Baseball

For the second time in a row, Clayton Kershaw made Giants hitters look like little leaguers. 

Last night, the southpaw allowed only six hits over 6.2 innings, striking out seven, while not allowing a single run. 

He has now accumulated 13.2 scoreless innings against Giants this season, 22.2 dating back to 2010.

What the Fuentes is up with the incompetence of relief pitching in 2011? Baseball jargon designates closers as "firemen" due to their propensity of extinguishing infernos in the later innings of ballgames. Yet pyromania has engulfed the Major League landscape, dominating the early season headlines.

This past Friday, Tampa Bay Rays outfielder/designated hitter Manny Ramirez abruptly retired.  He had been batting .059 in six games.  It was later revealed that he had once again tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and was facing a 100-game suspension.  Instead of going through with the suspension, the controversial outfielder chose to end his career.

I noticed something peculiar about Albert Pujols' approach at the plate during an at bat last night in Arizona.  He picked up and put back down his normally semi-stationary left leg as the pitch came in.

Sam Fuld is a Durham, N.H. native and alumnus of Exeter Academy. On Monday night he made his first career visit to Fenway Park as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Theo Epstein is the general manager of the Boston Red Sox.  He is also a practitioner of sabermetrics. 

At least that’s what we’re lead to believe.

After all, Bill James has been a senior advisor for the Red Sox since 2002.

You see, in the Church of Sabermetrics, Bill James is the deity. Many of his followers believe that he was begotten, not made, and that he will reign eternal in the halls of Strat-O-Matic Valhalla.

After a weekend series with the hated Boston Red Sox, the Yankees welcome the Baltimore Orioles to town in a battle for first place in the AL East. With the Yanks just a game back and the Red Sox near the cellar in the division, all is right in the baseball world for New Yorkers.

At least it seems that way.

Going to a game at Wrigley Field in Chicago is an experience that every passionate baseball fan should aspire to at least once in their lives. The baseball game itself is in many instances secondary to what's going on throughout the ballpark.

While the beloved Chicago Cubs haven't won a World Series championship since 1908, it doesn't deter fans from making the trek to Wrigley Field and participating in the overall experience.

I have made a decision: The 2011 major league baseball season began on April 8th.

I don't need to hear you tell me that I'm crazy, or stupid, or ugly, or a pervert; the voices in my head tell me that all the time (especially Paul; he's such a jerk!) This is not about logic, this is about survival. And we all know that the most important thing any organism can do, after eating deep-dish pizza, of course, is to survive. Don't argue with me, I didn't make the rules.

The Boston Red Sox needed a big performance from their pitching staff, and got one before a nationally televised audience Sunday night as they won their first series of the season, 2-1 over the New York Yankees.

Pitcher Josh Beckett was masterful, going eight innings, allowing two hits and striking out 10 batters. The win was the finest performance this season by any Red Sox pitcher.