Stephen Strasburg Will Be a Top-Ten Pitcher This Season posted by Colin Linneweber

Washington Nationals right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg made his spring training debut Tuesday in a 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Viera, Fla. 

Strasburg, who was selected by the Nationals with the number one overall pick out of San Diego State University in the 2009 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, fanned two batters in two scoreless innings before the was relieved. 

Despite his solid statistics, the former Aztecs standout struggled a tad with his command. 

In total, Strasburg managed to throw only 15 of his 27 pitches for strikes. 

“Command really wasn’t there, but I think a lot of that had to do with the adrenaline going on,” said Strasburg, 21, who signed a record four-year contract worth $15.1 million with Washington this past August. “It’s something that happens to me every time – even in college, even in high school. That first outing, there’s all this excitement and it’s really difficult to control the adrenaline and make sure you’re staying nice and relaxed.” 

Regardless of the control issues he experienced, it is evident that Strasburg is a burgeoning superstar. 

The native of San Diego had his fastball consistently clocked in the 97-98 mph range and his curveball was measured between 79 and 81 mph. 

“I just wanted to go out there and throw strikes,” said Strasburg, who tossed a no-hitter and whiffed 17 batters in his final collegiate home start against the Air Force last May. “If they hit it, they hit it. Big deal. I have enough confidence in my stuff that if I can go out there and make them put the ball in play, I’ve got a great defense behind me that’s going to back me up.” 

A new shortstop and new uniforms! posted by Joe Gunderson

Hey Everyone,

Not sure who is out there but hopefully someone is!    Anyway, for those that don't know my name is Joe and I've been a Twins fan since I was six years old.  I hope you find this blog entertaining and thought provoking.  Let's get started shall we?!

In my first entry I'd like to discuss how the Twins acquired a new shortstop for the 2010 season and what I think of the acquisition and also the news that was announced today, that they are going to be wearing new uniforms next year.

The Twins have acquired shortstop J.J. Hardy from the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Carlos Gomez.  I am excited about this acquisition.  It potentially fills a very big need for the Twins, a right-handed bat with good power and an infielder at a position of need.  It thins out the Twins depth in the outfield but they still have four guys who are capable of playing out there everyday and you can only have three out there everyday.  Gomez is very talented but he gets way too excited when he's at the plate a lot of the time which causes him to swing wildly and strike out a lot.  He has the potential to be special at the plate if he ever calms down his approach.  He is an excellent defender as well.

Hardy, while he is coming off a bad year offensively is capable of hitting in the upper .200's to .300 and has pop enough to hit 20+ home runs a season and plays consistent defense.  Overall for 2010, the trade favors the Twins.  In the future, it could favor the Brewers but the Twins had to take that chance to give themselves a better chance to compete in 2010.

More Thoughts on MLB Pitching Statistics posted by Eric Hatleback

In the National League, the elongated double switch shows again why pitching statistics are quite poorly attributed.  A traditional double switch involves the manager inserting a position player into the game  for the current pitcher and a new pitcher for a position player--typically one who just made an out, so that the new pitcher won't be batting for nearly a full trip through the lineup.

However, this same basic maneuver can also occur by simply pinch-hitting for the pitcher while on offense and then placing the pitcher in for whichever player makes the last out of the inning.  If the team takes the lead (and subsequently does not lose it), the just-substituted-for pitcher gets credited with the win.

The problem is this: if this scenario occurs before the 5th inning, the starting pitcher cannot get the win, so it'll almost certainly be the next guy who pitches that will get the win.  But given that a position player is the opne who was inserted for the pitcher, why wouldn't that guy get the win?  He is technically inserted for the pitcher.  Of course, I'm not advocating that he really should get the win; I'm arguing that the statistics need to be reconfigured so that there are categories such as "Team Wins / Losses."  See some of my earlier posts for more good examples of why this should be the case.

One other note--it also wouldn't help to require a pitcher to actually throw a pitch before earning a win, as we saw last month:  http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=290707127.  Both Embree and B.J. Ryan (in 2003) have recently earned Wins without throwing a pitch.  This makes it possible for a reliever to enter for a starter before the 5th (after an offensive rally when his team took the lead), warm up for the inning, then leave without doing

What We've Seen of the Chicago Cubs; and Michelle Beadle posted by Brandon Kamerman

"The Cubs are who we thought they were", but then again, who did we think they were? In fact, who are they? Coming off a solid sweep of the error-infested Washington Nationals, the Cubs looked indifferent and at times incoherent against the spirited,  World Series repeat-driven Philadelphia Phillies. Now I understand, it's only one game. They could still go out and take the series and end an impressive road trip at 6-1. And I hope they do, but they have inexplicably lost focus and drive at some of the most important moments in this half-season. Instead of incorporating the momentum they achieved in Washington, D.C., they laid an egg in Philadelphia.

I know many Cubs fans developed a few more gray hairs during the fourth inning on Monday night against the Phillies. Alfonso Soriano must have taken some of the Washington Nationals mantra with him to Citizens Bank Park when he let a line drive land in between him and Kosuke Fukudome for a Carlos Ruiz RBI-double and later let a ball pop out of his glove on the warning track for his Major League-leading 8th error of the season. As maddening as that was, at least Alfonso Soriano is who we thought he was. Having gone 6 for his last 11 including two home runs in his last three games, his bat is starting to show the same pop we've always known he has. Meanwhile, his glove is showing the same incapacity we've also known him to possess. It wasn't surprising to see him misplay two balls hit to him. He's done that since he's been with the Cubs. As long as he hits, this is the guy the Cubs paid for. As for the rest of the team, these hitters need to hit because the Phillies own one of the scariest lineups in the game today.

Perfect Cubs transition: Nationals to Phillies posted by Brandon Kamerman

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! I know what you're thinking. Here are the Chicago Cubs we've been waiting for. They just needed a four-day break to rediscover themselves. Their bullpen's coming around! There's Soriano! They have the best starting pitching in baseball! Now, we have to step out of our "Cubs fan suit" for a second and remind ourselves what we really saw this past weekend.

It was the NATIONALS!!! Going into that four-game series, the Washington Nationals were 26-61.That's THIRTY-FIVE games UNDER .500. They're terrible. This is a team still trying to find what direction they're going in, just controversially changed managers, and their only All-Star (Ryan Zimmerman) has been slumping. Now, giving the Nats their due credit, I do believe they're going to be a good team eventually. They have some pieces in place and they will have Stephen Strasburg and possibly Bryce Harper up in the next few years. They are a team that has excellent patience at the plate and some solid young players (i.e. Zimmerman, Nyjer Morgan, Garrett Mock, John Lannan). But they're NINE games behind the Cleveland Indians, the team with the second worst record in baseball. 

Now, don't get me wrong. There were some real positives coming out of that series. It sure was nice to see Sori hit the ball out of the park. Matter of fact, it was nice to see Sori hit the ball at all. Rich Harden's excllent outing on Thursday was a real positive and a confidence-booster for the rest of the season. The bullpen's been great, Jake Fox is proving to be an everyday producer, and they're finally getting production out of their lower spots in the lineup. And all in all, regardless of who it is, a four-game road sweep of a Major League team is, at best, unexpected, and more importantly quite helpful in the hunt for their third consecutive division title. 

Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Break Analysis posted by Keith trussell

   Pittsburgh Pirates Mid-Season Analysis

     I moved to Western Maryland a couple of weeks ago and this is part of my ongoing attempt to learn about the sports interests here.  Baseball-wise it’s the Pirates, Orioles, and Nationals, and I wanted to get into the one with the best current chance of a playoff push.  The Nats are obviously out and the Orioles are 14 games behind first in a ridiculously hard division, so that leaves the Pirates, a tantalizing Homer-pick at 9.5 behind in the absurdly mediocre NL Central.  On paper it looks possible that any team could take it, and I hoped that statistical analysis would show some obscure Pirates advantage that could take them over the top, but I just can’t find it.  I’m not saying that an X-factor doesn’t exist, just that anyone who claims there is one is obviously from Pittsburgh.  In fact, this team so cries for the use of the “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” comparison that I spent ten whole minutes looking up how I could work it in.  And here it is:  Mario Brega, who played Cpl. Wallace, the big cross-eyed prison guard in the film who beat up Tuco to get the name of the cemetery the money was buried in for Angel Eyes ,died 15 years ago this month.  So to honor his memory, here’s a breakdown of the Pirates in the spirit of that great film (I resisted using a corresponding pirate-based ranking system, i.e.; Avast Ye Maties, Walk the Plank, and Totally Somalian because even I have standards).

Another Reason Why MLB Needs Team Pitching Statistics posted by Eric Hatleback

Here'e another quirky entry into the "Win" category:  http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4318608.  If we used Team pitching statistics, that win would simply go to the Nationals pitching staff, which clearly it should have.

Also, I wonder what the rules are concerning rosters resuming suspended games.  What if the whole team was replaced in the interim?  That team would have a distinct advantage in bench players and pitchers available over the other team.  And what if Hanrahan had been traded to the Astros?  Could he have come into the game in the bottom half, given up the winning run, and earned both the win and the loss?  This one deserves some thought. 

Take a Look at the Standings posted by Tony Rossi

I already knew that the Red Sox were in first, and that the Yanks were in second.  I also knew that whenever I looked at the standings, Toronto was not far behind New York.  What I didn’t know was that Tampa Bay is currently only a game behind Toronto. 

Everyone once in a while I hear a player say on TV that their division is the toughest in baseball.  I never really know who to believe because it seems to change every year.  Right now in 2009, I’m picking AL East as the toughest division in baseball.  Take a look:

AL East                  W           L              Games behind

Boston               45           26           --

New York           41           32           4.0

Toronto              41           34           5.0

Tampa Bay         40           35           6.0

Don’t Worry About Smoltz….Yet posted by Tony Rossi

Last night I saw a funny production of Neil Simon’s play “Rumors” at Salem State College.  When I got out, I was hoping to catch the end of the game.  As it turned out, the game was over, and it was no laughing matter.  Smoltz had given up four runs alone in the first inning.  The Red Sox bullpen was very shaky.  And Jordan Zimmermann from the Nationals absolutely dominated the Red Sox through seven innings of work. 

In those seven innings, Zimmermann gave up only 5 hits, a run, a walk, and 6 strikeouts.  This guy is only 23 years old.  I’m impressed and plan on following up on this guy, I hope he keeps doing this well (just not against the Sox). 

Meanwhile, Red Sox pitching was just the opposite.  After Smoltz was taken out of the game, Bard came in for an inning and gave up 2 hits, 2 runs, and a walk.  I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Bard should go back down to AAA for a month or two.  I want to see him back in Boston in September, but right now I don’t think he’s ready.  Following Bard was Saito, who also gave up 2 runs and 2 hits, one of which was a homer.  But before any of this happened, Smoltz had gone 5 innings while allowing 7 hits, 5 runs, a walk, and striking out 5.   

I’d be lying if I said I was content with how Smoltz did last night.  At the same time I’m not worried.  Not yet.  According to Ian Browne on mlb.com, Smoltz did not pitch well in 2002 as his first outing as a closer (0.2 IP, 6 H, 8 R), nor did he have a good outing his first time back in the rotation three years later.  Maybe the hype is too much for him on the mound.  I say we see how he does his next couple of starts before making a decision on whether or not we want to keep him in the rotation.  I’m not giving up on Smoltz yet.  And if we have to, there’s always Buchholz waiting in AAA.

Posada's shoulder holding up nicely for the Yankees posted by Cesar Valverde

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.

Strasburg makes long-awaited Nats debut

Top draft pick Stephen Strasburg made his spring training debut forthe Washington Nationals on Tuesday, pitching two scoreless inningsagainst the Detroit Tigers. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB

Mathis wins in arbitration, Burnett loses (AP)

Catcher Jeff Mathis defeated the Los Angeles Angels in salary arbitration and reliever Sean Burnett lost to the Washington Nationals. Mathis was given a raise from $450,000 to $1.3 million on Friday by arbitrators Elliott Shiftman, Steven Wolf and Margaret Brogan, who heard the case a day earlier in St. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Report: Nats give Wang one-year, $2M deal

A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Pressthat pitcher Chien-Ming Wang and the Washington Nationals havereached an agreement on a $2 million, one-year contract. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB