Week Two Recap

Welcome back to the Big Fly.  It’s finally starting to sink in that baseball is back on our television sets, and we’re quickly taking notice of some players and teams who have caught our eye.  Here’s a recap of who’s looking good and who wishes it was still spring training through Week 2 of the 2011 season.

Heating Up

Texas Rangers

·         The Rangers have continued their hot streak to kick off 2011.  They are off to a 9-3 start, including a 6-0 record at the Ballpark in Arlington.  Everything isn’t stellar in Texas now, however, as star OF Josh Hamilton suffered a broken right arm on Tuesday and is expected to miss six-eight weeks.  This is a huge blow to one of baseball’s most powerful offenses.  Players such as Nelson Cruz and Michael Young will have to stay hot, and Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre need to heat up for this offense to not miss a beat.

AL Central underdogs

·         We had a tough time during the predictions for this division deciding who would come in last between the Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals.  For now, they’re making us look foolish.  The Tribe reeled off an eight-game winning streak after starting off 0-2, and they didn’t need Pedro Cerrano or Rick Vaughn to do so.  The pesky Royals continue to swing the bat well, with outfielders Melky Cabrera, Jeff Francoeur, and Alex Gordon all hitting above .280.

Prince Fielder

·         In the postseason award predictions, we mentioned Fielder as a potential MVP candidate due to 2011 being his walk year.  He has started off red-hot in his attempt to earn a massive contract this winter.  Through 11 games, he is hitting .385 with three homers and a 1.185 OPS.

Dan Haren

·         Through 4 appearances, including one emergency relief stint, Haren is 3-0 with an 0.73 ERA and an 0.53 WHIP.  In his last start on Tuesday, he stifled the red-hot Indians by throwing a one-hit shutout with only two walks and eight strikeouts.

Honorable Mention: Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies, Starlin Castro, Gio Gonzalez

Ice Cold

Boston Red Sox

·         Who owns the worst record in baseball through the first two weeks of action?  That would be the winners of the offseason sweepstakes.  The offense is hitting just .230 so far, with 2B Dustin Pedroia the only regular starter swinging a consistent bat so far.  Carl Crawford continues to press and is hitting just .152 with a putrid .204 OBP.  On the bright side, Josh Beckett threw eight shutout innings against the Yankees on Sunday, a big step forward for the rotation.  Daisuke Matsuzaka is a huge question mark with two straight horrible starts.

Minnesota Twins offense

·         For a team that was predicted to win the AL Central again, the Twins’ bats are currently as cold as the weather in the Twin Cities.  The team has scored just 33 runs in 11 games, is 29^th in the majors in OBP and last in slugging percentage.  Jason Kubel and Denard Span are the only regulars over .300, and offensive stalwarts Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are both between .220 and .240.  The pitching hasn’t been great either, but scoring three runs a game won’t bring many wins to Target Field.

Albert Pujols

·         Don’t panic Cardinals fans.  This is probably the only time you’ll see The Machine’s name in this section.  In his defense, his primary protection, Matt Holliday, has missed time with an appendectomy.   But nobody expected Pujols to have a lower slugging percentage than Ryan Theriot at any point this season.  He’ll come around sooner rather than later.

John Lackey

·         It’s never a good thing when giving up six earned runs in five innings brings your ERA down, but that happened to Lackey on Friday, and he lucked out a win as well.  But the Red Sox desperately need the fiery right-hander to become more consistent.  He is scheduled to start again on Tuesday against Oakland.

Dishonorable Mention: Anyone who’s pitched at Chase Field, Braves’ offense, Vernon Wells, Francisco Liriano

Weekend series to watch

Texas Rangers at New York Yankees

o   Texas has been arguably the best team so far in 2011, while the Yankees haven’t blown anybody away as of yet.  Sunday night’s game will be a good one to watch.  Texas starts RH Alexi Ogando, who hasn’t given up a run in his first 13 innings, while the Yankees send CC Sabathia to the mound. 

That’s all for the Week 2 recap.  Let us know what you think about what you’ve seen so far.  We’ll be back next week to look around the majors. See you then.