MLB: NL Wild Card – A Race You Can Count On

By Andy Sadler, WSOE Sports

Historically, there has always been drama to the NL Wild Card race.  Last year, we saw the New York Mess implode down the stretch and lose their spot to the Milwaukee Brewers.  The year before, coupled with another Mess implosion, the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres in a controversial tiebreaker game in which Matt Holliday still has not touched home plate with the game-winning run from Jamey Carroll’s sacrifice fly.  In 2006, the Los Angeles Dodgers won their final seven games to clinch the last spot.  In 2005, the Houston Astros won their final two games to win the wild-card by one game over a surging Philadelphia Phillies team.  In 2004, the Astros won their final seven to overtake the San Francisco Giants by one game.  This year figures to be no less drama.

As it currently stands, the Rockies hold a one-game lead over the Giants, with the Florida Marlins two games back, and the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves lurking three games back.  Each of these five teams figures to be in the picture the last week of September.  The Rockies have been on a tear under new manager Jim Tracy, recording a 44-23 record since he took over.  With a rotation that has recorded more quality starts than any other (in Coors Field, mind you) and a lineup bolstered by Todd Helton, Brad Hawpe, and Troy “I Hit for the Cycle Without Truly Tripling” Tulowitzki, they weigh in as the favorites at this point.  The Giants have one of the two best rotations in the National League (we’ll talk about the other one later).  Also, the acquisitions of Ryan Garko and Freddy Sanchez went under the radar in late July, but could be enough to put the Giants over the top.

The Marlins have arguably both the best and most underrated player in all of baseball.  Hanley Ramirez leads the NL in hitting, and has shown some pop as well.  He’s the best five-tool player in the game today.  Staff ace Josh Johnson is sitting at 11-2 with a 2.92 ERA.  He also has the fifth best WHIP in the league.  In the last two years, he’s 18-3.  Now he has your attention.

The Cubs, although in the middle of the standings, will likely not be hanging around this race as long as the other clubs.  While everyone else is surging, the Cubs are seeing their club become depleted through injuries.  The latest loss, Carlos Zambrano, leaves the club in such disarray that Tom Gorzelanny and Jeff Samardzija must come out of the bullpen into the rotation.  If Samardzija can’t be Zambrano-like, say goodbye to the Cubbies chances of ending the curse this year.

But let’s not forget about the Atlanta Braves.  With a pitching staff that resembles the 1990s more than the last three years, this is the first year the club has closely contended since its 14-year division title streak was snapped.  With Omar Infante coming back from an injury that kept him out 2 ½ months (he was hitting .349 before he went out) and Tim Hudson coming back from Tommy John surgery, this team will only get better.  And these guys can beat the top competition.  They just took 3 of 4 from the Dodgers out west and have compiled a 7-2 record against the division-leading Phillies this year.

So who wins it?  It would be foolish to even guess right now.  The only safe bet is that the race comes down to the final weekend, and likely the final game.  Anyone else down for a four-team playoff?

Contact Information:
Andy Sadler
WSOE Sports
asadler7@gmail.com

MLB: Watch out for those… Giants?

By Andy Sadler, WSOE Sports

Mark it down. Your surprise team of the 2009 season will be the San Francisco Giants. To quote Vicki from the Waterboy: “Guess? That ain’t no guess! That’s what it’s gonna be!”

Lets be honest, there’s not a whole lot of competition out there in the West. The popular preseason champ of their division is the Dodgers. We’ll get back to them.

The Padres will struggle to win 60 games this year. Count them out. The Rockies will score some runs, but without Matt Holliday, it won’t be enough to make up for the runs they’ll give up. The Diamondbacks have a wealth of young talent and will be a force to reckon with for the next ten years. But they have no starters born before 1980, and their biggest veteran presence off the bench (Eric Byrnes) hit .209 last year. Their rotation looks to be solid, but unless Brandon Webb can be the ace he’s expected to be (and not the goat he was in his first start), this team won’t contend.

So back to those Dodgers. They can hit. No doubt about that. I’d give them the best lineup in the National League (yes, better than those Mets and Phils). Here’s a look at their opening day lineup:

Rafael Furcal
Orlando Hudson
Manny Ramirez
Andre Ethier
Russell Martin
James Loney
Matt Kemp
Casey Blake
Hiroki Kuroda

Yikes. Matt Kemp hitting 7th? That lineup frightens me. They’ll be good. But the team has no ace. They lost Derek Lowe to the Braves. Hiroki Kuroda is a solid option, and can be exceptional at times. And Clayton Kershaw has all the potential in the world, and may show it this year. But Chad Billingsley, Randy Wolf, and James McDonald are three very underwhelming starting pitchers. Thus, the Giants have an opening.

I think we can agree that the Giants have the best rotation in the division. Tim Lincecum just won his first Cy Young (and I doubt his last). Matt Cain was coveted by several teams this offseason, but the Giants wouldn’t budge. Randy Johnson had a 3.41 ERA after the All-Star break last year, with almost a strikeout per inning. Barry Zito… well never mind. But who knows, the guy clearly had talent. And then Jonathan Sanchez or Noah Lowry to round out the rotation. Those guys would both probably be #3 in L.A.

Remember the name Pablo Sandoval. It will be hard to forget pretty soon. He hit .457 this Spring Training, and has the power to hit up to 20 home runs. He’ll start at third. He’ll be sharing a side of the infield with the mysterious Edgar Renteria, who has always been a National League player (just look at the numbers). Renteria is good for .300 and 10-15 home runs. First baseman Travis Ishikawa showed some pop in Spring Training with seven dingers. Bengie Molina will a top five hitting catcher in the National League. And speed is abundant in a lineup with Fred Lewis, Randy Winn, and Emmanuel Burriss. While the lineup may not scare you like the bats in L.A., it’s very similar to that of the Minnesota Twins (minus a Justin Morneau in the middle). Don’t be surprised when pitching leads the recently woeful Giants back to the playoffs.

Listen to Andy and the Sports Time crew every Tuesday from 4:10-6:00 p.m.

Contact Information:
Andy Sadler
WSOE Sports
asadler@elon.edu

MLB: Oh, How the Mighty have Fallen

By Andy Sadler, WSOE Sports 

 

World Baseball Classic favorite Dominican Republic got bounced in the first round last week.  No, let’s revisit that.  They got trounced in the first round last week.  In a tournament where no other favorite struggled out of the gate, the Dominican dropped two one-run decisions to the lowly Netherlands.

Yes, the Netherlands.  Led by stud pitcher Rick VandenHurk.  (Okay…  By stud I mean that he pitched in the MLB last year.  And only 14 innings at that.)  The team has compiled 95 career MLB victories among the entire team.  All of them belong to VandenHurk and journeyman Sidney Ponson.  The Dominican totaled 512.

The reality is, however, that no more than five of these guys will likely ever make it to Major League Baseball.  And none of them look to have All-Star potential.  This isn’t the case of an underrated team being remarkably better than everyone expected.  It’s the case of a world power being overconfident.  Twice.

For everything you can say about the Netherlands team, you can say the opposite about the Dominican.  Almost the entire roster has Major League experience.  The rest are top prospects right now.  There isn’t a player on this roster who won’t play in the Majors.  The Dominican B team should have crushed the Netherlands.  Even the C team could have matched them.

For the Netherlands, the journey continues.  After losing 5-0 to Puerto Rico, they’re off to a bracket with the Puerto Ricans, Venezuelans, and Americans.  Ouch.  If they can persevere, maybe the Dominicans can conserve a bit of pride.  But in all likelihood, they’ll be overmatched and make a quick exit.

This loss is a giant embarrassment to baseball in the Dominican Republic.  A team led by MLB stars David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, and Pedro Martinez couldn’t hang with a team led by Rick VandenHurk, Randall Simon, Eugene Kingsale, and Yurendell Decaster.  (Who???)  So it’s back to the drawing board and hope for 2012.

But that’s why they play the games.

 

Listen to Andy and the rest of the Sports Time crew every Tuesday from 4:10-6:00 p.m.

Contact Information:
Andy Sadler
WSOE Sports
asadler@elon.edu