MOTN!

Some match ups for everyone to enjoy...

A pair of hard luck pitchers are toeing the mound today. Dan Haren and his Arizona Diamondbacks will be facing off against Bronson Arroyo and the Cincinatti Reds. Haren is 6-5 with a 2.25 ERA this season, a 0.81 WHIP and 104 K's to 14 BB's in 108 innings. His ERA in June is a sky-high 1.70 in 37 innings while posting a 0.65 WHIP with 33 K's and 5 BB's. Even with Tim Lincecum making a claim to start the All-Star game for the Senior League after last night's 2-hit shutout of St. Louis, I still don't think he makes the same case as Haren does, as the only think Lincecum has done better other than strike out more batters (he does walk a few more though) is give up fewer home runs. No need for any metrics to describe how dominant Dan Haren has been, except he has been super lucky with a .239 BABIP, which is 59 points lower than his career average. He could be in for another season where his 2nd half does not match up to the first half of the season.

The other hard luck pitcher going tonight is Cliff Lee, who's Indians are squaring off against Clayton Richard and the Chicago White Sox. After a terrible few starts to begin the season, Lee has settled down, to the tune of a 2.22 ERA in his last 14 starts. His WHIP is a tad high at 1.31, and he doesnt strike out many (79 in 111 innings) but he seems to be getting the job done once again. As mentioned before, playing for a team that gives you 3.75 runs to back you up on average will lead to a 4-6 record which does not match up to his 2.92 ERA (feel free to mention how ERA is not a great indicator of pitching performance...ok, I did, but whatever, his FIP is 3.20, which is darn good, and his BABIP is 21 points HIGHER than his career average, which means he has been a tad UNLUCKY...yeah, Cliff Lee is on track to follow up his tremendous 2008 with a stellar 2009).

Other than those two pitchers going, those games really do not mean much. Let's take a look at some games that do...

Rays v. Jays- Matt Garza (5-5 3.61) v. Scott Richmond (6-4 3.68). The Rays are on fire, winners of 6 in a row and 8 of their last 10. The Blue Jays are able to send one of their few healthy starting pitching options to the mound, and with 6 starting pitchers disabled and their offense slowing down, the Jays are looking for positive outings from their team.

Phillies v. Braves is an interesting match up too. Derek Lowe has been underwhelming this year (7-6 4.53 ERA) and is matching up against Smoldering Joe Blanton and the World Champion Phillies. The Phillies on the road are unstoppable(26-12), which is no good for the Braves, as they close out a 9-game home stretch that pitted them against the Yankees, Red Sox, and now the Phillies. Jimmy Rollins also returns tonight after sitting out the past few games due to his season long slump (.211 BA does not an MVP make).

Angels v. Rangers tonight in Arlington. The Rangers have now cooled off and the Angels have heated up. I really do not see the Rangers winning this division but they certainly are giving it the old college try. Joe Saunders is pitching for the Angels tonight while Scott Feldman takes the mound for the Rangers.


Giants v. Cardinals (Johnson v. Carpenter) is one of the better games tonight with the NL Wild Card leader Giants looking to increase their 1.5 game lead over the Cardinals and Rockies. Carpenter has been lights out this year while Johnson has been the serviceable starter the Giants need him to be.

One other game in short...Mets v. Brewers with Johan on the mound is definitely worth a watch.