For a good example of why teams won’t throw long term contracts at pitchers anymore, just take a look at the pitchers who left games last night with injuries.

Kerry Wood left the Dodger Cub game in the third with some sort of tightness in his triceps. Jerome Williams left the Giant Phillies game with tingling in his forearm in the fourth inning.

What makes clubs nervous about these kinds of injuries is you never know the extent of the damage. Is it normal wear and tear? Is it a sign of more trouble coming later? How long will it last?

Now the Cubs may be without Mark Prior and Wood for an unknown period. Not good news for Chicago, with Houston still rolling behind the ageless Roger Clemens who mesmerized the Marlins once again last night.

The Angels met the ghosts of Yankee Stadium last night in the Bronx, while the A’s finally put the pesky Tigers away in the 15th in Detroit. Texas walloped homers all over the yard against Doug Waechter (Mr. Long Ball) beating the Devil Rays 5-4.

Seattle got more bad news as Rafael Soriano went on the DL with a sprained ligament in his elbow. It came as no surprise as Soriano never reached more than 90 mph when he pitched here in Oakland earlier in the year. This guy throws 96 in his sleep, so obviously there was something wrong. Another example of a pitcher going down into the pit of medical uncertainty. His loss particularly hurts Seattle because Shigetoshi Hasegawa can’t get anybody out in the eighth inning right now.

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How many more injuries can the Angels incur?

If you look at their opening day lineup everyone except Adam Kennedy has been hobbled with an injury, some more serious than others.

Vladimir Guerrero has limped through the entire season with a bad knee, Darin Erstad has a bad hamstring and is now on the DL with Garret Anderson, who might have a serious back injury, and Tim Salmon with his bad knee is on the DL too. Jose Guillen who is heating up with the long ball, sprained his right leg Sunday, but he is a fast healer and might be available.

David Eckstein has a sore groin and Troy Glaus a sore shoulder, both however are playing everyday.

Bengie Molina was out with a hamstring injury earlier in the season, leaving only Adam Kennedy injury free among the regulars.

So, how are they doing it? They are blasting the Devil Rays, Tigers, and Mariners pitching, while the bullpen, the best in baseball, does its thing saving games.

We’ll see how they fare against the big boys in New York and revitalized Baltimore the next two weeks.

The A’s get Detroit and KC during the same period of time. If Oakland doesn’t pick up at least four games or more in the standings over the next two weeks I’ll be surprised.

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Once a potential Hall of
Fame player, Cuban born
José Canseco is going
to Hollywod to seek
another “career”this
one on the big screen.

By Amaury Pi-González
(EXCLUSIVE to Love of the Game Prods) [Read more →]

Former major league manager Buck Rodgers said it best when he shared his three basic rules for survival as a big league manager.

Buck said, “First, you must have patience, secondly, you need patience and thirdly you have to be patient.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

There are about 133 games to go before the 2004 season comes to a close. That’s an eternity in baseball life.

Unless you are 10 games above or below .500, it’s not the record that counts this time of year, but how you win or lose the game.

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Marty–It is time to stop putting the best face possible on the Giants prospects this year and address realities. These realities include not only looking at this immediate year’s problems but the future for the franchise. In a fashion typical for a longstanding fan, there has been an attempt in the past few weeks to downplay obvious difficulties, to say that it is too early to give up, that the season has just begun and things will get better. Unfortunately, it is true that the season has just started but it is wrong to say that things will get better.

Click below for E’ds hard look at the 2004 Giants! [Read more →]

The Yankees are starting to hit with some power. Not just singles anymore, they are stinging the ball.
A Rod was a dud so many times as a Ranger in Oakland, but he brought his team back into the game last night with a monster three run homer off of Mark Mulder.

If you watch a tape of the pitch, it was one of the worst pithces Mulder has thrown in his career. The ball was high and over the plate excactly in the spot a slugger like Rodriguez makes his money.

The A’s have handled the Yankees before, but it takes pitchers who have command to stop them. Right now the A’s key pitchers have no command.

Will it change? It better, but this is the first time I can remember when the big boys look lost on the mound.

Don’t ask about the bullpen right now. The NY pen is solid with Paul Quantrill throwing strikes, Tom Gordon has the drop working, and what can you say about Mariano Rivera.

In an era of bullpens, the A’s pen is no match right now for New York’s.

The Red Sox continue self destructing at the plate as well as in the field. When Cleveland plays the game better than you do, the flags go up.

The Angels keep smacking the baseball, Detroit’s Nate Robertson, like Mulder gets too much of the plate when he pitches. Against the Angels, you can’t put the ball where they can extend because they swing from their heels everytime they turn it loose.

Tonight the Angels main guys in the pen are rested and ready to go if in fact Kelvim Escobar is on the hill for the Halos.

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Amaury– I haven’t given up on the Giants yet. It is far too early to throw in the towel. Somehow, this team, over the past three years, has managed to make believers out of non-believers too often to allow the luxury of surrendering early. Having said that, where are they going to find three more starting pitchers? How long are they going to continue starting Rueter for the simple pleasure of seeing him give up a five run lead which he enjoyed by the bottom of the second inning? If some club needs a left-handed batting practice pitcher maybe the Giants can find a place for him.

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Believe it or not, the Texas Rangers are sitting comfortably atop the AL West this morning.

There are many reasons why a team suddenly jells and the Ranger story begins with Michael Young. Not only is he hitting .362, but he is playing nice shortstop replacing you know who.

Alfonso Soriano hammered the weak pitchers last year and he is starting to heat up as the Rangers walloped the Red Sox this weekend.

Make no mistake, the Red Sox are good, but their offense is a shell of what it was last year. When you have no alternative to Cesar Crespo with the game on the line in the ninth inning, you know there is trouble in paradise. The Sox miss Nomar and Trot Nixon. Just too much Pokey Reese, Mark “the walking man” Bellhorn and David McCarty in this lineup for me.

Bill Mueller and Brian Daubach haven’t hit much to date either.

So, the Rangers have a bullpen and last night Francisco Cordero saved his 10th game of the year. RA Dickey shut the Angels down earlier in the season, last night he mesmerized the Sox with his knuckle curve. Is he for real? Could be, and we’ll see this month.

Chan Ho Park, Kenny Rogers, Ryan Drese, and Jaoquin Benoit lead the starters, need I say more. Enjoy the resurgence while it lasts.

Texas can hit, they are playing nice and loose and I hope they hang in because it makes the West a terrific place to play.

With Tampa Bay and its band of underachievers due in this week, things look rosy in Texas.

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In 2002 the Anaheim Angels
finished the month of April
6-14. I remember in some
Press Boxes some reporters
talking about:
When is Angel manager
Mike Sciosia is going to
be fired ?
That same season the
Angels won the World
Series over the Giants
in seven games.

By Amaury Pi-González
San Francisco [Read more →]

Batter Up May 1st

The A’s were swept in Yankee Stadium this week and all of baseball marveled how the sputtering New Yorkers saved their season. The same may be said of the A’s if they learn from the debacle in the Bronx.

Here’s why.

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