Josh Hamilton's Bad Break

The Texas Rangers have been red-hot to start the season in 2011 by starting the season 9 and 2.  Things were moving swimmingly for the Rangers as they mashed the ball around the diamond plus they had got some great pitching performances. Everyone jumped on the Oakland A's bandwagon including me forgetting the Rangers had won the American League pennant last season.  The Rangers season took an unique turn when when Josh Hamilton broke his arm on a hustle play.



I wish I could give a video of it, but Major League Baseball does not believe in putting their videos on YouTube. Nice social media ideas MLB! Basically what happened was Hamilton tried to score from third on a pop fly because no one covered home and ended up colliding with the catcher which broke Hamilton's humorous bone (some are saying it could have happened on the third base slide). Nothing is funny (see what I did there) about this injury for the Rangers, but it's something teams would rather have happened in April than August.

As for the play, I liked the hustle out of Hamilton, and if I am a Rangers fan, I would not be mad at Hamilton today. He busted his ass, and tried to make a play out of nothing.  The Rangers should be able to withstand not having Hamilton for the next two months. Obviously, the offense will not be the same, but the Rangers have a ton of talent on offense. The biggest thing for the Rangers success now is for their pitching to continue to be strong.

-Charlie.

Half Assed Preview: AL West

The more I start writing about baseball this year, I think it's really deep year. Granted, injuries could happen to some of these teams creating more distance but I feel there is two or three teams who could make a push for the division.  Here is the AL West, and like everyone else I am jumping on a certain bandwagon in the Bay Area.

AL WEST



1.) Oakland Athletics: Player I Love: Brett Anderson (SP)- People thought he could have been a breakout star last season, and then he had some arm trouble. Anderson has the ability to throw four pitches well, which will be crucial. Player I Hate: Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B)- I am not real psyched about anyone in their infield. Kouz will give you some production at the plate in terms of homers, but doesn't hit for average, or take walks. Good defender though. Prediction: 88 wins, the A's have the young pitching staff like they did with Zito, Mulder, and Hudson, but this time it's Braden, Gonzalez, Cahill, and Anderson. Only Braden is over 25, scary thought.

2.) Texas Rangers: Player I Love: Chris Davis (1B)- A couple years ago, everyone was on his bandwagon so I took him in a fantasy draft hoping for big results. He did nothing. Davis is one of those guys who continues to kill it in Triple AAA, but never in the major leagues. Maybe this is his year. Player I Hate: Colby Lewis (SP)- I think we can all agree the Rangers caught some breaks with guys like Lewis and C.J. Wilson playing at a high level. Not sure that can happen again this year. Prediction: 84 wins, the Rangers once again can crush the ball better than anyone, but their pitching staff is shaky. Cliff Lee isn't walking through that door.

3.) Los Angeles Angles: Player I Love: Vernon Wells (OF)- While I thought the trade for Wells was ridiculous for monetary reasons, I think he can have a better than expected year. He could benefit from Torii Hunter's influence. Player I Hate: Scott Kazmir (SP)- I think he is washed up. He didn't pitch well last year, and didn't again in Spring Training. I wouldn't be surprised if Kazmir found himself in the pen by the end of May. Prediction: 79 wins, there is nothing that impresses me about the Angels this season. Sure they could have a good bullpen, but that's about all I got.

4.) Seattle Mariners: Player I Love: Michael Pineda (SP)- He is on everybody's radar. It still blows my mind a guy who is younger than me is playing in the big leagues. He will be right there next to Carlos Santana for Rookie of the Year. Player I Hate: Milton Bradley (OF)- Every year I am amazed that Milt is still in the Major Leagues, that's all I got to say about that. Predictions: 69 wins, I think the Mariners will probably deal King Felix and get a ton of talent for him. They will not be tgreat this year, but the future is bright.

-Charlie.

Getting to Know....Perfect Relievers

Here in the "Getting to Know..." universe we like to keep track of stats. Stats of interesting players, oddities, new kids on the block, that sort of thing. So as I was looking through some sortable stats on ESPN, I noticed a little statistical note that piqued my interest quite a bit: there are three relief pitchers (min 8 IP) that have yet to give up a run this season. One you have heard of, but the other two are young guns making a big splash on the Major League stage. Here is a look at the three pitchers still tossing doughnuts for the season:

Eric Gagne:
Games: 9
IP: 8.1
WHIP: .96
Notes: The Rangers took a bit of a flier on the oft-injured Gagne in the offseason, and thus far things seem to be panning out pretty well for them. After a brief stint on the DL this season Gagne has come back with a vengeance, allowing only one hit in five appearances since his return.

Jeremy Accardo:
Games: 18
IP: 20
WHIP: .80
Notes: The Jays picked Accardo up in the Shea Hillenbrand trade last year, and suffice it to say they are looking pretty smart for it. Accardo had a shaky run to end last season, but has stepped into the closer role for Toronto this season while B.J. Ryan has been on the DL. With Accardo pitching lights out, recording 4 saves in the past ten days, it will be interesting to see if he holds on to the closer's role when Ryan returns.

Kevin Cameron:
Games: 11
IP: 16.1
WHIP: 1.29
Notes: Cameron is a rookie, and not just in that funny MLB "he has not pitched X number of innings in a given season" kind of way, Cameron has been seeing his first major league action this year, and the 27 year old is one of the major reasons why San Diego has the lowest bullpen ERA in all of baseball. A notable point about Cameron's performance is that he has pitched 2 or more innings in a relief appearance five times already this season.