Unless you are a baseball fan, this is the worst time of the year for a sports fan. Football is a couple of a weeks away from being relevant. They Olympics will start around then as well. The NHL is headed for labor issues that could cause the start of the season to be in jeopardy. The NBA can't seem to eliminate the Dwight Howard saga from its headlines and looks to be under the control of the Miami Heat for the foreseeable future. College football still is over a month away from beginning so that leads us back to baseball.
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again." -James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams
There is really only baseball to watch this weekend, save for seeing if Steve Stricker can win his 4th consecutive John Deere Classic. I'll give you the top 5 series to watch and there should be some good ones as the playoff chase officially begins now that the All-Star Game is behind us.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers
Right now the Brewers are in sellers mode. Pitcher Zack Greinke will be making his 3rd consecutive start for Milwaukee tonight which is something baseball hasn't seen since Red Faber did this for the Chicago White Sox back in 1917. He needs to get the Brewers a win against first place Pittsburgh to get them off on the right foot and try to salvage a so far sub-par season. On the other side Pittsburgh sits in rarefied air alone in first place at the midway point of the season. Just being above .500 is something the good people of the Steel City aren't used to with their baseball team. I can only assume there is a lot of nervous confidence in Pittsburgh who are expecting the best, but fearing the worst. A winning series against the Brewers would really help, but if they stumble out of the gates, it could mark the beginning of the end for their dream season.
4. Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles
The American League version of the series above is taking place in Charm City. The Orioles are hanging tough in a tightly contested Wild Card race. The Tigers who were expected to run away and hide in the Central have muddled around average all season long and currently sit 3rd in a very underwhelming division. I would say that Baltimore needs a better showing this weekend than Detroit, but the longer Detroit plays average baseball, the more confidence they will feed the Indians and White Sox. Without a solid start to the second half, the Orioles might not be buyers and aim for pitching help like Greinke or Cole Hamels, but rather be sellers and continue to build upon their successes for next season.
3. St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds
This series is usually fun, not matter the time of year. It lost a little luster when Tony LaRussa retired because of the built up animosity between him and Dusty Baker, but I still can foresee some post 4th of July fireworks. Both teams are just waiting to pounce on the the Pirates at the first sign of trouble and a series win this weekend could find that team in first place by Monday. Tonight has two pitchers who didn't pitch for their respective team last season in Adam Wainwright and Mat Latos. Wainwright who missed last season due to injury has been consistently inconsistent this year alternating wins and losses in his last seven decisions. Latos was brought over from San Diego and hasn't lost a decision, while lowering his ERA over 4 points, since April 18th when he was pummeled by the Cardinals.
2. Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins
When the Nationals were last in Miami they were flying high coming off a series sweep in Atlanta and then were promptly swept away by the Marlins. Washington has never fared well against the fighting fish whether in Miami or in D.C.. Josh Johnson downright owns the Nationals has he has gone 8-0 in 16 career starts against them. I guess its only fitting that Jordan Zimmermann will be toeing the slab for Washington tonight as he is famous (infamous??) for not getting any run support. That will certainly not change tonight...first one to score wins. Miami is without slugger Giancarlo Stanton for the next month and might be looking to unload some of their high priced, not performing talent come trade deadline time if things don't turn around quickly. The Nationals will continue to play hard and ignore the elephant in the room of the innings limit of Stephen Strasburg for as long as they can. With 21 of their next 25 games against the N.L. East they had better stay focused on issues that they can control.
1. L.A. Angels of Anaheim via Disneyland off the PCH at New York Yankees
When the regular season is all said and done, I feel that these two teams will be the best in the American League (apologies to Texas). The Yankees are already there because they can hit like no other team and are built to hit home runs in their bandbox of a stadium. The have pitched well enough through injuries to keep their scores from looking like a beer league softball game, but the key to their success is hitting the long ball. The Angels after a wretchedly horrid start have hit their stride with a jolt of energy from rookie phenom Mike Trout. Along with Mark Trumbo's power and Albert Pujols returning to normal, the Angels can match the Yankees in hitting. The difference lies on the mound where the Angels are top 9 in the Majors in four top pitching categories (ERA, Quality starts, WHIP and BAA) while the Yankees top out at #9 in one category while they average out to 16th best in the Majors (7th for the Angels). The axiom has always been, good pitching will be good hitting, and I think the Angels can do that when healthy.
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Today is Friday the 13th, and as a Jason I always enjoy it. It reminds me of the jokes growing up when the Friday the 13th movies were popular about me being a serial killer. It's a great time of year to go back and watch a couple of the slasher movies that made my name coincide with the date.
The first couple are good and then it starts to get silly, but its all fun and games until you get a machete through your spine. I always preferred the Halloween series with comedian Michael Myers who was great long before the Austin Powers series....j/k folks. It's summer, the news is slow and I'm trying to have fun.
I suggest camping out this weekend, and use your newfangled technology to stream a slasher movie to your tent while you cuddle with your special someone and I dare you not to get scared.
Enjoy the weekend and don't forget to look under your bed before laying down to sleep.
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