For the first time in over two years, the Yankees reached the top of the AL East standings. It started as a tie with the Red Sox on Wednesday. They lost the lead when the Sox won on Thursday, but retook the lead over the weekend. The Yanks currently sit a half game up on the Red Sox. While the standings on May 31 count for absolutely nothing in the long run, it’s a relief for Yanks fans to see their team back atop the standings, rather than ending May in third place as they’ve done for the past few years.

The offense put up monstrous numbers every other game for the Yanks, as they scored 11 on Monday, nine on Wednesday, and 10 on Saturday. They mixed those with three-run showings on Tuesday and Friday, and a four-run affair in Sunday’s walk-off loss to the Indians. The pitching turned in a solid week as well, with the only poor showing coming on Tuesday in the team’s 7-3 loss in Texas. Joba Chamberlain had a sub-par start, and after the Yankees tied the game the bullpen blew it open. While the bullpen remains a concern, the continued quality starts from the rotation helps keep the relievers’ exposure limited.

Once again, Mark Teixeira was the offensive player of the week. He put up a .357/.400/.786 line in the last seven days (1.186 OPS), smacking three homers and three doubles in 28 at bats. Alex Rodriguez did his part, posting a .417/.517/.542 line on the week. Surprisingly, he hit no home runs, but he did have three doubles and five walks to go along with just one strikeout. It seems like his defense (-27.8 UZR/150) will be the last thing to come around following surgery to fix a torn hip labrum.

On the pitching end, it was a mixed bag. Phil Hughes had a stellar start on Monday in Texas but his struggles in the third inning of Sunday’s start in Cleveland tainted that start. CC Sabathia had just one start, in which he was more than good enough to give the Yanks a W. A.J. Burnett lasted just six innings in his start, though they were of the scoreless variety, and came with seven strikeouts. Chien-Ming Wang, however, tossed five scoreless innings in relief. These innings have given the Yanks a bit more confidence in him. If he can return to the rotation and go back to throwing seven, eight quality innings per start he could give the Yanks a big boost.

Week’s record: 4-2

Season record: 29-21

Injuries: Melky Cabrera (shoulder, day to day)

This week: Mon @Cleveland; Tue – Thu TEXAS; Fri – Sun TAMPA BAY

The Red Sox hit the road for their longest trip of the season on Monday. First stop: Minnesota. Game one in the series should have been a laugher as the Sox piled up 16 hits against the Twins pitchers. Unfortunately only six of those baserunners crossed the plate, and a two-run homer off Paps in the ninth made it a 6-5 game. That’s all the Twins would get but it certainly put a question mark next to Papelbon’s name after the fiasco against the Mets.

The Sox would drop the next two, having completely lost the ability to score runs away from home. They lost 5-2 on Tuesday as Lester continued his “one bad inning” theme, giving up all five earned in the fifth. Wednesday they went quietly 4-2, with Dice-K laboring through just five innings. Thanks to Josh Beckett and Cap’n Tek the Sox worked a split, taking Thursday’s day-game 3-1 behind seven strong innings by Beckett and two homers off the bat off Varitek. That’s his second two-homerun game of the season giving him a total of 10. For a 37 year-old catcher who has only hit more than 15 homers three times in his career to have 10 by the end of May…well… [ed. note: Thanks to reader Zach for pointing out that Tek has hit more than 15 homers five times in his career, not three.]

The Red Sox average 6.3 runs per game at Fenway but just barely over 4 runs per game on the road. The next stop was Toronto and it seemed like a good place to get your mojo back. The Sox had put the Jays on a nine-game tailspin after the sweep at Fenway. But the Jays had other ideas. A wild Tim Wakefield and the inability for the Sox to get the clutch hit (they used to have a guy that did that for them) combined for a 6-3 loss in the first of three.

Saturday would only get worse as the Sox could only manage four hits in the 5-2 loss. It was up to Lester on Sunday, and the way he pitched he knew it. Six innings, just three hits and a career-high 12 K’s for young Jon. The bats finally came to life with Bay and Pedroia homering as well as two dingers from Youk. Even Ortiz had a hit! When the dust settled it was 8-2 in favor of the good guys, and hopefully the runs will keep coming. The Sox will take Monday off before finishing up the road trip in the Motor City.

Week’s record: 3-4

Season record: 29-22

Injuries: Rocco Baldelli (knee, day-to-day)

This week: Tue – Thu @Detroit; Fri – Sun TEXAS

It seems that the lack of pop has been hurting the Jays over the course of their latest losses. By lack of pop I mean that the Jays have had to score runs the hard way this season. Instead of the odd HR to clear the bases, they’ve needed to have consecutive hits – many of which have come with 2 outs – to drive in runs. My best example was when I looked at the scorecard of the 2nd game they played against the Red Sox. The Jays had 10 hits in their 6 innings against Penny and 3 runs to show for them, while the Red Sox had 3 hits and 3 runs. When I noticed this I went back over the course of their slump and found that this is what has hurt the Jays the most. The proof is that they’ve only managed 3 HRs over their last 11 games. Ouch.

Back to the week that was, the Jays turned out a disastrous start to the week that even Doc Halladay couldn’t resolve. It all started in Baltimore, where the Jays were swept despite decent starts by Brian Tallet (6 IP, 2 ER, 5 Ks) and Doc (7 IP, 3 ER, 5 Ks) in games 1 and 3. The pen lost the handle on Doc’s start with Brian Wolfe having a breakdown 3 ER 11th inning after BJ Ryan had already proven ineffective. Romero had a rough start for the second game, a game in which the Jays offense was shut down by O’s starter Jason Berken which was a little embarrassing. At least they managed 10 runs the following game, maybe as a result of that embarrassment. Of note offensively for the Jays in that series was Marco Scutaro, who is second in SS All-Star voting for the AL by the way, who went 7 for 15, with 3 doubles, a walk, and a stolen base. Despite his efforts most of the other Jays were fairly silent until the 3rd game of the series.

I’m not sure what Cito told the guys during the day off, but one thing is certain, he’s keeping the roster as is. Some managers may have panicked, switched guys in the lineup and called up half of AAA after 9 straight losses, but not Cito. The lineup was the same and he put the trust in the guys to change their own fortunes, and boy did they ever. Janssen kicked it off with an edgy win even after allowing 11 hits and 2 walks. He managed to weasel his way out of jams and allowed 3 runs overall. Offensively, the Jays finally learned how to hit the knuckle ball and Scutaro and Rolen led the way with 2 hits a piece. In the end, they managed to manufacture enough consecutive hits in the 5th inning to win it 6-3. The second game ended the same way as the first, with League and Downs shutting the door with small leads. Rios was on fire that game, going 4 for 4 and Lind chipped in with a much needed HR. Rios hit one of his own in the 3rd game, but Romero was roughed up for the second time this week and the Jays ended the week with a loss, but a series win versus the Red Sox (we’ll take it!). Overall, an up-and-down week, with the hope that the series win leads to a new winning streak to build on.

Week’s Record: 2-4

Season Record: 29-24

Injuries: New – Robert Ray on 15-day May 30th (Strained right shoulder), Michael Barrett (Shoulder-hitting off tee), Jesse Litsch (Right Forearm), Shaun Marcum (Elbow-resting), Dustin McGowan (Labrum-threw from 120 feet for the first time 23rd May).

This Week: Tue- Thur ANAHEIM ; Fri – Sun KANSAS CITY

By most accounts, the Rays had a bad week. To begin the week, after losing 2B Akinori Iwamura to a season-ending injury, they had to place SS Jason Bartlett and left-handed reliever Brian Shouse on the disabled list. Then, they went on to be swept by the Cleveland Indians in a four-game series in Cleveland. To end the week, the came back to the Trop to beat Minnesota 2 out of 3 to close the week.

In Cleveland, it was obvious that the recent rash of injuries were taking their toll. Not to mention the fact that the Rays were nearing the end of a stretch in the schedule that had them playing 40 games in 41 days. On Monday, the Rays ran out to a 10-0 lead in the fourth. Unfortunately, the Indians tallied 11 in the final five innings, capped by a 7-run ninth inning, marking the largest lead that the Rays have blown in the history of the team.

After the Cleveland sweep, the Rays came home to take on the Minnesota Twins in a three-game series. The Twins came to the Trop with the worst road record in the AL. And, the Rays took advantage of that, winning the first two games of the series, before dropping game three on Sunday.

The highlight of the week had to be the impressive starting performance of LHP David Price. He rebounded from a shaky first outing by striking out 11 in 5 2/3 innings. In the start, he allowed just one run on five hits and two walks, on his way to his first career win.

At the plate, the Rays were led by Carl Crawford, who finished the week 10-27 with two HR and two stolen bases. Carlos Pena also hit a pair of home runs for the Rays. And, Matt Joyce returned to the roster to hit a home run on Sunday.

Week’s Record: 2-5

Season Record: 25-28

Injuries: Akinori Iwamura, season-ending torn ACL, Jason Bartlett, sprained ankle, Brian Shouse, left elbow strain, Scott Kazmir, right quadriceps strain, Troy Percival, right shoulder tendinitis, Pat Burrell, stiff neck.

This week: Tue – Thu KANSAS CITY; Fri – Sun @New York

A very eventful week in Birdland!

First, let’s take care of the elephant in the room. Matt Wieters, Christ in a Catcher’s Mask, made his major league debut on Friday. Matt went an uneventful 2 for 11 over the weekend but his first major league hit was a triple crushed off the centerfield fence. More impressive was his work behind the plate. He called his games, fielded his position well and seemed more veteran than rookie when the catcher’s gear was on. The power is there, it’ll be interesting to see how he develops over the next month or so.

But while Wieters was the big story this week, he was not the only rookie making an impact this. LF Nolan Reimold has hit 5 home runs over his last 11 games and is posting a .279/.340/.651 line over the past two weeks putting a stranglehold on the left field job. SP Brad Bergesen went 8 innings giving up only two runs in beating the Tigers on Friday night. SP David Hernandez made a spot start for the injured Koji Uehara, winning his major league debut and SP Jason Berken made two starts this week, winning his debut and posting a 2.25 ERA. Wieters is big but there are several rookies helping to improve the club and erasing the bad memories of Adam Eaton and his ilk.

DH Luke Scott came off the DL and homered in 4 straight games this week with 6 total homers for the week.

Now to bring this whole thing down a notch…it was a nice week but the O’s still have a long way to go. Yes, they went 5-2 with Adam Jones and Nick Markakis slumping but the bottom line is that the rookies will have their growing pains, the bullpen is suspect and the starting rotation is still very shaky. The lineup is decent but it can’t carry the team by itself. Getting the record up above .500 is still a pipe dream at this point.

But with Seattle and Oakland on the schedule for this week, Baltimore has a fair chance of having another winning week.

Down on the Farm:
21 year old SP Chris Tillman is 5-0 with 44 Ks, 13 BB and a tiny 2.13 ERA in 8 starts for AAA Norfolk. He tweaked a hammy last week but should be back in the rotation this week. Unlike some of the rookies called upon to pitch this week, Tillman is a legit top prospect who may be in Baltimore before the All-Star break.

Speaking of top pitching prospects, 2008 first round pick Brian Matusz has lowered his ERA to 2.37 and has struck out 69 in 60.2 innings for A+ Frederick. He could be promoted to AA Bowie anyday.

Previously disappointing 1B prospect Brandon Snyder has put up a stellar .342/.418/.595 line at AA Bowie so far. Still only 22, Snyder should be in Norfolk soon and could play into the O’s plans for 2010.

Week’s Record: 5-2

Season Record: 23-28

Injuries: SP Koji Uehara (hamstring, 15-day DL), RP Dennis Sarfate (hand numbness, 15-day DL, out until July), OF Lou Montanez (Right thumb surgery, 15-Day DL, out 6-8 weeks)

This Week: Mon-Wed @Seattle, Fri-Sun @Oakland

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

AL East Roundup – 5/25/09 trough 5/31/09

The Red Sox started the week three games out of first place, looking up at the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays had just won six out of their last eight games…then they came to Fenway. Tim Wakefield welcomed them with a dominating performance: eight innings giving up only five hits and one run – a homer to old pal Kevin Millar. Papelbon shut the door in the ninth, edging the Sox a game closer to the top. Wednesday night, the Beard of Wonder and Amazement returned to the line-up and had three of the Sox fifteen hits. Boston’s offense exploded, seemingly inspired by Big Papi’s first homer of the season. Jason Varitek had two dingers in the game (officially starting the “Captain is on the juice” talk), his second coming in the fifth – the first of four in that inning. Brad Penny pitched well, going six-and-two-thirds, before turning it over to the pen for mop-up. In the series finale, Jon Lester held the Jays down and the bats jumped on Toronto early, scoring three in the first. It would prove to be enough and the sweep was complete.

Friday night the abortion we call interleague play began as the Mets came to town. Johan Santana battled the Sox as Dice-K returned from the DL. The Dice-man was shaky, giving up four runs in just five innings. The floodgates were opened courtesy of Julio Lugo and his inability to turn a double play. The non-error led to two runs that never should have crossed the plate. Boston rallied in the bottom of the inning cutting the deficit to 4-3 but that was as close as they would come. Saturday night baseball in Fenway was outstanding…Josh Beckett was vintage, going eight strong and allowing just one unearned run. The stage was set for Papelbon in the ninth, but the ending didn’t go as written. Paps gave up an instant-replay-confirmed homer giving the Mets a 3-2 lead. Two stellar defensive plays in the bottom of the inning sealed the win. The Sox would take no chances in Sunday’s game, piling on 12 runs on 16 hits – including six doubles and a pair of three-run homers by Youk and Lowell.

The Blue Jays were swept by the Braves over the weekend, putting the Sox on top of the AL East by a half-game. The Red Sox start the week in Minnesota for four games, then head north-of-the-border to face the Jays next weekend.

Week’s record: 4-2

Season record: 26-18

Injuries: None

This week: Mon – Thu @Minnesota; Fri – Sun @Toronto

Shhh, the Jays bats are sleeping. What started out as a very promising week with the end of a 4-game sweep over the White Sox fizzled into one major return to earth after 6 straight losses. The result has been the return of many younger players in exchange for familiar faces such as Casey Janssen and Joe Inglett. The Jays scored only 10 runs over the last 6 games of the week, a far cry from the performances they put up at the beginning of the season. However, when you delve into the numbers the situation is not as bad as it may seem. First, the Jays were getting on base very well with a decent amount of hits and walks. In the second and third games against the Sox, the Jays had 14 and 11 hits to go with 5 walks but only drove in 4 runs. The Jays were horrible in key hitting situations this week and it’s something that they need if they are going to turn this around.

Overall, the Jays pitching did very well this week. Doc had another great start, but Cecil and Ray both showed their youth and inexperience in their starts while still showing their great overall potential. Now they know what has to get done and can work on it in AAA. Janssen and Romero have been called up to replace them, as well as Joe Inglett, who takes the roster spot of the ice cold Travis Snider. While I entirely agree with the demotion due to the lack of playing time Snider has gotten, I entirely disagree with the way he was being used by Cito. Snider should have hit ahead of Overbay and Barajas, just behind Rolen, and on a much more consistent basis. For a guy who has been called “the franchise” by most Jays players and is used to 100% playing time, sitting on the bench just doesn’t seem right regardless of the troubles he may have.

If the Jays are going to turn it around this week they need continued success from their starting pitching with much better run support and better pen performances. Sunday’s game provides the best example of an implosion of the Jays with 8 earned runs given up after a decent start by Scott Richmond. The Jays are still in a better position than most of us expected them to be in at this point. With 2 series against division rivals coming up, the Jays can regain their strut if they simply get some timely hitting and learn how to hit a knuckle ball.

Week’s Record: 1-6

Season Record: 27-20

Injuries: Michael Barrett (Shoulder-hitting off tee), Jesse Litsch (Right Forearm), Shaun Marcum (Elbow-resting), Dustin McGowan (Labrum-threw from 120 feet for the first time 23rd May).

This Week: Mon- Wed @Baltimore ; Fri – Sun BOSTON

After a weekend of walk-offs, the Yanks were ready to keep on rolling. They wouldn’t dispose of the Twins in a similar manner in their series finale on Monday, but rather hit them hard and early, plating six runs in the first off Glen Perkins, who hit the DL after the game with elbow inflammation. The Twins almost came back, but Phil Coke ultimately succeeded in his first ninth-inning save opportunity. For Yankees fans, perhaps the sweetest part of the game came when Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez went back to back, hopefully the first of many over the next eight years.

Entering the Baltimore series the Yankees had been winners in eight of their previous 10 games, and continued rolling. They decimated the Orioles in a three-game sweep, slamming seven homers in the effort. Adam Eaton got beaten so badly on Thursday that the Orioles released him on Friday*. The World Champion Phillies were next to come to town. Unfortunately, they are a bit better than the Orioles.

As expected, when the AL- and NL-leaders in home runs square off in a park tailor-made for lefties, balls will fly out of the park. That they did over the weekend, combining for 12 homers over the three games. These weren’t just New Stadium Specials, though. Raul Ibanez, Jason Werth, and Mark Teixeira hit absolute bombs on Friday night, Teixeira’s hitting the third deck, Ibanez’s going halfway up the right field bleachers, and Werth’s hitting the second deck in left. Rookie John Mayberry hit his first career homer on Saturday and Ibanez repeated, but the biggest homer of the game belonged to Alex Rodriguez, who forced one out the opposite way to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. After Robinson Cano singled and stole second, Charlie Manuel decided to pitch to Melky Cabrera, who repaid him with a walk-off single.

The series wouldn’t end as well. The Yankees, trailing all game, tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn’t plate a man in scoring position. Then, in the 10th, they put men on first and second with none out but couldn’t muster a walk-off hit. That led to Brett Tomko’s entrance, and the Phillies capitalized, with Carlos Ruiz yet again driving in a run. Just after Rob Neyer chastized Manuel for playing Ruiz regularly, he came through big time over the weekend.

* Yes, I know it wasn’t that single start wasn’t the cause of his release, but it’s funny to think about it that way.

Week’s record: 5-2

Season record: 25-19

Injuries: Brian Bruney (elbow, day to day)

This week: Mon – Wed @Texas; Fri – Sun @Cleveland

NOTE: Say hello to our new Rays contributor, Rise of the Rays.

The Rays have improved their record to .500 after going 5 and 3 this week. A pretty good week overall, taking 2 from Oakland and 2 from the Marlins as well as 1 from the Indians on Sunday. The Rays wasted a great start from James Shields on Monday, losing a 0-0 game in extras by 4 runs allowed by Joe Nelson and Dan Wheeler, as the bullpen that is normally good blew it. The Rays got great starts from their 2 mediocre guys so far this year. Andy Sonnanstine had 2 great starts this week and Jeff Niemann had one against the Marlins. Sonnanstine, the Rays best hitting pitcher, got his wishes of wanting to hit this week, since he batted in three different games this week. He batted third last Sunday due to the lineup snafu, he batted on Friday because it was in an NL park, and he pinch-hit Saturday in the later parts of the game.

Jason Bartlett, who twisted his ankle in yesterday’s game and will probably miss Monday’s game, had a monsterous week this week, gathering 2 more homers to get to 7 and improving his average to .373 on the season. He also had 14 RBI’s this week.

The most notable injury from the week has to be Aki. As said by Carlos Pena on Akinori Iwamura’s presence: “We’re going to miss him greatly even if it’s just one day. … You can’t replace Aki. He’s Aki. There’s only one of him around.”

The Rays will send him back to St. Pete to get a MRI, we hope this is not too serious. Aki is so important. The Rays also placed Troy Percival on the DL, whick is a relief for most Rays fans. They also placed Scott Kazmir on the DL for no other reason than he was struggling, since he came out and said he was not injured. The Rays are likely to get Pat Burrell back this week, which will give us a bat in the middle of the lineup.

This week, the Rays head to Cleveland to face the Indians who have our head after the benches clearing incident last week. They are a better team than their record show, so hopefully the Rays can take 2 of 4 with David Price, the Rays highly touted top prospect who got the final out in the ALCS for the Rays, getting the start tonight. The Rays then head home for three with the Twins this weekend, which could be a very tough series for the Rays. They will get their three best starters for that series, with James Shields, Price, and Matt Garza all going for the weekend.

Record: 23-23

Week’s Record: 4-3

Injuries: Akinori Iwamura, who could be out for a while, Troy Percival, who is contemplating retirement, and Scott Kazmir, who is really not hurt, but needs to get things figured out.

This week: Mon – Thu @Cleveland; Fri – Sun MINNESOTA

The Orioles go 2-4 for the week with most of the damage coming from an unholy ass kicking at the hands of the Yankee steamroller. New York swept Baltimore out of the new Yankee Stadium outscoring them 27-9 in the three game set.

Baltimore bounced back to take two out of three from the Nationals over the weekend but even Baltimore should be expected to win a series like that.

A silver lining exists though as The Warehouse finally saw enough of Adam Eaton and released him after the he got lit up by the Yanks on Thursday. Thanks to the New York team for putting us O’s fans out of our misery. Adam Eaton, Mark Hendrickson and Alfredo Simon were all in the starting rotation to begin the year. Now Eaton is released, Simon is out for the year (and didn’t pitch well before he got hurt) and Hendrickson finds himself in the bullpen….for now. I never understood these guys in the rotation anyway, there were AAAA guys in the Oriole system who could have pitched just as well with a small chance to improve. Oh well, what’s done is done.

Someone will have to be recalled from Norfolk to pitch on Tuesday and the club is tight lipped about the choice. The smart money is on journeyman Chris Waters or 25 year old Jason Berken, a Clemson product who is tearing up the International League.

LF Nolan Reimold has arrived in Baltimore ahead of schedule and is putting a stranglehold on the left field position. The .256/.293/.436 line he has posted so far is not altogether impressive but has been better than the combined efforts of Felix Pie and Lou Montanez and is fairly encouraging considering Reimold had not played a game above AA before this season.

RP Chris Ray was supposed to be wresting the closer spot back from George Sherrill by now. Instead, Ray took the loss in Sunday’s game against Washington and now has an 10.12 ERA on the season. Sherrill, by contrast, has lowered his ERA to 2.89. Ray hasn’t trusted his fastball since he came back from Tommy John surgery and looks to be optioned to Norfolk on Tuesday to work it out. Sherrill remains an excellent piece on trade bait for a contender come July.

Wieters Watch: Wieters has a .284/.359/.485 line for AAA Norfolk. I still predict we’ll see him in mid-June barring injury to Gregg Zaun.

When your team is a loser for as many years as Baltimore has been, you look for great individual performances to get you through the year. Adam Jones is that guy this year. The rest of the AL can eat their hearts out as out 23 year old center fielder is hitting .359/.414/.654. 10 home runs in 38 games. Baltimore has many problems but we have a center fielder that the rest of the league can be envious of.

Week’s Record: 2-4

Season Record: 18-26

Injuries: Koji Uehara (hamstring, day to day), Luke Scott (shoulder strain, 15-day DL), Dennis Sarfate (hand numbness, 15-day DL, out until July)

This Week: Mon-Wed TORONTO, Thu-Sun DETROIT

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

AL East Roundup: 5/18 through 5/24

Any week that has Doc Halladay pitching twice is a week Jays fans look forward to for good reason. Doc didn’t disappoint while setting the tone against the Yankees against AJ, his old team mate and newest Blue Jay nemesis. Doc pitched a complete game gem against a somewhat diminished Yankee lineup that was missing Jeter, Swisher, and Posada, but still took care of business. He only needed 103 pitches to complete his outing. While Doc’s performance was to be expected, the fact that Burnett was booed every single time he threw a strike and jeered more than Arod surprised many of us. While it is true that Burnett became just another player chasing the money he supposedly deserves in New York, he deserves to be made aware that he sold out.

Back to the Jays week, I have to admit the Yankee pitching surprised me after the first game of the series. CC and Andy threw some very strong games supplemented by some stellar pen innings I had no idea the Yanks relievers could deliver. I expected the Jays hitters to have some struggles this season, but hoped they would come against other opponents. For the Jays, Richmond obviously looked shell shocked and definitely had no faith in his stuff for the first time this season. I’m not really sure why it happened, but I hope that he learns from the experience and works on his tenacity. His rough outing was followed by yet another surprising start by Tallet who held his own over 6 innings allowing only 2 runs. Either way, he wasn’t beating CC and the Jays hitters took the 2 games off, leaving Richmond and Tallet to fend for themselves.

As the weekend series versus the White Sox started, the Jays has hungry hitters on the prowl and did they delivered enough to sweep the weekend. Friday’s game had Bret Cecil throwing a great game to go along with 8 runs of support, resulting in Bret’s second win in a row. Lind and Bautista delivered the two required RBIs in the 8th inning on Saturday in support of Robert Ray, who lasted 8 innings with no earned runs. Scott Downs got the save and seems to have a good hold on the role. And finally the Jays supported their Doc with another 8 run effort led by none other than Aaron Hill. I’d like to advertise for Aaron for very good reason. As we begin to vote for the All-Star game, I would suggest that Aaron’s stats deserve to be compared to Utley’s and Kinsler’s to prove just how special he has been this season. I hope all voters will give him the thumbs up, he deserves it.

Week’s Record: 4-2

Season Record: 26-14

Injuries: Michael Barrett (Shoulder), Jesse Litsch (Right Forearm – cleared to resume throwing), Shaun Marcum (Elbow), Dustin McGowan (Labrum), Ricky Romero (Threw in AAA May 13th), Casey Janssen (made 3 starts in HiA Dunedin).

This Week: Mon CHICAGO; Tue-Thu @Boston; Fri-Sun @Atlanta

A dismal week for the Boston Red Sox on the west coast. Not only did they drop two-out-of-three to the Angels and Mariners, but the Sox were forced to bench David Ortiz after a horrendous appearance on Thursday. Papi went 0-for-7 with three K’s and left an astounding 12 runners on base. After the game, Ortiz told reporters “Papi stinks.”

Things started out OK in LA. After being shut down for seven innings by Jered Weaver, the Sox got to the Angel bullpen in the 8th and 9th innings, capped by a run-scoring double off the bat of Captain Tek. The next night, “The Big A” continued to be a personal house of horrors for Tim Wakefield. Wake is 0-6 with a 9.3 ERA in his last six starts there. Wednesday was no different: Wakefield couldn’t get out of the 5th inning, giving up seven earned. The Angels’ Matt Palmer went the distance in the 8-4 rout. Thursday was one of the worst games of the 2009 season for the Red Sox bats. Brad Penny turned in a decent start and the bullpen was phenomenal, going scoreless innings before Manny Delcarmen gave up the game-winner in the 12th. The Red Sox had countless opportunities to steal a win, putting seven runners on in the last four frames but scoring none.

The next stop was Seattle and a chance to make the road trip a success. The Mariners were struggling, winning just once in their last ten games. But Jon Lester fell victim once again to “the bad inning” syndrome. After cruising through five, Lester melted in the 6th, giving up four earned, two on Ichiro’s second homer of the game. The bullpen was again the highlight, shutting down the M’s, but the Sox couldn’t plate the tying run. Josh Beckett returned to a more Beckett-like form on Saturday, going seven strong and giving up just two earned runs. Bay cranked his 11th homer on the way to a 5-3 win. Sunday’s attempt to grab a .500 record on the road trip went awry in the bottom of the 9th when a Nick Green error led to the winning run.

The bullpen remains the one constant strength for the Red Sox. Beckett’s strong outing was a silver lining to the week’s cloudy pattern: the return of the ace is much-needed. As is the return of the Beard. Youk’s bat in the line-up might have been enough grab a couple more wins on this trip. Next week the Sox will battle the Jays, needing a sweep to tie for the lead in the East. Then the first bite of the shit sandwich that is interleague play against the Mets. Finally, the Sox spend Memorial Day weekend in the Homerdome battling the Twins and the Hefty bag. Can the three-day mental health break be enough to get Papi’s bat on track? It better be.

Week’s record: 2-4

Season record: 22-16

Injuries: Kevin Youkilis (15-day DL retroactive to May 5, oblique strain)

This week: Tue – Thu TORONTO; Fri – Sun NEW YORK METS

After back-to-back sweeps at the hands of AL East opponents two weeks ago, the Yanks could have used a boost against the Jays last week. Unfortunately, the series began with Roy Halladay taking the mound for the Birds. The Yanks hadn’t beaten Halladay since Opening Day 2008, and Tuesday night would be no different. They mustered just one run off Doc, an A-Rod grounder through the hole that scored one of the scant runners they’d put in scoring position. This made the Yanks 3-7 over their previous 10.

As we’ve seen in at least one recent May, the Yankees then decided to go on a tear. They turned to Andy Pettitte, who has a history of staunching the Yanks’ bleeding. That he did, though it wasn’t the prettiest of starts. The difference was the offense, which was powered by Brett Gardner’s first career home run. The Yanks recorded eight extra base hits in the game, chasing Jays starter Scott Richmond after just 1.2 IP. The next night, CC Sabathia was CC Sabathia, going eight innings and laying his own bridge to Mariano Rivera, who picked up his seventh save of the year and gave the Yanks the second straight victory in the series.

The weekend proved to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. After blowing several opportunities to close a 4-1 deficit against the Twins, Brett Gardner came through with his second career home run, this one an inside-the-parker that reignited the fans at Yankee Stadium Friday night. Then, with the Yanks down 4-2, he led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple. Mark Teixeira followed with an RBI single to bring the Yanks within one. Then, with runners on second and third with two outs, Cito Gaston walked Robinson Cano to get to Melky Cabrera. With the crowd chanting “Mel-ky, Mel-ky,” the center fielder lined a single to left center, plating the winning run.

After leading for most of Saturday’s affair, the bullpen coughed up the lead late. But Mark Teixeira helped out, tying the game while registering his fourth hit of the day. This led to extra innings. With Teixeira on first after a walk to lead off the 11th, Alex Rodriguez stepped to the plate. Lefty Craig Breslow tried to sneak a slider inside, but A-Rod turned on it and deposited it into the left field stands for a second-straight walk-off. Sunday was more of a pitchers’ duel, with both A.J. Burnett and Kevin Slowey holding their opponents scoreless through six innings. However, Burnett allowed two runs in the top of the seventh, and Slowey allowed two in the bottom half. The score remained tied until the bottom of the 10th, when Johnny Damon hit a walk-off homer to right, giving the Yanks three straight victories in dramatic fashion.

Week’s record: 5-1

Season record: 20-17

Injuries: None new

This week: Mon MINNESOTA; Tue – Thu BALTIMORE; Fri – Sun PHILADELPHIA

NOTE: Looks like the Rays blogger bailed. Thankfully, we have a new one lined up for next week. Hopefully we’ve got the early-season kinks out and this will proceed as normal starting next week.

The week for the Rays began and ended with blunders related to Andy Sonnanstine. The first blunder was the pitcher himself, as he allowed seven runs over two innings on Tuesday, putting his team in poor position against the Orioles. Worst of all, O’s stater Mark Hendrickson allowed five runs of his own in the second inning. Sonnanstine, who had allowed one in the first, matched Hendrickson’s frame, handing the Orioles the lead right back. A final run in the third would comprise all the scoring for the game, and the O’s won 7-5.

On Sunday, Joe Maddon had a brain fart when filling out his lineup card, penciling in both Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria for third base. The intent was to DH Longoria, so when Zobrist took the field for the top of the first, Longoria and his DH spot were removed from the game. It’s not an instance which arises often, but it put the Rays in a tough position, having to bat the pitcher third. Sonnanstine again didn’t pitch particularly well, allowing five runs over 5.1 innings. He did aid his own cause, though, smacking an RBI double. The Rays overcame their handicap and took the game 7-5.

Sandwiched between the blunders was a 3-1 week which featured the Rays taking three of four from the reeling Indians. I wish I could go into greater detail, but I’d just be repeating the box scores. Thankfully, we’ll have a real live Rays blogger next week to give us the proper insight. Until then, the results can do the talking.

Week’s record: 4-2

Season record: 19-20

Injuries: Pat Burrell (15-day DL, neck), Carl Crawford (day to day)

This week: Mon – Thu OAKLAND; Fri – Sun @Florida

A week of treading water but we call that progress in Baltimore.

The Orioles gained splits in a two game set with the Rays and a four game series at Kansas City and with the injuries and the arms we were sending to the mound, we’ll take it.

Injury update: Luke Scott eventually had to go on the DL with an injury to his rotator cuff. Scott’s injury hurts in the short term but is giving a good opportunity to top prospect OF Nolan Reimold who was recalled from Norfolk. Reimold struggled in his first week but will be trotted out there everyday, at least until Scott gets healthy. (On a side note, since the departure of B.J. Surhoff, the Orioles were unable to find a left fielder who could even hit for league average for several years. It was pretty unforgivable. One of the reasons Baltimore fans love Scott is that he finally filled that need last season…but I digress.)

Adam Jones tweaked his hamstring legging out an infield hit and hasn’t played since Tuesday. Another big blow to the Oriole offense but helps to extend the Felix Pie experiment. Pie was terrible in April but has hit .286/.355/.536 in May, more than enough to buy him some time when everyone gets healthy.

Debuts: I’ve already talked about Reimold who hit .235/.235/.294 in his first week in the bigs. SP Rich Hill came off the DL to make his Oriole debut and go 5.2 IP, striking out 6 and scattering 7 hits, giving up 2 earned and getting the win versus Kansas City. It speaks volumes about the Oriole pitching staff that Hill is a massive upgrade over many of our rotation candidates. Adam Eaton cannot be long for the rotation..we just need to find one more arm.

Living proof that hitting in between Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis alone will not improve your bat: Cesar Izturis. Izturis is hitting .190 in the 2 spot. Manager Dave Trembley seems to like his basestealing ability at the top of the order but Izturis is a really bad choice to bat second. Melvin Mora would be a better choice until Jones returns.

Week’s Record: 3-3

Season Record: 16-22

Injuries: RP Dennis Sarfate (numbness in hand, 15-day DL, out until July), DH/LF Luke Scott (strained shoulder, 15-day DL), CF Adam Jones (day to day, strained hamstring)

This Week: Tue-Thur @New York; Fri-Sun @Washington

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

AL East Roundup: 5/11/09 through 5/17/09

In terms of series, the Jays split the 2-game series with LAA and CLE, and each time they came up with at least one 10+ run game. The 3-game series against Oakland series was a won the Jays (2-1). There was nothing particularly different about this week for the Jays, as they put up 45 runs during the week for a 6.5 run per game average. This average was achieved despite the Jays meeting their match in Jered Weaver, and I’m sure other teams will pour over his outing to see how he was able to 3 hit this offense while allowing only 1 run in a complete game gem.

Throughout the week, the key to their offensive effectiveness continued to be hitting throughout the lineup. Each day or night it seemed that all except maybe 1 or 2 guys were getting their hits, and most of them with men on base. Lind, Overbay, and Hill had really strong weeks, while Snider went 2 for 4 four times this week to help out his average. Overall, the offense continued to clobber opposing pitching and was supplemented by very effective pitching.

The bullpen, however, had a horrible start to the week, with Camp, League, and Carlson allowing 3 runs a piece. Rookie Bret Cecil turned in two excellent outings and may have forced Cito to give him another look instead of calling up the now healthy Casey Janssen. He threw 6 innings with 1 ER and 6 Ks in his first outing against a very good CLE lineup, and followed it up with an 8 inning game with 5 hits allowed, no earned runs, 2 walks and 6 Ks.

Most notable for the Jays this week was how efficiently the starting pitching was able to pitch. Monday and Tuesday’s outings by the pen must have really scared the starters into lasting longer into the games, because from then on they went over 7 innings with only 1 ER four times, with only Robert Ray lasting 6.1 innings. What did this mean for the suddenly unconfident pen? Well, from Wednesday to Sunday they pitched a total of 6.2 innings, with only 68 pitches thrown by 5 guys. So as we head into the following week, we have a fresh pen, extremely confident starting pitching, 3 more starters ready to return when needed (Romero, Purcey, and Janssen), and an offense that just seems to keep clicking.

Week’s Record: 4-3

Season Record: 22-12

Injuries: Michael Barrett (Shoulder), Jesse Litsch (Right Forearm – cleared to resume throwing), Shaun Marcum (Elbow), Dustin McGowan (Labrum), Ricky Romero (Threw in Single A May 8th), BJ Ryan (Throwing in HiA Dunedin), Casey Janssen (made 3 starts in HiA Dunedin).

This Week: Tue-Thu NEW YORK; Fri-Sun CHICAGO

Despite a powerless Papi and the Beard of Mayhem on the bench, the Red Sox managed to grab five wins against the Yankees, Cleveland and Tampa. Monday night the Sox treated Phil Hughes like the new guy on the cell block, scoring in each of the first four innings in their first meeting in the new Yankee Stadium Jason Bay’s two-run shot in the seventh would prove to be the margin of victory after a Yankee comeback. It was more of the same against Joba on Tuesday, with Bay crushing a three-run job in the first. Joba, true to form, would drill Bay later in the game but the Sox went on to a 7-3 win and a two-game sweep.

The Sox were unable to muster any offense against Carl Pavano, coming off a four-year, injury-plagued tour with the Yankees. Justin Masterson pitched OK until the wheels fell off in the seventh and the Sox went down without much of a fight 7-3. The next night was a bit different. The first 12 batters in the sixth inning not only reached base, they scored, capped by Jason Bay’s three-run homer. The Sox went on to win a laugher 13-3 behind Tim Wakefield and the bats.

The weekend series against the Rays was a see-saw battle. The Sox sent “Big Game” James Shields to the dugout (where he promptly whipped out a can of whoop-ass on the water jug) on yet another Jason Bay three-run home run. The Rays would seek vengeance on Saturday, running away with a 14-5 blowout. In Sunday’s finale, ESPN commentators bumbled their way through a dramatic Red Sox win. The Sox took a 4-3 lead in the eighth on back-to-back doubles by Papi and (who else?) Jason Bay. Papelbon put two runners on in the ninth before striking out Pena, Upton and Crawford to end it.

Week’s record: 5-2

Season record: 20-12

Injuries: Kevin Youkilis (day to day, back), Dustin Pedroia (day to day, groin)

This week: Tue-Thu @Anaheim; Fri – Sun @Seattle

NOTE: The regular Rays contributor bailed this week. Hopefully he comes back next week. Huge thanks to Mike for filling in.

The week started off with Scott Kazmir walking Brian Roberts and Adam Jones before giving up a three run homer to Nick Markakis in the top of the first inning of Monday’s game, but luckily for the Rays that wasn’t a sign of what the rest of the week had in store. They split the two game set with Baltimore thanks to the late inning heroics of (who else?) Evan Longoria on Tuesday, but more on him later. The defending AL Champs then rolled into the Bronx and swept their first series at the New Yankee Stadium. Andy Sonnanstine turned in his best start of the year before Carlos Pena hit the go-ahead homer in the tenth inning on Wednesday, then Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria secured the win on Thursday with back-to-back homers off Mariano Rivera in the 9th.

Tampa then headed north to Boston, dropping game one of the three game series because of a five-run sixth inning in which Jason Bay and JD Drew clubbed three-run and two-run homers, respectively. The Boys in Some Sorta Blue took the screws to John Lester on Saturday, hitting him up for eight runs in just four and a third innings on their way to a 14-5 romp. Noted Red Sox killer Matt Garza took the mound in the rubber game of the series on Sunday night, throwing seven innings of three-run ball before giving way to the bullpen. Brian Shouse allowed a leadoff double to The Artist Formerly Known As David Ortiz before Dan Wheeler gave up the go-ahead hit to Jason Bay. Jonathan Papelbon made it interesting in the ninth, but Tampa wasn’t able to pull out another win.

Back to Longoria, who’s smokin’ hot bat was the story of the week. The Long Beach State Dirtbag hit .333-.375-.889 in the seven games, smacking four homers and driving in 14 runs. He leads all of baseball in doubles (15), RBI (44), SLG (.748), and WAR (2.9), and is second in OPS (1.158) and third in homers (11). Longoria also leads all third baseman with a 7.4 UZR, and has established himself as one of the five best players on the planet.

Week’s record: 4-3

Season record: 15-8

Injuries: No new injuries, but backup catcher Shawn Riggins had his rehab assignment cut short and will have his barking right shoulder looked at by Dr. James Andrews this week

This week: Tues-Weds @Baltimore; Thurs-Sun CLEVELAND

After going 0-6 the previous week, the Orioles showed signs of life splitting a two-game set at Tampa, beating the Twins twice in their two game visit to Camden Yards and coming tantalizingly close to taking the Yankee series in Baltimore this weekend. Jeremy Guthrie pitched well enough to win on Friday but C.C. Sabathia kept the Oriole bats at bay. Koji Uehara left the game with a 3-1 lead on Sunday that the bullpen frittered away capped by a three-run homer to Johnny Damon.

Speaking of Uehara, he has now had five straight quality starts. Unfortunately, the Orioles haven’t won a single one of those games. Uehara had been better than expected to this point but is becoming a hard luck loser far too often.

Veteran utility man and malcontent Ryan Freel came off the DL and was promptly shipped to the Cubs for AAA filler OF Joey Gathright. I imagine that Andy MacPhail was delighted to find any team who would assume even a portion of Freel’s $4 million salary. Freel was redundant on this team and he was chirping to the press of unhappiness with his playing time. He had to go.

OF Luke Scott injured his shoulder diving back to first on a pickoff throw and looks to be headed to the DL, a significant blow to the Oriole offense. It does allow for the very interesting move of calling up top outfield prospect Nolan Reimold (.381/.479/.711, 8 HR at AAA Norfolk) and starting him everyday. It will also allow the Felix Pie experiment to continue and for the club to get a longer look at Lou Montanez. The three of them could rotate LF/DH duties with Reimold working everyday. Baltimore is going nowhere this year. We might as well see if Reimold’s bat will translate to the majors, if Pie can hit his way out of a wet paper bag and if Montanez has any value as a fourth outfielder in the majors.

Looking back at Norfolk, C Matt Wieters has raised his average above .300 and is finally starting to stroke some extra base hits with 4 doubles in the last five games. SP Rich Hill made his third rehab start for Norfolk today lowering his ERA to 1.35 with 14 strikeout in 13.1 innings. Look for Hill to show up in Baltimore later this week.

Week’s Record: 4-3

Season Record: 13-19

Injuries: RP Dennis Sarfate (numbness in hand, 15-day DL, out until July), Rich Hill (elbow, 15-day DL, out until mid-May)

This Week: Tue-Wed TAMPA; Thur-Sun @Kansas City

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

AL East Roundup: 5/4/09 through 5/10/09

Note: Everyone welcome Mat, our new Jays contributor. And be sure to check out his new blog, Blue Jays Daze (linked above).

If Baseball was the board game “Clue”, the first half of the past week Jays murderers would have been described like this: it was the Butler, in Kauffman Stadium, with a big bad stick and a hell of a pitching staff! The Jays lost their first series of the season while losing 3 of 4 against the Royals. Billy Butler, the newest Jays killer, took his average from .193 to .262 over the last 2 games of the series while going 6 of 8 with 2 homers, 2 doubles, 5 RBI and 6 runs scored. The KC pitching staff helped him out with stellar performances from Bannister, Greinke, and Davies, although the Jays offense did become the only team able to score runs against Greinke this season. The Jays were also able to make a partial comeback Thursday, making the final 8-6 after being down 8-2 after the 5th inning. Other positives for the Jays include Scott Richmond’s strong start during an 8-1 victory on Tuesday (the one game Butler sat out), as well as strong performances from the bullpen, aside from RHP Bryan Bullington who has since been demoted to AAA. He will be joined by starter LHP Brian Burres who thankfully takes his ugly 14.21 ERA with him and should not be back with the Jays as long as better options exist.

The second half of the week was critical to the Jays ending their mini-slump, and was much kinder to the Jays offense and pitching. While Doc Halladay didn’t have one of his best starts on Friday, he did last 8 innings that allowed the pen some time to rest and the offense took the lead with 8 runs scored. Saturday’s extra innings 5-4 win was even more encouraging. It included Robert Ray’s first career start, which was solid, and was followed with the usual shut down performance of the Jays elite bullpen who shut out the Orioles over the last 5.1 innings of the game. The only run the O’s scored was unearned due to an Aaron Hill miscue, but he more than made up for it with a game tying HR in the same inning followed by a game winning single in the 11th. The opposite things occurred to Travis Snider this week, who made 3 key defensive plays but struggled at the plate and now sports a .229 average. The bullpen was effective as usual and deserves the praise it get. Carlson and Downs shut down the end of the week and the O’s on Sunday, which allowed Richmond’s great 7 inning performance to result in his 4th win of the season. Overall, the series against the Orioles was a much needed return to winning for the Jays who took 3 of 3 from their division rivals.

Week’s Record: 4-3

Season Record: 18-9

Injuries: Nil

This Week: Mon – Wed CLEVELAND; Thur – Sun @Anaheim

The Red Sox started the week in the same fashion they ended the previous week: winning. Tim Wakefield battled Cliff Lee through 8 scoreless innings on Monday before Jason Bay crushed a three-run homer to win it. On Tuesday, Tito forgot the mantra of “respect the streak” and inserted Julio Lugo into the line-up for the first time. Lugo fumbled a double-play ball that eventually led to three runs, and Lopez dropped a ball covering first to let in the winning run. Streak over. The Red Sox bounced back with a tenth-inning win on Wednesday from an unlikely hero” Jonathan Van Every. Then the Sox headed to Tampa and things fell apart.

The Rays are like the kid in high school that used to get picked on, then had a huge growth spurt over a summer, and came back to school wreaking havoc on those that tormented him. Matt Garza shut the Sox down on Thursday, taking a no-hitter into the seventh. The result was a 13-0 laugher that saw the Red Sox finish the game with just an infield single and two walks, and a lot of questions about Josh Beckett. Beckett gave up seven earned in four-and-two-thirds. Evan Longoria’s grand slam on Friday night was enough to power the Rays past Justin Masterson and Boston’s anemic offense.

It took Tim Wakefield to stop the losing streak just like he did in against Oakland a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t a great outing but he kept them in the game and the bats were finally able to make something happen against Jeff Niemann and the Rays’ bullpen. The bats went back into hibernation on Sunday and the Rays end up taking three-out-of-four to climb out of the basement and knock the Sox back into second place. Onto the House That Roids Built. (ed note: RAB does not approve of this line)

Week’s record: 3-4

Season record: 15-10

Injuries: None

This week: Mon – Tue @New York; Wed – Thu CLEVELAND; Fri – Sun TAMPA BAY

This week started looking like it was going to be another disappointing stanza in what has been a pretty depressing song for the Rays so far in 2009, but thanks to a tremendous weekend series against the Red Sox, the Rays look like they might finally be turning the corner. The big story for Rays fans (and fantasy owners!) was, of course, Carl Crawford going insane against the BoSox on Sunday, swiping 6 bags as the Rays closed out a series with against the Beantowners. That was 3-out-of-4 for those of you keeping track, and though the Rays still find themselves 6 1/2 games back in the AL East, they’ve moved out of the cellar and are pointed in the right direction.

Most encouraging for the Rays has to be the way the starting pitching performed over the weekend. Matt Garza was brilliant against the Red Sox in the Rays’ 13-0 romp on Thursday, nearly throwing a perfect game. Andy Sonnanstine was his usual good-but-not-great self, and James Shields worked into the 8th inning in allowing just a pair of runs on Sunday. It’s the pitching that’s going to carry the Rays this season if they are going to win again, and if this past weekend is any indication, the Rays’ arms are primed and ready for a dogfight.

Week’s record: 4-3

Season record: 11-15

Injuries: Shawn Riggans (shoulder tendonitis, 15-day DL), Jason Isringhausen (moved to AAA for continued rehab, 15-day-DL)

This week: Mon – Tues BALTIMORE; Wed- Thur @New York; Fri-Sun @Boston

Owwww! Quit it!

0-6 this week makes for a painful recap. I’m not sure if it’s better or worse that the O’s were competitive in every game save for a loss to Roy Halladay. Three losses by a lone run, two by two runs. 22 men left in scoring position in the losses. Baltimore had their chances but failed to capitalize.

So, what are the bright spots? Adam Jones came back from a minor injury to continue his torrid hitting posting a .435/.458/.739 line this week. (one note to Adam Jones: you should quit blowing bubbles with your gum and looking so casual as you run down balls and make amazing plays look routine. It’s going to hurt your chances for a Gold Glove. Slow up every now and then and make an unnecessary basket catch like B.J. Upton.) Adam Jones and Nick Markakis are the two top runs corers in the American League. Melvin Mora came back from his hamstring injury, relegating Ty Wigginton to the bench. That’s really about it.

Meanwhile, down on the farm, LF Nolan Reimold continues to rake, posting a .390/.469/.756 line for the season. He hit 8 homers in April. He’s knocking on the door. Matt Wieters has raised his average to .270 but is only slugging .365 thus far. 21-year old Chris Tillman has posted a 2.37 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 19 innings at AAA Norfolk. There is hope.

Notes: RP Dennis Sarfate was placed on the 15-day DL and reliever Bob McCrory was recalled from Norfolk. McCrory can flat out bring it, hitting 95-96 on the gun when I saw him pitch in Gwinnett earlier this month…2B Brian Roberts was 0-14 during the Toronto series…Nick Markakis had his hitting streak broken at 17 games in Toronto. The streak tied the longest of his career….Top pick from the 2008 draft, LHP Brian Matusz, has a 3.67 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 27.0 IP in A+ Frederick.

Week’s Record: 0-6

Season Record: 9-16

Injuries: RHP Dennis Sarfate (15-day DL, numbness, right hand), Rich Hill (15-day DL, elbow, out until mid-May), UT Ryan Freel (15-day DL, concussion)

This Week: Mon-Tue @Tampa Bay; Wed-Thur MINNESOTA; Fri-Sun YANKEES

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

AL East Roundup: 4/27/09 through 5/3/09

Note: Still no Jays blogger. Anyone know someone? Anyone want to just write the recap weekly? Better from a Jays fan than a Yanks one. Hit me: josephp at riveraveblues dot com.

The Jays continued to roll through the season’s third week, taking two out of three from each of their opponents. Their week started and ended with Roy Halladay, who had an uncharacteristic performance on Tuesday, surrendering five runs over eight innings. This is why we need a Jays blogger to take this. Halladay had allows three through six innings, and then another two in the seventh. He tossed just 104 pitches in those eight innings, and struck out nine with no walks. The start didn’t seem all that bad, but it’s still five runs and a loss in the box score. He came back to win on Sunday, but his line, other than the earned runs, doesn’t look as impressive: 7 IP, 3 ER, 6 K, 1 BB, 118 pitches. So he used more pitches in fewer innings, struck out fewer, walked more, and allowed fewer runs. This baseball is an odd game.

Following the Halladay loss, the Jays took an 11-inning affair 8-7 on a Kevin Millar walk-off single. The Jays were actually up 7-4 heading into the top of the ninth, but B.J. Ryan hit a guy and issued a walk to lead off the frame, and it all came unraveled from there. An error and a Michael Young home run later and the game was headed to extras. Thursday was another good start for Kevin Millwood, though he did allow three home runs. The overall damage was limited to four runs over seven innings, and the Jays finished taking two of three from the Rangers.

In Chicago the Jays opened by simply massacring the Sox 14-0 on 21 hits. Lyle Overbay was the only starter to go hitless in the affair. The Sox turned the tables the next day, defeating Brian Burres and the Jays 10-2. Then finally, in the aforementioned Halladay start on Sunday, the Jays took the game 4-3 on a go-ahead single by Scott Rolen in the eighth. Few expected the Jays to play like this, but their offense has been clicking and the pitching staff has been doing the job, despite the flurry of injuries (McGowan, Marcum, Litsch, now Romero and Ryan).

Week’s record: 4-2

Season record: 14-6

Injuries: LHP B.J. Ryan (15-day DL, soreness between shoulder and back), LHP Ricky Romero (15-day DL, strained muscle on right side).

This week: Mon – Thu @Kansas City; Fri – Sun BALTIMORE

Not much to complain about in Red Sox Nation this week, the Sox haven’t lost a game. Monday they played the traditional Patriot’s Day morning game and completed a 4-game sweep of the Orioles with a dominating 12-1 victory. After a washout on Tuesday, the Sox played two against the Twins on Wednesday. Tim Wakefield pitched his second consecutive complete game in the first match-up, a rain-shortened seven inning affair. The offense was fueled with homers off the bats of Lowell, Nick Green, and the Bearded Wonder Kevin Youkilis. The second game featured Brad Penny and a Jeff Bailey homer on the way to a 7-3 win. Thursday was a scheduled off-day, giving everyone a chance to stock up on red meat, cheap beer and bail money as the Yankees were coming on Friday.

The rivalry lived up to its reputation on Friday evening. The Yanks took a 2-run lead into the ninth, only to see Mariano Rivera cough it up when Jason Bay smashed a game-tying homer. The Sox bullpen out-dueled the Yankee pen and Youk ended things in the 11th with a walk-off homer. Saturday’s game – what should have been a pitching duel between Beckett and Burnett – turned into an old-fashioned barn-burner. Each team hit 3 homeruns, but it was the Red Sox bullpen again that outlasted New York. Mike Lowell had a 3-run shot and Jason Varitek, perhaps the worst bases-loaded hitter in the game, belted a grand slam. Twelve pitchers, 385 pitches, 28 hits and 27 runs kept the scorekeepers busy in the 4 hour and 21 minute marathon.

On Sunday, the series concludes with Pettitte versus Masterson and audio-pain that is Joe Morgan on ESPN. (ed note: move along, nothing to see here…)

Week’s record: 6-0

Season record: 12-6

Injuries: OF Rocco Baldelli (15-day DL, strained left hamstring)

This week: Mon – Wed @Cleveland; Thu – Sun @Tampa Bay

The Orioles started the week with a 12-1 shellacking from the Red Sox on Patriot’s Day and ended the week with a late rally and a three-run homer by Adam Jones to salvage a win against Texas at Camden Yards. The rest of the week’s results were just as varied. The Orioles managed to lose is varied ways this week (blowouts, blown leads, late rallies falling short) and the pitching staff is pretty painful to watch. But there were some bright spots.

Rookie RHP Brad Bergesen debuted on Tuesday and shut down the White Sox with a punishing sinker that induced grounders at an impressive rate. Bergesen got knocked around a bit by Texas on Sunday but he has the makings of a good ground ball type pitcher which is a plus in Camden Yards. He’ll probably be good enough to be a back of the rotation guy but right now is probably the third best pitcher in the rotation.

RHP Koji Uehara pitched a nice game against Texas on Friday (6.2 IP, 4 H. 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) and looks to be able to hold his own against some tough AL lineups. He won’t win the Cy Young but should be able to keep his ERA below 4.50.

RHP Adam Eaton got the win over the White Sox on Thursday while striking out 9 over 7+ innings. We’ll take the miracle but do not expect it to continue.

The bullpen is still going through growing pains but the coaches seem to be finding roles for people. Jamie Walker has turned into a strict LOOGY. Outside of one bad outing Matt Albers looks good coming back from shoulder surgery. Ditto for Chris Ray who after two bad outings to start the year hasn’t given up a run in his last 5 outings. Jim Johnson continues to do good work as the primary setup man. Even Danys Baez is looking like a decent reliever again and Brian Bass has settles down as well. George Sherrill…let me digress…

I am fine with Sherrill as the Oriole closer. I am not a fan of having your very best reliever in the closer role…sometimes that guy is wasted on a three run lead in the 9th. But Sherrill is fine with a two or three run in the 9th. He is not great but has only blown one save this season and that’s when they tried to have him pitch more than one inning. I like him. He brings good value even if he is flawed.

The Orioles lineup is producing runs to keep up with just about anyone in the AL. The Big Three of Brian Roberts, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis are wearing out opposing pitching staffs with all three sporting OPS’s well north of .900. Adding Aubrey Huff (.863 OPS) and Luke Scott (.889) to the mix helps mask the weak bats of Cesar Izturis, Gregg Zaun and Felix Pie. Baltimore fans can dream on this lineup and imagine what it will look like once Matt Wieters arrives from Norfolk.

Speaking of Norfolk, Matt Wieters returned from a strained hamstring to go 3 for 13 while serving as the team’s DH this week. LF Nolan Reimold continues to destroy AAA pitching. He is hitting .417 with 6 homers (including two on Sunday) and could be in Baltimore after the All-Star break. Reimold was a 2nd round pick in 2005 but has battled injuries during his minor league career. Last year he stayed completely healthy and put up nice numbers at AA Bowie. If he can stay on the field, he could join Adam Jones and Nick Markakis as part of a young dynamic Baltimore outfield for years to come.

Notes: Nick Markakis now has a 13 game hitting streak, the second longest of his young career, He put together a 17 game streak last season. He has also reached base safely in 19 straight games…It was not a no-brainer to have CF Adam Jones bat 2nd and move 3B Melvin Mora down further in the lineup but has worked out very well as Jones has posted a .323/.403/.548 line in the 2 hole.

Week’s record: 3-4

Season record: 9-10

Injuries: RHP Alfredo Simon – Elbow (Out for Season), 3B Melvin Mora – Hamstring (Out until early May), LHP Rich Hill – Elbow (Out until mid-May), UT Ryan Freel – Concussion (Indefinitely)

This Week: Monday TEXAS; Tue – Wed ANAHEIM, Fri – Sun @Toronto

One team has to be in last place; unfortunately for the Rays, that team is the defending American League Champions. And, let’s be honest, the team has no one to blame but itself for its current standing. It’s not hitting and it’s not pitching. At that point, it’s pretty darn hard to win ballgames. The biggest issue for the Rays is that the bullpen is allowing an ERA over 2 runs higher than it did last season. Couple that with struggles of Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine, and you’ve got the recipe for a 7-12 record, 6 1/2 games behind Toronto for first place in the division.

The Rays hope that a trip into the Metrodome – a place that has been good to the team in the past – will be just what the doctor ordered to get off this snide. They’d better hope whatever’s wrong is corrected soon; a pivotal 4-game set against the red-hot Red Sox opens up this weekend at Tropicana Field. It’ll take more than just Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena to carry the team. Hits will need to be strung together. Pitchers will need to work deep into games. The bullpen will need to get key outs. Essentially, the Rays need the exact opposite of everything that’s happened so far to go down.

Week’s record: 2-4

Season record: 7-12

Injuries: Shawn Riggans (shoulder tendonitis) – 15-day-DL, Jason Isringhausen (began rehab assignment) – 15-day-DL

This week: Mon – Wed @Minnesota; Thur – Sun BOSTON

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

AL East Roundup: 4/20/09 through 4/26/09

None of the Jays replacements we’ve contacted have come through, so you’re going to have to deal with ol’ Joe’s recap of the Blue Jays week. It’s a shame none of their bloggers stepped up, because they’re off to a remarkable start. They sit atop the AL East which, while it likely won’t last long, has to be music to Jays fans’ ears. With all the talk about the Sox, Yanks, and Rays, it must be nice looking down at them.

The week started off rough, with Jesse Litsch getting roughed up for four runs over three innings on Monday. Worse, he’s now on the 15-day DL with a right forearm strain, never a good omen. He won’t even throw a baseball for two weeks, and his return is currently set at four to six weeks, but that might be optimistic. Still, they came back and won it for Litsch. Travis Snider went deep for the second time in the game and gave the Jays an 8-6 win. After taking three of four from Minnesota, the Jays stomped the A’s for two out of three over the weekend. It could have been a sweep, but Brandon League blew Friday’s game in the eighth, allowing three runs for an 8-5 A’s comeback.

Week’s record: 5-2

Season record: 10-4

Injuries: RHP Jesse Litsch (15-day DL, forearm strain)

This week: Tue – Thu TEXAS; Fri – Sun @Chicago

The Orioles averaged six runs a game this week and were only able to parlay that production into a 2-4 record. Such is the state of the rotation and the bullpen. Every member of the Oriole rotation took at least one beating this week even when the team won. Only Koji Uehara turned in a performance that could be considered even acceptable as he threw a gem against the Red Sox on Sunday, giving up only 2 runs over 7.0 innings and striking out five. Unfortunately, Jon Lester gave up no runs and struck out 9 over the same span.

Only Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara begin to give the Orioles a chance to compete when they take the mound. Adam Eaton has been beyond terrible (11.25 ERA) and Mark Hendrickson has been much worse than his 3.00 ERA would indicate (2.11 WHIP) and Alfredo Simon was getting lit up like a pinball machine before his elbow landed him on the DL.

The Orioles have decided to call up 23 year old RHP Brad Bergesen to take Simon’s spot in the rotation and he will start against the White Sox in Baltimore on Tuesday. Bergesen has gone 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA with 9 Ks and 3 BB over two starts in AAA Norfolk. I’m not entirely sure that he is ready for the big leagues but he will fare no worse than his peers in the back of the rotation.

Speaking of Norfolk, I saw them take on the Gwinnett Braves here in metro Atlanta today. Uber-prospect C Matt Wieters tweaked a hammy Friday night so he did not play. However, OF Nolan Reimold went 1-3 with an RBI against Atlanta’s own uber-prospect, 22 year old RHP Tommy Hanson. Hanson had wicked stuff but was a bit wild as Norfolk prevailed 4-2. Former Red Sox prospect RHP David Pauley looked very good for Norfolk. Even if he is just a AAAA guy, I can see why he would keep getting long looks from the Oriole front office if other opportunities present themselves.

3B Melvin Mora landed on the DL giving Ty Wigginton an opportunity to play at third. UT Ryan Freel is unhappy that he is not getting much playing time at the moment and is grumbling mildly to the press and GM Andy MacPhail. I guess that’s what happens when you are a mediocre player on a bad team for all those years; you get an inflated sense of self-worth.

The team finishes with Boston, then gets the White Sox and Rangers at home. The most interesting thing to watch this week will be Bergesen’s debut and possibly Uehara’s start to see if he can build on his success in Boston.

Notes: CF Adam Jones is a one man wrecking ball slugging .714 on the young season….Jones also left Sunday’s game with a sore right hamstring. If Jones goes on the DL (God forbid) look for Felix Pie to shift to center and for OF Lou Montanez to be recalled from Norfolk…RF Nick Markakis has cooled a bit at the plate but has a modest 6-game hitting streak after Sunday…The formerly free-swinging Orioles are 2nd in the AL in OBP this season…

Week’s record: 2-4

Season record: 6-6

Injuries: RHP Alfredo Simon – Elbow (Out until June), 3B Melvin Mora – Strained hamstring (out until early May), LHP Rich Hill – Elbow (Out until mid-May)

This week: Mon @Boston; Tue – Thu CHICAGO; Fri – Sun TEXAS

A bizarre second week of action for the Sox, they’re beginning to become a bigger puzzle than the reason for Rob Schneider’s acting career. After getting taken behind the woodshed by Dallas Braden and the A’s, the Sox lost a nut-buster in 12 the next night which also sent Dice-K to the DL after one horrendous inning pitched. Then from the ashes came an unlikely hero in Tim Wakefield. He took a no-hitter into the eighth, finishing the game with an 8-2 win. The victory not only stopped an ugly skid of losses, it gave the bullpen a much-needed rest. A rest they would need for the 10-8 slugfest with the Orioles two nights later.

Then pitching became fashionable again over the weekend. With the exception of the proverbial “one bad inning” Josh Beckett shut the birds down on Saturday night as the offense continued to improve, finishing with a 6-4 win. On Sunday, Jon Lester pitched the way we hoped he would – and now need him to – blanking Baltimore through seven to scratch out a 2-1 win. With Lowrie on the DL and Julio Lugo hopefully lost in a time warp, Nick Green has inherited the shortstop position and handled it quite well so far. He’s batting .278 with 3 RBI in his 6 starts and playing steady defense.

RIP Mark Fidrych.

Week’s record: 4-2

Season record: 6-6

Injuries: Daisuke Matsuzaka (15-day DL, shoulder); Jed Lowrie (15-day DL, wrist)

This week: Mon BALTIMORE; Tue – Wed MINNESOTA; Fri – Sun NEW YORK

This certainly isn’t how the Rays envisioned opening up defense of the American League Championship. But that’s what happens when you pitch to an ERA over 5-and-a-quarter and you have an offense that only pads one stat – the strikeout. This week was supposed to be real special for the Rays; opening up at home against the Yankees and then inviting the White Sox in for an ALDS rematch. Instead, every single weakness on this team was exposed over the course of the week. The offense is desperately dependent on the longball right now. The Gabe-Every-Day right-field platoon has been anything but impressive. Troy Percival is still Troy Percival. You name it, it went wrong this week.

If a Rays fan is looking for a silver lining, B.J. Upton showed some of that all-world talent this week in making two Willie Mays-esque catches in center. Ben Zobrist is mashing like there’s no tomorrow. Carlos Pena is on pace for about 70 home runs and has hit in 12 straight games. Joe Nelson has been a welcome addition to the bullpen. That doesn’t wash the beer-that’s-been-sitting-out-for-12-days taste out of a Rays’ fan mouth, but at least it gives him hope that Monday’s off-day will rejuvenate the team and allow it to get back to basics on the West Coast this week.

Week’s record: 2-5

Season record: 5-8

Injuries: B.J. Upton (sore quad) – day-to-day, Shawn Riggans (shoulder tendonitis) – 15-day-DL

This week: Tue – Thur @Seattle; Fri – Sun @Oakland

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

AL East Roundup: 4/13/09 through 4/19/09

Tough going out of the gate for the Sox, dropping 2 of 3 to the Rays at Fenway to kick off the season, then hopping a flight to the left coast where they dropped another 2 of 3 to the Angels. Hey, it’s only the first week, but a couple things have us concerned: After Josh Beckett’s stellar performance in the season opener, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Timmy Wakefield struggled. Brad Penny didn’t fare much better in his Sox debut against Anaheim, but was saved by some timely offense. Speaking of hitting, the team’s first full season of Life After Manny may be tougher than we’d imagined; through the first six games, the team is averaging just 3.4 runs per game, and some of the big guns we’re counting on — Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, JD Drew and Mike Lowell — are a wretched 10-for-65 combined.

On the bright side, Youk is tearing it up at .526, and Rocco Baldelli has been a pleasant surprise thus far, legging out a key hit in Saturday’s game against Anaheim and flashing some pretty imrpessive leather in the field. This week it’s on to Oakland for three games, then back home for Baltimore. Things should be getting better fast. Or so I pray to the Gods of Baseball.

Week’s record: 2-4

Season record: 2-4

Injuries: None

This week: Mon – Wed @ Oakland; Fri – Sun BALTIMORE

Overall, a good opening week for the Orioles as they win a series with last year’s AL East champ (Rays) and one from this year’s favorite (Yankees). However, glaring weaknesses were on display as SP Alfredo Simon got knocked around by New York on Thursday, SP Adam Eaton got pounded by the Rays on Sunday and the performance of the bullpen was up and down all week. A shoddy rotation and a bullpen that is a work in progress indicate that Baltimore will have trouble competing on a regular basis with the rest of the AL East.

It’s not all bad for the pitching staff though. SP Jeremy Guthrie shook off his bad Spring Training and WBC performances and went 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA this week. Koji Uehara earned a win in his U.S. debut giving up a lone run over 5.0 innings against New York.

Considering the level of pitching they were facing this week (Sabathia, Burnett, Wang, Kazmir, Shields), the Oriole batters fared pretty well. Standouts included RF Nick Markakis (.364/.423/.591), 2B Brian Roberts (.375/.444/.458), 3B Melvin Mora (.313/.421/.500) and CF Adam “Don’t Call Me Pacman” Jones (.409/.462/.682). It is especially good to see the 23 year old Jones get off to a good start as the Orioles are counting on him to take a big step forward this season.

Notes: I was at the game on Thursday and got to witness firsthand the inhospitable welcome for Maryland native Mark Teixeira. Teixeira was booed long and hard by the Oriole faithful for spurning his hometown team and signing with the hated Yankees. Sure, some of this logic is misguided but it was nice to see the (lately) apathetic fan base find something to get excited about. Besides, it was a lot of fun….LF Felix Pie was reported to be having problems adjusting to his new position in Spring Training; through the first week of games I see no evidence of that at all. The Oriole outfield should be a lot of fun to watch this season…RP Matt Albers was optioned to AAA Norfolk to make room for SP Adam Eaton…Speaking of Norfolk, top prospect C Matt Wieters started his AAA career by going 1 for 11 this week. On the other hand, SP Brad Bergesen (5.0 IP, 6 K, 1 BB, 1.80 ERA) and SP David Hernandez (4.2 IP, 9 K, 2 BB, 1.93 ERA) had good starts this week for the Tides. Look for the 23 year old Bergesen to break into the Baltimore rotation by the end of May.

Week’s record: 4-2

Season record: 4-2

Injuries: None

This week: Mon – Wed @ Texas; Fri – Sun @ Boston

The story of the week for the Rays starts and ends with Evan Longoria, with a little bit more Evan Longoria sprinkled in during the middle chapters. Though it’s a little early to be talking about these things, Evan is on pace to shatter the April record for dingers as he hit 5 home runs in the Rays’ 6 games. He’s already silencing anyone who thinks that there’s a “sophomore slump” about to happen. Along with those 5 round trippers, Evan hit .481 with 10 RBI, 4 doubles, and 5 runs scored (that’s a 1.185 slugging percentage, for those of you keeping count).

All told, it was a rather pedestrian opening act for the rest of the Rays. After looking pretty good in taking 2-out-of-3 from Boston to start the week, the Rays then came out all sorts of flat against the Orioles on Friday and Saturday before beating the tar out of the orange-birds on Sunday. A 3-3 start to the season when going to Boston and Baltimore isn’t the worst of ways to start the season, but the team has to be disappointed that couldn’t head into the home opener with a 4-2 mark instead.

This was all done without the services of centerfielder B.J. Upton, who will be activated from the disabled list prior to Monday’s night’s home opener against the Yankees. To make room for Upton, the Rays sent outfielder Matt Joyce to Triple-A Durham. Joyce hit .100 (1-for-10) with a home run and an RBI in 3 games for the Rays this week. In all likelihood, he would be the first man recalled should another outfielder go down with some kind of injury.

Week’s record: 3-3

Season record: 3-3

Injuries: None

Next week: Mon – Wed NEW YORK; Thu – Sun CHICAGO

Note: DJF is here for a one-week cameo. We’ll have a different Jays blogger next week.

The biggest news of the first week of the season for the Jays, other than nearly forfeiting on Opening Day because of debris being thrown onto the field by fans, was that they actually went out and won. After an off-season of lowered expectations, following on the heels of a season where Jays pitchers were arguably the best in the majors, but the hitters simply couldn’t score, the Jays’ lineup actually looked like the “best case scenario” that disappointingly didn’t materialize in 2008. And for the most part, the production was coming from outside the 3 and 4 spots in the lineup, held down by Alex Rios and Vernon Wells. Youngster Adam Lind led the way with an MLB-leading 12 RBIs, and Aaron Hill, back after missing most of last season with post-concussion syndrome, looks like his old self. Marco Scutaro (.385/.485/.731 with 2 HR and 5 RBI) has also been swinging a hot bat. The rotation held it’s own as well, with strong outings from rookie Ricky Romero, second-year man David Purcey, and naturally, a pair of gems from Roy Halladay.

The Jays’ main concern– apart from the fact that the torrid hitting certainly won’t last, and that the young pitchers are going to suffer through ups and downs– has been for $10M closer BJ Ryan. Nearly a full two years removed from Tommy John surgery, Ryan is still struggling to find his command, and his fastball is down a couple notches to the 88-89mph range– which is up from earlier in the spring, when he was throwing fastballs that would occasionally top out at 84. Ryan blew a save against Detroit, though the Jays came back to win that game, and entered in a non-save situation against Cleveland, only to load the bases with two outs (two of them by walk), and then watch Mark DeRosa hit a double that would have been a home run if not for a stiff wind off Lake Erie, turning a comfortable 5-1 lead, into a 5-4 game with a runner on second in the bottom of the ninth. Jason Frasor relieved Ryan to close out the game.

Week’s record: 5-2

Season record: 5-2

Injuries: RHP Casey Janssen – shoulder – 15 day DL, out indefinitely.

Next week: Mon – Thu @ Minnesota; Fri – Sun OAKLAND

Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blog

AL East roundup: 4/6/09 through 4/12/09