Friday, April 20, 2007

*Update* A-Rod for MVP's looking pretty realistic about now, isn't it?

A-Rod's now hit an unprecedented 10 homeruns in his team's first fourteen games, two of which have been walk-off shots. And in the Bronx, I have a feeling people are beginning to dig those #13 jerseys out of the back of their closets. I'm rather fond of this article by ESPN columnist Gene Wojciechowski, which states "[The New York Yankees] are being carried on the previously fragile shoulders of Rodriguez, who is shoving Barry Bonds, Dice-K, the Philadelphia Phillies Phree-fall -- and anyone else to temporary baseball irrelevancy." My favorite part of the ariticle was this side-bar (thanks to Screengrab! for allowing me to capture it), which shows just how offensively potent A-Rod is compared other entire lineups in the major leagues. I know, I know, I'm prattling on about a Yankee, but c'mon! This is unreal, and I've always said I'm a baseball fan first and a Red Sox fan second. Good for A-Rod for shoving it right in the faces of all those doubting fans, and let's hope that he decides to opt of his contract and take over for Mike Lowell in Boston's hot corner next season. ;-)
Source: ESPN.com - COLUMNIST - Wojciechowskie: 'A-Rod Gone Wild!'

Monday, April 16, 2007

Sox wrap up Angels series in style

Though the four-game series is technically not over until the two teams make up the game that was rained out yesterday, the Red Sox still managed to defeat the Angels in three games this weekend, scoring 25 runs to LA's three. Today's 7-2 win put the icing on the cake, capping off the series with a homerun for David Ortiz and some nice defense from Julio Lugo, who made perhaps the best play of the young season for Boston when he made this sliding catch in center field. The Angels are hardly the worst team in the league, and the offensive breakout of the Sox (coupled with the slew of injuries in the New York's already-weak starting rotation) gives more evidence of the fact that the Sox are the team to beat in the league this season.

MLB Preview '07: MVP Surprise Favorites

In lieu of doing the typical MVP favorites piece filled with names like Pujols, Ortiz, Jeter, and Ryan (who are all but guaranteed to show up on the MVP top ten this year), I've opted instead to choose five players from each league who may not be the first to come to mind when the topic of Most Valuable Player is brought up, but who I'm projecting to fill just that role for their teams and possibly make a run at the title.

American League:

1. 3B Alex Rodriguez (Yankees): Okay, so A-Rod wouldn't be a huge surprise to take the MVP, considering he won the award just two years ago for the second time in his illustrious career. But Rodriguez struggled defensively last season and was weak enough at the plate to see a drop to number eight in the batting order during the 2006 post-season, making him prime for a big come back in 2007. This also may be his last year in pinstripes, as he will have the choice of opting out of his contract with the Yankees at the end of the season. Knowing that this could be a contract year may be enough to motivate A-Rod to 50-plus homers and 130-plus RBI. He's already started off the season as the hottest hitter in the bigs, knocking six long balls in his first seven games of 2007. Voters are sure to take a good long look at the Yankees' third baseman come October.

2. OF/DH Gary Sheffield (Tigers): Detroit already has all the pitching they need to make it deep into the post-season, but the reason they didn't win the World Championship in 2006 was a sudden drop-off in offense. Without making many other changes to the roster, Detroit traded for Sheffield and immediately made a huge impact on their lineup. Though he was injured most of last year, Sheffield is still one of the most feared hitters in the league. Though the baseball writers are supposed to disregard playoff performances in casting their votes for MVP, if Sheffield's bat leads to a championship in Detroit it's going to be hard to argue who the most valuable player in the league really is.

3. 3B Akinori Iwamura (Devil Rays): Hoping to do for Tampa Bay what Ichiro did for Seattle in 2001; that is, take over as the face of the franchise and help the team make an impact in the division. Now, the Mariners won 116 games in Ichiro's rookie year, which is highly unlikely for the Devil Rays. Iwamura shares Suzuki's sweet left-handed swing and slick fielding abilities, so I would be impressed, but not surprised to see the third baseman follow his countryman's lead by taking the Gold Glove, Rookie-of-the-Year, and MVP all in the same season.

4. C Joe Mauer (Twins): Even though his teammate Justin Morneau won the award last season, it is widely held that Mauer was really the most valuable Twin on the roster. Being the first catcher to take the batting title since 1942 really helps his cause in that regard. Everyone knows that playing backstop is the most difficult position on the field, and to prove yourself to be a force at the plate as well as behind it is truly one of the most impressive feats in baseball. If the Twins succeed as they did in 2006, I wouldn't be surprised to see the voters take notice of the Minnesota backstop as well as his teammates.

5. CF Vernon Wells (Blue Jays): Though he did just score a huge contract with Toronto, Wells remains one of the most underrated players in the game. He's right up there with Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltran as far as center fielders go, but he plays in the AL East where an impact player is far more important than in the National League. Players from Boston already know better than to try to test Wells' arm on the basepaths.

National League

1. SS Jose Reyes (Mets): Reyes broke out in a big way last season when he hit .300 with 81 RBI and 64 stolen bases, netting himself a handy seventh place in the MVP voting. This guy has everything; five tools, good looks, and a powerful offense behind him. He's already one of the golden boys of Shea Stadium (along with third-baseman David Wright), and looks to be an important spark at the top of the lineup for years to come. He's sure to move up in the voting in 2007.

2. 2B Chase Utley (Phillies): Offensively gifted second-baseman are few and far between, and of those Utley is clearly the best there is. He strikes out a bit too often, but more than makes up for it in RBI and runs scored. If he proves to be a bit more patient at the plate, his on-base percentage could surpass .400 and the voters will be remiss to ignore him.

3. 3B David Wright (Mets): Reyes' teammate who also turned a lot of heads in 2006. He was one of the most productive hitters in the league for the first half of the season, though he slowed down a bit down the stretch. If he can keep his bat for the full season he's capable of 35+ homers and 120 RBI, certainly MVP numbers if I've ever seen them. His quick glove at the hot corner only serves to help his cause.

4. 3B Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals): The best player on the worst team, he'll give the Nats a lot of very productive at-bats and some pretty fine defense at third. He'll face a lot of competition at the hot corner from players like Wright, Scott Rolen, and Aramis Ramirez, but if Zimmerman continues to improve in his second full season in the bigs, there's no telling what he'll be capable of.

5. C Brian McCann (Braves): Mauer's counter-part in the National League, McCann broke out as one of the best offensive catchers in the game last season by hitting .333 with 24 homeruns. No catcher has won the MVP award in the National League since Johnny Bench in 1972, but if there's a modern backstop who can do it, it's certainly McCann.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

There can only be one reason why I'm grinning like this...

I got Red Sox tickets for tomorrow! I'm gonna see Daisuke in his Fenway Debut! :-D So stoked. Watch for pictures.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

MLB Preview 2007: Rookie-of-the-Year Favorites

American League:

1. RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (Red Sox): Already a favorite for the Cy Young Award, Matsuzaka is sure to make a tremendous impact in his first year in Major League Baseball. His reputation for greatness may in fact hurt him in this case, though, as voters may opt instead to reward a young player who has come up through the minor leagues. Precedence has varied: Ichiro Suzuki won the award in 2001 but Hideki Matsui lost out to Angel Berroa (who has since fallen off the radar) in 2003.

2. 3B Alex Gordon (Royals): So good, he bumped Kansas City star Mark Teahen into the outfield so he could take over at the hot corner. Having a huge year while surrounded by little talent is a good way to get noticed by the voters. He's not the best defender in the game, and he's not going to have much protection batting fifth in the Royals' slim lineup, but this kid has tons of talent and is going to turn a lot of heads in '07.

3. OF Delmon Young (Devil Rays): Superbly talented, but ill-tempered, Young projects to put up some fantastic numbers for the Devil Rays in his rookie year, but may have some trouble pulling votes if he proves to be a problem in the clubhouse. Great fielder that is capable of going 30-30 while hitting for average.

4. 3B Akinori Iwamura (Devil Rays): Slick fielding infielder out of Japan has put up some pretty big numbers in his carrer in the Nippon Professional League. Like Matsuzaka, Iwamura may have trouble collecting votes because of his previous professional experience, but keep an eye on this guy.

5. RHP Phillip Hughes (Yankees): The most talked about young pitcher in the minor leagues is not starting the season with New York, but you gotta think that the Yankees are going to see some problems in their relatively thing rotation. Chances are Hughes is called up mid-year and makes a good impression as did Chien-Ming Wang a few years ago. If not, look for him as the front-runner for the award in 2008.

National League:

1. 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff (Padres): The Padres gave up their star second baseman Josh Barfield in order to pick up Kouzmanoff, so he better make an impact on the club in his rookie year. Definitely impressed in his September call-up with the Indians last year, knocking three homers and 11 RBI in just 16 games.

After Kouzmanoff (who played in an American League system last season), I'm not familiar with too many National League rookies. Rather than try to bull my way through this section I decided to link you to the MLB.com prejections, which do the job quite admirably. MLB.com NL Top Rookie Candidates

Monday, April 02, 2007

It's just opening day, people!

Dan Shaughnessy is extremely pleased with himself, isn't he? He's probably the only man in Boston who's happy to see Curt Schilling struggle in his opening day start against the Kansas City Royals.

"Where to start? Blogmaster Schilling threw like a man suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, yielding five runs on eight hits and two walks in just four innings. 38pitches? That's almost how many Schill needed to get out of the first inning, when he threw 33 and walked home a run. It was his shortest outing since July 2001 and hardly a good start to his 2007 campaign for a new contract."

While Shaughnessy is mostly right about Schilling, and I'll agree that Curt is mostly a tool and runs his mouth too much, this whole war between the pitcher and the journalist has gotten a bit out of hand. Shaughnessy's obsession with Schilling is wholly unprofessional and will only give the Globe a bad reputation among athletes. Schilling's constant rebuttals via his 38pitches blog and elsewhere show that he's spending a bit too much time listening to the media and not focusing on his gameplay.

That said, you never see Schilling fail to log at least five innings in a game. For all you Boston fans who are currently freaking out because you think the season is over based on one game, just calm down. Even if Schilling sucks this season, the rotation does not rest on his shoulders (no matter what he seems to believe). You're going to see some big years from a couple guys named Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett, so just quell the riots, will ya?