Marty Lurie Talks San Francisco Giants Baseball
//

Batter Up April 24th


The key to winning the AL West may lie with the team that matches up best with the Central Division this season. See, the Central is loaded with left handed starting pitching. Kansas City has five lefty starters, Cleveland three, add in Chicago, Detroit, and Minnesota with two each and you get the idea.

The Western team with the strongest righthanded hitting lineup may be the Angels. Will Anaheim pound the Central enough to overcome the A’s for the division title?

Depends upon whether or not the Angels figure out what to do with starters John Lackey, Ramon Ortiz, and Jarrod Washburn. Right now I can’t see any of those three ending the season with ERA’s under 5.00.

And fans, if that continues, that’s spells trouble for Mike Scoscia’s team, no matter how well they hit the ball.

Click below for the conclusion to “Batter Up”Seeing how the Angels now spend money freely, I expect them to be very active during the July trading frenzy.

Why does anyone throw Vladimir Guerrero a strike? He’s the most notorious bad ball hitter since Yogi Berra.

The Athletics righthanded hitters better pick up the pace in May when Oakland faces the Central 18 times. Jermaine Dye, the lone righty crushing the ball right now, can’t do it alone.

Good news for the A’s. With the big three already in mid season form, this July and August may be the team’s best yet.

Mark Redman is a pro. He pitches to both sides of the plate. Redman isn’t the mystery man Ted Lilly was during his stay in Oakland. Excellent pick up.

The Giants dispatched rookie David Aardsma to the minors even though he had the best arm in the SF pen. Look for Aardsma to be the closer when the team brings him back sometime this summer after he gains experience closing in AAA. He’s that good.

Right now the Giants have only three hitters in the lineup who can hurt you. Ray Durham, Marquis Grissom, and Barry Bonds. With their starting pitching in the tank and an overworked and underacheiving bullpen, it’s no surprise the Giants are struggling.

It’s a long season, so there’s no reason to panic in SF, but if the Giants don’t figure out a way to win at home, the road to the playoffs becomes very difficult. Ever since the team has played in the Phone Company Park, they have relied on a superior home record to get to October baseball.

The Phillies can’t beat the Marlins no matter where the two teams play. Could the Phillies be interested in Kenny Lofton to jump start the top of their order? Lofton, currently on the DL with the Yankees will be available once he is healthy. For some reason, Lofton wears out his welcome by June and then moves on to a pennant contender.

If the Yankees hitting woes continue, how long until George Steinbrenner is all over new Yankee hitting coach, Donnie “Baseball” Mattingly?

Can you believe it, the Yankees are counting the days until Jon Leiber returns from the DL? They must be dreaming because Lieber hasn’t pitched in the majors for two years.

Somehow when I look at the scoreboard and see either the Yankees or the Red Sox with a lead in the ninth inning, I feel the game is over. Mariano Rivera and Keith Foulke are that good.

So where are the Expos headed? Baseball is supposed to make a decision on the clubs future home this summer. Why the delay? I wonder if the owners are dragging their heels and will leave the Expos to die in Montreal. This way they can quietly contract the Expos once the labor agreement expires. Then again, why waste a 250 million dollar asset just to upset the union. The owners like money and one would think reason will prevail with baseball selling the team to interests in Northern Virginia.

If they put off the decision again during this season, then something’s fishy.

If you are a fantasy baseball owner, pick up LaTroy Hawkins now because he will be the Cubs closer within two weeks. Joe Borowski tricked the league for two years, but he makes everyone in the Chicago dugout very nervous.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are shopping Randy Johnson. Everyone knows Johnson is a six inning pitcher right now. New York is only a phone call away. So, is Anaheim where Johnson would fit nicely with a strong Angel bullpen. No complete games necessary with either team.

One thing seems clear. Once Yankee pitcher Jose Contreras is in trouble, he lets the game get away. This happens because Contreras, like many Cuban pitchers, relied on their superior stuff to blow the competition away while playing in international tournaments. Not so in the majors, where anyone with a bat is dangerous.

El Duque is the only Cuban pitcher who learned how to succeed in the majors right away. If Contreras figures out the formula, he will be fine, if not he becomes another Ariel Prieto.

Bobby Crosby looks like Eric Byrnes playing the infield. Not known for his finesse in the field, a successful day for Byrnes is one where he doesn’t collide with a teammate going for a fly ball. Crosby has to learn where his fellow fielders are before going full out like a wide receiver downfield. Losing Ellis for the season was a bummer, the A’s can’t afford losing Crosby or anyone else to a mid air collision.

Kansas City starter Brain Anderson became the first Royals starting pitcher to win a game when he beat Cleveland Tuesday night. Erubiel Durazo drove in his first run of the season Wednesday night, thus losing the race with Kansas city staff by one day to see who got off the schneid first.

I wonder who will be playing second base for the A’s when August rolls around?

Enough of the West, let’s see what the rest of the league looks like.

1 comment

1 Miyuki { 09.20.12 at 8:46 pm }

Here\’s some stats and trends for you babesall fantasy players today. When OAKLAND team played as a Road team Playing on Friday Vs Non Division Opponent Coming off a Loss vs. AL EAST opponent Coming off a lost in game 3 of a series.SU Record: 8-7-0O/U/P Record: 2-13-0 When SEATTLE team Played as Home team as a Favorite During a night game Vs. Right handed pitchers Coming off a Win vs. AL EAST opponent Allowed 1 runs AGAINST in their last game.SU Record: 10-1-0O/U/P Record: 7-4-0 When ATLANTA team played as a Road team Vs. Right handed pitchers Before a non division game Allowed 3 runs AGAINST in their last game Coming off a Road loss as a Underdog.SU Record: 8-8-0O/U/P Record: 12-2-2 When NY METS team played as a -140 to -160 home Favorite After a conference game During the month of June.SU Record: 6-10-0O/U/P Record: 14-2-0 When TEXAS team Played as road team as a Underdog 1st game of a series During the 2008 season.SU Record: 5-6-0O/U/P Record: 9-2-0 When LOS ANGELES team played as a road team During a night game Vs AL CENTRAL opponent.SU Record: 4-8-0O/U/P Record: 2-9-1 When CLEVELAND team Played as home team as a Favorite Last 5 years Vs NL WEST opponent.SU Record: 10-2-0O/U/P Record: 6-6-0 DETROIT When ANY MLB Team played as a -120 to -140 Home Favorite Playing on Friday After a conference game During a night game Coming off a 1 run win Coming off a Win vs. AL CENTRAL opponent.SU Record: 8-8-0O/U/P Record: 13-2-1 NY METS When ANY MLB Team played as a -140 to -160 Home Favorite Last 2 years After a conference game Vs Non Division Opponent Coming off a Home loss as a Favorite Scored 4 or more runs FOR in their last game Coming off vs. Right handed pitcher.SU Record: 16-3-0O/U/P Record: 7-11-1

You must log in to post a comment.