ESPN.com presents SweetSpot http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot 60 en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 05:14:14 webmaster@espn.go.com http://assets.espn.go.com/i/espn/teamlogos/lrg/trans/espn_dotcom_black.gif 110 110   Quick thoughts on Tuesday's excellent slate of major league action … A's 1, Rangers 0. Yu Darvish just doesn't know how to win. This is a big victory for the A's as they take the first two of the three-game set. Yoenis Cespedes' home run, a 418-foot shot to dead center, was all Oakland needed as Dan Straily pitched seven scoreless innings. The A's are like that bug you have to step on six times before you finally kill it; they just keeping coming back and surprising you.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/36214/thoughts-do-as-have-rangers-number Wed, 22 May 2013 00:46:44 EDT 36214 Some view this short, two-game series between the Indians and Tigers as an opportunity for the Indians to make a statement, now that they've passed the Tigers for first place in the AL Central. No matter that Cleveland took two of three just more than a week ago in Detroit; the Tigers are still the team to beat in the Central, so every series against them is a chance for a division rival to make a statement. Well, a statement was made on Tuesday night, but it was Max Scherzer making it -- and doing it with an exclamation point.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/36207/max-scherzer-is-better-than-you-think Tue, 21 May 2013 23:54:18 EDT 36207 From Tuesday's chat: Jacob (Poland): Was there ever a season in which four pitchers under 28 had 15 wins and sub-2.50 ERA? Excellent question, Jacob. My response in the chat was, "I would guess yes, certainly back in the '60s and early '70s" and I said I'd do a quick follow-up post later on. So he's the follow-up post. The question is pertinent since this era's crop of young pitchers presents a list of candidates who could do it this year: Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez (yes, still just 27), Matt Harvey, Jordan Zimmermann, Stephen Strasburg, Shelby Miller, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Moore and Chris Sale being the best bets.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/36199/chat-follow-glory-days-for-young-starters Tue, 21 May 2013 22:15:09 EDT 36199 This came up a couple times from readers in my chat session Tuesday, suggesting that the Cincinnati Reds may not be as strong as their 27-18 record because they've had an easy schedule so far, in particular compared to the Cardinals and Braves. Indeed, if you go to our RPI rankings, you can see strength of schedule. Here are average winning percentages of opponents played: Cardinals: .515 (sixth) Braves: .504 (11th) Reds: .484 (24th) So the Reds have played an easier schedule.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/36191/have-reds-benefited-from-easy-schedule Tue, 21 May 2013 20:25:19 EDT 36191 One reader called it "epic." I don't know about that, but it was a two-and-a-half hour marathon chat session]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/36185/chat-wrap-cubs-rivera-surprises-more Tue, 21 May 2013 16:05:34 EDT 36185 Major league baseball is so deep in quality starting pitching that you could probably make the case for nine or 10 different combinations as the best pair going right now. Here are my top five: 1. Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma, Mariners This may surprise you, but Hernandez and Iwakuma have the highest WAR (wins above replacement) of any pair of pitchers in the majors. And before we write off Iwakuma's outstanding start to the season as a fluke, here are the American League ERA leaders going back to last July 1, when Iwakuma joined the Mariners' rotation: Iwakuma: 2.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/36174/mariners-pair-top-1-2-pitching-duo-in-majors Tue, 21 May 2013 12:20:48 EDT 36174 Maybe Don Mattingly is a good manager. Maybe he's a bad manager. Maybe, like his mentor Joe Torre, he's just four jobs away from the job that will turn him into a Hall of Famer. (The headline in the New York Daily News when the Yankees hired Torre: "CLUELESS JOE.") Right now, Mattingly is taking his share of the blame for the Los Angeles Dodgers' 18-25 start, but blame is spread around to every corner of the clubhouse when you have a veteran roster of famous names, the highest payroll in baseball and playoff expectations and a lousy record.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/36161/dont-blame-mattingly-blame-the-dodgers Tue, 21 May 2013 00:50:53 EDT 36161 This is one of those stretches that makes you happy to be a baseball fan. Or a baseball fan in Cleveland, at least. If you're a baseball fan in Seattle you may be starting to look ahead to football season. The Indians just completed a four-game sweep of the Mariners, with three wins coming in walk-off fashion, two of those in extra innings, and the fourth win a 6-0 shutout over Felix Hernandez. Monday's win featured a game-tying rally in the bottom of the ninth, and then after Justin Smoak homered in the 10th for Seattle, a walk-off, three-run homer from Yan Gomes, his second of the game.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/36156/a-little-magic-brewing-in-cleveland Mon, 20 May 2013 17:35:20 EDT 36156 I don't know where this post is going, but wherever it leads, it's not meant to rip on Brandon Phillips, if it does wind up sounding negative. Reds fans jumped on me a few weeks ago when I called Phillips overrated, and that's fine: Fans should defend their players, especially the good ones, and Phillips is an excellent player and has been since 2007. Just because I called him overrated doesn't mean I don't like Phillips as a player: I do. Anyway, right now Phillips is second in the National League to Troy Tulowitzki with 36 RBIs.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/36149/brandon-phillips-rbi-machine Mon, 20 May 2013 13:30:46 EDT 36149 Well, Miguel Cabrera was due. I mean, he'd gone a whole four games without a home run. He'd driven in just two runs in his previous eight games. He was probably taking extra batting practice before Sunday's game. The bum. Cabrera was a one-man wrecking crew on Sunday for the Detroit Tigers, however, going 4-for-4 with three home runs, a walk, four runs and five RBIs. Unfortunately, the Texas Rangers had more than one man and won 11-8 to capture the first showdown of the season between the two teams many consider the best in the American League by winning three of four games, including a battering of Justin Verlander on Thursday.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/36126/miggy-unstoppable-but-what-about-tigers Mon, 20 May 2013 01:30:09 EDT 36126