The Giants and Diamondbacks are in a first place series starting tonight. It should be a very good beginning to the week.
Matt Cain will take on Josh Collmenter in the opening game. Should be a good battle. The Giants get Pablo Sandoval back at 3B and that should help the offense. Cody Ross will start in left.
There are lots of good pitchers in the American League, no doubt about it. My choice in any money game has to be Justin Verlander. When I look at his repertoire and his velocity I conclude there are few pitchers his equal in baseball. I'd love to see a battle of Verlander vs. Doc Halladay. Between them they have awesome stuff. That matchup is not beyond the realm of possibility.
The Yankees loss of Derek Jeter to the disabled list is a minor setback. The bigger issue remains finding a quality starting pitcher to add depth to an injured pitching staff. One more qualaity starter would help. I'm also not bullish on Freddy Garcia and (when he returns) Bartolo Colon holding up in the heat of the summer and a long season. Phil Hughes may be close to returning, but who knows what he has in the tank? Think they don't miss Andy Pettitte?
Lineup protection is a huge issue for me. Case in point: Big Papi certainly missed Manny when Ramirez left the club. Now with Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford in the lineup, pitchers have so many bats to worry about that Ortiz gets pitches to hit. It's good to see him having such success.
1st round draft pick Trevor Bauer is visiting Chase Field and the Diamondbacks this week. C Miguel Montero is concerned that he, Montero, doesn't have enough fingers for all of Bauer's repertoire. It's a good point. I think he'll be a great addition to the DBacks staff.
The Indians free fall includes a lack of hitting and a meltdown by several starting pitchers. Carlos Carrasco is the exception. He's had two very good outings in a row. Indians fans hoping the Tribe will trade Fausto Carmona are missing one point. Who would want him at this point? His mechanics and his confidence are totally messed up.
Word is that the Dodgers may not be able to make the end of the month payroll because of a large payment due Manny Ramirez. It's a soap opera still trying to work itself out.
What a great race in the NL Central. Who do you like? I'm pulling for the Brewers. I'd love to see them reward their tremendous fans with a big, big summer and time under the big lights in the fall. Being from Ohio I'd be thrilled if the Reds won. So I guess I'm conflicted. Do I have trouble making decisions? Yes and No.
If Dustin Ackley is called up to the big leagues next week as is being rumored, who will the Mariners drop to make room? It might just be Mike Carp, the latest arrival placed on the roster to DH. Someone in the infield will lose time. Maybe Jack Wilson. Maybe the club will totally pull the plug on Wilson and leave Carp alone. It's really something to keep an eye on.
Anthony Rizzo, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas have all made a very good transition to the big leagues. It's wonderful to see prospects get an opportunity to play on the big stage. There should be more to come.
I still think if baseball makes any changes to their divisions, moving Houston to the American League East makes the most sense. Today the President of the Diamondbacks expressed his opinion that he would not like to see the Diamondbacks in the American League. Houston also makes sense because the ownership is changing and things could start fairly fresh.
Sergio Santos, long my pick to be the White Sox closer is scuffling. His command is way off and he's walking way too many people. I hope he can keep his job.
Let me know if you predicted the success of Phil Humber. If you did I applaud you. He's having one heck of a season.
The Twins are playing much better baseball lately. Just in time for them to get Joe Mauer back in the fold. Don't ever count the Twins out of a pennant race. Not this year either.
How about this for a stat: Giants catchers have 1 (that's one) RBI since May 26th.
Aubrey Huff has the lowest batting average by a right handed batter vs. left handed pitching. That would be .190
Tim Lincecum's ERA this year: with Posey (9 starts)=1.55 and with Whiteside (5 starts)=7.53 YIKES!
Brian Wilson has given up one run (that's 1) in the last 22.2 IP.
Welcome back Ryan Zimmerman.
The Yankees are wailing against Alexi Ogando tonight. Can Ogando go the entire season as a starter or will the innings and his limited repertoire catch up with him? I'm just askin.
It looks like the White Sox are close to promoting Dayan Viciedo from the minors. He would play right, Carlos Quentin would play left and Juan Pierre would be a 4th outfielder or be traded. Like the Mariners, someone would have to go from the 25 man roster to promote Viciedo. That could render Pierre vulnerable to a trade.
My profile this week for Bernie On The Scene at RotoWire.com will be Detroit Tigers pitcher Jacob Turner. Please stop by and give it a read. Should be posted tomorrow or Thursday.
I'll be on with Chris and Jeff Thursday morning on Sirius/XM at 10:00 AM Phoenix time. Also will be doing Sports Buzz on Skype with Butch Stearns on Thursday morning at 8:30 AM Phoenix time. You can reach that by going to thepulsenetwork.com.
Follow me on twitter @BerniePleskoff. Thank you for reading my work. Your comments and questions are always welcome.