I made that last one up. There are no big leaguers I’m aware of named Gesundheit. But I could be wrong…
American League

Mariners at Yankees, 4:05 p.m. PT — I’m contractually obligated to pimp the Yankees game, because no-one else will. Philip Hughes gets the start for New York. He’s coughed up five runs in each of his past three starts, but whatever. Outfielder Wladimir Balentien is up for Seattle. In addition to the great name, Balentien has some of the sickest power I’ve seen in the minors. Dude hit some serious shots when he was in the California League. Big …read more

Early starts this morning. Fire up a pot of coffee and find the remote, it’s time for baseball:

Tigers at Yankees, 10:05 a.m. PT — Jeremy Bonderman and Chien-Ming Wang hook up here. The Tigers are 10-20 over their past 30 games, while the Yankees are 20-10. It’s a testament to New York’s offense that this team is in a pennant race despite having only 3 1/2 starting pitchers.
Angels at Red Sox, 11:05 a.m. PT — Speaking of testament to offense, Boston keeps winning despite the presence of Julian Tavarez in its rotation. Tavarez had a great rookie season for the …read more

Let’s see what’s on tap today, shall we…
American League

Tigers at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — A showdown between two teams tied for first in the AL Central come mid-August? Two outstanding young pitchers (Jeremy Bonderman, C.C. Sabathia)? Dude, you are so all over this one. Here’s the thing I don’t understand about Bonderman: How can he possibly have a 4.75 ERA? Ah, here it is: Since the All-Star break, opponents are batting .344/.379/.603 against him. The kid’s got great stuff, though; someone should be able to fix that.

National League

Reds at Cubs, 5:05 p.m. PT — The Reds are done, but …read more

Another day, another slate of games…
American League

Devil Rays at Tigers, 10:05 a.m. PT — Yeah, the Rays are a crap team going nowhere fast, but they have some terrific young talent, and Scott Kazmir vs Jeremy Bonderman is a fun pitching matchup.

National League

Braves at Mets, 9:10 a.m. PT — As was the case on Wednesday when these two teams hooked up at Shea, we have a game with potential playoff implications and a great matchup. Tim Hudson is pitching better than he has at any point since 2003, the last time he garnered any support for the Cy Young Award, …read more

Happy Monday, folks. Hope your weekend was good. Mine would have been better if the Padres had won their 17-inning marathon on Sunday. Still, a bad day at the ballpark beats a good day just about anywhere else.
With that pathetic attempt at wit out of the way, here’s what we’re keeping an eye on today:
American League

Orioles at Tigers, 4:05 p.m. PT – Young? Check. Throws hard? Check. Okay, then, I guess we’ll watch Daniel Cabrera and Jeremy Bonderman square off at Comerica Park. You know about Bonderman, but Cabrera seems to be figuring things out in his second season under …read more

This is more like it. We’ve got a full schedule of good pitching matchups on Friday. Here are some of the better ones:

Really. That is a terrible headline, and I do apologize. I’m still in spring training. Time to put that behind me and get serious.
Okay, then. Lots of games to watch today. When you’ve been waiting this long, I’d venture to say they’re all worth checking out, but here are a few in particular that have piqued my interest:
National League

Braves at Phillies, 10:05 a.m. PT – Take the day off, slap together some breakfast, and watch John Smoltz battle Brett Myers. Sounds like a good plan to me. Smoltz needs just 7 more wins to reach 200 for his career. What …read more