Post by bossplaya on Aug 17, 2007 14:38:45 GMT -5
Around the League: Month of April
Through 28 days of play in the first month of the season, we’ve seen a number of interesting stories throughout the league.
- Carlos Beltran hit 3 Homeruns in his return back from injury.
- Jacque Jones currently holds the highest game performance going 6-6, with 7 RBI’s, 1 HR, and 5 runs scored.
- The Devil Rays are the only team in the entire league with a batting average under .200. (.195)
- Mike Sweeney had an RBI streak that lasted 11 games.
- Lance Berkman had a league high 15 game hitting streak.
- Despite unloading some of the premiere arms in the league for hitters, San Francisco and Florida both rank in the bottom half of the league in hitting.
- Jason Giambi is the only player in the league to rank top 5 in RBI’s, HR’s, and Walks.
- Rodrigo Lopez and Carl Pavano are the only undefeated pitchers left, at 5-0.
Milestones
Jeff Bagwell got his 2,000th hit on 4/27/03
Sammy Sosa got his 500th Homerun on 4/6/2003
Biggest surprise:
A handful of teams could probably make there case for exceeding expectations so far this season, such as KC, Colorado, New York, who are all leading there divisions respectively. But Baltimore makes an interesting story here, being that they are in the toughest division in the league, with Boston and New York at the top. The O’s pitching has been outstanding, ranking no higher than 5th in all pitching categories. They have found the ace of there staff with Rodrigo Lopez leading the way, who is 5-0, with a 1.98 ERA. Following that is Sidney Ponson, Omar Daal, Rick Helling, Jason Johnson, and the newly acquired Al Leiter, who should only help them improve. They are solid in the hitting department, led by Tony Batista, who is one of the top RBI men in the league. There weakness seems to be that they lack pop. They don’t have that one or two guys in the middle of the order who pitchers are scared to go after. They are without a doubt the underdog in the AL East, it will be interesting to see how long they can keep this pace with the other two powerhouses. If there pitching stays consistent, that can take them a long way, but I still think they are a big bat or two away from actually seriously contending for the division.
Biggest disappointment:
The Marlins are easily the most disappointing team this season, and I’m sure most would agree. Having probably the scariest lineup in the league on paper 2 through 6, they’ve been everything but that as a whole. They rank 27th in runs scored, 25th in batting average, and 21st in Homeruns and Walks. Big bats such as Ortiz, A-Rod, and Dunn, have simply not performed up to the level that they’re capable of. Minus Penny, there pitching has struggled for the most part. Beckett and Lilly have both underperformed. Burnett is out so things won’t get better. Still, it’s very early and it’s not too late for these guys to get hot, so don’t expect this ball club to panic unless they are going to make the team better somehow.
Who’s HOT?
Pedro Martinez has dazzled hitters with a 4-0 record, and 0.63 ERA in his last 4 outings.
This past week, Barrett has hit .368 with 3 HR's and 12 RBI's.
Who's NOT?
In his last 20 AB's, Thome has managed to just get 1 hit.
Pittsburghs' ace Kris Benson is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in his last 4 starts.
Through 28 days of play in the first month of the season, we’ve seen a number of interesting stories throughout the league.
- Carlos Beltran hit 3 Homeruns in his return back from injury.
- Jacque Jones currently holds the highest game performance going 6-6, with 7 RBI’s, 1 HR, and 5 runs scored.
- The Devil Rays are the only team in the entire league with a batting average under .200. (.195)
- Mike Sweeney had an RBI streak that lasted 11 games.
- Lance Berkman had a league high 15 game hitting streak.
- Despite unloading some of the premiere arms in the league for hitters, San Francisco and Florida both rank in the bottom half of the league in hitting.
- Jason Giambi is the only player in the league to rank top 5 in RBI’s, HR’s, and Walks.
- Rodrigo Lopez and Carl Pavano are the only undefeated pitchers left, at 5-0.
Milestones
Jeff Bagwell got his 2,000th hit on 4/27/03
Sammy Sosa got his 500th Homerun on 4/6/2003
Biggest surprise:
A handful of teams could probably make there case for exceeding expectations so far this season, such as KC, Colorado, New York, who are all leading there divisions respectively. But Baltimore makes an interesting story here, being that they are in the toughest division in the league, with Boston and New York at the top. The O’s pitching has been outstanding, ranking no higher than 5th in all pitching categories. They have found the ace of there staff with Rodrigo Lopez leading the way, who is 5-0, with a 1.98 ERA. Following that is Sidney Ponson, Omar Daal, Rick Helling, Jason Johnson, and the newly acquired Al Leiter, who should only help them improve. They are solid in the hitting department, led by Tony Batista, who is one of the top RBI men in the league. There weakness seems to be that they lack pop. They don’t have that one or two guys in the middle of the order who pitchers are scared to go after. They are without a doubt the underdog in the AL East, it will be interesting to see how long they can keep this pace with the other two powerhouses. If there pitching stays consistent, that can take them a long way, but I still think they are a big bat or two away from actually seriously contending for the division.
Biggest disappointment:
The Marlins are easily the most disappointing team this season, and I’m sure most would agree. Having probably the scariest lineup in the league on paper 2 through 6, they’ve been everything but that as a whole. They rank 27th in runs scored, 25th in batting average, and 21st in Homeruns and Walks. Big bats such as Ortiz, A-Rod, and Dunn, have simply not performed up to the level that they’re capable of. Minus Penny, there pitching has struggled for the most part. Beckett and Lilly have both underperformed. Burnett is out so things won’t get better. Still, it’s very early and it’s not too late for these guys to get hot, so don’t expect this ball club to panic unless they are going to make the team better somehow.
Who’s HOT?
Pedro Martinez has dazzled hitters with a 4-0 record, and 0.63 ERA in his last 4 outings.
This past week, Barrett has hit .368 with 3 HR's and 12 RBI's.
Who's NOT?
In his last 20 AB's, Thome has managed to just get 1 hit.
Pittsburghs' ace Kris Benson is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in his last 4 starts.