Random Collection of Thoughts re April 18 in MLB

Houston Astros uber-prospect George Springer collected his first MLB RBI and stolen base.  Shame his Astros were already 8-0 by the time he stole his first base in the top of the 3rd.  Not that it's any consolation to Mr. Springer but Chicago White Sox Cuban sensation Jose Abreu & Philadelphia Phillies sophomore starting pitcher Jonathon Pettibone also found themselves down by more than 8 runs in their respective games.


A late season call up by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012, relief pitcher Josh Wall is still struggling to find his groove in the MLB.  Mr. Wall never made it past last April with the Dodgers and Friday had his first appearance with the Anaheim Angels.  Mr. Wall never even got out of his inning.  Luckily he was "protecting" an 11-1 win.


The San Francisco Giants have played in 8 straight one run games with a .500 record of 4-4. Playoff wildcard runs by the 2013 Cleveland Indians (30-17) and the 2012 Baltimore Orioles (29-9) were in part fuelled by their record in one run games.  On the other side of the coin, the Boston Red Sox won their division and the 2013 World Series finishing .500 in one run games.  The Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers are currently tied for first place in the NL West.  The Giants have taken four of six meetings this young season against the Dodgers with a 2-1 record in one run games against them.


The Arizona Diamondbacks finally caught a lucky break!  A wild pitch on an INTENTIONAL WALK scored a runner from third base to give the D'Backs a 2-1 lead in the top of the 9th.  The curse that has been 2014 meant that naturally the bullpen would cough up the lead in the bottom of the ninth but the D'Backs would win the game in the 12th!


Remember ladies and gentleman, boys and girls of all ages, if you play baseball, don't use your face to stop the ball.  There has to be a less painful way to make it into the pages of Sports Illustrated.

Baseball Blog Entry for the Casual Baseball Fan

Headline from MLB.com "(Grady) Sizemore passing all tests, could win starting job".  Even if you are a Yankees fan, this news from Boston should put a smile on your face.  Two years removed from the game to possible opening day Red Sox center fielder, I wonder what size Cinderella slipper Mr. Sizemore wears?


Cris Carter, the Houston Astro and MLB league leader in strikeouts last season (212), has been given some sound advice by manager Bo Porter: " Swing at more pitches he can hit, and swing at fewer he can't." My official guess for 2013, based on 145 games, 190 strikeouts.


Staying with the theme of  making an "official guess" here come two more!  1) The Miami Marlins, who stroked out 19 hits in one game versus the Mets, will require three full regular season games versus the Rockies to get 19 hits.  2) The 2013 NL West last place Colorado Rockies will finish over .500 in 2014.


C.J. Wilson of the LA Angels: “I need to learn to be more efficient. Today was a good example of that. I didn’t walk anybody, so I was popping apple-cider ginger ale in the dugout for that one.” Yup, that's making the "Words to Live By" column!  Quote provided by Alden Gonzalez blog.


Having watched the Marlins/Red Sox situation go from disrespecting each other to having one of the hottest trade rumours around, I'm waiting to see the trade rumour that comes from the "Twitter Battle" going on between the New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, and Cleveland Indians mascots.