Marty- Glenn Dickey beat me to the punch. His Saturday article outlined the systemic problems the franchise has, problems which go beyond their present difficulties on the field. He discussed “three mistakes in judgment” the team made. He probably stopped there because he ran out of room.

Click below for Ed’s look at his Giants! [Read more →]

The 2004 season is three weeks old and the surprises are outweighing the predicted performances by far.

How about the NL Central where the Reds are tied with the Cubs for the lead. The Brewers knocked off the Cardinals again and they did it with pitching and timely hitting. The Pirates aren’t exactly pushovers either sweeping the Mets last weekend.

Texas may be the biggest surprise in the AL. Given up for dead after the A Rod trade, the Rangers are tied with the A’s and the Angels for the lead in the West. Texas is doing it with a young lineup and hold onto your hats: good starting pitching.

Detroit, the pathetic team that lost 119 games last year, is 1/2 game out of the lead in the AL Central. How about that? The revamped lineup scores runs, Ugueth Urbina leads a semi reliable bullpen, and Pudge Rodriguez gets my vote for most enthusiastic player in the league.

Click below for more! [Read more →]

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” [Read more →]

The local media writes about the San Francisco
Giants and the Oakland Athletics “rivalry”,
but it is more for the fans and for these
teams front offices than for the players.

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

One thing is abundantly clear. As I noted last season after the teams in the West met for the first 19 games, there wasn’t a team that could beat the A’s over the long haul, if Oakland’s starting pitching stayed healthy.

Seems like deja vu all over again. The Angels slug the ball, but their starting pitchers put the offense in a hole too often.

This year both Seattle and Anaheim have money to spend in July, plus both teams have an abundance of excellent minor league talent to trade. After watching the A’s smoke the league during the summer with superior pitching neither team in the West can sit back and go with what they have once the peaches are on the trees.

One can never predict injuries, but barring any, the Angels and the Mariners will chase the A’s most of the summer.

Click below for more. [Read more →]

Marty; It is even more hazardous to start risking suggestions after thirteen games than it was offering predictions when spring training started. Having said that, where do the Giants stand today?
Click below for Ed’s expert breakdown on the Giants!

[Read more →]

The A’s and Mariners match up very evenly. In fact, the A’s pitchers handle the Angels hitters much better than the Mariners hitters.

Also, the A’s have a tougher time hitting Seattle’s pitching staff than they do the Anaheim staff.

The only thing Anaheim has going against Oakland is a bullpen that gives the A’s fits. Also, Garret Anderson gives just about everyone on the A’s staff trouble.

Who will win the West?

The team that beats up on the rest of the league. The teams in the AL West generally end up playing each other relatively equally.

Freddy Garcia kept his composure last night and more importantly kept the ball down with something on it. Now Garcia has put together two good games this season. One against Anaheim and the other against Oakland.

Mark Redman is showing me something too. He can pitch inside and is not flustered on the mound, no matter what the situation. He is a major upgrade from Ted Lilly.

Click below for more! [Read more →]

The “second round”of games early
this season between the Mariners
and the Athletics starts Monday
and ends Thursday here at Safeco
Field. The Mariners won their last
two games over Texas capturing
their first series of the season and
the M’S are getting healthier.

Scott Spiezio played for the first
time this season during the last
two games against the Rangers
handling plays at third
and driving in a couple with a
home run. Raul Ibanez came out
of a slump with a home run while
Bret Boone still hot and Ichiro
starting to get his hits.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez
Seattle,WA. [Read more →]

Houston unveiled this year’s version of Lidge to Dotel to Wagner last night when they brought Chad Harville into his first game in Houston.

The former A’s righty will be given a chance to be the bridge to Brad Lidge who then turns the ball over to Octavio Dotel for the save.

Harville has a big league arm, and if he learns how to pitch in the majors, he will be a great pick up for Houston.

Kirk Saarloos never quite fit with Houston. If the A’s bring him along slowly as a starter in AAA, he may help the big club next year.

Tom Glavine throws seven great innings, then leaves with a stiff shoulder. The Mets bullpen turns Glavine’s 2-0 lead into a 7-2 deficit in the eighth inning. If the Mets didn’t have bad luck, they wouldn’t have any luck at all.

By the way, no word on the return date for Jose Reyes, injured Met shortstop. Whispers about him that he may be a slow healer and a softy.

Click below for more! [Read more →]

Jermaine Dye is locked in. Major leaguers get their share of fastballs to hit, the good ones don’t miss their pitch. Right now Dye is not missing his pitch.

Even though he takes his walks and hustles down the line, Erubiel Durazo’s lack of RBI production is alarming. It’s a race to see if Durazo drives in a run before a Kansas City Royal’s starter wins a game.

Click below for more!
[Read more →]