Halladay To....

Seattle...he has a game to pitch tonight.  Anyways, lets get on with the MOTN! (it's early, I know, but I want to post trade ideas later and I don't want this hanging over my head for the handful of people who check out what I have to say every now and then...

 

Well...Roy Halladay is on the mound against Seattle, who is sending out Ryan Rowland-Smith who was recently recalled to the Show.  If you would like to know more about what Halladay brings to the table, I would suggest not reading anymore of this post because, well, he is the Best Pitcher In Baseball (BPIB).  Roland-Smith apparently retired 14 batters in a row during his last start, or what I like to call 31.1% of a Buehrle (yeah, I am going to reference him here until it gets old).  His curveball is his best pitch so, well, this year it has been his slider, but for his career it is his curveball.  He had a decent year last year, 5-3 with a 1.37 WHIP and 3.42 ERA in 118 1/3 innings, but his FIP says his ERA was artificially low and according to this year (6.73 FIP to a 3.48 ERA) he is going to get lit up soon.

 

Zack Greinke takes the mound tonight against the Baltimore Orioles who are sending out potential future ace Chris Tillman for his first MLB start.  Greinke is Greinke, and like Halladay, I have nothing more to say about him.  About Tillman I will say this...the kid is an animal. 2.70 ERA in 96 2/3 innings while posting 99 K's to only 26 BB's during his tenure in AAA.  Tonight is the next big step for the Orioles, with Wieters being the first big one this year.

 

Joba v. Garza...Yankees v. Rays...it's on ESPN too.  We all know what this one is about.

 

Tigers v. Rangers.  Justin Verlander takes the mound tonight against Scott Feldman, who I had no idea has posted a 9-3 record with a 3.59 ERA.  What?!? Yeah, He has a great cutter and in his 16 starts this season has a 3.06 ERA.  He has a 1.14 WHIP on the year, but his FIP is almost a full run higher than his ERA, which is artificially deflated based on a very low BABIP (.237).  The Rangers do have greatly improved defense...but not this good.  He will regress to mean in BABIP which will raise the WHIP and probably the runs allowed.  Verlander has slowed down since his hot start, but still finds himself near the top of many pitching categories (tops in K's).  Too bad he is in Arlington tonight, because at home, he is 7-0 with a 1.15 ERA, on the road...4-5 with a 4.76 ERA.

 

Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers visit St. Louis and Joel Pineiro tonight.  Pineiro has been quite the surprise this season, his 2.95 ERA is HIGHER than his FIP (2.92) which, because it is so close, means he is putting together a great season without many statistical abnormalities (other than his ERA, which is healthy 1.45 runs lower than his career average).  He has an now effective fastball which at times has been the pitch that kills him the most.  Kershaw has been lowering his walk totals which hurt him last year and now he can claim his rightful place as the best pitcher for the Dodgers.  Should be a doozy.

 

Other games to watch...Matt Cain faces off against the Pirates and Zack Duke this afternoon.  Aaron Laffey and the Indians are out in Anaheim against John Lackey and the Angels.  J.A. Happ may make his last start as a member of the Phillies against the Diamondbacks. 

 

Enjoy