OK, so I apologize for not having posted in a while. I have been fasting from basketball due to my parents’ financial situation. And it has been tough, needless to say. But come again on May the 11th, I will finally get to know what the Mavericks have been doing in the playoffs, which I am looking forward to. I have also been praying my brains out in the meantime. I even had to change my homepage to not show the Mavericks and NBA information just so I don’t screw it up. But I least I have my baseball, which I hold dear… and with that in mind, let me rundown the series with the Rangers and the Indians. It boils down to this as to whether the Rangers walk away with a winning April or not.
Game 1:
Texas (11-11) at Cleveland (12-10)
John Koronka (3-1) vs. Jason Johnson (2-1)
Koronka has been a very pleasant surprise for the Rangers and to me this season. He has given up only six runs in his last 19 innings (that’s a 284 ERA for those keeping score at home). Koronka hasn’t thrown more than 98 pitches, which was in his last start against Tampa Bay. Johnson has thrown 101 pitches against Baltimore in a seven inning outing back on April 18th. Johnson has thrown 25 2/3 innings to Koronka’s 24 innings, and Koronka has given up 3 homeruns to Johnson’s 1. Both have the same WHIP of 1.17 (A WHIP is walks/hits per inning pitched – for those who don’t know). No Cleveland hitters have ever faced Koronka and the Rangers hitters have a total of 60 at-bats against Johnson for an average of .200. Blalock and Matthews both have a homerun against Johnson. The Rangers hitters collectively pull together 5 RBIs against Johnson. RBI percentage is 8.3%... which is good for Cleveland. Over a stretch of 27 batters, that would give the Rangers roughly 2 runs. Seriously, this is really a monkey shoot (I think I may have used that correctly), but I would say, Rangers, simply because Mench is on fire, and the team is inspired. Texas wins this with a close by the Ottobot: 5-3
Game 2:
Texas at Cleveland
Kevin Millwood (1-2) vs. Fausto Carmona (1-1)
I still think Kevin is a 20 gamer. I am not shying down from that. And this is a game that he will win. Why, because it is his former team. Kevin’s ERA over his last three starts is 2.37, giving up only 5 runs in 19 innings of work. He has no-decisions in his last two starts, based off of blown saves… Otsuka will be handling the closing for at least a little while… maybe the rest of the season. Who knows, really, right? But at least the Rangers have choices in pitching, something we haven’t been able to say in a long, long time, if ever. Now, Kevin does sport a 4.20 ERA coming into this one overall… his first two starts weren’t quite on target, but he has been getting better and better as things progress. Some would argue the 6 walks in his last start… but I won’t. Cleveland has five hitters who have faced Millie, Boone and Vasquez both rip him well (8-20 combined). Hollandsworth should take a seat for when Millie is on the hill (3-18). Carmona hasn’t faced a Rangers hitter before… and with sporting a 7.15 ERA coming into this, I don’t like his chances. I would almost think him to hit the showers early. He’s given up 9 runs in 11 1/3 innings against Baltimore and Detroit combined. Granted those are two very good offensive teams, at least right now. Lefties are hitting him with greatness (.471) whereas righties aren’t doing so well (.185). Maybe that is the only thing keeping him around. Still, I pick the visitors on this one… SCORE: 9-3
Game 3:
Texas at Cleveland
Vicente Padilla (2-1) vs. Jake Westbrook (2-2)
Now, I just like Padilla. With the exception of the Oakland start (in Oakland, mind you), Padilla has an ERA of 2.92. But the reality is there are no exceptions in baseball. You got to count all the stats. Otherwise, what would the point be? Padilla’s ERA is 3.64. And overall, he’s looked really good. Like Koronka, he’s done much better than I expected. I am surprised to see Westbrook sporting an ERA of 5.52, to be honest with you. But I am surprised to see Millwood with a 4.20… so stranger days, right? The Rangers really do bash up Westbrook in a MAJOR way. In 62 at-bats (with the existing Rangers), we slap him with a .387 average and 12 RBIs. That’s a RBI percentage of 19.4%. Although the at-bats is pretty low, I am pretty confident in the batting average… so that supports a strong run showing for this game in my mind. The flip side is a bit different for Cleveland. They only have 22 at-bats against Padilla and only 3 hits. The even scarier thing is that it is spread over three batters. Again, Hollandsworth should sit the bench for at least the starter. The Rangers bullpen has done well against the Cleveland hitters… I don’t know, but could I be predicting a sweep? Well, it looks like that may be the case. The only reason I am predicting this win is the lack of success by Westbrook against these hitters, and the success of the bullpen for the Rangers over Cleveland: Score – 11-5
Game 1:
Texas (11-11) at Cleveland (12-10)
John Koronka (3-1) vs. Jason Johnson (2-1)
Koronka has been a very pleasant surprise for the Rangers and to me this season. He has given up only six runs in his last 19 innings (that’s a 284 ERA for those keeping score at home). Koronka hasn’t thrown more than 98 pitches, which was in his last start against Tampa Bay. Johnson has thrown 101 pitches against Baltimore in a seven inning outing back on April 18th. Johnson has thrown 25 2/3 innings to Koronka’s 24 innings, and Koronka has given up 3 homeruns to Johnson’s 1. Both have the same WHIP of 1.17 (A WHIP is walks/hits per inning pitched – for those who don’t know). No Cleveland hitters have ever faced Koronka and the Rangers hitters have a total of 60 at-bats against Johnson for an average of .200. Blalock and Matthews both have a homerun against Johnson. The Rangers hitters collectively pull together 5 RBIs against Johnson. RBI percentage is 8.3%... which is good for Cleveland. Over a stretch of 27 batters, that would give the Rangers roughly 2 runs. Seriously, this is really a monkey shoot (I think I may have used that correctly), but I would say, Rangers, simply because Mench is on fire, and the team is inspired. Texas wins this with a close by the Ottobot: 5-3
Game 2:
Texas at Cleveland
Kevin Millwood (1-2) vs. Fausto Carmona (1-1)
I still think Kevin is a 20 gamer. I am not shying down from that. And this is a game that he will win. Why, because it is his former team. Kevin’s ERA over his last three starts is 2.37, giving up only 5 runs in 19 innings of work. He has no-decisions in his last two starts, based off of blown saves… Otsuka will be handling the closing for at least a little while… maybe the rest of the season. Who knows, really, right? But at least the Rangers have choices in pitching, something we haven’t been able to say in a long, long time, if ever. Now, Kevin does sport a 4.20 ERA coming into this one overall… his first two starts weren’t quite on target, but he has been getting better and better as things progress. Some would argue the 6 walks in his last start… but I won’t. Cleveland has five hitters who have faced Millie, Boone and Vasquez both rip him well (8-20 combined). Hollandsworth should take a seat for when Millie is on the hill (3-18). Carmona hasn’t faced a Rangers hitter before… and with sporting a 7.15 ERA coming into this, I don’t like his chances. I would almost think him to hit the showers early. He’s given up 9 runs in 11 1/3 innings against Baltimore and Detroit combined. Granted those are two very good offensive teams, at least right now. Lefties are hitting him with greatness (.471) whereas righties aren’t doing so well (.185). Maybe that is the only thing keeping him around. Still, I pick the visitors on this one… SCORE: 9-3
Game 3:
Texas at Cleveland
Vicente Padilla (2-1) vs. Jake Westbrook (2-2)
Now, I just like Padilla. With the exception of the Oakland start (in Oakland, mind you), Padilla has an ERA of 2.92. But the reality is there are no exceptions in baseball. You got to count all the stats. Otherwise, what would the point be? Padilla’s ERA is 3.64. And overall, he’s looked really good. Like Koronka, he’s done much better than I expected. I am surprised to see Westbrook sporting an ERA of 5.52, to be honest with you. But I am surprised to see Millwood with a 4.20… so stranger days, right? The Rangers really do bash up Westbrook in a MAJOR way. In 62 at-bats (with the existing Rangers), we slap him with a .387 average and 12 RBIs. That’s a RBI percentage of 19.4%. Although the at-bats is pretty low, I am pretty confident in the batting average… so that supports a strong run showing for this game in my mind. The flip side is a bit different for Cleveland. They only have 22 at-bats against Padilla and only 3 hits. The even scarier thing is that it is spread over three batters. Again, Hollandsworth should sit the bench for at least the starter. The Rangers bullpen has done well against the Cleveland hitters… I don’t know, but could I be predicting a sweep? Well, it looks like that may be the case. The only reason I am predicting this win is the lack of success by Westbrook against these hitters, and the success of the bullpen for the Rangers over Cleveland: Score – 11-5
1 Random Thoughts:
Well, they didn't exactly clobber Westbrook. But Padilla hung tough, and so did the Rangers batters until Cleveland had to go to their bullpen. A great game to watch on Sunday night baseball!
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