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Pro Sports Wrap - Sports Personality of the Day:Steven Stamkos

1. Pujols injury update

Albert Pujols will be out for about six weeks with a fractured left wrist in a season filled with ups and downs for Puj. He sustained this injury after colliding with Wilson Betemit of the Royals in a baseball play gone wrong. The Cards have had to deal with many injuries this season to their stars. Matt Holliday has missed time, David Freese is still out, and Adam Wainwright has missed the entire season.

"You can't replace a player of his magnitude," general manager John Mozeliak said. "It just seems like we've had to deal with one injury after another.


"We still have to find ways to win games, and that's what we'll do."

The Cardinals have found ways to win games thanks to some amazing play by Lance Berkman. I don't see him cooling off. He's hitting line drives, and his BABIP is right where it should be. Detractors will point to a high HR/FB%, but that number is in line with his career numbers. Berkman is healthy, and he's mashing.

2. All Boston does is win, win, win no matter what

I feel bad for the Padres, because they stood no chance. The Red Sox scored ten runs in the seventh inning and won the game 14-6 behind Adrian Gonzalez. The interesting thing is that Orlando Hudson was the only player to hit a homer in this game. He went 3 for 5 with two runs and three RBIs. Chase Headley went 4 for 5 with a double and two runs (he scored on Hudson's dinger).

The Red Sox scored on a double play, twice on an HBP, and twice again on a walk. Evan Scribner gave up four earned runs without getting an out, and Ernesto Frieri gave up four earned runs without even giving up a hit. He walked two and was responsible for the two batters hit by pitches. Adrian Gonzalez went 3 for 5 with a double, two runs, and three steaks.


3. Lidstrom will return

This is great news for hockey fans in general, and it's the best news ever for Red Wings fans. Fellow defenseman Brian Rafalski surprised everyone by retiring when all eyes were on Lidstrom. Much to the relief of GM Ken Holland, Lidstrom will play another season in the NHL. He still hasn't lost it, and he is my pick for the Norris Trophy.A testament to his sportsmanship and leadership, Lidstrom is also a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy and Mark Messier Leadership Award.

4. Tim Hudson

That's all I need as a header for this one, because it was all about Hud in the Braves' 2-0 victory over the Jays. His Game Score of 85 was backed by a remarkable performance through eight innings. Hudson gave up just two hits and a walk while striking out eight. He broke the 1,600 mark in this game. The amazing Craig Kimbrel got his 20th save of the year by striking out the side.

Ricky Romero had a strong outing, but that was overshadowed by the greatness of Hudson. The veteran starter his his second career homer in the seventh inning with two outs. It was a two-run shot to left that was 401 feet out, and it generated the only runs scored in the game. It's safe to say that Hudson didn't have a bad game.

5. Is Jimmer a bust?

Jimmer was great in college, but I don't see him panning out in the NBA. He's a great shooter, he works hard, he's a leader, and he knows how to win games. But there have been tons of guys with those qualities who have busted out. Why? They're not good enough. Jimmer isn't a true point guard because he is only an average passer and he stinks on D. I see him being a below average player in the NBA whose real value is as a scorer off the bench. I love the kid, but I just don't see him as a guy who deserves to be a lottery pick. He should go in the late teens because of his college production.
Can the Cards get a break?
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Last season, the Padres were baseball's surprise story and were in first place in their division for most of the year. Their devastating collapse at the end of the year- and the incredible comeback by the Giants who would eventually win the World Series- has continued on to this season. The Padres are last in the poor but competitive NL West.

It's no surprise that their hitting has been awful, and that's the reason why they are last in their division. Their rotation has been disappointing, especially when you consider that their ballpark is PETCO. The Padres do have one of the best bullpens in baseball with Heath Bell, Mike Adams, Chad Qualls, Luke Gregerson, and Pat Neshek.

Nick Hundley, who has been good this year, is on the 15-day DL as is free agent signing Orlando Hudson who has not been so good this year. Cameron Maybin has been great in the field and the best player on the team so far, but I really hate is contact. I think he's going to bat under .240 for the season with his strikeout rate. He's got a high BABIP, and he's still barely hitting over .250. It just shows how pathetic the Padres are offensively.

The thing is that Maybin has been the best fielder and baserunner on the team, so that's what makes his WAR 1.8. Kyle Phillips is getting more time with Hundley out. The former prized Blue Jays' prospect has shown some nice flashes of power, and I think he needs to get more playing time over Rob Johnson. What do they have to lose?

Ryan Ludwick leads the team in homers, but he also has the highest fly ball rate in the majors. He's also hitting .257 which shows you that he is still the same old Ryan Ludwick. A guy who hits fly balls and doesn't get on base. Jorge Cantu has been a bust signing so far because he's been doing nothing of note lately besides sucking.

Chris Denorfia and Chase Headley have been the only other players that have been hitting well. Denorfia has been the team's best hitter so far. He's getting on base, but he's definitely in for a huge regression on the contact side which would mean he would go back to being his usual subpar hitting self. Headley is producing runs, but he can't field. His BABIP is .347 and his BA is .275. That may seem way off, but his career BABIP is .333. So I think he'll end up hitting about .270 for the year.

On to the pitching side of the Padres. Tim Stauffer has been very unlucky so far this year, and he's been pitching better than the numbers indicate. Stauffer has been his team's best pitcher so far, but I can't see Mat Latos not getting back on track and pitching very well the rest of the way. These are both two pitchers to keep an eye on.

I think Pat Neshek will regress, and Clayton Richard is going to keep pitching poorly. There's nothing to indicate that things will improve for the young hurler. Although Chad Qualls has a .242 BABIP, he has been able to induce groundballs. I think Qualls still remains effective as the year goes on. Mike Adams is a guy who will definitely see his sub 2.00 ERA go up. He's a very good set-up man who gets K's, but he has been far too lucky this year with a .197 BABIP, a 92.1 LOB%, and a 41.3 GB%.

Pat Neshek and Chad Qualls are polar opposites in terms of pitchers whose fastballs have been more effective. Neshek doesn't use his fastball very much, and for good reason because it is barely over 85 miles an hour. Neshek does make good adjustments because his slider is his most-thrown pitch and his most effective this year. It's been downright nasty so far, while Clayton Richard has struggled with it. Well, he's struggled with all his pitches except his fastball and average curveball.

Dustin Moseley has been solid so far this year thanks to his cutter and curveball, but he should cut down on his changeup usage because he's not fooling anybody with it. Part of it may be because he hasn't successfully used his fastball to set up his change. Having an average fastball velocity just a tick under 89 miles an hour also doesn't help too much either. Mat Latos and Tim Stauffer's have also struggled because their off-speed stuff has been quite up to par yet, but I'm confident that their overall stats will get better.
Numbers Will Be Better
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