At Home Plate - Between the Foul Poles: A Weekly Trek around the Majors II

Between the Foul Poles: A Weekly Trek around the Majors II

Written by Robert Democh (Contact & Archive) on April 24, 2009

AL appetizers:

Oakland’s Matt Holliday is learning that jacking balls out of pitcher friendly McAfee Coliseum is no small feat. Through April 21, he had yet to homer or steal a base and has seen his average dip to .265. If Oakland envisioned unloading veterans like Holliday in July should they fall from contention in the AL West, they may have trouble if he doesn’t pick up the pace.

Kevin Youkilis is making an early bid for MVP.

Photo by Eric Kilby, used under creative commons license.

Boston’s Kevin Youkilis is doing his best Carl Yastrzemski imitation, single-handedly keeping the Red Sox offense afloat as Yaz did in days of yore. Youkilis was batting an astronomical .469 on April 21 with three homers and 10 RBI. He’ll be pleased when David Ortiz and Jason Bay step up their offensive contributions.

Red Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie underwent wrist surgery April 21 and may be lost until July. With Julio Lugo also injured, the Sox are down to third option Nick Green.

No team has endured more early-season adversity than the Los Angeles Angels. Even before the tragic death of pitcher Nick Adenhart, the Angels began the year minus their top two starters, John Lackey and Ervin Santana. Things grew downright ugly last week with the announcement that top slugger Vladimir Guererro would miss a month with a strained chest muscle. Despite a 3-7 start, the Angels are far from done in an AL Western Division that has mediocrity written all over it. Bobby Abreu, whose $5 million salary may prove to be one of the best free agent bargains of 2009, is off to a scorching start (.362 BA, seven stolen bases through his first 10) and Torii Hunter has already bashed five home runs. If the Angels patchwork staff can keep them in games, the team has a knack for pulling out tight wins relying on defense and a solid pen. If they can hang on until early May, Lackey should be back, followed soon after by Santana. Kelvim Escobar, an 18-game winner for the Halos in 2007 who missed all of last season with shoulder problems, may be available in late May as should Guererro.

The Yankees have been left shell shocked each time Chien-Ming Wang has taken the mound. Wang, who recorded 19 wins in 2008, has been lit up like a giant Christmas tree this season. He is winless in three starts with a 34.50 ERA (23 earned runs in just six innings pitched). Until the Yankees can unravel the mystery behind Wang’s distress, they have to hope Andy Pettitte can provide them with some quality innings.

More encouraging was the news Xavier Nady will avoid Tommy John surgery after all. Nady’s injury has been diagnosed as a partial ligament tear in his elbow meaning he’ll miss 4-6 weeks. The Yankees are fortunate to have signed Nick Swisher, who should see steady playing time until Nady returns.

Oakland’s closer situation gained clarity with the announcement April 21 that Joey Devine had surgery performed on his ailing elbow and would be lost for the season. That solidified Brad Ziegler’s hold on the job. Ziegler is the antithesis of a power closer. A submariner who offerings would barely register on most speed guns, he relies on excellent mastery of his off-speed pitches and pinpoint control to be successful.

NL Nuggets:

The Florida Marlins arrived in Pittsburgh expecting to sweeten their sizzling 11-1 start but the Pirates had other ideas, concluding a three-game sweep on April 22 to improve to 9-6.

Ryan Zimmerman has agreed to a five-year, $45 million dollar contract extension with the Washington Nationals. He has become the face of the franchise but has yet to prove he can remain healthy and hit with consistent power. He should benefit from having big bopper Adam Dunn in the lineup the next two seasons.

Manuel Corpas resumed closer duties in Colorado after Huston Street imploded while securing just one save. Corpas is amazingly resilient, having regained the closer mantle for the second straight season (he succeeded a faltering Brian Fuentes in 2008).

It appears Tom Glavine’s career is over. He consulted with Atlanta team physicians on April 18 before indicating he’ll wait until May 1 to see if there is any improvement in his painful elbow and shoulder. If not, he’ll retire with 305 career wins.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are leading the majors with a torrid .298 team batting average and are fresh off a 6-0 home stand. Such home dominance is increasingly common as the Dodgers are 29-9 at Chavez Ravine since the 2008 All-Star break. The hottest Dodger is Andre Ethier, who was named NL Player of the Week after mashing four homers with 12 RBI and a .391 BA. Manager Joe Torre continues tweaking his lineup, slipping Ethier to the sixth spot and placing James Loney in the coveted four hole behind Manny Ramirez. Loney has been conspicuously quiet thus far (no homers) and should it persist, Torre won’t hesitate to reinstate Ethier as his cleanup hitter.

Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit underwent surgery April 23 to repair a fractured wrist and will be sidelined 8 weeks. Doumit was hoping to capitalize on his 2008 breakout campaign during which he belted 15 homers and batted .318. Pittsburgh, expected to be one of the NL’s more offensively-challenged clubs, have thus far outscored both the Phillies and Cubs.

Milwaukee will once again have their competitive fortunes tied to the mashing ability of their heavy lumber. A starting rotation the club hoped would be at least serviceable has been dreadful, with Jeff Suppan and Manny Parra both sporting ERA’s over 8 after thee starts. Ryan Braun is heating up (5-for-5 with two homers on April 21) while Prince Fielder needs thawing. Fielder is hitting just .163 with a single homer and a strikeout every three at bats. The Brewers, currently occupying the NL Central basement, need him to snap out of his funk soon.

San Diego’s 9-3 start was their best since 1998. Adrian Gonzalez has been as good as advertised, belting five homers and driving in 11 runs. Ace Jake Peavy has struggled, dropping to 2-2 against the Giants on April 21 after being victimized by an Edgar Renteria grand slam. Closer Heath Bell has been a pleasant surprise, nabbing seven saves without allowing an earned run.

The Weekender

Here are some intriguing pairings this coming weekend (April 24-26).

Yankees at Red Sox: Still baseball’s hottest rivalry.
Mariners at Angels:    The Angels hope to stay afloat in the AL West
Cubs at Cardinals:      A notch below the Yankees-Red Sox but still intense
Phillies at Marlins:     Can Philadelphia hook these fighting fish?

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