Crafty veteran Tim Wakefield wasn’t so crafty on Sunday. Wakefield’s knuckler was not quite knuckling enough, and the Red Sox fell to the Twins 9-8, losing for the second time in three tries against the Twins this weekend.

Wakefield only lasted 2 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs — six earned — raising his ERA on the season to 4.25. The Red Sox bats heated up briefly with one run in the third and three in the fourth, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the Twins in check, giving up runs in the fourth and the seventh innings. The Sox scored twice more in the seventh on Kevin Youkilis’ two run double, as the Youk-dog continued his torrid May similar to what he did last season. He’s batting .359 so far this month, with five doubles, six homers, ten runs, 14 RBI and six walks. It’ll do. Of course, the Greek God of Walks hit over .400 with six dingers last May, so he’s clearly a May man.

The BoSox entered the top of the ninth down three runs against the usually unhittable Joe Nathan and made some noise. They quickly collected three hits and scored two runs, but stranded the tying runner on base as Nathan was able to barely escape out of the inning for his 12th save of the season.

The win pushed the surprising Twins to 19-17 on the season, one game ahead of Cleveland for first in the AL Central, while the Sox fell to 24-16 with their lead over the Tampa Bay Rays shrinking to only 1.5 games. That’s right, the Rays. Seriously. I’m not joking. And it’s May.

Fantasy Factors

Youkilis has been putting on a rare display of power and production with an OPS of 1384 for the month and it looks like he might be on his way to becoming a top five fantasy first baseman. He went 2-for-5 on Sunday to raise his overall average to .319 on the season. Continue to ride Youkilis’ hot bat, but don’t be surprised if his power numbers start to level out as he is not typically known for the long ball (last season, he hit a career-best 16). May is clearly his month, so either start him on your team or sell him while his stock is high.

The real David Ortiz is finally starting to show up. After a dismal April in which he batted under the Mendoza Line at .198, Big Papi currently sits at .241 on the year, thanks to a .368 mark for the month of May. And to think Sox fans were worried! Ortiz currently has seven homers and 28 ribbies, and with his batting average still being lower than usual, you might be able to steal him from other owners. Big Papi just had a bad month, but trust me when I say…actually, when I guarantee…he will finish with 30+ home runs and 100+ RBI. Don’t say I didn’t tell you so when September comes around.

Wakefield finally put up a serious stinker. Prior to Sunday’s game, his worst outing was an eight inning performance in which he gave up five runs. Normally, he does very well in the Metrodome, heading in with a career mark of 7-3 with a 3.95 ERA. Owners shouldn’t be worried though, because from time to time the knucklers are going to get rocked. Half the time, they don’t even know where their pitch is going to end up. I wouldn’t start Wakefield unless you have a big time pitcher on the DL, in which case he is a nice fill in. Otherwise, his 27 Ks to 23 BB is not enough to make up for the fact that he’s a good source of Ws, likely headed for 15 wins on the season.

Joe Mauer is being outhomered by Ichiro Suzuki right now, 2-0. Now, that’s no knock on Ichiro as we all know he has some power, but the point is Mauer is batting in the three hole for the Twins and while he is hitting a superb .330, one would think he would have at least one dinger by now. He is sporting an excellent .409 OBP with a modest 15 RBI, and he went 1-for-4 again on Sunday, continuing a solid May. Mauer is one of the best catchers in the game, so obviously start him and hope he begins to mash a few home runs and produce some more RBI.

Craig Monroe went 2-for-4 with a grand slam in Sunday’s contest, raising his average to .284 on the year. Despite having a nice game, do not count on Monroe as he is a streaky hitter who is currently splitting time at DH for the Twins.

Justin Morneau’s average isn’t quite where we want it to be yet (.284), but he took a step in the right direction on Sunday, going 3-for-3 with a walk. Canada’s finest has a respectable six home runs on the season to go along with his 27 RBI, but has yet to go yard and has only produced five RBI so far this month . He is going to give you plenty of power, but unless he gets that batting average and OBP up a little bit, it might be worth looking at another option for first base.

Manny Ramirez, nursing a sore hammy, got the day off, but the fact that he pinch-hit in the ninth suggests he’ll be okay. Hopefully some down time with help ManRam redisover his early-season stroke. A 1-for-15 skid has him under .300 for the first time since April 15. Contract year, baby!

Mike Lamb enjoyed a nice weekend, going 5-for-9, but please remind me why the Twins signed this guy again? A 556 OPS? Uh, right. And the Twins actually believed this dude could be an everyday player.

With Manny sitting, Jacoby Ellsbury shifted over and handled left field. He took an 0-for-4, capping an ugly 1-for-12 weekend. The rook is playing, but not hitting particularly well so far this season. Coco Crisp, meanwhile, was in centrefield for the second straight day, and he went yard for the second straight game. He also tripled, stole a base and drove in three runs on Sunday. It’s about time to consider Crisp as a fantasy option, in AL-only leagues at the very least. He’s earned more PT, and if Ellsbury keeps flailing, Crisp will get it.

Matt Tolbert, an early season revelation, continues to struggle. He’s been playing second with Brendan Harris nursing a sore right hamstring, so Adam Everett has been manning short. But Everett hasn’t exactly taken his chance and run with it. He was 1-for-4 Sunday to get back to .200 on the year. Woo hoo! I’d say Tolbert needs not worry, about Everett at least.

Alex Cora returned from a DL stint because of his elbow. He’s been out almost a month, and got the start at short, lashing three hits, including a double. With Julio Lugo still dealing with the after effects of his concussion, and Jed Lowrie sent back to the minors, Cora could see some action this week.

Rookie Nick Blackburn earned the win for the Twins. He wasn’t overly sharp, giving up nine hits and four runs in six innings, but he walked just one and struck out five — his most in over a month. Blackburn is now over .500, but his ERA is approaching 4.00. He’s a decent option in deep AL-only leagues, but because of his lack of Ks, he’s best used in 4×4 leagues.

Mike Timlin appeared in his 1,032nd career game, moving him past Lee Smith and Jose Mesa into eighth place all-time. Unfortunately, after a solid 2007 campaign, the 42-year-old righty looks to be on his last legs, having giving up 16 hits and ten runs in nine innings this year. Start watching for a passing ice floe to toss the oldtimer onto.

May 12th, 2008
Categories: BASEBALL, Daniel Olson, Game report, Uncategorized . Author: Daniel Olson . Comments: 2 Comments

Ventura College is making some history, and some long standing team records are in danger of falling as a result.

Not only did the team win the first playoff game it has hosted in over 50 years (thereby advancing to the second round of the South California regional playoffs), but it witnessed some individual performances worthy of mention.

Team ace Zach Thornton returned Tuesday after missing two weeks with arm inflammation to scatter five hits over seven innings for his 11th win of the season – second on the school’s all-time single season list. The mark is held by Brandon Knight, a former Texas Rangers prospect who pitched 11 games in the Show for the Yankees earlier this decade. He was the 1995 California Player of the Year and is back with the school as the pitching coach.

The team’s home run record is in jeopardy, too. Jose Vargas smacked his 12th home of the season Tuesday to tie Jeremy Pierce’s school mark, set in 1997. Pierce was a 24th round pick of the Mariners back in 1996, but never turned pro. Vargas, by the way, already is Ventura’s career leader in dingers.

May 7th, 2008
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: RotoRob . Comments: No Comments

While it’s difficult to hit the cutoff man in MLB 2K8, at least you’re soothed by Jeanne Zelasko’s voice (well, if you’re Andy, you are).

When I was much younger, back in those college days, I’d have some rough weekend mornings. I’m talking about times when the only evidence of your existence from the previous evening was empty bottles. For me, there were really only two cures to mornings like that. The first was chicken nibblers, although I always referred to them as “The Nibs.†It’s probably better if I don’t expound on that one.

The other cure was Jeanne Zelasko, FOX Sports’ female answer to Joe Buck, who handled MLB pre-game duties. Major League Baseball 2K8, 2K Sports’ latest, greatest offering is helped greatly by Zelasko, who works the intro to every game you play, including weekday night games and exhibition games (and I’m okay with that, thank you). Unfortunately, much like those way-too-glary weekend mornings, MLB 2K8 suffers from a bit of unevenness.

Where other baseball games over the years have done their best to simplify the sport, MLB 2K8 takes the less traveled path of actually making the act of throwing a baseball harder than it really is. Forget pitching, just tossing the ball from the outfield to the infield takes a few games to accomplish with any consistency. After many games played, I’m still not really sure how to effectively call for a cut-off man to actually cut the ball off. Obviously, with the level of difficulty for such routine aspects of the sport, 2K8 isn’t the most accessible sports title out there.

Of course, this is a baseball video game, so I think it’s written in the rules of sports reviews that the pitching and hitting methods are examined (clearly, I haven’t read those rules). As for the former, MLB 2K8 gets very close to nailing it. Pitching requires a series of timed analog stick movements. You need concentration, timing, and an ability to closely follow expanding and contracting rings to master the game’s pitching (I know, I know, that sounds really fun). It’s not easy by any stretch, but it’s actually a rewarding style of gaming. Pitching shouldn’t be easy. It shouldn’t require merely selecting a type of pitch and location. MLB 2K8 gets that. One issue for me was the lack of control of pitch type and location. If I want to throw a devastating table-drop curve on a 1-2 count, then I should be able to without worrying the catcher will be expecting a high-and-outside fastball.

Hitting, on the other hand, has much less than meets the eye. Basically, the offensive process involves little more than timing your “step†and “swing.†Normally, I’d want more control, but after spending untold hours cursing and struggling with the whole cut-off man fiasco, a little breather is nice.

MLB 2K8 does have an interesting “batter’s eye†concept which entails sort of guessing where a pitch will be before the pitcher’s wind up. If you call it right, you have a better chance of driving the ball. The more contact-driven the hitter, the bigger the “eye.†If a count is at 3-0, the “eye†is very large. If you’re in the hole, it’s teeny-tiny. If you’ve got Adam Dunn up and an 0-2 count, you really don’t have an “eye†anymore, which sounds about right to me.

As I mentioned above, the dialogue and overall sound of the game really shines. Jon Miller and Joe Morgan handle the commentator duties, and that could raise some eyebrows. I mean, there are some who actually think Morgan is something of a, oh I don’t know, blowhard. What’s funny (Morgan might even call it ‘ironic,’ although he’d be wrong) is that Morgan’s style (for lack of a better word) really feels natural and it comes through. A play will happen, Morgan will say something bizarre, and Miller will try to make it work. It’s exactly like watching a game on ESPN.

Also of note is the “soundtrack†that the game uses. Apparently 2K Sports outsourced that job to Pitchfork Media. I will come clean and admit I am a Pitchfork whore. In fact, while writing this review, I’ve listened to The Battles, The Flaming Lips, and LCD Soundsystem, all of whom are featured in the game’s menu screens and sometimes over stadium loudspeakers. It’s a nice modern touch, although hearing the same 16 songs over and over again does tend to get old after a few hours. I assume the megabites were tough to come by, but another 15 or 30 songs would have been great.

Which brings us to the online product. The game changes drastically when you enter the intertubes. Unfortuantely, it’s not by design. The main problem is that the pitching system (which I love!) requires pin-point accuracy and timing. The second you and your opponent’s modems get a hold of that aspect of the game, everything goes to hell. Every pitch becomes a lob, which actually is okay because timing the swing is also impossible. An extra bonus is going back to normal offline play is difficult because of how much overcompensation you get used to.

If you are a baseball fan and own an Xbox 360, this is your game. That’s more due to the fact that MLB 08: The Show isn’t available on Microsoft’s gaming system. Overall, this is certainly a competent game and it always feels pretty fair, unless you’re playing online with laggy opponents. And if all else fails, you can just close your eyes and listen to Zelasko for hours on end.

(I don’t do that. I swear!)

April 21st, 2008
Categories: Andy Goldstein, BASEBALL, Uncategorized, Video Game Reviews . Author: Andy Goldstein . Comments: 6 Comments

Bruce Bowen, right, was up to his old tricks Wednesday. (AP Images)

Bruce Bowen was up to his old tricks Wednesday night, i.e., pissing off opponents. Well, his elbow to the ribs of Amare Stoudemire only succeeded in firing up Stat, who came up big to lead the Suns to an immense 96-79 win over the Spurs. In today’s Daily Dose, we explore the situation.

Rafer Alston made an immediate impact upon his return; Chris Bosh was lights out; Charlie Villanueva had the finest night of his season; usual durable Shane Battier got hurt; Manu Ginobili is just one of many ice cold Spurs; and Tim Duncan is a double-double machine.

Do try to drag yourself away from Dooce long enough to read up on the latest fantasy basketball tidbits. We’ve got you covered in today’s Dose.

April 10th, 2008
Categories: Courtside, Dear RotoRob, Fantasy Notes, On Campus, Rumours, Uncategorized . Author: RotoRob . Comments: 1 Comment