Gaby-Sanchez

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“A lot of this happened last night.”] [/caption] Florida inexplicably went and replaced their manager, Fredi Gonzalez, yesterday and Edwin Rodriguez stepped in as interim manager. I still don’t understand why this happened, but I guess we’ll have a new manager next year. 23 June NPB Hanshin Tigers (9) at Hiroshima Carp (4). I was really hoping that Hiroshima would have a better showing coming off of some relatively solid interleague play. He’s on the wrong team, but Toritani had himself quite the night (4 H, 2 RBI). Go Toritani! The Carp record drops to 26-37-2, still in fourth. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“It may be blurry, but it’s sad like I am.”] [/caption] The sad panda is sad like me because every team I follow lost last night. 16 June NPB Still chillin' MLB Baltimore Orioles (3) at San Francisco Giants (6). Lincecum only strikes out ten, which is a statement I heard one of my softball teammates utter yesterday. Guess what, buddy. 10 is GOOD. 10 > 1 K / Inning. The Orioles drop to 18-48. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“375” caption=“Let Teddy Win!”] [/caption] No, I didn’t go see the Nats this weekend, but I did finally upload this picture. 14 May NPB Rakuten Eagles (8) at Hiroshima Carp (7). Knowing how badly the Eagles have been so far this season makes this worse. I want the Carp to win! MLB Cleveland Indians (1) at Baltimore Orioles (8). My friend went to this game to see the fireworks and watch with an out-of-town friend of his. I’m glad he saw a win. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“375” caption=“The Marlins put together two wins against the Cubs and Coghlan is hitting again. What else to do but celebrate?”] [/caption] I listened to about half of the Marlins at Cubs game in Spanish to get some practice. It’s surprising how much I was able to understand easily despite not really knowing much about baseball in Spanish. My favorite part: the center fielder is translated as central gardener. ...

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. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Josh Johnson warming up in Nationals Park on 4 August 2009”][/caption] It’s gonna be a short one this week. Spring Training continues down in Florida and Arizona as teams are making cuts to their rosters, sending players down to the minor leagues or releasing them as they see fit. Most team rosters are starting to take shape and both Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman have pitched (quite beautifully) a couple of games each. ...

After being slammed by the players and owners year after year, the Marlins have finally started to buckle and spend a lot more for their personnel. You can partially thank the finalization of the stadium deal for this renewed vigor, of course, but the benefit is the same no matter what the source of this change is: actual spending on player talent. That’s why, for the first time in years, the Marlins have actually entered a season looking to capitalize on the previous year’s success with a squad that mirrors the year before. Josh Johnson, one of the ace pitchers of the NL, has been offered a 4-year contract worth $39 million and Dan Uggla will not be traded at this point in the year either. It’s looking like the core producers will still be around. ...