Five days ago I was touting the pitching exploits of Chris Carpenter.He has been great up to this point this season, yesterday he was at a completely different level. He joined the short lsit of pitchers hurling one hitters over the last week.
Carpenter is now putting together an incredible season. His record of 16-3 is by far the best pitching record of the season. He has lowered his ERA to 2.16 and has won eight of his last nine starts. His other outing was a no decision. In those last nine starts he has only allowed more than 2 runs twice. Sometimes the word "dominant is overused" but in this case, Chris Carpenter is dominant. In his start yesterday he pitched a complete game, striking out 10 and threw less than 100 pitches.
I am envisioning a playoff match-up with the Giants. The first night is Tim Lincecum vs. Chris Carpenter and the second game will have Matt Cain vs. Adam Wainwright. Wow, that would be a couple of outstanding, low scoring games.
It was nice to see Mark Buehrle finally get back in the win column as he outpitched the struggling Red Sox. In a head to head tilt against Josh Beckett, Buehrle picked up his first win since his perfect game. How could a guy throw a perfect game and then have to wait almost two months before picking up another win? Hard to fathom, but he now has 134 career victories.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Why the Red Sox won't go far in the playoffs!!!
There are some playoff teams that have great pitching. The Angels do with Kazmir, Weaver and Saunders. The Yankees do with Sabathia, Burnett, and Pettite . The Tigers do with Jackson, Verlander and even Jared Washburn.
In the NL, the Phillies have Hamels, Lee, and Happ (he is hurt right now which hurts the Phillies a bit), the Dodgers with Billingsley, Garland and Kershaw, the Giants have Cain, Lincecum and Zito and the Cardinals have the best staff of all with Carpenter, Wainwright and Piniero.
What is my point? Other than Beckett and Lester who do the Sox have that they can depend on? Wakefield, Byrd, Buchholz are there answer. I don't like their chances.
I would like their chances a bit better if they had not gotten rid of Brad Penny, he will help the Dodgers and John Smoltz who I feel will make an impact for the Cards.
When it comes to the playoffs veteran pitchers who have experience in clutch situations can make a huge difference. I think that the Red Sox no longer have a staff to be feared. Going in to the playoffs I think the Yankees, Cards and Giants have the best staff's to win in short series.
The reality is that the Giants may not make the playoffs, if they don't the Rockies likely will. They are not a loaded staff. Maybe the Red Sox won't make it either as they are being chased after by the Rangers. I don't think the Rangers have an overwhelming staff either.
When all is said and done this year only one team will win it all. Maybe just maybe those teams that fall a bit short will wish they had made the trade for Roy Halladay. Hindsight is 20/20 but you can bet there will be talk in their media bases asking questions like: Would things have been different with Doc in their lineup?
Oh yeah, the Red Sox pitching stud Jon Lester did pick up another win. He now has 39 in his short career. I just find it hard to believe that Lester and Beckett are going to be able to carry Boston very far.
Thoughts...
In the NL, the Phillies have Hamels, Lee, and Happ (he is hurt right now which hurts the Phillies a bit), the Dodgers with Billingsley, Garland and Kershaw, the Giants have Cain, Lincecum and Zito and the Cardinals have the best staff of all with Carpenter, Wainwright and Piniero.
What is my point? Other than Beckett and Lester who do the Sox have that they can depend on? Wakefield, Byrd, Buchholz are there answer. I don't like their chances.
I would like their chances a bit better if they had not gotten rid of Brad Penny, he will help the Dodgers and John Smoltz who I feel will make an impact for the Cards.
When it comes to the playoffs veteran pitchers who have experience in clutch situations can make a huge difference. I think that the Red Sox no longer have a staff to be feared. Going in to the playoffs I think the Yankees, Cards and Giants have the best staff's to win in short series.
The reality is that the Giants may not make the playoffs, if they don't the Rockies likely will. They are not a loaded staff. Maybe the Red Sox won't make it either as they are being chased after by the Rangers. I don't think the Rangers have an overwhelming staff either.
When all is said and done this year only one team will win it all. Maybe just maybe those teams that fall a bit short will wish they had made the trade for Roy Halladay. Hindsight is 20/20 but you can bet there will be talk in their media bases asking questions like: Would things have been different with Doc in their lineup?
Oh yeah, the Red Sox pitching stud Jon Lester did pick up another win. He now has 39 in his short career. I just find it hard to believe that Lester and Beckett are going to be able to carry Boston very far.
Thoughts...
Saturday, September 5, 2009
One hit gem once again
Now that is what I have been wanting to see. My top 300 win list pitchers, pitching like they are going to win 300 games. Earlier in the week Greinke throws a gem and now the good Doctor does the same.
Greinke threw his against the powerful Angels. Halladay threw his against the even mightier NY Yankees. The only guy to get a hit off Doc was the least likely source, Pena who was substituting for Derek Jeter to give him a rare night off. Halladay struck out nine batters as he hurled the 6-0 complete game shutout. For Doc it represented a turn in fortune after stumbling for the past few starts. Nothing like a one hitter to get the confidence back. Roy has now won 14 games on the season and 145 in his career.
Justin Verlander continues to pitch well for the first place Tigers. In a battle with the Rays Verlander pitched eight solid innings allowing only one earned run and giving up four hits over that span. He collected another 7 K's to run his total on the season to 222. He picked up his 16th win on the year and career win #62.
Jered Weaver built once again on his solid campaign with a great performance against the hapless Royals. In a strange turn of events the Royals outhit the Angels 11-3 but lost the game 2-1. If the Royals could ever figure out how to get clutch hitting they may have a much different record. That being said Weaver did pick up in #14 and is now just one win shy of #50.
Albert Pujols hit HR #43 and RBI's totaling 116 last night. He now sits with 362 HR, just 338 away from 700. His power along with a 2HR/5 RBI night from Ryan Ludwick and another HR from the hard swinging Matt Holliday made Adam Wainwright the big leagues 1st 17 game winner. The Cards are looking very impressive indeed.
All in all it was a good night for my 300 club. It is always a good night when the Yankees lose, right?
Greinke threw his against the powerful Angels. Halladay threw his against the even mightier NY Yankees. The only guy to get a hit off Doc was the least likely source, Pena who was substituting for Derek Jeter to give him a rare night off. Halladay struck out nine batters as he hurled the 6-0 complete game shutout. For Doc it represented a turn in fortune after stumbling for the past few starts. Nothing like a one hitter to get the confidence back. Roy has now won 14 games on the season and 145 in his career.
Justin Verlander continues to pitch well for the first place Tigers. In a battle with the Rays Verlander pitched eight solid innings allowing only one earned run and giving up four hits over that span. He collected another 7 K's to run his total on the season to 222. He picked up his 16th win on the year and career win #62.
Jered Weaver built once again on his solid campaign with a great performance against the hapless Royals. In a strange turn of events the Royals outhit the Angels 11-3 but lost the game 2-1. If the Royals could ever figure out how to get clutch hitting they may have a much different record. That being said Weaver did pick up in #14 and is now just one win shy of #50.
Albert Pujols hit HR #43 and RBI's totaling 116 last night. He now sits with 362 HR, just 338 away from 700. His power along with a 2HR/5 RBI night from Ryan Ludwick and another HR from the hard swinging Matt Holliday made Adam Wainwright the big leagues 1st 17 game winner. The Cards are looking very impressive indeed.
All in all it was a good night for my 300 club. It is always a good night when the Yankees lose, right?
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Cy Young in the NL
I have been doing some thinking and that is always dangerous to do for me when it comes to sports. I have been bouncing around ideas in my head about who should be the NL Cy Young winner.
My initial thoughts were Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain. Out of those two I would give the nod to Lincecum. Lately Lincecum has pitched well but has not put up many wins.
My next choice was Adam Wainwright. The Cards hurler leads the league in wins with 16. He is a lock when he pitches and is very impressive. Then there are guys like Jason Marquis of the Rockies and Johnathan Broxton of the Dodgers who have been key pitchers on their squads.
Here is my choice: Chris Carpenter. Carpenter is now 15-3 on the season, keep in mind he missed a good portion of the season. His ERA is a baseball best 2.28. Now that is dominant. He could finish the season 20-3, it is possible.
Felix Hernandez pitched another gem last night for the Mariners. The calm and collected Mariners hurler picked up his 14th win of the season as he pitched a shutout against the mighty Angels. No one shuts them out. This win # and #53 of his career.
Finally CC wins again, he picked up win #16 of the season as the Yanks once again provided great run support. That is win #133 of his career. He is taking a great run for 20 wins.
My initial thoughts were Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain. Out of those two I would give the nod to Lincecum. Lately Lincecum has pitched well but has not put up many wins.
My next choice was Adam Wainwright. The Cards hurler leads the league in wins with 16. He is a lock when he pitches and is very impressive. Then there are guys like Jason Marquis of the Rockies and Johnathan Broxton of the Dodgers who have been key pitchers on their squads.
Here is my choice: Chris Carpenter. Carpenter is now 15-3 on the season, keep in mind he missed a good portion of the season. His ERA is a baseball best 2.28. Now that is dominant. He could finish the season 20-3, it is possible.
Felix Hernandez pitched another gem last night for the Mariners. The calm and collected Mariners hurler picked up his 14th win of the season as he pitched a shutout against the mighty Angels. No one shuts them out. This win # and #53 of his career.
Finally CC wins again, he picked up win #16 of the season as the Yanks once again provided great run support. That is win #133 of his career. He is taking a great run for 20 wins.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Greinke throws a one hitter
I am thrilled that Zach Greinke pitched so well in his last start. I not only love that he picked up another win, but he was a stud for my fantasy baseball league too. There is nothing like a well pitched game to pick up some extra points in the league. Unfortunately for me and Greinke neither one of us is gonna make the playoffs. Enough about my pathetic performance, lets talk about something that has to do with this blog.
Zach has been much like Roy Halladay lately, struggling to pick up wins. His previous victory he struck out 15 , so this is two great starts in a row. He is such a gifted hurler, so it is nice to see him pitch this gem. His one hit complete game effort took down the wild card chasing Seattle Mariners. He allowed just one other base runner via a walk. I hope this builds his confidence and he can pick up some more W's. He is now 13-8 on the season and has 47 wins.
Justin Verlander pitched another great game to pick up his 15th of the season. He is pretty much a stopper for the Tigers and if the Tigers go anywhere in the post season he is going to have some pretty tough head to head match-ups to face. Verlander picked up win #61 of his career.
From a hitting standpoint Vlad Guerrero jacked two more home runs, to move to career #405. I believe that he will be the offensive force that leads the Angels far in the playoffs. He is old school, going to bat with no gloves, a free swinger with a willingness to take a hack at almost any pitch.
Since we are now into September the minor league call ups have arrived. Id there any players you think are going to make a name for themselves during the next four weeks? I will be excited to follow them closely to see who are the next possible Guerreros, Verlanders and Greinkes.
Zach has been much like Roy Halladay lately, struggling to pick up wins. His previous victory he struck out 15 , so this is two great starts in a row. He is such a gifted hurler, so it is nice to see him pitch this gem. His one hit complete game effort took down the wild card chasing Seattle Mariners. He allowed just one other base runner via a walk. I hope this builds his confidence and he can pick up some more W's. He is now 13-8 on the season and has 47 wins.
Justin Verlander pitched another great game to pick up his 15th of the season. He is pretty much a stopper for the Tigers and if the Tigers go anywhere in the post season he is going to have some pretty tough head to head match-ups to face. Verlander picked up win #61 of his career.
From a hitting standpoint Vlad Guerrero jacked two more home runs, to move to career #405. I believe that he will be the offensive force that leads the Angels far in the playoffs. He is old school, going to bat with no gloves, a free swinger with a willingness to take a hack at almost any pitch.
Since we are now into September the minor league call ups have arrived. Id there any players you think are going to make a name for themselves during the next four weeks? I will be excited to follow them closely to see who are the next possible Guerreros, Verlanders and Greinkes.
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