MLB Thoughts & Theories 8/29/12
Thoughts & Theories
-Mike Trout is the first rookie to ever hit 25 homers and steal 40 bases and they need him to continue his MVP level play if the Angels want to make the playoffs. Anaheim sits 4 1/2 games out in the AL Wild Card race because of the pitching staff. The Angels are six games under .500 since the All-Star break despite leading baseball in runs scored since the Midsummer Classic.
-Speaking of the AL West, if Texas gets the Yu Darvish that dominated the Rays on Tuesday then the Rangers are going to be tough to beat in the postseason. He struck out 10 Tampa Bay batters in a 1-0 win, and the Rays can’t seem to hack it against quality pitching. It could be their undoing in an extremely tight playoff race where 20 of their final 33 games will be against teams over .500 and the other 13 are against Boston and Toronto.
-When Stephen Strasburg pitched so well in his last couple of starts, columns were written discussing how stupid Washington was for making an innings limit on the stud starter and for planning to shut him down in September. After so many overreactions, I wonder what those people have to say this morning after Miami (25th in baseball in runs scored since the Break) battered Strasburg for seven runs (five earned) in five innings on Tuesday. If you’re going to be objective about it, this start needs to be highlighted as well.
Tuesday’s Key Quotes
“It was just one of those evenings it didn’t look like he had it.” –White Sox manager Robin Ventura after ace Chris Sale gave up four runs in six innings in a loss to Baltimore.
“Why you got to throw too many sliders, when you got a good fastball?” –Yankees closer Rafael Soriano, who was asked by Mariano Rivera why he was relying so heavily on his fastball. After blowing the save on Monday, Soriano pitched a scoreless ninth as New York topped Toronto 2-1.
“It goes to show you he can shrink a ballpark.” –Pirates manager Clint Hurdle talking about Pedro Alvarez, who crushed two mammoth home runs (Alvarez now has 25) in a 9-0 win over St. Louis.
