American League Baseball

Donnelly return from the DL last friday. Unfortunally he allowed a HR in his first game of the season (that was kinda tough on him). K-Rod has been pitching better this year compare to last season, so it's a good sign. Percy has been blowning saves which is kinda showing he might retire earlier than expected.

Mariners have good talent. I wouldn't dismissed them yet, they still can catch up after the ASG. The A's were doing pretty good until the road trip. The NL slowed down them down a little. Angels weren't so fortunate this week they face the A's at home and then the Dodgers. I always love to watch Gagne in the 9th. Hopefully I won't have to see him agaisn't the Angels. 😉

how about the devil rays winnin 11 straight i'm notta fan but thats still impressive

Devil Rays are hot! Is now 12 straight!

Can the West get any more competitive???? Rangers and A's are tied and the Halos are in first place!!! 😱

Bartolo had a great game last night!!! 😊 Only five hits, no walks, one run and six strikeouts over 7 2/3 dominating innings.

i love the M's but ill be the first to admit they have no chance at winning.. theyve started to do much better lately but still the competition is too good it would take a large miracle... they need to rebuild the team around ichiro.. a much younger team

I'm a fan of both the A's and Giants.

On the A's, I like there offense, it has a well rounded of hitters who make pitchers pitch and once Chavez comes back it will be pretty decent offense and they probably have their best defense in years. Their starting pitching is nasty as always and their bullpen is embarrassing. I just hope Billy will do his magic and pick up a decent reliever or closer. One thing that has annoyed me about Macha's bullpen management is he keeps relying on veteran relievers like Rhodes, Rincoln and Mecir but their all playing like dog feces. Why not let Ducherer close games out who has been the A's best reliever with a 3.15. In my opinion for the A's make the playoffs they need to straighten out their bullpen and get a reliable closer.

On the Giants, their hitting has started to pick it up which I suspected as most of the hitters are solid on the ball who don't strike out much and you have the greatest hitter ever in my opinion. Their starting pitching is one star and a bunch of scrubs. I love Schmidty, he's the best pitcher in baseball and is going to win the Cy Young like he should of won it last year in my opinion. Their bullpen is somewhat inconsistent but it usually reliable pitchers but nothing spectacular since Nen is out another year. Ive heard that in the Giants Minor League system that they have a guy that reaches 100 easily and consistent. For the Giants to make the playoffs the Giants need another reliable starter like Freddy Garcia.

The A's just got a closer from houston

Dotel isn't perfect but for how cheap the A's payroll is and what is out there they probably got the best closer they could have gotten. Dotel will at least set up roles for the A's bullpen pitchers and not a bullpen by committee which was a disaster.

God, I effin love listening to guys talkin' baseball. Hey, by the way, thanks, everyone for saying nice things about the M's, I do appreciate it. The problem is they didn't have to f*ck with the chemistry the last few years. CEO Lincoln, ass-kissing Bavasi and (mis) manager Bob Melvin are ruining the team and destroying team morale in one fell swoop. You don't hire an NL bench coach to be your manager just because he appears to be the polar opposite of Lou Piniella, and you don't hire an NL GM for an American League team. It's just not the same. I'd rather take my chances with Bryan Price, the M's pitching coach--the man whom I most directly credit for turning the team around.

Hey, Strangelove--the Giants did have a guy like Freddy--ah, yes. Russ Ortiz. You can't have Freddy--he's ours. But, I know that Melvin and co. can't wait to dangle him as trade bait again. Motherf*cker. For some reason, he's just never been very fond of my favorite Venezuelan rhp. Personally, I'm not looking forward to the ASG just because i know the trade deadline is right around the corner, and I hate it, because the M's never make a move to try to aqcuire anyone, they just try to dump somebody, and I hate what it does to the team.

I never liked the Russ Ortiz for Damian Moss trade. Russ was always a reliable pitcher and hell if Dusty new how to manage starting pitching and bullpens Russ would probably would have won game 6 against the Angles. One interesting note is in my earlier post I said that theres a guy that throws 100 regularly in the Giants minor league system well he was part of the Russ Ortiz for Damian Moss trade so it wasn't a total disaster of a trade.

Ortiz's game 6 loss was a heartbreaker. As far as the 100mph fastball guy--I have yet to see him, so I'm not even sure who it is. Hey, what's the fastest pitch you've ever seen? I've seen Randy Johnson throw a 103 and 104 mph. And I think once I heard Dave Niehaus say that he once sam RJ throw one that was 107.

Well I did some research and found the guy, I guess he doesn't throw 100. 😮

Background
The Atlanta Braves originally signed Merkin Valdez. The Dominican inked his contract under the name Manuel Mateo, and broke through with an excellent 2002 season in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. He was traded to the Giants as part of the Russ Ortiz trade last winter. Afterward, it was revealed that his real name was Merkin Valdez, and that he was almost a year older than previously thought. Still, the Giants were glad to get him in the deal, especially after his excellent 2003 season in the South Atlantic League. With the graduation of guys like Jerome Williams and Jesse Foppert to the Show, Valdez is now San Francisco's best prospect.

Scouting report
Tall and lanky, Valdez generates good heat, getting his fastball to 93-94 mph, occasionally a bit higher. The pitch moves well, and hitters have a hard time getting a good read on it. He locates it well in the strike zone. Valdez' second pitch is a slider, which is overpowering when thrown correctly. Sometimes it gets sloppy, and looks more like a curveball or slurve. On his best days, he has very good command of both the fastball and slider. His changeup is mediocre at this point, and will have to be improved for him to thrive at higher levels.

Valdez has the physicality to be a durable pitcher, but he needs to keep his mechanics consistent. Scouts say he overthrows at times, but that is common for his age, and not a critical flaw considering his experience level. He has good mound presence, with emotional maturity and an aggressive attitude towards hitters.

Performance
Statistically, everything looks great for Valdez. His K/BB, K/IP, and H/IP ratios were all excellent last year. The K/IP and H/IP are objective indicators of his good stuff, and his K/BB shows he has a good measure of command to go with it. The stats confirm what the scouts say; indeed, the numbers are actually a bit more positive than some of the scouting reports, for the "overthrowing" problem doesn't show up in the numbers, at least in any detectable way. His walk rate was fine. Of course, gaudy numbers in the Sally League are not a guarantee of future success, but it certainly helps.

The fastest ive seen is Billy Wagner against Bonds where I remember him throwing 101 and 102. I remember Bonds striking out on a 3-2 count on a 102 heater. There's nothing better when you get to see dream matchups like Wagner vs Bond or Gagne vs Bonds they always turn out to be classics.

Freddy Garcia just got traded to the White Sox. It looks like the M's are starting their rebuilding process.

i love baseball and im a big fan of the atlanta braves...

Heard about the Freddy trade a few hours ago, but too irate to talk calmly about it just yet. Thanks for thinking of me, though, Strangelove. I'm so friggen sad, and so very, very, incensed at the same time. I'll write about this later, but first, I need to collect my thoughts. I was watching the game when I found out, and turned it off afterwards--I think I could just assume that we lost--and that the entire season is just a f*ckin' wash! It was nice to see Jeff Cirillo find his stroke against us--as so many M's alumni have in the past. Good for him--it must feel pretty good to tee off against the team that sent you packin'

I don't mean to be rude. I can't wait to read your research later, Strangelove, and I'd like to give a shout out to Sarah15--nice to meet you, I'm Jessie. I don't want to give you the wrong impression of me, though--I'm not usually such a downer, but I'm a little upset right now, so I'll check back when my blood pressure and heartrate stabilize.

Pudge for MVP 😱

hey badsymbiote,whats up, nice to meet u too..
whats everybody's favorite teams?
and one more question who are the M's?(sry)

Well there is still some good things to come out of the trade for the M's. You got some prospects and the Mariners still have a chance to sign Freddy back since this is his contract year. A similar situation happened when Baltimore traded Sidney Ponson in his contract year to the Giants. After the season he signed back the the O's but it hasn't worked out for them since he's posting a 6.22 ERA.

ponson SUCKS this year i live in bmore he has the worts record in the league and i love it.. i cant stand the O's thye were stupid to trade him last year then they tride to make up for it and look what happens.. im not so happy about freddy gettin traded.. but hes not serious enough either hes known to be a big party guy who stays out too late before games all i know is the M's need somethin fresh allthough i dont think gettin rid of freddy was it.. they just need to build a younger team in general and pick up someone with some power and someone good for the bullpen..

sarah the M's are the Seattle Mariners

sorry about the Braves it looks like their 12 year streak will come to an end

oh thanx..i didnt know which m's u were talking about...i havent really been watching baseball lately...are the braves doing bad?..