More Baseball Notes
For your viewing pleasure you get a double dose of baseball news and thoughts today. There is so much interesting news going on these days that you can hardly help but think about what it means for us betting types.
The Jays. There is just no way to look at them and make them make sense. Playing in what should be the toughest division in baseball, they have the best record in the American League, and they are tied with the Dodgers for the most wins in baseball. It’s like something out of a surreal Disney movie (so is the fact that the other two division leaders in the AL are the Royals and the Mariners, but that’s another story). Despite the success, which is fueled almost entirely by the bats and the arm of Roy Halladay , I just can’t buy into the sustainability of it over the long run. Last night is a good example of why. Through more than six innings, pitcher Brian Tallet had a no-hitter going. The pitching hasn’t been a high point for the upstart Jays, so this was a pleasant occurrence . Unfortunately, the Jays’ pitchers started to revert to their own tricks soon after. The no-hitter was broken up, but that was just the beginning. The Jays’ pitchers wound up giving up 15 hits and nine runs to lose to the Indians in extra innings. That’s not what top contenders should be doing, but it’s not nearly as surprising as it should be, and that’s why I can’t buy into this team in the long term.
My colleague talked about Zack Greinke this morning, but I can’t help but touch on him again. What he is doing this year is truly remarkable. He’s totally and utterly dominant, and a true joy to watch. I just can’t help but wonder how long it lasts. I hope it is all year in a Cliff Lee kind of way, but there is certainly reason to believe that it might not be. This is not the first time we have seen a strong Greinke start, though not quite to this extent – he was 7-2 in his first nine starts last year, and his ERA didn’t go above 2.00 until May 18. He wound up at 13-10 on the year, with an ERA of 3.47. That’s still a decent year considering the team he played for, but it was an obvious step backwards. I’ll be hoping for something very special from Greinke this year, but I won’t be touching him as a bettor until if and when this bubble bursts.
It is good to see Tim Lincecum rediscover the form that was missing in his first couple of starts. He won this afternoon at Wrigley against a Cubs team that had won four straight coming into the game, and he allowed just two earned runs in seven innings while striking out seven and walking only two. He has cut his ERA down from 9.00 after one game to 3.05 now, and he has won his last three outings to move to 3-1. Hopefully this is an early sign that he is going to sidestep the slump that could strike him after the jump in pitch count he faced last year.
I’m not a Cards’ fan particularly, but I am relieved that it appears that Rick Ankiel is going to be okay. If you didn’t see the ugly collision he had with the center field wall last night then you should count yourself lucky. It was nasty. He spent the night in the hospital, and there were fears that it could have been really bad, but it turns out that there is nothing broken, and nothing more than a sore head and some bruises. He’ll be back soon, it seems.Ankiel’s bat hasn’t been particularly strong so far this year, but he plays an impressive, aggressive center field, and he’s a real reason why the Cards are playing as well as they are.
To finish, a non-baseball note. Even if you aren’t a hockey fan you need to do yourself a favor and watch the Washington Capitals – Pittsburgh Penguins series that is going on right now. If Sidney Crosby isn’t the best player in the league then AlexanderOvechkin is, and this series so far has been an absolute tour de force from both of them. They both have four goals in two games, and have matched each other punch for punch in a classic brawl. Game one was good, and game two, in which both megastars each had a hat trick, was as good as hockey can possibly be. This one’s a long way from over, and it should only get better from here.
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Tags: Pittsburgh Penguins, Rick Ankiel, Tim Lincecum, Toronto Blue Jays, Washngton Capitals, Zack Grienke
