This morning's SweetSpot Roundup is just like all the other SweetSpot Roundups, except even sweeter and even rounder. There's despair in Seattle, elation in Texas and Cincy, and confusion in San Diego.
Baseballin' On A Budget (A's): 2011 Burlington Bees Roster Preview
Dan wraps up his look at the A's minor league clubs.
Pro Ball NW (Mariners): Seattle Mariners, Ready to Play? No.
Things are bad in the Pacific Northwest: "We are no longer Mariners fans. We are sadists now."
Baseball Time in Arlington (Rangers): Rangers Things To Buy Into
But they're great in Texas: "It's April 11th, and at the risk of sounding like something of a broken record, the Rangers have taken on the visage of a team that not only is far and away the best in its division, but also knows that it's the best."
The Ray Area: This Has To Be the Bottom. Has To Be
"I don’t know if this team has another 5+ run breakout in it but, if it does, this series in Boston would be a good place to use it. The Red Sox look to be fully recovered from their slow start and things could get ugly fast in Fenway if the Rays don’t get things right." Mission accomplished in Game 1.
Fire Brand of the American League (Red Sox): Return of Beckett's Curve
Pitch F/X says the story of Beckett's curve against the Yankees is a good one.
Royals Authority: Pushing the Right Buttons
Everything is coming up roses in KC, and Clark Foster says just to enjoy the ride while it lasts.
Nick's Twins Blog: The Baseball Gods
Minnesota's offense has been downright brutal. How bad? "Mauer is hitting .233 with a .570 OPS. Delmon Young is hitting .188 with a .431 OPS. Cuddyer is hitting .107 with a stunningly bad .301 OPS." Yikes.
It's About the Money, Stupid (Yankees): Hughes Not Getting an MRI
"Patience is a great thing, but what about ordering a precautionary MRI to make sure Hughes doesn’t have some sort of injury conflicts with being patient...? This just seems more reckless than anything else to me."
Austin's Astros 290 Blog: Previewing Cubs series with Joe Aiello
Some of that sweet, sweet SweetSpot synergy as the SSN Cubs blogger contributes to Austin's preview of the Astros' next opponent.
Capitol Avenue Club (Braves): Off Day Thread
This kind of post (namely, one intended mostly to be a comment thread) isn't the kind I normally bother linking to, but Peter puts together an awfully impressive list of things that have gone horribly wrong for the Braves through the first ten games, with a nice optimistic twist at the end.
Disciples of Uecker (Brewers): Lucroy Up; Reed Designated For Assignment; Kotteras Safe!
Jack is awfully excited that "actual live human being George Kotteras" lives to fight another day. Hey, remember when Jeremy Reed was a super-awesome prospect, and the White Sox looked like dolts for trading him away just for Freddy Garcia? Yeah, me neither.
Fungoes (Cardinals): Albert Pujols's slow start
Another reminder that the fact that it's the first eight games doesn't make it an especially meaningful eight games, and a nice find by Pip; a whole bunch of eight-game stretches during his typically phenomenal 2010 during which Pujols struggled just as much as he has to date in 2011.
View from the Bleachers (Cubs): Cubs / Astros Preview
Hey, remember above, where Joe helped Austin with his Astros-Cubs series preview? Betcha can't guess what happens here.
Dodger Thoughts: Dodgers 6, Giants 1: Matt Kemp is the center of the universe
"2011 has returned that Matt Kemp that everyone loves, and his role in the Dodgers' 6-1 victory Monday over San Francisco was the latest example.
You've heard of the eye in the middle of the hurricane? Matt Kemp is the hurricane that surrounds the eye."
Bay City Ball (Giants): Giants Steal a Series
"This is probably what a reasonable year from Miguel Tejada would feel like. Mounting frustration builds up over a few days his with below average defense and then is wiped away by a couple big hits. So long as he doesn’t go too long in between offensive outbursts, he’ll probably keep me happy."
Mets Today: Mets Game 10: Loss to Rockies
Jason Isringhausen makes his 21st-century Mets debut, and good performances from Reyes and Wright make Monday's 7-6 Mets loss a bit more bearable.
Nationals Baseball: It's only two weeks but... (first base edition)
Adam LaRoche has been terrible so far as a Nat, but he's also been injured, and that part is a lot more worrisome.
Ducksnorts (Padres): Dali Meets Federman
Notes from a really weird weekend which saw a Dodgers sweep of the Padres, including a game that ended on an interference call.
Crashburn Alley (Phillies): Quick Notes on Cole Hamels' First Two Starts
Bill goes beyond the obvious (one bad, two good) to tell you why Hamels' first two starts were so different.
Redleg Nation: Titanic Struggle Recap
Notes from another Reds win, this time over San Diego. Interesting how, in the early going, everyone on the team seems to be playing well except the one everyone (myself included) was sure would carry the team; Jay Bruce is hitting just .211/.225/.263.
No comments:
Post a Comment