Review MLB/MiLB - Opening week

Spring is officially here and we all know that of course because on Sunday, March 31st 2013 baseball season started when Matt Harrison (TEX) pitched the first ball of the year. The pitch was ruled a ball that eerily predicted the ending of the game: Harrison was smashed by the Astros offense and the Rangers lost 8-2.

 

4/1/2013 Opening Day:
Brice Harper hits two homers on opening day, Kershaw (LAD) is able to pitch a shutout and hit a homer, NYY just sucked with their weak lineup, while Josh Hamilton hit the winning HR in 13th inning. NYM smash SD. Andrus signs a long and pricey contract with the Texas Rangers.

American League
Boston 8 N.Y. Yankees 2
Chi. White Sox 1 Kansas City 0
Detroit 4 Minnesota 2
Seattle 2 Oakland 0

National League
Washington 2 Miami 0
N.Y. Mets 11 San Diego 2
Chicago Cubs 3 Pittsburgh 1
Milwaukee 5 Colorado 4 [10 innings]
L.A. Dodgers 4 San Francisco 0
Atlanta 7 Philadelphia 5
Arizona 6 St. Louis 2

Interleague
L.A. Angels 3 Cincinnati 1 [13 innings]

4/2/2013:
Big disappointment on Tuesday night when Rangers’ Yu Darvish came one out close to his first no-hitter and perfect game. It would’ve been nice, but Astros’ Gonzalez hit the last pitch strong enough to reach first base. Darvish was quite amazing and can’t be faulted for anything. Nevertheless, the Rangers were able to score seven runs and get the win. Darvish pitched for 8.2 innings, with only one hit and a monstrous 14 SO for a 0.00 ERA. Another interesting result for the AL was Seattle’s hammering of the Athletics for a 7-1 final result. In the National League the Giants were able to defeat the Dodgers and the korean pitcher Ryu at his first MLB outing. He pitched for 6.1 innings, with 10 hits, and one run for a final ERA of 1.42. Keith Olbermann believes the Nationals will win the World Series. I agree.  

American League
 Baltimore 7 Tampa Bay 4
Cleveland 4 Toronto 1
Texas 7 Houston 0
Seattle 7 Oakland 1  
National League
Colorado 8 Milwaukee 4
St. Louis 6 Arizona 1
San Francisco 3 L.A. Dodgers 0

Minor League and Prospects According to latest "Baseball America" (4/3/2013) Virginia Tech's Chad Pinder might earn a first round draft pick and should be closely observed.  

4 /3/2013
Diamondbacks beat the Cardinals after 16 innings, which translated in 5 hours and 32 minutes of play, thanks to Chris Pennington's walkoff homerun. Another walkoff (single RBI) authored by Votto allowed the Reds to go past the Angels. Another walkoff was hammered by Tampa Bay's Joyce allowing his team to win past Baltimore. Rangers' Ogando was surprisingly good, with 10SO in 6.1 innings and just 4H. Yankees lost the second game of the opening series with the Red Sox, going down 4-7. This is the first tune since 1999 that the Red Sox are 2-0 after two games. Lincecum lost control of his pitch, allowing 7 walks but the Dodgers are unable to use that to their own advantage. It was a good day for prospect Jose Fernandez; due to a series of injuries to Marlins' rotation they made the stunning decision of calling up prospect Fernandez straight from Double-A. According to USA today the Astros are on the road to beat am awful record, that for most strikeouts. ( http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/04/03/houston-astros-striking-out-so-so-much/2050841/ )  

American League
Texas 4 Houston 0 Chi.
White Sox 5 Kansas City
Minnesota 3 Detroit 2
Boston 7 N.Y. Yankees 4
Cleveland 3 Toronto 2 (11 innings)
Tampa Bay 8 Baltimore 7
Oakland 6 Seattle 2

National League Washington 3 Miami 0
Pittsburgh 3 Chi. Cubs 0
Atlanta 9 Philadelphia 2
N.Y. Mets 8 San Diego 4
Colorado 7 Milwaukee 3
Arizona 10 St. Louis 9 (16 innings)
San Francisco 5 L.A. Dodgers  

Interleague Cincinnati 5 L.A. Angels 4


4/4/2013
Yankees are able to avoid being swept by the Red Sox. Phillies' Cliff Lee got his first win of the year. American League
Minnesota 8  Detroit 2    

Kansas City 3  Chi. White Sox 1    

Baltimore 6  Tampa Bay 3 

Oakland 8  Seattle 2 

N.Y. Yankees 4  Boston 2    

Toronto 10  Cleveland 8 


National League
Chi. Cubs 3  Pittsburgh 2    

San Diego 2  N.Y. Mets 1    

Washington 6  Miami 1    

Philadelphia 2  Atlanta 0 

Interleague
Cincinnati 5  L.A. Angels 4 

Minor League Baseball starts today. Prospect Profar hits twice for three at bats with one run and Round Rock Express (Rangers AAA affiliated) goes 3 to 1 past Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA KC affiliated)
Games on MiLB TV: Rochester Red Wings - Buffalo Bisons Fort Wayne TinCaps -Great Lakes Loons Binghamton Mets - Akron Aeros Toledo Mud Hens - Louisville Bats Dayton Dragons -West Michigan Whitecaps Bowie Baysox - Harrisburg Senators Midland RockHounds - Northwest Arkansas Naturals Charleston RiverDogs - Greenville Drive Charlotte Knights - Gwinnett Braves Columbus Clippers - Indianapolis Indians Jackson Generals - Jacksonville Suns Durham Bulls - Norfolk Tides Pawtucket Red Sox - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Tennessee Smokies - Pensacola Blue Wahoos Springfield Cardinals - Corpus Christi Hooks Oklahoma City RedHawks - Memphis Redbirds New Orleans Zephyrs - Nashville Sounds Omaha Storm Chasers - Round Rock Express Tulsa Drillers - San Antonio Missions Frisco RoughRiders - Arkansas Travelers Iowa Cubs - Albuquerque Isotopes Reno Aces - Colorado Springs Sky Sox Tucson Padres - Salt Lake Bees Tacoma Rainiers - Fresno Grizzlies Las Vegas 51s - Sacramento River Cats

04/05/2013
Home opening day for Rangers, Giants, Tigers. Yankees are humiliated by Detroit, while the Rangers are able to go past the Angels in a dramatic game which saw the return on Josh Hamilton in Arlington. Obviously Hamilton, who went 0 for 4, was booed. Speaking of humiliations, Kansas City destroyed Philadelphia the same day Cincinnati slammed Washington. I did not expect the Nationals to lose so badly and even worse I did not expect them to give up six homeruns!

American League
Detroit 8  N.Y. Yankees 3     

Texas 3  L.A. Angels 2     

Baltimore 9  Minnesota 5  

Boston 6  Toronto 4     

Tampa Bay 4  Cleveland 0     

Oakland 8  Houston 3  

Seattle 8  Chicago White Sox 7 (10th Inning)
 

National League
Colorado 5  San Diego 2     

San Francisco 1  St. Louis 0     

Miami 7  N.Y. Mets 5  

Cincinnati 15  Washington 0     

Atlanta 4  Chi. Cubs 1  

Arizona 3  Milwaukee 1     

L.A. Dodgers 3  Pittsburgh 0     


Interleague
Kansas City 13  Philadelphia 4 

Minor League Baseball:  Prospect Billy Hamilton stole three bases (!) for Louisville. Amazing!
Omaha Storm Chasers - Round Rock Express 1-3
Toledo 4 - Louisville 6

04/06/2013
Yankees lose again. I would say they are in big trouble and clearly one of the reasons is the absence of Jeter and A-Rod. Texas Rangers lose badly in Arlington vs. the Angels with Pujols who hits not one but two homeruns. Matt Harrison was unconvincing for the second time in a raw and this could by troubling new for the Rangers. Nationals are back winning and the good news is that Bryce Harper hit the third homerun of the year. Red Sox's RHP Lackey suffered a bicep strain while pitching vs. Blue Jays. Upton brothers homers in the ninth inning. TB Rays David Price got the Cy Young Award.

American League
Toronto 5  Boston 0     

Chicago White Sox 4  Seattle 3     

L.A. Angels 8  Texas 4      

Detroit 8  N.Y. Yankees 4      

Minnesota 6  Baltimore 5      

Tampa Bay 6  Cleveland 0      

Oakland 6  Houston 3      


National League
N.Y. Mets 7  Miami 3      

Washington 7  Cincinnati 6   (11th inning)    

St. Louis 6  San Francisco 3      

Atlanta 6  Chicago Cubs 5      

Arizona 9  Milwaukee 2      

Colorado 6  San Diego 3     

L.A. Dodgers 1  Pittsburgh 0 
    

Interleague
Philadelphia 4  Kansas City 3 

I believe it's too early to analyze the standings...
MLB Standings after Week 1 (From ESPN):

American League
EAST	W	L	PCT	GB
Baltimore	3	2	.600	-
Boston	3	2	.600	-
Tampa Bay	3	2	.600	-
Toronto	2	3	.400	1
NY Yankees	1	4	.200	2
CENTRAL	W	L	PCT	GB
Minnesota	3	2	.600	-
Chicago Sox	3	2	.600	-
Detroit	3	2	.600	-
Cleveland	2	3	.400	1
Kansas City	2	3	.400	1
WEST	W	L	PCT	GB
Oakland	4	2	.667	-
Texas	3	2	.600	.5
Seattle	3	3	.500	1
LA Angels	2	3	.400	1.5
Houston	1	4	.200	2.5
National League
EAST	W	L	PCT	GB
Washington	4	1	.800	-
Atlanta	4	1	.800	-
NY Mets	3	2	.600	1
Philadelphia	2	3	.400	2
Miami	1	4	.200	3
CENTRAL	W	L	PCT	GB
Cincinnati	3	2	.600	-
Chicago Cubs	2	3	.400	1
St. Louis	2	3	.400	1
Pittsburgh	1	4	.200	2
Milwaukee	1	4	.200	2
WEST	W	L	PCT	GB
Colorado	4	1	.800	-
Arizona	4	1	.800	-
San Francisco	3	2	.600	1
LA Dodgers	3	2	.600	1
San Diego	1	4	.200	3

Minor League Baseball:  Frisco RoughRiders lose 4-3 at Arkansas Travelers in the 10th inning.

College Baseball: I went with the wife, kids and two kid's friends to see CSU Bakersfield at UT Arlington, played at Clay Gould Ballpark. UTA won with two runs in the ninth for a final score of CSUB 2 - UTA 3.

UT Arlington - Clay Gould Ballpark - Play Ball!

In the bottom of the seventh UTA's Derek Miller (LF) was hit by a pitch straight to the helmet, it was quite scary at first. I was behind plate so I heard the loud pop from Miller's helmet. Gladly, after a couple of minutes on the ground he walked away without any problem.

UT Arlington - Derek Miller (LF) after being hit by pitch (head). He walked away fine.

UT Arlington - Clay Gould  Ballpark - Panoramic View