Roy Halladay fixes a lot of problems.
Just when the Philadelphia Phillies seemed like they were headed for a mini-slide to start the season, the All-Star righty partied Wednesday night, going seven innings with three strikeouts.
It’s the kind of performance that reminds us that the Phillies will never truly slump this year with the best rotation in the National League. Continue reading
Heading into the season, one of the biggest question marks for the Texas Rangers was their bullpen. Specifically in the closer role where Joe Nathan took over for Neftali Feliz.
And after just six games, things haven’t cleared up a bit.
Not after Wednesday night, anyway, after Nathan surrendered three runs in the ninth inning to the Seattle Mariners, blowing his second save of the season. It spoiled what was another stellar night on the mound by a Rangers’ starter. Continue reading
When Albert Pujols signed with the Los Angeles Angels this offseason, a lot of attention was directed towards the back end of his 10-year contract, when his production will sure dip.
But after one week of baseball, it’s his current performance that’s concerning. The All-Star first baseman has yet to live up to his billing in this young season, batting just 3-for-14 with zero homers in his first four games with the club. Tuesday he went hitless in four at-bats.
What’s worse is he and teammate Vernon Wells, two of the team’s highest-paid players, are a combined 5-for-28. Continue reading
So much for that riveting entrance we saw last week by the Miami Marlins.
Their player introductions, and tour of Marlins Park turned out to essentially be the only thing the team has going for it.
Since last Wednesday’s season opener, the Marlins have been mired by a slow start and now controversy from new manager Ozzie Guillen.
Guillen’s comments criticizing Cuban President Fidel Castro resulted in a five-game suspension and a difficult press conference to watch. So what now? Continue reading
The last time Neftali Feliz toed the rubber, things went…well, ugh.
The All-Star closer returns to the mound Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners in hopes that his switch to starter goes a little smoother.
The Texas Rangers are favored, according to Bovada’s MLB Betting Odds, by 1 1/2 runs with a 9 1/2 run total. The Rangers are actually expected to win by 1 or 2 runs, according to the site’s MLB Prop Betting page after starting the year 3-1 after putting up 16 runs over their last two games. Continue reading
Few would have picked the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins at the bottom of the NL East standings this early in the year, but after three combined blown saves, the preseason favorites are a combined 2-5 and looking to get out of a big hole.
The Phillies return for their home opener on Monday, and are favored by 1 1/2 runs according to the latest Marlins Phillies betting line with Cole Hamels returning to the mound.
The lefty, who is the only pitcher on staff with a World Series ring, World Series MVP and NLCS MVP, blushed when manager Charlie Manuel chose him for the home opener. Continue reading
The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 2011, but return as just a shell of their former selves after losing demi-god Albert Pujols to free agency and manager Tony LaRussa to free agency.
The Milwaukee Brewers know a little something about that. After one of the most successful seasons in over 20 years, the Brewers let slugger Prince Fielder walk, taking with him the heart of the lineup and 230 career homers. Not long after, All-Star Ryan Braun was the center of the biggest PED scandal baseball has seen since Barry Bonds. The Brewers dodged a huge bullet when Braun’s suspension was lifted keeping the team from losing an average of 112 RBI a season. Continue reading
The Tampa Bay Rays are hoping a tough April schedule will leave them battle-tested and prepared for the rest of the regular season.
They’ll find out soon enough as the Rays host the New York Yankees in their season opener on Friday afternoon. Of their first 22 games, 16 come against legitimate playoffs contenders before things ease up in May.
The Yankees, relatively quiet this past off-season, know the feeling. They also front-loaded their schedule with 15 playoff contenders through April. Continue reading
The Dodgers and Padres need this. Both teams stayed in the spotlight by making big personnel changes ranging from the players all the way up to the very top with owners. After a while, the news and sports talk shows seem to forget that actually playing the game of baseball is all that really matters. So I’m sure that nobody is more ready than the players to get put the offseason in the rearview.
The Dodgers boast some young rising stars in Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, and Dee Gordon that everyone is raving about. But what is most interesting about the Padres this year is that all of their players are rising stars you just haven’t heard of yet. Top prospects in trades have come over by the boat load over the last few years as the team began rebuilding their roster. The last two aces pitching for the Padres have found themselves packing their bags in exchange for players. Jake Peavy, the 2007 Cy Young award winner was traded for four prospects to the White Sox and last year’s ace, Mat Latos, was recently shipped off for four more. Continue reading
Just a day after being burned in their season debut, the Miami Marlins hope to make amends on Thursday night when they travel to Cincinnati in one of the most expensive collection of players to meet ever.
The Marlins, forever ired for their frugal spending habits, went on a spree this winter by adding All-Stars Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buehrle.
Buehrle gets the start tonight, following up Josh Johnson’s batting practice session in which he allowed 12 hits and 3 runs. Continue reading