The Lions went and slaughtered my precious Golden Eagles, leaving them with something to think about over the next two off days. It was not a great day for my favorite baseball teams. 05 May NPB Rakuten Eagles (3) at Seibu Lions (19)! The Lions really dished out some punishment. Rakuten is still miraculously in fourth place with its 16-21-0 record, but that’s no real consolation since there’s a three-way tie for first 6.5 games up. ...
[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“You’ll notice that most of this crowd leaving Nationals Park roots for the Phillies.”] [/caption] Even if the Orioles maintain their 0.259 win percentage for the year and manage to lose over 110 games, they will have something that the Nationals cannot have this year: passionate, devoted fans. It’s not their fault, they’ve only been a team for five years, after all, but I notice this distinct lack of energy when I go to the games. Sure, the crowds have been relatively thin thanks to the weather, but last night was beautiful weather combined with a home win and the crowds didn’t seem to know what to do yet. ...
[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“I get to experience good weather at Nats Park for the first time since Opening Day above.”] [/caption] Who would have expected Liván Hernández to have a sub 1.00 ERA and one of the best records in baseball at this point in the season? Why do the Marlins seem to drop the first game of every series? Will either of these trends end? I hope one definitely does! ...
[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“It was pretty cold that night”] [/caption] 14 April NPB Yakult Swallows (3) at Hiroshima Carp (6). I’m not sure, but this might be the first series the Carp have won this year. Their record rises to 6-10-0, but they’re still sitting in last by about half a game. Rakuten Eagles (5) at Seibu Lions (6). 7-12-0 keeps the Eagles in fifth as they drop the entire series to the Lions. ...
[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“No witty captions today, sorry.”] [/caption] 9 April NPB Hiroshima Carp (0) at Yokohama Baystars (5). Not the outcome I would have expected, but Yokohama is deceptively strong at times (and Hiroshima is pretty weak this year). Orix Buffaloes (8) at Rakuten Eagles (3). Orix made some serious upgrades in the off-season, but I wonder if they can keep this pace up all season. MLB Toronto Blue Jays (7) at Baltimore Orioles (6). The Orioles blow their home opener and not many are surprised. Tough break for the (orange) birds. ...
[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“160 games in for some teams.”] [/caption] Words cannot describe how great it is to FINALLY have the 2010 season underway for both leagues! Since we had an MLB-only post last week, we’ll start with the NPB. [caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“300” caption=“Sorry Min”] [/caption] What an unfortunate week it’s been for me to root for the Carp and the Eagles. Both teams put together three wins over the last week, which is pretty shameful. ...
Another year, another season! 2010 looks to be another good one. The Marlins don’t look like they’re about to run away with their division, but the Rays have a fighting chance this year. I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s back up and go through this division by division like we do every year. AL East After a (glorious) season where the Yankees didn’t make it to the playoffs for once, the Bronx Bombers came back with a vengeance and took it all. The Yanks may have lost Damon and Matsui, but they’re still in a strong position in the AL East and look poised to make the playoffs in the division. Players are getting older on that team and the pitching isn’t as strong as they’d like, but, barring some kind of major injury, I stand by that prediction. ...
It’s time for Wednesday Morning Quarterback, your weekly sports round-up. Here we are at the middle of the 2009 MLB season and things could not be more different than I expected. Dark horse candidates lead wild cards, division standings are mostly in shambles, it’s just not what most anyone predicted. Let’s take a look at the current standings: AL East Yankees Red Sox 1GB Rays 4.5GB Blue Jays 10.5GB Orioles 15GB ...
It’s time for Wednesday Morning Quarterback, your weekly sports round-up. It’s that time of year again, the MLB All-Star game is upon us! Last night was the Home Run Derby and, despite being in his team’s stadium, Albert Pujols did not quite manage to make it to the third round. Instead the final competition was between Prince Fielder, of the Milwaukee Brewers, and Nelson Cruz, of the Texas Rangers. In the end, Fielder took it and even bashed in a homer over 500 feet. ...
It’s time for Wednesday Morning Quarterback, your weekly sports round-up. Another month of baseball has passed and it’s a testament to the sport that things have gotten a bit crazy. As I write this on Tuesday, the standings look a little something like this: AL East Yankees Red Sox Blue Jays Rays Orioles AL Central Tigers White Sox Twins Royals Indians AL West Rangers Mariners Angels Athletics NL East Phillies Mets Braves Marlins Nationals ...