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MLB General

The Full Count: Dbacks and Yankees hold serve

1. The Best Ace: John Lackey took on Josh Beckett in a battle of Cy Young candidates, and it was the 2003 World Series MVP Beckett that emerged with a decisive victory. Beckett pitched a shutout for his second consecutive postseason start, a streak that dates back to that 2003 World Series when he was with the Marlins. Lackey, meanwhile, was mediocre with four runs allowed in six innings. David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis both homered off Lackey in the Red Sox’s 4-0 victory. This game was really all about Beckett, who was the only pitcher in the regular season to win 20 games. Beckett walked none, struck out 8, and only surrendered 4 hits against a pesky Angels lineup. Beckett has gone from a near-disaster last season to the Red Sox’s most reliable pitcher by far. He owns a 1.74 playoff career ERA, and will give the Red Sox as many starts as he can in the playoffs. A game one win in the division series usually leads to a series victory for the winning team; however, the fate of this series is not sealed. The Angels still have an excellent chance, with Kelvim Escobar and Jered Weaver taking the mound the next two games. Boston will counter that with Dice-K, who has oddly received almost no attention the last few months, and Curt Schilling. It seems to me at least that these are the best two teams in baseball, so the whoever wins this series has a great shot at winning the World Series.

2. The Momentum Continues: The Rockies have gone from fourth in the division to a possible World Series contender in less than a month. No one thought they would even make the playoffs a few weeks ago; now they proved they are for real with a playoff-opening victory in Philadelphia. The Rockies’ pitching staff is thought to be a joke; however, the Phillies certainly weren’t laughing after Jeff Francis shut them down. Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard, three of the National League’s best hitters, went a combined 0-11. Francis allowed two runs (both off solo homers) in six innings while racking up eight strikeouts. His counterpart, Cole Hamels, was good as well, but the Rockies managed to emerge with the win. Matt Holiday, who should win the MVP hands-down over Rollins, had a key homer in the eighth inning. One element of the Rockies that few people are considering is their closer Manny Corpas, who has racked up 19 saves with a 2.08 ERA. Incredibly, the Rockies have won the last 17 games he has appeared in. Corpas and two-time All Star Brian Fuentes, who both pitched shutout innings in the win, give the Rockies a formidable duo in the bullpen. Their chance of winning this series is higher than many (including me) predicted.

3. Win for Webb: Since the Padres aren’t in the playoffs, the best pitcher by far in the National League is Brandon Webb. Webb, who went 18-10 with a 3.01 ERA this season, helped Arizona to a 3-1 win in their series opener against the Cubs. Webb had nine strikeouts in seven innings, allowing only one run. Carlos Zambrano had similar success through six innings, but regular season stud Carlos Marmol blew the game with two runs allowed. On the other hand, the Diamondbacks’ ace bullpen was nearly perfect after Webb left the game. The Diamondbacks’ only shot in the playoffs lies with Webb making multiple great starts, the bullpen remaining solid, and the offense being timely if not a powerhouse. The Cubs have a far deeper rotation and more stars on offense, giving them the advantage whenever Webb isn’t pitching.

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MLB General

The Full Count: First round picks


The Tie is Broken: The Rockies and Padres played a rather excellent tiebreaker game that decided who is moving into the playoffs and who is staying home. The game lasted 13 innings, with the Rockies winning 9-8 in dramatic fashion. The Padres scored 2 runs in the 13th off Scott Hariston’s homer, but the Rockies came back in the bottom half of the inning against Trevor Hoffman. They scored three runs to win the game, with Matt Holliday getting the winning run on a close play at the plate. Holliday secured the NL batting title, and also passed Ryan Howard for the NL RBI title with his performance on Monday. The MVP candidate went 2-6 with 2 RBIs, and teammate Troy Tulowitzki was even better with a 4-7, three run effort. The Padres’ Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam early in the game to give himself 30 homers and 100 RBIs on the year. Both starters in this contest were lit up early on. Jake Peavy raised his ERA from 2.36 to 2.54 by allowing six runs in six innings. The Rockies’ Josh Fogg gave up five runs in four innings, but was bailed out by an excellent performance from the bullpen. The Rockies, who won 14 of 15 games to win the wild card, are completely deserving of their playoff spot.

Match Me Up: The first round matchups have been finalized, and there are multiple intriguing games across the board. The Red Sox-Angels series will feature two of the league’s best pitching staffs. On Wednesday Beckett vs. Lackey will kick off this showdown. The other AL matchup, Yankees-Indians, is no less interesting. The Yankees are the hottest team in baseball and have by far its best lineup, but the Indians are very balanced and tied the Red Sox for the best regular season record. The NL matchups, though the teams aren’t nearly as good as those in the AL, should also provide for some good baseball. The Phillies-Rockies has great potential, as these were the two highest-scoring teams in the NL this season. Also, both teams are red-hot, having to earn their way into the playoffs by making late-season comebacks. The Diamondbacks-Cubs will be a matchup of two great pitching staffs. Here are my picks for the first round series:

Angels over Red Sox in 5.
Yankees over Indians in 5.
Phillies over Rockies in 4.
Cubs over D-backs in 5.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Phillies complete greatest comeback in regular season history


Comeback Kings: The Philadelphia Phillies just completed one of the greatest divisional comebacks in baseball history, and they couldn’t be more deserving playoff participants. They made up 7 games on the Mets in a mere 17 games, the largest such comeback of all time. They won the NL East for one reason: they were great at coming back. 48 of their 89 victories this season were come-from-behind. The Mets, meanwhile, were a complete failure down the stretch this season. They lost 12 of their last 17 games, including 6 losses in their last 7 games, all at home. The Marlins pounded them 8-1 in their final game of the season, as Tom Glavine was knocked out after recording only one out. There was never any doubt in the Phillies’ game, a 6-1 victory over the Nationals. Two of their players added personal achievements in the victory, adding to the team achievement of its first playoff appearance since 1993. Jimmy Rollins hit his 20th triple, giving him at least 20 doubles, triples, homers, and steals on the year. He is the fourth player ever to do this, and the second this season along with Curtis Granderson of the Tigers. Also, Ryan Howard added three RBIs, giving him the NL lead for the second straight season. He finished with 136 ribbies along with 47 homers, including seven homers the last ten games of the season as the Phillies made their big run. These achievements do go along with the dubious mark of the all-time strikeout record (199). The Phillies will face the winner of the wild card in the first round of the playoffs.

Playoff before the Playoffs: The 2007 regular season isn’t over yet. There is one game left to be played that will decide the NL Wild Card champion. The Rockies and Padres ended the season exactly tied, forcing the first tiebreaker game in seven years. The Padres should not be in this position, as they led the Rockies by a mile the majority of the season. But Colorado, who was in fourth place two weeks ago, has had an incredible late-season rally with 13 wins in their last 14 games. Their pitching staff, which almost traditionally has been a joke, has been tearing it up during the streak to compliment their powerfully consistent offense. The Padres haven’t been that bad in September (15-13), but they couldn’t win either of their last two games at Milwaukee, which would have sent them to the postseason automatically. The pitching matchup for this game is a mismatch: Jake Peavy vs. Josh Fogg. Peavy, the guaranteed Cy Young winner, was the only pitcher in the majors to have below a 3.00 ERA this season, and he beat that mark by a mile (2.36). Fogg had a great September (3-0, 3.25 ERA), but is average at best. The Rockies do have the advantage of playing at home though, so this game will be interesting.

Players of the Day: Magglio Ordonez, Tigers: 3-4, 2 RBIs, won AL batting title with .363 average, finished second in majors with 139 RBIs.

Carlos Pena, Devil Rays: HR (46). In Pena’s remarkable yet underappreciated season, he finished second in the AL in homers, fourth in RBIs (121), and second in slugging (.627).

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MLB General

The Full Count: Phillies finally catch the Mets


1. Comeback Completed: Philadelphia has been catching up with New York for the past month. Finally, they are tied for the division lead. The shocked Mets have gone from obvious division favorites to possibly missing the playoffs. New York lost its fourth game in a row on Thursday in an embarrassing 3-0 home shutout to the Cardinals. Pedro Martinez, who has a 2.57 ERA since returning to the rotation, had eight strikeouts in a losing effort. He was outpitched by Joel Pineiro, who shut down the overrated Mets lineup with eight scoreless innings. Meanwhile, the Phillies topped the Braves for the second straight day. They scored six runs off John Smoltz, four in the first inning, as rookie Kyle Kendrick picked up his 10th win. Now the teams are tied at 87-72 for the division lead with three games to go. Both teams have an easy final series at home: the Phillies play the Nationals while the Mets face the Marlins. Whoever loses this division race will be in tough competition with San Diego for the wild card. Right now the Padres are a game ahead of both teams.

2. Hold on Loosely: Though the Padres have made a charge, the Diamondbacks continue to hold the NL West division lead. They won 8-0 against the Pirates on Thursday to keep them a game ahead of San Diego. Micah Owings pitched six scoreless innings while going 4-4 with 3 RBIs. The game’s best-hitting pitcher now has a ridiculous .339 average, which is far above everyone in their everyday lineup. Considering the fact that he’s an average starter, they should consider moving him to the outfield eventually. With the win the D-backs are one game shy of becoming the first (and possibly the only) NL team to reach 90 wins this season. Ironically, on paper they are actually the worst among the NL’s playoff contenders. The bullpen is solid and they have a true ace in Brandon Webb, but beyond that their other starters are mediocre and their lineup verges on dismal. Though they could potentially be the #1 seed in the NL playoffs, they will need luck on their side to advance.

3. Simply Unstoppable: The Rockies won their 11th straight game to stay one game behind San Diego in the wild card race. They beat the Dodgers 10-4 to finish off their second sweep of the Dodgers during the streak. Garrett Atkins went 4-4 with a homer and Brad Hawpe drove in three runs for Colorado. Seven of their 11 consecutive wins have come against the Dodgers, who have fallen to only one game over .500 for the season. The Rockies will face the D-backs at home in what will be a crucial final series for both teams.

Player of the Day: Phil Hughes, Yankees: 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 5 strikeouts in a 3-1 win over the Devil Rays. The Yankees mathematically still have a shot at the division title, with the Red Sox’s magic number still at 2.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Padres come up big


1. (Re)taking the Lead: The Padres’ tie with the Phillies atop the wild card standings didn’t last very long. As the Phillies lost to the Braves, San Diego beat San Francisco 6-4 with a huge rally in the ninth. Brian Giles hit a game-winning three run homer to cap off a four-run ninth. The 86-71 Padres are theoretically in the division race too, at two games back, but it is the wild card that gives them a better shot at making the playoffs. They will play their last division game of the year Wednesday at San Francisco before heading off to Milwaukee for their last series.

2. The New Contenders: The Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies are two late-season additions to the wild card race. They are the two hottest teams in the majors, and both won on Tuesday as well. The Rockies have won nine in a row, while the Braves have won eight of their last nine games, including a key 10-6 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday. The win, powered by Mark Teixeira and Chipper Jones homers, put the Braves at three games back in the wild card. The Rockies are even closer, at just one game back of the Padres. They beat Los Angeles, who is officially out of the race, by a score of 9-7. Troy Tulowitzki hit his 23rd homer of the year and Todd Helton added three hits for Colorado. The Rockies, who have scored the fifth-most runs in the majors, will play the Dodgers once more and then face the Diamondbacks for a season-ending three game set.

3. Power Play: The Brewers are edging closer to the playoffs, just two games back of the Cubs after a 9-1 win over St. Louis. They wouldn’t even be near contention without the contributions of MVP candidate Prince Fielder, who added two homers to his league-leading total. Fielder now has 50 home runs, the youngest player ever to reach that mark. Additionally, he and his father Cecil are the only father-son tandem in big league history to each have 50-home run seasons. Prince is having a truly unbelievable season for a second-year player, almost matching what Ryan Howard did last year. He has almost doubled his rookie homerun total (28) while also improving every other category known to man. He isn’t the leading MVP candidate, but he will pick up plenty of votes, especially because he reached the big 5-0.

Player of the Day: Victor Martinez, Indians: 2-4, HR (25), 3 RBIs in a 4-3 win over Seattle. Why isn’t Martinez one of the MVP candidates? He has been by far the Indians’ best hitter this season, with a .301 average and 110 RBIs, both leading the team.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Phillies move into wild card lead doing nothing


1. It’s a Tie: The Padres seemingly had the wild card wrapped up, but with a four game losing streak they let two other teams back in the race. The Phillies, who were off on Monday, are now tied with San Diego for the wild card lead. The Rockies, who are riding an eight game winning streak, are now a game back. The Padres’ loss came 9-4 at the hands of the Giants. Chris Young continued his baffling collapse with seven runs allowed in five innings. This raised his ERA over 3 for the first time since May. Barry Zito of the Giants, one of the all-time biggest wastes of money, finally won his 10th game of the year. The Padres, 85-71, have two more games against the Giants before they travel to Milwaukee for a four-game showdown to finish the season. The Rockies have the toughest road among the contenders with Los Angeles and Arizona to finish up the season. The Phillies have the Braves and Nationals, all at home. Atlanta, who is three games back, could become competitive in the race themselves if they sweep Philly.

2. Unwanted Losses: Both New York teams lost on Monday. For the Yankees, it put them 2 games back of the Red Sox for the division lead. For the Mets, a loss put them only two games ahead of the Phillies in the division. The Mets fell to the last-place Nationals by an embarrassing 13-4 score. Spot starter Mike Pelfrey got torched for seven runs in the blowout loss at home. The Yankees also lost at home, this one coming to the Blue Jays. The pesky Jays, who swept Boston last week, took 2 of 4 from New York in the series. Rookie Jesse Litsch had 7.2 innings of near-scoreless action to pick up the win over Andy Pettitte. Even though the Yanks face Tampa and Baltimore the last two series, it is unlikely they will win the division. They play all those games on the road, while the Red Sox will stay at Fenway Park for the rest of the season.

3. Too Little, Too Late?: The Brewers certainly had an impressive showing Monday: a 13-4 win over St. Louis to put them three games back of the Cubs, who didn’t play. Ryan Braun (33) and Prince Fielder (48) both homered and had three RBIs. They piled up nine runs, though only four earned, off St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright. The Cardinals, who have been officially eliminated from playoff contention, have gone 4-15 since September 7. At that point they were one game back in the division, now they trail by 10. The Brewers will have to virtually win out and hope the Cubs lose the majority of their remaining games if they want to get in the playoffs. However, that is looking highly unlikely right now.

Player of the Day: Carlos Silva, Twins: 7.2 innings, 6 hits, no runs in a 2-0 win over Detroit.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Dodgers down for the count


1. The Dodgers’ Downfall: Not too long ago the division leaders, the slumping Dodgers now find themselves in fourth place. They were passed by the Rockies on Wednesday as they lost their sixth straight game. They were shut out 1-0 by the Reds, their third shutout loss in a row and fourth in the last five games. Aaron Harang shut down the Dodgers with eight scoreless innings and eight strikeouts. Los Angeles, now 58-55, is five games back in the division but falling fast. They are 1-9 their last ten games, while the top three teams in the division have winning records their last ten. The Dodgers’ problem is clear: hitting. They have a team .211 batting average during the losing streak, while their team ERA is an excellent 3.29. It’s clear now they should have made a trade for a slugger at the trading deadline. If they cannot start hitting, they could fall completely out of the playoff picture.

2. Battle of the Best: The Angels won the first two games of their three-game set against the Red Sox. In the third, the Red Sox won 9-6 despite poor starting pitching. Jon Lester allowed five runs in three-plus innings, his worst outing of the year so far. However, the Angels’ Dustin Moseley fared even worse, with six runs and ten hits in almost five innings. Mike Lowell led the offensive charge for the Red Sox, with a 4-4 performance that included three doubles and two RBIs. Dustin Pedroia had three hits, three runs and his third homer of the season. The Red Sox are now one away from becoming the first major league team to reach 70 wins. They gained another game on the Yankees, and the division lead is now six games.

3. Bullpen Woes: Once again, the Braves built up a lead only to have it blown by their bullpen. They are starting to resemble last year’s team in this respect. Atlanta led the Mets 3-1 entering the 7th inning, but then John Smoltz allowed two runs off a Luis Castillo single. In the eighth, the recently shaky Rafael Soriano came in, allowed a solo homer to Moises Alou, and the Mets won 4-3. For Soriano, it was his sixth time in his last thirteen appearances that he allowed a run. Five of those games resulted in losses. Closer Bob Wickman has blown five saves, all on the road. If the Braves’ best relievers can’t get going, they will have no shot at making the playoffs, no matter how good their offense is.

Player of the Day: Garrett Atkins, Rockies: 4-4, 6 RBIs in a 19-4 win over the Brewers. Atkins’ career-high RBI total came as part of a 23-hit parade by the Rockies.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Chris Young makes his case

There is a possibility that there will be NO SOUP FOR YOU!! Every year there is that one All-Star snub that just baffles everyone. This year’s candidate has to be Padres pitcher Chris Young. Young will probably make the NL team, one way or the other. He can be voted in in the final online voting, which ends at 6 p.m. Eastern today, or he could replace an injured player, such as John Smoltz of the Braves. However, in last nights game against the Marlins, Young made the proverbial statement that he should’ve already freakin’ been there, LaRussa, with another stellar outing. Young went seven innings, allowing no runs while striking out nine. Like the proverbial broken record, he got a no decision for his effort. It was the seventh time Young has carried a shutout into the seventh inning this season, and the fourth in which he got no decision. In 17 starts, Young has allowed only 23 earned runs. Not to get all editorial after your July 4 hangover, but if the game is going to count as far as awarding home field advantage in the World Series, then managers Tony LaRussa and Jim Leyland should be able to pick the best team available, and not be hamstrung by the every-team-must-be-represented rule.

Old Man River does it againThe Tigers snapped the Indians six-game winning streak 6-4, with the help of Kenny Rogers. Rogers won his third straight start since coming of the DL and kept the Tigers two games behind Cleveland in the Central and 1.5 games ahead of the Mariners for the Wild Card. Carlos Guillen led the offense by going 3 for 4 with a run-scoring triple. It was Rogers’ sixth straight win going back to last year’s postseason, and he has allowed only four earned runs this year.

I love New York, it’s the rest of the league that’s the problem. The Colorado Rockies became the first team since 1956 to sweep two New York teams in the same season. The Rock gave the Mets an old fashioned Coors enema, pounding out 20 hits and 17 runs and forcing Mets pitchers to throw 233 pitches (including 107 in 4 innings by El Duque Hernandez). The Rockies swept the Yankees three weeks ago, and outscored the Gothams 47-17 overall. Unfortunatley, they have no more games left against New York teams. Bye bye wild card hopes.

Player of the Day: Garrett Atkins, Rockies. 4 for 5, HR, 5 RBI and 2 runs scored in a 17-7 win over the Mets.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Barry inching closer


The crawl to Aaron continues: Barry Bonds hit no. 751 on Tuesday against the Reds, a first inning blast off Aaron Harang into the right-centerfield seats. The Giants lost the game 7-3, and Bonds made sure to backhand his teammates by saying, “I’m playing pretty good for an old guy. I just wish we were playing better as a team.” That’s our Barry, always making nice. What made this game interesting was that it was the first time in over 30 years in which two players with that many homeruns played in the same game. Bonds (751) and Ken Griffey Jr’s (585) 1,336 homers are the third-most all-time between two players in the same game.

The players might have liked you, but I think you suck. We believe those were the words Rockies’ manager Clint Hurdle used when taking the closer’s job away from Brian Fuentes. Fuentes had already sewn up his third straight selection to the NL All-Star team before blowing four consecutive save opportunities, the first time anyone has done that in almost 20 years. Fuentes was one of the best closers in the league before melting in games against the Blue Jays, Cubs and Astros, with his ERA jumping from 1.89 to 4.17. He probably won’t lose the job permanantely, but Hurdle now plans on using the dreaded “bullpen by committee” approach.

Rookie what we have here Although his name may sound more like a NASCAR driver than a baseball player, Houston rookie Hunter Pence has been tearing it up for the Astros. Pence has been doing it all for Houston, including hitting a walk-off homerun for a 5-4 victory over the Phillies last night. It was the third time during their homestand that an Astro has sent ’em home happy with a game-winning homer. Since being called up on April 28th, the Fort Worth, TX product has hit 10 homeruns with 39 RBI while leading the Astros with a .345 batting average. He’s even outslugging Carlos Lee .590 to .517. He’s also playing a remarkable centerfield, as evidenced by his ridiculous catch off a Ryan Howard shot in the eigth inning. Pence climbed that stupid Tal’s Hill and caught the ball right next to the waiting-to-kill-somebody flagpole, 436 feet from home.

Player of the day: Brad Wilkerson, Rangers. 3-4, 3 HR, 6 RBI in an 8-3 win over the Angels.

Honorable Mention Player(s) of the day: The Kansas City Royals entire starting lineup. The Royals are a team that has never gotten a lot of respect offensively, but when they beat a team, they beat them like they stole something. For the third time in a month, the Royals put a 17 spot on the board –all in home games– by pounding the Mariners 17-3. 21-year-old Billy Butler led the way, driving in six runs by the second inning. The Royals beat the Phillies 17-5 on June 10th and the Cardinals 17-8 on June 14th. They also lost a 17-3 game to Oakland at home on May 10th.

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Colorado Rockies

The Full Count: The Rockies rebound late


1. Double Comeback: The Cubs and Rockies played eight normal innings and one wacky one at Wrigley Field on Monday. Through the eighth inning, the Cubs led 8-3. Then the real action started. Todd Helton, Garrett Atkins, and Brad Hawpe pounded out RBI hits with two outs to make the score 8-6. Then with two men on, Troy Tulowitzki blasted a homer to give the Rockies a lead and complete an incredible six-run comeback. However, the game wasn’t over quite yet. A throwing error by the Rockies with two outs in the bottom of the ninth loaded up the bases for Alfonso Soriano. Soriano then singled, driving in two and giving the Cubs a wacky 10-9 win. This is one of those games that shows why you should never leave a ballgame after the eighth inning, no matter what the score is. It was the Cubs’ third straight win, while the Rockies were hit with their fourth straight loss.

2. Another start, another win: The day after Josh Beckett reached 11 wins, CC Sabathia of the Indians matched him. Sabathia improved to 11-2 with a complete-game shutdown of the A’s. It was his third complete game in his last five starts, good for the AL lead. Sabathia allowed two runs, walked none and struck out eight in the Indians’ 5-2 victory. Like Beckett, Sabathia’s record is aided by great run support (he has a 3.24 ERA) but he is still worthy of Cy Young consideration. The A’s continued their downward fall after a great first half of the month, losing their fourth straight game.

3. Who wants first?: The NL West has made a remarkable turnaround from the league’s worst division two years ago to its most competitive one today. It seems like every week first place is up for grabs as the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Padres have all posted strong records. Right now the key series is Dodgers-D-backs, as the two teams are separated by a half-game in a series that will decide who’s in first place. The Dodgers won game one on Monday 8-1, as Brad Penny made another excellent start. Penny improved to 3-0 on the month and 10-1 overall as he allowed one run to Arizona in 8 innings of work. Penny, who started the All Star game last year, might do so again this year as he leads the league with a 2.04 ERA.

Player of the Day: Brian McCann, Braves: 2-3, HR (6), 4 RBIs in the Braves’ 4-1 win over the Nationals. McCann provided the Braves some much-needed offense as they ended their five-game slide.