April 2010
One Athletic Team
After their win last night over the Orioles, which by the way was the Athletics 3rd walkoff win this season, has made the Athletics record 9 – 4. They are 1 of 2 teams in all of baseball with nine wins, while the other being the Minnesota Twins. The Athletics are leading the division over the Mariners by 2.5 games. Now over the winter everyone thought the Mariners, Rangers, and Angels would be battling it out over the division title. While it is still April, the Athletics might have that good balance of pitching and speed, that could make the unthinkable happen. The Athletics could win their division. On the offsensive side, the Athletics have a great catalyst. Rajai Davis is one of the fastest outfielders in the game of baseball, and he has already stolen 7 bases in 13 games this season.
Ryan Sweeney and Travis Buck have looked solid, and could provide some pop. If any of them fails, Michael Taylor is waiting in the wings of Triple – A. On the infield, Daric Barton has been off to a hot start, Eric Chavez is looking to rebound and play gold glove caliber defense, Kevin Kouzmanoff will hit homeruns, and Mark Ellis will be back in the lineup soon. Jake Fox should be solid at DH, while Kurt Suzuki is one of the better offsensive catchers in the league. Now to the pitchers. Brett Anderson has a new contract, Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer, Dallas Braden, and Gio Gonzalez all round out a great rotation.
The bullpen is lights out, with Andrew Bailey, Jerry Blevins, Brad Ziegler, and Michael Wuertz should be back soon. So you think the Angels already have the division locked up? Think fast.Unbelievable: A Thriller of A Night
Wow. Not only did Ubaldo Jimenez throw the first No-Hitter in Rockies history, but the Mets and Cardinals went 20 innings, and I can say I watched the whole game. Now it sure was funny to see Felipe Lopez pitch, Kyle Lohse play left field, and some great plays made by Albert Pujols, Allen Craig, and Brendan Ryan. The Phillies were blanked by Ricky Nolasco, but on the bright side, Jayson Werth hit his first homerun of the year.
While Jayson hasn’t shown much power early on, but he is still batting .343 on the year. Jamie Moyer is usually good at pitching against the Marlins, but he was showing his age last night. Back to the No-Hitter, Ubaldo looked great, but he also walked 6, and Dexter Fowler saved the game for him, much like Dewayne Wise for Mark Buehrle in last year’s perfect game.
Dustin Pedroia hit his 5th homerun last night in the Red Sox loss, which is notable because he didn’t hit his 5th homerun last year until after the All-Star break. Today’s birthdays include Miguel Cabrera, Billy Butler, and the All-Time leader in triples, Sam Crawford, who had 309 three sackers.
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