• Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 12:40 p.m. PT — Hiroki Kuroda looked outstanding in his North American debut. I expected the funky delivery that is characteristic of pitchers who come over from Japan, but the velocity caught me by surprise. He was pumping 93-mph fastballs against the Padres. Micah Owings gets the call for Arizona. He dominated the Rockies in his first start of ‘08 (although he only went 1-for-4 at the plate, LOL). Wasn’t there talk that the Snakes might stick Owings in the field at some point? I think that’s crazy, but it would be pretty cool — you know, in the same way that handlebar moustaches are cool.
• Reds at Brewers, 5:05 p.m. PT — Like offense? Josh Fogg and David Bush hook up at Miller Park. The lineups will include guys like Ryan Braun, Adam Dunn, Prince Fielder, and Ken Griffey Jr. I’m going to set the over/under on home runs at seven.
• Yankees at Royals, 5:10 p.m. PT — Two promising young pitchers square off in this one. Zack Greinke seems to have gotten his career back on track, while Ian Kennedy is still trying to figure out how the Rays beat the snot out of him last week. The Royals are 5-2. Heck, the Orioles are 6-1. And people say the world isn’t going to hell in a handbasket.

Rock on, my peeps…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

• Royals at Tigers, 10:05 a.m. PT — First off, Kansas City has taken the first two games of this series, which I’m sure nobody expect. Second, two talented yet enigmatic pitchers square off in this one. Zack Greinke appeared to get his career back on track in 2007 and looks to continue progressing this year, while Jeremy Bonderman tries to solve his first-inning woes and become the front-line pitcher folks have been anticipating.
• Blue Jays at Yankees, 4:05 p.m. PT — Two more young arms — Dustin McGowan and Philip Hughes — hook up in New York this evening.
• Pirates at Braves, 4:10 p.m. PT — Mike Hampton’s last big-league appearance came on August 19, 2005. He gets the start in this one. Working on 958 days of rest, he may be a tad rusty.

Play ball!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Ordinarily in this space I would tell you which games are most worth watching, but on Opening Day, they’re all worth watching. The first games (Blue Jays at Yankees, Royals at Tigers) start at 10:05 a.m. PT, while the last (Astros at Padres; of course, I’ll be there!) gets going at 7:05 p.m. PT.

I can’t begin to tell you how glad I am that baseball is back. Enjoy the games!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Another day, another poll. Today we’re looking at the American League Rookie of the Year, an award I haven’t talked too much about in this space. My preseason pick was Royals third baseman Alex Gordon, and although he finished with respectable numbers, he’s not my choice.

Neither is Tampa Bay’s Delmon Young. I expect him to win the award because of his big RBI numbers, but I’d go with Boston’s Dustin Pedroia. In addition to outhitting Young this year, Pedroia also plays second base.

Beyond Pedroia, you could make a decent case for Baltimore right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, although the fact that he managed just seven wins is probably a deal breaker in the voters’ eyes. Daisuke Matsuzaka? His season was better than he gets credit for, but with all the hype surrounding him, that’s just not good enough.

So. Who would get your vote?

Post from: Knuckle Curve

1. Tigers – They enjoyed a solid season and stayed in the wild card race for a long time, but no repeat in Detroit. Despite some tremendous individual offensive performances, there just wasn’t enough pitching to carry them back to the playoffs.
2. White Sox – Geez, I picked them to win the wild card? They might not finish ahead of Kansas City.
3. Twins – Hey, look, I got one right. Minnesota should get extra credit for remaining somewhat competitive despite the continued presence of Nick Punto in their lineup.
4. Indians – I’m surprised that I picked Cleveland to finish this far down in the standings; in my mind they were one of my sleepers for ‘07, but maybe I’m just in denial that I could have been so wrong about the White Sox.
5. Royals – I take back everything I said about the Gil Meche signing. Clearly he has pushed the Royals to the brink of fourth place. My bad.

I need to figure out why the White Sox fooled me so badly. Does it help to admit that I expected their pitching to be better? No, not really…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Well, they’re killing me. They’re killing my family. They’re killing my coaching staff, killing the White Sox fans. They kill the owner. They kill everyone. I hope they feel the same way we feel.

Dude, I realize your team is looking up at the Royals, but get a grip. Is this baseball or genocide? Geez, I’m glad nobody asked him about Dave Kingman…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

With the second pick in the 2007 draft, the Kansas City Royals have selected high school third baseman Mike Moustakas. The former quarterback is a Scott Boras client who has expressed interest in playing at USC. Moustakas played shortstop at Chatsworth but will move to a corner infield spot as a pro. He draws praise for a polished approach at the plate and serious power potential.

What they’re saying:

His hitting exploits have reached such proportions that scouts no longer seem to care what his future position is.

–John Manuel, Baseball America

Additional reading:

• 2007 Draft Report (MiLB.com) — includes scouting video
• Player Bio (Chatsworth HS)
• Mike Moustakas (Minor League Ball)
• Amateur Player Profile (Brewerfan.net)
• Chatsworth’s Moustakas sets state record with 48th career home run (Los Angeles Times)

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Among all MLB qualifying batters, Ordonez has the highest OPS, while Gordon checks in at #185. Only Jason “I Really Need to Find a New Career” Kendall has a lower OPS (438).

Not to pick on any one system, but Ordonez and Gordon provide an excellent illustration of why “projection” is just a fancy word for “guess”:

I once tried to develop my own projection system. Now, when I’m looking for that particular type of pain, I just watch reruns of Small Wonder instead…

Post from: Knuckle Curve