Joe Torre is already mis-managing the Dodgers bullpen bringing George Sherrill in to save a 6-4 lead against the Marlins. Jonathan Broxton was used in the Dodgers 10-2 win over the Pirates on Thursday to get some work in, then he saved the game on Friday night. Dodgers fans will see Josh Lindblom sooner than you think if this keeps up.
Here are my thoughts after reviewing Saturday's boxscores:
Yankees starter CC Sabathia had a no-hitter for 7 2/3rd innings on Saturday giving up only 1 hit, 2 walks and striking out 5 Rays. Interesting note is that Francisco Cervelli was the Yankees catcher yesterday. Will he be CC's permanent catcher going forward?
Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner already has 3 SBs on the season after stealing his 3rd bag yesterday. Could he steal 50 this season?
Cardinals rookie starter Jaime Garcia threw 6 quality innings on Saturday to earn his first major league win. He gave up 1 run on 4 hits, 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. Geesh! If he can pitch like this the Cardinals may run away with the Central.
Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard struck out 7 Mets in his 3 innings of work on Saturday. He should be closing in Washington if he can keep this up.
Blue Jays closer Jason Frasor is certainly putting a smile on the face of GM Alex Anthopolous after he saved his 3rd game of the season. Anthopolous will get plenty of calls come the trade deadline should Frasor keep this up.
I watched some of the Phillies game last night and am amazed at how thin Ryan Howard is compared to last year and the year before. Even still, Howard launched his 3rd HR of the season and now has 10 RBI in 5 games. He should bring me back plenty in the UBA league.
Seattle closer David Aardsma converted his second save of the season and struck out 2 Rangers. I guess his spring stats mean nothing?
Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman pitched 5 solid innings on Saturday, giving up only 1 run on 1 hit, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. The Tigers will need him to pitch like this to compete in the AL Central this season.
Pirates third baseman Andy Laroche went 2-4 with a run scored in Saturday's 6-3 win over Dan Haren and the Diamondbacks. Laroche is only hitting .176 in the early going so far, and am sure he is looking at the AAA boxscores every night with Pedro Alvarez starting the season with 3 HRs in his first two games.
Speaking of Haren, he gave up 5 earned runs on 9 hits, 2 HRs, but did strike out 9 in the process. With Brandon Webb still unable to throw off a mound yet, the Diamondbacks could have another disappointing season. Should that happen, look for Adam Laroche and Chad Qualls be the first players traded before the trade deadline.
A's starter Ben Sheets gave up 3 runs in 6 innings in a no-decision on Saturday, but gave up 10 hits and 3 walks while striking out only 1. Sheets will have to pitch better than this for him to bring back value to GM Billy Beane at the trade deadline. Sheets is usually more dominant when he is on his game.
Braves starter Derek Lowe gave up one run on 6 innings on Saturday, but gave up 4 hits and walked 7 batters. Lowe used to be a control pitcher and is lucky was facing the weak Giants lineup rather than most any other lineup in the NL last night.
Speaking of the Braves, second baseman Martin Prado had two more hits last night and is hitting over .600 on the season. He won't keep that up, but if he is available in any mixed leagues, he should be picked up.