By #1 Sports
Los Angeles: The Dodgers (54-50, 22-29 road) have been positively powerless with Manny sidelined, scoring a total of 31 runs over the 14 games since his return to the DL, posting a 5-9 mark with 4 of those wins requiring shutouts to get the victory. Reed Johnson, Xavier Paul, and Garret Anderson haven’t managed much platooning in Ramirez’s left field slot but the trade acquisition for OF Scott Podsednik (.309, 5 HR, 45 RBI) for the Royals for a pair of prospects should help.
By Totals 4 U
Florida: The Marlins (49-49, 21-23 road) come off a 7-3 home stand, taking series wins over the Nationals, Rockies, and Braves, and now hit the highway with RHP Ricky Nolasco (10-7, 4.50 ERA) on the mound. Known as a 2nd-half guy, Ricky’s grooved right now with 27 hits and 7 walks over his last 5 starts (3.41 ERA) compared to 42 strikeouts over those 34 1/3.
By Totals 4 U
San Francisco: The Giants (40-39, 15-22 road) have been tail-spinning to the break with 7 consecutive losses in which they have managed a total of 15. Even Manager Bruce Bochy’s envied pitching staff has been off their games with today’s starter, RHP Matt Cain (6-7, 2.93 ERA), sloppy his last 3 trips with a 0-3 mark and an 8.24 ERA. Cain has a stretch like this every season and has simply dominated the Rockies this season at 2-0 with just 1 earned surrendered over the 16 innings of a pair of starts so we suggest holding off reading more into his struggles for now.
By High Stakes Syndicate
Washington: The Nationals (23-22) have righted the ship with a pair of victories over the weekend and now take a 10-game road trip test without C Ivan Rodriguez who’s persistent back injury has moved him to the DL. With catchers Coste and Flores also sidelined, C Wil Nieves (.224, HR, 5 RBI in 58 at-bats) will get the starts for this vastly improved attack.
By Totals 4 U
San Francisco: The Giants (7-2) were a popular choice to move back into contention this season by matching their superb starting pitching with a much improved offensive attack and they have certainly come out swinging with 5.67 runs per contest and a .470 slugging percentage (.389 in ‘09). OF Fred Lewis and IF Freddie Sanchez are both still rehabbing in the minors but C Bengie Molina, SS Edgar Reteria, CF Aaron Rowand, 3B Pablo Sandoval, and 2B Juan Uribe are all hitting well above .300 while Frisco has already racked 10 homers through 9 games. RHP Todd Wellemeyer (0-1, 5.68 ERA) hasn’t been sharp yet with 7 hits and 4 earned over 6 1/3 to follow up a terrible season in St. Louis (7-10, 5.89 ERA) in which he was tagged for 160 hits in just 122 1/3 innings.
By Totals 4U
Baltimore (6-3) The Ravens continued their 4-game stretch of racking up big points against poor defenses (36.0 points per versus Dolphins, Raiders, Browns, and Texans) last week, crushing Houston 41-13 and now face their toughest test of the season for 6’6” 230 rookie QB Joe Flacco (151 of 243 for 1449 yards, 7 TD, 7 INT). Little could be more important to this kid’s success than his offensive line and it will be a man down this trip. Coach John Harbaugh most often uses a 6-man unbalanced line to protect Flacco (17 sacks) and bash the ball on the ground but RT Willie Anderson left in the 3rd quarter against the Texans with a ankle injury which slides 6th lineman 6’8” 330 RT Adam Terry into his slot. There’s nothing wrong with Terry – he was the protected starter before Baltimore picked up Anderson – but that likely eliminates the 6-man line or puts either 6’4” 310 UTEP rookie T/G Oniel Cousins or 6’6” 315 Weber State rookie David Hale in the game against a level of competition they have never faced. Either way, rushing the ball will primarily be the focus and Running Backs Coach Wilbert Montgomery has a dynamite trio that can all produce on the ground and sneaking out for short passed. Willis McGahee (125 for 463 yards and 5 TD rush, 14 for 113 receive), 5’8” 205 rookie Ray Rice (77 for 356 rush, 20 for 190 receive), and 6’1”250 rookie Le’Ron McClain (96 for 366 and 5 TD rush, 15 for 88 receive) rotate for an offense that grinds out the league’s 3rd-best 150.2 rush yards per game at 3.9 yards per carry. Quaterbacks Coach Hue Jackson has done a phenomenal job with not just Flacco but also Troy Smith and Todd Bouman but stretching the field just hasn’t been part of the plan. WR Mark Clayton (20 for 225 yards and TD) and WR Derrick Mason (46 for 598 and 2 TD) – who returned to the game to catch 3 balls after suffering a 1st quarter separated shoulder against the Texans – have had to share the balls with the backs while TE Todd Heap (18 for 195 and 2 TD) has been used primarily in the blocking game as a 7th lineman. It seems a waste for a talent like Heap but he did finally have his first big game of the season last week, grabbing 5 balls for 58 yards and his first 2 scores of 2008.
By Nevada Sharpshooter
The 0-2 Bengals go on the road to face the 2-0 Giants. Cincinnati has looked horrible in its first two games. The offense has only scored 1 touchdown as QB Carson Palmer has compiled a QB rating of 37.1, the lowest in the league. The Bengal troubles cannot completely be laid at the feet of Palmer. The offensive line play has been very poor, providing no pass protection, while the play of WRs Chad Johnson and T J Houshmandzadeh has been subpar as well. Defensively the Bengals have also struggled giving up 213 yards per game rushing.