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The Indians Cliff Lee is off to an amazing start and Defensive-Indifference came to the conclusion that Lee has made some notable improvements this season and should continue to pitch well if he can sustain them. Basically, Lee is throwing his fastball more often and locating it better, which is leading to a lower amount of walks and better command of the strike zone. Right now, Lee is 5-0 with an 0.96 ERA. He won't continue to pitch that well but he should continue to be effective.
Chien-Ming Wang has increased his strike out rate so far this season and that could be bad news for AL hitters because he is already a good pitcher when hitters put the ball in play against him.
Interesting analysis of Reds' rookie pitcher Johnny Cueto. Cueto had a great debut but his ERA has since gone over 5 and it mostly due to the difference in his splits pitching from the windup versus the stretch. Cueto is much more effective from the windup then he is with runners on base, so pitching from the stretch has been the cause of his problems.
In other Reds news, there is speculation that if they fall out of contention early in the season, then they might look to trade Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey JR. Both Dunn and Griffey will be free agents next season, so it makes sense for the Reds to shop them around.
Arizona Diamondbacks rookie Max Scherzer was impressive in his major league debut the other night, striking out 7 in 4 1/3 innings of work. Scherzer earned a spot in the starting rotation with his impressive debut, so be sure to keep an eye on him the next few weeks.
Willie Randolph continues to catch heat from the media, who still believe that he should be fired. This time it's his fault that Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and Jose Reyes aren't playing up to their abilities. Please, I'm sure David Ortiz is slumping because Terry Francona is a bad manager too. Give me a break, it's only April and guys are going to slump at the beginning of the year. Plus, last week I already noted that Carlos Delgado is probably in the decline of his career, so I'm not sure it will matter who is managing him right now. What the hell, while we're at it why don't we just fire Joe Girardi too because Robinson Cano is hitting under .200 this season.
Beyond The Boxscore breaks down Ryan Zimmeran's poor hitting to start this season. They expect Zimmeran to bounce back because he has been a victim of bad luck so far.
Colorado Rockies phenom shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was placed on the 15 day DL with a torn left quadriceps tendon. Tulowitzki could be out anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks. That is definitely not good news right now for a struggling Rockies team.
In other Rockies news, Franklin Morales has struggled this season and Baseball-Intellect breaks down his struggles and decreased velocity.
John Smoltz was placed on the 15 day DL with a severely inflamed biceps tendon and inflamed rotator cuff and will return to the bullpen when he comes back from his injury. Smoltz was pitching well this season with an ERA of only 2.00.
The Seattle Mariners cut Brad Wilkerson and demoted Greg Norton while promoting catching prospect Jeff Clement and power-hitting outfielder Wladimir Balentien. Clement and Balentien have the potential to both make big impacts this season for the Mariners, so I would definitely keep an eye on them.
In San Francisco Giants news, as we all know, Barry Zito was demoted to the bullpen only only 16 months after signing a $126 million, seven-year contract. Meanwhile, one of their remaining starters, Johnathon Sanchez looks to be the real deal.
Julio Franco has finally decided to retire at the age of 49 and having completed 23 seasons in the major leagues. Franco finishes his career with a .298 average, 173 home runs, 1,194 RBIs, and 2,586 hits. He also is the oldest player in major league history to hit a home run.
Pitcher Matt Morris also announced his retirement this past week. Morris finishes his career with 121 wins and a 3.86 ERA. He was also a 2-time All-Star in his 11 year career.
Check out this SaberScouting report on some minor leaguers they have scouted recently.
The Hard Ball Times gives us the 10 worst number 3 hitters since 1957. Pretty interesting to see some of the awful seasons these guys had and you have to wonder why they continued to bat third in the lineup.
Finally, I've pretty much avoided covering any part of the Roger Clemens saga but he has become a complete mess and nobody is going to look at Clemens the same after all that has happened in the past few months. In fact, when all is said and done Clemens might look alot more like this generations Pete Rose.
Chien-Ming Wang has increased his strike out rate so far this season and that could be bad news for AL hitters because he is already a good pitcher when hitters put the ball in play against him.
Interesting analysis of Reds' rookie pitcher Johnny Cueto. Cueto had a great debut but his ERA has since gone over 5 and it mostly due to the difference in his splits pitching from the windup versus the stretch. Cueto is much more effective from the windup then he is with runners on base, so pitching from the stretch has been the cause of his problems.
In other Reds news, there is speculation that if they fall out of contention early in the season, then they might look to trade Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey JR. Both Dunn and Griffey will be free agents next season, so it makes sense for the Reds to shop them around.
Arizona Diamondbacks rookie Max Scherzer was impressive in his major league debut the other night, striking out 7 in 4 1/3 innings of work. Scherzer earned a spot in the starting rotation with his impressive debut, so be sure to keep an eye on him the next few weeks.
Willie Randolph continues to catch heat from the media, who still believe that he should be fired. This time it's his fault that Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and Jose Reyes aren't playing up to their abilities. Please, I'm sure David Ortiz is slumping because Terry Francona is a bad manager too. Give me a break, it's only April and guys are going to slump at the beginning of the year. Plus, last week I already noted that Carlos Delgado is probably in the decline of his career, so I'm not sure it will matter who is managing him right now. What the hell, while we're at it why don't we just fire Joe Girardi too because Robinson Cano is hitting under .200 this season.
Beyond The Boxscore breaks down Ryan Zimmeran's poor hitting to start this season. They expect Zimmeran to bounce back because he has been a victim of bad luck so far.
Colorado Rockies phenom shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was placed on the 15 day DL with a torn left quadriceps tendon. Tulowitzki could be out anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks. That is definitely not good news right now for a struggling Rockies team.
In other Rockies news, Franklin Morales has struggled this season and Baseball-Intellect breaks down his struggles and decreased velocity.
John Smoltz was placed on the 15 day DL with a severely inflamed biceps tendon and inflamed rotator cuff and will return to the bullpen when he comes back from his injury. Smoltz was pitching well this season with an ERA of only 2.00.
The Seattle Mariners cut Brad Wilkerson and demoted Greg Norton while promoting catching prospect Jeff Clement and power-hitting outfielder Wladimir Balentien. Clement and Balentien have the potential to both make big impacts this season for the Mariners, so I would definitely keep an eye on them.
In San Francisco Giants news, as we all know, Barry Zito was demoted to the bullpen only only 16 months after signing a $126 million, seven-year contract. Meanwhile, one of their remaining starters, Johnathon Sanchez looks to be the real deal.
Julio Franco has finally decided to retire at the age of 49 and having completed 23 seasons in the major leagues. Franco finishes his career with a .298 average, 173 home runs, 1,194 RBIs, and 2,586 hits. He also is the oldest player in major league history to hit a home run.
Pitcher Matt Morris also announced his retirement this past week. Morris finishes his career with 121 wins and a 3.86 ERA. He was also a 2-time All-Star in his 11 year career.
Check out this SaberScouting report on some minor leaguers they have scouted recently.
The Hard Ball Times gives us the 10 worst number 3 hitters since 1957. Pretty interesting to see some of the awful seasons these guys had and you have to wonder why they continued to bat third in the lineup.
Finally, I've pretty much avoided covering any part of the Roger Clemens saga but he has become a complete mess and nobody is going to look at Clemens the same after all that has happened in the past few months. In fact, when all is said and done Clemens might look alot more like this generations Pete Rose.
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