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Here are my thoughts after reviewing Wednesday's boxscores:
The Phillies are leading the NL in runs scored, but have benefitted from playing the Nationals twice and the Astros, two of the worst teams in the NL. Let's see how they fare against major league pitching.
The Phillies got good news and bad news on Wednesday. The good news was that Jayson Werth was able to pinch hit and walked in his only plate appearance. He looked good rounding the bases on Shane Victorino's bases clearing triple. The bad news was that SS Jimmy Rollins was placed on the DL with badly sprained calf and will be out up to 4 weeks.
The Ray's starter David Price has pitched pretty effectively in his two starts this season, as he went 7 innings for the second straight start, striking out 7 wand walking two. He is now 2-0 on the season with 14/5 K/BB ratio. He may be catching up to the hype laid on him two years ago.
Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez pitched 8 shutout innings and struck out 11 Pirates for his first win of the season. He gave up 3 hits and walked 3. Sanchez is on the cusp of stardom.
The White Sox had a bg day after almost getting no-hit on Tuesday. Carlos Quentin homered and drove in 6 while, Andruw Jones hit his 3rd HR of the season.
The Angels put closer Brian Fuentes on the 15 day DL, then went out and beat the Yankees behind the solid pitching of Joel Pineiro. Pineiro pitched 7 solid innings, giving up just 1 run on 5 hits and striking out 7.
Javier Vazquez continued to be a different pitcher in the AL giving up 4 runs in 5+ innings, striking out just 4 and walking 2. His ERA is approaching 10.00 now. I am not sure if his ERA touched 4.00 in the NL last year.
The Astros are now 0-8 on the season after losing to the Cardinals 2-1. They have scored 14 runs in their 8 games. Funny headline on the Astros website says "Tough pitching pinching Astros style". I don't think Lance Berkman would make THAT much of a difference.
Mets SS Jose Reyes stole his first base of the season last night. He appears to be getting close to full strength. I am still curious if the Mets will be cautious with him on the basepaths this season.
David Wright is doing his best to make me look bad as he hit his 3rd HR of the season and its not even April 15th yet. He did strike out 3 times though, but he is still hitting .320 on the season.
The Rockies bullpen of Rafael Betancourt and Franklin Morales blew a 2 run lead in the last two innings last night, but won the game in the 10th. Who closes should Morales not be up to the task as injured closer Huston Street doesn't look close to returning. The 2010 World Series Champs are off to a "Rockie" start to the 2010 season.
If Chad Billingsley continues to pitch like this, he will be a decent #3 or #4 going into 2010 drafts, and GM Ned Colletti may kick himself for not taking those offers last season.
Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp homered for the second game in a row and added a SB in last night's loss to the Diamondbacks. He is on pace for a 30-30 season, and could scored 100+ runs if he stays in the 2 spot in the lineup.
Diamondbacks outfielder Chris Young drove in the game winning run last night, and had a walk and a strikeout to go along with his 2 hits and 2 RBIs on the night. For the season, he has a 5/2 K/BB ratio and is hitting .344. I keep looking for that 3-4 strikeout night from him, but he appears to have turned things around, and could prove to be a steal for fantasy owners in 2010.