http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/14 Recent articles about Garret Anderson en-us Lester has struggled on the road, but Lackey has struggled agaionst the Sox... who will previal and give their team a 1-0 lead in the ALDS tonight? Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:21:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/342508 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/342508 It saddens me to read this article, but it is very true. What came of the Angels in 2007, is happening to us now. They were filled with injuries and injuries and injuries... and their roster wasnt that great. Now we are the ones filled with injuries that can (HOPEFULLY PRAY TO GOD) not hurt us in the playoffs and help us defend out WS title. But as much faith as I have in my Sox, this year was filled with too many unlucky situations. So many missed opportunities because of injuries. The Sox though, are 9-0 against these Angels. Maybe that can give us a boost into having faith into getting deeper into the playoffs.. The only thing that continues to baffle me is the obvious switcheroo of these two teams. Vlad, Anderson, Gary Matthews Jr, pitcher Bartolo Colon were the injured. This year, the Sox have Manny gone, Ortiz's wrist??, Mike Lowell, J.D Drew pitcher Josh Beckett... THAT'S A LOT!!! Things change so quickly for a team in a matter of a year. But I guess we'll hafta see tonight's game, (series) 10pm. UGH.. I have college work... :(. But im still going to watch.. hehehe To all Sox fans... U never knoW wat can happen, ('04).. SO though this article may have put ur hopes down, dont let it until we are officially counted out... :) Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:52:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/342496 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/342496 Thoughts on a professional hitter with a 23-game hitting streak, why you shouldn't manage for a statistic, a home run hitter on pace to accomplish a feat not done by either Aaron or Mays, a pitcher who is 4-0 since re-joining his playoff-contention team in early August and lots more. Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:06:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/310295 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/310295 Although the fantasy gap between the AL and NL has gotten significantly smaller, the AL still has the bragging rights. And thanks to the surprising Tampa Bay Rays and several prominent rookies, the American League has stayed slightly ahead of the curve, explains Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon. Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:55:21 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/307848 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/307848 FBHOF continues the countdown of the Top 200 Fantasy Players. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:43:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/306474 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/306474 Today's look shows a player in the wrong era, a player in the wrong spot in the order and a player who may or may not have scored points from the wrong sport. And lots more. Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:22:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305273 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305273 We are now in the post All-Star break portion of the season, which means it's that magical time where guys like Paul Konerko and Adam LaRoche turn things around. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:06:04 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292278 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292278 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 As we approach the mid-point of the 2008 season, much has been made of the success of small market teams like the Rays and Marlins. Heck, even the Pirates have scraped their way towards mediocrity. While these teams' successes are usually attributed to the talented, young players they have, I think it also has something to do with the expensive, old players they don't have. Here is the worst team money can buy, and no, it's not the Mets roster... Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:49:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285559 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285559 Garret Anderson has been a huge disappointment this season. He's one of the best players in franchise history and a good 2007 gave Angel fans hope he could still be a valuable hitter. But things had gotten so bad that between May 9 and June 30, GA had hit exactly one home run and seen [...] Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:38:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284942 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284942 Garret Anderson has been a huge disappointment this season. He's one of the best players in franchise history and a good 2007 gave Angel fans hope he could still be a valuable hitter. But things had gotten so bad that between May 9 and June 30, GA had hit exactly one home run and seen [...] Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:38:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284942 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284942 First off great job Mike Scioscia. Lineup changes were certainly needed, and putting Casey Kotchman at the 2 and Maicer Izturis at the 3 was a great move, especially after Kotchman doubled and Mighty Maicer bunted him over. Two awesome plays really gave the Halos the victory tonight, one on offense, one on defense. Of course, Garret Anderson, who had been something like 3 for 19 against Alan Embree, hit the two-run homer that gave the Angels the lead and had as many RBIs (2) in the game as all the Angels did in the past 4 games. On defense, though, Kotchman made a terrific diving stop on a grounder with a man on third and threw from his back to get the runner. That would have given the Athletics the lead in the sixth. Tomorrow is the series finale, with Joe Saunders on the mound. It would be a great win to keep the Halos' 7 series winning streak against AL teams. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:48:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284895 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284895 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 By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports Take a bow, Carl Pavano. Just don't hurt your back. You, sir, are the kind of baseball player that makes the annual All-Overpaid team possible. Since you signed with the New York Yankees four years ago for $39.95 million – remember, you fired your agent because he didn't get you $40 million! – you have made 19 starts, won five games and earned $359,282.51 for every inning you pitched. The Yankees expect you back in August. Yeah, just like they expect $1 gas. Sadly, your contract expires this offseason, which means another lucky soul can be recognized for being grossly overpaid, even by baseball standards. In the interest of fairness, we'll take another shot at the All-Underpaid team, too. The same caveat applies this year as did last: no players who have yet to hit arbitration. Baseball rules artificially depress their salary, and the credit due to teams for signing them doesn't apply. So that means no Josh Hamilton, even though, at $396,830, he is probably baseball's biggest bargain. No Carlos Quentin ($400,000), Ryan Ludwick ($411,000), Nate McLouth ($425,000), Edinson Volquez ($382,000) or Tim Lincecum ($405,000), either. Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:24:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279584 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279584 For those of you who thought that Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox had a good week last week, check out the Chicago Cub's OF Alfonzo Soriano's figures this week! He has had the best week of any player all year long. If you think otherwise, let me know! Soriano hit 7 HRs with a BA & OBP over .500 to go along with double digits in runs & RBIs, too. Although, Youkilis did have 1 more SB in his hot week. Mon, 19 May 2008 12:37:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268558 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268558