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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS- (covers.com): detroit's rogers back.
Talk about a hot streak: Kenny Rogers hasn’t allowed a run in his last four starts.
One problem with that, however, is that three of those starts came last October. Rogers was
among the dominating forces of the 2006 playoffs in leading the Tigers to their first World
Series berth in 22 years – though his performance wasn’t without a little pine tar
controversy.
Whatever was on his hand during the World Series, the 42-year-old known as “The Gambler”
pitched last year’s postseason like a man possessed, going 3-0, allowing no earned runs and
a 0.70 WHIP in three starts.
Fast forward to this month, where Rogers is still shaking off a long period of inactivity.
A blood clot in his left arm put Rogers on the shelf for the better part of three months at
the beginning of the season. His first start this season was June 22, when he shut down the
Atlanta Braves in Atlanta. Rogers allowed just two hits and stuck out five in six innings
in a 5-0 Detroit win.
“The injury looks like something that can rebound quickly,” says Covers Expert David
Malinsky, but he added a note of caution.
“One thing to remember about that start is Atlanta can’t hit right now,” says Malinsky.
“And they are especially struggling against left-handed pitching (the Braves’ .721 OPS is
the ninth worst in baseball).”
Rogers will look to continue his run against a team he’s very familiar with, the Texas
Rangers, this afternoon.
“We can expect Rogers to be solid the rest of the season,” says Malinsky. “He’s always
going to be able to outthink hitters and hit his spots. He’s also backed by a great
defense.”
Rogers worked three different stints in Texas and spent 12 of his 20 major league seasons
there.
He'll have to be careful with the Rangers. A soft interleague schedule has the AL squad
running as hot as they have all year. Texas has won 10 of its last 16 games despite being
an underdog in 14 of those games. They played their interleague games exclusively against
the NL Central – widely regarded as the weakest division in baseball.
“I think that this is an improving team,” says Malinsky. “The Rangers were never as bad as
that record (21-39 before their run) indicated.
“One of the things about Texas as we project forward is that its greatest weakness in the
past – it’s bullpen – is now one of its strengths.”
Texas is sixth in the majors in bullpen ERA at 3.55. The core of the Rangers’ bullpen is as
solid as any in baseball. It is led by closer Eric Gagne and set-up man Akinori Otsuka.
Left-handed specialist C.J. Wilson has also been dynamite this year with a 2.75 ERA and a
1.22 WHIP.
Rogers faces Texas starter Kevin Millwood, who is 4-6 this year with a 7.31 ERA. Detroit is
heavily favored at -186 with the total set at 9 ½.
FREE MLB PICKS: (associated press): big unit set to return.
Randy Johnson will return to the Arizona Diamondbacks' rotation on Thursday, 10 days after
he was diagnosed with a herniated disk in his back.
The 43-year-old lefty, who went on the disabled list June 11, will face the Los Angeles
Dodgers in the final game of a four-game series at Chase Field.
Johnson declared himself ready after he had no lingering problems coming off a sharp,
two-inning simulated game on Monday.
''Today was a big day,'' said Johnson, who is 4-2 with a 3.52 ERA. ''I didn't feel that
bad, relatively speaking. It's nothing that I haven't felt already - last year when I was
pitching or earlier this year.''
Johnson said he hoped he wasn't in for a repeat of the last two seasons, when he struggled
with back problems with the New York Yankees. Johnson had back surgery last October and
started this season on the disabled list.
''I don't know how much longer I can pitch with it,'' Johnson said. ''So I'm going in with
a positive frame of mind. I'll go as hard as I can as long as I can. When I was in New
York, I pitched through a lot of discomfort.''
Johnson has had two back operations. Asked if another one was possible, he said, ''I guess
I can always fall back on surgery. I prefer not to, obviously. I've only made nine starts
coming off my last surgery and I have probably about 18 more. Let's just get through the
Dodger start and not kind of look too far down the road.''
''That's what I'm preparing myself for right now, and then I'll deal with whatever happens
after the Dodger start,'' Johnson said. ''Those are the questions that I have and there's
no answers.''
Manager Bob Melvin said he would keep an eye on Johnson's pitch count, but didn't have a
specific number in mind.
''He's got a bulging disk in there, but I'll tell you what I saw (in the simulated game)
was pretty good,'' Melvin said. ''It just depends on how he feels. In the past it's
bothered him sometimes and he's pitched through it, and other times he's felt good.''
FREE MLB PICKS- (covers.com): white sox ready to explode.
A two-day long blaze known as The Great Chicago Fire ravaged the Windy City in 1871,
killing hundreds and destroying a massive portion of the city.
More than 130 years later, another fire is burning in Chicago. But this one has slowly
smoldered for three months, only threatening to erupt and leave one of the city’s most
treasured franchises in shambles.
The Chicago White Sox are the most combustible team in baseball after starting the year
31-42, just two seasons removed from their World Series Championship. The drastic downturn
has prompted trade rumors and a potential fire sale, a la the Florida Marlins. The rumors
were speeded along this past week by a five-game losing skid.
Numerous players are cited amongst the casualties of this possible housecleaning but the
most notable name is Wednesday’s starting pitcher, Mark Buehrle. The left-hander takes the
mound against the Tampa Bay Devils Rays while countless news reports reveal candidates for
Buehrle’s next home.
To understand how the White Sox got to this point, one just has to look at Buehrle’s
season. In his 14 starts, he has a solid 3.39 ERA but has only mustered a 4-4 record,
including a no-hitter on April 18. A lack of run support from Chicago’s lineup has spoiled
Buehrle’s efforts, scarring his record with six no-decisions.
“I credit (the White Sox’s) downfall to their silent bats early this season,” says Scott
Rickenbach of Covers Experts. “Cold weather was to blame but I think the struggles got into
their heads and mentally they have had trouble bouncing back at the plate throughout this
season.”
The White Sox are the worst hitting team in the majors and average under four runs per
game. The big bats of Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko haven’t produced the same
pop as last season when they led all teams in home runs. In its 24 games in June, Chicago
has only 86 total runs and 188 hits.
A 5-4 win Monday night over the Devils Rays snapped the White Sox’s five-game stumble and
provided their most offensive production in weeks, followed up by a 6-1 win on Tuesday.
While victories over one of the majors’ worst defensive clubs isn’t anything to brag about,
it is a step in the right direction.
Winning is the best medicine for a franchise as sick as Chicago and the upcoming schedule
should provide plenty of chances for the White Sox to get a healthy dosage of W’s.
After finishing with the D-Rays, Chicago faces divisional bottom-feeding Kansas City Royals
and Baltimore Orioles. This stretch of weak competition is just what the Windy City needs
to smother the destructive forces about to fly out of control.
“I look for them to possibly build off of (Monday’s) victory at Tampa Bay,” says
Rickenbach. “I definitely think (a fire sale) can be avoided. The White Sox could
definitely make up some ground and get a solid winning streak going.”
MLB FREE PICKS- (associated press): time change leaves braves steaming.
The Atlanta Braves were peeved to learn that another Sunday game was switched to an evening
start.
Their July 22 game against the St. Louis Cardinals has been changed to 8:05 p.m. instead of
the usual 1:05 start to accommodate an ESPN national telecast. It was the third time a
Braves game has been moved this season.
It will be Atlanta's fourth appearance on the cable network in a seven-week period, but
this is one time the Braves wound prefer to be the Not Ready For Prime Time Players. They
will head out right after the game for a West Coast road trip, which starts the following
night in San Francisco.
''Somebody's just not using their heads,'' manager Bobby Cox said before Tuesday night's
game against the Washington Nationals. ''Why don't they just look at the schedule once in a
while and say, 'You know, there's just as good a game somewhere else?'''
Oddsmakers have Atlanta listed as a -218 favorite against the Nationals tonight. The total
is set at 8 1/2.
Jeff Francoeur, the Braves' union representative, called the players' association to lodge
a complaint but there's nothing it can do. While the labor agreement does require an off
day when a team is traveling from the Pacific to Eastern time zones, there's nothing that
covers a trip in the opposite direction.
''We're not happy about this,'' Francoeur said.
Cox said he has to take extra precautions after his team makes such a long trip.
''You're hands swell up because of the time and no sleep,'' the manager said. ''You think
about your bullpen guys that go that night.''
ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said the Braves knew all along that the switch was a
possibility.
''Our goal is to serve the audience with the best possible matchup, and all teams have been
aware of the potential games for this national game-of-the-week window for months,''
Krulewitz said.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS: (associated press): texas pitcher injured.
Texas Rangers pitcher Willie Eyre left Tuesday night's game after being hit in the chest by
Placido Polanco's line drive in the fifth inning.
With one out, Polanco hit a hard liner back at the mound. The ball hit Eyre in the chest
and dropped into his glove as he fell to the ground in pain. Eyre stayed on the ground for
several moments before walking off under his own power.
Eyre, who was making his first career start in his 62nd game, allowed three runs and three
hits. Ironically, the ball landing in his glove meant that he set a new career best by
pitching 4 2-3 innings
FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): pedro throws to hitter for first time.
Pedro Martinez threw to hitters Tuesday for the first time since rotator cuff surgery last
fall, another benchmark in his quest to return to the New York Mets' rotation by August.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner threw 45 pitches to minor league hitters at the team's
complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and said he felt good afterward, according to team
spokesman Jay Horwitz.
Three weeks ago, Martinez threw off a mound for the first time since surgery.
The 35-year-old right-hander went 9-8 with a 4.48 ERA last year as the Mets won the NL East
for the first time since 1988.
MLB PICKS- (associated press): twins player returns after injury.
Justin Morneau said his first night in the hospital after a collision with Florida Marlins
catcher Miguel Olivo was a scary one.
Once doctors determined that his bruised right lung was not a serious injury, Morneau
became the butt of jokes.
''It was a little embarrassing,'' he said Tuesday, his first day back with the Minnesota
Twins since being injured in Miami on Friday. ''You run the catcher, the catcher's supposed
to fall over, not you. I got a few messages for that one.''
The reigning AL MVP said he still isn't sure when he will return to the lineup, but is
hoping sometime in the next few days. He had a CT scan Tuesday that still showed some
damage from the hit, but said he was feeling better every day.
''Hopefully, as soon as possible, but I don't want to put a date on it,'' Morneau said when
asked about his return. ''It should be, hopefully, in the next couple of days, but you
don't want to push it too much and then have something come back and all of a sudden I'm
out for two or three weeks.''
Morneau said he still has some general soreness in his chest, ''but nothing I'm taking any
crazy painkiller for.''
Morneau came around third base and slammed into Olivo awkwardly and immediately crumbled to
the ground. The ball scooted by Olivo, and Morneau had the presence of mind to touch home
plate, but he left the game after that.
''It was pretty scary. After it happened, I thought I just got the wind knocked out of me
and then I get up and I got back to the dugout and started coughing,'' Morneau said. ''Then
I'm coughing and spitting up blood and anytime that happens, that's real scary.''
Morneau was taken from the stadium on a stretcher and stayed in a Miami hospital for three
days before returning to the Twin Cities on Monday.
''It wasn't too sore, but once we got back in the clubhouse it started to get real sore and
I started to get a little bit worried and that probably didn't help anything,'' Morneau
said. ''We get over to the hospital and everything looked to be all right and it was just
kind of a lot waiting around to get the tests done and make sure everything was OK.''
Once all the fears had subsided, Morneau started taking some abuse from friends such as
Minnesota Wild wing Mark Parrish and former Twin Corey Koskie.
''Koskie asked me if I wanted him to come over and teach me how to run over the catcher,''
Morneau said with a smile. ''He could set his kids up and start with his youngest one, who
is 1 1/2 or whatever. So, I told him that was real good.
''Parrish asked me if (Vancouver defenseman and Morneau buddy) Willie Mitchell taught me
how to hit. That was good stuff.''
All joking aside, Morneau's injury has put manager Ron Gardenhire in a tough spot. He has
used veteran Jeff Cirillo at first base primarily since Morneau went down, but Cirillo had
a rough game there on Monday in an 8-5 loss to the Blue Jays and his achy knees kept him
out on Tuesday night.
So Gardenhire was forced to move right fielder Michael Cuddyer to first base and put Jason
Tyner in right.
''Just have to roll with it,'' Gardenhire said. ''Teams go through it. Obviously we've got
some people beat up and stuff, guys just have to step up.''
The timing really couldn't be worse. After the Twins wrap up a four-game series with the
Blue Jays on Thursday, they embark on a 10-day, 11-game road trip before the All-Star
break.
''Cuddy can handle it. He's played everywhere,'' Morneau said. ''We're doing what we can to
fill all the holes right now. We have a lot of guys banged-up. Hopefully I can get back
sooner than later and help us win.''
The Twins went on to win Tuesday's game against the Jays 2-1 as -109 favorites. The played
under the 9-run total.
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