Meanwhile, you are going to have to fill up on a huge helping of Major League Baseball to satisfy your sports fix. The good news is that this season appears to be building up to the most exciting and dramatic conclusion in a very long time. Nobody is running away in any of the division races and three of MLB's six divisions have three or more teams with a chance to finish in first place.
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| Is that the end of the NFL lockout or a locomotive? 1 |
Thursday, July 21
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays
C.C. Sabathia (14-4, 2.64 ERA) - Yankees vs James Shields (8-8, 2.60 ERA) - Rays
The Rays can ill-afford to lose a series to the Yankees. The bad news for the Rays is that they have a losing record against the Yankees this season. The good news is that they have several more series coming up against the Bronx Bombers. Tonight (or any night), however, I am not betting against C.C.
Advantages - Game: Yankees, Series: Yankees
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| This has nothing to do with the game, but I found this picture on the Internet with a caption suggesting that this was C.C. Sabathia in a photo with Miley Cyrus. "He's a HUGE fan!" Fat jokes run amok.... 6 |
Friday, July 22
Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Indians
Gavin Floyd (7-9, 4.37 ERA) - White Sox vs Carlos Carrasco (9-7, 4.25 ERA) - Indians
When the Indians went on a nasty skid in early June, losing 9 of 10 at one point, they did not surrender first place in the AL Central. They did, however, open the door for the rest of the division. the Detroit Tigers went from a longshot to tying for the division lead and the White Sox and Minnesota Twins went from being in ICU to within striking distance.
The White Sox have a golden opportunity to further narrow the gap between themselves and the division leaders in this three game series with the Tribe. The bat of Adam Dunn (.158, 9 HR, 36 RBI) absolutely, positively, has to show some signs of life in the second half of the season if the Sox are to have any reasonable chance of winning the Central Division. His power and plate discipline numbers have raised a blip on the radar screen, but his season average continues to be abysmal.
Advantages - Game: Indians, Series: Indians
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| It has to come together at some point for Dunn. 2 |
Saturday, July 23
Milwaukee Brewers at San Francisco Giants
Randy Wolf (6-7, 3.58 ERA) - Brewers vs Ryan Vogelsong (7-1, 2.02 ERA) - Giants
These two division front runners could be offering us a playoff preview in this three game series. The Brewers and Giants are in very tight races in the National League Central and West divisions, respectively. The Brewers' bullpen could determine whether they win or lose this series. With the acquisition of closing pitcher Francisco Rodriguez (3.02 ERA, 44.2 IP, 49 K, 23 SV) from the Mets, the Brewers may have secured a critical missing piece of their pitching puzzle to push themselves to the top of their division.
The Giants need their bats to wake up in a hurry. With a pitching staff of the caliber of the Giants' staff, they will always have a chance to win any game and any series, as the defending World Series champions have demonstrated. Still, the contenders in the National League appear to have beefed up firepower compared to last year.
Series against teams like the Brewers, with top-to-bottom above-par talent in their batting order, are the ones in which the Giants are most vulnerable. When your best batters, in Miguel Tejada (.242, 4 HR, 26 RBI) and Aubrey Huff (.232, 9 HR, 36 RBI), are 37 and 34 years old, respectively, with an average below .250 and an on base percentage below .300, you face a crisis any time your team falls behind in a game. This weekend is a big test for both clubs.
Advantages - Game: Giants, Series: Brewers
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| Brewers first baseman Prince Field after a walk off home run in 2009. Are those guys going to actually try to catch him? 3 |
Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds
Brandon Beachy (3-2, 3.75 ERA) - Braves vs Dontrelle Willis (0-1, 3.38 ERA) - Reds
Having the second best record in the National League would be cause for celebration if it were not also the second best record in one's division. That is precisely the situation that the Atlanta Braves find themselves in. The Cincinnati Reds are battling to stay in the thick of the NL Central sweepstakes.
The Reds need to find some consistency at starting pitching if they expect to survive. The D-Train, so far, appears to look as good as he has in several years, with two respectable starts under his belt since being called up to the majors. The Braves need to get a little more pop from their bats if they want to compete for the division lead instead of the Wild Card lead. The Braves need a player like Jason Heyward (.224, 9 HR, 23 RBI), for example, to tighten up at the plate and deliver. The Reds...Joey Votto (.318, 13 HR, 58 RBI) and Jay Bruce (.266, 21 HR, 57 RBI) are due for a slump at some point in the season. Cincinnati desperately needs some members of their pitching staff, either on the 25 man roster or the 40 man roster, to step up in a big way.
Advantages - Game: Braves, Series: Braves
2011 Tour de France, final stage (stage 21) - Cretiel to Paris
I would never pretend to know about something I do not know about. And I know very little about cycling. However, I do know that the Tour de France is the Super Bowl of the cycling world. If you are looking for a change of pace from baseball, the final stage of the Tour de France could offer a very different yet exciting vehicle of sporting entertainment.
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| The 2011 Tour de France - You couldn't pay me enough! 4 |
Monday, July 25
Los Angeles Angels at Cleveland Indians
Dan Haren (10-6, 2.75 ERA) - Angels vs Josh Tomlin (11-4, 4.12 ERA) - Indians
The Angels are battling to regain the top spot in the AL West and the Indians are in a dogfight to recover what was once a healthy division lead in the AL Central. The Angels have been getting it done with pitching. They should provide an ample challenge for MVP candidate Asdrubal Cabrera (.292, 17 HR, 60 RBI), Travis Hafner (.321, 9 HR, 39 RBI) and the rest of the Indians' staff in the first game of this three game series.
Advantages - Game: Angels, Series: Angels
Tuesday, July 26
San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies
Tim Lincecum (8-8, 2.90 ERA) - Giants vs Vance Worley (6-1, 2.02 ERA) - Phillies
This rematch of last season's National League Championship Series could be a preview of this year's NLCS, as well. Both teams have lights out pitching, but the Phillies have power in their lineup where the Giants lack it. I am confident that the Phillies also have a degree of payback on their minds when they face their playoffs foes from a year ago.
Advantages - Game: Giants, Series: Phillies
Wednesday, July 27
Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves
Paul Maholm (6-9, 3.06 ERA) - Pirates vs Jair Jurrjens (12-3, 2.26 ERA) - Braves
Nearly twenty years ago, hearing these two teams conjured up images of dramatic playoff matchups between two dominant teams loaded with All Stars and future Hall of Fame caliber players. The Braves excellence over the past 21 seasons has, for the most part, been uninterrupted, considering how much time has passed. Since 1992, but prior to 2011, the Pirates have been the poster team, the team everyone looked forward to having on the schedule if some wins were needed.
No longer is that the case. The Pirates have their best chance, ever, to win the National League Central title for the first time and the Braves, in spite of being in second place in their division, have their best realistic chance to win the National League pennant since falling to the Houston Astros in the first round of the 2005 playoffs. The Braves' last World Series appearance was in 1999.
Advantages: Game: Braves, Series: Braves
Once upon a time, the Braves and Pirates played for all the marbles and played a series for the ages. Who can forget Francisco Carbrera? 5
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1) Image from realty4atlanta.com
2) Image from bdlsports.net
3) Image from blippit.com
4) image from thenewsinn.com
5) Video from youtube.com
6) Image from faniq.com
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