Cristopher Hinds's Los Angeles Lakers friend's fan blogs

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants, who are World Champions for the first time since moving to the west coast more than 50 years ago.  Their last title in New York came in 1954, when Willie Mays made “the catch” that will be played on highlight reels forever.  The Giants came unbelievably close to not even making the playoffs this year, but the fans who claimed that watching their team was “torture” are now the happiest fans in baseball.

How ‘bout that?

How about Matt Cain?  The San Francisco hurler was nearly untouchable throughout the playoffs, outshining staff ace Tim Lincecum, who had a bad outing in Game 1 of the Fall Classic.  In three postseason starts, Cain allowed only an unearned run over 21.1 innings of work, going at least 6.2 innings in each outing and providing a huge boost to his team’s hunt for glory.  He might be the best #2 starter in the majors, but Matt Cain looked like the second coming of Cy Young when it mattered most for the Giants.

Continue reading "A new champion is crowned"

Postseason sweeps are great if your team comes out victorious, but for the fan who just wants to see a good series because his team is already done for the year, sweeps make October less exciting.  The Phillies and Yankees outplayed their first-round opponents so it was no surprise that the Reds and Twins failed to win a single game, but the other two division series were more fun to watch.  Additionally, the League Championship Series in both the AL and NL will last a minimum of six games, which is how it should be.  A postseason series that features one team in complete control over the other is like a boxing match in which one fighter KO’s the other in the first round, but then fights him again the next night and does it all over again.  A series that goes the distance (or a game shy of it), on the other hand, is good for ball.

Continue reading "Longer series are good for ball"

While the fans in Cincinnati, Atlanta, and St. Petersburg may not have appreciated it, nearly every game played so far this postseason has featured a dominant pitching performance.  Roy Halladay no-hit the Reds, Tim Lincecum shut out the Braves on just two hits while striking out 14, and C.J. Wilson and Cliff Lee combined to hold the Rays to one run in 13.1 innings.  Lee displayed his talents during last year’s World Series, earning both of the Phillies’ wins over the Yankees, but Halladay, Lincecum and Wilson were all making their postseason debuts, and not one of them showed any sign of butterflies.

How ‘bout that?

How about Félix Hernández?  Despite a 13-12 record, King Felix deserves the American League Cy Young Award for his outstanding season on the mound.  He led the majors in ERA (2.27) and finished just one strikeout behind Jered Weaver’s 233 and one inning pitched shy of Halladay’s 250.2 – both of which led all big league pitchers.  The Venezuelan workhorse threw six innings or more in 32 of 34 starts, allowing three earned runs or fewer in 30 of them.  Had he played for any team other than the Mariners, whose lack of offense cost all of their pitchers, Hernández would almost certainly have won 20 games or more.

Continue reading "Playoff newcomers show the baseball world what they’ve got"

I really like the direction this team is going but I'm not so sure they can really be a contender in the East this year.  The East has gotten a lot stronger over the last few years and while I think they can make the playoffs I don't really see any chance that they can really beat The Magic, the Heat, the Celtics, of the Bulls.  And I'm skeptical they can even beat teams like the 76ers or the Hawks.

What do you think? 

Continue reading "Can the Charlotte Bobcats be a contender in the East?"

Reds rookie Mike Leake went from Arizona State to the majors without throwing a pitch in the minor leagues.  Stephen Strasburg spent two months split between Double-A and Triple-A before making his big league debut in front of the entire baseball world.  The rise to the top does not come so easily – or at all – for others who share the dream of playing in The Show.  Two such players are John Lindsey, who was drafted way back in 1995, and Max St-Pierre, who had played 978 games in the minors – nearly all of them as a catcher – before getting called up this month to the Dodgers and Tigers, respectively.  Lindsey had played for five different organizations and even tried independent ball in 2005.  St-Pierre had spent 14 seasons in the minors, including 13 in the Tigers organization, and was one of the Toledo Mud Hens' backstops in 2010.  He probably did not expect the promotion after starting the year at Double-A.  It’s always exciting for any minor leaguer to find out he's going up to the big leagues, but for a 33-year-old first baseman and a 30-year-old catcher going up for the first time, it has got to be the greatest feeling in the world.

Continue reading "Hard work pays off for career minor leaguers"

Albert Pujols and Joey Votto have been battling each other all year, but Carlos Gonzalez has leap-frogged the front-runners in the Triple Crown race.  Gonzalez leads the National League in hitting (.337), is tied with Votto for the league lead with 100 Runs Batted In, and with 32 home runs is just five back of Pujols, two behind Adam Dunn, and tied with Votto and Mark Reynolds.  While he may have the best shot at the Triple Crown, I suspect Gonzalez’s home-road splits (.387/.435/.783 at Coors Field, .288/.310/.450 on the road) will keep the voters from naming him the NL MVP.

How 'bout that?

How about Joakim Soria?  The Mexicutioner has very quietly put together an outstanding season in Kansas City – a 1.71 ERA, 37 saves, and 63 strikeouts compared to just 14 walks.  The Royals’ closer allowed zero runs in the entire month of August (12 innings, 12 strikeouts, eight hits, and two walks) and has continued his scoreless streak through the first week of September.  Though Mariano Rivera is having one of his finest seasons at the age of 40, Soria has been the best closer in baseball this year.

Continue reading "Another Triple Crown candidate storms to the top"

Albert Pujols and Joey Votto are having monster seasons.  Not only are the sluggers leading their teams in the playoff hunt – the Cardinals are 1.5 games back in the Wild Card race while the Reds lead the NL Central – but Pujols (.321, 34 HR, 93 RBI) and Votto (.326, 31 HR, 90 RBI) are the top two National Leaguers in each of the Triple Crown categories.  Both have strong cases for the MVP award, but if either one wins the first Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, it would be awfully hard for the voters not to choose him as the league’s Most Valuable Player.

How ‘bout that?

How about Billy Wagner?  The 39-year-old anchor of the Atlanta bullpen has saved 30 games, holds a 1.68 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP, and did not give up a run in the entire month of June (11.1 innings, six hits, five walks, 17 strikeouts).  Wagner plans to retire at season’s end, and with the Braves currently leading the NL East, he’s looking for his first crack at the World Series and the opportunity to go out on top.

Continue reading "Pair of Triple Crown candidates duel it out"

Chipper Jones is out for the year with a torn ACL, but let’s hope this isn’t it for the man who has played his entire major league career for manager Bobby Cox.  Chipper has made it known since last season that retirement could be around the corner, but like Baseball Tonight’s Eduardo Perez, I don’t see Chipper calling it quits now that his season has ended unexpectedly.  He wants to go out on his own terms, and these aren’t them.  At 38, his career is nearing the end, but I find it hard to believe that he will be able to say good-bye after watching from the bench as his team battles for the National League crown.

If he’s truly done, Chipper’s numbers speak for themselves: a .306 career batting average and .405 On-Base Percentage, 436 home runs, 147 stolen bases, 2,490 hits, two Silver Sluggers and an MVP award.  The six-time All-Star won a batting title at the age of 36, hitting a staggering .364 to edge Albert Pujols, who hit .357.  He is also tied for the most home runs in a season by a switch-hitter (45 in 1999; Lance Berkman accomplished the feat in 2006).  A little known fact about Chipper is that he and Paul Waner hold the Major League record for most consecutive games with an extra-base hit (14).  Chipper will join Waner in Cooperstown as soon as he is eligible.

Continue reading "Will Chipper hang 'em up?"

With the Dog Days of August about to begin, now is the time for teams to decide whether they are buyers or sellers – that is, whether they should mortgage their future and go for it this year or trade away their veterans for up-and-coming prospects.  “Going for it” says to a team’s fans that the organization thinks it has a legitimate chance to win it all, but a more conservative approach can send just as strong a message.  While a middle-of-the-pack team may have to acknowledge that this isn’t the year, going out and building for the future – as long as it is not the distant future – can usually be taken to mean that the front office is willing to sacrifice an outside shot at the playoffs in order to increase its chances of winning in the long term.  Buyer or seller, every GM will be busy until tomorrow’s trade deadline.

Continue reading "Buyer or Seller?"

Thank goodness Joey Votto (.314/.422/.589 with 22 home runs) was elected to the National League All-Star team via the Final Vote.  Billy Wagner, Carlos Gonzalez, and Ryan Zimmerman are great players and were all worthy of roster spots, but Votto should have been the NL’s starting first baseman over Albert Pujols, and it would have been a travesty had he not made it in the end.  Votto leads the NL in both On-Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage and is tied for the lead in home runs; if the season ended today, he’d likely be voted the league’s Most Valuable Player.  It’s too bad, then, that Votto went 0-2 and did not make an impact in the game.  (Each of the other first basemen on the National League side – Pujols, Ryan Howard, and Adrian Gonzalez – went 0-2 as well.)

Continue reading "All-Star Game thoughts"