Rookie Watch

With the 2011 season a month in, it's time to check in on the rookies and see what the ROY race looks like. It is early and this list doesn't have any relievers on it yet, however one certainly can't overlook Kimbrel (ATL) or Chapman (CIN)and next months list will incorporate them for sure. This column focuses on starters and hitters, I've included hitters that have at least over 50 AB's and the starters with at least 4 starts.

Is the Power for Real?

A lot of analysts are "shocked" and "aren't buying" Howie Kendrick's power display so far this year, but why not? Is it that far fetched? Definitely not, the writing was on the wall.

10 Crazy Things so Far in a Young 2011

With the season roughly 8 games in, it's tough to put too much stock in anything just yet. However there are some things that cannot be overlooked no matter how early you are in the season. So feel free to share your thoughts on the following list and even add some if I've missed any. I will say that there is no sign of Manny on this list. I'm done talking about this guy and glad he has decided to call it a career. A great career for sure but became a distraction too often and he's probably happy to be finished. Alright here we go...

What's in a Record Really?

With all the dust being kicked up in Boston throughout opening week about their 0-5 start, I was curious as to how bad an 0-5 start really was? Turns out, it's not that bad at all. There has been plenty of cases where teams that have decent (at best) records still go on to win the World Series. The crazy thing is that it happens more than you think.

Morning Poles: 30 Up and 30 Down

Opening weekend can be emotional. It is where five months of anticipation and speculation finally come together and reach new heights or come crashing down. Although baseball can be known as a marathon rather than a sprint, opening weekend represents the shooting out of the blocks before the long haul of the season sets in.

Rather than doing power rankings, every Monday I will be highlighting the prior week in baseball by going through all 30 teams and seeing who has reason to feel up or down after the previous seven days. Consider this some kind of bipolar lens to the heart of a baseball team, so let's get to it...

What's Going On With Tex?

Mark Teixeira is a slow starter and everyone, by now, knows it. He's a fantasy baseball killer in April and he certainly does no favors for the big league clubs he's played for in April either. So what's the deal with big Tex this year, why the hot start and should we expect this to continue?

An "Ace" in the Hole

One of the recurring themes I had to deal with in evaluating rosters for our season previews was how to define an ace. Additionally, as I was watching Justin Verlander pitch last night I was struck with the notion that while Verlander isn't a poor pitcher by any means, he might not be one of the true 'shut-em-down' aces that teams rely on. Obviously, Verlander is the ace of the Tigers rotation. That being said, being tabbed as a number one starter doesn't necessarily mean you are a good pitcher (Luke Hochevar) or even the best on your team (Ian Kennedy, Mark Buerhle).

If wins were the measure of an ace then Verlander would be in the discussion as he has won 17 or more games in four of his five seasons. Indeed, only Roy Halladay (90) and C.C. Sabathia (88) have won more games since Verlander entered the league. However, if you look at adjusted ERA (ERA+) over that same span for pitchers with more than 600 innings pitched during that period then Verlander slides to 20th in baseball.

Vulture Wins

As per Cam's comment in the Wilbur Wood post, here is a list of last years leaders in pitchers who blow a save but earn a win. It's kind of like convincing your best friend to break up with his girlfriend only to snake in there and starting dating her yourself. I like to refer to this phenomenon as a "snake win" but alas I am not the first person to go down this road. Thanks to folks over at the now defunct Recondite Baseball blog this situation is commonly referred to as a vulture win.

Morning Poles: Opening Day Edition

There literally is nothing better than watching baseball all day long. Just ask these guys. So let's do it one more time today.

Yesterday's highlight was obviously the Reds-Brewers game that ended in dramatic fashion after a 3-run walk off HR by Ramon Hernandez. Similar to last year, the Reds offense looks capable of having a big inning at just about any moment, which means the last minute heroics that typified last season's Cinderella run may become the norm once again.