Monday, May 11, 2009

BLBB's Extra Innings Recap

Who's Hot
New York Mets
The Amazin's have won seven straight and eight of ten to move into first place in the NL East. They have taken a one game lead over the confusing Florida Marlins and begin a series with the Braves tonight (Lowe v Santana, 7:10 EST, ESPN). They took two of two from Atlanta at Turner Field last week and also swept a two game series with the Phillies at home on Wednesday and Thursday. Johan Santana has been good so far going 4-1 with a 0.91 ERA and 54 K's and Carlos Beltran has had a very strong early season.
HONORABLE MENTION: LA Dodgers (22-11); Boston Red Sox (20-12)

Ryan Zimmerman
The first Zimmerman to make a name for himself on the Nationals had a really good week. Well make that, he has had a really good 28 games. Zimmerman is currently on a 28 game hitting streak and has only failed to hit once in a game in this young season. He is hitting .488 with one HR and six RBIs in nine games this month and owns a .346 average, six bombs and 22 RBIs over the whole season. Good luck trying to get a hit now that I have jinxed you Ryan.
HONORABLE MENTION: Evan Longoria .358, 11 HR, 44 RBI; Ryan Braun .345, 8 HR, 28 RBI

Joe Saunders
The first man to beat Zack Greinke is almost entitiled to this slot am I right? In a classic pitcher's dual, Saunders and Greinke both went the distance with Greinke giving up one earned run, which was enough to lose the game with because Saunders shut out the Royals. In his two starts this month he has gone a total of 15.2 innings and has only given up two earned runs and struck out 13. The Angels will continue to count on him to get them through until Kelvim Escobar, John Lackey and Ervin Santana all return from their personal party, aka the DL.
HONORALBE MENTION: Zack Greinke (6-1), 0.51 ERA, 3 ER, 59 K's; Johan Santana (4-1), 0.91 ERA, 4 ER, 54K's

Who's Not
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates looked good for the first month of the season, sitting higher than expected in the NL Central for most of that time. But the first week of May has not been so kind. The Bucs are on an eight game skid and have lost nine of ten. They are now (12-19) and are already 7.5 games back of the division leading Cardinals (20-12). They have shown signs of life but will need to put it all together to make noise in the division.
DISHONORABLE MENTION: Washington Nationals (10-19); Cleveland Indians (11-21)

Manny Ramirez
Manny, Manny, Manny. Where do we start? It's fair to say it has been a rough weekend for Manny. Manny was of course suspended for 50 games this week for violating the league's drug policy. Supposedly Manny took a female fertility drug called hCG, or human chorionic gonadotropinn. Anything with 'gonad' in it's name is not going inside of me. Manny had been playing well and leading the Dodgers to a great start but will not play again until July 3. Manny said he failed the drug test because of something in a prescription that his doctor gave him. For more Manny coverage and opinion, see the stories from earlier in the week. Manny Count: 9
DISHONORABLE MENTION: David Ortiz .224, 0 HR's, 14 RBI; BJ Upton .167, 0 HR, 3 RBI

Phil Hughes
Hughes will not be making an appearance on VH1's Best Week Ever anytime soon if he keeps playing like this. "This" is a week of (0-2) with 6 BB's, 2 K's and a 17.41 ERA. He only lasted 1 2/3 innings in his last start against the Orioles. People have talked about having him move into the fifth starter role and moving Joba to the bullpen, but I can assure you that will not be happenng yet. This week brings Hughes' totals to (1-2) with a 8.49 ERA and only 8 K's. I know he has only started three times, but this is not a good sign.
DISHONORABLE MENTION: Scott Olsen (1-3), 7.00 ERA, 28 ER in 36.0 IP; Josh Beckett (3-2), 6.42 ERA, 20 BB's

STANDINGS
AL East
1. Blue Jays (22-12)
2. Red Sox (20-12)
3. Yankees (15-16)
4. Rays (15-18)
5. Orioles (13-19(

AL Central
1. Tigers (17-13)
2. Royals (18-14)
3. Twins (15-17)
4. White Sox (14-16)
5. Indians (11-21)

AL West
1. Rangers (17-14)
2. Angels (16-14)
3. Mariners (16-16)
4. Athletics (11-18)

NL East
1. Mets (17-13)
2. Marlins (17-15)
3. Phillies (15-14)
4. Braves (15-16)
5. Nationals (10-19)

NL Central
1. Cardinals (20-12)
2. Brewers (18-14)
3. Reds (17-14)
4. Cubs (17-14)
5. Astros (14-17)
6. Pirates (12-19)

NL West
1. Dodgers (22-11)
2. Giants (16-14)
3. Padres (13-19
4. Diamondbacks (13-19)
5. Rockies (12-18)
Digg! Delicious Bookmark this on Delicious Blog search directory Blog Directory
 
Baseball Blog Directory Add to Technorati Favorites