It kills me that I keep having to list the Red Sox and Yankees in these things, but that’s the way the money bounces. Happy Friday, folks!
American League

Angels at Red Sox, 4:05 p.m. PT — This is the second game of a day-night doubleheader and features not only the AL’s two best teams but also a matchup of Cy Young contenders John Lackey and Josh Beckett. If you like offense, you might also want to tune into the first game, which starts at 10:05 a.m. PT. Ervin Santana goes for the Angels. Opponents are batting .341/.416/.626 against Santana away from …read more

Jacob and his fellow writers at Epic Carnival have assembled a list of their choices for MVP and Cy Young awards if the season ended today. My only gripe is with the NL MVP award. Matt Holliday is enjoying a fine season, but that .299/.362/.470 line away from Coors Field is pretty pedestrian. For my money, he’s not in the same class as Florida’s Hanley Ramirez, who is putting up goofy numbers at a premium defensive position in a much more difficult environment. It also seems like Vlad Guerrero should get a little more love in the AL voting, but …read more

Somehow I got out of the habit of doing these. With the pennant races heating up, I reckon it’s time to bust out the previews again:
American League

Mariners at Orioles, 4:05 p.m. PT — How are the Mariners doing it? Ichiro Suzuki, Adrian Beltre, and Jose Guillen all are having decent (not great) seasons on offense. The starting pitching has been okay. The relief pitching has been pretty darned good. They score about as many runs as they give up, and yet, they’re a game out of the AL wild card. Felix Hernandez starts tonight, which is always a good reason …read more

Some brutal pitching matchups today. About the only game I can recommend watching is the one in Milwaukee. Hint: The Brewers aren’t playing there.
It won’t stop snowing in Cleveland, so the Indians will “host” the Angels at Miller Park. For those of us out on the west coast, that’s a bit like the Padres playing a home game in San Francisco.
Heh.
Anyway, Ervin Santana takes the mound for Anaheim, while C.C. Sabathia goes for Cleveland. Watch Vlad Guerrero in this one; he’s batted .357/.400/.714 against Sabathia over 15 career plate appearances. The game starts at 4:05 p.m. PT.
I wish I could …read more