Happy Thursday baseball fans! It’s been a somewhat eventful week, so here are a few of my quick thoughts as teams get ready open their weekend series.
Unlike I predicted, the Giants managed to sweep LA, taking a 2.5 game lead in the NL West. The Giants, who currently lead the Braves 1-0 heading to the bottom of the fourth, managed to out pitch and out play LAD. Do I see a hot streak in the future? I think so. As much as an anti-Giant as I am, I can really see players like Belt, Sanchez, and Blanco really stepping up in the Melky aftermath.
The Nats/Braves series was just as juicy as I expected. Monday’s walk-off truly sparked the series win. Washington is in it to win it. Downside? The inning limit on Strasburg. He’s 15-5, and pitching on team pushing for a pennant. This team has a great pitching staff, but taking out Strasburg isn’t fair to the team. I understand that he’s a young pitcher, and they want to protect his future, but you’re never guaranteed a playoff spot. They might not be in this position next year. Why blow it?
Time for some A’s talk. Prior to Wednesday’s win against the Twins it was announced that Bartolo Colon was receiving a 50 game suspension for the use of PEDs. Testosterone to be specific. I would never have guessed it based on his hefty frame, but it is what it is. As I said last week, I could not be more disappointed in guys who do this stuff. They let their team down, and screw their careers over. Not to mention what they do to baseball as a whole. Little leaguers grow up wanting to play in the bigs, be just like their favorite player. Is this really the example they want to set? I think a tweet I read by former pitcher and current CSN analyst Greg Caderet sums it up:
@cads32 “Cheaters diminish the accomplishment of all of us that made it. If you aren’t good enough without cheating then you shouldn’t be there!”
Also on twitter, a tweet by Susan Slusser of the SF Chronicle was discussing a conversation with pitcher Travis Blackley. Apparently in Austraila if you get caught once, your career is dunzo.
Taking Colons place in the rotation for tonight was Tyson Ross. The Bay Area native started out strong, but come the fifth inning seemed less than excited to be on the mound. While I do believe he has the stuff for the big leagues, I don’t think he has the stuff to be a starter. As I was mumbling that to myself in the car, they sent him back down to AAA as a relief pitcher.
Stephen Drew, who was acquired on Tuesday night (for basically nothing), had a great game for the A’s tonight. I’m not sure how everyone else feels, but I really like Cliff Pennington at 2nd. There’s a big debate about whether Jemile Weeks should have been sent down, and I’m on board with the decision. I was actually thinking about it right after the trade was complete. Weeks needed a reality check, it’s not about getting to the big leagues, it’s maintaining your position there. He was playing a decent game defensively, but at the plate he was trying to hit balls out, when he should have been trying to get them on the ground and utilize his speed. What I like about Pennington? He’s playing his game, not trying to do too much … he just happens to be in a slump.
Yankees swept in Chicago.
Three teams tied for the second wild card.
Boston blew a heft lead, and lost the game.
All for now!
mayrrraaalovesbaseball 