All Entries Tagged With: "NL"

Manny Returns to the Dodger Lineup

Manny Ramirez returns to the Dodgers’ lineup tomorrow not as a pariah, but as a prodigal son. All has been foriven after his 50-game exile for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs when he takes the field for the Dodgers in San Diego.

Mannywood, otherwise known as the left-field bleachers, will be back and open for business as a Dodger marketing tool — as National Sports Examiner Paula Duffy notes.

Dodger owner…

The Cardinals, On The Run and the Number 6

In Cardinal Nation, we know that six is a serious number.  The local On The Run Mobile gas stations have had a promotion the past few years that, if the Cardinals scored six runs or more in a game, the next day fountain drinks, coffee, etc. was only a quarter at their stores.  This year, they’ve taken it to new heights with a commercial that, for better or for worse, has been…

The Pendulum Continues To Swing in St. Louis

Joe Morgan would have put the Cardinals on his bad list in June, because they’ve been pretty inconsistent during the month.  A pitching staff that is lit up against the Rockies early in the month settles down to some better pitched games, with hiccups along the way.  An offense maligned as inept is able to put up four double digit scores in 10 games.  What, exactly, are the Cardinals, besides…

Ryan Hanigan: From Rollins College to the Cincinnati Reds

When the Rollins College baseball team hosted the Cincinnati Reds for a spring training exhibition in 2001, no one could have anticipated that one of the Tars would some day be living the big-league dream as a key member of the Reds. But fast-forward ahead eight years and sure enough in 2009 former Rollins standout Ryan Hanigan is making a huge impact behind the plate for the resurgent Reds.

Hanigan’s road to the majors…

Dodgers Looking Great with 2/3 of the Season to Go

Editor’s Note: Due to my being on vacation, Jim’s article that he wrote on June 5th below has been posted just now.

Image via Wikipedia

According to Chris at Dodgerfan.net, the Dodgers are the favorite in Las Vegas to win the World Series, with odds at Mandalay Bay at 7-2.

But now, with one-third of the season under the belt, it’s a good time to examine just where the Dodgers stand. As of the…

Pirates will remain sellers as deadline approaches

After suffering through 16 consecutive losing seasons, many Pirate fans wonder how any team’s management could be more inept; how any team’s ownership could be more stingy.  And who could blame them?  The streak of sub-.500 finishes will soon be historic.

The sudden and unexpected trade of All-Star outfielder Nate McLouth on June 3 was viewed by many as a microcosm of the past decade and…

Despite Ailments, Streaking Mets Keep NL East Tight

Really? Come on. If this is a surprise then the last few years must be a bit fuzzy to the memory. What has become an annual drama-filled, slug-fest between the New York Mets and bitter rival Philadelphia Phillies has come to fruition once again this season as the two teams remain inseparable atop the National League East. As of the morning of June 1, the Mets are just a half game behind the…

Reds at 50 (well, 48)

The Reds sit at 26-22 on the last day of May, just 2.5 games out of first place.  This should be a familiar record for the Reds this season.  With their brand of strong starting pitching, team speed, and improved defense, this team will be between three and seven games over .500 for most of the season.  The big question will be how they handle the pressure of September.  Trading…

The Cubs Are Slumping and on the DL

Over the course of a 162 game season, even the best teams have slumps. Particularly in this era of relatively balanced competition even the perennial division winners – teams like the Red Sox, Cardinals, and Angels – run into rough stretches. But the 2009 Chicago Cubs are currently enduring a slump that even the worst teams have to avoid staring directly at. The Cubs current play makes me wonder not when…

Hanley Ramirez: Is He the Best Shortstop in Baseball?

Playing for the Florida Marlins is about as close as Major League Baseball can come to having a site in the witness protection program, but even toiling away in anonymity, shortstop Hanley Ramirez is turning heads and creating a name for himself as one of the best young players in the game.

A year after becoming only the fourth shortstop ever to join the 30-30 club, the 2006 National League Rookie of the Year…

The Cardinals Flip Flop in May

I don’t watch horror or suspense movies. I’m not big on being scared or losing control of bodily functions. So I can’t say that this season for St. Louis has been like one of those movies from personal experience, but knowing the general formula for a movie of that type, the analogy seems to fit.

After a promising April, which saw the Cardinals sit at 16-7 and…

Interleague Play Q&A

Back on December 8, 2008 I posted a 10 question interview session that I conducted with 6 other baseball bloggers about their thoughts concerning Interleague play.

With the first Interleague series of the year going this weekend I thought it would be a good time to post this link to it for your amusement! Enjoy!

http://baseballreflections.com/2008/12/08/an-interview-of-baseball-bloggers-on-interleague-play/

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Phillies Fans It Is Not Time To Panic

If you have been watching the Phillies lately you may be wondering just where exactly DID the offense go? Or you may be wondering how it is possible that Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were a combined 0-22 with 12 strikeouts in their series with the Dodgers this past week. This is a very tough concept to grasp after what the team showed last season.

Scoring only 24 runs in their most recent home…

What’s Wrong With Jimmy Rollins?

Image by Tom Mihalek/AP of SS Jimmy Rollins

Several top sluggers have struggled through the first month and a half of the season.

Grady Sizemore is batting .220, but has 7 bombs and 6 steals. Mark Teixeira is batting a paltry .238 in Yankee pinstripes, but remains on pace for 39 HR. Lance Berkman has battled just to stay above the Mendoza line, despite blasting 8 dingers thus far.

Jimmy Rollins, on the other hand, is…

For the Nats, April was Forgettable

For the Washington Nationals, April 2009 was a month to forget.

March was a bad sign of things to come. The club opened camp with the revelation that the future of the franchise, 19-year-old Esmailyn Gonzalez, was in fact 24-year-old Carlos Alverez Daniel Lugo. A resulting scandal broke out, the FBI got involved, and before you knew it, the Nats started the season without their General Manager and already on the…

April’s Top 9 Hitters By Position

Here’s a look at the top players per position for the month of April. We have included the top 3 outfielders rather than list them by LF, CF & RF. Admittedly this is a little late and next month I’ll try to get this to you quicker, but for now, I hope you enjoy this look back into April’s hot starters.

The top hitting catcher was Indian’s Victor Martinez after an injury…

Brewers Solid Through 32 Games

At 18-14, and having won 16 of their last 21 games, the Milwaukee Brewers are quickly making their fans forget about their 3-8 start and have them thinking more about a return trip to the post-season.

Brewers Ace Yovani Gallardo

While it shouldn’t be overlooked that this team is 11-12 against teams above .500 and is 5-0 against Pittsburgh, the schedule is not their problem. What was considered a problem in the off-season…

New Bullpen, New Ballpark, New York Mets

The boys who used to play in Shea finally figured it out it seems. Fix the back-end of your bullpen, shorten the games to accommodate an under-performing starting rotation and find yourself leading a mildly competitive National League East. Mix all of these factors, shaken, not stirred, in a margarita shaker, along with the Mets playing in a pitcher friendly ballpark and you have a team riding a seven-game winning…

The Giants Road Struggles

The Giants road struggles have little to do with the road.

The Giants are struggling on the road this year, just 2-8 entering Tuesday’s game in Chicago. So the easy excuse is to blame the ivy on the brick walls of Wrigley field for being out of bloom, or the cavernous alleyways of Petco Park. Even the Dodgers supreme dominance at Chavez Ravine has masked the real culprit, just look at…

Diamondbacks Fire Manager Bob Melvin

Bob Melvin has been fired as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks and replaced by A.J. Hinch, the club’s director of player development since 2006.

Melvin was a good guy and a great interview. What he did with the 2007 Diamondbacks was incredible, leading that team to the best record in the National League despite fielding a team that scored 20 fewer runs than it allowed. Unfortunately, that success created unrealistic expectations for 2008…

Arizona Wants Ex-Diamondbacks Back

On Sunday, Randy Johnson no-hit his old team through six innings, finishing with seven strikeouts and just three baserunners allowed through seven frames.

Adding to the insult, the Big Unit erased both of the runners he let on base via free passes, picking off Chris Young and inducing pinch-hitter Mark Reynolds into an inning-ending double play.

Sadly, if Diamondbacks fans were to look objectively at RJ’s three starts this year (1-2 6.32), they would…

The Cardinals: Two Weeks in April

While it’s not been the Dickensonian “best of times, worst of times” for the St. Louis Cardinals so far this season, 2009 has already had plenty of high points and low points in the first two weeks.  The Cardinals sit in a virtual tie for first with the hated Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, but have lost two of three going into what became a two-day break due to a Sunday…

Reds Looking for Results in 2009

After spending the last few years rebuilding their minor league system, the Cincinnati Reds are ready to reap some of the rewards for their efforts in 2009.

Though Cincinnati has not posted a winning record since the 2000 season, there is a renewed sense of optimism in 2009 that the decade of disappointment may finally be over.

While early season performance is rarely an accurate measurement for how a team will perform over…

Atlanta Braves Looking for Rebound Season in 2009

Following their worst season since Bobby Cox became the manager in 1990, all signs point to the Atlanta Braves returning to their typical spot near the top of the National League East in 2009.

Rather than signing high profile free agents, the Braves have made strategic additions designed to solidify the weaknesses exposed during their 72-90 campaign of a year ago.

The Braves 2009 pitching staff will never be confused with their dominant rotations of…