They Might be Giants: San Francisco Leads the Show After First Week

Every single year we are amazed at how fast the first week goes, but that's part of the beauty of baseball.

It’s way too early to care about league leaders and standout performances, but there's no shame in looking, is there?

Here are the top story lines from each team during the first week of the 2010 season. 

 

1)   Batting average

Martin Prado leads the country in batting after six games. He is 13-for-24 (.542) with three extra-base hits. He hit .307 last year in 450 at-bats. This is his first full season in the big leagues, it’s always nice to find success early.

 

2)   Home Runs

There’s no surprise here.

With two home runs, including a two-run dinger off Trevor Hoffman in the top of the ninth to bring the Cardinals within one, on Sunday Night Baseball (a game then tied by Matt Holliday, and then won by Brewer Casey McGehee in the bottom half of the inning), Albert Pujols now has four on the season, he’s on pace to hit 108 this year.

Tied with him are the resurgent Vernon Wells, Toronto teammate (and surprise) Alex Gonzalez, and Texas basher, Nelson Cruz.

 

3)   Runs Batted In

Chris Young had a dismal, absolutely dismal, 2009 season, so a quick start this year was not only important, it was career-saving.

Thanks to a three-run homer Sunday afternoon Young now stands at 11 RBI on the season. The biggest story, however, is the fact that he has struck out merely three times in 24 at-bats.

 

4)   Wins

Casey Janssen, a reliever for Toronto, has picked up three victories since his first appearance of the season on Wednesday night, and now stands at the top of the leader board. He has given up one run, but was backed up by Travis Snider and Jose Bautista the very next inning.

 

5)   Strikeouts

Now that most of the Aces have pitched a couple games, strikeouts are justifiable as a stat. As of Monday morning, Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, and Dan Haren as sit at the top with 17 strikeouts.

 

6)   To No-Hit or not to No-Hit

Although C.C. Sabathia had his no-hitter intact with two out in the eighth inning on Saturday, Joe Girardi was going to pull him for David Robertson in the ninth anyway. Pitch counts matter folks, especially in April and May, especially for $161 million arms.

 

7)   The first win is always the biggest win

Jeremy Bonderman won for the first time in nearly two years when he defeated the Cleveland Indians on Saturday. The last one came on May 22, 2008, after pitching six innings in a 9-2 victory, against the Seattle Mariners.

 

8)   They’re not as stagnant as you guys think!

Dustin Pedroia (featured in the first TMI column ) is the spark plug of the Boston Red Sox. That’s why he’s a former ROY, MVP, and World Series Champion, among others.

So when he says “We'll do a better job, I'll do a better job,” after the Boston’s third straight loss Friday night, he’ll back it up. He did, with a 4-for-5 performance Sunday afternoon.

The Red Sox lineup, criticized for not being as powerful as it has been in years passed, are fourth in the league in runs, fourth in hits, third in home runs, third in RBI, and first in total bases.

 

9)   Didn’t even spring a Leake?

Well, sort of.

Mike Leake’s first major league start was all sorts of positive. He pitched two outs into the seventh inning, gave up four hits, a run, and struck out five. His career ERA? 1.35. Not bad for a guy who never threw a pitch in the minor leagues...well, all except for the fact that he walked seven batters.

Leake threw 106 pitches, 57 for strikes but received a no-decision as the Reds beat the Cubs 3-1, scoring after Leake left the ballgame. Those walks are a little interesting, but let’s give the kid some slack. Next start: Friday at Pittsburgh, facing Zach Duke.

 

10)   Lefty loose

Jamie Garcia, the St. Louis Cardinals 23-year-old lefthander, provided the franchise with its first win by a lefthanded starting pitcher in almost four years on Saturday when he stifled the Milwaukee Brewers for six innings in a 7-1 wipeout.

 

11)   Say it ain’t so Joe

The Minnesota Twins aren’t missing Joe Nathan much because of 6’11” Jon Rauch. The big righty out of Morehead State is 4-for-4 in save opportunities this year with three strikeouts and zero walks.

This is no surprise to Joe Nathan "No surprise," said Nathan, who plans to be 100 percent recovered from elbow transplant surgery by next spring. "As long as (Rauch) can get off to a good start and get his head right, anything can happen. And this is just about as good a start as he could have to get his confidence and mind right to get a tough out when it comes."

 

12)   Frankly, he’s struggling

Frank Francisco has blown saves in his two opportunities this year and both have lead to Texas losses.

In both opportunities he has given up three earned runs. On Sunday afternoon the team announced that the 21-year-old Dominican native, Neftali Feliz, will take over for the time being. It’s unclear whether or not Francisco will close again; he will take on a less substantial role until he figures himself out.

 

13)   You’re so young!

The two youngest players in the big leagues on Opening Day were with the Mets: pitchers Jenrry Mejia and Ruben Tejada, both 20. The next youngest were the Braves' Jason Heyward (20), the Tigers' Rick Porcello (21) and the Rangers' Elvis Andrus (21).

 

14)   Don’t walk…run

Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco—sacrificed by the Cubs for Juan Pierre long ago—has set a goal of working 200-plus innings and walking 25 or fewer.

The only two pitchers in the last decade who have done that are David Wells and Brad Radke. Greg Maddux did it twice previously.

 

15)   Just a little…further…

Grand Slams were hit off of Johan Santana and Justin Verlander Sunday afternoon. The one off Santana was granted via Instant Replay and benefitted Josh Willingham of the Washington Nationals.

With the bases loaded and one out in the first inning, Willingham drove a 2-2 changeup off the center-field wall that bounced back onto the field of play. Two runs scored, before Adam Dunn barreled into catcher Rod Barajas, scoring a third run and knocking the ball loose.

Willingham then attempted to score as well, but Barajas regained control of the ball and tagged him out. Nats Manager, Jim Riggleman came out to argue, the Umpires reviewed it and changed it to a grand slam. The ball had obviously cleared the orange line in center field.

 

16)   Just can’t get it done, can you?

Four times last week the Baltimore Orioles entered the eighth inning with the lead. Four times they lost it. None of these impressive young players matter in this deadpanning AL East when you can’t even close games you are supposed to win.

 

17)   You just can’t Buehrle your way through here!

The Chicago White Sox are 0-4 without Mark Buehrle and 2-0 with him. In the two games he has started they have outscored the opposing team 11-4. In their four losses without him, they have been outscored 16-10. The games are close but he apparently has the cigar.

 

18)   There’s no place like home!

This definitely rings true for Cleveland, although they enjoyed a series victory over the Chicago White Sox to open the season, they went into Detroit and were promptly and unceremoniously, swept.

The Tigers squandered opportunities all weekend long, but managed to be in scoring position when the Indians unleashed wild pitches or inept field plays; the crux of which came Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers left the bases loaded twice during the game and were down 5-1 and 7-3 before they came clawing back for one run in the seventh, two in the eighth, and three in the ninth, the walk off run coming home via wild pitch.

 

19)   Ubaldo!

Jimenez has quietly become the ace of the Colorado staff. Over the last three years he has increased his wins, strikeouts and innings, and decreased his ERA, walks, and WHIP. This year he stand 2-0 on the season with a beautifully manicured 2.25 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 12 innings.

 

20)   Houston! We have a problem!

Last time I will ever use that line. It’s unfortunate though, because it’s true. Gone are the days where the Astros are competitive in the NL Central. They haven’t even gone on the road yet and they are 0-6 with a team batting average of .222 and a collective ERA of 6.00...

 

21)   I swear, it’s not what it looks like!

Kansas City may be 2-4, but they have faced two dangerous, late-inning teams in Detroit and Boston. On opening day, Detroit put up a six run inning to win. Three days later Miguel Cabrera destroyed the tar off a ball and sent them to another loss.

Then, what seemed like a pitcher’s duel on Friday night between Josh Beckett and Zach Greinke for the first two thirds of the game, turned ugly at the end for Kansas City.

Their starting rotation and batting order might not be as bad as their record shows, but their bullpen is, and that’s what counts.

 

22)   Godzilla Eats New York

It’s true. Tuesday is the Yankees home opener and their ring presentation to boot! To top it off, World Series MVP, Hideki Matsui will be there to receive his ring and then most likely, as seems to always be the case with him, come up with a clutch hit late in the ball game.

I have this feeling that Godzilla will somehow end the Yankees 2010 season and make them regret letting him go to Los Angeles to finish his incredible career.

 

23)   Divorce McCourt

While the team might be up in financial turmoil and off to a 2-4 start, Rafael Furcal doesn’t care, nor does he care why he’s hitting .381 and somehow is hitting like he did when he was in Atlanta. Oh, and Manny Ramirez got his 2,500 hit or something.

 

24)   Sori Fukudome, they actually want you to play

This was reported on Friday’s "Baseball Tonight". Sources say that Cubs manager Lou Piniella's full intention is to play the outfielders who produce.

If Alfonso Soriano, who still has a little less than $90 million remaining on his contract, produces at the plate, he will hit. If he does not produce, somebody else will play. The same is true for Kosuke Fukudome.

So sometime soon, the Cubs' starting outfield could be Tyler Colvin, Marlon Byrd and Xavier Nady—the team's three least expensive outfielders.

 

25)   Brew Blast Beckons Bats Beat the Cardinals…

The Milwaukee Brewers are baseball’s small-market team at its finest. Of course, they might complain every now and then about big-market teams signing away stars to huge contracts, but it’s all good when you win.

Thanks to Casey McGehee on Sunday night, back-to-back Pujols and Holliday home runs were thwarted and the Brew Crew improved to 3-3.

 

26)   Barton me, but can I get on?

Daric Barton was almost written off as a bust last year, and for good reason. He had a career average hovering around .250 and despite all his hype as a Billy Bean favorite, had a career on base percentage under the league average.

So far, Barton has an OBP of .533 and has walked more than games played. He looks completely different at the plate, one MLB executive said. Perhaps this is the year Barton breaks out?

Want more? Barton delivered back-to-back three-hit games on Thursday and Friday. The 24-year-old is off to an 8-for-21 start (.381) with seven RBIs and those eight walks for a sizzling 1.010 OPS.

 

27)   Jonesin’ for a home run

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Garrett Jones debuted for the Twins when he was 25. He played parts of 31 games before he was shipped off to Pittsburgh where he emerged at mid-season last year and went on to his 21 home runs in 314 at-bats.

After nine this year, he had deposited three beyond the outfield fence. The main question is, at 28, is Garrett Jones for real?

 

28)   Adrian isn’t shooting Blanks

Kyle Blanks is a literal behemoth. He stands 6’6” and weighs 270 lbs. He might be the next Ryan Howard. He hit a monster home run on opening day but then went hitless until Saturday, where he went 2-for-5 with a big double.

One downside; he has struck out in 8 of his 19 at-bats and has but one walk. On the flipside, Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .333 with a pair of home runs as he attempts to play his finest baseball knowing that at this time next year he will be with another club.

 

29)   Wild, Wild, Wild! West

Some of the scouts who have seen Seattle so far this season indicate that they wouldn't be surprised if the Mariners traded Cliff Lee in midseason because the team's offense looks deeply flawed.

On the other hand, the same scouts say they wouldn't be surprised if the Mariners won just enough games to contend. "There's very little separating those teams right now," said a talent evaluator who's based on the West Coast. Any one of them could finish first, and any one of them could finish last."

That’s interesting because, as of right now the division is completely flipped around: Oakland (5-2), Texas (3-3), Los Angeles (2-5), Seattle (2-5).

 

30)   Sting Rays do hurt

Against C.C. Sabathia: Right-handed batters went 1-for-22. The entire lineup went 0-for-8 against his changeup. They also went 0-for-11 swinging at pitches out of the zone; 39 percent of the time they swung, the pitch was out of the zone.

 

31)   They might be...Giants!

Toronto might be 5-1, so is Detroit, and Philadelphia, but San Francisco is the real story in baseball right now. Not because they are beating teams with their bats (Aaron Rowand and Edgar Renteria have helped quite a bit) but because their pitching is just downright filthy.

They might have four of the better starters in either league in Lincecum, Zito, Cain, and Sanchez. Together they have 33 SO in 31 IP. They have given up eight earned runs and walked four. Four! One home run has been hit off of the group, and that was against Lincecum on Sunday night after a four hour rain delay. Their bullpen isn’t bad either.

 

Some other stuff to note

 

32)   Phenom hurlers shine in debuts

The much ballyhooed debuts of Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman were quite similar and impressive. Strasburg struck out eight in five innings while Chapman fanned nine in 4 2/3. I don’t believe in singling out minor league performers, but these two will obviously be up in the big leagues around June and besides, everyone else is talking about them...

I should just stop this right now...

 

33)  But not before this little fact courtesy of Buster Olney

The Patience Index

These guys saw the most pitches per plate appearance on Thursday April 8.

...To read the complete column, go to the Baseball Glutton’s website,  Two On One Out   and feel free to leave a comment.

 

Joshua Worn publishes “The Most Interesting… ” (TMI) column every Monday and Friday on his website, Two On One Out . If you would like to follow his bi-weekly collection, you can subscribe through the website or by e-mailing him at thebaseballglutton@comcast.net  . 

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