Race between Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals heating up

Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Athletes, MLB, Playoffs,

The St. Louis Cardinals started the week two games back of Cincinnati for first place in the National League Central division. By the end of the week, they’ll probably be two games ahead. The two clubs started a three -game series on Monday night with St. Louis coming out on top 7-3 on a masterful pitching performance by ace Chris Carpenter. The Cards reload for games two and three with Jaime Garcia and Adam Wainwright.

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Blake Hawksworth climbing from the depth charts

Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Athletes, MLB,

Blake Hawksworth’s name is not one you should know. Yet. The 27-year-old right-handed pitcher is throwing from the number four spot in the St. Louis Cardinals’ rotation, and while his season isn’t going as wonderfully as he may have hoped, to be where he is now is a testament to his character. His career has been a roller coaster ride with glowing scouting reports and devastating injuries. As soon as he settles down and finds some direction, he may wind up as one of the best hurlers in baseball.

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Angels land Pineiro for just $16 million

Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Front Office, MLB,

The Los Angeles Angels have landed a potential superstar. Reports that had Joel Pineiro going to the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers were wrong, as Pineiro has agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal to see him join the rotation with other stars Jered Weaver, Scott Kazmir, Joe Saunders, and Ervin Santana. Does this mean that the Angels now have the best overall starting rotation in baseball? It just might.

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NL Cy Young Award winner - Tim Lincecum

Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Kudos, MLB,

Tim’s done it again. Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants won his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award. Lincecum edged out the pair of St. Louis Cardinals aces, Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. He becomes the first pitcher to repeat as the winner since Randy Johnson did so with the Diamondbacks four times from 1999-2002. It makes sense that the number one pitcher of 2008 won again, as while Lincecum’s wins total was down in 2009, he improved in almost every other area.

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The 2009 MLB Playoffs Exposed

Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Editorial, MLB, Playoffs,

With the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers extra-inning division game nail-biter in the books, we now know the eight playoff teams. With that, here’s a Gear Live exclusive detailing exactly what is going to happen in each respective league in the 2009 MLB playoffs. Some may shock you, but it’s all true, so pay attention.

In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals and their best three-man rotation in baseball, led of course by Chris Carpenter and his near-unanimous “Comeback Player of the Year” award; will make short work of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup. The St. Louis starters will each flirt with perfection, but L.A. will manage to score three measly runs in the three game series; one per game. Each run will be come via a solo blast by Manny Ramirez, still trying to show the baseball world that he can ruin anything special that baseball has to offer. The other series will be much the same, with the Philadelphia Phillies starting Cliff Lee in three games against the Colorado Rockies, just to see if he can finally prove that he actually is better than Roy Halladay. He’ll win two, but it will take a group effort for Philadelphia to clinch the divisional series.

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Joel Pineiro gets it done

Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Athletes, Editorial, MLB,

Here’s a fact you probably don’t know: Joel Pineiro is the third-best pitcher in baseball. Sitting behind dual-aces Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter on the St. Louis Cardinals’ starting pitcher depth chart, Pineiro has racked up a career year, worthy of top spot in the rotation on many other teams throughout baseball.

To this point in the season, Pineiro has a 15-11 record with a 3.24 ERA over an amazing 203 innings pitched. The only disappointing thing for those numbers is how they stack up against Wainwright and Carpenter, who each have more wins with a lower ERA. Now while his numbers do make him look like one of the best the National League has to offer, the journey for Pineiro hasn’t been easy.

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