Who has the best bullpen in baseball this year. Is it the Red Sox with Papelbon and Okajima? Is it the Reds with Cordero, Weathers and Bray? Here is a breakdown of the top pens in the big leagues.

#5: Cincinnati Reds:
Closer: Francisco Cordero
RH: David Weathers, Jared Burton
LH: Bill Bray

Weathers is a great setup man with closer experience. Burton has been a plesent surprise, with 31 Ks in 29.2 innings. Bray is as good as any lefty in the league (with the exception of Okajima). Cordero continues to be a force at Closer, throwing that nasty fastball-slider combo that he has dominated for the past few years.

#4: Arizona Diamondbacks:
Closer: Brandon Lyon
RH: Tony Pena, Chad Qualls, Max Scherzer

Continue reading "The Best Bullpen In Baseball"

Here I take time to answer questions sent to me, or questions posted in public forums worldwide.

Q: What does it mean when you see on the scoreboard at the park there will be a P then numbers below for each team like example 35 23 whatever

A:If its before the game: Its the starting pitchers numbers. If its during the game: The pitchers number who is currently in the game. If its after the game: Winning and Losing pitchers numbers

Q: What can save the Nationals?

A: The Nationals need some pitching. They have made great strides in acquiring young hitting (Wily Mo Pena, Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes, Felipe Lopez), but have no real pitching prospects of note.

They have taken the right step however. They selected RHP Aaron Crow, a flame throwing starter that reminds me of Felix Hernandez, in the first round of the draft yesterday. He throws a 95 mph Fastball, a power slider (87 mph) and a workable change-up. He projects to be a top of the rotation starter for years to come.

Continue reading "Q&A and Random Thoughts"

In case you did not hear, Seattle Mariners hitting coach Jeff Pentland has been fired. The team replaced him with special assistant Lee Elia, the teams hitting coach from 1993-97. McLaren spoke to the media about Elia after the announcement.

"Lee is vocal. He can pat you on the back and cheerlead you and, if he needs to, he can get in your face and challenge you. I've seen both sides of him."

The 2008 Mariners have needed to make changes for some time now. This is a good way to do it. Start getting rid of the coaches who's specialty have been underachieving. If none of those coaching changes do anything to get the team towards the right track, then you move to the General Manager/Manager. The problem with that, is Mariners' leadership has voiced unwavering support for Bavasi and McLaren, something you never should do in a time of crisis.

Continue reading "With Pentland gone, Mariners look to start fresh"

After Ken Griffey Jr. joined the 600 club yesterday afternoon, it got me thinking about where he stands with the other members of this 6 man club. I could not honestly say that he deserves to be behind guys like Sosa and Bonds, so I did a bit of research (as usual) to determine where he stands. Lets look at the numbers.

Barry Bonds: 762 HR
AB/HR: 12.92
AB/HR before roids (2001): 15.09
HR/RBI ratio: 38%
HR/H ratio: 26%

Hank Aaron: 755 HR
AB/HR: 16.38
HR/RBI ratio: 33%
HR/H ratio: 20%

Babe Ruth: 714 HR
AB/HR: 11.76
HR/RBI ratio: 32%
HR/H ratio: 25%

Willie Mays: 660 HR
AB/HR: 16.49
HR/RBI ratio: 35%
HR/H ratio: 20%

Sammy Sosa: 609 HR
AB/HR: 14.47
HR/RBI ratio: 37%

Continue reading "Ken Griffey Junior: Ranking the 600 club"

For those of you waiting for the NBA season to begin, I have something for you to do.

Have you ever wanted to own your own team? Wanted to play in the NBA? Well here's your chance. Cyberdunk is a great way to do these things. 

First, you start with your created player. You build attributes by hiring trainers, and can deck yourself out in equipment. After you earn enough "CyberdunkPoints", you can even buy your own team! With that, you can hire players and plan strategies in-game.

Its a great way to do some basketball outside of the season. To register, visit www.cyberdunk.com

Continue reading "Playing in the offseason: Cyberdunk.com"

Well, another NBA Draft has come and gone. There were a few surprises, and more than a few things went as projected. Here's a rundown

Rose and Beasley went 1/2, respectively

OJ Mayo was selected 3rd by Minnesota, who eventually traded him to Memphis for Kevin Love in an 8 player deal

The Sacramento Kings selected Jason Thompson at 12. Don't know what they were thinking. At that point, he isnt even the most skilled big man in the draft, or the one with the most potential. The least you could do is move down, I mean c'mon. Can't say I was shocked though, after all it is the Sactown Queens.

J.J. Hickson (NC State) was selected by the Cavs at 19. I cannot begin to tell you how much I LOVE this pick. Hickson will be a very solid post presence for years to come. I see him averaging 13 and 8 if he gets good playing time. Hickson has all the tools; Strength, Size, Athletiscism, Inside Scoring, Mid-range Scoring. If he doesn't turn out, I will be shocked.

Continue reading "NBA Draft: Dishing out the Love"