AL Silver Sluggers announced with few surprises
Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Kudos, MLB
The American League Silver Slugger Award winners were announced recently, and six of the nine selections came out of the East, which further goes to show just how powerful – literally – this division is. The New York Yankees had repeat winners in Mark Teixeira at first-base and Derek Jeter at short. The Boston Red Sox’s Jason Bay was honored with his first, the Tampa Bay Rays’ Evan Longoria at third, and the Toronto Blue Jays each had first-timers with Aaron Hill at second and Adam Lind as the designated hitter. The rest of the league squeaked in Joe Mauer, catcher for the Minnesota Twins with his third, and Ichiro Suzuki from the Seattle Mariners and Torii Hunter from the Los Angeles Angels in outfield, with their third and first, respectively.
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Fortune Telling with Eric Hinske
Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Athletes, Championship, Editorial, MLB, Playoffs
Congratulations to Eric Hinske, who won his second World Series ring. Well, to say he “won” it might be a stretch. More appropriately, he was a part of a second World Series-winning team. This was also Hinske’s third appearance in the Fall Classic in the last three years, all with different American League East teams. The good fortune of teams with Hinske on their roster seems to know no bounds. He won the 2002 American League Rookie of the Year Award with the Toronto Blue Jays before suffering a broken bone in his hand. After several years of spot-filling, Hinske was traded to the Boston Red Sox late in 2006, where “Good Luck” Hinske became a new phenomenon.
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Canada’s team may not be for Canada’s Bay
Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Athletes, Editorial, MLB, Trades
Jason Bay has a history of success. Being a 22nd round draft pick by the Montreal Expos, not many expected much of him. He was traded from the Expos to the San Diego Padres to the Pittsburgh Pirates between 2002-2003, making his MLB debut along the way. However, 2004 was the year he made the greatest impact. He hit .282 in 120 games, and lead all rookies 26 home runs, 82 RBI, .550 slugging, 54 extra base hits and 226 total bases. His accomplishments earned him the 2004 NL Rookie of the Year Award; the first time for any Canadian. In 2008, he was traded to the Red Sox to replace Manny Ramirez, and he has fit in perfectly.
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Red Sox are down but not out
Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Editorial, MLB, Playoffs
Two down, one to go. That’s the only thing going through the minds of the Los Angeles Angels. Two games into their ALDS series against the Boston Red Sox, the Angels are up two wins to zero, and can clinch a ride to the League Championship Series with a third win on Sunday afternoon. However, as has been said time and time again, the hardest game to win is the last one, and you can be sure that the Red Sox will not go down without a fight.
Fate is working both for and against the Angels in this series. It is working for them in the fact that since the Divisional Series’ were introduced in 1995, only four teams have ever come back to win a series after being down 2-0. Two of those were the 1995 Seattle Mariners who beat the New York Yankees, and the other was the 2001 Yankees, who took down the Oakland Athletics. However, fate is working against the 2009 Angels, because those other two teams that came back from 2-0 down were the 1999 and 2003 versions of the Boston Red Sox.
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The 2009 MLB Playoffs Exposed
Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Editorial, MLB, Playoffs
With the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers extra-inning division game nail-biter in the books, we now know the eight playoff teams. With that, here’s a Gear Live exclusive detailing exactly what is going to happen in each respective league in the 2009 MLB playoffs. Some may shock you, but it’s all true, so pay attention.
In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals and their best three-man rotation in baseball, led of course by Chris Carpenter and his near-unanimous “Comeback Player of the Year” award; will make short work of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup. The St. Louis starters will each flirt with perfection, but L.A. will manage to score three measly runs in the three game series; one per game. Each run will be come via a solo blast by Manny Ramirez, still trying to show the baseball world that he can ruin anything special that baseball has to offer. The other series will be much the same, with the Philadelphia Phillies starting Cliff Lee in three games against the Colorado Rockies, just to see if he can finally prove that he actually is better than Roy Halladay. He’ll win two, but it will take a group effort for Philadelphia to clinch the divisional series.
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The Tampa Bay Rays have proved nothing
Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Editorial, MLB
Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Rays dropped their 11th straight game, one of the longest losing streaks for any team in 2009. These are the same Tampa Bay Rays whose bandwagon everybody jumped on after a successful run to the World Series last year. The Rays took those fans for a ride this year, and many thought that the team would be a force to be reckoned with; that their minuscule payroll would be able to match the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees. Boy, were those people wrong.
The Rays of ’09 are just another name in the bunch. Sure, the Rays aren’t going to lose 90 games this year like they had every season prior to 2008, but they’re certainly not the same team that they were a year ago. With neighbors like the Red Sox and Yankees in their division, 90 wins will never be good enough, and the Rays certainly aren’t going to win 90 games this year. If they continue at the pace they’ve had for the past month or so, they’ll be lucky to finish with a second .500 season.
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September Struggles for the Baltimore Orioles
Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Editorial, MLB
The Baltimore Orioles suck at playing baseball in September. The last time they had a winning record during the last month of the season was 2004, when they went an impressive 18-10. Unfortunately for the O’s of yesteryear, not even .643 baseball could get them to a winning season record – or even bring them inside of 20 games of a wild card spot this season. Since 2004, they’ve gone 10-18, 10-18, 10-19, and 5-20 down the final stretch of each year. So far in 2009, they’ve gone 0-2, dropping a pair to the New York Yankees.
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What’s Bothering Josh Beckett?
Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Athletes, Editorial, MLB
Josh Beckett is the ace of the Boston Red Sox’ pitching staff. He is a former World Series MVP and American League All-Star; and this season had been posting numbers worth of Cy Young consideration. However, just a few weeks ago, all that began to change for the 29-year old right handed hurler.
Since August 12, Beckett has been the exact opposite of what he is expected to be. His ace pitcher status is definitely in question. Over his last five starts, he’s gone 1-1 in 31.1 innings, giving up 33 hits and 7 walks. What has been among the most un-Beckett-like is the fact that he has given up 26 earned runs over that stretch, but the most shocking number is the home runs he has given up. In those give games, he’s allowed 14 home runs. He’d only given up 10 home runs throughout the season prior to then.
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The So-Called Pennant Races
Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: MLB, News, Playoffs
September is here, and so the home stretch for the 2009 MLB season is upon us. The playoff races will take center stage in sports media, but for the first time in years, the races look as if they might be over before they really get started. Going into Wednesday night’s action, the closest pennant race was the American League Central, where the Detroit Tigers hold a 3.5 game lead over the Minnesota Twins, who, when it comes to playoff races, are a pathetic two games above .500. In the Central’s National League counterpart, the St. Louis Cardinals have already all-but-clinched the division as they hold a 10.5 game lead over the Chicago Cubs. It would take a colossal turn of events for the Cards to miss the playoffs in 2009.
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A Breath of Fresh Air for the AL Wild Card
Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: MLB
Thank goodness. It’s about time somebody from outside the American League East was holding the AL Wild Card spot. And with a 4-3 win, the Texas Rangers took two out of three from the Boston Red Sox, who went into this weekend with the elusive fourth playoff position, just ahead of Texas and the Tampa Bay Rays. Since 2003, only one team outside of the AL East has won the Wild Card slot, the 2006 Detroit Tigers. The Red Sox themselves have won four of the last six, while the Yankees won one in 2007.
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