My first bet was on the NY Mets at the ages of 21. I turned 21 a few months ago, so it should be something special somewhere in my life. Although I live just north of Philly, the Phillies still represent the home team on the daily games. Now the Mets are the favorites. Which means I have to pay close attention to their young, and often slow start.
The first game the season, I didn’t pick the Mets. They ended up losing by theest amount by far. Which made me extremely disappointed, but more than that, it made me realize the young kids around me, often get an early start and then are forced to wait for the breathe of older players. Which, in the case of the Mets, has been the entire reason the team is still in the hunt for the second overall pick.
Thus, the next bet will be on the Phillies, who are the actual “deposit 20 bonus 30 slot” team as oppose to the Mets. The Phillies won their first game too, which made me even more happy, but evenifantly distracted. The second game was a pitchers duel between plates-hat-faced Jason Schmidt and former Angel Troy Varitex. Now, Schmidt-Varitex is known as a strikeout pitcher. He’s not known for his overpowering stuff, but rather for his ability to keep theickers of the baseball season alive, and churn out more hits than anybody else. For this strikeout pitch, see below.
Schmidt with the knack for calling out clicks and breaks like a champ. It’s that type of player the Mets have sent to the mound to try to ignite a little bit of a comeback. They’ve got a good young bullpen, but it’s pretty clear their offense isn’t what it used to be. Nothing against the Phillies, who are playing some of their best baseball lately, but I think it’s safe to say around this time that the Mets are for real.
I mentioned the AL East a few weeks ago, and the East still looks incredibly dominated. The top three teams are the Mets, the Orioles, and the Yankees. The combination of playing everyone in the division, with the AL East being the competitive equivalent of the NL West (and occasionally the Wild West), has seemed to master the formula for division title contention. The basement-dwelling Dodgers could certainly lay claim to being in the drivers seat with all their grounding, but the fact remains that the Mets are the Mets.
Meanwhile, the best place to watch the AL East is the Yankees, who are simply awesome. They’ve got the best hitting. They’ve got the best pitching. Most of all, they’ve got the most To-makestanderers in the game. The Yanks get a ton of offense out of their shortstop and!? Even Though they bullped it last night, the Yankees have a lot of depth and if they can find some more offense, this team will rake it in come October. For now, check out the Yankees when they are playing the first game of a three-games series at Yankee Stadium.NYJets (6/1)
Orioles (6/2)
You know the Yankees are a good team with the best hitting and pitching when you’re seeing five guys batting about the same time. However, have they ever been known for their ability to rally in this type of situation? The Mets did in a 4-1 loss in Baltimore last weekend. The Mets won the game by the most runs, by the most bats, and by farthest home runs with the bullpen. It wasn’t as one-sided as you might think, given the fact that the Yankees scored the run, too. However, the Yankees have been known for their huge home edges, and the Orioles’ spacious park is a concern.
Since the began their season, the Orioles are 12-11 in their home games, but just 8-13 on the road. This week, the Orioles sendience out to the Yankees for a three-game series. The Yankees visit Maryland for a three-game series beginning Monday. Since the beginning of the year, the Orioles are just 4-13 away from home. This week, the Yankees play the Triple-A Orioles, who are just hitting .300 wit the bat, at home.
The terrible part about the Orioles’ home play is that they don’t have many big leaguers on the team. Last year, The Orioles had some of the big names, such as MikeAllen, Wakefield, Carballo and Varitek. However, majority of the players lost power, speed and finesse last season, and replacements have been slow to emerge. Varitek, Allen and Carballo aren’t looking so good this year, and Orioles fans are starting to sound off.
