Will the American League return to dominance in 2012? Posted by Anthony Stalter (04/01/2012 @ 9:28 pm) For three of the past four seasons the National League has owned Major League Baseball. But after collectively opening its wallet this past winter, the American League could see a return to dominance in 2012. The American League bought two of the National League’s biggest stars this offseason when the Angels signed Albert Pujols and the Tigers added slugger Prince Fielder. The Halos also kept C.J. Wilson (the top pitcher on the market) in the AL West while the Yankees beefed up their starting rotation by acquiring promising young right-hander Michael Pineda (now injured) from the Mariners and signing the underrated Hiroki Kuroda (formerly of the Dodgers). Granted, there are still plenty of quality teams in the National League. The Phillies, Giants, Brewers and Braves all have solid starting rotations and the Marlins bolstered their roster with the additions of Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buehrle. The Reds and Diamondbacks have plenty going for themselves as well. But all of the teams listed above have significant question marks heading into the season, which includes the defending World Series champion Cardinals. Ace Chris Carpenter, outfielder Allen Craig, and second baseman Skip Schumaker will all miss significant time this offseason and there’s added pressure for guys like Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman and David Freese to produce without No. 5 in the lineup. When you factor in Pujols and Fielder have jumped leagues, it’s no wonder the odds currently favor AL teams like the Tigers, Yankees, Angels and Rangers when it comes to winning this year’s World Series. The American League rosters are simply more talented right now than their National League counterparts. Now, I’m certainly not suggesting that the American League is a shoe-in to win the Fall Classic. Get into a seven-game series when pitchers reign supreme and you cannot count teams like the Phillies, Braves and Giants out of contention. If you think offense overpowers pitching when it comes to the postseason, then you haven’t been paying attention the last two years. But as of April 1, there’s no question that the balance of power has tilted in the American League’s favor. There’s a lot of baseball to be played but it’s hard not to look up and down the Tigers’ roster and not think, “Wow, this is a potential World Series winner right here.” Posted in: MLB Tags: 2012 MLB season preview, Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson, Chris Carpenter, David Freese, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Matt Holliday, Michael Pineda, Philadelphia Phillies, Prince Fielder, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals
Baseball’s Greatest Games: 2011 World Series – Game 6 Blu-ray Giveaway Posted by Staff (03/27/2012 @ 11:24 am) There is an exclusive, invite-only club whose membership is limited to heart-stopping, history-making World Series home runs. That prestigious roster now includes David Freese and his 11th-inning leadoff, walk-off home run that provided a fitting finale to a spectacular Fall Classic. In Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, on the edge of elimination, the St. Louis Cardinals trailed five times, including by two runs in the ninth and in the 10th, each of those two times down to their last strike. The Cardinals comebacks were triggered by Freese, Lance Berkman and a resilient lineup. From Freese’ two-out, game-tying 9th inning triple, to Berkman’s 11th-inning game-tying single, to the final wondrous walk-off, all the drama, thrills and exhilaration of this Fall Classic masterpiece are here to enjoy for the first time in high definition on the new “Baseball’s Greatest Games: 2011 World Series – Game 6” Blu-ray! Direct from the Major League Baseball archives, this extraordinary television broadcast includes the quintessential making of an iconic moment, and one unforgettable baseball game available for the first time as both a DVD and Blu-ray! In support of its release, The Scores Report is giving one lucky winner a copy of the new Blu-ray. Click here to enter for your chance to win, and then be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates on new contests and giveaways. CONTEST ENDS: April 18th The price of a World Series title? For Cardinals, it may be Chris Carpenter. Posted by Anthony Stalter (03/23/2012 @ 7:19 pm)
There’s always a price to pay in life. Success doesn’t come without failure and often times, elation doesn’t come without desolation. For the St. Louis Cardinals, the price of their miraculous 2011 championship wasn’t losing Albert Pujols (like many had thought), but perhaps ace Chris Carpenter. You could certainly make a case for Pujols or World Series hero David Freese being the most valuable player on last year’s Cardinals team. But in my eyes, it was hands down Chris Carpenter. Nobody threw as many innings in the big leagues last year than Carpenter, who was marvelous in the postseason. He won five of the six games he pitched, with his only loss coming in a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Rangers in the World Series. In that game he pitched seven innings of two-run ball while striking out four and allowing just two earned runs. He wound up pitching just four days later and beat the Rangers for the second time in the Series, limiting Texas to two runs on six hits over six innings while helping St. Louis win its 11th championship. Now, with just two weeks before the start of the 2012 MLB season, Carpenter is dealing with a nerve issue in his right shoulder. The initial diagnosis was that he had a bulging cervical disc in his back and there was actually some positive news on his condition earlier this week. But it has been discovered that the discomfort he has experienced in his shoulder is actually nerve damage and nobody knows how long it’ll take for him to recover – or if he even will. The word “retirement” and Chris Carpenter don’t really go together. He’ll be 37 years old at the end of April but it would take an army to pull him off the mound. But it really isn’t up to him on how his body will react over these next couple of days, weeks, and months. He rejected surgery on Wednesday because quite frankly, it wouldn’t help. It’s not like he has a tear – he’s dealing with nerve damage. All he can do now is wait for the nerve to heal itself (which could take some time), test his arm out, and then go from there. The nerve could essentially heal itself next month but then become damaged again when he attempts to throw. It’s just hard to predict what will happen next. For the Cardinals’ sake, hopefully the nerve does regenerate quickly and he can get back on the mound at some point this season. But the news out of St. Louis right now isn’t good and there’s a chance that 2011 was the last we’ll see of Chris Carpenter in a baseball uniform. And if that is indeed the case, at least he and Cardinal fans will remember him for being the warrior he was in the 2011 postseason. The Giants paid their World Series debt in the form of losing Buster Posey, Freddy Sanchez, Pablo Sandoval and Brian Wilson for extended periods of time last season, which prevented them from qualifying for the postseason. Now the Cardinals are paying the price for theirs and it’s a shame that it has to come in the form of Carpenter. Carpenter to start for Cardinals, Cruz and Holliday both expected to play in Game 7 Posted by Anthony Stalter (10/28/2011 @ 9:59 am) St. Louis Cardinals’ pitcher Chris Carpenter pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning of game 1 of the World Series in St. Louis on October 19, 2011. UPI/Brian Kersey Following their epic extra innings victory in Game 6 on Thursday night, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa announced that ace Chris Carpenter would start Game 7 of the World Series against the Rangers tonight. It was a move that has been anticipated since David Freese hit a walkoff home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Cardinals a 10-9 win on Thursday night. Carpenter last pitched on Monday and has worked on short rest before in this postseason. While technically it’s Kyle Lohse’s turn in club’s postseason rotation and Edwin Jackson would be working on a normal rest period, La Russa has to turn to his workhouse in this situation. In related news, both Matt Holliday (finger) and Nelson Cruz (groin) are expected to play in Game 7. Holliday suffered what Joe Buck called during the broadcast a “severely bruised little finger” when he dove back into third base during a pickoff attempt Thursday night. He jammed his hand into third baseman Adrian Beltre’s foot and was subsequently called out on the play. Holliday didn’t return to the game, leaving some to speculate whether or not he would play in Game 7. Cruz strained a groin muscle on his final at-bat in Game 6 and was shown limping down the clubhouse steps. But as long as he can still walk, one would expect him to be in the lineup. This is Game 7 of the World Series, after all. Epic World Series goes to Game 7 Posted by Gerardo Orlando (10/28/2011 @ 8:48 am) Members of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates after David Freese hit a solo home run to win game 6 of the World Series in the 11th inning against the Texas Rangers in St. Louis on October 27, 2011. The Cardinals defeated the Rangers 10-9 and the series is tied 6-6. UPI/Kevin Dietsch David Freese was having a rough night, as were the rest of the Cardinals as they did their best Little League impersonation in the field last night. But they wouldn’t give up, and every time the Texas Rangers took another lead, often after St. Louis blunders in the field, the Cards somehow fought back to tie up the game. Several times they were down to their last strike, and somehow they kept coming through. In the bottom of the 11th, Freese hit a walk-off solo home run that sent this series to game 7. It was an amazing game, and now we have game 7. The ratings have sucked for this World Series, but hopefully more people watched last night. |