Saturday was an exciting day in baseball. C.C. Sabathia came within four outs of no-hitting the Rays, the Giants and Rockies battled it out for 14 innings and Jason Varitek came back from the dead and homered twice. If you started Varitek please email me because I would like to talk to you about a potential Vegas trip and some stocks.
On to the happenings of Saturday afternoon/night.
Saturday’s Best: C.C. Sabathia (NYY) – 7.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Saturday’s Worst: Ryan Doumit (PIT) – 0-for-4, 4 K
Tigers 4, Indians 2
I knew the Indians’ offense was going to be bad, but they only managed three hits (all singles) against Jeremy Bonderman and co.? C’mon! … The Indians aren’t really bringing anything in the pitching department either as they have walked at least five batters four of their five games. … Magglio Ordonez is doing his best to prove that he is not done hitting and now has two home runs on the season and leads the American League with a .476 batting average.
Twins 2, White Sox 1
The White Sox have four starters batting below the Mendoza Line and Carlos Quentin leads all with a whopping .267 batting average. I liked this team in the preseason and I would be patient as I think they figure it out soon. … Scott Baker showed off his great control as he walked just one in seven innings for the win.
Nationals 4, Mets 3
Owning Oliver Perez is like playing the lottery every five days; sometime you win big, but most of the time he burns you. … The big news is the return of Jose Reyes who batted leadoff and collected a hit in his first game back.
Cubs 4, Reds 3
Alfonso Soriano went deep for the first time this season, but the emergence of Tyler Colvin might cut into his playing time this season. … Carlos Zambrano showed us why we shouldn’t overreact to just one start and pitched a strong seven innings (3 ER, 9 K, 8 RA). … It was nice to see Aaron Harang put up a goose egg in the walk column because if he can figure out his control issues maybe he can return to his pre-2008 form.
Yankees 10, Rays 0
C.C. Sabathia had his no-hitter broken up with just four outs to go, which is a good sign because usually he is a slow starter. … Mark Teixeira finally got his first hits of the season as he went 3-for-4. … Don’t look now, but Brett Gardner has a .467 OBP after the first week and has scored 80 percent of the time he’s gotten on base. Also, he has three steals and could be a very cheap source of steals and runs on your team. … Not to be lost in the blowout, Evan Longoria had a steal with Sabathia on the mound; he will give you a sneaky 10 steals on the season.
Cardinals 7, Brewers 1
Jaime Garcia‘s first start for the Cardinals was a great one and he’s worth a look in deeper leagues. … After he showed us what he can do in the Cardinals’ lineup last year, it’s no surprise that Matt Holliday has a .476 batting average through the first five games of the season. … It’s not a good sign that Yovani Gallardo is already struggling this season as he has shown in the past that he only gets worse as the season progresses.
Mariners 4, Rangers 3
Franklin Gutierrez is touted as the best defensive outfielder in the majors, but he is no slacker at the plate either. He’s batting behind Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins, which will make it almost impossible for him to reach 100 RBI this season. … Not a great start for Milton Bradley (.048 BA) who is being heavily relied on by the Mariners for his power. … Nice to see Felix Hernandez bounce back after walking six batters in the opener. … David Aardsma is doing his best to prove that 2009 was no fluke and now has two saves and four strikeouts in two innings of work. … Speaking of closers, what’s up with Frank Fransisco? He already has two blown saves and it seems that he is handing over closing duties to youngster Neftali Feliz.
Phillies 9, Astros 6
It would be an understatement to say that the Phillies’ offense is on fire as five of their eight regular starters have a batting average over .368. … Felipe Paulino, who is a sleeper for many because of his strikeout potential, will have to figure out how to keep guys off base before I consider him a safe waiver wire pickup. … Matt Lindstrom better get his act together or else he will be losing his closers role to Brandon Lyon very soon.
Blue Jays 3, Orioles 0
After blowing his first save opportunity, Jason Frasor has converted three consecutive saves. … A lot of us loved the Baltimore offense coming into the season, but up until now it has been all Matt Wieters (.389 BA) with very little help from everyone else. … Vernon Wells finally came back down to earth with an 0-for-3 day and if you can trade him for top value I would jump on the opportunity.
Marlins 7, Dodgers 6
Gaby Sanchez is doing his best to keep Logan Morrison in the minors and I would say a .353 batting average and his first home run of the season is a good sign. … Not a great start for Josh Johnson, who now has a 10:7 K:BB ratio this season. … Russell Martin went 2-for-2 and is now batting .364 on the season with at least one walk in every game. … Rafael Furcal had his third straight multi-hit game and has three steals after a miserable 2009 season.
Red Sox 8, Royals 3
The Red Sox must have had a nice breakfast buffet because they hit five home runs, two of which came from Jason Varitek and one from Jeremy Hermida. … Josh Beckett pitched seven solid innings and seems to be fine after his opening day troubles. … Zack Greinke surrendered two home runs and let up four earned runs (he let up four earned runs just once last season).
Pirates 6, Diamondbacks 3
Maybe Dan Haren is trying to not dominate as much in the first half so his second half struggles don’t seem as bad. That’s the only explanation I have for letting up five earned runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings pitched against the Pirates. … A nice start from Zach Duke ()who now has two wins on the season and his next start is against Cincinnati.
Padres 5, Rockies 4 (14 inn.)
He did let up three long balls, but Mat Latos (7 IP, 4 ER, 4 K) was very good otherwise. He pitches in a great home ballpark and could be a very good matchups play in 10-team leagues this year. … Not a bad day for Chase Headley who went 3-for-5 with two walks on the day. … Ian Stewart continues his hot start with a 3-for-6 day and could finally be ready to break out now that he has an everyday job.
Angels 4, Athletics 3
Ben Sheets continues to struggle (6 IP, 13 RA, 1 K) and it seems like everyone’s favorite sleeper is rapidly losing followers. … On the other side, Jered Weaver has another good start to a season. Hopefully he can keep it up past the All-Star break this year. … If Hideki Matsui (3-for-5, 2 RBI) can stay healthy (and as a DH that shouldn’t be hard) he should continue to put up very good numbers hitting fourth for the Angels.
Braves 7, Giants 2
Somehow Derek Lowe let up just one run despite walking seven batters and now has a K:BB ratio of 7:10. … Jason Heyward (3-for-3, 2 RBI) hit his second home run of the season, but before you start buying into the hype of this 20-year old remember that he will be prone to slumps in his first major league season. … Martin Prado (2-for-4) has been on a tear to start the season and leads the National League with a .600 batting average.
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