Odds and Sods

The Yankees placed golden boy Phil Hughes on the 15-day disabled list, after x-rays displayed a stress fracture in his rib, which will keep him out of the rotation until July at the earliest.

Hughes, 21, was 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.14 WHIP in six starts so far this season.  He was 5-3 with a 4.46 ERA in an injury plagued 2007.

The injury to Hughes merely adds to the Yankees’ list of injury woes with newly contracted Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada as well as reliever Brian Bruney on the DL.

And, in case anyone would dare doubt Brian Cashman’s wisdom in withholding Hughes from a deal that would have netted the Yankees Johan Santana, the two-time Cy Young winner is off to a slow start as well.  Santana is only 3-2 with a 3.12 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, a 39-8 K-BB ratio, and a BAA of .196.

The Mets are hoping he can get it together with the warm weather.

The Odds and Sods MLB Power Poll (Apr. 20)

1. Boston Red Sox (13-7)

They have won four straight and have been ruthless at Fenway Park, despite the doldrums of a pedestrian Papi.

Kevin: Perhaps the burial and subsequent unearthing of the Red Sox t-shirt in the new Yankee Stadium is having some sort of positive effect. More likely, though, the big Red Sox Machine is clicking on all cylinders and Boston looks like the team to beat.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks (13-5)

The Diamondbacks have six regulars with an OPS of .862 or better.  It will be interesting to see if they maintain that as the season progresses.

Kevin: Remember when the Diamondbacks won the West despite scoring fewer runs than their opponents last season? Thus far, Arizona leads the Majors in runs scored by 14, and its team ERA of 2.80 is tops as well. The Brandon Webb-Dan Haren combo has been as expected, and the return of a healthy Randy Johnson makes Arizona a very dangerous team.

3. Chicago Cubs (12-6)

The Cubs outscored the Pirates 29-9 in a weekend sweep.  They seem to be the team the experts saw at the beginning of the season.

Kevin: The Cubs are the best team in the Central, hands-down. Derrek Lee is en fuego (.356, 7 HR), and Kosuke Fukudome (.317, 13 runs, 3 SB) has been a great addition to the lineup.

4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (12-

They have been solid.  Though, I am still not sold on their offense.  They don’t get on base.  Their double play combo of Macier Izturis and Erick Aybar has a combined two extra-base hits in 108 at bats.  Back to back road series against Boston and Detroit should show their mettle.

5. New York Mets (10-7)

The Mets have been carried thus far by their starters.  They will hope Beltran, Delgado and Reyes heat up with the weather.

Bottom Five

26. Texas Rangers (7-12)

The Rangers have lost eight of their last ten.  For them to stay respectable, they can’t blow solid outings by their starters.

27. San Francisco Giants (8-11)

The Giants currently have five regulars sporting a sub .300 OBP.  If Barry Zito can feel shame, he should make out his game checks to Tim Lincecum.

Kevin: It should tell you something that the Giants’ 8-11 start is considered a pleasant surprise by this longtime fan. Every day ahead of the Dodgers in the standings is a good day.

28. Detroit Tigers (6-13)

The best starter for the Tigers this season (the only one below 6.00 ERA) is Jeremy Bonderman.  He is 1-2 with a 4.37 ERA and a mere 10 K in 22.2 innings.  45% of MLB players picked the Tigers to win the World Series, proving that at least 45% of MLB players are idiots.

Kevin: The Tigers may rank near the top of the game in talent and experience, but so far those intangibles haven’t translated into victories. We’ll see if Curtis Granderson’s return is the boost they need.

29. Houston Astros (7-12)

Chacon and Rodriguez have combined to allow just 14 earned runs in 49.1 innings combined over eight starts, for a total record of 1-0.

Kevin: The Astros have the offense to compete, but the pitching staff is suspect at best. And with longtime ace Roy Oswalt on pace for a 6-plus ERA and 25 losses, things could go down the tubes fast.

30. Washington Nationals (5-14)

The scary part is that they have this record when their starting pitching has actually been decent.

Kevin: The walk-off home run to usher in the new stadium seems like a very long time ago. A nine-game losing streak is part of a current stretch in witch the Nationals have lost 14 of 16.

Kevin’s other writing can be found at All on the Field.

If you would like to cast votes for the Odds and Sods MLB Power Poll please e-mail me at tyduffy@gmail.com.

Stale domestic beer. Hot-dogs rumbling in the gut. The dulcet tones of Dave O’Brien. That can only mean one thing. Opening Day!

Royals 5 – Tigers 4: Payroll is irrelevant. Bullpen is not.

Brewers 4 – Cubs 3: Never trust closers with bad beards.

Mets 7 – Marlins 2: They got him for four scrubs.

Rays 6 – Orioles 2: Barry Bonds will return with Baltimore.

Dodgers 5 - Giants 0: Zito still the worst signing ever.

The New York Times’ Goal blog is reporting that Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool owner George Gillett’s investing interest in M.L.S. will thrust Montreal to the forefront of future expansion.

Gillett would partner with Joey Saputo, owner of the Montreal Impact in the U.S.L. First Division.  The two would reportedly split the $30 million M.L.S. entrance fee as well as the $12 million needed to add 7,000 seats to their 13,000-seat soccer-only facility.

M.L.S. will already expand into Seattle in 2009 and Philadelphia in 2010.  An additional Montreal team would make seventeen.  A likely option for evenness would be a second team in New York to be owned by the Mets.

I have two arguments against this.
One, the M.L.S. needs to look at the big picture.  Northeast teams may be more financially stable in the short-term, but the league may be better off expanding into soccer-friendly areas in the Midwest, such as Detroit and St. Louis.  The true test of the league’s viability will be the generation of fans who grow up with the sport.  Congregating at the coasts limits potential national appeal.

Second, as any Liverpool fan will say, George Gillett is not a man to do business with.  He came to Liverpool bearing roses and slick promises, only to try to skulk out the back door with fistfuls of cash at the first opportunity.  The league needs an owner, who cares about the game and is willing to nurture a long-term investment.  Gillett is not that person.

1. New York Mets

Meet the Mets!  Meet the Mets! Step Right Up and Greet the Mets!

The Mets should still have the strongest lineup in the National League.  Wright and Reyes are only going to get better.  Beltran booms with the best when healthy.  Delgado may be on the decline, and one has to question why they picked up two Nationals regulars – Ryan Church and Brian Schneider.  But, they should still prove potent, particularly if they can add a corner outfield bat.

Johan Santana ups the ante, which he should for $137.5 million.  If they get something out of Pedro and replicate the 30 wins from Maine and Oliver Perez, they can be quite good.  Though that is a substantial “if.”

As long as Wagner withstands the ravages of age, the bullpen should be fine from the sixth inning onward.  Before that, we may begin to see a steroid-less Schoenweis, not pretty.

Santana’s acquisition should push them up over 90 wins.

2. Atlanta Braves

The Braves could have a killer lineup with McCann, Teixiera, Francoeur and Chipper Jones, the quiet hall of famer.  They also have deceptively decent depth despite losing Andruw Jones and Edgar Renteria.

The rotation is either “experienced” or “old,” depending on your taste for euphemisms.  Tim Hudson is the spring chicken, at 32 years old.  However, if Smoltz, Hudson, Glavine and Hampton stay healthy they have a solid veteran rotation to keep them in games.

The bullpen has depth, though one wonders about Soriano’s ability to hold the closing role, having never done so before.

Atlanta finished five games behind last season, but they had the best expected W-L in the division.  They should be better this year.

3. Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies are the poor man’s Mets.  They have a young heart of the lineup with Howard and Utley.  Burrell provides unappreciated pop, and Pedro Feliz could hit 25-30 HR in Philadelphia (He hit 20 in S.F.).  Jimmy Rollins will probably fall back to earth, however.

Their rotation’s potential is positive.  The have two hot young arms with Hamels and Kendrick.  Myers may be productive, if he keeps his mitts off his wife.  But, it is downhill from there.  Moyer is 45 years old, non-roid aided and Adam Eaton is just terrible.

Their bullpen is scary, and not in the good way.  Brad Lidge’s stability lives on the Ledge.  Tom Gordon has 40 years and miles galore.  J.C. Romero was great last year, but had a 6.70 ERA the year before.  This may be the killer in crunch time.

The Phils survived on a boost and blind luck last season – lightning is infrequent.

4. Florida Marlins

Florida has a good lineup, centered around the double-play combo of Ramirez and Uggla.  Unfortunately for them, so does the rest of the division.  The Marlins have some holes, particularly an unprepared Cameron Maybin starting in Center-Field, that may take a few years to fill.

They have two types of starters, young and not very good, having unloaded their bevy of young arms in recent seasons.  The bullpen should not be bad, but they may be overworked.

The Marlins do not yet have the experience level or the talent to compete in this division.

5. Washington Nationals

The Nationals are inexplicable.  They have unusable depth at first base and catcher.  Lo Duca is coming off the roids.  Dimitri Young is listed at 220lb on MLB, 245 on ESPN, and is probably close to 300.  Having him and Elijah Dukes should be a clubhouse apocalypse.

For pitching, the “Ace” is Odalis Perez who had a 5.57 ERA last season and a 6.20 ERA before that.  The rest of the rotation can be average at best if healthy.

Their bullpen is actually quite good, with Cordero closing and Ayala and Rauch to set him up.  Too bad their starters may not be able to get them there.

Not now and not for a few years yet.