Monthly Archives: April 2012

Alfonso Soriano Should Not Be Hitting Cleanup

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Alfonso Soriano, presumably before he fails to get on base.

I like Alfonso Soriano.  Many Cub fans do not, and the reason for this is the man signed a $138 million/8 year contract and then presumably failed to live up to expectations.  Is this a fair assessment?

His career numbers before joining the Cubs:

.281/.512 SLG/.321 OBP

34HR per year, 39 doubles per year, 25 Stolen Bases per year

After joining the Cubs: Continue reading →

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Bruuuuuuuuuce!!!!!!

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Top three on my bucket list as of April 25th, 2012:

1. Attend Bruce Springsteen and the E street Band concert.
2. Discover lost city of the ancient world and take many pictures but tell no one.
3. Watch Chicago Cubs win the world series.

I came to Springsteen late, missing out on his most popular years save for a cassette version of Born in the U.S.A.   Sure it was good, but how much credibility could you really give Dancing in the Dark?  Well, as it turns out, a lot. Continue reading →

Atlanta – April 25th

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There is much to take away from the Brave’s comeback victory in the rubber match of the series, not the least of which is the overpowering strength of the Atlanta bullpen, but for my money it’s the nature of Manager Mattingly – the guy seems both timid and conventional, styles that can work well when you walk into a knife fight with a gun, but tend to work less well when you have the talent level of the 2012 Los Angeles Dodgers. Continue reading →

Atlanta – April 24th

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The Dodgers go for a league leading 14th win.  Spoiler: They do not succeed.

Much of any team’s success is dependent on the back end of the rotation, so while we justly praise players like Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels (All on the same team?  Really?) the reality is you still need about 70 starts and 350+ innings from guys who aren’t ever going to be on the cover of Sports illustrated. Continue reading →

Atlanta – April 23rd

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L.A. is off to an impressive start at 12-4 entering a six-game homestand against the Braves of Atlanta and the Nationals.  This is partly a result of playing the Padres and Pirates, but still, the best record in baseball is the best record in baseball.  It is also perhaps more directly the result of Matt Kemp’s early season barrage on National League pitching.  Some numbers through Monday’s game:

Matt Kemp 2012 League Ranks:

• 1st in NL in BA (.460)

 • 1st in NL in HR (9)

 • 1st in NL in RBI (22)

 • 1st in NL in R (18)

 • 1st in NL in OBP (.514)

• 1st in NL in SLG (.952)

 • 1st in NL in OPS (1.466)

At this pace, Kemp is on pace to hit 347 home runs and drive in 1,798.  These numbers may be wrong given that I just made them up instead of doing actual math.  But still, I think we all can all agree Kemp is not a terrible player.

  Continue reading →

Pittsburgh – April 12th

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The Dodgers opened the game with a three-run first inning.  A walk, a hit batter, a double, two singles, and it’s 3-0.  The Dodger starter, Capuano, a lefty with mid-level stuff, struck out five of the first eight batters he faced.  It looked like a blowout in the making, but L.A. failed to put Pittsburgh away, and after the first two innings, the Pirates dominated the game.  Pitt left a bunch of guys on base, clawed to within one run at 3-2 in the sixth, but couldn’t get over the hump and dropped another one-run game, which probably didn’t hurt as much as the one Halladay and the Phillies inflicted on them earlier in the week, but still, it was a rough trip to Chavez Ravine. Continue reading →