COLON & BECKETT BACK TO CY YOUNG FORM

Bartolo Colon has been one of  the biggest surprises this season and is an early candidate for comeback player of the year. Meanwhile in Boston, Josh Beckett has also been surprisingly dominant. In his three previous starts before last night, he was 2-0, giving up only 3 runs in 23 innings and allowing only eight hits.

Colon has only started two games, but has pitched in relief as well. In his last four outings, the first two in relief, he has only allowed 4 runs in 22 innings, giving up seventeen hits while walking only five. The more impressive part is that he is throwing his fastball up to 96 miles per hour at age thirty-seven. When the Yankees signed him this offseason, most people were expecting him to be a long reliever who would spend a lot of time in the minor leagues.

Beckett's brilliant start was unexpected,as he didn't even pitch in the Majors last season and has been injury plagued since his Cy Young season in '05.  But when it comes to real surprises, it has to be Colon. He spent all of last season pitching in the Dominican Republic, ballooned up to 260 lbs and at almost thirty-38 years old, he's pitching like twenty-seven. In his two starts, he was not only lights out, but pitched very deep into both games.

RED SOX FINDING WAYS TO WIN WITHOUT BIG GUNS

When the Red Sox traded for Adrian Gonzalez and signed Carl Crawford during the offseason, they expected them to rejuvenate the team. That hasn't happened yet. While Adrian Gonzalez has 9 hits in his last 30 at bats, he hasn't had the power that Red Sox fans expected in the early going. He is only hitting .267 with only one home run thus far. Carl Crawford has only 3 hits in his last 23 at bats and is hitting a mere .135 on the season with no home runs and 3 runs batted in. Despite the fact that neither player has produced to a level that is expected, the Red Sox have won six of their last eight games. Besides their pitching, most of the production has come from guys like Dustin Pedroia and Jed Lowrie, who are very talented, but not the players who were expected to carry the team.

Jed Lowrie is hitting .426 with 3 home runs and 12 RBI and has an On Base Percentage of .451.

Dustin Pedroia is hitting .314 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI and has an On Base Percentage of .435.

It is also worth noting that their home run leader is Jacoby Ellsbury, who is not known for his power. He has 4 home runs, but is only hitting .190.

Stats from:
http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable_player_stats.jsp?c_id=bos

WHERE I STAND ON FRANK MCCOURT

I was surprised to hear Bud Selig's announcement that the MLB was going to oversee operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  It seems to make sense because the team has suffered as a result of the very public marital difficulties of Frank and Jamie McCourt.

Frank McCourt, who has owned the Dodgers since 2004, has had very mixed success with the team. The teams he has put on the field have normally been very talented and always competitive, but his teams  never seemed to match up with the franchise's storied past in the eras of managers like Tommy Lasorda, Walter Alston and players such as Sandy Koufax and Steve Garvey. McCourt has also had his share of financial troubles as the team is now $400 million in debt.

I believe McCourt was never wealthy enough to make the team a big market success. The proof of this is the teams he has put on the field. His teams have been a mix of aging veterans (Jeff Kent, Steve Finley, Jason Schmidt, Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez and Rafael Furcal) and raw, yet talented prospects (Jonathan Broxton, Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp and Andre Eithier). Though these teams have been, and still are very talented, they don't have the star power that would be expected from big market teams.

McCourt obviously wasn't a complete failure as an owner -- the team made the playoffs in four of seven years.  But they could never make it all the way.

I just hope to see the Dodgers back in World Series contention again, because I'd like to see the East Coast/West Coast rivalry of the Yankees and Dodgers renewed.

AROLDIS CHAPMAN: THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

Aroldis Chapman has been nothing short of amazing. Since being brought up to the majors in August of 2010, he has given up only three earned runs ( all last year, ) in 19.2 innings, while striking out twenty-six. He has also given up only 11 hits. The scary part is that there's more to the story. He is the hardest throwing pitcher ever clocked. Last year he threw a fastball at 105 miles per hour, the fastest pitch ever recorded, but he started this season at an average of about 91 miles per hour. Any concerns were put to bed last night. He threw a few fastballs at 103 miles per hour, but even more amazing, he threw one at 106 according to the Reds' Great American Ballpark radar gun. Other radar guns had it as between 102 and105.

The part that sucks is that he probably could have been a Yankee. There were reports earlier this year that the Yankees had offered Chapman $54 million, but he accepted the Reds offer of $30 million. I don't believe that for a second. I actually believe the opposite. Aroldis Chapman probably hadn't seen $54 million, or for that matter $30 million, even in the movies. The point is that nobody, except Cliff Lee, leaves $24 million on the table, especially to not go to the Yankees, a team which has a history of treating foreign players well.

I believe that the Yankees lowballed Chapman, and didn't even come close to $30 million.

HUGHES TO DL... GREAT MOVE? OR JUST ANOTHER SETBACK?

Phil Hughes, who has struggled with his velocity, was placed on the Disabled List with a "dead arm." He insists there is no injury and he's not scheduled to have an MRI on his arm. However, the 87-89 MPH on his fastball this year compares poorly against the 92-94 MPH he consistently threw last year.  His dreadful 3 starts this year, in which he was blown out as early as the second inning, prove how ineffective he's been since Spring training closed. 

Now, this may be the best way for him and the team to help him bounce back. He may just need some time off to regain those extra 3-4 miles per hour on his fastball. On the other hand, maybe he should go down to the minor leagues where he can work on hiis delivery without the pressure of facing big league hitters in Yankee Stadium.  Whichever route the Yankees try, if it doesn't work, it's another setback in an already late-blooming career for Phil Hughes. He may only be twenty four, but he made his major league debut in 2007, which is not that recent. Also if you remember when Hughes was coming up from the minors, he was being compared to a young Roger Clemens.  It's safe to say that isn't happening.  Maybe, like Clemens, he should try steroids.

2005 AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

I was talking to a friend last night and it was mentioned how much Robinson Cano had matured as a baseball player. I instantly began to remember Cano as a twenty-two year old rookie second baseman, who had great talent, but swung at any pitch that came within eight feet of home plate and made silly rookie mistakes in the field.But still and all, he was very talented.  I remembered that when the season was almost over he was looked like one of the two likely candidates for American League Rookie of the Year, which was considered to be a two-horse race with Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Jonny Gomes. Of course, Oakland A's closer Huston Street, came out of nowhere and ended up winning the award. Tthe major comparison though was between Gomes and Cano. Gomes, who played in thirty one less games then Cano, hit twenty one home runs, compared to Cano's fourteen, and had an On Base Percentage of .372, while Cano's was .320. On the other hand, Cano's .297 Batting Average beat out Gomes' .282 and Cano drove in more runs. When it came to fielding, neither were very good. Gomes was a Designated Hitter in almost half of his games, while Cano made seventeen errors and seemed a bit lazy. Meanwhile, Huston Street had twenty three saves and a 1.72 ERA. The voting was:

1. Huston Street

2. Robinson Cano

3. Jonny Gomes

Also, Nick Swisher tied for sixth in the voting.

Since winning the award, Huston Street has had a few good years, but only surpassed his 2005 save total twice, and has not had an ERA below 2.88 since. Though he is now only twenty seven and is still the closer for the Colorado Rockies.

Jonny Gomes has never been the same since, He has not hit above .270 since, or played in 150 games or more. He is now thirty and is a utility outfielder for the Reds.

Meanwhile, Cano has hit over .300 four times, is a two time All Star, a Gold Glover in 2010, and a two time Silver Slugger. He also came in third for the American League MVP in 2010 and looks poised to win the award one of these years.

IT WAS TO BE EXPECTED

Going into today's game, the Red Sox were 0-6 and were looking to jump start their "100-win season" that so many sports writers have predicted.  Who better to break out against than the Yankees? As a Yankee fan, I hoped that the Yanks would jump all over John Lackey and Phil Hughes would find some magic velocity on his fastball, but only the first half of that happened.  The Yankees did manage to beat up on Lackey, frustrating the Fenway Faithful and Lackey himself who took it out on the home plate umpire.

On the other hand, the Sox did a more thorough job of beating up on Hughes, who had no life nor speed on his fastball. He lasted only two innings, giving up up six runs on seven hits - including a solo home run to Dustin Pedroia - and two walks.  Meanwhile, A-Rod made probably one of the dumbest plays I've ever seen, throwing to first on a bunt that Adrian Gonzalez had clearly beaten out, making a throw that he was lucky didn't make it all the way into the Red Sox dugout.  It was so high that Texeira, a Gold Glove first baseman and a pretty tall guy, didn't even attempt to catch it.

A-Rod did make up for it with a game-tying home run, but it turned out not to be enough.  Boston cruised to a 9-6 victory as the bull pen gave up another three runs.

There were some positive developments, though.  Gardner finally broke out with a double and a triple in three at bats - the triple was a thing of beauty - only Gardner could have stretched a double into a triple like that - and Robbie Cano scored two runs on two doubles.  Bartolo Colon, despite giving up two runs, looked really solid in 4.1 innings out of the bullpen.


Hopefully, we'll get 'em tomorrow.

Todays AL EAST articles

 Here's today's top baseball coverage for the AL East.  Not much on the Yanks because of the rainout.


NY Daily News covers the Yankees
Rafael Soriano apologizes at urging of Yankees brass for avoiding media after Tuesday's collapse BY Mark Feinsand DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER 

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi insists pulling CC Sabathia for Rafael Soriano was no miscue Bill Madden Thursday, April 7th 2011, 4:00 AM Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2011/04/07/2011-04-07_new_york_yankees_manager_joe_girardi_insists_pulling_cc_sabathia_for_rafael_sori.html#ixzz1Ipi1pHEh 


NY Times covers the Red Sox
 0-5 Red Sox Are Looking for Answers By TYLER KEPNER Published: April 6, 2011 


NY Post... nothing new




Boston Herald covers the Red Sox
Horror in full force How scared are you, Nation? By John Tomase

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view.bg?articleid=1328951


Baltimore Sun covers the Orioles
Baltimore Sun - O's far from perfect in falling 7-3 to Tigers for 1st loss of season By Jeff Zrebiec



tampabay.com covers the Rays
http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/tampa-bay-rays-fall-to-0-5-with-5-1-loss-to-los-angeles-angels/1162113



Toronto Sun covers the Blue Jays
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/baseball/2011/04/06/17902356.html

Joba Time!!!

Joba Chamberlain gave up a run in his only inning of work yesterday against Detroit, we saw Joba hitting 94-96 mph on his fastball consistantly, which we haven't seen in a couple of years. Joba will turn out in one of two ways. One possibility is that he becomes the version of AJ Burnett where he's obviously has the the talent to be a world class pitcher, but doesn't seem to be able to hold himself together. The other possibility, the one that seems to be taking shape is that he holds himself together, and turns the Yankee bullpen into the best in baseball.

The Curious Case of AJ Burnett

We saw two sides of AJ Burnett in his first outing of 2011. In the first four innings, we saw the AJ that the Yankees hoped they were getting when they signed him to a five-year, $82.5 million contract before the 2009 season. In his final inning, the fifth, we saw the talented and very flawed version of Burnett, when he gave up three Tiger hits and two runs. He finally got the third out of the inning and the final out of his day, but many were left to wonder which AJ will show up for his next start. Many believe that the performance Burnett gave in the fifth inning is going to become the norm, but I am not one of those people. I believe pitching coach Larry Rothchild and manager Joe Girardi saved AJ's ego, and possibly his season, by removing him when they did. We know that AJ losing his confidence is not a short-term affair. I think Girardi took AJ out at the perfect time, before he gave up more runs and before losing his confidence completely. Good call, Joe.

Curtis Granderson: all star?

In the previous three seasons before being traded to the Yankees, as a member of the Detroit Tigers, Curtis Granderson hit a combined 75 home runs, and displayed gold glove caliber center field. In 2007 and 2008, he led the American League in triples. It was safe to say he was one of the top center fielders in baseball. Though once traded to the Yankees in 2010, he hit a mere .240 in the first half of the season and .247 for the entire season, but in the second half, he hit 17 home runs, raising his season total to 24. He also drove in 43 runs (in comparison to his 24 in the first half.) The most likely reason for his turn around, was his work with hitting coach Kevin Long in late August to help keep his top hand on the bat. The result was nine home runs in the seasons final month. This vast improvement in his hitting and his consistently stellar patrol of center field, has led me to believe he will have a bounce back year, and possibly an all star caliber one.

Andy Pettite to join Texas Rangers?

From the moment Andy Pettite announced his retirement from the Yankees, I wondered if he was actually ready to commit his five World Series rings to memory. My suspision might have been confirmed today, because reports are beggining to surface that he is closing in on a deal with the Texas Rangers. These reports, as disappointing as they are, make sense. He lives in Texas and wants to spend time with his family. He also might want to keep playing baseball. Then it comes down to the Astros or the Rangers and even though he playes for the Astros and helped lead them to their first World Series, it is highly doubtful they will do it again in 2011. The Rangers fit his requirements and he fit theirs.

* By the way, I just found out this was an April fools joke