Florida Marlins

As it stands right now, the Colorado Rockies are 4.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the National League Wild Card race. The Rockies have been a bit of a surprise team this season, after an unimpressive '08 campaign and the loss of Matt Holliday during the offseason. They've thrived after the firing of Clint Hurdle, as Jim Tracy has pushed the right buttons, rarely ever taking a misstep.

Continue reading "Have the Rockies locked up the NL Wild Card?"

Dateline: last season. New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada injures his shoulder. He ends up needing season-ending surgery leading to a Pudge Rodriguez summer rental. Fast forward to this season. There is no doubt his shoulder's gotten better. It just seems like every time I turn on the Yankee game on TV, some baserunner is trying to steal 2nd and the throw from Jorge is...........IN TIME! He's caught a couple stealing in last week's series against the Washington Nationals. I remember him catching somebody stealing against the Marlins. I believe it was Hanley Ramirez and if I remember correctly Ramirez was perfect so far this season until he got caught by Posada. Cool, huh? There is no doubt that Jorgie is back to form before the injury. Throw in a couple of home runs here and there and you've got yourself one of the most exciting Yankee players to watch. I love it! Every time he throws the ball to second and catches a baserunner stealing, it shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there who think he's coming off shoulder surgery and he's an easy stolen base. It shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there that think he's done. It shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there that think the Yanks should have kept Pudge. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against Ivan Rodriguez. Congrats Pudge on beating Carlton Fisk for most appearances as a catcher. I have a lot of respect for him. He's just too clutch against the teams I root for and a straight-up dud when he plays on teams I root for. This frustrates me just a little bit. Let Pudge be a journeyman going from team to team making history. I'll just stick with Jorgie, the best catcher in baseball as a staple on the New York Yankees.

Continue reading "Posada's shoulder holding up nicely ..."

The New York Yankees have a 3-game series this weekend against the Florida Marlins. One of the pitchers they could be facing is Chris Volstadt. An interesting little article in the MLB Insider section of the May 18 issue of ESPN the Magazine shed a little light on his background. His dad was a golf tutor to Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. This was a great help to Chris when he was in little league growing up in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. He had a very awkward delivery. As a favor to his dad, Jim Palmer gave him some tips. The result: Chris Volstadt grew up to be 6'8". He's got a killer sinking fastball that causes opposing batters to hit a lot of ground balls. Through the month of April, he had an ERA of 2.67. How's will he fare against the Yankees? Well, since April his ERA ballooned to 3.46. His last start was against the Cardinals. He gave up a career high 6 runs in 5 2/3 innings in the

Continue reading "Scouting the Opposition: Florida ..."

These days, going to a baseball game isn't what it used to be. Seldom will a pitcher throw into the 7th inning; the score is usually 7-6 or 10-9; and your favorite slugger is likely to hit one, if not two balls, out of the park. The game is shamelessly jacked up on HGH, and its obvious. The best hitter (Bonds) and pitcher (Clemens) of our generation used it, and more players are getting busted by the day (A-Rod, Manny). However, most fans don't care. They still go to the ballpark. That's because baseball, and pro sports in general, is merely another form of entertainment.

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With the MLB playoffs set to begin, there is a subtle difference in the air compared to start of any other postseason. In the NHL, fans can potentially look forward to a great Canadians/Bruins series that is not only exciting, but has a historical kick to it. Likewise basketball fans always have the chance to see if the Suns can finally get past the Spurs and football fans love seeing the rivalry of the Eagles Vs the City of Philadelphia when the Eagles so much as get tackled for a loss.

Continue reading "The Ups and Downs of the MLB Playoffs"

I'm an old man (35) so when I went to bed last night, the National League was up 3-2, and I figured I knew how it was going to turn out.  I left the room mentioning to my friend that I was happy for Dan Uggla.

Continue reading "Poor Dan Uggla"

It’s the annual midpoint of the baseball season, and for the brief span that is the All-Star break, all eyes are upon the Bronx. As everyone is well aware of, this campaign is the last go around for the world’s most famous, largest, and most prominent ballpark, Yankee Stadium. It seems hard to believe, and even more sacrilegious that this living legend’s days are numbered. Built in 1923 and christened by the greatest ballplayer to ever live, Babe Ruth, the cathedral of baseball will never truly be replaced. Although the Bombers will move a block to Yankee Stadium’s heir, the Mecca of America’s Pastime will still live on in our hearts. Whether you’re a diehard Yankee fan, or Yankee-hater, you still can respect the history and awe that the stadium brings. So when the All-Stars take the field Tuesday night, sit back on your couch, crack open a cold one and soak up the history of Yankee Stadium, as its final chapter is unveiled to all of us.

Continue reading "National League Looks to End Rut"

One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.

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we've seen two fire sales from the same franchise following emotional World Series victories in the Florida Marlins- neither of those teams was planning or expecting to clear house until the season was over and they looked at their profit margins.

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Dan Uggla 2B – Florida Marlins

Most people are talking about the triumphs of Chase Utley, his beautiful short stroke, his crisp glove, and his wholesome appeal. But to me, Dan Uggla is the man that needs the recognition around the water coolers. Uggla has been the miracle man for the Fish, slugging 23 homers, just one shy of Utley in roughly 50 fewer at bats. He has hit walk off shots, he has single handedly won games for the Marlins, and all while making a name for himself. The stocky, body-building second baseman portrays the classic jock opposed to Utley’s neighbor next door appearance, and with a first half like he’s had, Uggla is jockeying for position in the race for NL Homerun King, and could be pushing his club towards a run at an NL East crown.

Continue reading "Mic's National League All-Star Team"

For many baseball fans, last night wasn't a great night to watch baseball, as blowouts predominated early on. But, because of the beautiful game that is baseball, only three of them continued in their lopsided fashion, with the best of them highlighted by a homer from Micah Owings, the best-hitting pitcher in baseball, whom teammate Conor Jackson said had the "best pop" of anyone on the team. And all of them showed something about the winning and losing teams, proving that any baseball game is worth watching, even when it doesn't seem exciting.

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e market for a starting pitcher this summer in order to keep pace with the Mets and the Phillies.

Florida Marlins

Can the Marlins keep any of their young arms healthy?

Lately Miami is where promising young arms go to die. The Marlins have taken the exact opposite approach with their young pitchers than the care that teams like the Red Sox and the Yankees have shown with theirs. This is largely due to need as Florida has been unwilling to increase the payroll to bring in free agents and have been forced to rely almost exclusively on their minor league talent pool to get innings. As a result we have seen such promising pitchers as Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez and Sergio Mitre have their careers derailed because of over use.

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: National League East"

Lets get the first two teams out of the way.  The Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals are obviously trying to build a team from the ground up.  The Marlins made a big trade this off-season, sending Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabera to the Detroit Tigers for a package of six prospects.  The Marlins are hoping these prospects help build toward the future with two of them helping this year.  Andrew Miller is slotted into the third spot in the rotation and Curtis Maybin is their starting centerfielder.  The Marlins also have some other very good young guys, beginning of course with Mr. Fantasy Baseball, Hanley Ramirez.  Dan Uggla, Jeremy Hermida and Mike Jacobs help fill out a line-up that will do their share of hitting this season.  The rotation is a work in progress with four of their five starting pitchers 27 years old or younger.  This team will struggle all year for wins but can definitely help your fantasy team.

Continue reading "First of a Seven Part Series-NL East Preview"