http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/1071 Recent articles about Jered Weaver en-us Manny Ramirez has been a bit of a distraction as of late, but the Sox have bigger fish th fry with the Angels in town... Matsuzaka faces Weaver tonight... get the preview at The Bottom Line. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:26:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/296940 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/296940 Buchholz v Lackey... Beckett v Saunders... and Wakefield v Weaver... possible ALDS preview... ??? Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:44:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292267 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292267 The first half of the 2008 Major League Baseball season has been full of surprises, from the Tigers to the Rays to the Padres to the Braves. Most surprising of all, at least to the Phillies faithful, is that at the All Star break the Phillies were in first place atop the National League East. The Phillies are currently a half a game ahead of the Mets and one a half games up on the Marlins. Lets go through the majors and recap the season so far. AL East Perhaps the biggest story in the majors this year is the surprising play of the Tampa Bay Rays, who at the break were just half a game behind the first place Red Sox, and that's with a seven game losing streak. The Rays have been bolstered by one of the most talented young lineups in the majors in years, as well as some timely defense and a great, young rotation led by ace Scott Kazmir. They are definitely the Cinderella, the darlings of the 2008 season, much to the chagrin to their division rivals the Red Sox. Boston fans are upset that some of the media focus and the limelight has been diverted from their beloved Sox. The reigning champs continue to be one of the best teams in baseball, despite losing pitcher Curt Schilling for the year (and perhaps for good) and a decline in production from slugger David Ortiz (including a stint on the disabled list). It looks like this could be the first time in years that the New York Yankees won't make the playoffs. They currently sit six games back of Boston and it just looks like there is too much talent in Tampa and Boston for the Yanks to make up enough ground. That being said, I am loathe to ever count the Yankees out of anything. Red Sox win division. If it wasn't for the Rays, the debacle in the AL Central would be the biggest story of the season. The Tigers, whom I picked to win the World Series, are a disappointing .500 on the season. Even more surprising, the Indians are in last place, 12 games under .500. The Chicago White Sox are sitting pretty atop the Central at 14 games over .500, led by 10 game winner, and former Phillie, Gavin Floyd. Erratic closer Bobby Jenks, despite being on the DL, has 18 saves with a 1.95 ERA. On offense, the White Sox have a tandem of heavy hitting outfielders in Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin. I have to admit, I'm not overly impressed by the White Sox. In large part, I think they have overachieved so far this season. I think they will come back to earth, which will leave an opening for the Minnesota Twins to step in and take the division. The Twins, led by first baseman Justin Morneau, DH Jason Kubel, and catcher Joe Mauer, are right on the tail of the White Sox, just a game and a half back, and with star pitcher Francisco Liriano waiting in the wings of AAA, the Twins are poised to move into the post Santana era. Twins win the division. AL West Until the Texas Rangers find someone who can pitch (Vicente Padilla currently leads the team in wins with 10), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the prohibitive favorites to win the division for years to come. The Rangers can hit, led by the top individual story of the year Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley, but their pitching is a joke. They boast a rotation of Kevin Millwood, Padilla, Jamey Wright and Kason Gabbard. Until they can get at least one pitcher, they could have all the offense in the world, they still won't be able to compete with Los Angeles. The Angels' pitching rotation, which boasts John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver, not to mention closer Francisco Rodriguez who is on pace to shatter the single season saves record, is arguably the best in the majors. Their offense, while not being the power heavy lineup that Texas or Boston has, plays small ball like no other team in the majors. The obvious offensive leader is Vladimir Guerrero, accompanied by Torii Hunter. But the offense works so well because of intelligent baseball guy like Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick, and Garret Anderson. The Oakland Athletics have basically traded themselves out of contention and the Seattle Mariners have the worst record in baseball. Needless to say, Angels win the division. I think the Rays win the AL Wild card this year. They are too talented to fall behind the likes of the White Sox or Rangers. In the end however, the Red Sox have too much experience and skill to be taken down. They beat the Angels to go on to the World Series. NL West Many commentators are calling this the NL Worst, and it's hard to argue with that. After starting out red hot, division leading Arizona is now one game below .500. That's right. The division leader has a losing record. Need I say more? The reigning NL Champion Colorado Rockies are fourth in the division with a record of 39-57, topped only by the San Diego Padres, an incomprehensible 37-58. The Dodgers are one game back of the Diamondbacks, trailed by the San Francisco Giants in third place. This division is a crapshoot at this point, but the Diamondbacks' pitching, led by Brandon Webb and Dan Haren is just too good and the offense is not going to continue to struggle in the mighty fashion it has over the past month or so. With up and coming stars like Mark Reynolds, Conor Jackson and Chris Young, the Diamondbacks are going to eventually right their ship. Arizona wins the division. NL Central This is the best division in baseball. The Cubs are tied with the Angels for the best record in baseball. Four and a half games behind them are the Cardinals, with the Brewers just a half game behind them. All three of these teams are going to be better in the second half. The Cubs traded for Rich Harden last week, and the Brewers added reigning AL Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia. The Cardinals are getting ready for the return of Adam Wainwright and former Cy Young Chris Carpenter. Both pitchers are aces on almost any other team in the majors. The Cubs and Brewers already have bona fide aces on their teams in Carlos Zambrano and Ben Sheets, respectively. This is, without a doubt, the toughest division in baseball in some time. I think the Cubs are ultimately the most complete team in the league, and certainly the division. Now let me just say, here and now, there is no way Ryan Dempster continues to pitch this well. He just isn't this good. He will come back down to earth. But even with The Dumpster coming back to reality, the Cubs are bolstered by some serviceable pitching in Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, in addition to Zambrano and Harden. On offense, the Cubs' lineup reads like it's very own All Star roster, led by Derek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, and Geovany Soto. Cubs win the division. NL East The Phillies came into today with a half game lead over the Mets. The Marlins sit just one game behind the Mets. It is a division up for grabs to say the least. The Marlins boast a talented, young roster rivaled by only Tampa Bay and Arizona. Led by Hanley Ramirez, Mike Jacobs, Dan Uggla and Josh Willingham, they have an offense that puts the in a position to win every night. That being said, their pitching is thin, with Ricky Nolasco leading the team with 10 wins and a 3.70 ERA. The Braves are most likely looking to scrap this year and go into rebuilding mood, if only temporarily. First baseman Mark Teixeira is a free agent at the end of this year and chances are that the Braves are going to move him before the trade deadline. Their pitching is pretty banged up, and old. John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton are all currently on the disabled list. Not to mention that they are six and a half games out of first place. The Mets pose the biggest threat to the Phillies' playoff hopes. Winners of nine straight coming into the break, the Mets are batting .320 as a team during that time. They also only gave up a total of 19 runs over the same span. They are hot, no doubt, led by Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Fernando Tatis. But therein lies the problem for the Mets. They have been winning in large part as a result of the contributions of usual bench players like Tatis, Endy Chavez, and Damion Easley. The Mets' pitching is also suspect after you get past Johan Santana and John Maine, neither of whom have been stellar this season. After having a impressive season last year, Oliver Perez is 6-5 with a 4.44 ERA. His record is somewhat deceiving, as he has been wildly inconsistent this year. Pedro Martinez continues to battle being really old. Originally set to return this week, his next start is being skipped. I just don't think the Mets have the talent to overcome a Phils team with a much more potent offense and what could end up being a more stable pitching rotation. The Phillies acquired Joe Blanton from the Athletics Thursday, and while Blanton has not had much of a year so far this season (5-12, 4.96 ERA), he has show some real talent and a change of location could be all he needs to break out. More importantly, the addition of Blanton means that Adam Eaton is out of the starting rotation. Brett Myers is progressing nicely in AAA and is set to return to face the Mets on July 23rd. JA Happ threw a no hitter today in his minor league start and it is only a matter of time before he is brought up to the major leagues for good. The biggest cause for concern for the Mets is that the Phils' struggles have in large part been due to a lack of offense. This coming from one of the most offensively talented teams in the league. Jimmy Rollins, Chasey Utley and Geoff Jenkins are eventually going to turn things around. Ryan Howard continues to lead the league in home runs and RBIs. Pat Burrell is going to eclipse his usual 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. And that's without the possible addition of another bat, like Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. I say this with the caveat that I generally have no faith in the Phillies in ever winning anything, and at the risk of tempting fate, I pick the Phillies to win the division. I pick the Brewers to win the NL Wild Card this year. I'm going to be very cliche and pick the Cubs to win the NL Pennant over the Brewers. I think unless the Phillies add a serious starting pitcher, ala Erik Bedard, they are not going to be able to compete with the Brewers in the playoffs. That will bring us to the ESPN's ultimate dream, a Red Sox Cubs World Series. Bristol could fawn all over the lovable losers from Chicago and Boston. Seriously though, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. Boston wins, again. (Just threw up again) Should be a very exciting second half. Continue to check out Hot Stove Philly as we bring you all the latest scores, trades, rumors, and general sports drama. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:54:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292015 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292015 An unforeseen change of plans paves the way for Warner Madrigal's first professional start. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:12:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288282 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288282 Watching Jered Weaver in his last three outings for Anaheim reminds of me of his college days, when the SoCal kid mowed down the first 10 hitters he faced in a game – not once, but twice during his junior year at Long Beach State. The Angels starter has a 1.45 ERA in those three outings, giving up two runs on six hits over 7 1/3 innings in Friday's win over the Blue Jays and tossing six no-hit innings a week earlier against the Dodgers in that crazy not-so-fast-that's-not-a-no-hitter game. The lanky right-hander hasn't seen a dominant stretch like this since his brilliant rookie campaign with the Angels two years ago, which came shortly after his historic season with the 49ers in 2004. A 15-1 collegiate campaign that saw him strike out 10-plus batters 14 times en route to Player of the Year honors. For the complete article, go to: http://www.wcbias.com/2008/07/is-dream-weaver-back.html Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:19:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286388 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286388 If there ever were a game that could sum up the season thus far, this would have to be a strong candidate. The Dodgers offense consisted of 3 walks, 0 hits (yes, you read that correctly), and Matt Kemp reaching on an error by the pitcher Jered Weaver. Seriously, that's it. I'm not even completely sure if what I watched was real or not. But if we're looking for the silver lining in this statistical anomaly, it's that Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:41:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283977 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283977 Just venting a bit about a great baseball game last night. The LA Dodgers and the LA of Anaheim in Souther California Angels played a 1-0 game in which a no-hitter was thrown. But the no-hitter won't count because the Dodgers were no-hit through 8 innings but won the game 1-0 as the home team. To me this was an incredible pitching effort by Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo, but they will never be in the Hall of Fame or be credited with a no-hitter, because by rule a no-hitter has to be over the course of at least nine innings pitched. So congrats to Weaver and Arredondo and congrats to the Dodgers for being completely inept and not being able to get a hit, yet be luck enough to win a freaking game. A real article is coming later today, keep in touch. Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:03:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283813 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283813 Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo combined to pitch a no hitter for the Angels, only to lose 1-0 to the Dodgers. Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:50:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283733 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283733 Hits are overrated. At least that's what the Dodgers are telling themselves tonight. Despite being no-hit for 8 innings, they walked away with a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at home on Saturday. The Dodgers got a baserunner in the 5th when Jered Weaver couldn't field a soft grounder from Matt Kemp. Kemp promptly stole second, and then helped himself to third base after Jeff Mathis air mailed a throw into centerfield. Kemp then made it home on a sacrifice fly from Blake DeWitt for the only run of the game. Jered Weaver pitched 6 no-hit innings, and Jose Arredondo closed it out pitching 2 hitless innings. But it was Chad Billingsley who picked up the win for the Dodgers. My question – why not leave Jered Weaver out to finish the job? I know his pitch count was high, and I know they were playing by NL rules, meaning Weaver would have to hit. But so what if the Halo's lose this game 1-0? I mean, sure, it would suck, and I don't generally advocate individual accomplishments at the expense of your team. But it's a NO-HITTER!! Not to mention the fact that Weaver has been struggling this year; imagine what a no-hitter would do for the guy's confidence, win or lose. Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:45:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283729 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283729 So who do you think will be contenders for the World Series this year? I know mine. For the N.L. right now the Cubs are doing awesome with a 47-28 record as of right now and Ryan Dempster with an 8-2 pitching record. Derrek Lee has been doing good with 15 homers also. But that is not my pick. You might not agree but my pick is the Philadelphia Phillies. They might have a lower record from the Cubs (42-33) but there doing fine. They have three very good pitchers. Ace Cole Hamels coming in a 7-4 record same record with Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick 6-3 record. The Phillies are known for there explosive offense. Chase Utley you may say that he is in a 0 for 20 Slump but he'll work his way out of it. Look at the biggining of the year. Utley Blasted 12 Homers for the month of April and has 22 Homers right now. Ryan Howard yes I know he strikes out a lot. But he been hittin homers to with 19 on the year. Pat Burrell is doing remarkable same with Brad Lidge having 18 Saves already. Now on to A.L. Three teams have doing to great Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels. Out of those three I think the Red Sox will repeat back to the World Series. I'm not an A.L. fan and I watch N.L. more then A.L. so I don't know much about A.L. But that's what I'm predicting because they have the best record in A.L. 46-30. So here is what I think the World Series will be Red Sox Vs. Phillies. I think this will go down to game 7 the last game in the series. But I think the Phillies will take it in the end barely with a 5-3 victory in game 7. That's my prediction. Tell me what's yours in a comment below. Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:01:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280670 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280670 Looking ahead to the coming week in fantasy baseball, FIO co-founder & editor Matt Hinzpeter discusses some of the two-start pitchers for Week 7. This is a must-read for weekly leagues or if you like to stream pitchers on your roster. Check the Favorable Match-Ups, Two-Start Pitchers to Stay Away From, and the two-start pitchers to Keep an Eye On. Sun, 11 May 2008 20:19:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265836 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265836 The Angels are not known for rushing young players to the Major Leagues so it is fair to assume that general manager Tony Reagins and manager Mike Scioscia believe Adenhart is ready for the challenge. I don't claim to know anywhere close to what Reagins and Scioscia know about baseball but I have seen two of Adenhart's starts this season for the Salt Lake Bees and I am concerned that he is not ready to be a successful pitcher for the Angels. Thu, 01 May 2008 09:57:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/262187 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/262187 CR Dunbar advises you to always be mindful of your peanut butter when sharing a house with Jered Weaver. Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:02:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/260250 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/260250 The night started off bad with Josh Beckett being scratched from his start due to a sore neck. Jacoby Ellsbury turned things around in his first at bat when he hit a homer. He followed that up with another homer and a bunt that ended with him scoring the winning run. Dustin Pedroia had three doubles and drove in the winning run. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:26:57 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/254400 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/254400 Get the skinny on tonight's Red Sox vs Angles game at The Bottom Line. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:05:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/253559 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/253559