Preview/Prediction

With the lackluster offensive performance out of the Phillies' bats this season, fans are starting to question where is the strength in this World Series-hopeful team.

With RBI machine Ryan Howard out for what seems like a significant time, and an unknown return time for Chase Utley, Philadelphia needs to look toward the team's pitchers for a boost of motivation. 

Why not the pitching staff?

The St. Louis Cardinals have played 21 of their 22 games this season against NL Central opponents en route to a division-leading 14-8 record.

That trend won’t change this week, with the Cardinals taking on the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates have struggled their way to a 10-12 record this season, good for fourth in the NL Central.

With Evan Longoria expected to miss anywhere from six to eight weeks with a hamstring injury, the Tampa Bay Rays are left without their most consistent offensive performer.

Longoria's April put him in the running as an early AL MVP candidate, but any chances of that happening now seem slim to none.

We may only be a month into the season, but already we are learning things about the state of each team. Granted, not everything we learn in April is reliable.

The L.A. Angels aren't going to finish last in the AL West with Albert Pujols not hitting a single home run. Likewise, it's highly unlikely the Baltimore Orioles snag a wild-card berth.

However, we can still look at the state of the pitching and pinpoint one pitcher on each team who needs to have a better May.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

It was the first day I opened my first pack of baseball cards. The pack was 1989 Topps. The first card I pulled was a Randy Johnson baseball card from when he was with the Seattle Mariners.

I thought, “Sheesh, this man looks scary…I wouldn’t want to face him on a bad day.”

Dante Bichette’s rookie card was also in this pack. It was significant because my dad said rookie cards were a baseball player’s most significant cards.

You would've thought Freddy Garcia of the New York Yankees would be able to at least last until Andy Pettitte comes back, but he simply doesn't deserve to stay in the rotation after another horrible start against the Detroit Tigers.

Garcia went 1.2 innings and allowed six runs on five hits, bumping his ERA to 12.51. The veteran starter looks like a shell of the pitcher Yankee fans saw in 2011.

The Oakland A's are one of the teams that are thankful for the extra wild-card spot in the playoffs.

Although they are still long-shots to make the playoffs, a winning start has boosted fans' spirits as the season unfolds.

Last season they began the season very similar to this year, by hovering around .500. Their downfall began after they were 27-27.

In the following 14 games they lost all but one, including 10 in a row at one point. The season was all but lost after that run.

Before the regular season began, I wrote an article examining the AL East contenders' April schedules and argued that, because the Blue Jays played a relatively weak schedule to open the season, they would have a strong first month.

They've done well, but May will not be nearly as kind to them.

Freddy Garcia, who is 0-1 with a 9.75 ERA on the young season, is likely pitching for his spot in the Yankees' rotation on Saturday afternoon against the Tigers.

The right-hander, going on an extra day of rest, will be looking to give the Yankees a solid performance after Friday night's 7-6 Yankee victory.

Nineteen-year-old Bryce Harper will make his Major League debut today against the Dodgers' right-handed hurler, Chad Billingsley.

Billingsley enters the game with a 2-1 record, 3.04 ERA and 0.930 WHIP.