Saturday, 24 April 2010 09:30
Nick Alfonse, ClassActSports.com, Baseball Analyst
 With most of the baseball pundits spending their time pontificating about the Yankees’ fast start, or the early Red Sox woes, people are missing out on one of the best stories in the young Tampa Bay Rays. Historically overlooked and left behind by the larger market teams, Tampa is out to prove once again it is a World Series contender with effective pitching, speed and explosive offensive capabilities. After flirting with a championship in 2008 and missing the postseason last year, the Rays are making their presence known throughout the league as a formidable opponent, demanding to be taken seriously once and for all.
If asked the question, “Which team leads the AL in runs,” most people would probably guess the Yankees, right? Wrong. Tampa Bay currently leads the AL in runs scored, and ties for second with Minnesota for the best record in baseball. The Rays also have the best road record in the majors at 8-1, partially thanks to the scorching hot seven-game winning streak which included a sweep of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Yes, they played the woefully poor Orioles twice already, but this team is still a group of which to be cautious. After finally losing a game in Chicago, they immediately responded with a 12-0 pounding of Mark Buehrle, who pitched a perfect game in his previous outing last season against Tampa. Keeping in stride with the Yankees, this young, energetic team is looking to stay in position for the AL East while others are already falling behind.
The Rays’ offense also seems to be undeterred by upper-echelon pitching, successfully taking down starters such as Javier Vasquez, John Lackey and Jon Lester. As a team, they’ve managed to remain in the upper level of production, ranking sixth in the AL for home runs, batting average and on-base percentage. B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena have been effective, and are currently all tied for third in RBI with 13 each. For a cherry on top, add in Tampa’s league-leading 18 stolen bases and you’ve created a pretty scary offense in the early going.
Of course, all the offense in the world can’t save a franchise without quality pitching, which Tampa seems to be receiving plenty of throughout April. Matt Garza’s incredible performances leave him with a 0.75 ERA and three wins, both tops in the AL. Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann have also held their own, keeping their ERAs below three, and striking out 20 batters combined so far. Closer Rafael Soriano is filling in nicely for injured J.P. Howell, with four saves in as many opportunities and allowing only two earned runs.
Not only is Tampa’s quick start impressive, but it’s absolutely imperative for them to piece together a quality season this year. With Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena on the final year of their contracts, this could be the best opportunity for them to make a splash before dealing with expensive free agency deals. Crawford will obviously draw large offers from teams like New York, who will easily be able to outbid a smaller market team such as the Rays. The likelihood of losing both these players in 2011 is fairly certain, which would take a huge chunk out of their offensive capabilities, especially without Crawford’s explosive speed and base stealing opportunism. “Strike while the iron is hot” appears to be Tampa’s motto in the early going of 2010.
In 1991, the Minnesota Twins began the season in Oakland with the common dream to win a championship. Thirteen games later, they stood seventh in their division with a 4-9 record and little hope for the future. Six months later, the Minnesota Twins won their second championship.
 The Boston Red Sox stand right now where the Twins stood in April of ‘91. Both teams started off with a 4-9 record, and both teams had a realistic dream of a championship turned to dust.
The Red Sox were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in a four-game set that concluded on Monday. For Boston, many problems emerged that are points of concern but should certainly not be exaggerated. The Red Sox will fall out of contention if these problems are not fixed, but there is no reason for concern just yet.
Jon Lester has to be one of Boston’s biggest concerns. He has anchored the Sox staff along with Josh Beckett for many years now, and his success is essential for the overall success of the team.
Lester has started the season with an 8.44 ERA in three starts. He has yet to win a game, and has lost two. As dismal as that may seem, it is not out of the ordinary. Over the course of his career, April has always been the worst month for Lester. If he has worked it out in the past, he will work it out now.
One of the biggest problems for the Red Sox so far has been their lack of ability to throw out runners. Jason Varitek is no longer a great defensive catcher, and Victor Martinez has never been known as one either. The Red Sox have given up 21 stolen bases this year -- the most in all of baseball.
However, it is likely that those numbers are inflated since the Red Sox just played the Rays, who are known as one of the best running teams in baseball. Although they gave up many stolen bases last year as well, it was never as much of a problem for them as it has been so far in 2010. As more games are played, it will likely become less of an issue for Boston.
Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon is off to the worst start of his career. April has always been a strong month for him, which has not held up in 2010. The biggest concern for him has been his inability to throw strikes, as evident by his .40 SO/BB ratio. He has been a strike thrower his entire career, which makes this outburst of walks troubling for the Red Sox.
The Red Sox, just like every other team, have some definite concerns. The good news is that they can all be worked out. As the hype and anticipation has grown around the Red Sox each year, the expectations have grown as well, which has inflated the concern around every problem. However, no team has ever played a full season without a bump in the road; and just like the 1991 Minnesota Twins, the 2010 Red Sox should not be counted out…yet.
jess.coleman@classactsports.com
twitter.com/nycoleman
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 After struggling with a sore back all spring, Albert Pujols has jumped out to an incredibly fast start this season, proving to the world why he is the best baseball player in today’s game. Through nine games and only 35 at-bats, Pujols already has 14 hits, 15 RBI, five home runs, a slugging percentage of .886, and an average of .400 with two multiple home run games already.
Over the last five to seven years the Cardinals have been playing competitive baseball come September. This can be attributed to great coaching from the legendary Tony LaRussa, a great pitching coach and the hitting machine in Pujols, sitting right in the middle of their lineup. Fans in St. Louis are in for a special treat every time they head to the ballpark to watch the Cardinals play, having the luxury of watching and cheering for potentially one of the best hitters Major League Baseball has ever seen.
Everything about Pujols’ game is textbook. If you are a parent and are trying to teach your children to become good baseball players, all you need to do is pop on the television and have them watch Albert.
Offensively, not much needs to be said as his numbers speak for themselves, especially after winning his third MVP award since 2001. If you analyze his swing you can easily tell why he has had so much success at the plate. His hands, legs and head remain extremely patient as he dissects each and every pitch. When he decides to unload his hands and legs into the baseball he remains extremely balanced and centered, exploding through the ball.
Pujols is also pretty good with the glove at first base. He currently has a career fielding percentage of .993. Remember that in his early years the Cardinals had him playing left field and third base.
Pujols only seems to get better and more comfortable with each passing season, and is usually in the top 5 in MVP voting. After getting off to such a quick start, this could possibly be one of the best years of his already unbelievable career. If that’s the case, the numbers will be off the charts, as he has already put together a season where he hit .331, belted 49 home runs and racked up 137 RBI. Pay close attention to Mr. Pujols because we could be witnessing the best baseball player of all time.
Monday, 12 April 2010 20:09
FanFave, ClassActSports.com, NY Rant
 Mets' Brass On Notice.
We're one week into the new season and the frustrated Mets fan base is already calling for Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel to, putting it politely, um, leave. FanFave believes it's none too early to put these two on notice. Now, cooler heads will say, “FanFave, are you kidding me? We’re only six games into the season.” Well, here it is, yes, six games into the season and the Mets are 2-4. More importantly, those were six games at HOME. Three of those games were against the Nationals. The last game was a loss to the Nationals without Ryan Zimmerman, with a pitching matchup of Johan Santana against Livan Hernandez. UNACCEPTABLE! The Mets are now facing a six-game road trip with stops in St. Louis and Colorado. The Mets are looking at being a below .500 ball club. After last season, the Mets needed to come out of the gate angry. I believe the marketing campaign is “Team Redemption,” right? Well, not so much...
FanFave already has several bones to pick with manager Jerry Manuel: Ike Davis, Jenrry Mejia, and Mike JacobsManuel says Davis has started in the minors because he's looking at doing what’s best for Davis’ long-term, but in a completely contradictory fashion he has the Mets’ best arm, 20-year-old Mejia, pitching in the bullpen with no role and no steady work. Mejia could and, in FanFave’s opinion, should be developing in the minors, pitching as a starter every fifth day. FanFave believes it should be the opposite. Davis should be here playing every day at first base and Mejia should be pitching in Double-A, as a starter. When Jacobs got hurt that was all the reasoning the Mets needed to give the job to Ike. Instead, Jacobs is barely hitting his weight out of the gate. LineupLet’s just stay with the lineup. The one hitter who has come out smoking is Jeff Francoeur. I don't know…would it make sense to bat “Frenchy” higher in the order, maybe in the two-hole instead of Alex Cora or Luis Castillo? It’s just a thought. In my Mets preview (GOOD, BAD and UGLY), I touched upon Cora and Fernando Tatis in the BAD section. What has to be done to keep Manuel from thinking he needs to keep finding at-bats for Tatis? And, seriously, I don't get the hoopla surrounding Cora. Even Gary Cohen and Ron Darling are in on it. Cora cannot hit one iota. He has zero range at shortstop, and his defense is adequate at second base. Does that mean he should be getting this much playing time? Wouldn't the Mets be better served letting Ruben Tejada play every day at second? He’s already proven he's a better defensive shortstop than Cora. I'm sure Ruben can also develop into a really great guy to replace Cora's “great guy” skills as well. CF: Gary Matthews Jr. over Angel Pagan?When did Matthews win the center field job over Pagan? When Reyes was out, wouldn't Pagan have been a better option with his speed? Regardless, Pagan is more of an offensive threat than Matthews. FanFave and the rest of the Mets fan base are very intelligent. We get it that we just got Jose Reyes back. We get it that Carlos Beltran is out, but yesterday’s loss to the Nats was UNACCEPTABLE. Mets fans deserve better. Yes, it's that time already. Jerry and Omar, you're on notice.
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MLB 2010 SEASON Preview
