Kuzul

After a 0-6 start, the red hot Red Sox have bounced back to have one of the best records in the MLB. Boston was preseason favorites coming into the season, and midway through June they are proving why.

Looking to play in their first World Series since 2007, Boston received a major facelift after acquiring slugger Adrian Gonzalez and signing former Tampa Bay Ray star Carl Crawford to a heavy contract. While Gonzo has proven to be great, putting up MVP numbers, Crawford is still trying to find his place in the stacked Boston lineup.

This is a team that has been in contention over the past decade, but this year looks to be the most promising in recent memory to the Fenway Faithful.

 Leading the MLB in runs, batting average, and RBI, the Red Sox look poised to be playing in October.

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Starting Tuesday of next week, one of the most anticipated series of the 2011 season comes to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The majority of MLB analyst believe that the June series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox will be a preview of the 2011 World Series.

Here is how the clubs line up as of June 25: The Philadelphia Phillies have the best record in baseball at 48-29 and the Boston Red Sox rank second and are right on their tail with a record of 44-31.

As far as pitching is concerned, the Phillies rank first in MLB in ERA at 3.06 and quality starts with 51. They are third in WHIP 1.19 and sixth in BAA .242. Also, three of their starting pitchers have over eight wins. Cole Hamels go for a major league-leading 10th win this evening.

The Boston Red Sox pitching staff is having a slightly above average season. They are currently ranked 20th in ERA 3.98, 23rd in quality starts with 38, eighth in WHIP 1.28 and a BAA of .239 which ranks fifth in MLB. Josh Beckett leads the Red Sox pitching staff. His ERA this season is 1.86, which is one of the best ERAs is baseball.

Now for the offense. This is an area that the Philadelphia Phillies must improve if they even want to get to the 2011 World Series. They are getting little to no production from their corner outfielders and find themselves at the bottom of almost every offensive category.

They currently rank 14th in runs scored with 316, rank 20th in BA at .246, 15th in OBP .320 and 22nd in SLG at a weak .375. If the Phillies wish to compete with the Red Sox, one or two runs a game will simply not cut it.

Boston ranks first in almost every single offensive category in all of MLB. They are currently first in runs (401), BA (.279), OBP (.353), total bases (1,178), RBI (378), OPS (.801) and SLG (.448). There isn’t more I can really say. This team is the best offense in baseball by a long shot.

This series will be the classic big arms vs big bats. Tune in starting next Tuesday, June 28 to find out if great pitching can beat great hitting.

Here are the predicted starting pitchers for each game:

Tuesday: Josh Becket vs Cliff Lee 

Wednesday: John Lackey vs Vance Worley

Thursday: Jon Lester vs Cole Hamels

With the Phillies off day Monday, the starters for the second two games could be changed with the recent injury to Roy Oswalt. Spot starter Kyle Kendrick could be thrown into one of those games.

Look for these three games to be as exciting as any regular season game this season. It will be a playoff like atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park. Don’t miss out.

ESPN 2 will be broadcasting the Wednesday night game starting at 7:05 EST.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

View From the Rockpile: Musings From a Mile High Along the Journey to Rocktober

There’s no bigger stage for a middle-market club than the sparkling new sandlot just a skip, hop and a seven-train jump from Broadway.  Do it here, and media, critics and fans will take notice. 

America, meet the 2011 Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies entered this season demanding better from themselves away from the friendly confines of Coors Field.  Road warriors, they need not be; but 31-50 on the road (as they were in 2010), they cannot be, not if they aim to make their NL West championship dreams come true.

After taking three of four from the Pirates in PNC Park, the Rockies looked to continue to exorcise their road demons at Citi Field against a struggling New York Mets squad. 

Yet, having lost eight straight series in the Big Apple and 22 out of their last 27 in old New York, New York, the Rockies still had their work cut out for them.

Consider those dragons tamed, at least for the moment.  With the Herculean efforts of team leader Troy Tulowitzki, the Rockies fought their way through wind, rain, daily deficits and a doubleheader to an amazin’ four-game series sweep against the Mets.

Just how did the Rockies manage to turn the Mets into the Mess?  Take a look inside to find out…

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Ahh, the sweet smell of April.

The only time of year where Indians and Mariners fans have the same amount of hope as Yankees and Phillies fans. That is because April is a time for a fresh start and a new beginning. One hundred and two years without a World Championship for the Cubs and 18 straight losing seasons for the Pirates mean nothing right now, because every team has a chance.

But right now, only one series through the season, I am predicting the 8 teams that I believe are postseason bound.

Some are obvious and some will surprise a lot of people. 

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Over a year ago, the New York Yankees were World Series champions, an honor every team in baseball strives for each year. 

To become the best team in baseball, like the Yankees have been considered many times before, it takes hard work, dedication and composure on the field. All of these characteristics and more were seen by the Yankees in 2009, which resulted in their victory.  

Unfortunately, the Yankees were missing all of those qualities last season, which deprived them of another World Series title.

With pitchers allowing multiple runs and batters reluctant to hit, the Yankees didn’t have a bad season, just an unfortunate series, which led to their 2010 demise. 

There are not many differences this year from the 2009 team (minus of course Matsui, Damon and Pettitte). Although the Yankees are not considered one of the favorites to win this year, the Yankees have proved multiple times in the past that the impossible is always possible. 

Here are 10 things that need to happen for the Yankees to return to the World Series. 

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The Philadelphia Phillies are the solid favorite with Las Vegas oddsmakers to win the 2011 World Series.

But they might be overrated. 

The Phillies have a star-studded starting pitching rotation and a lot of big names but might not be quite as good as everyone thinks.

Age is a Problem

The Phillies are an older team with a number of players past their prime.  One of those players, Chase Utley, is probably going to start the season on the disabled list as he has a knee injury that may keep him out for quite some time.

Utley is 32 years old but actually looks older than that. His body has been injury-prone, and he isn’t even ready for this season yet.  History has shown that very few players as old as Utley play a full season at second base, but Utley is not the only older player in the Phillies’ lineup. 

Look at these numbers.  Utely is 32, Ryan Howard is 31, Carlos Ruiz is 32, Jimmy Rollins is 32, Placido Polanco is 35 and Raul Ibanez is 38. 

Even the replacement for Utley, Wilson Valdez is 32 years old, and we haven’t even mentioned the supposedly invincible starting rotation. 

Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt are 33 while Cliff Lee is 32.  Do you really think that those three can go a full season without getting hurt?  It seems extremely unlikely. 

In fact, since 1901 there have only been four instances where a team’s trio of starting pitchers that old have made it through a season injury free.  And it has happened only once in the past 17 years.

Paper Phillies

You hear the term “paper tigers” all the time.  Could it be that we end up referring to this team as “paper Phillies”?

Philadelphia looks great on paper as the rotation of Halladay, Lee, Oswalt and Cole Hamels is very good.  Joe Blanton is the fifth starter and he is definitely serviceable. 

The Phillies have big names like Howard, Utley and Rollins and a solid bullpen led by closer Brad Lidge.  It all looks good on paper, but injuries can affect even the best team.  Philadelphia has already lost one of their best players.

The Phillies are the 2-1 favorites to win the World Series, but at that price, they are overrated and no guarantee to win it all in 2011.

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As spring training gets underway in Florida and Arizona, we take one last look at the recent Major League Baseball offseason and how the various trades and acquisitions will affect the fantasy landscape for 2011.

While there was much more movement than the players listed below, this is a fantasy roster comprised of the most notable players per position that will be wearing different uniforms from Opening Day 2010 and should be on radars come draft time 2011. Not all players in this article are necessarily top-tier options, but each carries some value all the way through the mid-to-late rounds if you have a position of need during your draft.

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It’s September 17, 2011, the New York Yankees are playing a Saturday afternoon game up in Toronto, the second of a three game set against the Blue Jays.
 
Including this game, there are just 10 games left in the regular season.
 
The Yankees, who are leading 4-1 in the bottom of the eighth, are about to clinch the AL East.
 
Shocking to say the least, as no one predicted the Bombers to even be wildcard contenders. Unquestionably, this was not supposed to be happening.
 
I mean the Yankees were old, outdated, yesterday’s stars and age was supposed to come before beauty in 2011.

These statements were specified as facts that Yankee fans were told to deal with it back in April.

Why?
 
Well, because the 2011 World Series was going to be between the Phillies and Red Sox. PERIOD.
 
The Yankees were assumed to be building a nursing home in October, not playing in it.

How could they win, with a below average shortstop, an overrated third baseman, a declining guy at first and a pitching staff that only had one certified ace.
 
So let’s say after clinching, the Yankees finished the 2011 season posting 103 wins. Continued onto the World Series, a rematch against the Phillies and the outcome was like déjà vu.
 
I can promise the players would jump onto the field at Yankee stadium as if this was their first championship, not the franchise’s 28th.
 
The famous “core four” would now need to use both hands to wear all six rings.
 
Who knew that in addition to being World Champions again, their cheating, celebrity hungry and way over-paid guy at third could be taking home his fourth MVP award.

 Could anyone say media mess?
 
Seriously, to top it off FOX announcer Joe Buck threw-up on camera while saying, “The Yankees are back on top.” Buck went on to collapse.
 
Yes, this would make Yankees Universe turn into a solar system and surely some readers might have shortness of breath at this point.
 
Instead, be thankful that someone is giving you notice that this result could undoubtedly happen.
 
Just think about all those baseball experts who said the 2011 Yankees were not a championship caliber team. Talk about looking like an idiot and that is me being polite.
 
The sports media took advantage by creating so much drama about the Yankees in the last year. Not one MLB writer seemed to mind losing some creditability and a lot of integrity in exchange for viewers.

 So, what if this scenario became your reality?
 
What would you say and how would you say it, without looking even more like a lunatic?
 
My point is that the Yankees have officially heard all the crap and were forced to deal with it since 2010 finished.

No one thought that of it as the perfect bait to motivate a team that knows how to do one thing better than any other team…..

That is WIN!

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With the NFL playoffs in full swing and conference showdowns this weekend bringing the four remaining teams closer to the ultimate prize, it’s easy to see why football is on the mind of the sporting world. With the college football season finally at its end, fans of the sport are eagerly turning towards the pro circuit and how could they not?

Jets at Steelers? Intense matchup.
Packers at Bears? Great rivalry.

Last weekend’s games were really exciting as well. All right, well maybe not the Seahawks game, but my point is clear enough.

Even with these (mostly) great games, I still somehow find myself contemplating the upcoming Major League Baseball season and the chances of a repeat for the 2010 champs, my hometown San Francisco Giants. Maybe I’m focused on baseball because spring training tickets just went on sale or maybe it’s simply because the astonishing fact that the Giants won the World Series continues to amaze me, but San Francisco baseball remains at the pinnacle of my sports brain.

While those explanations are certainly true to an extent, I believe the true reasoning behind my great interest in the best of the west is my apprehension in regards to the team’s credibility. Most fans following a World Series victory by their team would not have to worry about it because, after all, the best way to silence critics is to go out and win it all, right? Right? Well, apparently not for this team.

Even with the title, and a convincing one at that, the Giants still don’t seem to get the recognition one might expect. It seems that every few days I’m reading a new article about how the Giants will likely finish an uncompetitive third in a supposedly revamped NL West or how one of the best starting pitching staffs in baseball will falter in 2011. It seems that to everyone outside of the Bay Area, the Giants are destined to return to their post–Barry Bonds form. It seems to me that one is not enough for 2010’s most surprising team. Still, written or spoken words of grandeur are easy to use and it remains uncertain how and if Bruce Bochy can really engineer a repeat performance.

Remember that the Giants were incredibly fortunate all year in that their pitching staff stayed fairly healthy, especially the starters. That luck can simply not be expected again and some members of bullpen core like Dan Runzler and Chris Ray may have to step in. You can also never expect to have the highest ERA of all your starting pitchers to be 4.15, courtesy of Barry Zito. Although with a full season of Bumgarner and the rest of the staff, I’d say they have a pretty good shot. However, this pitching staff is still young and I believe it is only going to improve.

On the offensive side of the ball, the 2010 Giants simply managed. The hitters were hot and clutch in the playoffs (a deadly combination) but only Aubrey Huff was consistent during the regular season and Juan Uribe provided some pop. With Uribe gone and Huff far from a lock to go .290/26/86 again, the bats need to improve and improve with the pieces that are already there. A full year of Buster Posey at the plate will help and Miguel Tejada should be an improvement at shortstop. The variable will be minor league prodigy Brandon Belt, a big, lefty first baseman who I had the pleasure of watching at Single-A in San Jose before he tore through the farm system. If Belt’s .352/23/112 numbers in the minor leagues are a sign of things to come, the Giants will be as ready as any other team to win it all in 2011.

I’m clearly ready for baseball season but, for now, I guess I’ll just have to wait for Spring and hope that football will tide me over until I can finally smell garlic fries and freshly mown grass at the ballpark.

Plaut Out.

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