Yesterday was officially the first day of summer, which is a perfect time to check up on the biggest surprises thus far in the MLB. I picked the two biggest surprises in the American and National Leagues to highlight.
MLB 2011 Predictions: AL West — Rangers look to be top club again
March 30, 2011 By 2 Comments
The Texas Rangers won the West in 2010 with a record of 90-72, finishing nine games ahead of the Athletics. They then proceeded to upset the Rays and the Yankees on their way to the World Series, where they eventually lost to the San Francisco Giants.
In this post, the final in our division-by-division MLB predictions, we analyze whether the Rangers can repeat, or whether the A’s, Angels, or Mariners can rise up and knock Texas down a rung.
11 Best Early Season National TV MLB Games on FOX, ESPN, and TBS
March 8, 2010 By 2 Comments
The Major League Baseball regular season is almost upon us, and between ESPN, TBS, Fox and elsewhere, you’re bound to find your favorite team on a television set near you.
Fox will broadcast their usual Saturday afternoon games, TBS will pick up on Sundays, and for the most part, you can expect ESPN to have games on Sunday and Monday evenings. (Mid-week, you might look for your local team networks and eventually, on Thursdays, the MLB Network will be back for their second season, though the schedule has yet to be released).
The Anchor’s Desk: Random Thoughts After Watching the All-Star Game and President Barack Obama’s First Pitch
July 15, 2009 By 5 Comments
The Prez delivers (barely),
The Host Does Not,
And a Team To Watch in the Second Half.
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After a loooong pre-game show which at times was boring to everyone not from St. Louis, we were all ready to play some ball. However, there were some fun moments I made mental notes of while waiting out the 45-minute pre-game.
– I liked watching the player intros from the reserves that are truly happy to be there and might never be back. Not Jeter or Pujols, who get to do this every year, but guys who are just cracking into the limelight. My old buddy Zack Duke of Pittsburgh didn’t even get to play Tuesday night, so taking off his hat and smiling was his only big moment. Go Waco Midway Panthers! Although I must say Duke and the other reserves gotta feel like second-class citizens after getting introduced completely separate from the starters.
– I’ll always like looking at Sheryl Crow, who still looks hot despite being 47. Oh and she sings too.
– The wide stadium shots showed off the cool Arch and Courthouse design in the outfield grass. And there was some weird new MLB marketing things on banners I didn’t really pay attention to.
– And there’s the First Fan, President Barack Obama, who just gets cooler and cooler, even when he’s dorky. Before the game, he was shown joking around with Pujols and Prince Fielder. “Hey Albert what happened with the derby?†he teased. “In your home park, huh?â€
Even though he’s the President, it’s awesome that he has the stones to tease the hulking Pujols and do it in a way that makes Pujols like him even more. In fact, Pujols bailed out Obama once it was time for the first pitch. Obama had said he was trying not to bounce it, and that’s exactly what would have happened if Pujols had not reached way in and scooped it up centimeters before it hit the dirt. (Here’s why you didn’t see the pitch live.)
Obama’s take on how he did: “I did not play organized baseball when I was a kid and so, you know, I think some of these natural moves aren’t so natural to me,” he said.
Here is the video of President Obama throwing out the first pitch at last night’s All Star game in St. Louis:
– Now to Pujols….After checking out in Round Two of the Derby on Monday, the King Cardinal looked to do a bit more in the “real†game. And once Obama left the stage, it was Pujols’ for the taking. I guess he didn’t get the memo.
His fielding error in the first inning allowed the A.L. to score a run. He made some nice plays in the field after that, but he did go 0-3 and his team did lose by that one run. He said he wasn’t affected by all the attention he was receiving
“I won’t use the word ‘stress,’” Pujols said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I wish it could be like this for the rest of my career. I enjoy it. I was so happy for (Ryan Franklin) and Yadi (Molina). And having it here, in our city, I knew our fans were going to receive us with open arms.”
Pujols is still the man, don’t get me wrong. He’s the best hitter in baseball and his career All-Star numbers are still great: 6 for 17 (.353) with three RBIs in eight All-Star Games (seven appearances and six starts).
Still, the experience of serving as centerpiece for the two-day festival left a lasting impression on the two-time NL MVP, who received the loudest and longest applause during pre-game introductions.
“It was almost getting to the point where I got a little bit emotional yesterday and today the way the fans received me, Franklin and Yadi,” Pujols said. “It was pretty special.”
It would have been even more special had he done more to help the NL win its first ASG in 13 tries! So home field advantage in the World Series will be with the AL once again. So as we start the second half, which team will represent the Junior Circuit in October? New York? Boston? How about Seattle?
Zuh?
Okay, the M’s won’t win it all, but they may be in the postseason conversation, which is amazing.
The Ms are being called this year’s Rays. After a 100 loss-season, new skipper Don Wakamatsu has them 4 games over .500, just 4 games behind the Angels in a weak AL West division. They have gotten good pitching surprises from closer David Aardsma (22 saves) and starter Jarrod Washburn (2.96 ERA). Eric Bedard has been good and is finally healthy. Russ Branyan (who?) is having a bounce-back year and should have been an All-Star with his 22 HRs, 49 RBI, and .280 BA.
The M’s that were All-Stars are Wakamatsu, who was in St. Louis as a bench coach, pitcher “King†Felix Hernandez, and 9-time All-Star Ichiro in the outfield. Ichiro went 1-3, Hernandez pitched a perfect sixth inning, and Wakamatsu’s team won.
Not a bad night, even if it belonged to a guy on the losing team.
* – Barack Obama / Albert Pujols photo credit: Chris Lee / St. Louis Post-Dispatch
* – Don Wakamatsu photo credit: AP via SeattlePI.com
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Scott Reister is a featured contributor to Midwest Sports Fans, as well as Dallas Sports Fans.
He is a Sports Anchor for the NBC affiliate in the Tri-Cities and Spokane, WA. To learn more about Scott, visit the Scott Reister bio page on Midwest Sports Fans or check out the Local Sports page on KNDU.com.
To contact Scott: sreister@hotmail.com
Casilla Rallies Twins Past Mariners | Mauer Eyes Late April Return
April 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
1-1 has never felt better.
After an abysmal start to the season and finding themselves down 5-3, two outs in the bottom of the ninth with no men on, those pesky ‘pirhanas’ found a wayspoiling Brandon Morrow’s first appearance in a closing role this season as the Twins defeated the Mariners 6-5 on Tuesday night.
Morrow easily navigated past the bats of Delmon Young and Joe Crede. Then, finding himself one out away from vicory, the strike zone seemed to shrink. Gomez got on board with a gutsy walk. Four pitches later Kubel was on board. Then Buscher in the same fashion. Then, Span knocked in Gomez with an infield hit you can only find in Minnesota. And finally, Alexi Casilla capped it off with a line drive to center field with yet another late inning clutch hit.
Hats off to the underappreciated play of the game: Carlos Gomez’s walk. For a guy who’s known best for his swing-and-hope plate approach seems to have worked on some plate discipline in the Winter and it paid off Tuesday night. Gomez’s walk sparked the ninth inning rally, though we were all looking for the Jason Kubel bomb, we finished off the Mariners in equally exciting fashion. (Side note – it was also Gomez who sparked our 5th inning rally leading off with a triple).
Who’s Hot? – Denard Span. Span’s been the ultimate lead-off hitter getting on base, making contact, and moving around the base paths with ease.
Who’s Not? – Jose Morales, Justin Morneau. Morales can’t get comfortable at the plate striking out several times last night. Its really a completely different lineup with Mauer out. Morneau needs to find his swing again, because zero production out of the 4-hole isn’t going to lead to many wins.
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In other news, Joe Mauer will be taking batting practices tonight with the Fort Myers Miracle. Mauer’s timetable for return seems to be around the late April / early May area.
