The American League Central is just flat horrible starting the year off. Kansas City, Detroit, and Chicago are in first place with a record of 8-7. And I thought the NL West was horrible. Cleveland who is in last place is only 2.5 games out of first place.
The AL Central is starting to look like the Big Ten teams out there. It's where the mediocre happens. Anyways, here's what happened the past week in the AL Central.
Who is this guy?: While Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander has been struggling, Armando Galarraga has been picking up the pace. Galarraga is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA. He has also been able to shut down the powerful lineups of the White Sox and Rangers so far this season. Edwin Jackson has also been a nice surprise for the Tigers pitching staff. Also 'Guitar Hero' fan Joel Zumaya is about ready to rejoin the pitching staff.
Good Story of the Week: Royals pitcher Zack Greinke has a unbelievable story that no one has heard of. Sharapova's Thigh has the story.
"But behind all the promise, Greinke was being crushed by a nearly debilitating case of depression and constant bouts of social anxiety, illnesses that had plagued him for much of his life. Even during his short stint in the minors, he struggled with his depression, entertaining thoughts of quitting a game he had grown to despise. He pitched on, though, and in 2005 he lost 17 games, deepening his depression and hatred of the game.So far this season, Greinke is 3-0 with 26 strikeouts and has not allowed a single run this season. This is a story that is perfect for ESPN's "Outside the Lines".
Last February, during a wild throwing session with catcher John Buck at the team's spring training complex here on the outskirts of Phoenix, he broke down completely. Afterward, he unburdened himself to Bell and the team's general manager at the time, Allard Baird, then missed almost the entire season as he sought psychological help."
Is he going or not?: There has been rumors that the Cleveland Indians are shopping ace pitcher Cliff Lee around. Lee, who won last years AL Cy Young Award, has gotten off to a slow start. He is 1-3 with a 5.25 ERA. However Indians GM Mark Shapiro has squashed those rumors and has said that Lee isn't going anywhere. So is he going or not? Take a guess.
Other Notes:
White Sox closer Bobby Jenks went an entire week without pitching.
The Twins offense is horrible.
Days of Summer has returned.
Brandon Inge had a bad night.
Wow! Great story about Greinke.
ReplyDelete83 wins to get the AL Central Division title this year, and I don't think the Tigers will get there.
ReplyDeleteVerlander falls behind too many hitters, and I think he has the same love affair with the radar gun as Jo-El Zumaya (T-hom'd) does. I wasn't a fan of the Edwin Jackson trade, but he's helped early. It's also nice to see the solo shot and defensive gem Inge of '06 and not the whining and striking out Inge of '08.
83 wins for the AL Central?
ReplyDeleteThat's NL West bad.