MLB Analytical Assault

Some people say that I don't give my opinion enough, so to opinionize my readers, here comes some intense analysis from yesterday and today in baseball. If you can't take the heat, go to a different blog now.

Friday Assault
-Boston's struggles continue, as emergency starter was lit up as the Sawx lost to Baltimore 9-8. Maybe the O's are headed in the right direction after all. Nah.
-The Indians and the White Sox are two clubs that are going in the total opposite directions. The Tribe have won 7 straight, and Ozzie Guillen needs to go. His controversial style worked when they won it all, but it's annoying as hell now that the team sucks. The club has talent, but Guillen clearly can't get it out of his players.
-The Yankees are awful against young pitchers, and can't find a way to win when young Phil Hughes takes the mound. A lineup with all the big name players like New York has, can't come up empty in a pennant race against a pitcher like Andy Sonnanstine, especially when Boston loses. Capitalize or go home.
-They may not be getting notice, but Toronto's not half bad. Shawn Marcum could be a very good number two behind Roy Halladay in that rotation. I can't call AJ Burnett a number two when he's injured half the time. He's half a number two starter.
-The Tigers and Mariners are both in a free fall. Joel Zumaya doesn't seem to be ready, as he lost yet again. Detroit seems to be handing Cleveland a division title on a silver platter.
-This may go without saying, but I'd love to see Simon Cowell critique the NL Central.
-The Phillies continue to get good starting pitching from Kyle Kendrick and JD Durbin, and that's why I think that they'll take the NL East.
-The Mets seemed to have played with fire in their win over the Braves. If they did that against the Phils, there would be no division race. Instead, New York will be in a sweatfest for the rest of the season.
-Yovani Gallardo shows his brilliance at times, and last night was one of those times.
-Imagine if Rick Ankiel gets the Cardinals into the postseason. I wonder if he could cure cancer.
-Arizona is no longer in first place alone, and it could be a matter of time before the Padres take control of the NL West. The Dodgers managed an impressive 3 runs off of Jack Cassel of San Diego, and they're a pretender if I ever saw one.

Saturday Assault
-Clay Buchholz has a no hitter through six.
-Despite the Twins being out of the race, they're still playing with heart. Gotta respect that.
-In a little gamesmanship, Rays manager Joe Maddon called out A-Rod's bat after Akinori Iwamura had his bat confiscated. That aside, Ian Kennedy looks like a stud and Edwin Jackson appears to have solidified his BUST status. I remember when the Yankees wanted Jackson and fellow bust Greg Miller from the Dodgers for Alfonso Soriano, and Los Angeles didn't do it. Maybe GM's take too much stock in their own prospects, but the Dodgers could use a power hitter like that right about now.
-Like I said, Toronto looks good. McGowan seems to be a very capable starter, and the Jays bullpen's decent.
-It was 101 in Cali today, but Kelvim Escobar didn't look so hot, tagged by the Rangers as their top pitching prospect Edinson Volquez got the win. He's a potential future ace for Texas.
-Whatever Justin Verlander didn't have the last month, he's gotten back in his last two starts and then some. He was sensational today in a win over Oakland, as the Tigers touched up Dan Haren.

You've just been assaulted, tell me if you like it.

Around The Majors- Friday

The hour is late, so I'll just preview the weekend and tell you that the Cubs acquired Steve Trachsel from the Orioles in exchange for Pitcher Rocky Cherry and IF Scott Moore. The Cardinals got a bench player in Russell Branyan from the Phillies for a PTBNL.

Friday
Already today, in the first of a day/doubleheader Ross Gload drove in 3 as the Royals took out the Twins 9-4. Also Hunter Pence homered twice and drove in 5 as the Astros crushed the Cubs 6-1. Wandy Rodriguez threw six shutout innings for Houston.
Tonight, Boston sends 16 game winner Tim Wakefield to get out of their losing ways against Orioles prospect Radhames Liz. Cleveland looks to stay hot as the send Fausto Carmona to the hill against Mark Buehrle and the White Sox. Hughes and Sonnanstine are two youngsters going at it in The Bronx, and Seattle looks to break their 6 game skid when they pitch Jarrod Washburn against Jays starter Shawn Marcum. Meche and Baker finish the twinbill, Saunders faces the Rangers, and the Tigers have to combat Joe Blanton and the A's.
Brian Kendrick leads the red hot Phillies into battle against Sergio Mitre and Florida. Maine and Hudson open up a huge series in Atlanta, and Yovani Gallardo looks to keep the Brewers in the race as the play the Pirates. Anthony Reyes goes for the Cardinals against the Reds, Livan Hernandez faces Ubaldo Jimenez and the Rockies, and David Wells comes back to Petco as the Dodgers open up a huge set against San Diego.

Saturday
Ian Kennedy makes his ML debut against Tampa Bay and Jason Marquis and the Cubs face Houston.Batista and McGowan go in Toronto. Today's 4pm FOX games include the Mets taking on Chuck James and Atlanta, Kelvim Escobar and the Angels going up against the debut of Edinson Volquez, and a great Verlander-Haren duel in Oakland. Great young matchup in Boston as Garrett Olson faces Clay Buchholz. Vazquez faces Byrd in Cleveland, and Lowe faces Peavy at 10pm regional on FOX.

Sunday
Jake Westbrook has been hot as of late, he faces Jose Contreras and the White Sox. Pettitte battles the Rays, Weaver faces Burnett in Toronto, and Jon Lester returns to battle Daniel Cabrera and Baltimore. Robertson faces Gaudin in Oakland, and John Lackey battles Texas (8pm ESPN2) Glavine and Smoltz face off in Atlanta, Hamles goes in Miami, Gorzelanny faces Suppan, and Rich Hill faces the Astros. Billingsley and Germano go in San Diego, and Brandon Webb goes against Colorado.

College Football Thursday

Strike up the bands and get to your favorite spot on the couch, 'cause College Football is back baby!! Why not start with tonight's games?

Thursday Night
What better to start off the season then with some smash-mouth hard nosed SEC football. They say it's the best brand of pigskin in the land, and conference favorite and 2nd ranked LSU goes out to Starkville to face the Bulldogs of Mississippi State. MS coach Sly Croom knows that his behind is toasty on the hot seat and this season is put up or go home. Big taliking Les Miles leads his Tigers into battle led by 5th year senior Matt Flynn. Early Doucet is Flynn's top target and can spread the field quite well. LSU looks to make it 8 straight wins in this rivalry. The game is on ESPN at 8pm.
On ESPNU at 7:30, Steve Kragthorpe debuts as the head coach of Big East favorite Louisville as Heisman candidate Brian Brohm leads the 10th ranked Cardinals against the Racers of Murray State.
Rutgers looks to follow up it's magical season with a win at home against terrible Buffalo, 7pm on ESPN Plus.
Boise State will take on Weber State. The Legion of Liberty will be on at 9 on ESPN.com.
Cincinnati will be in action tonight, Miami (OH) will take on Ball State in MACtion, and Tulsa played Louisiana-Monroe at 7 on ESPN2. In what should be a good game, possible BCS busters Utah brings their high octane O to Pac 10 riser Oregon State at 10.

Friday Night Lights
Navy has to beat Temple, right? 7:30pm ESPNU. Woeful Syracuse hosts Washington at 8pm on ESPN.

Opening Saturday!!!
The big Colorado-Colorado State rivalry is today at Noon. The Big Ten Network also launches today with meaningless games featuring Northwestern, 5th ranked Michigan, 11th ranked Ohio State, and #17 Penn State in 12pm regional coverage. Michigan State could have their hands full at home against UAB, 12pm ESPN2. VaTech plays their first football since the tragedy occurred their against East Carolina. The 9th ranked Hokies will be on at noon on ESPN. Miami opens their season at home against Marshall at 12 on ESPNU.
#6 Florida opens its national championship defense by hosting Western Kentucky at 12:30 on GamePlan.
#14 UCLA opens up a promising campaign on the road at Stanford at 3:30. Notre Dame opens up their season at home against a talented Georgia Tech squad at 3:30 on NBC, expect the Yellow Jackets to come up with the victory. Defending ACC champion Wake Forest opens its season at BC T 3:30 ON ABC. Other regional ABC coverage includes #20 Nebraska hosting Nevada and #7 Wisconsin hosting Wazzu. Missouri and Illinois will battle in St Louis at the same time on ESPN2, and #3 West Virginia will host Western Michigan on GamePlan. Iowa will play Northern Illinois from Chicago on ESPNU, and Houston will take on Oregon on GamePlan.
Kentucky, Maryland, UNC, and NC State will open up their seasons at 6pm on ESPN.com
#22 TCU could also be a BCS buster and will play at 6 against Baylor on CSTV.
OK State can be feisty against tough competition, they play at 12th ranked Georgia at 6:45 on ESPN2. Purdue faces scandal ridden Toledo at 7 on ESPNU, and Auburn plays a great game against K-State at 7:45 on ESPN.
But the best game of the weekend takes place at Cal where the 12th ranked Golden Bears look to exact a measure of revenge on the 15th ranked Tennessee Volunteers who whooped 'em last year in Knoxville. Eric Ainge and Nate Longshore will be 2 great college QB's to watch, and will either prove Les Miled right or wrong. For the sake of humanity, I'm goin with Cal here.
After midnight.....Y'all know the song, and if you've never seen Heisman candidate Colt Brennan play, this is required watching. #23 Hawaii battles Northern Colorado at 12:05.

Monday Night Labor Day Football
Texas Tech takes on SMU at 4pm on ESPN, but the big attraction is the game that follows is the Bowden Bowl as Florida State travels to Clemson in an 8pm ESPN ACC clash.

Watch some college football, the playoffs start NOW.

Around The Majors- Wednesday

I'll recap yesterday's games, go through the news and notes, tell y'all what's up today, and get you inside one of the nicest big league parks with staff writer Adam Ehrenreich.

Tuesday Recap
Tampa Bay scored 11 runs in the 8th inning to beat Baltimore 15-8. Carl Crawford and Akinori Iwamura each drove in 3 for the Rays. Travis Hafner homered and drove in two as Cleveland edged Minnesota 6-5. Torii Hunter drove in 2 for the Twins. Johnny Damon hit a 2 run homer off of Daisuke Matsuzaka in the 7th to lead the Yankees past the Red Sox 5-3. Alex Gordon drove in 3 as the Royals tamed the Tigers 6-3. Texas edged the White Sox 4-3, and Toronto got 3 in the 8th to beat Oakland 5-4. The Angels scored 4 in the 8th and beat Seattle 10-6, behind 4 hits and 3 RBI's from Vladdy Guerrero.
Freddy Sanchez homered and drove in 5 as the Pirates bested the Reds 6-4. Ryan Howard hit a 2 run homer off of Guillermo Mota in the 10th inning to lead the Phillies over the Mets 4-2. Carlos Delgado accounted for the Met runs. A sac fly by Alejandro de Aza in the 11th lifted Florida past Atlanta 4-3. Jeremy Hermida drove in 2 for the Fish. The Cubs scored 4 in the 7th to best the Brewers 5-3. Jacque Jones drove in 2 for the Cubbies. Braden Looper threw 7 shutout innings and Chris Duncan drove in 4 as the Cardinals shut out the Astros 7-0. In game 2, and Adam LaRoche single in the 8th led the Pirates past the Reds 4-3. San Diego scored 6 runs off of Brandon Webb and beat the Diamondbacks 6-4. Khalil Greene and Josh Bard each drove in 2 for the Pads. Shea Hillenbrand drove in 2 as the Dodgers nipped the Nats 4-3. The Giants got 2 RBI's from Randy Winn in a 3-1 win over Colorado.

News and Notes
- Mike Mussina will be skipped in his next turn in the rotation, being replaced with highly touted prospect Ian Kennedy. He'll start Saturday against Tampa. It may be the beginning of the end to a storied Mussina career that borders on HOF but will probably fall just short.
- Ben Sheets was activated from the DL and will start tonight in a huge game against the Cubs. Milwaukke has fallen into 3rd place in the NL Central.
- Esteban Loaiza was claimed off of waivers by the Dodgers, as they try to shore up an injured and ineffective rotation. Alex Cintron was placed on the restricted list.

Wednesday On Tap
Today, Jeff Francis threw a complete game six hit shutout as the Rockies rocked the Giants 8-0. Garrett Atkins homered twice and drove in 4 for Colorado. Toronto-Oakland and Washington-Los Angeles have both gone into extra frames, and the Angels are holding a late inning lead over Seattle.
At 7 on ESPN2, Roger Clemens opposes Josh Beckett in The Bronx as the Yankees and Red Sox do battle. Rays and O's go at 7 with James Shields taking the hill for Tampa. It's Santana and Sabathia as the Twins and Indians tussle. Miller and Greinke go in a critical series for the Tigers, and Garland faces Loe deep in the heart of Texas.
Philadelphia wants to stay in the NL East race and send Jaime Moyer to the mound against Oliver Perez of the Mets. Harang and Snell go in Pittsburgh, and the Braves send Buddy Carlyle against the Marlins and Dontrelle Willis. Huge game in the NLC as Ben Sheets returns opposite Carlos Zambrano and the Cubbies. St Louis sends Kip Wells to Houston against Roy Oswalt, and Micah Owings and Greg Maddux duel at Petco.

Welcome To Citizens Bank Park

As a Mets fan, I have never experienced the fun in going to another stadium while the Mets were the away team. Monday night as the Phillies hosted the Mets, I was there, sitting in the upper deck with first inning drunk fans and a beautiful skyline to look at.
Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004, is very smartly planned out. Parking is very convenient and the outside view of the stadium is unreal. When you walk in, either through the right field entrance or the left field entrance, you see the field immediately. There is an abundance of room to walk around and enjoy the experience of the park. With a great amount of standing room and restaurants, you could go there three hours early and have something to do. The lit up Liberty Bell which swings after a home run is a very smart and entertaining idea. The bleachers are great and during batting practice you could never get so close to the players in the outfield as the wall is directly above the field in left. Overall it is a great ballpark and a fun place to visit.
The atmosphere as a baseball fan was great. Besides for the fact that it was playoff baseball in late August, the fans were really into it. There happened to be a large group of Mets fans there but as the game went on and I started to get cursed at, I decided to cover my Reyes shirt with my sweatshirt. I wasn't exactly in the mood to get beered. Constant cheers and being pumped up by the Philly Fanatic really shows that these fans are there to enjoy the baseball game. Even though the Mets lost, the bullpen crashed and burned and Pat Burrel decided to do a little more damage on the Mets, it was still an amazing and fun trip, well worth it.

Tuesday Football Frenzy

Frenzy Time!

Lance Briggs abandoned a vehicle that he smashed into a light pole. His $350k Lamborghini was reported stolen after he abandoned the scene and then he called a tow truck. Tell me if what Briggs did made sense? Did the tow truck Briggs called steal his totaled vehicle? Why would the truck steal a mangled car, and why would he risk framing an innocent person?
"When it happened, the first thing I did was, obviously, I panicked,"
Yeah, panicking may be an understatement. Next time you drive like a fool, use your brain. Does Drew Rosenhaus purposely hire the biggest idiots in football to be their clients?

Cowboys top CB Terrence Newman has a small tear in his plantar fascia, according to the Dallas Morning News which is bad especially for backpedaling corners. This could be a big issue for the Cowboys if he can't be as effective, because Anthony Henry and Aaron Glenn probably can't do the job as the starters. One red flag in the Big D.

Corey Simon is now a man on a mission. He signed a one year deal with the Titans today, and will face the Colts twice a year, the team that dropped him for almost no reason at all. Even owner Jim Irsay said that it was a mistake. Simon will likely make Indy pay this coming season.

Asante Samuel signed a 1 year contract tender worth 7.79 million dollars, officially ending his holdout. With that kind of cheese, what took him so long to sign? New England is always non-committal on long term deals, and Samuek may not have a bigger chance to win anywhere but with the Patriots. As always, Samuel will play lockdown jail cell defense and I expect him to match his total of 10 picks from 2k6.

The Giants went from no discussion to production with Michael Strahan. Why the double-take? Because Strahan now said that he'd like to come back, thus getting his wish (albeit a costly one) to skip camp altogether. Strahan will tell Big Blue within 2 days of whether he'll play football this year. Tom Coughlin wanted Training Camp to be quiet, but his team ended up with one large gap-toothed sideshow.

Jonathan Ogden was activated from the PUP list, and practiced today for the first time this season. As one of the greatest offensive linemen ever, I'm sure that Steve McNair and Willis McGahee are overjoyed to have seen their mammoth body guard on the field. He may not play Friday against Atlanta, but should be good to go for the season opener.

The PUP list seems to be a revolving door as Cleveland placed OL LeCharles Bentley on the list today. Bentley has been in the shop way too often for the Browns, who missed all of last season. With barely any protection, perhaps Brady Quinn should be happy that he won't start the season as the starter. Cleveland QB's better get used to being sacked more than budget conscious government workers.

Hines Ward had surgery to repair a broken nose, but will be ready for the opener. Washington released veteran DT Joe Salave'a, and placed Ross Tucker on IR. Buffalo placed OL Aaron Merz on IR with a shoulder injury.

Around The Majors- Monday

School has started, and that means that baseball's regular season is hitting the stretch run. The weekend brought some heavy impact and one team has pulled out some Donald Trumps to send a message. Yesterday's recap, today's news and notes, and what's on tap for today is what's going down today on ATM.

Sunday Recap
Detroit hit 3 homers and scored their 5 runs on 4 hits in a 5-4 win over Phil Hughes and the Yankees. Curtis Granderson led off the 1st with an inside thr park homer. Erik Bedard had a rare rought outing as the Twins blasted Baltimore 11-3 to complete the sweep. Bartlett, Redmond, and White each drove in 2 for Minnesota. Carlos Pena homered twice and drove in 3 as the Rays beat the A's 7-4. Tampa got 7 strikeouts from starter Andy Sonnanstine. Boston got 6 solid frames from Julian Taverez and walloped the White Sox 11-1. Pedroia, Ortiz, and Kielty each drove in 2 for the Red Sox. Cleveland got RBI singles from Hafner and Martinez in the 11th to edge Kansas City 5-3. Escobar outdueled McGowan as the Angels beat the Blue Jays 3-1. Byrd and Sosa each drove in 2 as the Rangers defeated Seattle 5-3.
The Reds scored 6 in the first and mauled the Marlins 9-3. Ryan Jorgensen had a first inning grand slam for Cincy. Padres starter Tim Stauffer gave up a team record 11 earned runs in a 14-2 loss to Philadelphia. Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth each drove in 4 runs for the Phils. Ty Wigginton drove in 2 as Houston beat the Pirates 5-3. Adam Wainwright pitched the Cardinals past the Braves 4-1. Colorado scored 6 in the 3rd to weather Washington 10-5. Holliday and Tulowitzki each drove in 3 for the Rockies. Randy Winn and Guillermo Rodriguez each drove in 2 as the Giants edged the Brewers 5-4. Ryan Braun had a 3 run homer for Milwaukee. Chris Young homered twice and drove in 4 as the Diamondbacks got a much needed 5-4 win over the Cubs. David Wells got the win in his Dodgers debut as Los Angeles defeated the Mets 6-2. Pierre and Kemp each drove in 2 for the Dodgers.

News and Notes
- One day after retiring Jeff Bagwell's number 5, the Astros fired manager Phil Garner and GM Tim Purpura. Bench coach Cecil Cooper will be the interrim skipper, and president Tal Smith will currently serve as the temporary GM.
- Alfonso Soriano will be back in the lineup tomorrow for the Cubs in a huge series against the Brewers, according to manager Lou Piniella.
- Phils ace Cole Hamels has started his rehab and hopes to be back on the 3rd of September.
- Redefining a comedy of errors, the AAA Syracuse Chiefs (Toronto) made 10 errors in one game, and almost won! They fell 12-10 in 10 innings to the Ottawa Lynx (Philadelphia).
- Pete Orr up, and Joey Devine down for Atlanta. Detroit placed both Gary Sheffield and Jair Jurrjens on the DL, and called up Zach Miner and Timo Perez in their steads.

Monday On Tap
In a makeup game, the White Sox got 5 runs in the 7th inning on 4 home runs to beat Tampa Bay 5-4. Delmon Young had a 2 run shot for the Rays.
At 7 on ESPN2, the Yankees send struggling Mike Mussina to the hill against Justin Verlander and the Tigers. Silva and Byrd tussle as the Twins and Tribe open a series at the Jake. Burnett and Loaiza go in Oakland, and the Angels and Mariners open up a huge series with Lackey facing Batista.
The Phillies need wins over the Mets, JD Durbin faces Brian Lawrence. Atlanta is in Florida, and Arizona and San Diego open up a bigtime series, Livan Hernandez goes up against Jake Peavy. Los Angeles sends Derek Lowe to the mound against Washignton, and Josh Fogg faces Barry Zito as the Giants and Rockies open up a set by the Bay.

- ESPN senior writer Jayson Stark told SprungOnSports the rational behind the Cubs' recent acquisition of Craig Monroe.
"They're 12-19 against lefthanded starters. And Monroe is hitting .302, with an .858 OPS, vs. lefthanders. So he's there to be a platoon piece in the puzzle. They're not bringing him in thinking he's going to be Mark Teixeira." Maybe not an impact piece, but someone who can definitely impact a tight NL Central race.