MLB.TV Is Amazing!

I got one week free of MLB.TV due to voting in the MLB Final Vote. This is the second year in a row I have taken advantage of the Free Week! I watched the Reds-Mets game on SNY-HD.The Reds beat The Mets 3-0. Watching that game, I can really see why the Mets are struggling. Their pitching is awful, their defense is bad, and they're not scoring runs, and Beltran, Delgado, And Jose Reyes are all hurt. When you download the MLB NextDef Act, the Standard Quality feed instantly is upgraded to HD-Quality! For an example, here is a screenshot from last nights Yankees-Angels Game I watched on Yes-HD.

That game wasn't the story though. Johnathan Sanchez of the Giants started in place of Randy Johnson, and threw the first no hitter of 2009! I didn't watch that game last night, but I watched the Condensed Game this morning, showing all of the important plays from that game, and Sanchez threw well in this game. An error by the Third Baseman kept Sanchez from throwing a perfect game!

Sanchez got some help with one out in the ninth. That ball looked like it was heading out, but Aaron Rowand made an incredible catch at the wall to save the game for Sanchez!

Then Sanchez was able to finish it off and complete the Giants first No Hitter in over 30 years! Unbelievable!

MLB.TV Is Amazing!

A New Era Of Baseball Begins Today!

Tonight, the Mets new Ballpark Citi Field opens to a nationwide Television audience. The Mets will play the Padres.
ESPN's Jim Caple tours Citi Field.

MLB highlights 4-9-09

Here Are Your MLB Highlights from last night courtesy of ESPN Video!
Dodgers Vs Padres 4-9-09


Rays Vs Red Sox 4-9-09


New York Yankees Vs Orioles 4-9-09


Giants Vs Brewers 4-9-09


New York Mets Vs Reds 4-9-09


St. Louis Vs Pittsburgh 4-9-09


Cleveland Vs Texas 4-9-09


Royals vs White Sox 4-9-09


Mariners Vs Twins 4-9-09


Detroit vs Toronto

MLB Preview: NL West

Can Matt Holliday and Troy Tulwitski lead Colorado to the NL West Pennant?

The National League West was home to team and individual records last season. The Colorado Rockies went on a tear, going undefeated for almost the entire final month of the season, enabling them to beat their NL West rival San Diego Padres in Game 163, The Tiebreaker Game. The San Francisco Giants watched one Barry (Zito) fail to live up to his then record contract, while another Barry (Bonds) on a night in August, broke Hank Aaron's then Major League Record of 755 homeruns.

Things have changed, and yet things are so much the same.

For Barry Bonds, the least of his problems rigt now is not playing baseball. Joe Torre left his Yankee Pinstripes to bleed Dodger Blue. Arizona and Colorado, two suprise teams from the West, will be expected to replicate their success. Mark Prior, the former Chicago Cubs Ace who's career was wrecked by injuries, is now in the ultimate Pitcher's Park, Petco Park in San Diego.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
The Diamondbacks, if it wasn't for the Colorado Rockies, would have been the biggest underdog story in Baseball last season. This "No-Name Offense" led by Chris Young, Connor Jackson, Justin Upton, and Mark Reynolds, helped lead Arizona to 90 wins. The team had great pitching. Brandon Webb, the 2006 National League Winner, had opponents scoreless for 42 1/3 scoreless innings including three straight complete game shutouts. The team had Randy Johnson for a while, but when his back gave out on him, Arizona turned to Micah Owings, who hit two home runs in his first Major League Start! Juan Cruz and Doug Davis did a solid job in the bullpen.

Arizona's Rotation was bolstered this season with the trade for Dan Haren from Oakland.

Arizona's Offense has been improved by veteran Trot Nixon, who was on the Red Sox in 2004 and was with Cleveland last season.


COLORADO ROCKIES
The Greatest Underdog Story this season, the Colorado Rockies suprised everyone by going to the World Series by sweeping Philladelphia in the NLDS and Sweeping Arizona in the NLCS, before getting swept in the World Series by the best team in Baseball all season, the Boston Red Sox.

The Rockies were led on offense by National League MVP Runner Up Matt Holliday, and were led defensively by Rookie of The Year Troy Tulowitski.

Pitching Wise, Jeff Francis developed into an ace before our very eyes, and the whole rotation, even when they gave up a run, they were confident their offense, led by Holliday, would give them that run back.

Offensively, If Willy Taveras is injured for an extended period of time, expect Scott Podsednik, the catalyst of the 2005 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox, to take over at leadoff and in center field. The Rockies will once again be driven by "The H factor" Todd Helton and Matt Holliday. These two will once again knock a bunch of homeruns at Coors Field, and that will enable Colorado to battle for the NL West Crown.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Joe Torre grew up a Brooklyn Dodgers Fan, managed the New York Yankees to four World Series Titles, before taking over in Chavez Ravine. Once Again, Joe Torre cost Grady Little his job. The first time was in 2003, when Aaron Boone hit the game winning homerun in Game Seven of the 2003 ALCS to send New York to their first World Series since 2001. Grady Little was fired by The Red Sox for his apparent Mismanagement of that game. Torre got Little fired again, this time because Torre just turned down an incentive-laced one year contract offer from the Yankees to take a three year deal to manage the Los Angeles Dodgers.

What did the Dodgers do after the luring of Torre to LA? They Signed Japanese Pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to a three year contact. Kuroda will compete with the rehabbing former San Francisco Giants Ace Jason Schmidt for the final rotation spot. Offensively they went out and signed Andruw Jones to replace Juan Pierre in Center. Andy LaRoche will compete with Nomar Garciaparra for the starting Third Baseman's job. Russell Marting will continue to mature behind the plate. This may be Jeff Kent's final Season, as he may retire at the end of this season. He holds the record for most homeruns by a second baseman, passing Hall Of Famer Ryne Sandberg.

SAN DIEGO PADRES
The Padres were one half inning away last season from killing Colorado's Dreams of a postseason appearance. They had an 8-6 run lead entering the bottom of the 13th inning, and they had Trevor Hoffman, the only closer in history with 500 saves, on the mound.

Rockies Fans know what happened next.

Hoffman gave up extra-base hits to the first three batters. Colorado second baseman Kazuo Matsui began the inning with a double. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki followed with a double of his own, scoring Matsui. Holliday then hit a triple, scoring Tulowitzki. The score was now tied 8-8 with no outs. The Padres then intentionally walked the next batter, first baseman Todd Helton. Jamey Carroll came up to bat, having replaced 3rd Baseman Garrett Atkins earlier in the game. His sacrifice fly to shallow right field allowed Holliday to break from third. Holliday slid into home head-first and to the outside of Padres' backup catcher Michael Barrett, whose left leg extended across the plate. Barrett could not hold on to the throw from right fielder Brian Giles, and the ball dribbled toward the backstop. During the slide, Holliday's right hand wedged under Barrett’s foot, his face hit the dirt hard, and he lay stunned on the ground.

It is that point in the play where some viewers questioned whether Holliday actually touched home plate. If he had not, then arguably Barrett could have retrieved the ball and tagged him out. The Rockies would then have had two outs with Helton still safe on base, and right fielder Brad Hawpe coming to bat.

As Barrett tried to gain control of the ball, home plate umpire Tim McClelland called Holliday safe. That call officially ended the game, and the final score was Rockies 9, Padres 8. Hoffman was credited with his 5th loss of the season.

The Padres will come back focused and ready to play in 2008. The 2008 Padres have an incredibly deep rotation, starting with Jake Peavy. Peavy won the pitching Triple Crown in 2007, leading the National League with 19 wins, 240 strikeouts, and a 2.54 ERA. On October 23, Peavy won the Players Choice Award for Outstanding NL Pitcher. He added the NL Cy Young -- a unanimous choice -- on November 15, becoming just the 10th National League player in history to win the Cy Young Award in a unanimous vote.


Let's Not forget about Greg Maddux. "Mad Dog" who has both 3,000 strikeouts and 300 wins. Maddux has an incredibly deep repetoire of pitches, making it a nightmare to be an opposing hitter. I remember when he was with The Cubs. watching Maddux get his 3,000th strikeout against Omar Vizquel of the San Francisco Giants. Maddux may join his brother Mike and be a Major League Pitching Coach after he retires.

Chris Young is another great pitcher. Young ended the 2007 season as the Major League leader in opponent batting average, and hits per nine innings. Young battled injuries late in the season and surrendered the ERA leadership to Jake Peavy in his August 30 start.

Randy Wolf will be in number four hole, and expect the number five spot in the rotation to go to Mark Prior. Prior, who was on the mound when Chicago self destructed during Game Six of the 2003 NLCS, appears to be on the fast track to recovery. Prior will no longer have to deal with that bandbox of a ballpark in Wrigley Field, and will get to regroup with former Cubs Greg Maddux, Michael Barrett, and Todd Walker.

Offensively, expect a lot of small ball from San Diego. There won't be a whole lot of Fence Swinging, as Petco Park is the closest thing to a Pitcher's Paradise in Baseball. Expect the defense of San Diego to improve, as Jim Edmonds will play Center Field for perhaps the final time this season.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
These are Tough Times now for McCovey Cove Baseball Fans. Barry Bonds, the guy that helped put people inside both Candlestick and AT&T Park, is not with the team and is battling the government on perjury charges. The Giants tried to Barry in Left Field by signing Aaron Rowand to a five year, $60 Million Contract. Rowand, who was another member of the 2005 White Sox, will have pressure on him to help San Francisco be competetive without Barry Bonds. Good Luck. Barry Zito Lost 13 Games in The National League After Coming Over From The American League! It can't get any worse than that for a pitcher like him. Expect him to do somewhat better this time around.

San Francisco won't lose 100 games, but they're too old to be competetive. They should be for high draft picks to replace this aging team.
MY PROJECTED ORDER:
COLORADO
SAN DIEGO
ARIZONA
LOS ANGELES
SAN FRANCISCO

That Concludes this MLB Preview. In Our Next MLB Preview, We Will Preview The American League Central. Will Detroit recover from their underacheiving season last year? Can Cleveland suprise Once Again? Will Chicago's improved bullpen help win more games? Can Kansas City stay out of last place? Find Out All This and more in our next MLB Preview.

Oft-injured Mark Prior joins hometown Padres with $1 million, 1-year contract

Mark Prior and his hometown San Diego Padres agreed to a $1 million, one-year contract on Wednesday, making him the second postoperative pitcher to join the team in less than a month.

Prior, whose once-promising career has been sidetracked by various injuries, missed the 2007 season after undergoing right shoulder surgery on April 24. He last pitched for the Chicago Cubs in 2006, when he made nine starts and went 1-6 with a 7.21 ERA.

The 27-year-old right-hander, who was 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA in 2003, can earn another $4.5 million in performance bonuses.

"Mark Prior is a competitor and is working hard to regain the form that made him one of the great young pitchers in the game," Padres general manager Kevin Towers said. "We are confident he is going to help us in our rotation this season. It's exciting that Mark is coming home to San Diego to pitch for the Padres."

Prior graduated from University of San Diego High School and was the second pick in the June 2001 draft, out of Southern California. He is 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA in five big league seasons.

As A Cubs fan, I say Good Riddance. Good Riddance with the injuries and the time on the disabled list. To those of you who say Mark Prior's Mechanics are not the reason why he is injured all the time, here is Chris O' Leary, who has broken down Prior's Mechanics Frame By Frame. Check Out the article below:

http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/RethinkingPitching/Essays/MarkPriorPitchingMechanics.html

The Letter C in Cubs Baseball Stands For Chokers, Not Champions

The Bartman Ball from the 2003 NLCS.

The Cubs fans know all about their team's historic chokes. I do not want to do this, but I feel, to get the point across, here is the list of all of their legendary chokes:

1969
In 1969 the Cubs held a comfortable 8½-game lead in the National League East during the second week of August. They appeared on their way to the playoffs, but on September 9th, the curse visibly raised its head for the first time since 1945. The Cubs were playing the Mets in a key series. The Cubs lost that game, they lost the next day to the Phillies, and from there it was all down hill. They folded like a cheap suit and coughed up the lead; finishing an incredible 8 games in back of New York.

1973
In 1973, the Cubs were once again cruising along, with a large division lead in July. However, they proceeded to lose 49 of their last 76 games and wound up seven games under .500, but only five games out of first in a year when the Mets won the division with an 82-79 mark.

1984
On Friday the 13th of April, 1984, the Cubs decided to try something different and allowed Sam and his goat onto Wrigley Field. It appeared to reverse the curse as the Cubs won the division and took a 2-0 lead in the best of five League Championship Series against the Padres. The Cubs then lost three in a row to blow their chance at the Series. A ground ball that went through first baseman Leon Durham's legs sealed their fate, much to the horror of the Cub faithful.

2003
The Cubs won the division, beat the Braves in the first round of the playoffs, and held a 3-0 lead on the Marlins in the sixth game of the League Championship Series that they had a 3-2 games lead in. Five outs away from the World Series, disaster struck in the form of one of their own fans, Steve Bartman. As a lazy foul ball off the bat of Luis Castillo looked to be coming down in the outstretched glove of Cubs' left fielder Moises Alou, Steve Bartman (who was just doing what any other fan would have done if they were in his shoes)appeared to deflect it enough to get it ot of Alou's Reach. Angered fans were ready to pounce on Bartman; they were ready to lynch him after the Cubs fell apart and allowed the Marlins eight runs before the inning ended. Bartman had to be escorted out under protective custody as the Cubs lost Game Six. He became a lightning rod of anger when the Cubs were beaten in the seventh game.

2004
In 2004 when the Cubs held a couple of games lead in the wild card chase over the Astros late in the season. Naturally, they lost seven of their last nine and failed to reach the post-season. In one vital game they held a 3-0 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth over, whom else, the Mets, but lost when rookie Victor Diaz hit a three run homer to force extra innings, before a solo Mets' homer beat Chicago in the eleventh to eliminate them from the playofs.

2007
As I see The Cubs get swept by the Marlins, I cannot help but shake the feeling that The Cubs are in a repeat of 1969, 1984, 2003, and 2004. The Cubs are choking away their division lead, and depending on teams like St. Louis and San Diego for help. it's ironic how the Cubs are asking for help from the Padres when these two teams may meet up in the NLDS in October, if the Cubs stay alive.

The Cubs had better turn the page and start anew against Cincinnatti, or this Cubs team will go down with the '69 and 2004 Cubs as choking up the division lead and missing the playoffs.

Both The Cubs and Milwaukee determine their own destiny entering the final weekend of baseball season.

Right Now, Wrigley Field will be open for October Baseball, but will it stay that way?

The Greatest Weekend In The History Of Baseball!

This past weekend was the greatest weekend in Baseball History. On Saturday, Alex Rodriguez finally hit his five hundreth homerun, becoming the youngest man ever to hit five hundred homeruns. Alex Rodriguez became the first man since the great Mickey Mantle hit his five hundreth homerun at Yankee Stadium.

Saturday Night, Barry Bonds hit his reord tying 755th homerun (above), tying him with Hank Aaron. I watched it on ESPN and the reaction by the fans to Barry tying the record in San Diego was just what I had expected it to be, with a mix of cheers and boos, but with more cheers than boos. Reguardless of your feelings about Barry and how he did it, he is making people tune in to watch him break the record and he is causing people to come to wherever he goes in droves, so that they can say that they saw Barry Bonds tie (and soon break) the All Time Home Run Record.

The Final Milestone of the week I also saw on ESPN. Tom Glavine, the longtime Pitcher for the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets, got his three hundreth victory at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. Many people are saying that Glavine will be the last 300 Game winner, as "The Big Unit" Randy Johnson is currently stuck at 284 victories and may be stuck there, depending on how his back feels and if it can handle the load of pitching 16 more victories.

This was the Greatest Weekend in Baseball History and the Greatest Weekend in the History of Sports. Where else would you have seen three historic milestones in the same weekend?

(MLB) Cubs Derrek Lee, Padres Chris Young Suspended Five Games Each

The Chicago Cubs' Derrek Lee and San Diego Padres' Chris Young will each be suspended five games for the meelee that erupted at Wrigley Field on Saturday. San Diego and Chicago are both off today, giving Lee and Young time to think about whether to contest the penalty.

I am suprised that Jake Peavy wasn't suspended. He was out of the dugout, on the field. ready to fight, and all he gets is a fine.

I am also suprised that Carlos Zambrano wasn't suspended. He was ready to fight, that's why he was taking his belt off, and he gets away without a suspension or a fine.

Oh, By The Way, Cubs hitiing instructor Gerald Perry was suspended three games for his role in the melee at Wrigley on Saturday.