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

Quick Picks

Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays: I like Wilson over Shields. Rangers win it, 7-3.

Atlanta Braves at SF Giants: I don't know, my gut says Braves in the series, but the Giants have a few things going for them. Off the hip, I will say Braves, 4-2.

NY Yankees at Minnesota Twins: I like the Yankees in this series, but the Twins have some moxie, really good on the bases, so they can create runs that wouldn't normally be there. I say Twins even up the series here, 6-4.

Game is starting, gotta go!

LAAAA Angels (79-82) at Texas Rangers (90-71)

No pictures today, not really much today. I am going to the game, my fourth in the last week (and yes, it is nice). Colby Lewis (12-13) goes up against Dan Haren (4-4) and it looks to be a good match up, at least when considering the pitchers. I still am not impressed with the Angels hitters right now. Maybe next year they can strike some fear in me, however, today, this season, they are lack-luster. If they didn't have good to great pitching, they would be playing close baseball with the Mariners. That is just my opinion, mind you, but that is really how it is for them this year. And when you consider how things are going for them, they may not even recover next season unless they really compete in the free agent market.

This is the last day of baseball for most teams. The Rays and Yankees may have one more day. And the Giants, Braves, and Padres may have something interesting going on in the National League. A three way tie? I don't want to try to figure that one out, but I would assume the Padres and Giants play for the division title, giving the Wildcard spot to the Braves, based on percentage points, but I am not officially sure that would be the case.

Going back to the Rangers, this game hinges on what Lewis does in his 6+ innings. It really doesn't matter how good the hitters are, as I think they will take care of business and have four runs in the first seven innings. So, lets say Lewis pitches six, if he holds the Angels to two runs (which I think he can do) then it is simply all good for Texas Rangers fans. However, if he folds along the way, the we could be in trouble, but that kind of goes without saying, really.

Hamilton is back in the lineup, all the starters should be used today, so I really think we should expect more than four runs over seven innings... let's say that the forecast looks like this: Texas is hot (duh) and the Rangers win 8-3.

1st Half Cy Young Contenders

Every year, Major League Baseball gives out a Cy Young Award for the best pitcher in both the AL and NL, as voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. If a comparable award were given in fantasy baseball, the results likely would not match.

Many baseball pools focus primarily on wins, strikeouts and ERA, while others require the versatility and dominance of a flame-thrower who can pile up complete games and shutouts while eating innings.

Here's a look at the frontrunners for this year's Cy Young awards:

The NL contenders

Ubaldo Jimenez (COL - SP)

As discussed among baseball's first-half surprises, Ubaldo Jimenez has easily been the most improved pitcher from last season. He's gone from posting a 15-12 record in the 2008-09 campaign to having a 15-2 record this season through July 26. Jimenez has pitched three complete games, two shutouts and one no-hitter while striking out 120, but his ERA has dropped to 10th in the majors at 2.75 after two recent rough outings. Plus, he has walked 55 batters. Unlike the other NL Cy Young candidates, Jimenez isn't a perennial top draft choice, so he's brought some unexpected fantasy value to his owners as the current league-leader in wins.

Josh Johnson (FLA - SP)

Like Jimenez, Florida's Josh Johnson has been an all-around star pitcher this season, but has been exceptional in one particular category. Johnson leads the majors with a sparkling 1.61 ERA. The only other starter below 2.00 is St. Louis's Adam Wainwright at 1.94. At 10-3 with 141 strikeouts, which is good for second in the NL, just 29 walks allowed and a stellar 0.97 WHIP, Johnson likely has the edge over Jimenez at this point in the NL overall — and in terms of the best NL pitcher in fantasy baseball.

Roy Halladay (PHI - SP)

Roy Halladay doesn't seem to mind pitching in the National League. Although he spent his entire career up until this season in the AL with the Blue Jays, Halladay has shown little need for a learning curve and is still the same dominant pitcher. Case in point: he is first in complete games (seven), shutouts (three) and innings pitched (162). He's fourth in ERA (2.28), seventh in strikeouts (140) and tied for eighth in wins (11). What's even more impressive is that Halladay has allowed the second-fewest walks (20) of any of the top 70 strikeout leaders in the majors, behind Cliff Lee, although Doc also has eight losses.

Adam Wainwright (STL - SP)

You know that the crop of pitchers in the NL is phenomenal when we're talking about Adam Wainwright fourth on this list. He's actually been the best pitcher in the majors over the past month. He's gone 4-0 with a complete game, 29 K's and an unbelievable 0.25 ERA. On the season, Wainwright is second in wins with a record of 14-5, fourth with four complete games, fourth among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched with a 1.00 WHIP and second with an enviable 1.94 ERA. He's also fifth in the NL with 136 strikeouts.

Chris Carpenter (STL - SP)

The other half of St. Louis's one-two punch is also having a stellar season, as usual. Chris Carpenter is 11-3 with 122 strikeouts and a 3.09 ERA in 22 starts. The 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner has pitched 148.2 innings, good for third in the majors, but he has no complete games through July 26.

Tim Lincecum (SF - SP)

This list wouldn't be complete without two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. Lincecum has a ways to go if he's to catch the aforementioned contenders or even match his stats from the past two seasons. San Francisco's ace is 10-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 21 starts. He leads the NL with 143 strikeouts, but has already surrendered 53 walks. By comparison, in 2009 Lincecum was 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA and just 68 walks, while in 2008 he went 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA.

The AL contenders

Cliff Lee (TEX - SP)

If you haven't been paying attention to Cliff Lee's stats, you may think he was shipped out of Seattle because he's been underperforming. It's quite the opposite. The Texas Rangers acquired one of the best pitchers in baseball. Yes, he's only 9-4, but that's in just 16 starts. The 2008 Cy Young winner leads the American League with a 2.56 ERA and six complete games. He has also walked a measly seven batters all season, which is the fewest walks allowed among pitchers in the top 70 in strikeouts. Throw in the fact that Lee has the best WHIP among starters at 0.92 to go along with 101 strikeouts and you have yourself a frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award.

Carl Pavano (MIN - SP)

More than any other pitcher on this list, Carl Pavano is an excellent example of a pitcher who likely won't win the Cy Young, but probably would have won a fantasy baseball version if there was one. He doesn't lead any pitching categories after 20 starts with the Twins, but he's near the top in several of them. More important, though, he went largely undrafted or was a very late steal in Yahoo fantasy leagues. Pavano is tied for fourth in the majors in wins (12-6), tied for third in complete games (five), tied for second in shutouts (two) and is seventh in innings pitched (143.2). He has a respectable 3.26 ERA, 81 strikeouts and just 19 walks. Additionally, Pavano is fifth among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched with a minuscule 1.01 WHIP and has pitched complete games in his previous two starts.

CC Sabathia (NYY - SP)

Baseball fans have become accustomed to the consistent dominance of CC Sabathia and again this year he's not disappointing. He's tied for first in the AL in wins with 13 and is third with 144.1 innings pitched. Sabathia also has three complete games, two shutouts, a 3.18 ERA, 119 K's and just three losses on the season. More important, he is 9-0 in his last 10 starts for New York.

David Price (TB - SP)

The American League's starter at the 81st all-star game has had an up-and-down month, but David Price is still squarely in the race for the top pitcher award. The Tampa Bay starter is tied for first in the AL in wins with a career-high 13 (to go along with five losses) and, despite being higher up the list until recently, Price finds himself in fifth with a 2.90 ERA. The 2007 first overall pick has also obtained new personal benchmarks in strikeouts (108), complete games (two) and shutouts (one) and will add games started and innings pitched to that list shortly. You couldn't ask for much more from a late-round pick in your draft.

Felix Hernandez (SEA - SP)

With Cliff Lee now in Texas, Felix Hernandez has resumed his role as the Mariners' ace. He's third in the majors in strikeouts with 145, second in innings pitched with 160.2 and tied for third with five complete games. Hernandez is also third in the AL with a 2.86 ERA, but has a record of just 7-7 in 22 starts. Like last year, it seems Hernandez could possibly be on pace for a better second half of the season though. In the past month, he's 2-2 with a 1.88 ERA, 40 strikeouts, three complete games and a shutout.

Jon Lester (BOS - SP)

One fairly surprising candidate for the award this season is Jon Lester. In a stacked Red Sox rotation, which includes another potential contender in Clay Buchholz, Lester has a record of 11-5 with two complete games. He's tied for fourth in the majors with 143 strikeouts and has a 2.92 ERA, which is good for sixth in the AL.

Jered Weaver (LAA - SP)

Though his record and ERA are not leading the league through 21 starts (9-6, 3.22 ERA), Jered Weaver is one of the MLB's top flame-throwers in 2010. Weaver is second in the majors in strikeouts, just two behind his new teammate Dan Haren, with 147 and he has walked just 30 batters. Not bad for a guy who had a career-high 174 punch-outs last season in 33 starts.

Trivia: Who was the last Ranger pitcher to get a Cy Young award?

The Ten Most Overrated Players in Major League Baseball

There are plenty of baseball players that are not given due. To contrast, there are plenty of players that are given far too much credit, and those players will be mentioned in this article.

The criteria to make this list is simple. Fans and media alike talk about this player far too much for how little they actually produce, and while some of these players are very productive, they are still given too much praise.

A player cannot make the list if he is simply too old, so despite everyone in baseball still loving Ken Griffey Jr., he won't make the list simple due to him being in the twilight of his career.

Some on this list may surprise you on impact, you will see that the numbers do not agree with the love these players get.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 24th

How about them Rangers!! Well, that's what they will be saying at the end of the season next year... but alas, this year we will settle for winning over the Mariners. Rangers did win last night 6 to 4. Young pitched like a Champ and Moyer... well, he pitched badly to put it nicely. Now, didn't I say Young hates Suzuki? The dude led off with a homer against Young. I said the Cubs over the Braves, but come on guys, score a little and pitch a little better when I call a close game! D-Backs? Should I bring this one up? Mets showed up last night, anyway. I can't even muster up the score... all I can say is OUCH!!! "That's all I have to say about that..." Now, I did say the 'stros would give up two... I just thought they would score, well, something... lost 2-0. Clemens goes all 8 innings and gives up 2 runs. COME ON ASTROS! WHAT'S UP? Now, how do the Phillies suck? Only one homerun in all that? Geez.

Well, onto todays calls...

Braves vs. Cubs - Sosa vs. Prior - Sosa is mostly a "fill-in" pitcher with only 12 starts this year. He has done well with the opportunity given him. He has a 2.63 ERA this year and a 1.96 ERA on the road. Prior has an 11.57 ERA against the Braves this year. Important to note that. In 45 at bats, the Braves are hitting .289 against Prior - 2 trips and 9 RBIs. Braves over Cubs 6-3.

Rangers vs. Mariners - Dominguez vs. Franklin - quoting Bill Murray in Scrooged "Boy, does that suck." And what that means when I quote that, is that this game is not going to be well. These guys have been throwing watermelons. The ball looks so big to the hitters, if they don't swing, they would be a disgrace to baseball. Well, that's what the numbers say. Dominguez has a 5.11 ERA this season, and has given up 12 runs in his last 12 1/3 innings. Franklin pitched against the Rangers on 4/27/05 and gave up 7 runs on 10 hits, including a dinger to Dr. Michael Young. Franklin's current ERA is 5.10, by the way. OH, I LOVE THIS STAT... Mariners have never gotten a hit off Dominguez. Suzuki has a career .000 ave against him. That's 0-1, hehehe. So, I think with all the swill I just threw out there, my son tells me that the Rangers are going to win this one 8-6.

Astros vs. Padres - Astacio vs. CHAN HO PARK - Houston 15-6.

D-Backs vs. Mets - Ortiz vs. Seo - Ortiz has a case of the "Chan Ho ERA"s... A whopping 6.44 ERA on the season. Seo is what they call "HOT" right now... 1.09 ERA... does it get better than that? Look for a slaughter with no prisoners tonight in Arizona. Mets 9-1.

Now, onto the minor leaguers:
Phillies vs. Giants - Lidle vs. Hennessey - I get tired of looking at how the Phillies are better than the Giants - spew - I am going to take an upset, just because I want to... Gaints over Philly (and that is a female horse) 11-8.

Tuesday, August 23rd

Well, HEY! I hit yesterday - Cowboys won. Astros won. Braves won (even though I predicted a Cubs win)... so the world is good. Arizona did loose and Philly lost, as well. So sad that Philly lost... OH WELL, I'LL GET OVER IT, I AM SURE... ha, ha, ha... so, let's look at what is going on today.

Rangers vs. Mariners - Young vs. Moyer - Rangers have a good chance for today... the meat of the lineup does well against Moyer. Sorry has a poor average against Moyer, but when he connects, he makes it count (4 dingers). As a whole, the team has a .251 ave against Moyer and 18 walks, but we strikeout a lot (52 times in 243 at bats). Young hates Suzuki who is the only Mariner to have any real success against Young (.429 ave). Mariners hold a .250 ave against Young. I think this is really a tough call, due to the recent mess the Rangers have been in as of late, but I think this game could be a step in the right direction. Rangers 7-2.

Braves vs. Cubs - Thomson vs. Williams - Key stat for this would be that Thomson gives up the long ball. 6 homers in 99 at bats to the Cubs. Cubs have a .263 ave against Thomson (26 for 99). Barrett and Blanco have 2 dingers each against Thomson. Williams isn't much better, though. Thus far, in 34 at bats for the Braves, they have mustered up 2 dingers themselves. They hit .324 against him (11 for 34), but only 4 runs. Still, I think that Williams may luck out on this, not sure why, my gut, I guess. Cubs over Braves in a close one 5-4.

D-Backs vs. Mets - Vargas vs. Zambrano - Now this may be the best matchup I have seen in a good long time... both pitchers do well against these hitters, a ton of success. A TON OF SUCCESS. They should both pitch late into the game and hand it over to the bullpen. This may even go into extra innings. And if that is the case... Well, let's look at numbers first. Zambrano holds the D-Backs to a .159 ave (7 for 44). Not much for the D-Backs there. Vargas holds the Mets hitters to .077 ave (2 for 26)... Point made? Yeppers. So, the bullpen. Arizona has an ERA of 5.86 out of the pen, and the Mets 3.98 ERA out of the pen. AND, against the D-Back, the Mets have a 2.50 ERA this year. BUT, the D-Backs have a 2.91 ERA against the Mets... Wow, this would be a very tough call... too many stats. But, I am going to go with the Mets... most of the intangibles seem to point in their direction. I am going to say Mets 3-2 in 10 innings.

Astros vs. Padres - Clemens vs. Peavy - Clemens. Nuff Said. He did me wrong last time... won't happen twice in a row. Astros 4-2. (one given up by the Rocket).

Minor Leaguers:
Philly vs. Giants - Padilla vs. Tomko - Padilla has doen well his last 3 games, a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings. Tomko has done well himself, but still not good enough to win. He is 0-3 with a 3.50 ERA. If he was a Ranger, maybe 3-0? I guess we will never know. But alas, everything is actually pointing to a rough start for both pitchers. Giants have a .317 ave against Padilla and 4 dingers and 14 RBI in only 104 at bats. OUCH. Now the Phillies (isn't a Philly a female horse?) have a .298 ave against Tomko, 7 super touches (homers), and a whopping 22 RBI's in only 131 at bats. I would be surprised to say the least if both of these starters make it through 5 innings. Both teams FEAST off these starters. They will be padding the offensive numbers today. Philly 10-7.

Monday Morning

Hello all... I didn't post over the weekend due to depression of all my teams biting. I sat and did the math. My Rangers would need to win 77% of their games from here on out IF Oakland and everybody else did 1 game under 500 the rest of the way. And that's if they get a tie for the wildcard. A tie. Let's face the music. Rangers are done for this one. BUT NEXT YEAR, BABY! World Series Rings. I'm telling you now.

My streak ended yesterday. Phil Nevin really does suck. He went 0-3 for me. With only 42 days left for the season, I am out of the running for the "Beat the Streak" contest. BUT NEXT YEAR, BABY! Do you see a theme here?

So... Let's see what's on the bill for today...

Cowboys

Cowboys vs. Seahawks - Preseason, so who cares? These are much harder to predict due to too many variables, but Wild Bill may still make it interesting... optimism says Boys on top 24-17.

Astros

Astros vs. Padres - Oswalt vs. Williams - Oswalt is very good on the road, but has a 4-8 record on the road. To complicate things, Oswalt has a 4.71 ERA in his last 3 starts. Williams, however, has been worse with a 5.94 ERA. Oswalt holds the Padres hitters to a .232 ave over 142 at bats with 14 walks. Williams holds (and this is a streach to say "holds") the Houston hitters to a .294 ave in 238 at bats with 22 walks. Well, I think the numbers speak for themself. Houston over the Padres 7-4.

Braves

Braves vs. Cubs - Hudson vs. Zambrano - Wow, the Braves are going to get slapped around today. Zambrano has thrown down the Braves quite well. In 61 at bats, he has K'd 14, but given up 8 walks. More importantly, though, is the average against him - .148 - Chipper Jones has the best average against him with 11 at bats and 3 hits for a .273 ave. Now onto Hudson. With 108 at bats against him, Cub hitters have a .250 ave (27 hits) and 9 walks. They have K'd 20 times, so actually, this should shape up to be a good pitching duel. I think the Braves will struggle more than the Cubs, though and that is how I call it - Cubs 3-1.

Now to the minor leagues...

Phillies

Phillies vs. Giants - Lieber vs. Lowry - Both are 3-0 in the last 3 starts, Lowry has a .79 ERA over that span, and Lieber has a 2.84 ERA. Philly is hitting .412 against him in 17 at bats (no dingers)... Jonathan Ray Lieber (Am I supposed to like this guy now due to his name?) has held the Giants to a .259 ave with 19 walks (220 at bats). Notable is the 6 trippers he has given up. Tucker, Durham, Snow, and Alou are pretty consistent against him through the years. So, let's see... this is a tough call, but I would have to say Phillies due to the Giants (they suck) inability to win a consistent basis, Lieber has been around, and I can't go against another Johnny Ray. So, Philly 6-4.