The Big Leagues: 2011 And On

[PhillieFever]

Baseball they say is a funny game. Just when you think you have it all figured out the St. Louis Cardinals storm back from 10 games out in September to win the World Series, as the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies all fall on their faces. This dynasty will go back to day one of the 2011 season, offering redemption for some, and vindication for others. Time will tell who wins out. The rules here are pretty simple. I'll choose a team from the MLB set that comes with the game and become that club's GM/manager. Going forward anything can happen, I've allowed for the game's stories to play out as they will. Franchise shifts, injuries, rules changes, whatever the game offers I will accept. Hopefully you guys will follow along(I haven't had much luck lately so I don't blame anyone for thinking I'll pull out of this as well ) Since it is the present day, I'll play it out one day at a time no sense in trying to rush it. Next up, a division by division season preview.

[Klew1986]

Looking forward to this. I usually do the league evolution, but with team relocation, team nickname options unchecked. No sense in seeing a team move to another city unless I plan on it.

[PhillieFever]

Thursday March 31st, 2011

American League East Season Preview

By Paul Hoynes
Cleveland Plain Dealer

Predicted Order Of Finish

1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Baltimore Orioles

The Skinny: Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez are going to help the Red Sox score a lot of runs, but if Josh Beckett and John Lackey aren't right, the race will get tight...CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and AJ Burnett, the Yankees top three starters, will be fine. It's the last two spots in the rotation that could be their undoing. Can MLB's best lineup make up for two holes in the rotation?..... Admire the Rays spunk and depth, but no team can lose as many key players as they did and churn out another 96 win season. Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez can't change that.... By trading Vernon Wells to the Angels, the Jays cleared a lot of payroll. That will help them a lot more in the years to come than in 2011....... Manager Buck Showalter brought a lot to the Orioles when he took over last year and led them to a 34-23 record. If Derrek Lee gets over his sore wrist, he'll help the offense, but they're in the wrong division.

Top Arms: Stat gurus probably cost CC Sabathia at least one Cy Young Award in the past two seasons, but the Yankees lefty keeps winning..... Bobby Jenks give the Red Sox a great one two punch with closer Jonathan Papelbon. Then there's starters John Lester(19-9) and Clay Buchholz(17-7). Yeah Boston has pitching coming and going...... The Rays traded pitcher Matt Garza but they still have David Price(19-6), Wade Davis(12-10) and emerging Jeremy Hellickson(4-0)....... Toronto traded it's top two pitchers, Roy Halladay and Shaun Marcum, over the past two Winters. Ricky Romero(14-9), Brandon Morrow(10-7), and Brett Cecil(15-7) are still there, although Morrow will open the season on the disabled list...... Lefty Brian Matusz(10-12) is an arm to watch with the Orioles. Unfortunately they don't have enough of them.

Top Bats: Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, and Derek Jeter have a chance to score 100 runs each for the third straight season..... Carl Crawford is a career .300 hitter(181 for 604) against the Red Sox, with 79 runs, 32 doubles, and 69 steals. Can he do better than that this season as a Red Sox?..... If the Orioles get the Vlad Guerrero from last year's regular season they'll be happy. If it's the Guerrero that appeared in the post season, they won't be happy. ..... Most intriguing hitter in the AL East has to be Toronto's Jose Bautista. Where did those 54 home runs come from last season and will he ever do it again? ...... OPS for Evan Longoria in his first three years with the Rays: .874, .890, .879.

Top Newcomer: Life can begin again with Manny Ramirez back in the AL East.

Rookies To Watch: Toronto catcher J.P. Arencibia hit .301 with 32 homers and 85 RBI at Triple A Las Vegas last season.

Young Arms: Jeremy Hellickson looked good in the Rays rotation at the end of last season..... Right hander Kyle Drabek will open the year in Toronto's rotation.

Crystal Ball: The Yankees signed Russell Martin to be their regular catcher and have Jesus Montero in the pipeline, but do you really think we've heard the last from Jorge Posada behind the plate?

[PhillieFever]

Thursday March 31st, 2011

American League Central Season Preview

Predicted Order Of Finish

1. Chicago White Sox
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Detroit Tigers
4. Cleveland Indians
5. Kansas City Royals

The Skinny: The boys are back together on the South Side of Chicago along with Adam Dunn. If Ozzie Guillen can keep his twitter finger under control, he may finally find a way to beat the Twins. ... Hard to pick against the Twins, who have won the division six of the past nine years. But you have to wonder about Justin Morneau's concussion and how long Joe Mauer can keep catching. ... The Tigers had a good off-season with the signings of Victor Martinez and Joaquin Benoit and the retention of Magglio Ordonez, Brandon Inge, and Jhonny Peralta. The Miguel Cabrera, the best hitter in the division, was arrested for DUI just before the start of camp. Not a good start. ... In 2007 CC Sabathia won the Cy Young Award for the Indians. In 2008 Cliff Lee won the Cy Young Award for the Indians and in 2009 Zach Greinke won the Cy Young Award for the Royals. It's three years later and the Indians and Royals felt they had to trade those three pitchers because they couldn't afford to keep them. That closed the books on the chances of these two franchises contending in the near future.

Top Arms: Best arm in the division belongs to Detroit's Justin Verlander(18-9, 3.37 ERA, 219 strikeouts in 224 and a third innings pitched). ... Minnesota's Carl Pavano, with 31 wins in the past two years, is right behind. ... The Tribe's Chris Perez is the top emerging closer in the division, but the undefeated champion remains Kansas City's Joakim Soria. ... Best grinder among the Central's starters is Chicago's Mark Buehrle. Not to bad a fielder as well. ... The Twins took a hit in the bullpen through free agency, but if Joe Nathan makes it back from Tommy John surgery to pair with Matt Capps, things should be fine. ... Luke Hochevar, 6-6 last year, will be the Royals Opening Day starter. Hochevar was the first player taken in the 2006 draft.

Top Bats: No one's better with a bat in his hand than Miguel Cabrera. ... Shin-Soo Choo's on base percentage over the past two years: .394, and .401. .... Billy Butler is a real threat for the Royals. ... What will Adam Dunn do in Chicago if all he has to concentrate on is hitting after spending nine years in the outfield in the NL? The pairing of Paul Konerko and Dunn in Chicago's lineup is going to be fun to watch. .... Delmon Young had the season the Twins were waiting for last year(.298, 21 HR's, 112 RBI), can he do it again?

Top Newcomer: Victor Martinez is back in the AL Central after a 1 1/2 year hiatus to the AL East. The upside, Indians fans get to see him 19 times. The downside, he'll be wearing a Tigers uniform.

Top Rookies: Third Baseman Bret Morel(Chicago), Mike Moustakas(Royals), and Lonnie Chisenhall(Indians), could get their chance sometime this season. In fact, Morel will start the season with the White Sox.

Young Arms: If you like hard throwing side-arming lefties, Chicago's Chris Sale is your guy. He pitched exactly 10 and one third innings in the minors before the White Sox promoted the 2010 #1 draft pick. ... Twins lefty Brian Duensing is 15-5 with a 3.02 ERA in 77 big league appearances, including 22 starts.

Crystal Ball: Midway through the season, the Marlins renew their interest in acquiring White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. Hey, they kicked the tires on the proposal over the Winter.

[PhillieFever]

Thursday March 31st, 2011

American League West Season Preview

Predicted Order Of Finish

1. Oakland Athletics
2. Texas Rangers
3. Los Angeles Angels
4. Seattle Mariners

The Skinny: A power shift in the division has the A's and Rangers rising and the Angels falling. The Angels failed to win the AL West in 2010 for just the second time in the past seven years. It was just the third time they've missed the postseason in the past nine years. Then the spent the Winter mostly sitting on their hands, besides trading for Vernon Wells and his monster contract. .... The Rangers went to the World Series for the first time last year. When it was over they lost Cliff Lee to free agency and CEO Chuck Greenberg to front office intrigue. The best thing to come out of that for Texans is that Nolan Ryan is finally in charge. .... The A's added Hideki Matsui, David Degasses, and Josh Willingham to get some offense to go along with their excellent pitching. The guy they really wanted, Adrian Beltre, signed with archrival Texas. .... Eric Wedge is the Mariners 8th Manager since 2002. That's a lot in case you were wondering.

Top Bats: Josh Hamilton, reigning AL MVP is the best hitter in the division, but he didn't come to camp in shape because of a January case of pneumonia. Michael Young isn't bad either, but Manager Ron Washington is going to earn his salary trying to keep him in the lineup as a DH/utility infielder now that he's lost the job to Beltre. .... The Angels Kendry Morales is still trying to come back from breaking his leg last year in a celebration at the plate after hitting a game winning grand slam. .... If Morales can't go, rookie Mike Trumbo will get a shot. He had a big spring and hit .301(160 for 532) with 36 homers and 122 RBI at Triple A Salt Lake City last year. .... Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki will be trying for his 11th straight 200 hit season. ..... Hideki Matsui will DH for Oakland.

Top Arms: All eyes in Texas aren't on Nolan Ryan or Josh Hamilton. All eyes are on Neftali Feliz. Will he start to take over for the departed Lee, or will he return to the closer role where he saved 40 games last season and won AL Rookie Of The Year? The fate of the 2011 Rangers may depend on the decision. .... There's no doubt what Felix Hernandez will do. He'll start for a rebuilding Seattle team. He might even win 14 games, which would put him in line for a second straight Cy Young Award since a pitcher's won-loss record no longer matters. But their may be workload issues since Hernandez has pitched 478 and a third innings over the past two years. .... Oakland closer Andrew Bailey(right elbow) will open the year on the disabled list, but free agent Brian Fuentes will back him up. The A's led the AL in ERA last year despite being only a .500 team. They have 18 game winner Trevor Cahill and one of the best lefties going in Gio Gonzalez(15-9, 3.23).

Top Newcomer: Vernon Wells, and the $86 million still owed on his contract, leave Toronto for the California sunshine. The Angels hope the veteran Wells can keep playing like he did last year when he hit .273 with 44 doubles, 31 homers, and 88 RBI.

Top Rookies: Catcher Hank Conger(Angels), right hander Tanner Scheppers(Rangers), second baseman Dustin Ackley(Mariners), and first baseman/outfielder Chris Carter(A's) could all be heard from this year.

Young Arms: Seattle right hander Michael Pineda is 6-5 240 and could help the rotation sometime this year. .... Hard throwing Alexi Ogando is a guy to watch in the Rangers bullpen.

Crystal Ball: In the A's offense doesn't improve to go along with their pitching, the AL West will belong to Texas for a second straight year.

[PhillieFever]

Thursday March 31st, 2011

National League East Season Preview

By Paul Hoynes
Cleveland Plain Dealer

Predicted Order Of Finish

1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Florida Marlins
4. Washington Nationals
5. New York Mets

The Skinny: Everyone thinks the Phillies are World Series bound, but they're expected to open the season with second baseman Chase Utley(right knee), closer Brad Lidge(right shoulder), and outfielder Domonic Brown(right hand), on the disabled list, and third baseman Placido Polanco nursing a hyperextended left elbow. .... Terry Collins(Mets) and Fredi Gonzalez(Braves) start new managerial gigs this year. It's Collins' first big league job since 1999. Gonzalez is replacing Bobby Cox. .... Manager Edwin Rodriguez starts his first full season with the Marlins. .... Can respected infield coach Perry Hill help the Marlins' defense(123 errors, .979 fielding percentage in 2010)? Speaking of defense, the Braves won the wild card last year despite tying the Cubs for the second most errors in the NL with 126. .... The Mets could be in serious financial trouble if the Bernie Madoff lawsuit goes against them, but they still ate the contracts of Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo, swallowing $18.2 million.

Top Arms: The Phillies have Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels in the rotation. So what's the big deal? How will manager Charlie Manual arrange that embarrassment of riches entering the season? He'll go Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Hamels, and Joe (Who?) Blanton. How's that for righty-lefty balance. .... Johan Santana won't be back in the Mets rotation until June, as he recovers from surgery on his left shoulder. .... Josh Johnson leads the Marlins' rotation, but they need the same kind of production out of Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez, a combined 27 victories, that they received last season to contend. .... Tim Hudson(17-9) has re-established himself as Atlanta's lead dog starter. The Braves top two starters, Hudson(35), and Derek Lowe(37) have some age on them. Atlanta is expected to open the season with co-closers Craig Kimbrel and Jonny (OK) Venters to replace the retired Billy Wagner. Kimbrel is a rookie.

Top Bats: Jayson Werth(.296, 27 HR's, 85 RBI, 106 runs) gets to see what life is like on the other side of the street, going from the Phillies to the Nationals. ..... Wondering how power hitting second baseman Dan Uggla will do under dialed-up expectations with the Braves? He hit 27 or more homers per season over the past five years with the Marlins. Uggla should fit nicely with Atlanta hit men Martin Prado, Jason Heyward, and Chipper Jones, if he's healthy. .... Ryan Howard hit .276 with 31 homers and 106 RBI last season for the Phillies. For him that's a so-so year. .... Marlins talented shortstop Hanley Ramirez(.300, 21 HR's, 76 RBI, 92 runs, 32 steals) continues to play in obscurity. It will be interesting to see if Omar Infante, traded for Uggla, can repeat his .321(151 for 171) batting average for the Marlins.

Top Newcomer: Florida's Javier Vasquez is once again back in the safe confines of the NL after another bumpy trial with the Yankees

Rookies To Watch: He's only 18 and starting the year in the deep minors, but when does the drum beat start in Washington to bring Bryce Harper to the big leagues? Hope it's silent for a good long while. .... A year after unveiling outfielder Jason Heyward, the Braves give Freddie Freeman a shot at first base. .... Danny Espinosa has a shot to start at second base for the Nationals.

Young Arms: The Mets Jon Niese returns to the rotation this year after leading NL rookies in starts(30), innings pitched(173), and strikeouts(148) last year. .... The Nationals won't have Stephen Strasburg this year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, but Drew Storen, another of their young pitchers, will share the closer's job with Sean Burrell. Henry Rodriguez, who can hit 100 MPH, will open the year ol the DL for the Nats with a neck injury.

Crystal Ball: By mid-June the Phillies are going to realize they have a fight on their hands with the Braves.

[Klew1986]

Have you decided on a team yet?

[PhillieFever]

Thursday March 31st, 2011

National League Central Season Preview

Predicted Order Of Finish

1. Cincinnati Reds
2. Chicago Cubs
3. St. Louis Cardinals.
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Skinny: Here's how not to start spring training: Albert Pujols, the best player on the planet, tells you he wants $30 million a year for the next 20 years or so or he's going to turn free agent at the end of this season. Then 20 game winner Adam Wainright is lost for the season with a right elbow injury. Welcome to St. Loius. .... The news wasn't as bad in Milwaukee, but that Zack Greinke sure is a real buzz kill. Suds city was all a twitter when GM Doug Melvin pulled a coup and landed the former Cy Young winner in a deal with Kansas City. Then Greinke busts his bibs is a pick-up basketball game early in spring training and isn't expected to pitch until late April. The Brewers' other hot pitching acquisition, Shaun Marcum, has a sore right shoulder, and swingman Manny Parra is out with a sore back. The injuries prompted the Brewers to acquire Sergio Mitre from the Yankees. One more thing: Prince Fielder is in his free agent year and Scott Boras is his agent. Welcome to Milwaukee.

Top Arms: Bronson Arroyo(17-10) anchors the Reds' rotation and Francisco Cordero(40 saves) does the same in the pen. Johnny Cueto(12-7) will open the season on the disabled list with a sore right biceps and Arroyo was hit hard by the flu in spring training. .... St. Louis has lost Adam Wainright, but still has Chris Carpenter(16-9) Jaime Garcia(13-8), and Jake Westbrook(10-11). .... What are the odds that Carlos Zambrano keeps his cool long enough to stay in the Cubs rotation to meld with fifteen game winners Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza? .... Free agent acquisition Kevin Correia is the only double digit winner on new Manager Clint Hurdle's Pirates' staff. .... Yovani Gallardo replaces Greinke as the Brewers opening day starter. .... The Astros rotation has former Phillie Brett Myers(14-8), but not a whole lot more.

Top Hitters: What does MVP Joey Votto do for an encore in Cincinnati? His numbers last year: .324, 37 HR's, 111 RBI, 106 runs, .434 OBP, .600 slugging percentage. .... Here are Albert Pujols home run totals over his ten year career starting in 2001: 37, 34, 43, 46, 41, 49, 32, 37, 47, 42. Need we say more? .... Lance Berkman should fit in nicely in the Cardinals lineup with Pujols and Matt Holliday. .... It seems like the Brewers' offense should be better with Rickie Weeks(112 runs) setting the table and Prince Fielder(.269, 32 HR's, 83 RBI) and Ryan Braun(.304, 25 HR's, 103 RBI) clearing it. Outfielder Corey Hart(.283, 31 HR's, 102 RBI) will be out until mid April with a strained rib cage. .... The Astros offense consists of Hunter Pence and an aging Carlos Lee.

Top Newcomer: The Cubs acquired starter Matt Garza(15-10) from the Rays and he will improve a rotation that went 60-60 last year.

Top Rookies: The Reds like Yonder Alonso, who hit .296(120 for 406) with 12 homers and 56 RBI at Triple A Louisville last year, but he's a first baseman, and blocked by Votto.

Young Arms: St. Louis lefty Jaime Garcia led NL rookies with 13 wins last year. .... Cincinnati reliever Aroldis Chapman and his 103 MPH fastball, will be fun to watch as long as he throws strikes. Reds starter Mike Leake made 22 starts as a rookie last year. Brewers closer John Axford won eight games and saved 24 as Trevor Hoffman's rookie replacement in 2010.

Crystal Ball: The desperate Cardinals, backed by city fathers, pawn The Gateway Arch at the All Star Break to keep Albert Pujols.

[PhillieFever]

Thursday March 31st, 2011

National League West Season Preview

Predicted Order Of Finish

1. San Francisco Giants
2. Colorado Rockies
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. San Diego Padres
5. Arizona Diamondbacks

The Skinny: The World Series champion Giants are expected to open the season with NLCS MVP Cody Ross(left calf) and closer Brain Wilson(left oblique) on the disabled list. Starter Matt Cain meanwhile has been nursing a sore right elbow. No word on the state of Wilson's beard. .... Want to suck the life out of a promising team? Just keep doing what the Padres did over the Winter by trading their best player Adrian Gonzalez, to the mega-powered Red Sox because they couldn't afford to pay him. Need further proof? Check the attendance in Cleveland. .... Is there any money left in Denver after GM Dan O'Dowd signed shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez? Tulowitzki signed a 10 year $157.75 million dollar deal and Gonzalez signed a seven year $80 million dollar deal. .... With ownership of the Dodgers being decided in court, GM Ned Colletti was still able to add Jon Garland, Matt Guerrier, and Juan Uribe to the roster. He has a new manager as well in Don Mattingly, who replaces Joe Torre. .... Arizona, trying to change its image from a power hitting team prone to strikeouts to one stressing pitching and plate discipline under new GM Kevin Towers, dropped 22 players from last year's club.

Top Arms: It starts with Tim Lincecum(16-10), Matt Cain(13-11), Jonathan Sanchez(13-9), Madison Bumgarner(7-6), and Brian Wilson(3-3, 1.81 ERA, 48 saves) of the Giants, but doesn't end there. Colorado's Ubaldo Jiminez(19-8), LA's Clayton Kershaw(13-10) and San Diego's Mat Latos(14-10), Clayton Richard(14-9), Luke Gregerson(80 appearances, 89 strikeouts, 78 and a third innings) and Heath Bell(6-1, 1.93 ERA, 47 saves) were dominant in 2010. Last year the opposition hit .204 vs. Sanchez, .209 vs. Jiminez, .214 vs. Kershaw, .217 vs. Latos, and .221 vs. Cain. Can't anybody but Carlos Gonzalez hit in the NL West?

Top Hitters: No wonder the Rockies gave Carlos Gonzalez all that money. He won the NL batting title with a .336 average and had 34 homers, 117 RBI, 111 runs, and 57 multi-hit games. Who knows what kind of damage he'll do with Troy Tulowitzki(.313, 27 HR's, 95 RBI) in the lineup every day? He played only 122 games last year. .... The Giants aren't going to overwhelm anyone on offense, but they do have catcher Buster Posey(.305, 18 HR, 67 RBI) and Aubrey Huff(.290, 26 HR's, 86 RBI). .... Juan Uribe(.248, 24 HR's, 85 RBI) took his wild swing down the road from San Francisco to Los Angeles during the Winter. He'll join Andre Ethier(.292, 23 HR's, 82 RBI) and Matt Kemp(.249, 28 HR's, 89 RBI). .... The Padres had better hope Ryan Ludwick and Cameron Maybin can make up for some of the offense Adrian Gonzalez took to Boston. .... The Diamondbacks could use bounce-back years from Stephen Drew and Justin Upton.

Top Newcomer: Detroit traded Armando Galarraga to Arizona in January. He's hoping his luck changes and he gets another shot at a perfect game.

Top Rookies: Kenley Jansen has a chance to help the Dodgers in the pen this year. In 25 games last year with the Dodgers, he allowed two runs in 27 innings and saved four games.

Young Arms: Arizona's Danie Hudson(8-2, 2.45 ERA, 84 K's, 95 and a third innings) could make White Sox GM Ken Williams regret sending him to the desert. ..... Colorado's Jhoulys Chacin went 9-11 and made 28 starts for the Rockies as a rookie.

Crystal Ball: The Giants have to be considered the favorites opening the season, but look for the Rockies to run them down in the second half.

[PhillieFever]

A few things before I get started: First, guys who began the season on the D/L will be there in the game, other than that injuries will be random. Same with trades, rosters will be from opening day, from there it's a clean slate whatever happens happens. Of course there are all five levels of minors, and the draft is mid June. Finally I've decided to take control of the Phillies, I just can't pass up the opportunity for redemption one, and the possibility to re-tool the team they way I would like too. As far as my involvement, I'll be the GM, responsible for player movement up and down the ladder, but I'll have my minor league managers setting lineups and rotations for those teams. I will manage each Phils game. Next up it's on to Opening Day!

[PhillieFever]

It's Not New Years Day or Christmas Day, It's Better. It's MLB Opening Day. - YouTube

[Germaniac]

Sounds interesting !!! Play Ball !!!

[PhillieFever]

Thursday March 31st, 2011

Sabathia Dominates In Yanks 3-1 Defeat Of Tigers

CC opens the season in dominating form

The Bronx- On a dreary, windy, and downright cold day here in New York, Yankees ace CC Sabathia was at his best, holding the Tigers to just one run on three hits while striking out nine over eight dominating innings, as the Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers by the score of 3-1 in front of a huge crowd of 48,226 at frigid Yankee Stadium.
Tied at 1-1 after four, the Yanks took the lead for good in the 5th when following a two out double by Curtis Granderson, new catcher Russell Martin stepped to the plate and lined a Justin Verlander changeup into left, scoring Granderson and giving New York the lead. The Yankees added to the lead in the 6th with another two out run, this time it was a solo homer by Alex Rodriguez. Meanwhile, Sabathia had taken over the game. After allowing an RBI single to Magglio Ordonez in the 4th, CC did not allow another base runner, retiring the final 13 batters he faced, five of them by strikeout. In the 9th, Mariano Rivera did his usual, ground out, strike out, fly out. Yankees win!

In Today's Other Games

Braves hurler Tommy Hanson tossed eight scoreless innings, scattering six hits, walking one, and striking out five, as the Braves opened the season with a 2-0 shutout of the Washington Nationals. Chipper Jones and Brian McCann each had homers to lead Atlanta's offense.

Pitcher Chris Carpenter's two run double sparked a four run 5th inning for the Cardinals who went on to defeat the visiting Padres 5-4.

In the only other AL contest, the Kansas City Royals scored four in the 6th and three in the 7th, getting homers from Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera in the process, as Kansas City dumped the Angels 8-6.

In Cincinnati, a first inning bases loaded walk by Prince Fielder along with a 7th inning homer by Mark Kotsay gave Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo more than enough support, as Milwaukee blanked the Reds 2-0. Gallardo pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6.

Today's Scoreboard

[Big T]

Philliesfan takes the Phillies...... surprize surprize

Let er rip.... lets see what unfolds...

Love the MLB logo and banner by the way...

[PhillieFever]

Friday April 1st, 2011

Today's Top Stories

Sox Lose Game, Crawford
Expected by many to be in the World Series come October, the 2011 baseball season has started a bit inauspiciously for the Boston Red Sox. Not only was the vaunted Sox offense held to just five hits in a 2-1 loss to C.J. Wilson and the Texas Rangers, but prized free agent acquisition Carl Crawford strained his back while making a circus catch in the 4th inning and was forced to leave the game. At the post game press conference, Boston Manager Terry Francona confirmed the injury and admitted that is all likely hood Crawford was headed for a stint on the DL.

Young Sparks D-Backs To Victory
Arizona CF Chris B. Young came busting through the gates in today's opener, going 4 for 5 with 2 homers, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored in a 6-2 win over the Rockies at Coors Field. Despite allowing 6 hits and walking 5, Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy held Colorado to just one run over 6 and two thirds innings pitched, good enough to get the win.

Phils Squeak Past Astros
Despite managing just two hits off of the Astros Brett Myers, the Phillies made them count, as back to back third inning homers by Carlos Ruiz and Wilson Valdez gave the Phils a 2-0 victory in their home opener. SP Roy Halladay escaped some early troubles unscathed, then dominated the rest of the way, twirling 8 shutout innings for his first win of the year. Ryan Madson got the save.

Chicago Outslugs Cleveland 10-8
In a wild affair at rainy Progressive Field, Indians RF Shelley Duncan was 3 for 4 with 2 homers, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored, but it wasn't enough for the Tribe, who fell to Chicago 10-8. 2B Brent Lillibridge had four hits including a double, a homer, and 4 RBI to lead the White Sox.

Price Dominates O's
25 year old Rays ace David Price was every bit as good as advertised, holding the Orioles to an unearned run on four hits and two walks while striking out seven over 8 and a third innings pitched, as Tampa defeated Baltimore 4-1. Johnny Damon and Evan Longoria each had homers, and Manny Ramirez had two hits including a double for Tampa Bay.

Major Transactions

The San Francisco Giants have claimed 35 year old 2B Ronnie Belliard off of waivers from Philadelphia.

The Boston Red Sox have placed OF Carl Crawford on the 15 day DL, and recalled RF Josh Reddick from Triple A Pawtucket.

Today's Scoreboard & Standings

[Amazin69]

Getting just two hits (including a homer by Wilson Valdez??) and getting the win. Brett Myers must be angry enough to punch…nah, let's not go there.

As in RL, my Metsies suffer their first Opening Day loss since '05, and in apparently-heartbreaking fashion. (Nice closing job, Krud!) Ah, well, still 30-12 in the last 42 openers…just because we're awesome at it doesn't mean we're perfect.

And the Crawford deal is already driving the Sons of Sam Horn crazy, no doubt. LMAO.

Good luck! (Despite your NL East picks, grumble, mutter…)

[captaincarl]

Like Larry Lucchino, I didn't like the Crawford deal either. Who knows, maybe the Cubs will win the Central AND the World Series before Theo "curse buster" Epstein gets them there in RL.

Good luck with this & great write ups on the teams, as usual.

[PhillieFever]

HaHa, wait till the next update! Another big injury, and a Cliff Lee beat-down. As for the season previews, I got them from a Cleveland Newspaper site, I thought they were just perfect for an intro. The real author is of course credited, his name is Paul Hoynes. FYI anytime I use another writer's name, it is their work. I just "promoted" it to others Obviously everything else is mine

[Germaniac]

Originally Posted by Big T

Philliesfan takes the Phillies...... surprize surprize

Let er rip.... lets see what unfolds...

Love the MLB logo and banner by the way...

I never would have expected that, either

[PhillieFever]

What can I say, I'm a homer!!!!!