Results tagged ‘ Tim Lincecum ’
I Heart Cliff Lee, part 2
Last October I wrote that Cliff Lee is the lefty version of Greg Maddux–a finesse pitcher with stuff that is not overpowering–but one who possesses incredible control of his pitches. Last night in San Francisco Cliff Lee was truly in control, as he tossed his Major League leading 5th shutout this season, holding the Giants to only 7 hits while striking out 8. In a rematch from last fall’s World Series, Lee faced Cody Ross in San Francisco, and this time Lee came out on top striking out Ross 4 times. At one point during the game, Lee set down ten Giants in a row, displaying the killer command that has made Lee a deadly post season pitcher.
Now that the run towards October has begun, I look for Lee to reassert his dominance in the last two months of the season, and hopefully he will once again shine big in baseball’s biggest stage. I know that Lee hasn’t been as great in the regular season as he is in the post season. However, he takes his game to another level when the stakes are high. His only great regular season came during his Cy Young season of 2008 when he won 22 games for an awful Cleveland Indians team. In 2009, Lee was an ordinary pitcher in the regular season again, even after being traded to the Phillies he didn’t put great numbers. But once October came, Lee began pitching in another level not seen since Bob Gibson in the late 1960′s. Last season, Lee was once again a very ordinary pitcher in the regular season, only to carry the Rangers past the favored Rays and Yankees and into the World Series in October. It took Cody Ross and the pitching of Tim Lincecum to finally hand Lee his first two post season defeats. But even though he lost game 5 of the World Series, Lee was brilliant that night and no one can deny what a weapon he is to a team in the post season. The fact that Lee will follow Halladay in the Phillies rotation, truly makes Philadelphia the team to beat in the National League.
To 10 of 2010: The Year of the Pitcher…and yes the Giants win!
Now that the countdown to the new year is literally several hours away, the baseball world will likely remember 2010 as the year of the Pitcher in Major League Baseball. Unlike the the 1968 season, 2010 did see high offensive production, but the performances of pitchers throughout during the season had signal the end of the steroid era (we hope) and the beginning of another pitcher era in the game.
2010 had at least 30 games in which pitchers took a no-hitter into the six inning or later and in which 6 actual no hitters were thrown (two of them were perfect games), and that was just in the regular season. In the post season, Doc Halladay threw a no hitter in game one of the NLDS, three months after he threw a perfect gem in Florida. The culmination of the Year of the Pitcher was the San Francisco Giants pitching staff, led by Tim Lincecum, carrying the team to its first World Series championship since 1954, and the first one as the San Francisco Giants.
Top 10 moments of 2010…at least for me:
10. As the title says, the Year of the Pitcher. Besides the two perfect games and three no hitters, 15 pitchers in the Majors struckout 200 batters or more, tying a record in 2010. 2010 also saw the debut of young pitchers that helped their teams win.
9. A-Rod 600th Home run was a pretty big deal. He is one of the youngest players in Baseball history to accomplish the feat, besting Babe Ruth by one year. Although he is no Babe Ruth, A-Rod is one of the greatest players of the last 15 years. Whatever people may think of him personally, no one can deny his ability to play the game.
8. Stephen Strasburg’s debut on June 8 created such a buzz that Nationals Park was actually sold out, probably for the second time during the year (I say that guessing that opening day was also sold out). Strasburg, who was drafted in 2009 was a much hyped draft pick and that night against the Pirates, he lived up to the hype by striking out 14 batters. In his first four games, Strasburg went on to strike out 41 batters.
7. Retirement of Lou Pinella, which didn’t come as a surprise too many. What was probably more surprising was when he decided to retire. Pinella decided to call it a career at the end of August. After a promising start as manager of the Cubs, his last two years with the club were incredibly difficult given the expectations that he and his club failed to meet.
6. Retirement of Ken Griffey Jr. came as a surprise. The Kid decided to call it a career after getting off to such a poor start, that one unnamed teammate accused the former superstar of sleeping in the clubhouse while the game was still being played on the field. Moreover, the Mariners poor start after an aggressive off-season, had that clubhouse reeling. Griffey jumped ship before Don Wakamatsu lost the clubhouse for good in the middle of the season.
5. Retirement of Bobby Cox and Cito Gaston for me marked the end of an era. Both managers led powerhouses in the early 1990′s and both managers led their teams to the World Series in 1992, in which the Blue Jays were victorious. Bobby Cox led the Braves to 15 consecutive playoff appearences and a World Series championship in 1995. Gaston on the other hand led the Blue Jays to back to back World Series Championships in the early 1990′s.
4. Jim Joyce blown call that cost Armando Gallaraga a moment in baseball history. That call will ultimately go down in history as the one that will force the game to adopt instant replay.
3. Texas Rangers magical season has to be at number 3 for me. The franchise entered the 2010 season in bankruptcy protection, only to emerge from bankruptcy with a new ownership group, new television contract and its first trip to the World Series after pounding the then defending World Series Champion Yankees. 2010 is the season that possibly saved the Texas Rangers franchise..
2. As mentioned above, the San Francisco Giants won their first World Series title since 1954. They accomplish that feat by their strong pitching rotation led by Tim Lincecum who out pitched Cliff Lee in both his World Series starts. Giants beat the Braves, beat the heavily favored Philadelphia Phillies, and quieted the bats of the slugging Rangers in the Series.
1. George Steinbrenner dies. As the title of Bill Madden’s book says, Steinbrenner was the last lion of baseball. He is responsible for resurrecting the Yankee franchise from last place and making it the juggernaut it is today.
Lincecum v Halladay
Not a Supreme Court case by any stretch of the imagination, but if both pitchers live up to the hype again and this time pitch lights out, then this could very well turn into a legal case of unfair pitching by both sides. A matchup that will require legal expertise to determine which pitcher was nastier and dominant. But putting the pun aside, game 5 of the NLCS promises to be classic post season baseball match. Unlike game 1, a trip to the World Series and the elimination of a heavily favored team is now at stake.
Yankees season down to one game…at a time.
After another crushing defeat at the hands of the Texas Rangers, the Yankees season comes down to the strength of CC Sabathia’s arm later on this afternoon. Out of options, the Yankees now need to take it one game at a time if they hope to continue playing this season, and ultimately hope that Sabathia would come out and pitch like the ace he has been for the Bombers since 09. Otherwise, another bad start by Sabathia and the season ends….no more baseball until March for the Yanks. So CC’s job today is simple; pitch 8 innings of shut out dominant baseball, and hope the offense wakes up and figures out CJ Wilson. Take this series back to Texas and hope for the best.
What happened?
Even though I don’t make predictions before the beginning of a playoff series, and I specially do not make predictions when the team I root for is involved, I did however write before game 1 that if the Yankees have trouble with their situational hitting, they would lose this series. So far the Yankees have not only struggled with their situational hitting, but have struck out an unreal 39 times. A team that is built on power, as the Yankees are, will not win many games if they are undisciplined at the plate. Putting aside game 3, their inability to put pressure on two suspect Rangers starters in Hunter and Lewis will be the reason why this team will lose this series. Pitching wise, the Yankees starters, other than Pettitte and for five innings, Burnett, haven’t pitched to their level. Sabathia, as has been noted, was horrible in both his post season starts, not pitching to the level of an ace the Yankees have become accustomed to. Hughes had a very good start in the ALDS, but unfortunately pitched poorly in game two of this series. In those two games, the Yankees gave up 13 runs and if not for a miraculous comeback in the 8th inning of game one, would have been outscored 13-1. On top of that, the Yankees will now be forced to be without Mark Teixeira who hurt his hamstring in last night’s debacle. Although Teixeira wasn’t having a good series, his glove in the field will be missed. Lance Berkman is a decent defensive first baseman, but he isn’t Mark Teixeira.
The Rangers on the other hand have done everything right. They have not ony pitched well, but are hitting in the clutch, getting big hits when needed. Last night, the big clutch hit came off the bat of Bengie Molina, who once again hits another clutch playoff homerun against the Yankees. This time, the three run job, gave the Rangers a 2 run lead to basically put the game away. Now all the Rangers have to do is win one more game. If they lose today and in Friday night’s game, they have literally nothing to worry about, as the Magnificent Lee will take the mound in game 7 and possibly send the Texas Rangers to their first World Series in franchise history.
NLCS Update..
The Giants take a 2-1 series lead over the heavily favored Philadelphia Phillies and are now on the drivers seat ready to take control of this series later on this afternoon. Before the series began, I questioned Matt Cain’s ability to out pitch Cole Hamels and wonder if the moment would be too big for Cain and the young Giants pitching staff. Well, I guess Cain answered my questions by outpitching Cole Hamels and continuing his good pitching in the post season. In 13 innings so far, I don’t believe Matt Cain has allowed a run to score. Moreover, the Giants are suddenly hitting in clutch situations. Cody Ross delivered a key RBI single with two outs in the 4th and two runners on, to give the Giants a one to nothing lead. After Ross’s single, Pat Burrell hurts his former team and drives in the second run of the inning. The Giants tagged another run in the bottom of the 5th thanks to an error by Chase Utley (who just had a bad game) to put the game away. All that is left for the Giants to do is win Lincecum’s start in game 5 and hope Matt Cain repeats his performance in game 7.
The Phillies on the other hand have nothing to worry about, but I would pitch Roy Halladay today instead of Joe Blanton and have him ready for game 7. Of course, I think the Phillies will win this series (and the World Series), they are just too good, but a bad start by Blanton could be devestating as the Giants would be one brilliant Lincecum start away from wrapping up the series. I’ll be watching (darn cablevision and news corp) tonight.
Classic game 3..
Tonight’s game three between the Rangers and Yankees should be a classic pitching match up if both pitchers live up to the hype. That is easier said that done, but given the performances by both Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte during the post-season it would be hard to think of them being on something less than their A-game. As classic a pitching match up tonight’s game could be, this is also a very pivitol game because of the winner of this game will have the advantage the rest of the series. If the Rangers win, then all they need to do in the next two days is just win one more game and take the series back to Texas where they could win in six, or in seven with Cliff Lee yet again on the mound. If the Yankees win tonight however, they will have the advantage the rest of the series, and will most likely clinch their 41st American League pennant.
National League….
Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the NLCS because of News Corps’s greed. With that being said, I’m not surprised that Halladay didn’t have his best stuff in game one. Afterall, he is human. However, the Phillies will be too much for the Giants as they will no doubt wrap up this series in 6 games. The Phillies pitching staff is the best in the game at the moment. During the Division Series, Halladay pitched a great no-hitter which was followed by a so-so performance from Roy Oswalt. Still, the Phillies found a way to win and in game 3 of that series, Cole Hamels pitched like the 2008 Cole Hamels propelling the Phillies to the NLCS. So if Hamels has a bad start, Halladay could follow with a great start, in vice versa. The best the Giants could hope for is that their pitchers keep up or out pitch the Phillies starters. In game 1, Lincecum did just that, however, Sanchez couldn’t. Now the question is, will Matt Cain out pitch Cole Hamels…
May is long gone..
Now that May is history, I ask myself the same question I had at the end of April: What did baseball fans learn this month? The answer to that is quite simple. First, the Tampa Bay Rays proved throughout the month that they are contenders. Two weeks ago, the Rays made a trip to Yankee Stadium and took care of the Yankees, letting the rest of the league know that the American League east was Tampa Bay’s division to lose. Although by the end of the month the Rays have hit a bit of a road block, they are still the best team in the majors.
What baseball fans also learned in May was the Yankees lack of depth when injuries hit. Entering the month, the Yankees were one of the hottest teams in baseball. But an injury to Curtis Granderson and then to Jorge Posada, the Yankees went into a two week funk that was helped by the lack of talent or depth in their bench and farm system. Francisco Cervelli has fit in nicely while Jorge Posada has been down with injury, however, Marcus Thames and Randy Winn–before being released–couldn’t get the job done at the plate or on the field while Granderson recovered from his groin injury.
At the same time that the injury bug hit the Yankees, CC Sabathia has struggled. In his last 4 outings, Sabathia has gotten the loss twice, and recorded two no decisions. During this 4 game start span, Sabathia has not been sharp, allowing 17 earned runs and even more distressing, not able to put hitters away after getting ahead in the count. I would be concerned about Sabathia, but knowing that he is typically a very slow starter, the month of May, may (no pun) just have been one of those bad months that a player will usually forget about as the season rolls along.
We still like Ike…but Heyward is better
No player was more impressive during the Month like Ike Davis was. The Mets rookie first baseman seems to have added life to a team that certainly needed it. Although Ike has been in a slump to finish the month, the rookie has made his presence felt at the plate and on the field, where he has made several outstanding plays. If he continues to play well, could a Rookie of the Year award be possible?
Maybe not, because Jason Heyward is making definately in the running to be the NL Rookie of the Year. By the end of May, Heyward has a batting average of .292 with 10 homeruns and 38 RBI’s. During his first two months of his young career, Heyward has 93 total bases, with an OBP of .410 and .578 slugging average. The rookie is producing so far this season, and will no doubt continue to produce for the Braves, as they suddenly find themselves in first place in the NL East.
NL Cy Young Award winner….
Ubaldo Jimenez…After his performance in the last day of the month, I think the baseball writers should just award him the Cy Young Award and forget about waiting until November to decide. Ok, maybe I’m being facetious, but still what more can you say about Jimenez. In what was supposed to be a pitcher’s duel yesterday in San Francisco, Jimenez not only outlasted Tim Lincecum, but gave the Rockies a six consecutive quality outing. In a complete game shut out, Jimenez struckout 9 and just gave up 4 hits. His fastball had late movement all day long and he was able to throw his breaking pitches with command; in fact, he has thrown all his pitches with command so far this season. His record is now 10-1 with a ridiculous 0.78 ERA. If Jimenez continues to pitch this well, he will make a run at Bob Gibson’s single season ERA record of 1.12.
Notes from Spring Training.
Brandon Webb is feeling a lot better and says his velocity is coming around after his fourth bullpen session. “I think the velocity was better this time than it was last,” Webb said. “I keep repeating myself, but I think it gets better every time.” This is certainly good news for the D-backs, who need a healthy Webb to compete in the NL West. But Webb can’t do it all for the D-Backs, and it is important that Dan Haren follows his 14 win campaign of 2009 with another strong campaign in 2010. With Haren and Webb, the D-Backs have a good one-two punch that can compete with the NL West’s best one-two combination of Lincecum-Cain.
Roy Halladay….
Roy Halladay is getting comfortable with his new team. Thanks to the addition of Halladay, the Phillies have the best rotation in the National League (imagine that rotation with Cliff Lee?). Halladay will give the Phillies more depth in their starting pitching and could be a veteran presence that can help a Cole Hamels bounce back strong after a disappointing 09 campaign. With all due respect to Johan Santana, Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in the National League East until proven otherwise.
Mets need Roy Halladay
A few reasons why the Mets need to trade for Roy Halladay.
1. The Phillies
The Phillies seem to be making it clear that they are interested in Roy Halladay as well. If they are able to pull off a trade for Halladay, the Phillies could have the best rotation in the National League. If Cole Hamels works out his mental problems and comes back to being the Hamels of 2008, a Halladay, Lee and Hamels rotation would be a nightmare for the Mets and their fans. Stopping the Phillies from getting Roy Halladay is important.
2. Johan Santana
The Mets, with Johan Santana and Roy Halladay at the top of their rotation could have the best one two punch in the National League alongside the Giants Lincecum/Cain and Cardinals Wainwright/Carpenter. With Roy Halladay in the rotation, the pressure would be off Johan Santana, and he will no longer be counted on to carry the team as he has done his first two seasons with New York. And coming off an elbow injury, it would be good for Santana if the Mets can depend on a Roy Halladay every 4 to 5 days to pitch a solid game.
3. The Yankees
Trading for Halladay would steal some of the headlines away from the New York Yankees (who are currently dominating the New York airwaves and newspapers). It will also give Mets fans something to cheer about. A Halladay trade will make the 2009 season for Mets fans seem like a distant memory.
4. The Urgency of Now.
To borrow the words of Martin Luther King Jr. (who of course was talking of more important things at the time), the Mets face the fierce urgency of now. This Mets club has been built to win, not next year, or two years from now, but right now. In 2006 the Mets ran roughshod through the National League and fell one game short of the world series, only to comeback the next two seasons and collapse in miserable fashion. And this past season, they went through a horrible 92 loss season. With a new ballpark and with talented players like Wright and Reyes, the Mets must win now. Trading for Halladay would make winning a reality instead of just idle talk.
David Veloz
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