- What a circus that Boston Red Sox clubhouse already is, and we’ve still got a long ways to go. Bobby Valentine NEEDS to get a grip on his team, and fast, because Boston has enough veteran players to push him out. Valentine’s remarks about Kevin Youkilis, the respected Red Sox third baseman, were unnecessary simply because Youkilis is a tenured player who has been one of Boston’s most consistent producers over the past few years, albeit an injury prone one. Questioning the commitment of one of your team leaders is not a good way to start the season off Bobby.
- The Washington Nationals can pitch, and they can pitch well. The starting five of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Ross Detwiler and Edwin Jackson have combined for an ERA of 1.91, compiling 9 wins and striking out 117 in 12 games. Many thought that Washington would be a contender in a couple of years; however, with pitching like that it might be sooner rather than later that Washington is fighting for a division lead in the NL East.
- Boy, is that a ballpark in Miami. An absolute beauty.
- I really think Toronto can be a sleeper team this year to steal one of the wild card spots. Brett Lawrie, the highly touted third baseman who came over from Milwaukee in a deal a couple years back, has started the season off with a bang, ripping off 12 RBI’s in the season’s first ten games. It’s Toronto’s pitching that has me excited though. Brandon Morrow and Ricky Romero are a legitimate top two in front of that rotation, and it’s finally time for Kyle Drabek to live up to his promise. Drabek, the prized piece acquired from Philadelphia in the Roy Halladay deal, would solidify the rotation behind Morrow and Romero and has started out the season 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA. If he keeps that up it will be a huge boost for the Jays. The scary part for the rest of the AL East is that Jose Bautista hasn’t started hitting yet, and everyone knows it is only a matter of time before he does. Once that happens, watch out.
- The poor Minnesota Twins cannot catch a break. Just as the season started the Twins most consistent starting pitcher, Scott Baker, was lost for the year with an elbow injury. Baker, who went 8-6 with a 3.14 ERA in a surprisingly down year for Minnesota, is the anchor of rotation and without him it will take all of GM Terry Ryan’s magic to hold the team together. One bright spot has been Josh Willingham, who has belted 5 homers and is batting .375 to open the year, has been roping the ball all over the place. He adds some needed punch to the lineup.
- Anyone seen Albert Pujols? The high-priced acquisition of the Los Angeles has yet to hit a home run in 49 at-bats, his longest streak to start a season without one. Pujols is only batting .267 with four RBI’s, not quite the production the Angels thought they were getting when they inked him to a $200 million dollar deal. Luckily for Los Angeles its other free agent prize, pitcher C.J. Wilson, has been on fire, going 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA his first two starts. If Wilson continues to pitch like this, it might not even matter how Pujols hits.
- Ozzie Guillen should just keep his mouth shut. The Marlins manager’s inflammatory comments about Fidel Castro sparked a firestorm of controversy in Miami, considering the Marlins new ballpark opened near Little Havana, home of many Cuban immigrants who despise Cuba’s dictator. Many fans and even city officials called for Guillen’s firing, and Ozzie redefined the term of damage control, publicly apologizing before serving a five game suspension. Ozzie should just stick to baseball the rest of the season and let Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez and Giancarlo Stanton do the talking for him on the diamond.
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