Baseball

They say lightning never strikes the same place twice.

The Colorado Rockies almost disproved that in the span of five days. 

For the second time in five days, the Rockies were fighting not for a victory, but for a single hit.

The youngest starting rotation in baseball is getting one of its senior citizens back tomorrow when 26-year-old Brandon Morrow returns for the Toronto Blue Jays' matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays.

His return from the disabled list could not come at a better time.

I’m not a sabermetrics guy.

Instead of numbers and formulas, I prefer to rely on what I glimpse with my own two eyes, and judge what I see not with a calculator but with instincts that have been honed through a lifetime of watching baseball.

For the last year, sabermetrics supporters and analysts have been saying that Derek Jeter is done.

I have not believed them.

It’s that time of week again—MLB awesome rankings. The Rangers are still sliding, the Rockies are still surging. Albert Pujols has decided to care again and the Indians and Royals are still battling it out. I can’t wait for September when this stuff gets worked out. Here we go:

After tossing a shutout last night, I’m sure Kyle Lohse is a popular waiver claim. What’s not to like about a guy with a 3-1 record, a 2.01 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP? You should know he’s been a fast starter for most of his career.

He got bombed last April (0-1, 6.55 ERA), but look at his recent April performances:

2009:  3-0, 1.97 ERA
2008:  3-0, 2.36 ERA
2007:  1-1, 2.88 ERA

Although baseball's opening day is special in every city, Cincinnati's has long been considered the creme-de-la-creme. Professional baseball's first team is the only team to open each year at home and its fans celebrate the entire day like no other.

Before I get into the notes for today, a quick tangent/tirade.

The idea of adding any more games to the playoffs in baseball through an additional round is ridiculous. This is not my being a purist. I have come to accept that the Wildcard works. The games though keep being played in colder and colder weather.

Overall, the upcoming MLB free agency class for the 2011 offseason is fairly weak.  Unlike 2010 when baseball fans anxiously watched to see where pitcher Cliff Lee and All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford would end up, 2011 will figure to be a quiet offseason.

Could new closer Mitchell Boggs be a saving grace for the Cardinals? 

I reserve the right to answer my own question in my own time. Maybe I will answer somewhere in this article.

He doesn’t throw Hail Mary passes, wear religious articles of clothing or pretend to be as righteous as the pope, but he could be a savior for the Redbirds when they get in tight ninth innings.