Post-Season Thoughts

American League Divisional Series:

Yankees over Twins in four games.

Rangers over Rays in five games.

ALCS:

Yankees over Rangers in five games.

National League Divisional Series:

Phillies over Reds in four games.

Giants over Braves in four games.

NLCS:

Giants over Phillies in six games.

World Series:

Yankees over Giants in six games.

Divisional Series Roadblocks: The Rangers' starting pitchers have to be better in the postseason than they were during the regular season, when they ranked 25th overall in quality starts.

Can Cliff Lee out-duel Rays pitcher David Price? He'll have to, against a Rays team that ranks third in the league in runs scored.

ALCS Pitfalls: It would be much of the same for the Rangers in a series against the Twins or Yankees. Minnesota and New York absolutely rake at the plate, and a lack of quality starting pitching is a feast in the eyes of these team's hitters.

In all likelihood, Cliff Lee will have to pitch on two days rest, and give two stellar outings.

World Series Issues: I know it seems redundant—and it is—but pitching is the key to any World Series championship team. Lee and the rest of the Rangers staff will have to step up, or Josh Hamilton better bring the lumber.

I’ve talked extensively this year about the conundrum of Lee still not having a long term gig with anyone, even after being traded to Texas.

But it would make sense for Texas to keep Lee, especially if he does for the Rangers what he did for the Phillies.

Furthermore, fellow flame-thrower Rich Harden has basically been a bust, so there is plenty of room to think that they could ink Lee for two years, drop Harden, and perhaps make a move on FA Jorge De La Rosa.

OK, I admit that the Rockies will make De La Rosa a priority this offseason; but hey, anything can happen.

-Bleacher Report

Postgame Alert for the Braves

Atlanta Braves Postgame Alert
July 31, 2010

Atlanta 2, Cincinnati 5 at Great American Ball Park
Atlanta Record: (59-44)
Cincinnati Record: (58-47)

Winning pitcher - Bronson Arroyo (11-6)
Losing pitcher - Jair Jurrjens (3-4)
SV - Francisco Cordero (28)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
ATL	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		2	8	2
CIN	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	X		5	8	1

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Next Atlanta Game: August 1, 2010 01:10 PM ET vs. Cincinnati Reds

Upcoming Atlanta Home Games:
vs. New York Mets, August 2, 2010 07:10 PM ET Purchase Tickets
vs. New York Mets, August 3, 2010 07:10 PM ET Purchase Tickets
vs. New York Mets, August 4, 2010 07:10 PM ET Purchase Tickets

Postgame Alert for the Braves

Atlanta Braves Postgame Alert
July 30, 2010

Atlanta 6, Cincinnati 4 at Great American Ball Park
Atlanta Record: (59-43)
Cincinnati Record: (57-47)

Winning pitcher - Jesse Chavez (3-2)
Losing pitcher - Francisco Cordero (3-4)
SV - Billy Wagner (24)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
ATL	0	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	0		6	12	0
CIN	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	0		4	11	0
	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18		R	H	E
ATL	2	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		6	12	0
CIN	0	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		4	11	0

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Next Atlanta Game: July 31, 2010 04:10 PM ET vs. Cincinnati Reds

Upcoming Atlanta Home Games:
vs. New York Mets, August 2, 2010 07:10 PM ET Purchase Tickets
vs. New York Mets, August 3, 2010 07:10 PM ET Purchase Tickets
vs. New York Mets, August 4, 2010 07:10 PM ET Purchase Tickets

Cabrera, Hamilton, Votto Aim to Make Second Half Run at History

By John Schlegel / MLB.com

More than four decades A.Y. -- After Yaz -- and still no Triple Crown in the barn.

Could 2010 finally be the year? Well, at least there is the right number of early contenders: three.

As the years continue to mount since Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski registered baseball's 13th and last Triple Crown in 1967, a trio of viable candidates enters the second half of the 2010 season with a swing at history.

For the moment at least, none of them is named Albert Pujols, who quietly made a run just last year at the precious -- and elusive -- three-pronged jewel for hitters.

The Tigers' Miguel Cabrera and the Rangers' Josh Hamilton both have situated themselves statistically within reach of the American League lead in all three categories traditionally celebrated as the Triple Crown: batting average, home runs and RBIs.

In the National League, it's the Reds' Joey Votto who's in the running in all three categories, having helped push his club ahead of Pujols' Cardinals in the NL Central to this point.

In the current era, the Triple Crown is a feat many would associate with Pujols, who epitomizes the complete hitter. Last year, he finished third in batting average (.327 to .342 by the Marlins' Hanley Ramirez) while leading in homers (47) and finishing third in RBIs (135).

Even one of this year's early candidates hears Triple Crown and thinks Pujols.

"The only guy I can see hit 40 home runs, hit .330 and drive in 130," Cabrera said earlier this season, "is Pujols. He's done it for a lot of years."

Yet it's Cabrera who's in position this year, and a good one given his own history of delivering in all facets of the hitting game. He's neck and neck with Hamilton in average with a Majors-leading .346 -- but with four others within 16 points -- and in homers with 22, two behind Toronto's Jose Bautista. Cabrera has the edge in RBIs, leading the Majors with 77, or 13 more than Hamilton in fourth place in the league.

They have about the same attitude about the Triple Crown at this point: Let's wait till September to really see where things stand.

"I think that's too soon," Cabrera said. "I don't think about that. It's going to be two more months. I want to focus on winning games. If it happens, it happens. You have to not put pressure on yourself. You have to be yourself and go out there and play every day hard."

Said Hamilton: "If I said it wouldn't be nice, obviously, I would be lying. If it happens, it happens. If not, I'll just settle for a strong year and a winning year. Those are the two things that are foremost on my mind."

It is heady stuff, to be sure. All 11 Triple Crown winners since 1901 are in the Hall of Fame, including twice-crowned Ted Williams and Honus Wagner. No Hank Aaron, no Babe Ruth, no Willie Mays. Stan Musial's not one of them, either, having lost what would have been the crucial homer to a rainout in 1948.

It takes a remarkable -- and full -- season to get there. In 1967, Yastrzemski hit .324 with 19 home runs and 56 RBIs in 79 games before the All-Star break, and went .329/25/65 afterward. The year before, Frank Robinson won the AL Triple Crown going .312/.321, 21/28 and 56/66.

So, clearly, the current candidates' work is far from complete. In fact, they really need to pick it up a notch.

Cabrera's past performance shows in remarkable similarity that he doesn't do much differently in either half of the season. Entering this season he had batted .311 before the break and .311 after it. He had 108 homers before, 101 after. And 364 RBIs before, 389 after.

Hamilton's a little harder to gauge. There was his breakout season in 2008, in which he hit 21 homers in the first half and 11 in the second, while driving in 95 runs in the first half and 35 in the second. Last year, Hamilton's first half was marred by injury, but he had a big August at the plate, batting .342 with 17 RBIs but just one home run. So, hard to tell what that all means for this year.

Besides, there's always the chance for a spoiler, and each league has an excellent candidate or two at this juncture. In the AL, Bautista leads in homers and is showing few signs of slowing down, and Martin Prado of the Braves is 11 points ahead of Votto, with four others in between.

Votto's candidacy is the most precarious of the three largely because of that stat -- his 1.011 on-base plus slugging percentage, tops in the NL and second only to Cabrera in the Majors -- can't help him there. While he's knotted at the top in homers with Adam Dunn at 22, he's also got a lot of traffic in the RBIs race, standing at 60 with leaders Corey Hart, Ryan Howard and David Wright, plus three others standing in his way. While the Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez is also lurking in all three categories and Pujols is an average-boosting streak away from joining the fun, it's clearly a tough environment to become the first NL'er to win it since Joe Medwick in 1937.

Like the others, though, it's not really about chasing an elusive crown for Votto. It's about performing at a high level, hoping to help the team advance. It's about becoming the best hitter he can be, and that might just be enough.

"I'm just like everybody else. I want to succeed. I want to play well and be meaningful to the team," Votto said as he awaited an All-Star nod, eventually given in the Final Vote. "Good things come with that and they will."

Added Reds right fielder Jay Bruce: "It's getting hard to ignore him. He's arguably one of the top three hitters in the game."

And right now, he's among three who look like they could make a run at joining an even more exclusive club: Triple Crown winners.

Postgame Alert for the Astros

Houston Astros Postgame Alert
July 25, 2010

Cincinnati 0, Houston 4 at Minute Maid Park
Cincinnati Record: (55-45)
Houston Record: (40-58)

Winning pitcher - Wandy Rodriguez (8-11)
Losing pitcher - Mike Leake (7-2)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
CIN	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	3	0
HOU	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	X		4	9	0

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Next Houston Game: July 26, 2010 07:05 PM CT vs. Chicago Cubs

Upcoming Houston Home Games:
vs. Chicago Cubs, July 26, 2010 07:05 PM CT Purchase Tickets
vs. Chicago Cubs, July 27, 2010 07:05 PM CT Purchase Tickets
vs. Chicago Cubs, July 28, 2010 01:05 PM CT Purchase Tickets

So, when did the season end for the Astros? Preseason, baby... preseason.

Postgame Alert for the Astros

Houston Astros Postgame Alert
July 24, 2010

Cincinnati 7, Houston 0 at Minute Maid Park
Cincinnati Record: (55-44)
Houston Record: (39-58)

Winning pitcher - Johnny Cueto (10-2)
Losing pitcher - Roy Oswalt (6-12)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
CIN	2	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	1		7	14	1
HOU	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	4	0

GAME LINKS:
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Next Houston Game: July 25, 2010 01:05 PM CT vs. Cincinnati Reds

Upcoming Houston Home Games:
vs. Cincinnati Reds, July 25, 2010 01:05 PM CT Purchase Tickets
vs. Chicago Cubs, July 26, 2010 07:05 PM CT Purchase Tickets
vs. Chicago Cubs, July 27, 2010 07:05 PM CT Purchase Tickets

I think Oz will have better luck with a waive of next season to get the trade done... if, in fact, he wants out of Houston like he says he does. Yuck on 6-12 record!

Rangers vs. Angels

I have already posted that the Rangers will win two out of three. As a spoiler, I will simply say it will be the first two games. Tonight, it is Kevin Millwood vs. Jered Weaver. Millwood started the last game before the All-Star break, collecting a win. He has a chance to win two consecutive starts in back-to-back games for the Rangers. As an added bonus, I went ahead and put some comics in here.

Kevin Millwood vs. LA Angels (of Anaheim):
Millwood is a career 4-4 against the Angels. His last start against them he won, giving up two runs in eight innings off of five hits and no walks. No HRs, either. And that was on July 3rd, a game the Rangers won 8-3. Santana started for the Angels in that game. Kevin has won four of his last five starts and has pitched at least 6 innings in each of those. His last four starts have all been quality starts. He should continue that string tonight, even though his away ERA (6.28 ERA) is slightly higher than his home ERA (6.03 ERA). Vlad is 20 for 65 against Millwood with 4 HRs and 15 RBIs.

Jered Weaver vs. the Rangers:

I said that Mark Teixeira would have an 0 for series against the Angels. However, he is 3-11 against Weaver, two of those hits are HRs, and he sports 5 RBIs. Mark also has matched his hits with 3 strikeouts. Weaver comes in with a 6-5 record and a 3.67 ERA. His career against the Rangers is a 1-1 mark and a 4.09 ERA. His last start against the Rangers, he lost on July 4th (I was at that game - Rangers won 4-2). Weaver handed the Rangers 3 runs in five innings. I think Jered would have better luck going to Subway instead of the stadium. Weaver does do quite a bit better at home (7-3 record and a 2.85 ERA). Against the Rangers in Anaheim, he has no record, but his ERA vs. the Rangers in Anaheim is 5.68 (that's 8 runs in 12.2 innings).

The Rangers have great momentum right now and we will see Kevin even out his record to 7-7. Forecast calls for a tight game, due to a hole in the middle of the Ranger lineup. Rangers win 6-4.

I couldn't stop laughing when I read this last one... I really do hate the YANKEES! Johnny Out.

Rangers vs. Cincinnati

Well, I don't think the Rangers have arrived yet, but they have slapped two wins together. Surprise, surprise... Jamey Wright has a chance to match the Rangers longest winning streak this season (which is 3), with a win on Saturday. Jamey (who has an ERA of 16.87) faces off against Aaron Harang (3.93 ERA). In Harang's last five starts, the Reds have lost three of them. His last start, the Reds won 1-0 in which he pitched seven solid innings against Cleveland, giving up three hits and two walks while striking out 10. In fact, the last three starts by Harang the score was decided by one run, twice favorably for the Reds.

As everyone knows, Sosa loves facing the Reds in Cincinnati. Lifetime in the Reds house, he has 11 HRs in 74 at-bats. He'll hit #600 in Cincinnati, if and only if he stays in the lineup. And it can be possible for them to take him out so that he can slap #600 at home against his former team, the Cubs on the 19th. I'm fortunate to have tickets to that game.

For the Rangers to keep out of the lineup, it would mean that they believe they are out of the race. Now, let's think about this. Saying that if the winner of this division needs 90 wins to take the West (not really likely, should take quite a bit more, but bear with me on this), with the Rangers current record of 25-42 (17 games under .500), they would need to put together a record of 65-30 the rest of the way. It's not impossible, but for a team completely and totally in last place in the American League, to jump up and play 35 games over .500 would be phenominal. And to be honest, my faith is wavering on whether they can turn it around like that this season. The starting pitching is awful. Millwood is pitiful. Padilla is worse. Kameron Loe has been disappointing. Ian Kinsler and Michael Young have been off-key. Tiexiera has been a strike-out and Blalock is AWOL. Cat has been outright sickening. Sosa has been a surprising delight this season. I dig Lofton. I dig the bullpen. And I hate having said all this, but I just want the Rangers to change my attitude. PLEASE DO, GUYS!! I can't say that I like feeling this way about my team.

Well, with that said, let's check out Redman in AAA.

(June 9th)

AAA: at Oklahoma 3, Round Rock 8

Loss: Redman (1-1, 4.74)

Mark Redman had his first bad start in Oklahoma, allowing seven runs in seven innings. Franklyn German (4.55 ERA) threw a couple of scoreless frames.

Nelson Cruz single and doubled in four at-bats in his first game in AAA. Jason Botts singled and walked.

Oklahoma placed reliever Ezequiel Astacio on the DL with elbow soreness and activated reliever Michael Bumstead.

(June 14th)

AAA, Game 2: Oklahoma 2, at Albuquerque 3 (7 innings)

Loss: Redman (1-2, 4.62)

Oklahoma had the second game under control until the bottom of the 7th. Up 2-0, Albuquerque scored three runs on three hits, two walks and an error. Mark Redman pitched all 6.1 innings.

Guillermo Quiroz hit a solo homer in the 5th, and Nate Gold drive in Kevin West for Oklahoma’s other run. Nelson Cruz (.316/.435/.842) walked twice and singled.

Well, I don't know what to say except that Redman would do a good job in the Rangers organization if they can catch the ball. We haven't done a good job with that lately. Millwood pitches the last game of the Rangers/Reds series. 65 wins and 30 loses from this point on. It can happen. And taxes can be eliminated from the US ecomony. It can happen. Will it? Rangers have way better odds than the taxes thing, but both are extremely unlikely. Still - keep the faith. Saturday will prove whether the team has given up this year...

***Sosa in the lineup: to the last at-bat attitude.

***Sosa out of the lineup: Rangers already thinking next year.

Johnny Out.

Quick Picks (Tuesday)

Quick Picks, to keep it short today:

Astros vs. Phillies - Oswalt vs. Lieber - Oswalt stinks at home. Lieber stinks on the road. Both coming off great outings, though. Oswalt should prevail. Astros 4-2.

D-Backs vs. Pirates - Vazquez vs. Maholm - Don't know anything about Maholm, he's a rookie. I will guess that he might do well, D-Backs aren't a great team. Still, I find myself picking them on this... Experince over newness, I guess. D-Backs 6-4.

Alcoholics vs. Reds - Helling vs. Harang - Rick Helling? He still pitching? And not badly, I might add. I will go with the drunkards, no wait... on second thought, Reds over Brewers 5-3. Hunch is calling me.

Mets vs. Braves - Pedro vs. Smoltz - WHAT A GAME! Two gladiators facing off... how can I choose? Both VERY even, but I will go with who is hot... Pedro. Mets over Braves 2-0. (That's right, a shutout!)

And that is it for today... catcha tomorrow, hopefully, I can dig deaper then. Johnny Out.

Home Plate