Diff's Diamond Drivel

HUSH Report for Saturday May 12th

2007-05-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday baseball! Since I am out and about let's get right to it.

Offense should continue to shine!

Here are Saturday's top offensive match ups:

Pos	Player	Opp Pit	H/AB (Avg)
C	AJ Pierzynski	Elarton	6/16 (.375)
C	Jorge Posada	Batista	5/11 (.455)
1B	Todd Helton	Zito	4/7 (.571)
1B	Justin Morneau	Durbin	3/4(.750)
2B	Craig Biggio	Hernandez	6/13 (.462)
2B	Ray Durham	Francis	12/26 (.462)
3B	Alex Rodriguez	Batista	6/13 (.462)
3B	Aramis Ramirez	Garcia	4/9 (.444)
SS	Rafael Furcal	Lohse	4/5 (.800)
SS	Hanley Ramirez	Chico	3/5 (.600)
OF	Magglio Ordonez	Ponson	10/18 (.556)
OF	Hideki Matsui	Batista	8/15 (.533)
OF	Barry Bonds	Francis	5/13 (.385)
OF	Vladimir Guerrero	Loe	5/16 (.313) OWNS TEXAS
OF	Moises Alou	Sheets	12/33 (.364)
Others/UT	Ryan Freel	Penny	6/14 (.429)
Others/UT	Emil Brown	Buehrle	12/29 (.414)

Starting Pitchers worth looking at for Saturday:

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Roy Oswalt	Arizona	13/55 (.230)
Curt Schilling	Baltimore	43/199 (.210)
Chris Young	St. Louis	5/31 (.160)

Gambles:

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Freddy Garcia	Chicago	16/84 (.190)
Brad Penny	Cincinnati	22/76 (.280)
Barry Zito	Colorado	14/71 (.190)

Pitchers to Avoid:

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Sidney Ponson	Detroit	38/101 (.380)
Livan Hernandez	Houston	32/98 (.322)
Ben Sheets	New York	29/105 (.277)

Things to look for:

1. Roy Oswalt continuation for NL Cy Young quest
2. Magglio Ordonez to stay RED HOT
3. Vladimir Guerrero to continue his domination of Ranger pitchers

Best of luck to you all!

HUSH Report for Friday May 11th

2007-05-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

Ahh the weekend. Time when baseball is at its best. I will be taking in the beauty of the Pacific NW this weekend. Taking in the Yankees vs. Mariners Friday night and boating around the Puget Sound the rest of the weekend. Due to my festivities, I plan on attempting to publish the match ups for this weekend either late tonight or early tomorrow.

Should be a great weekend for offense!

Here are Friday's top offensive match ups:

Pos	Player	Opp Pit	H/AB (Avg)
C	AJ Pierzynski	Perez	3/7 (.429)
C	Paul LoDuca	Suppan	6/16 (.375)
1B	Adam Dunn	Wolf	6/16 (.375)
1B	Mark Teixeira	Lackey	17/38(.447)
2B	Chase Utley	Hill	2/3 (.667)
2B	Ray Durham	Fogg	7/18 (.389)
3B	Hank Blalock	Lackey	16/48 (.333)
3B	Aramis Ramirez	Lieber	9/14 (.643)
SS	Rafael Furcal	Arroyo	4/11 (.364)
SS	Michael Young	Lackey	19/56 (.339)
OF	Magglio Ordonez	Santana	14/31 (.452)
OF	Carlos Lee	Webb	5/11 (.455)
OF	Barry Bonds	Fogg	Dominates in Coors
OF	Vladimir Guerrero	Padilla	12/32 (.375)
OF	Gary Matthews Jr.	Padilla	5/6 (.833) Texas return
Others/UT	Alfonso Soriano	Lieber	2/5 (.400)
Others/UT	Aubrey Huff	Tavarez	4/9 (.444)

Starting Pitchers worth looking at for Friday:

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
AJ Burnett	Tampa Bay	12/58 (.207)
Johan Santana	Detroit	53/220 (.241)
Brandon Webb	Houston	24/103 (.233)

Gambles:

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Jake Peavy	St. Louis	18/62 (.290)
Rich Hill	Philadelphia	5/19 (.263)
CC Sabathia	Oakland	28/91 (.308)

Jon Garland	Kansas City	43/143 (.301)

Pitchers to Avoid:

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Josh Fogg	San Francisco	32/108 (.296)
Bronson Arroyo	Los Angeles	17/50 (.340)
Randy Wolf	Cincinnati	19/63 (.302)

Things to look for:

1. Johan Santana
2. Texas Rangers offense to continue to hit
3. Rich Hill to have his worst outing of the season
4. Me down the 3rd base line in Safeco

Best of luck to you all!

HUSH Report for Thursday May 10

2007-05-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

We have come to Thursday which gives us the beginning of a few series and the get away day for a few series. Get away days are always tough as some managers choose to rest specific players, but we will not even try and guess whom those players will be.

It is kind of a hit or miss day for both pitching and hitting so we will see how things shake out.

Here are today's top offensive match ups:

Pos	Player	Opp Pit	H/AB (Avg)
C	Ramon Hernandez	Fossum	on fire since DL stint
C	Gerald Laird	Wang	2/5 (.400)
1B	Todd Helton	Lowry	7/19 (.368)
1B	Mark Teixeira	Wang	3/7 (.429)
2B	Marquis Giles	Hudson	3/4 (.750)
2B	Mark Grudzielanek	Kennedy	4/11 (.364)
3B	Joe Crede	Silva	11/31 (.355)
3B	Aramis Ramirez	Maholm	3/6 (.500)
SS	Juan Uribe	Silva	15/30 (.500)
SS	Miguel Tejada	Fossum	8/23 (.348)
OF	Magglio Ordonez	Weaver	3/4 (.750)
OF	Jermaine Dye	Silva	7/15 (.467)
OF	Barry Bonds	Cook	11/23 (.478)
OF	Xavier Nady	Zambrano	6/13 (.472)
OF	Jay Gibbons	Fossum	7/18 (.389)
Others/UT	Travis Hafner	Escobar	6/14 (.429)
Others/UT	David Ortiz	Halladay	17/57 (.298)

Starting Pitchers worth looking at for Thursday:

Kind of a hit or miss, but those who are watching innings, I would take the day off.

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Derek Lowe	Florida	9/59 (.153)
Tim Wakefield	Toronto	37/154 (.240)
Chien-Ming Wang	Texas	8/33 (.242)
Justin Verlander	Seattle	6/26 (.231)

Gambles:

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Roy Halladay	Boston	76/300 (.253)
Carlos Zambrano	Pittsburgh	36/145 (.248)
Tim Hudson	San Diego	30/107 (.280)

Pitchers to Avoid:

Today's list includes a couple of hurlers hoping the humidor is working and a pitcher who has been dominated in his career by his opponent.

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Noah Lowry	Colorado	35/108 (.324)
Aaron Cook	San Francisco	52/172 (.302)
Carlos Silva	Chicago White Sox	65/181 (.359)

Things to look for:

1. An offensive explosion at Coors Field this weekend
2. Tough outings by reliable starters
3. Closers becoming more reliable

Best of luck to you all!

HUSH Report for Wednesday May 9th

2007-05-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

It is time to unveil the inaugural Hump Day HUSH Report.

Definitely a better selection of Starting Pitching to spend your 1300 innings on, but also some pretty quality offensive plays.

Here are the top Hump Day offensive match ups:

Pos	Player	Opp Pit	H/AB (Avg)
C	Paul LoDuca	Matt Morris	7/10 (.700)
C	AJ Pierzynski	Ramon Ortiz	4/8 (.500)
1B	Nomar Garciaparra	Dontrelle Willis	4/9 (.444)
1B	Paul Konerko	Ramon Ortiz	4/10 (.400)
2B	Ty Wigginton	Eric Bedard	6/16 (.375)
2B	Kelly Johnson	Greg Maddux	2/3 (.667)
3B	Mike Lowell	Tomo Ohka	13/35 (.371)
3B	Eric Chavez	Gil Meche	9/28 (.321)
SS	Edgar Renteria	Greg Maddux	7/17 (.412)
SS	Jimmy Rollins	Randy Johnson	5/14 (.357)
OF	Jason Bay	Jason Marquis	13/27 (.481)
OF	Nick Markakis	James Shields	7/15 (.467)
OF	Ken Griffey Jr	Woody Williams	4/11 (.364)
OF	Vladimir Guerrero	Paul Byrd	2/3 (.667)
OF	Ichiro	Nate Robertson	7/22 (.318)
Others/UT	Brian Giles	John Smoltz	7/16 (.438)
Others/UT	Josh Hamilton	Woody Williams	2/3 (.667)
Others/UT	Hideki Matsui	Robinson Tejeda	3/5 (.600)

Starting Pitchers worth looking at for Wednesday:

A much better selection to risk your innings on then the Tuesday edition

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Dan Haren	Kansas City	11/48 (.229)
Mike Mussina	Texas	24/117 (.205)
Jaime Moyer	Arizona	7/39 (.179)

Gambles:

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Daisuke Matsuzaka	Toronto	3/20 (.150)
Jered Weaver	Cleveland	5/30 (.167)
John Danks	Minnesota	3/19 (.158)

Pitchers to Avoid:

Today's list includes a future Hall of Famer and some guys who have pitched well this season.

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Greg Maddux	Atlanta	26/64 (.406)
Paul Byrd	Angels	12/33 (.364)
Matt Morris	NY Mets	5/154 (.357)
Ramon Ortiz	White Sox	18/53 (.340)
Gil Meche	Oakland	40/126 (.315)

Things that stick out for this first Hump Day Edition:

1. The 2007 version of the Big Red Machine will be on full throttle in Cincinnati
2. Weather warming, wind blowing, balls leave the yard at Wrigley
3. Bronx bombers tee off on an ailing Robinson Tejeda and Texas Rangers staff
4. The crafty veteran (Jaime Moyer) keeps the young Diamondback hitters in check
5. Braves offense rudely welcomes Greg Maddux back to Atlanta

Best of luck to you all!

HUSH Report for Tuesday May 8th

2007-05-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

Another full slate of games so no need not to fill the squads. It is also a better day for hitters than pitchers on this fine Tuesday.

Included today are the top hitters by position, pitchers worth gambling your innings on and new addition of pitchers not worth gambling on.

Pos	Player	Opp Pit	H/AB (Avg)
C	Ivan Rodriguez	Horacio Ramirez	3/8 (.375)
C	Gerald Laird	Andy Pettitte	2/5 (.400)
1B	Mark Teixeira	Andy Pettitte	8/16 (.500)
1B	Derrek Lee	Ian Snell	4/11 (.364)
2B	Jeff Kent	Wes Obermueller	6/14 (.429)
2B	Luis Castillo	Javieer Vazquez	13/38 (.342)
3B	Aramis Ramirez	Ian Snell	5/13(.385)
3B	David Wright	Matt Cain	3/6 (.500)
SS	Derek Jeter	Mike Wood	3/7 (.429)
SS	Rafael Furcal	Wes Obermueller	2/3 (.667)
OF	Vernon Wells	Josh Beckett	7/15 (.467)
OF	Raul Ibanez	Jeremy Bonderman	8/19 (.421)
OF	Ken Griffey Jr	Wandy Rodriguez	6/8 (.750)
OF	Vladimir Guerrero	Cliff Lee	7/17(.412)
OF	Ichiro	Jeremy Bonderman	7/18 (.389)
Others/UT	Jeff Cirillo	Javier Vazquez	5/6 (.833)
Others/UT	Michael Cuddyer	Javier Vazquez	8/20 (.400)

A few trends can be seen in todays selections:

1. Twins should put some runs on the board in the Dome
2. The Wrigley faithful should see the Cubbies offense produce
3. Runs will be a plenty in Yankee stadium
4. Mariners offense should get back on track in Detroit

Starting Pitchers worth looking at for Tuesday:

They are few and far between as the offense will be in high gear

1. Tom Glavine vs. Giants who hit only 15/79 or .189 against him

Gambles:

1. Adam Eaton vs. Diamondbacks who are a paltry .138 average against
2. Victor Zambrano vs. Boston and Josh Beckett (Sox have hit 22/103 or .214)
3. Chad Gaudin vs. struggling Royals who are 5/22 or .227 vs. Chad

NEW ITEM

Pitchers to Avoid:

There are a lot of them on this offensive heavy day.

Pitcher	Opponent	H/AB (Avg against)
Horacio Ramirez	Detroit	12/22 (.546)
Ted Lilly	Pittsburgh	9/22 (.410)
Dave Bush	Nationals	18/46 (.391)
Ervin Santana	Cleveland	15/42 (.357)
Jeremy Bonderman	Seattle	35/115 (.304)
Javier Vazquez	Minnesota	50/167 (.299)

Best of luck to you all!

HUSH Report for Monday May 7th

2007-05-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Once again I would like to thank all of you that have looked into the HUSH Report and have commented both positively and negatively. I am planning on following the projections and publishing a periodic report on the players listed.

With the weekend behind us, hopefully the first two installments have helped you with your decision making. With a shortened Monday schedule consisting of only 9 games here are the players for you to consider to help you start the week off right.

Tough pickings at a couple of positions today but there is always somebody to throw on your squad.

Pos	Player	Opp Pit	H/AB (Avg)
C	Russell Martin	Ricky Nolasco	2/4 (.500)
1B	Albert Pujols	Jeff Francis	3/6 (.500)
2B	Craig Biggio	Kyle Lohse	3/9 (.333)
2B	Brandon Phillips	Roy Oswalt	3/14 (.308)
3B	Alex Rodriguez	Miguel Batista	5/10(.500)
3B	Chipper Jones	Chris Young	4/4 (1.000)
SS	Edgar Renteria	Chris Young	4/6 (.667)
SS	Felipe Lopez	Chris Capuano	5/8 (.625)
OF	Johnny Damon	Miguel Batista	10/20 (.500)
OF	Hideki Matsui	Miguel Batista	7/12 (.583)
OF	Carlos Lee	Kyle Lohse	13/36(.361)
OF	Corey Patterson	Fausto Carmona	4/7 (.571)
OF	Andruw Jones	Chris Young	3/7 (.429)

Starting Pitchers worth looking at for Monday:

1. Oliver Perez vs. SF Giants who are hitting .200 (9/45) off him. Also K potential
2. Jeff Francis vs. St. Louis who are hitting .155 (11/71) off him
3. Doug Davis vs. Philadelphia who are hitting .136 (3/22) off him. Also K potential

Best of luck to you all!

HUSH Report for Sunday May 6th

2007-05-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you that have looked into the HUSH Report and commented. I plan on following the projections and publishing a periodic report on the players listed.

So hopefully your Cinco de Mayo roster performed and here are the top match ups for Sunday May 6th:

Pos	Player	Opp Pit	H/AB (Avg)
C	Ivan Rodriguez	Zach Greinke	6/13 (.462)
C	AJ Pierzynski	Bartolo Colon	5/16 (.313)
1B	Lance Berkman	Braden Looper	3/3 (1.000)
1B	Justin Morneau	Curt Schilling	2/5 (.400)
2B	Orlando Hudson	Mike Pelfrey	on fire
2B	Marquis Giles	Scott Olsen	4/5 (.800)
3B	Alex Rodriguez	Jarrod Washburn	8/25(.320)
3B	David Wright	Livan Hernandez	11/28 (.393)
SS	Edgar Renteria	Randy Wolf	6/17 (.355)
SS	Orlando Cabrera	Mark Buehrle	11/32 (.344)
OF	Jason Bay	Ben Sheets	7/17 (.412)
OF	Kenny Lofton	AJ Burnett	6/15 (.400)
OF	Ken Griffey Jr	Josh Fogg	7/19(.368)
OF	Torii Hunter	Curt Schilling	4/8 (.500)
OF	Carl Crawford	Joe Blanton	5/18 (.385)
Others/UT	David Ortiz	Sidney Ponson	10/19 (.526)
Others/UT	Mike Sweeney	Chad Durbin	8/11 (.727)

Starting Pitchers worth looking at for Sunday:

1. Bronson Arroyo vs. Rockies who hit only 8/44 or .182 against him
2. Jake Peavy vs. Marlins who will be swinging and missing freely
3. CC Sabathia vs. Baltimore (Indians 4-0 in CC Starts)

Best of luck to you all!

HUSH (Helping U Score in rotoHog) Report for May 5th

2007-05-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

This is the first installment of the HUSH Report to assist players in the newest Fantasy Baseball Craze....Rotohog.

I will attempt to complete this report on a daily basis by 8 PM PST (release of held funds) giving players an idea of who the good match ups are for the following day. The report may change in appearance from time to time once I get more creative, but the content will be the same. That content will be a list of 2-3 players at each position that match up well with the opposing pitcher. Included with the player name will be his numbers vs. that pitcher.

Without further ado, here is the inaugural list of match ups for Saturday May 5th, Cinco de Mayo:

Pos	Player	Opp Pit	H/AB (Avg)
C	Ivan Rodriguez	Odalis Perez	3/7 (.429)
C	Jason Varitek	Johan Santana	6/12 (.500)
1B	Lance Berkman	Kip Wells	9/27 (.333)
1B	Adam Dunn	Aaron Cook	3/6 (.500)
2B	Orlando Hudson	Aaron Sele	5/12(.417)
2B	Ray Durham	Jon Lieber	7/10 (.700)
3B	Alex Rodriguez	Jeff Weaver	6/14(..429)
3B	David Wright	Brandon Webb	6/12 (.500)
SS	JJ Hardy	Zach Duke	7/10 (.700)
SS	Orlando Cabrera	Jon Garland	9/22 (.409)
OF	David DeJesus	Mike Maroth	14/25 (.560)
OF	Emil Brown	Mike Maroth	10/27 (.370)
OF	Moises Alou	Brandon Webb	11/23 (.478)
OF	Magglio Ordonez	Odalis Perez	3/5 (.600)
OF	Carl Crawford	Joe Kennedy	2/3 (.667)
OF	Adam Lind	Vicente Padilla	3/7 (.429)
Others/UT	Chase Utley	Noah Lowry	4/9 (.444)
Others/UT	Bill Hall	Zach Duke	7/22 (.318)

Starting Pitchers worth using your 1300 innings on:

1. John Lackey vs. weak hitting (.221)White Sox
2. Aaron Harang vs. Rockies team he owns 3-1 2.57 ERA
3. Scott Kazmir vs. injured Oakland A's squad
4. Roy Halladay vs. non-hitting Texas Rangers ball club
5. Rich Hill vs. worst team in recent baseball history
6. Johan Santana vs. Boston in the Metrodome
7. Daniel Cabrera in the pitching friendly Camden Yards

Best of luck to you all!

Rotohog

2007-05-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the staff at Rotohog for featuring my blog on their website. It is my plan to post a daily list of players by position that are expected to perform well against the following days pitchers.

This will give individuals playing the game a little insight into whom they should purchase and play the following day.

Best of luck to all you Rotohog players out there and thanks again to the staff at Rotohog for making Diff's Diamond Drivel a part of their fine game.

Top 10 Reasons Sidney Ponson Must Go

2007-05-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

There are so many reasons why Sidney Ponson should no longer be pitching in the Major Leagues for the Minnesota Twins but in great respect to David Letterman, we will limit it to 10.

10. Ten RP and even three KC Royal pitchers have more wins

9. Nine Walks compared to only 12 K's for a K/BB Ratio of 1.33

8. 8.44 ERA (Only 3 SP with > 20 IP are worse: McCarthy, Seo, and Fossum)

7. GB/FB ratio of 2.18. Unfortunately, those GB's are making it to the OF.

6. Six HR's in 4 games or 1.5 HR per game

5. Averaging 5 IP per start

4. Offense against splits of .368/.429/.642

3. KC averages 3.8 runs per game. Except two Ponson starts (7.5 runs)

2. Ratio of 2.07(44 base runners in 21.1 innings pitched)

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON PONSON MUST GO.......

1a. Kevin Slowey (3-0, 1.05 ERA and K/BB Ratio of 14.0) or

1b. Scott Baker (2-0, 1.57 ERA and K/BB Ratio of 7.7)

Will Paraskavedekatriaphobia End the Streak

2007-04-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

The game of baseball has a storied history of superstitions ranging from team curses to player rituals. Whether it is jumping a foul line, not shaving, wearing the same item of clothing if amidst a streak, or one of the most famous (which Mariners announcer's did not abide by Wednesday night) which is not talking about a no-hitter or perfect game. All these superstitions play integral roles into the psyche of a ballplayer.

Baseball is not alone in its celebration of superstition. Society has several in its own right. These include but are not limited to walking under a ladder, a black cat crossing in front of your path and the number 13. Paraskavedekatriaphobia however, is one superstition that is talked about quite a bit and specifically today. Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th. The thought of Friday the 13th being a day of bad luck and or being evil dates back several centuries to English Folklore.

With the Twins battling the Devil Rays and the 24-game Dome winning streak of Johan Santana on the line tonight, do the members of Twins Nation need to be fearful of tonights game? In addition to all this history and superstition facing the Twins and Santana tonight, the Devil Rays are throwing a pretty quality pitcher in their own right with Scott Kazmir taking the hill.

Myself, being a believer of sports superstition, but not everyday superstition, am not overly afraid of the Friday the 13th potential. Being a statistician, I believe more in the numbers and how things play out that way.

Here are a five reasons why Paraskavedekatriaphobia will not intimidate Johan Santana, and the Twins Dome winning streak will reach 25 tonight:

1. The Devil Ray offense have a paltry career batting average against (BAA) off Santana of .167 (or 9-54), while the Twins offense have a BAA off of Kazmir of .277 (or 10-36)

2. Santana is 3-1 with a 2.50 ERA in 10 appearances against the Devil Rays while Kazmir is 0-2 with a 4.15 ERA in two career starts in the Metrodome.

3. Momentum. The Twins won in heroic fashion last evening on a walk off HR by MVP Justin Morneau putting them on a high, while deflating the momentum of the young Devil Rays.

4. 13 is a lucky number for the Twins tonight. Offensive starting lineup jerseys(1+8+7+5+33+48+16+11+18) add to 145. Johan goes 7 innings, Rincon 1 inning and Nathan seals it in the ninth (Jerseys 57+36+39 = 132). Offensive lineup of 145 - Pitching Lineup of 132 = Lucky 13.

5.The best living pitcher is throwing in the Dome for the Twins.

Outbashing the Bombers

2007-04-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

As the Twins return to the Metrodome for a three game series with the Bronx Bombers, they are catching the Yankees at a good time. Injuries to key personnel are plaguing the Bombers and potentially the reason they are off to a slow 2-3 start.

An injured hamstring has started the Yankees best pitcher last year (Chien-Ming Wang) on the disabled list. Without his services, the starting rotation of Carl Pavano, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Kei Igawa and Darrell Rasner have started the season with a 9.97 ERA in their first five games. The starting rotation is averaging a minuscule 4.1 IP per start. The top half of the rotation who will be facing the Twins during the homestand (Pavano, Pettitte, and Mussina) have thrown 12.1 innings and compiled an ERA of 8.78. In contrast, the Twins starting rotation has thrown 31 innings and has compiled an ERA of 2.61. The three arms that will be facing the Bombers (Ponson, Bonser and Ortiz) have thrown 13 innings (Ponson first start tonight) compiling an ERA of 2.77.

In addition to the pitching woes for the Yankees, starting LF Hideki Matsui was placed on the DL with a hamstring injury. Center fielder Johnny Damon has not started in the field since opening day while nursing a strained right calf, and Captain Derek Jeter fouled a Adam Loewen pitch off his right foot Saturday evening and is dealing with a severe bruise on his middle toe. Even with all these injuries to their starting lineup, the Yankees lead the American League in runs scored with 33 in five games. The Twins in their five games have managed to put only 20 runs (thanks to a lack of offense in frigid Chicago) on the board.

Minnesota's bats will have to be on display as they were last week in the Metrodome where the Twins averaged a little over 5.5 runs per game if they expect to bump off the hot hitting boys from New York.

Whether the Weather Can Be An Advantage

2007-04-06T16:39:00.001-07:00

With the frigid temps overtaking the upper Midwest, it is playing havoc on the early baseball season. Yesterday, the Tigers and Blue Jays were postponed due to the frigid wind chills, and snow flakes were falling as Andy Pettitte made his return to Yankee Stadium. Today, there have already been three snow delays during the Tribe and Mariners match up at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Most notably though was the early morning cancellation of the Twins and White Sox game on the South Side of Chicago. Why is this the most notable of the baseball weather events you ask? It gives Ron Gardenhire and Rick Peterson the opportunity to deliberate on the rotation for the Saturday and Sunday match ups. The weather is not supposed to improve much over the weekend so the two of them should take a couple of things into consideration when making their decision.

First off, ace and one of the faces of the organization, Johan Santana, is a known slow starter, specifically on the road. With the frigid temperatures it makes it that much more difficult for a pitcher to get loose and risks for injury are increased. Cold temperatures also play into account for pitchers who use off speed pitches (curve and change up). With less feeling in your hands and fingers, it makes it difficult to get a good feel for the ball; a necessity for Johan's out pitch, the change up.

Secondly, the Twins return home Monday to face the Yankees in the Metrodome. As I posted here in an article entitled Dome Field Advantage prior to Santana's season opening win, the Twins and Johan are unbeatable in now 24 consecutive starts in the dome. By not throwing Santana in the frigid Chicago weather on Sunday, it would allow him to pitch 8 of his first 12 games in the Metrodome vs. an even 6 on the road and 6 at home. With the strength of the teams in the AL Central, those two extra games in the Dome for Johan could be very important in the Twins defense of the AL Central Division.

Piranha's Swarming Early

2007-04-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

Two games into the young season, those pesky piranha's are starting right where they left off last season. In the fifth inning of Monday's opener, after the Orioles had just put three on the board off Johan Santana, leadoff hitter Luis Castillo singled to left. On the subsequent pitch, Nick Punto one hopped the center field wall putting runners on second and third with no outs. With the meat of the order (Mauer, Cuddyer, and Morneau) coming to the plate things were looking good. Mauer walked to load the bases, Cuddyer struck out, bringing up the reigning AL MVP Justin Morneau to the dish. A passed ball by Eric Bedard allowed Castillo to score. Morneau rockets Bedard's next pitch to right plating the second rally starting Piranha, Punto. The sixth inning saw Miguel Tejada take Santana deep and cut the lead back to two. Jeff Cirillo walked leading off the bottom half of the sixth. Another of the swarm came in to pinch run (Jason Tyner). Tyner went on to steal second. After a Jason Bartlett strikeout, lead Piranha, Luis Castillo picked up his second of three hits on the night, a bunt single. With runners on the corners, Punto lashes his second double of the evening plating Tyner. On a night that saw Johan not distributing his best stuff, the piranha's were responsible for putting three runs on the board leading the Twins to a season opening Win.

Continuing on from the opening night festivities, the piranhas continued to swarm. Trailing 2-0 going into the bottom of the fourth, Punto lead off with a single and later came around to score on a double play ground out by Cuddyer. Still down by a run entering the bottom of the fifth the Twins rallied to tie the score on Luis Castillo's fifth hit of the young season scoring Torii Hunter. After completion of a fabulous rendition of the 7th inning stretch by the Twins Nation, Rondell White lead off the bottom of the 7th with a four pitch walk. Speedy Piranha, Jason Tyner replaces White and after a Jason Kubel strike out, once again steals second. With Tyner now in scoring position, 2007's quietest piranha, Jason Bartlett, picks the perfect time to collect his first hit of the season. Tyner comes around from second giving the Twins a 3-2 lead. With six outs left to get to notch win number two, skipper Ron Gardenhire puts the game in the hands of MLB's 2006 best bullpen. Juan Rincon, Dennys Reyes, Jesse Crain and Joe Nathan bent (giving up three base runners over the last two innings) but did not break securing the Twins second win on the young season. A much better start to the 2007 season as the Twins did not pick up win number two until game seven last year.

New Twin Ramon Ortiz gets the nod in the finale vs. Baltimore tomorrow and Jaret Wright. Look for the piranha's to continue the feeding frenzy as the only piranha to have faced Wright is Castillo and he owns a .545 (6-11) average. Heading to Chicago for a big weekend series will be a much happier flight with the momentum of a three game sweep to start the year.

The Voice I Grew Up With

2007-04-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

Twins Nation supporters as well as colleagues were saddened to hear the news when they awoke Sunday of the passing of Twins legendary play by play announcer Herb Carneal. Herb has been the "Voice of the Twins" since joining the organization in 1962. His smooth voice and picturesque descriptions of the great game are some of my earliest memories from baseball. My grandfather was a huge Twins fan and always had the game on the radio whenever I visited. My father was also a fan of baseball and the Twins and during the summer while at the lakes, always had Herb and the Boys of Summer on in the background. Myself, probably the biggest fan of the game and of the Twins would fall asleep each night as a boy in the 1970's with my radio on listening to the Twins and Herb.

This is the third season in a row that us Twins Nation Fans have lost a prominent member of our history. 2005 saw the passing of PA Announcer Bob Casey. 2006 we lost Hall of Famer and great man Kirby Puckett and now just one day before the start of the 2007 season our voice, Herb Carneal. They say things happen in threes so I guess the Twins suite is now full.

Kick back and enjoy the games Herb and thanks for all the memories you have given to us Twins Nation supporters over the last 45 years.

New Addiction

2007-03-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

Wow! is all I can say about the newest Fantasy Game to hit the market. Rotohog is a new form of fantasy baseball that takes player statistics and player values into account. For the ultimate fantasy player that loves to wheel and deal, this is the game for you. For individuals who have ever wanted to be a day trader on wall street, here is your chance to do it in a baseball forum.

As long as your budget allows (changes continuously) and you fill 15 specific roster spots, you can buy any player you would like. There is one exception, players are limited to one for every twelve owners. In layman's terms, that means if there are 1444 people in the league, 122 owners will be allowed to own that specific player.

Statistics are the overall determinant of who wins. By continually managing your roster (buying low and selling high) it will allow you to purchase higher valued players, which in the long run should produce better statistics.

The key to winning the $100,000 grand prize is to manage your roster and get the best value out of your squad. Rotohog is not a game for the casual fan. This game gives me and other die hard fantasy and baseball fans a reason to follow what is going to be a tremendous 7-months of baseball.

Dome Field Advantage?

2007-03-29T14:32:00.001-07:00

Numerous media outlets tout Johan Santana as the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. A well deserving honor for the recipient of two of the last three Cy Young awards, but what is not as widely discussed is his home/road splits. Since his last loss (2-1 vs. Oakland) in the Metrodome on August 1, 2005, Santana has started 23 games in the dome. Those 23 starts resulted in a record of 16 wins, 0 losses and 7 no decisions. In addition to Johan not recording a personal loss, all 7 of those no decisions resulted in Twins victories. During those 23 games, opponents were held to a mere 52 runs or 2.3/game. The Twins offense did not sit back and watch on those nights. They put up 122 runs over that period or 5.3/game. In short, heading into the opener on Monday, the Twins have won the last 23 regular season games Santana has started, holding opponents to just over 2 runs while scoring over 5. Not good news for Baltimore Orioles fans.

Away from the dome Santana is a mere mortal however compiling 9 wins, 7 losses and 6 no decisions. To Johan's credit he kept the Twins in the game during those no decisions allowing the Twins to prevail in four of them. This equates to a .591 winning perentage on the road for the Twins in Santana starts. A .591 road winning percentage is not at all horrible, but is it good enough for the guy who is being called the best pitcher in baseball?

What can be taken from this:

1. Teams coming into the Dome when Santana is on the bump should pretty much mail it in.

2. Twins management need to structure the rotation so Santana gets more starts in the Dome. Current season schedule does not set up this way. If the schedule goes as planned (no postponements) Johan will start 15 games in the Dome and 21 on the road.

3. GM Terry Ryan needs to evaluate if it is a dome field advantage or home field advantage before the Twins lock up Santana counting on him to continue his dominance in the outdoor stadium in 2010.

They are all Equal (NL)

2007-03-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

In the continuation of team predictions and synopses, today we look at the National League. It is widely thought that the American League is the stronger league, I won't disagree, but in my opinion, the National League consists of more team parody. This will be quite noticeable in the prediction breakdowns.

National League East

Philadelphia Phillies (88-74)
Pitching depth and quality hitting lead Phillies to AL East crown

New York Mets (86-76)
Early season pitching woes hinder offensive firepower. Reyes blows hamstring knocking Mets from the top of the East. Pedro arrives in August to surge a playoff push but come up just short.

Atlanta Braves (83-79)
Great mix of veterans and youth keep Cox and the Braves in the playoff picture

Florida Marlins (76-86)
Sophomore slumps everywhere. Hermida displays talent everyone expected during second half. Management ships out D-Train at the trade deadline.

Washington Nationals (62-100)
With the worst pitching in baseball, the only reason to watch the Nationals is Ryan Zimmerman.

National League Central

Chicago Cubs (85-77)
Sweet Lou pulls off the unthinkable and takes Cubbies from worst to first in the NL Central with some help from the batting champ (Lee), MVP (Soriano), and Cy Young (Zambrano)

St. Louis Cardinals (83-79)
Young pitching breaks out (Wainwright and Reyes)bolstering rotation, but key offensive injuries (Edmonds, Encarnacion, Eckstein) erase the Champs chance to repeat.

Milwaukee Brewers (82-80)
Everyone's sleeper division winner is still one year away.

Houston Astros (80-82)
Biggio gets his 3000th hit and Hunter Pence makes an appearance bolstering an Astros late season playoff push.

Pittsburgh Pirates (76-86)
Pirates re-building with pitching and they are good. Ian Snell will outperform Zach Duke in 2007 and beyond, however, they both will be very good.

Cincinnati Reds (75-87)
Arroyo and Harang regress and injuries continue to hamper the offense. Reds slip to the cellar leading to an overhaul.

National League West

San Diego Padres (87-75)
Best pitching staff in the National League and consistent hitting allow the Padres to return to the playoffs.

Arizona Diamondbacks (86-76)
Second best pitching staff in National League and a young offense with a lot of talent keeps this race close and a playoff appearance within grasp.

Colorado Rockies (80-82)
Helton (aka Superman) and new Blake Street Bombers (Atkins, Holliday, Hawpe/Baker) put butts back into the seats at Coors.

Los Angeles Dodgers (79-83)
Horrible offseason movement bringing in aging veterans drops the Blue out of contention before they wake up and play the kids (Loney, Kemp, Billingsley and Broxton)

San Francisco Giants (78-84)
Even though the Giants are going to be horrible, there is that guy named Bonds, Barry Bonds who will become the HR King. In addition to the Bonds watch, Matt Cain is a very good young pitcher who will anchor this staff for years to come. Once Sabean realizes that Armando Benitez is not a quality closer, the emergence of a new cult hero will arrive in the Bay....Tim Lincecum.

The National League also has milestones and records of its own that will keep us following the boys of summer over the next six months. Tom Glavine wins his 300th game in August, Trevor Hoffman saves his 500th game prior to the All Star Game, Craig Biggio collects his 3000 hit on the 4th of July, and the greatest record of them all Barry Bonds' 755 HR chase comes to fruition on August 17th in Florida in front of the only regular season sell out crowd for the Marlins.

Everyone Starts in First Place (AL)

2007-03-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

With the start of the 2007 Major League Baseball (MLB) season a mere 96 hours away, every team is still currently tied for first place in their respective divisions and leagues. However, that will not be the case come Tuesday. Even though teams are not mathematically eliminated Tuesday, there is a very good possibility that some teams will not be partaking in post season play. Regardless of that, every major league club has a reason you should watch them this season, making this one of the most exciting years MLB has seen. I have broken my synopsis up by league and division and ordered it by my predicted finish and won-loss records. Today's Drivel will start with the American League

American League East

Boston Red Sox (96-66)
Matsuzaka Mania leads the Red Sox to another AL East championship

New York Yankees (92-70)
ARod and Jeter coexist leading Yankees to another playoff appearance

Toronto Blue Jays (82-80)
Roy Halladay suffers arm injury and needs Tommy John Surgery

Baltimore Orioles (75-87)
Young starting pitchers (Cabrera, Bedard, Loewen) take big step forward but bullpen collapses

Tampa Bay Devil Rays (73-89)
Lack of pitching causes clashes between offensive stars and management

American League Central

Cleveland Indians (89-73)
Revamped bullpen reverses last years misfortunes

Minnesota Twins (88-74)
2006 revisited: Ponson and Silva out Garza and Perkins in. Reversal of fortune as Twins lose division on last day in Boston

Detroit Tigers (88-74)
Tiger Lefties (Rogers, Robertson, Maroth) don't carry their weight

Chicago White Sox (77-85)
Collapses by Dye, Buehrle, Garland and the bullpen leave Ozzie offering some of the seasons best quotes

Kansas City Royals (66-96)
Young Royals (Gordon, Teahen, Shealy, Butler, and Greinke) look like the start of something good

American League West

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (84-78)
American Leagues best rotation including a healthy Bartolo Colon lead Angels back to playoffs

Texas Rangers (81-81)
Offense and bullpen keep Rangers in the hunt up until the final week

Oakland Athletics (81-81)
After 19 spectacular starts Rich Harden goes under the knife ending the A's playoff hopes

Seattle Mariners (73-89)
Mariners start off slowly leading to the shipping away of several veterans and eventual firing of Bill Bavasi

There are several milestones that will also be surpassed this season in the American League. 500 HR's will be obtained this season by Frank Thomas (487), Jim Thome (472), Manny Ramirez(470), and Alex Rodriguez (464). Mike Mussina currently sits with 239 wins and should obtain his 250th sometime in late July or early August. Yankee teammate Andy Pettite who has amassed 186 wins over his 12 major league seasons should win number 200 in early September. So as one can see, it is going to be a very interesting 6-months culminating with the Red Sox finishing off the Tribe in six games sending Sox fans into hysteria.

When Does Barry Surpass Hammerin' Hank

2007-03-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

I have been researching this subject for the last few weeks and going back and forth between will he or won't he do it? My initial feelings were that with the weak SF Giants lineup (leading to Barry breaking the walks and intentional walks records) and Barry's recent injury history, that he will not succeed in passing Hank Aaron and become the All Time Home Run Champion. I am not alone in this feeling as PECOTA projects Barry to hit only 18 HR's during the 2007 season. ESPN Baseball Contributors weighed in on the topic also. As you can see from the article 4 of the 14 writers stated they felt Bonds would not accrue 22 HR's this season. My feelings felt more validated when I saw I was not alone. I then went back to my research and crunched some numbers and came up with the inevitable that, Barry will break the HR record on August 17, 2007 in Florida vs. the Marlins.

After looking at numerous items, the valid points were games played, at bats per home run(AB/HR), home run pct(HR%), at bats per game (AB/GM), and walks. Bonds' first full major league season was 1987 and since that season, there have only been three seasons in which he has not participated in 130 games. The three seasons Bonds did not partake in more than 130 games was the strike season of 1994, the torn triceps tendon injury in 1999 and the knee surgery of 2005. So as much discussion as there has been about his fragility; over his career Bonds has played in 85% of the games in his career and 76% since 2000. The following table addresses the next variables of interest AB/HR and HR%.

Year	AB/HR	HR%
2000	9.8	10.21
2001	6.5	15.34
2002	8.8	12.06
2003	8.7	11.54
2004	8.3	11.41
2005	8.4	11.90
2006	14.1	7.08
Career	12.9	7.72

What this table cleary shows us is that over his 21 year career, Barry homered 1 in every 13 ABs and since 2000, that number is significantly lower.

Over his career, Bonds has averaged 3.3 AB/GM. Since 2000, Bonds has participated in 860 games accumulating 2531 at bats which translates to 2.94 AB/GM. During that seven year span, Bonds averaged 362 AB/season hitting 289 Home Runs or 1 every 8.76 AB. How do all these numbers give us the date? I used the following formula [(AB/HR x HR needed)/(AB/GM)] to calculate the game that the event will occur. By using the modest career value of 12.95 AB/HR and the AB/GM since 2000 of 2.94 I was able to calculate that Bonds will hit Home Run number 756 on his 97th game of the season. Last season Barry participated in 80% of the Giants games. If we extrapolate that for the season, it is the 122nd game of the year for the Giants. That puts us all in front of our TV sets on Friday, August 17, 2007 to witness history. The big questions are will anyone actually be at Dolphin Stadium, what type of financial impact will the HR chase have on baseball during the preceding games and will the Giants get any type of return on investment for the $16 million that is owed to Bonds for the 2007 season?

Interview with Minnesota Twins GM, Terry Ryan

2007-03-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to be able to sit down and talk with one of the most respected men in the game of baseball while I attended Spring Training in Florida a few weeks back. In addition to the graciousness of the Twins organization, the Editor and President of the Biz of Baseball, Maury Brown has accepted the interview and published it on his fine site. Not only was this quite an honor to an upstart freelance writer, but I was offered a position with the site to submit future information. I greatly appreciate Mr. Brown's interest in my writing and hope to be able to better an already fabulous site with my musings. Here is a link to the interview with Mr. Ryan Please check it out and enjoy the Biz of Baseball site.

The Ultimate Free Agent

2007-01-31T19:39:00.000-08:00

Webster defines Free as enjoying civil and political liberty or choosing or capable of choosing for itself. We as Americans sometimes take this for granted in my opinion. In addition the usage of words in specific instances sometimes just do not seem to really fit. The term Free Agency in sports means a player's contract with a team has expired, and that player is able to sign a contract with another team. Not entirely FREE as I am sure everyone would like to sign with a team that is most likely to make it to the World Series, but due to roster size and financial reasons, that is not an option. So, where am I going with this?

The World Baseball Classic opened our eyes to several highly talented ballplayers around the world that were/are not currently on the Major League Baseball stage. Americans will be able to see Daisuke Matsuzaka every fifth day for the Red Sox this season, but we will still not be graced with the abilities of Yulieski Gourriel. The world saw just a glimpse of this talented ball player during the World Baseball Classic, but there is a lot of excitement around his abilities. With the imminent death of Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro looming, will this change the way the United States and Cuba interact?

Gourriel is a 22 year old 3B/2B/SS for the Cuban National Team and Sancti Spiritus team of the Cuban National Series. Gourriel is the son of a former Cuban National Team member Lourdes Gourriel who was a major player for the Cuban National Team in the 70's and 80's.

Scouts who have seen Yulieski have stated that if he were available in the draft, he would be a guaranteed first rounder. Yulieski has been compared to a young Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez and even Hall of Famer Ernie Banks.

Accomplishments of the young Gourriel include winning the Junior Pan Am games as a 17 year old, hitting .433 while winning Gold in the 18-and-under tournament, Olympic and World Cup Gold Winner in 2004 and 2005 and lastly a second place finish to Matsuzaka's Japanese team during last seasons World Baseball Classic.

During the 2005 World Cup Gourriel destroyed world pitching with splits of .319/.385/.894 yielding an OPS of 1.279 in 11 games. His numbers in those 11 games included 47 AB's, 8HR's, 19 RBI's and 12 runs scored.

Last season as he led Sancti Spiritus to the Cuban National Series he became the first player in Cuban history to go 20/20. Yulieski homered in 5 of the last 6 games prior to the Series that capped off a 29-2 record over their last 31 games. To summarize his season, he led all Cuban players in Triples, Home Runs, RBI's, Total Bases, and was second in SB's. Over the 90 game Cuban season his numbers were:

349 AB's 89 Runs 114 hits 19 2B 11 3B 27 HR's 92 RBI's 21 SB's .327 Avg

Projected over a 162 game season, these numbers translate to one of the top 5 seasons in major league baseball history.

625 AB's 158 Runs 204 hits 34 2B 20 3B 49 HR's 166 RBI's 38 SB's .327 Avg

So, who would be interested in this talented ballplayer who will only be 23 next season? Of course it would include all the big money players and can only come to fruition if the new regime post Castro allows for players to come to the Major Leagues without defecting since Yulieski has already been rumored to have defected but strongly refuted those claims last summer after a tournament in Columbia.

With his abilities to play 2B, SS, 3B, it opens the possibilities for others besides the Yankees whom would have to be creative to find a position for him with Cano, Jeter and ARod manning those positions already.

So who do I think will/should bid for the services of Yulieski?

1. Florida Marlins
Jeffrey Loria should buck up and pay whatever it takes to get this kid on his Miami based club which city boasts the largest Cuban population which would only increase if things open between the U.S and Cuba after the death of Castro. Sliding him in at 2B over Dan Uggla would be a tremendous upgrade and give the Marlins an infield of Jacobs, Gourriel, Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera.

2. Boston Red Sox
Mike Lowell's contract ends at the end of this season and sliding Gourriel into that spot and the two hole in the lineup in front or Manny and Big Papi would make the Red Sox nation happy that they will have an offense comparable of the hated Yankees.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers have a $0.5 million buyout of Jeff Kent's $9 million he would be owed. This money could be used to get younger and better with the signing of Gourriel. With the talented Dodger system and the current players under contract, Ned Colletti will be a big player in the Yulieski Gourriel sweepstakes.

I know this is all hypothetical depending on what happens post Castro and even more so if Yulieski even decided he wanted to play in the major leagues but wouldn't it be an interesting scenario? I am not the kind of person who wishes any undue harm onto anyone, but I am really anxious to see what happens to relations with Cuba and the United States once Fidel Castro passes on.

Floyd"ed" in the Outfield?

2007-01-24T19:45:00.000-08:00

The Tribune Company, who is up for sale by the way, has spent well over $300 million this offseason to try and put a competitive squad on the field for Lou Piniella? Is this per Piniella's request, or are the Tribune company executives making their final attempt at winning it all and using the championship to make their sales pitch more attractive. The signings of all these players to large contracts are quite interesting as they are quite back loaded. Surely, a World Series championship would be huge for the potential sale of the corporation, but it would leave the new ownership group sitting with some horrible contracts.

With todays acquisition of Cliff Floyd by the Cubs, they are now sitting with seven potential outfielders (Cliff Floyd, Jacque Jones, Matt Murton, Angel Pagan, Felix Pie, Mark DeRosa and Alfonso Soriano). Or are they? Will all those names be considered in the outfield mix come April 2 when Lou pencils in the lineup to face the Reds, or will a couple of them be in the infield? We all know Lou Piniella is used to having to score a lot of runs to win due to mediocre pitching staffs (see Mariners and Devil Rays). Well, the Cubs are no different this year. With a staff of Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis, Rich Hill, Wade Miller and Mark Prior, the manual scoreboard operators are going to be kept quite busy. So what lineup should Sweet Lou put out on the field that will allow them to outscore their opponents? If all are healthy, and that is a big if when Cliff Floyd is involved, this is the lineup and batting order that should be gracing the Bleacher Bum faithfuls on a regular basis.

Player	Position	HomeRuns	OBP
Soriano	2B	46	.351
Barrett	C	16	.368
Lee	1B	8	.368
Ramirez	3B	38	.352
Jones	CF	27	.334
Murton	RF	13	.365
Floyd	LF	11	.324
DeRosa	SS	13	.357
Zambrano	P	6	.316

Even with Derrek Lee's injury riddled 8 Home Runs, which we can pretty safely guess will be at least 20-30 more this season, that is some serious power to go along with a pretty impressive on base percentage. To put the OBP into perspective the formidable lead off hitter Juan Pierre would have ranked only ahead of Cliff Floyd and Carlos Zambrano last year with an abysmal showing of .330.

If Derrek Lee and Cliff Floyd stay healthy, and the rest of the Cubs lineup performs anywhere near last years numbers, this team could look to make a serious run at Houston's 2000 NL Home Run record of 249. Why do I think there could be some serious skirmishes out on Waveland Avenue.

Note to Bleacher Bums: Bring a glove to wear opposite your beer hand for your own protection.

Note to Tribune Corp: Lock up Zambrano or he will cost you a lot more than $100 million after 2007.

Where oh where will my little games be?

2007-01-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

It is unfortunate that the monopolies known as DirecTV and Comcast cannot get along and allow the general public the opportunity to decide which format they want to receive their TV viewing from.

With the recent discussion of DirecTV offering Major League Baseball a cool $100 million per year for 7 years for the exclusive rights to show the Extra Innings package (approximately 1200 games), compared to the $70 million offered by inDemand, as reported by the Sports Business Journal, how will I get my fill of the great game?

Since 2002 when Comcast's inDemand worked out an agreement to allow cable subscribers the access to the Extra Innings package, several baseball fans have been able to watch their favorite teams on a daily basis. Being a Comcast subscriber, I was ecstatic when this option was available and definitely took advantage of its services.

So I am sure you are all thinking that I am completely disheartened today and pondering switching to the dish. That has not even crossed my mind. Actually, I am excited that it will make my decision easier to convert to mlb.tv. Since I live in the Pacific NW and a chunk of the games begin prior to my arrival home from work, I miss out on a good deal of East Coast action. With mlb.tv, I will now be able to log on as I am winding down my day and catch the beginning of the early games. Upon arrival home, I will log on to the laptop, load up the games, and enjoy them from the luxury of my back deck.

So, those of you that are completely disgruntled with this most probable move by Major League Baseball, find a positive in it and make it work for you.

2007 Inaugural Post

2007-01-21T14:02:00.000-08:00

I have decided that this year I need to dedicate the time to post here on a regular basis.

If I am to succeed in my dream of breaking into the world of baseball, I need to get the word out expressing my views and opinions in a professional manner so they are able to be seen.

Recently, I have been accepted into an online program that teaches the fundamentals of the front office and scouting world of a baseball organization. As most of you who are acquainted with me know, it has always been a passion of mine to work in the baseball industry. With an online course conducted by Sports Management Worldwide, http://www.sportsmanagementworldwide.com/index.asp I am hoping to learn what I need to be able to network myself and fulfill that dream.

The new format of Diff's Diamond Drivel will consist of news and views of current issues in baseball that I feel I need to elaborate on. I hope you enjoy this format and will continue to read my drivel.

How Why and When the Twins will make the Playoffs

2006-08-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

It is 2:30 PM PDT on August 17th, and the Twins just lost a tough one to the Cleveland Indians, while the White Sox were able to manage a split with the Royals. As a result of these outcomes, the Twins fall 2 full games back in the wild card chase heading into this weekends matchup with those same White Sox. Don't fret Twins fans, your hopes are not yet squashed for a playoff birth. How can that be you ask? Ah, let me break it down for you.

Something finally clicked for the Twins on the last day of a 10-game West Coast road trip ending on June 8th that got this club on track. Since June 8th the Twins have been the best team in baseball with a 44-17 (.721) record. During that same time, the four other clubs (Tigers, White Sox, Yankees, and Red Sox)that are competing for 3 playoff spots have gone 40-20 (Detroit), 36-25 (White Sox), 35-25 (Yankees) and 35-27 (Red Sox). To stronger validate the point, using a more recent sample of won-loss trends depicts that the Twins are 23-11 (.676) since the all star break while the Tigers are 19-13 (.594), White Sox 15-17 (.469), Yankees 20-12 (.625) and Red Sox 16-17 (.485).

You are still not convinced. This is because every media outlet states that there is no way the Twins can succeed if Francisco Liriano misses time. Granted, having Liriano would make things a lot easier for the Twins, however, his 4 week abscence is not going to eliminate them from the race. Since the All Star Break while the Twins were playing .676 ball, the majority of those wins, 19 to be exact, were compiled in starts by Santana, Radke and Silva. Silva you ask? Yes, Carlos Silva. Since the All Star Break, the Twins are 6-1 in games started by Silva and an astounding 19-2 in games started by Santana, Radke and Silva. During that same period, in games started by Liriano, the 5th starter of the month or Liriano's replacement, the Twins are only 4-9. So even though the loss of Liriano will definitely hurt the Twins, the club has not been winning as frequently when he had been pitching as with Santana, Radke and Silva.

So taking into account the aforementioned trends of the Twins playing .721 ball since June 8 or even a slightly more believable .676 ball since the All Star break, I am assuming they will regress a little more and play .643 ball over their last 42 games to end with a record of 97-65. Granted they have 9 games left with the White Sox (6 in the HHH Dome), a series with the Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox and A's, they also have 7 at home vs. the Royals, 6 vs. Baltimore and 3 vs. the DRays whom they have beaten 12 consecutive times. The White Sox on the other hand play a majority of their games on the road 25,compared to only 17 at home. In addition to that dramatic difference in Home/Road splits, they face the Twins 6 times, Tigers 4 times, and a series each with the Red Sox, A's and Angels on the road. They also match up 7 more times with the Indians who currently hold a 7-5 lead in the season series.

The Yankees and Red Sox will be battling out against one another 9 more times for the Eastern division title in addition to matching up with the Blue Jays multiple times. These battles will take there toll on these squads and their win/loss records thus knocking the non-division winner out of the Wild Card chase.

That covers the how and why of the Twins quest for the playoffs, but when will it actually be decided. After analyzing the upcoming matchups and analyzing the rest of the season, the Twins will take a percentage points lead in the wild card chase on Labor Day after the Twins knock off the DRays for the 13th straight time and the White Sox fall to the Red Sox at Fenway. The Twins will hold a slim lead (1-game in the loss column) all the way until Thursday September 21st when the Twins fall for the second straight night to the Red Sox in Fenway. The White Sox will hold a small percentage points lead until the Twins even things up on Thursday September 28th with a victory over the Royals leaving both the Twins and White Sox with identical records of 95-64 going into the final 3 game series in the Metrodome between the two teams. This identical record heading into the last 3 games, will guarantee that there will not be a one game playoff.

The matchups for that final series will play out like such:

Friday night: Brad Radke, pitching what possibly may be his last major league game takes his 11-2 home record since June 8th into the Metrodome vs. Mark Buehrle. The Twins jump out early and the majors top bullpen holds off the Sox for a 1-game lead in the wild card hunt.

Saturday morning/afternoon: Johan Santana puts his 2006 perfect 17-0 record in the Metrodome on the line vs. Freddy Garcia and the now desperate Chicago White Sox. In a fabulously pitched ballgame, Justin Morneau takes a Neal Cotts pitch over the hefty bag in the bottom of the 11th for a dramatic walk off and playoff clinching HR.

Sunday afternoon: Matt Garza vs. Brandon McCarthy in a game that features a bunch of young players getting some Major League action with the White Sox pulling this one out but finishing 1 game back and ending the Champs reign.

Final Standings end up this way:

AL East

1. Yankees 98-64
2. Red Sox 95-67

AL Central
1. Tigers 101-61
2. Twins 97-65
3. White Sox 96-66

AL West
1. Oakland 89-73
2. Texas 84-78
3. Angels 83-79

The World Has Lost a Great Man

2006-05-31T09:32:00.000-07:00

On May 22, 2006 at 9:15 AM, this world lost a great man. The Better Half's father passed away after a long, hard battle with cancer at the age of 80. Dick had battled prostate cancer for the previous 15 years. Within the past 8 months, the cancer metastasized to his bones and most recently to his vital organs. During the past 6 months, Dick endured multiple medical procedures which were significantly botched by his physicians. The care he received by the hospital system was horrible. The Better Half and I made significant complaints to the personnel at the hospital to correct the inaccurate care he was receiving. The message I want to portray is that when a loved one is hospitalized, do not be afraid to confront the nursing and physician staff.

I was fortunate and I mean fortunate enough to get to know Dick over the past 10 years. Dick was a man who left school at the age of 17 to join the Navy and fight during WWII. He was a member of the special forces underwater demolition team during WWII and Korea. Upon retirement from the service, he had been shrined with multiple awards of merit which included 2 purple hearts. It was a pleasure to visit with Dick and hear the stories he lived during those difficult times. Dick was the last surviving member of his battalion, so it is sad to say the accurate depiction of those stories will never be told again.

I am most saddened at this time for the Better Half as I feel she was cheated out of a relationship with her father. Her parents divorced when she was a young girl and her mother did not allow her to see her father. It is only during the last 10 years that she has been able to enjoy a relationship with her father. They developed a beautiful relationship during that time in which they spoke to each other at least once a week. I feel Dick did his best to try and make up for lost years, but it is impossible to bring back 20 years of lost time.

Rest comfortably now Dick knowing that I will do my best to take care of your daughter. I am greatly honored to have known you and will whole heartedly miss you.

Parody and Pharmacokinetics

2006-04-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

In today's installment of Diff's Drivel, I feel it is time to elaborate on what I have seen thus far this season.

First, has anyone else noticed the parody we are seeing (especially in the AL) so far this season. Nine of the fourteen teams in the AL are either 4-5, 5-5, or 5-4; while the top 2 AL squads (Boston and Cleveland) are only 6-3. I find that stat quite amazing. The NL is not as dramatic, but the Central is shaping up to be quite a battle with 5 teams being separated only by 1 game with the Cardinals currently the 5th place team in that division. I just hope the season continues on like this and continues to pump out fantastic games like yesterday's extra inning thriller between the young Brew Crew and the Cardinals. Carlos Lee almost single handedly gave the Brewers the victory with his combination of HR saving catch off the bat of Juan Encarnacion in the bottom of the 10th to his solo blast in the 11th. It pains me to say this, but I am starting to like this young Brewers squad.

Pharmacokinetics is one of the hottest topics in sports currently. Ranging from Bonds' potential perjury to the strict regulations and testing methods that the evil Bud Selig has implemented. I on the other hand would like to tackle an issue that I feel is affecting the game on a greater scale, amphetamines. Amphetamines, other wise known as "greenies" have been widely used by players for years, particularily by pitchers, to get more amped up before hitting the hill. It is widely thought that pitchers are ahead of hitters at the beginning of the season and that is why run production is usually down early. Not this season however. Most people thought with the scrupulous steroid testing that HR's would be down. However, just the opposite has been seen thus far. Yesterday alone, 48 home runs were hit during 15 games or a little over 3 per game. Without actually calculating the numbers, and going just off of what I have seen, it seems to me that the middle innings of games have been producing a lot more runs in the first couple weeks of the season. Red Bull, Espresso, and Soda have now become the norm in the clubhouses, but Red Bull and Soda spike your glucose levels and you have a quick high, followed by a dramatic low in your glucose levels causing you to become tired and lethargic. So as far as JD's Jabber is concerned, steroids is not the major issue in today's great game, it is the stimulants the players were using to stay amped up.

Inaugural Post

2006-04-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

I have finally gotten around to creating a blog allowing me to discuss idle banter regarding sports (predominantly baseball) and happenings in the Pacific Northwest. Today is the first posting of what I hope is a daily venture expounding on the great game. This will include discussions on recent games, upcoming games, and my gambling picks to click. In regards to the picks to click, a running tally will be kept of winnings (or losses) occurred.

In addition to the baseball banter, I will highlight the goings on in the life of the better half and I as we forge through life in the great Pacific Northwest.

Welcome, and I hope you enjoy my drivel.