4.2 Random Sampling: Day Game Edition

Some of the day games of interest:

Royals (0-1) vs. Tigers (1-0)

The Tigers are coming off a nice comeback win on Monday over the Royals. The Royals did get a decent start out of James Shields but they needed better than decent to win on Monday. Better luck today.

Brewers (1-1) vs. Braves (1-1)

Well, being undefeated didn't last long. I did catch the 2nd and 3rd inning of this game while I was passing time before my Toastmasters meeting last night. The part I caught featured the Brewers broadcast team discussing talent in the minor league system and Kyle Lohse looking very sharp on the mound. They were up 1-0 while I was watching which gave me hope of the Brewers starting 2-0, but it did not seem meant to be.

Indians (1-0) vs. Athletics (0-1)

We had ourselves our first rain out of the season and have ourselves our first double header (assuming the weather holds) today. As of 7:45 AM, it is raining pretty down as I write this (about four hours away from Oakland), so we'll see if they get both of these games in.

4.1 Random Sampling

The handful of games that i'll have my eye on today:

Blue Jays (0-1) vs. Rays (1-0)

The Tampa Bay Rays got their season started off on the right foot. For the Blue Jays, it may only be one game but they are already behind the eight ball. Casey Janssen was placed on the disabled list to start the season. As I had him on my fantasy team, I had to make an adjustment and was able to pick up his replacement for now (Sergio Santos) off of the waiver wire. The best-case scenario for this is that his performance resembles what he did last year 236 ERA+, .584 WHIP, 9.8 K/9 and this turns out to be one of those sneaky good moves that makes me look like a genius.

Brewers (1-0) vs. Braves (0-1)

I was definitely happy to see the Brewers season start out on the right foot. I was able to catch about a half inning of this game while eating lunch and Yovani Gallardo seemed to be on top of things. Also, with  this being Ryan Braun's first regular season game after his suspension, he did get a standing ovation in his first plate appearance. This led to commentators from all over the place to insult Brewers fans (not cool) and try to play moral police and say who we should and should not cheer for. It's one thing to get on Braun's case for things that have been done but let the fans cheer if they feel like cheering.

It was also revealed that it was decided sometime yesterday that Jim Henderson lost the closer job to K-Rod. I'm glad that this decision is paying off initially as K-Rod converted his first save opportunity. Since I had Henderson on my fantasy team, I decided to act quick and add Matt Lindstrom who won the closer job for the White Sox.

Diamondbacks (0-3) vs. Giants (1-0)

I was able to catch parts of this game (thanks to the At Bat app on my phone that came along with my mlb.tv subscription). While doing dishes last night, I was listening in the 2nd/3rd inning when Angel Pagan drove in the games first run. I went back to watching the game in the seventh inning right as Brad Ziegler was giving up a game-tying bases loaded walk. I was watching on my phone until the bottom of the 8th inning when I was getting ready to go to sleep. Since I was still interested in what was going on with this game, I switched to the audio feed on KNBR as I was drifting off to sleep land (but not before Buster Posey hit a go-ahead two run homer).

Angels (0-1) vs. Mariners (1-0)

While I was paying more attention to the Giants/Diamondbacks game on my phone, I also caught part of the Angels/Mariners game (which was on ESPN and one of the local sports channels). This game also appeared to be pretty close when I was awake but it appears that the Mariners pulled away (which I didn't know about until I woke up).

Indians (1-0) vs. Athletics (0-1) 

Out of the three games that were going on from about 9-9:45 PM last night, this game was the odd one out that I wasn't watching it (even though this game also turned out to be entertaining). Either way, I was happy to see that Sonny Gray pitched six very strong innings (though he did not get that arbitrary win). It also looks like John Axford is off to a good start as he got the save for the Indians.

3.31 Random Sampling: Day Games Edition

Baseball Season Is Here!!!! Time for some games that count!!!! New feature that i'm going to do is preview a "random" sampling and by random I mean games involving players on my fantasy team that are in my starting line up. Off we go....all times listed are Pacific Standard Time...all numbers, references listed found on baseball-reference.com.

10:08 Royals vs. Tigers (Shields vs. Verlander)

For the Royals their goal this year is to prove that finishing above .500 last year was no fluke and to make some noise and possibly contend for playoff spot. The Tigers are looking to get back to the playoffs and win their first World Series in 30 years.


10:10 Nationals vs. Mets (Strasburg vs. Gee)

These two teams may be in the same division of the NL East but their expectations are significantly different. The Nationals under achieved last year. Considering that even under achieving, they were still a respectable team and that they got even stronger during the off-season, they start the season as legitimate title contenders.

The Mets have had several disappointing seasons  lately and there's not much that indicates that this year is going to be much different.

11:10 Brewers vs. Braves (Gallardo vs.Teheran)

The Brewers are coming off a disappointing 2013 season. They should be better this year as (hopefully) they won't have problems with injuries, (hopefully) the drama behind Ryan Braun's suspension is behind us and (thankfully) Yuniesky Betancourt is nowhere near the starting lineup.

The Braves were able to take advantage of the Nationals disappointing season by winning the NL East. While it is unlikely they will repeat, I still think they are good enough to contend for a wild-card spot.


1:10 Blue Jays vs. Rays (Dickey vs. Price)

The Blue Jays basically got all the players that led to the Marlins underachieving in 2012 and contributed to the Blue Jays underachieving in 2013. I think the Blue Jays have similar results in 2014 without the whole everyone thinks they are a contender part. The Rays, what they don't have in payroll, they make up for in strong under the radar moves and one of the smartest managers in the game. Until proven otherwise, the Rays are a regular contender in my eyes.