Ubaldo is Unreal

The reason why people love great sports figures is because they are so dominate in their profession that no one can even come close to sniffing their level.   Right now, there is one person like that in sports. That man is Ubaldo Jimenez.  Let's break down some of his stats and put it into perspective for the month of June 1st. 

ERA: 0.78- He has only given up seven runs in 11 starts.  That is incredible, he has yet to give up three runs this season and Jimenez only twice against San Diego and Washington has he let in two runs.  Other than that, nobody has been able to touch him, six of his starts have resulted in scoreless outings.  

Hits Allowed: 46-  If you take away his no-hitter performance against the Atlanta Braves, Jimenez is averaging 4.6 hits allowed in his stars. Not to mention, if you spread that out over his innings pitched, basically a team is lucky to get a runner on in an inning.

Walks: 26- Once again dividing that stat by 11, he is only walking a little over 2 batters. So to continue with the prior stat, Jimenez is roughly only allowing six batters to get on base.  Somebody please explain to me how anyone will get a win against this guy? 

Strikeouts: 70-  I think one of the reasons Jimenez is so successful is because he is pitching to contact instead of mowing down batters.  He has only one game against San Diego where he struck out 13 but he isn't getting up into the high numbers therefore shortening his pitch count allowing him to pitch deep into games.

Innings Pitched: 80.1- For you math majors out there, he is pitching over 7 innings a start, something that me as a Brewer fan would love to see every five days from one of our starter.  Mix all of these basic stats together and you have a guy who is putting together arguably one of the best seasons in the last 25 years from a pitcher.

NOTE: I realize his advanced stats are off the charts as well but personally, I do not know enough about all of them to sound educated talking about them.

In my opinion, he is the MVP of the National League so far. Who else can you make an argument for? No one from the St. Louis Cardinals or the Philadelphia Phillies where most MVPs have come from in the last five years. Jimenez is the Cy Young and the MVP for the first part of the season but he needs to adjust as teams will start to figure him out. I think the sky is the limit for Jimenez and winning 25 plus games is not out of the question by any means.

-Charlie.

NL West Preview

Saving the NL Central for last because it's the most important one of the six divisions.  So we move on to the NL West where it should be an interesting year.  

1. Colorado Rockies- KEY ACQ: Miller Brewing Company (seriously they kept most of their team, nothing new) I LIKE: Jorge De La Rosa- It's crazy to think how bad he was with the Brewers and average at best with the Royals, I think he could be a big contributor to the Roxs.  I HATE: Huston Street- Sort of an obvious one, but he is already hurt proving why it never pays to bring in a closer.  PREDICTION: Amazed to hear that Buster Olney picked them to win it all, but I think they could make a deep run with some of the talent they have this season.

2. San Francisco Giants- KEY ACQ: 1B Aubry Huff  3B Mark DeRosa  SP Todd Wellenmeyer I LIKE: Pablo Sandoval- I think Kung Fu Panda keeps getting better and eases the Giants' mind on their offensive woes.  I HATE: Barry Zito- Are we convinced that he is a different player now? I mean he still throws so slow and unless he becomes like Jamie Moyer, I don't see him being very effective. PREDICTION: They will fight all year for the NL West title and if Jonathan Sanchez/Wellenmeyer come through they could have a huge year. Also they need runs from the middle of their order.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers- KEY ACQ: Jamie McCourt's defense lawyer I LIKE: Clayton Kershaw- Another great young player that will be growing within the years and I believe will probably be their best pitcher this year. I HATE: Manny Ramirez- I could see him being a huge problem for the Dodgers as they struggle and wouldn't be shocked if he gets shipped out in July.  PREDICTION: The divorce of the owner and CEO sent this team for a tailspin leading to no new free agents. In addition, Vincente Padilla as your Opening Day starter is never a good idea.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks- KEY ACQ: 1B Adam LaRoche 2B Kelly Johnson SP Edwin Jackson SP Ian Kennedy SP Rodrigo Lopez  I LIKE: Justin Upton- I know it's a sexy pick but he is a man. I love the things he can do with his bat and hopefully he for average more. I HATE: New pitcher 1, 2, or 3- You cannot tell me that all three of those guys will work out for the Dbacks, I see much change in their rotation. PREDICTION: If Brandon Webb stays healthy, they become a better team by probably 7-10 wins but they will need the bottom half of the rotation to go against my opinion if they want to move higher than fourth best.

5. San Diego Padres- KEY ACQ: SP Jon Garland I LIKE: Clayton Richard- A big part of the Peavy deal who I think can flourish in the upcoming season. He will be a vital asset for the Fathers. I HATE: Chase Headley- Not so much him as a player rather where he is batting. There are maybe three teams if that where he is a clean-up hitter.  PREDICTION: I really think they have a young group that could do some things but I am willing to bet they trade Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell by the deadline so that will hurt their second half numbers severely.

-Charlie.

Whose Ready for the Four-Hour Drama?!

In my opinion, I enjoyed the baseball playoffs a lot because it is very simple and clear cut plus there have been those years where every game has been an absolute classic. Who can forget 2003 with the Red Sox losing to Aaron effin' Boone and the Cubs losing thanks to Steve Bartman. Then in 2004, you have the Red Sox epic comeback along with the Brad Lidge game against Albert Pujols. Here are the picks for the first round of games.

NL
Colorado Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies- This is probably the least exciting series out of the four for sure and I really feel that this series could go either way. Colorado has struggled with left-handed pitchers this season, which isnt a good thing when they are facing Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels in the first two games. But here is the kicker, if the Rockies keep it close they get to face the arguably the worst bullpen in the playoffs right now. We all know how Colorado are the comeback kids. I am taking Philly because I have rolled with them all year might as well stick to it. Wont be easy though. PHI in 5

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers- Everyone is talking about the Cardinals going to the World Series and I have been saying that since early July. The pitching staff they have, add the offense, and they play pretty good defense too. I really cannot find a chink in their armor. It also tough to pick the Dodgers when they have struggled all second half but never count out Joe Torre/Manny Ramirez. STL in 4

AL
Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees- Honestly, the game tonight that the Twins won was epic. They were down a bunch of times and just battled back consistently. Now they play a Yankee team who has looked strong on the offensive end but you have to wonder about their starting pitching. Also CC Sabathia has been less than stellar in the playoffs. The Twins are the hottest team and the recent trends have signaled that leads to a big playoffs. The big spenders get it done though. NYY in 4

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels- Now this has been an absolute bashing whenever these two teams get together and the Sox have came out ahead every time. I feel like Mike Scioscia tends to choke when the playoffs are on the line in the past couple of years. The pitching staff of the Sox will be the difference in this one, they have the experience and they know how to handle this opponent. BOS in 4

-Charlie.

TWTW: Rockies Arent Rocky...

There are a couple things I have learned about baseball in the past couple of years... You never bet that the Brewers will do anything because you will end up losing that bet, the Florida Marlins/ Colorado Rockies are never out of it especially Colorado in the past couple of years. Not only are they closing in on a Wild Card but a chance for a National West title which no one would have believe in the early part of June.

I still remember when the Rockies were just starting their winning ways when they ventured to Miller Park with a five or six game winning streak. I remember telling my dad "I cant believe the Rockies swept the Cards, ready to sell off their team and now they start winning, cant wait to take it to them." My dad goes "Never count a team out whose hot." Well I shouldn't have because it was Colorado who went on a massive run and that sweep was the turn for the worse for the Crew.

Now I think the Rockies might be next to the St. Louis Cardinals because for some reasons, they found the craziest ways to win. The whole team has a "Never Say Die" attitude about them and it has worked so far with their crazy winning streak in September 2007 now their willingness to win any game they play.

They may have a rag-tag guys of starting pitchers with Ubaldo Jimenez and Jason Marquis heading the staff with Huston Street reviving his career to shut the door for the Rockies. Granted of course when I post something like this they on the verge of losing the Wild Card lead. Like I said before, Never Say Die.

-Charlie.

Clint Hurdle Packs Up His Coors

Today the Colorado Rockies decided to get rid of their manager Clint Hurdle and replace him with Jim Tracy, the former Pirate manager who was about as awful as Davey Lopes so the decision might not be the best one for Colorado.

The first thing to discuss is after the Rockies got to the World Series by being on fire for the last month and a half although after that everything came to a screeching halt. Troy Tulowitzki hasnt done anything in two years. Garrett Atkins is not doing that well since his great season in 2007. Brad Hawpe is hitting the hell out of the ball this season but he wasnt a factor last season for the Rockies either. Ian Stewart was supposed to be a complete stud and he hasnt amount to anything in the big leagues so far as well.

There is more to this firing though because I was reading the ESPN "Conversations" and most Rockies fans are pissed off at the Monfront brothers who own the team. They say that the Monfronts are cheap and they are unwilling to spend money to get people to come play at Coors Field. In addition, Dan O'Dowd their general manager has also done a shitty job according to the Colorado fans. He is also in the last year of his contract so I wonder if some of these guys will be on the move in July and just blow up the entire team.

-Charlie.

A Holiday in the Bay

God that was a creative title.

If you hadnt heard yet, Matt Holiday was traded to the Athletics for Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith, Huston Street. Which in my opinion is a good deal for both teams despite the feeling of betrayal by Rockies fans. As they felt this team was on the way up with their "Generation R" with Holiday, Tulowitzki, Atkins, and others who led their team to the World Series last season.

Its obvious that the Rockies felt they couldn't resign Holiday next season so they got a good offer for him from the A's and they ran with it which I cannot blame them. They were able to get a pretty good closer in Street to replace Brian Fuetues which in my opinion is a big upgrade. Also Gonzalez has some major promise in the outfield and I think he will be a key player for the Rockies all year.

As for the A's, there is no reason to believe that they will be resigning Holiday at the end of the year or for that matter so the supposed "genius" Billy Beane will wheel/deal Holiday for big time prospects at the deadline to give a team the extra push. I would be shocked if a rebuilding team decided to give the big bucks to Holiday. Just please stay away from the Cardinals, I almost fell out of my chair when they said the Rockies were "very close" to trading Holiday for Ryan Ludwick and their top prospect. I dont even want to think about how to pitch Albert Pujols/Matt Holiday back-to-back.

-Charlie.