tries to dictate his tempo and get the hitter out of his rhythm. I bet the guys on the field with Blanton must love that he doesn’t waste time. For the season, Blanton has been inconsistent, but as last season showed, he can get on a very good roll for a very long time. Just wait for it.
San Francisco Giants @ Seattle Mariners
J. Wright (5-6, 4.48) vs. J. Moyer (3-6, 3.80)
- Moyer just keeps on doing his thing. The 137-year-old has been pitching well for the most part, but just has been playing with, generally speaking, a disappointing offense. The Giants continue to dwell in the cell, but still get a lot of coverage because of Barry Bonds and his chase to be the all-time homerun king. Have you seen Bonds out in the field? He makes Moyer look like a spry 20-year-old. Bonds is hurting and I just don’t think he’ll pass Hammerin’ Hank Aaron.
Enjoy the games! To all the fathers out there like me – HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
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Dealing To The Dish: National League 6.18.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Injuries, MLB, News,
The following interleague games will be played on National League turf.
New York Yankees @ Washington Nationals
C. Wang (7-2, 4.15) vs. M. O’Connor (3-4, 3.70)
- The Nationals may not go anywhere as far as the playoffs go, thanks to a very strong New York Mets team, but at least they’re playing better than the Atlanta Braves. Plus, yesterday’s 11-9 come-from-behind win over the New York Yankees must have been sweet, especially for former Yankees, Alfonso Soriano and Nick Johnson. Wang has once again displayed that magic he had last season… okay, maybe not magic per se, but he is still surprising me that he’s doing as well as he is.
Toronto Blue Jays @ Florida Marlins
R. Halladay (8-1, 2.75) vs. J. Johnson (5-4, 2.05)
- This should be a good pitching duel. We have the old gunslinger, Doc Halladay, versus the new kid in town, Josh Johnson. Halladay, of course, has excellent stuff and will face a group of relatively unknown hitters, save Miguel Cabrera. Meanwhile, Johnson will deal to the likes of Vernon Wells, Troy Glaus, Alexis Rios, and Shea Hillenbrand. It should be noted that the Marlins have won seven in a row and are actually looking to sweep the Jays with a win this afternoon. Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season.
Baltimore Orioles @ New York Mets
A. Loewen (0-1, 7.84) vs. T. Glavine (9-2, 3.31)
- Certainly the Orioles starter yesterday, Kris Benson, must have loved beating his old team. And, he even hit a homer off of Pedro Martinez. However, I’ll tell you who loved the win more – Anna Benson, Kris’ wife. She is notorious for being a bloviator (don’t think dirty, kids, it’s basically it’s someone who talks a lot of crap) and allegedly ran her welcome out so much, the Mets had to trade Kris Benson. Here is another matchup of the vet versus the rook. However, Loewen hasn’t had the time up in the majors as the Marlins’ Johnson has, but hasn’t looked good thus far. Glavine on the other hand has looked like he did in the second half of last season when he absolutely killed it.
Click to continue reading Dealing To The Dish: National League 6.18.06
The following interleague games will be played on American League grass.
San Diego Padres @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
J. Peavy (4-7, 4.96) vs. E. Santana (6-3, 4.29)
- What’s happened to Peavy lately? He doesn’t look like a Cy Young caliber pitcher at all, but should be able to turn it around because he’s just too good. Speaking of too good, Santana has been the opposite of Peavy in recent starts. In fact, he’s shown enough to be tradeable. Could Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays be westward bound?
San Francisco Giants @ Seattle Mariners
J. Schmidt (6-2, 2.46) vs. G. Meche (6-4, 4.46)
Schmidt has shown himself to be a bulldog this season and reminding us of his 2004 season when he went 18-7, 3.20 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, .202 BAA, and 251 K in 225.0 IP. Meche has been a perennial Mr. Potential, but never getting the results consistently for a whole season as he flashes dominance on the rare occassion, but for the most part, eh, not so much.
Arizona Diamondbacks @ Texas Rangers
K. Jarvis (0-0, 9.95) vs. J. Koronka (4-4, 5.11)
The Rangers made Cy Young candidate, Brandon Webb, look bad last night. The main culprit of doing that was OF Brad Wilkerson who went 3-for-4, including a homer, a double for 3 RBI, plus had a stolen base. Wilkerson has been inconsistent and still hasn’t found his stride, but he’s getting there, and I believe he will get there.
Los Angeles Dodgers @ Oakland Athletics
D. Lowe (5-3, 2.83) vs. K. Saarloos (3-4, 4.82)
The N.L. West leading Dodgers match up for the second game of a three game series with the hot Oakland Athletics. The A’s have won eight in a row and look to be starting their second half surge a little earlier than usual. Derek Lowe has only given up six runs in his last five appearances, going 4-0 in that span.
Enjoy the games!
The following games take place on National League ground:
Boston Red Sox @ Atlanta Braves
J. Beckett (7-3, 5.26) vs. L. Cormier (2-1, 6.10)
- Beckett tries to get it going again pitching back in the National League where he used to make batters look silly and won a World Series with the Florida Marlins in 2003. Beckett will deal to a familiar opponent in the Braves who are playing well below .500 ball thus far this season.
New York Yankees @ Washington Nationals
S. Chacón (4-1, 5.23) vs. R. Ortiz (5-5, 4.88)
- The Yankees won last night’s contest, but former Yankee, Alfonso Soriano got to hit one out off of Jaret Wright in the bottom of the third frame, but of course, it didn’t matter since the Yankees won 7-5 last night, scoring two runs in the final frame to take the contest.
Detroit Tigers @ Chicago Cubs
J. Verlander (7-4, 3.32) vs. C. Marmol (1-0, 0.90)
- Verlander has shown himself to be more than ready for this league, after being the Tigers top pitching prospect in the minors. This Marmol guy just started pitching for the big club, being a reliever in two games, and a starter just recently against the Cincinnati Reds, going six innings with 7 Ks and giving up only one run.
Toronto Blue Jays @ Florida Marlins
C. Janssen (5-4, 3.66) vs. B. Moehler (4-5, 6.68)
- Janssen has been a nice surprise for the Jays. He is part of the reason the team is actually contending in the A.L. East, home of the Yankees and Red Sox. OF Alexis Rios is finally living up to his potential. The Marlins have won seven in a row, including a 3-1 win last night against the Jays.
Click to continue reading Dealing To The Dish: National League 6.17.06
It’s baaaack. I’m talking about interleague games and whether you love it or hate it, interleague play is here to stay. Personally, I love it, but it may also be because I live in New York and am squarely right in the middle of the Yankees/Mets rivalry since I have friends that are hardcore fans for each respective team. Special shout out to Chris Sannella (Mets) and Maria Corpuz (Yankees). Personally, I like both teams… a rare thing to do in this town, I know, but I will say I’ve been a fan of the Yankees longer thanks to being born in the early 70’s and growing up with chants of “Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!” Not a bad candy bar, either.
Here’s today’s games, starting with a traditional afternoon game at Wrigley.
Detroit Tigers @ Chicago Cubs
N. Robertson (6-3, 3.50) vs. G. Rusch (2-6, 7.29)
- The surprising A.L. Central leading Tigers take their game over to the N.L. to see if the magic can continue on the other side.
Tampa Bay Devils @ Philadelphia Phillies
J. Shields (2-0, 2.65) vs. C. Hamels (1-1, 3.68)
- The battle of the rookie pitchers should end up with the hitters winning considering the cigar box at Philly.
Minnesota Twins @ Pittsburgh Pirates
F. Liriano (5-1, 2.10) vs. I. Snell (7-3, 4.75)
- Liriano is shaping up to be another dominant lefty for the Twinkies. The other one is that guy named Johan Santana.
Click to continue reading Dealing To The Dish: 6.16.06
OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Joe Blanton threw a five-hit shutout against the Seattle Mariners, which was his second such game in his last three starts. In between, he had a poor start against Cleveland, allowing six ER in 5 innings. Blanton has been inconsistent all season and expect that to continue unless he can get his K/9 from its current 4.59 to the 6.5 area.
Frank Thomas has been placed on the 15-day DL with a strained quad. The timing is perfect for him to rest because starting on Monday, the A’s will play nine straight games in NL parks.
Keep an eye on Bobby Crosby. If he can get over the multiple minor injuries that have plagued him all year, he could be in for a good second half. When healthy he is capable of putting up better power numbers then he has so far this season.
Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. West
To Hit Or Not To Hit? Ozzie Guillen Has The Answer And You’d Better Listen
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Editorial, MLB,
Throwing at a batter - justified or not? Whichever side you’re on, the unwritten rule in baseball is, if you’re a pitcher, and someone from the other team throws at or hits one of the hitters on your team, the next time you take the hill, you have to retaliate at the other team and throw at one of their hitters.
Last night, two pitchers were put in this situation, which one followed through with and the other didn’t.
After his catcher, Jorge Posada got plunked in the bottom of the sixth inning, New York Yankees SP Randy Johnson came out in the top of the 7th and with one out, threw way inside to Cleveland Indians 1B Eduardo Perez, prompting the homeplate umpire to eject Johnson and manager Joe Torre after a warning was given to both clubs when Posada was hit.
And the other pitcher? Well, he didn’t fare as well.
Click to continue reading To Hit Or Not To Hit? Ozzie Guillen Has The Answer And You’d Better Listen
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Bobby Jenks has converted 18 of 19 save opportunities and is now among the elite of closers in baseball. He has the perfect skill set of high strikeouts, low walks, an ability to induce groundballs and the guile to close games in extreme pressure situations, like last year’s World Series.
Javier Vazquez is putting together a quality season with a 7-3 record, 7.2 K/9 and a 2.1 BB/9. His bullpen has let him down a few times or his 4.19 ERA could be lower. Add in that he is capable of striking out more batters and he could be in for a nice rest of the season.
Freddy Garcia is going through a rough stretch. In his last four starts, he is sporting an ugly 8.10 ERA, while giving up 10 home runs. He should be able to tame the home runs. Garcia bounced back from a poor start to put up a string of good outings before hitting this rough patch. Given that and his track record, it might be a good idea to try and pry him loose from a disgruntled owner.
Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. Central
Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 6.13.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, MLB, NBA, Playoffs, Scoreboard,
NBA FINALS: Everyone is asking - Can Shaquille O’Neal hack it anymore? Naturally, coming off a five point performance will have people questioning Shaq’s ability, but C’MON! This is Shaq we’re talking about here. Is he dominating like he did in seasons past? Of course not. But, he’s still a force in the blocks and considering he only took five total shots from the field, someone needs to remind him. Well, I know this much, you can question O’Neal’s ability all you want because essentially, I think we all know better. But, once you start questioning his heart, the big lug has too much pride to not get the last laugh.
*Game Three happens down in the sunny shores and beautiful views (models and all) of Miami. This is a critical game for the Heat because a Boston Red Sox style comeback from a 3-0 deficit is a rare thing. It’s as rare as Rachel McAdams going out on a date with me… maybe, just maybe if I can get her inebriated enough, she’ll say yes. Of course, when sobriety kicks in, she’ll have no idea, but at least I’d know. ANYWAY, the Heat cannot afford to lose because the Dallas Mavericks would have all the momentum going in their favor. Excuse me, even more momentum in their favor. It seems like they can’t miss. The Heat need to put a stop to that and feeding O’Neal down in the post seems to be a good remedy to get it started.
MLB: Is Roger Clemens kidding? In six innings of work, the Rocket only allowed two hits and struck out 11 in his second rehab start with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. Unreal. Clemens is on schedule to make his MLB debut on June 22 against the Minnesota Twins.
*Two of the hottest teams right now (both winning eight of their last 10 games) are the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners, A.L. West rivals and combatants that start a three game set tonight in Oak-Town. Since the A.L. West always ends up being a close race down to the end, this series could be an important one for both clubs in determining their fates. Jamie Moyer takes the hill for the Mariners, while Joe Blanton takes the mound for the A’s.
*The old-timers, Tom Glavine of the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox’s Curt Schilling go for their tenth wins tonight and continue to lead their respective leagues in wins. Glavine will deal to the potentially dangerous Philadelphia Phillies batting order in Philly and Schilling faces the Minnesota Twinkies led by the hot-hitting Joe Mauer. Will experience win and youth be served? Or will the youngsters make Glavine and Schilling look like old men.
*Speaking of youth, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Jered Weaver makes his fourth start, looking to stay undefeated and go 4-0. Weaver has been every bit as good as most people projected him to be with a 3-0 record, 1.86 ERA, .162 BAA, 17 K versus 3 BB in 19.1 IP. There’s a very good possibility the young Weaver will bump the old weaver, older brother Jeff, from the Angels’ rotation when ace Bartolo Colon comes off the DL. I hope Jeff likes the bullpen.
Enjoy the games!
TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS
Despite some talk of playing right field or first base, Rocco Baldelli has returned to center field.
The Rays sent down struggling starting pitcher Doug Waechter and replaced him with Jamie Shields. The early returns on Shields have been good, 3 starts, 2-0, 2.65 ERA, 16 K’s and just 6 walks in 17 IP. He was very impressive in Triple-A prior to his recall and could be worth a shot in AL-only leagues.
Aubrey Huff is really struggling with a .185 batting average. He is still making good contact and his batting eye is above average, which gives hope for a rebound.
Click to continue reading American League Fantasy Notes: A.L. East
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