All Entries Tagged With: "AL"
Jacoby Ellsbury Sets A New Red Sox SB Record
On Tuesday, August 25th, “the human spark plug”, Jacoby Ellsbury made Red Sox history by stealing third base for his 55th stolen base of the season. The previous mark was set by former first base coach Tommy Harper who had secured the record over the past 35 years, but he knew Ellsbury was going to [...]
Blue Jays Reflections: Playing for Next Year?
Hi all. Time for our monthly look in from north of the border. Actually, it is well past time. Sorry, I’ve been on holiday and then I tried to catch up on everything that wasn’t being done over the holiday. And I’m lazy. But I digress.
What has happened in the world of the Jays in [...]
Royals Are Laughingstocks Once More
When Dayton Moore was hired as general manager and David Glass decided it was okay to spend a little money, most of us were sure that the Royals were on the road back to respectability.
Bolstered by a better than it really was September, the Royals won more games in 2008 than they had since 2003 [...]
Thoughts On The Trade Deadline: The Angels
Another trade deadline passed, another swirl of rumors connecting the Angels to nearly every premium player out there, and disappointingly but not unexpectedly – another stretch run in which the Angels have decided to sit on their hands and stand pat.
Last year’s acquisition of Mark Teixiera not withstanding, the Angels have been quiet more [...]
Four Burning Questions Facing The Baltimore Orioles
As the Baltimore Orioles complete another disappointing season and prepare for 2010, there are 4 key questions that team president Andy MacPhail must answer.
Can The O’s Contend in 2010?
Before any other decisions about the team’s future can be addressed, MacPhail and the Baltimore front office must assess the team and realistically determine if they [...]
The Rangers Still Have Hope For A Playoff Chance
The Texas Rangers have traditionally had a rough time with the second half of the season, but this season seems to be a little different. While they are winners of 7 out of 10 games, they do have hit a bump in the road with the AL-worst Oakland Athletics. The Rangers were quiet during the [...]
Yankees Heat Up in July – but Still Freeze Up Against Angels
The Yankees went 18-9 in July, with a phenomenal 13-3 home record. But the month wasn’t all fireworks and picnics for the Bombers, who ended the month in first place.
The Yanks started the month in the midst of a seven-game winning streak. Then they had their usual hellish games against the Los Angeles Angels of [...]
McClendon Not the Problem with Tigers Offense
In case you missed it, Kurt Menshing over at Mack Avenue Tigers examined the thought that many (myself included) have had that Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon should be fired.
When you take a peek at the poor offensive statistics that the Tigers have posted as a team this year, it would easy to have the [...]
A Look at the Red Sox Minor League Catchers 2009
With Jason Varitek not getting any younger, George Kottaras not looking like a # 1 starting catcher and not having much confidence in newly acquired Victor Martinez as a longtime solution ( I see him at 1B once Lowell’s contract is up), I decided to look into the Red Sox minor league system for a [...]
The Current Mindset of the Rays
It’s hard to believe that in this decade, Tampa Bay major sports franchises have been to the Super Bowl, the World Series, and the Stanley Cup Finals. Not bad for a city that has, at other times, been synonymous with horrendous teams (the Buccaneers before this decade, and the Rays before last season).
What [...]
Baltimore Orioles Need To Provide Young Pitchers With Offensive Support
The Baltimore Orioles couldn’t ask for much more from rookie hurler Brad Bergesen than what he has given them in his first 18 major league starts, but the right-hander sure should expect more from his teammates than what they have given back to him.
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
It is inevitable that every season each [...]
Reflections on the Mariners in July
It’s been 10 days since the All-Star break, the Mariners have been 5-3; 51-45 overall, 25-19 at home, and .500 on the road. The momentum is good. Since the All-Star break Felix Hernandez won his 50th game, becoming the 15th-youngest to reach that mark since 1919. The Mariners won the series against Detroit. Ryan Rowland-Smith [...]
A Royal Thirty Days of Stink
There were once high hopes for the Kansas City Royals, but no longer. While the problems plaguing the Royals began even as they raced out of the 2009 starting gate to an 18-11 record and three game Central Division lead, the last thirty days provide a perfect illustration of the state of this franchise.
[...]
Yesterday, Buehrle Was Perfect!
Image via Wikipedia
Mark Buehrle led the White Sox to victory in grand fashion today, by tossing a perfect game, and his second career no-hitter. His first came on April 18th, 2007, also at U.S. Comiscular Field. This is only the 18th perfect game in MLB history, Randy Johnson being the last to do so in [...]
Boston Adds a Bat
The Red Sox have aquired a new left handed bat and insurance if 3B Mike Lowell needs to miss any time in the second half. This will be an upgrade over Jeff Bailey, Adam Bates and even Mark Kotsay (who can still play in the OF). Here is what Boston’s sports talk radio station WEEI, [...]
2009 Yankees: (Almost as) easy as pie
It’s not just a new stadium for the Yankees this year. It’s a new team atmosphere.
In recent years, the Yanks have acted more like ultra-serious businessmen than giddy schoolboys. But the corporate era is over with the club this season, thanks to spirited new teammates like A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia and Nick Swisher.
This newfound camaraderie [...]
Red Sox Trade Bait & Prospects
Sometimes you can improve your team by way of addition by subtraction. This year’s Red Sox are in this situation in 2009. We have a great bullpen and an excess of starting pitching and more real glaring needs except for a little more power off the bench. To get to that you need to either [...]
Tigers Still looking for Bats
Image by mwlguide via Flickr
As the All-Star break draws near, many teams around the league are looking for upgrades. Your Motor City Kitties are no exception. The Tigers need for a another bat has been well chronicled, and many names have been tossed around the blogosphere. Unfortunately, the Tigers failed to pounce on the one [...]
The Rangers Struggled in June
“The Rangers have lost the lead in the AL West with the Angels taking the spot that they have been so familiar with over the last four years. Texas has lost steam, but ironically, the pitching has kept them afloat and the offense has let them down. The Rangers have finished the past two seasons [...]
Baltimore Orioles Midseason Report: Seeing Past the Ugliness
From the very beginning, the goal of the 2009 season for the Baltimore Orioles has been to be respectable on the field while continuing behind the scenes to develop the pieces needed to eventually lead the Orioles back to contention in the American League East.
With the season now three months old and nearing the [...]
June Reflections on the Blue Jays
When my partner in crime, Tom, penned his last epistle about our beloved azure corvidae, things were just going great in the Queen City. He mentioned how much he was enjoying the season thus far, and confided that he wasn’t sure how long the Jays could keep it up. The answer – not long. Almost [...]
Royals Showcase Textbook Bad Baseball
When I last reported on the Royals, the team was sitting just one game out of first place in the American League Central with a respectable 20-18 record. Sure, Kansas City had dropped seven of their last nine games to get to that mark, but all was still well in the land of blue. [...]
Why The Trade Deadline May Be Disappointing For Tigers Fans
With just about six weeks remaining until the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline the Detroit Tigers find themselves in first place in the AL Central, albeit with some gaping holes in their roster. Through ineffectiveness or injury the Tigers are struggling to fill the bottom two spots in the starting rotation, are platooning various youngsters in the outfield [...]
Oakland Still Sitting In Last Place
Although they were originally looked at as the number one contender to knock off the two time reigning American League West champions, the Oakland Athletics find themselves ten games under .500 and in last place in the division.
General Manager Billy Beane deviated from his usual plan this past offseason by adding [...]
Detroit Tigers June Splits
Every season is a different season, however there are trends in baseball. So today we’ll take a look at the career split stats for the current group of Detroit Tigers for the month of June and see at least on some level, what we might expect.
Let’s start with the hitters. As you would expect Magglio [...]
Will The Baltimore Orioles Have To Trade Aubrey Huff?
Baltimore Orioles team president Andy MacPhail made the right call in his decisions to trade Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada and to keep Brian Roberts. He could soon get another test as he must decide whether to keep or trade free agent-to be Aubrey Huff.
There is no question that Huff is a valuable member of [...]
What’s Wrong With Josh Hamilton?
The Texas Rangers are 30-19 after 49 contests, leading the Angels in the AL West by 5.5 games after play on Saturday. The Rangers’ quick start can be attributed to their potent offense, which ranks fifth in the majors, scoring 5.44 runs per game.
Ian Kinsler, Michael Young and Nelson Cruz have led the way for [...]
Matt Wieters Scheduled to Join the Baltimore Orioles on Friday
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
The wait is over. In an interview with Gary Thorne and Buck Martinez during Tuesday night’s game between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays, Orioles President Andy MacPhail announced that top prospect Matt Wieters will be making his major league debut on Friday, May 29, when the Detroit Tigers [...]
Dontrelle Willis Needed This!
He needed to step onto that mound at Comerica Park and feel the evening sun shine upon him, the clouds in retreat, the swirling winds at bay. He needed to kick his right leg high into the air and bring his left arm across his body in perfect plane as the baseball left his fingertips [...]
The Rays After 40 Games
The 2009 Tampa Bay Rays played their fortieth game of the season on Monday, May 18th and in so doing got themselves back to the .500 mark at 20-20. But at this point, things that went right in 2008 so far have not in 2009, and the Rays find themselves in fourth place in [...]
