I hope y’all had a good weekend. Mine would have been better if the Padres hadn’t been so busy losing a series at home to Houston, but oh well. Here are your games for Monday…
American League

Mariners at Twins, 5:10 p.m. PT — How in the world can Horacio Ramirez have a 7-4 record despite a 7.38 ERA? If his performance doesn’t convince you that won-loss record is a terrible way to evaluate starting pitchers, then nothing will. Opponents are batting .341/.407/.518 against the southpaw; that’s roughly what Joe Mauer did last year. Right-hander Matt Garza (2-3, 2.05 ERA) starts for …read more

There are two games seriously worth watching on Monday. Unfortunately, they’re being played at the same time:
American League

Twins at Mariners, 7:05 p.m. PT — Johan Santana? Felix Hernandez? One potential sticking point for Seattle is that lefties are hitting Hernandez pretty hard (.303/.368/.530) this year; that could be a problem against a team that features two potent left-handed bats in Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Seems to me maybe Hernandez could use an off-speed pitch. Who better to watch than Santana?

National League

Astros at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. PT — Yeah, only minor playoff implications here, but your other option is to …read more

Remember when Mark Prior was the ace of the Chicago Cubs and figured to remain so for the next dozen years? Heck, remember when the Twins were chided for taking hometown catcher Joe Mauer in front of Prior with the #1 pick overall in the 2001 draft?
Seems like a lifetime ago. Now the latest word is that Prior may not start the season in the Cubs’ rotation. We earlier noted that left-hander Neal Cotts had become a surprise candidate for the #5 spot. Now, apparently right-handers Wade Miller and Angel Guzman have passed Prior on the depth chart.
Manager Lou Piniella …read more