Quick weekend wrap-up

The Braves (15-9) got swept by the Tigers. This ends a long road trip and they get the Nationals at home tonight. Another chance to increase the 2.5 game lead they have in the NL East.

The Cubs (9-15) did well down in Miami. They took 3 out of the 4 games against the Marlins. Unfortunately they are still 5.5 games behind the now NL Central leading Pirates. They get to go home and face the Padres.

The Orioles (15-10) also did well out west. They took 3 out of 4 from the A’s. They lost ground in the AL East to the Red Sox and Yankees though and are now 3 games out of first. The O’s head to Seattle today.

April 26, 2013

All right baseball fans, heading into this weekend’s action we have some good news and some bad news. Here is where everybody stands.

The Braves (15-6) have come down to earth a little bit. Last weekend the Pirates put them in their place taking 3 out of 4 games. A trip out west to Colorado saw them miss a game due to snow (global warming, ha), then sweep the next day’s double header with the Rockies, only to then lose the finale in 12 innings. The good news though is they are still atop the NL East by 4.5 games over the Nationals and Mets. They start a three game series tonight with the Detroit Tigers in this weekend’s interleague play.

The Cubs (7-14) are heading in the wrong direction. They have now slipped to 6 games out of first in the NL Central behind the Cardinals. They had some really good games with the Reds but came up short. They look to get back on track this weekend as they play the lowly Marlins. The Cubs already took game one of the four game series 4-3. If they struggle in Miami this weekend it might make for a long season in Chicago.

The Orioles (13-9) are trying to keep pace with the Red Sox and Yankees. Currently they trail the first place Sox by 2 games and are half a game up on the Yankees. They started a four game series out in Oakland last night with a 10-2 victory. The Red Sox have Houston this weekend so the O’s need to play well because I’m sure the Sox are going to handle the Astros.

A few facts about the Orioles…

The manager is now Buck Showalter (not Earl Weaver). He led the O’s to the playoffs last year for the first time since 1997.

Matt Wieters - Matthew Richard Wieters is an American professional baseball player. He plays as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles. Wieters was drafted fifth overall in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. Matt was born in 1986 and went to James Island rival Stratford High School. He went on to play at Clemson’s ACC rival Georgia Tech. In spite of those affiliations Matt is a leader for the Orioles and is a big reason why Baltimore is having a good season.

April 19, 2013

We are on the cusp of another great weekend of baseball. Here is where everybody stands heading into this weekend's action.

The Braves (13-2) are on fire. They were finally beaten this week 1-0 by the KC Royals to stop a 10 game winning streak. They got back to their winning ways last night with a 6-4 win over the Pirates. They continue the 4-game series with them this weekend. Tonight Tim Hudson takes the mound looking for his 200th career win. Good luck Huddy! The Braves are currently in first place in the NL East with a 4 game lead.

The Cubs (5-9) are still under .500 and are unfortunately in last place in the NL Central. The goods news is that they are still only 3.5 games out of first. They start a 3-game series with the Brewers tonight. Hang in there Cubbies!

The Orioles (8-7) are hanging around .500 and are only 1/2 game out of first place in the AL East. The bad news is they trail the Red Sox and the Yankees. Yikes! The O's start a 3-game series with the LA Dodgers. This is the one inter-league series this weekend.

Keep checking in on this blog and I'm Just Saying...for facts and figures about these organizations. At some point we will be giving you some.
 

Greetings Baseball Fans

Here is a quick update as we head into this weekend’s games.

Atlanta sits atop the NL East with an 8-1 record. They are merely one game ahead of second place Washington. The Braves head to Washington this weekend for an early season matchup of what should be the best two teams in the East. Hopefully, the Braves can increase their lead, but I will settle for coming out tied. Don’t want to be swept so the first game is a big one.

The Orioles also sit atop their division, the AL East. Their record isn’t as impressive at 5-4, but first place is first place. They head to the Evil Empire this weekend (NY Yankees) for a big series. This would be a great chance to pick up a sweep before the Yankees get healthy. If they can win and have the Red Sox lose, then they can take control of first place all alone.

The Cubs (3-6) are off to a shaky start but are only 2 games out of first in the NL Central. They trail the Reds and Cardinals but the season is still young. They continue a 4 game series against the World Champion Giants this weekend. They dropped game one last night but are looking to rebound over the weekend. Carlos Villanueva takes the mound this afternoon with his 1.35 ERA so maybe the Cubbies come out on top.

Check out the standings here: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/

Hello American League

Welcome fans of I’m Just Saying…

I open with that because I am fully aware that you would not be reading this post today if it were not for the reference you saw on the “other” blog this morning. So what is all this pulling for an American League team and how did it come about? Well, let me go back a few years and remind you of something Greg and I did when Clemson football was just too painful to watch. They would begin each season with high expectations only to disappoint by season’s end. Now there is no way I would ever consider not pulling for Clemson but we decided that we needed a team to pull for where there wasn’t such an emotional attachment. That way when they lost the pain wouldn’t be so great. Our team of choice was Texas A&M. The two schools have a similar history both academically, athletically, and a military tradition. Pulling for them was fun. They won most of the time and when they didn’t, well it just didn’t sting as much as watching Clemson lose. How does all that tie in to this next project? All the time spent coming up with a Mount Rushmore for each baseball organization really got me excited about this season. Since our allegiance is with National League teams I thought us choosing an AL team to pull for would keep up the interest level throughout the season. [Another side note of explanation…I am a Braves fan and a Cardinals fan. How/Why? Because living in this part of the country and having TBS back in the ‘80’s meant you were a Braves fan. They were on everyday and you got a chance to “know” the players. Back in the 1980’s the Cardinals were a team built on great pitching and defense with a lot of speed on the base paths. In spite of what has been labeled as my obsession with the “long ball” during our Mt. Rushmore posts, I was a light hitting middle infielder who stole bases back in the day. Naturally, I was drawn to a team who in their best years had maybe one guy in the lineup who was a true homerun threat. Not to mention Ozzie Smith played for them and I tried to be like him (minus the back-flips). But when the chips are down, and the Cards are playing the Braves, I pull for Atlanta.]

In keeping with our tradition of choosing teams to pull for without an emotional attachment we have decided to jointly pick an AL team. Now we had to have a few parameters. I suggested we eliminate northern and west coast teams from consideration. In the words of our friends over at I’m Just Sayin…"We ain’t pullin’ for no yankee teams or hippie western teams." I couldn’t have said it better myself. When looking at what’s left we had to choose from the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros (that’s right, they are an AL team now), Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, or the Kansas City Royals. Apparently there has been some front office flap between Nolan Ryan and the Rangers so they are out. Houston may be the worst team in MLB so no reason to choose them this year. Tampa is a relatively new organization without much history yet. That leaves the Royals and the Orioles. Our AL team for 2013…the Baltimore Orioles. Look for updates on their season and facts that you may or may not know throughout the season. We don’t know how we are going to do it yet, but you’ll have to check both blogs on a regular basis to make sure you don’t miss anything.

So, Go Braves! Go Cubs! And Go Orioles!!!!

By the way…Last weekend the Braves swept the Cubs. Looks like it is going to be Braves vs Orioles in the 2013 World Series!