The Baltimore Orioles are currently 1/3 of the way through a killer 15 game stretch that sees them playing nothing but contenders. I remarked at the beginning of the month, to no one in particular, that the Orioles would be lucky if they went 5-10 during this run...this would put them precipitously close to the .500 mark, and a downslide would inevitably take place. Well, after five games of the stretch that has featured road trips to both New York and Boston, the Orioles are...4-1. Yeah, that happened. And the one loss came by a 2-1 score. The Orioles have outscored their opposition 27-9 over the first five games of this killer run, and are tied with the Rangers for the second best record in the AL, a half game behind the Rays. I'm being totally serious. This is actually happening. Baseball: what a crazy game.

Game of the Night: A's 4, Rays 3 (12 innings). Do you like solo homers? Well then, this is the game for you! The A's got on the board first with a solo homer by Josh Reddick, and added a second run in the third courtesy of a Kila Ka'aihue RBI single. Eliot Johnson homered in the third to make it 2-1, but Reddick answered with an RBI single in the fourth to extend the lead to 3-1. The Rays immediately answered in the fourth with a Ben Zobrist solo homer, and tied it up in the fifth as Carlos Pena hit a solo homer. Things would stay knotted at three until the 12th, when former Ray Jonny Gomes stepped in and hit a solo homer to give the A's a 4-3 lead, and after a scoreless 12th from Grant Balfour (another former Ray), a victory. There were a total of six extra base hits in this game...and five were solo homers.

Pitching Line of the Night: Felix Hernandez proved once again why he's one of the best pitchers in baseball. He threw eight shutout, one hit innings against the Twins last night, striking out nine while walking just two. Even the Mariners couldn't screw that one up. In much more surprising news, Chris Capuano of the Dodgers had another good start, throwing seven shutout innings against the Cubs while allowing three hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts in LA's 5-1 win. Mark Buerhle of the White Sox also did what Mark Buerhle does: eat innings. He threw a complete game against the Padres and got the win, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks, while striking out three.

Hitting Line of the Night: Rockies prospect Wilin Rosario got a start behind the dish in Colorado's game against the Braves, and he made it worthwhile, going 2/5 with a pair of homers and three RBI. Another rare starter, Chad Tracy of the Nationals, made the most of his start, going 3/4 against the Phillies with two runs, two RBI, a double and a homer. And then, there's another Rockie, Michael Cuddyer. He went 2/4 with two runs, four RBI, and a homer.

Spotlight Series: There would be no umpiring controversy in Washington on Saturday, as the Nationals pounded the Phillies 7-1. The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a Carlos Ruiz sac fly, but that would be all they'd get. Former Phillie Jayson Werth hit a three run homer in the fifth, and Rick Ankiel followed with an RBI double to make it a 4-1 Nationals lead. Ian Desmond homered in the sixth to make it 5-1, and that led to Phillies starter Vance Worley getting pulled after six innings, ten hits, five runs, two walks, four strikeouts, and two homers. Washington tacked on two more in the seventh on a two run Chad Tracy homer off of Joe Savery. Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez was in good form all game, allowing just the one run over seven innings on four hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts. The Phillies offense as a whole had just five hits and one walk against the Nationals combination of Gonzalez and Ryan Mattheus. Yeah, that's a pretty good outing from the Nationals staff. Washington looks for the sweep tonight on ESPN, and that would go a long way towards proving that this team isn't going away this seaosn.

Other Games: Jason Hammel mastered the Red Sox and Aaron Cook wasn't sharp in his return to the majors, as Baltimore beat Boston 8-2. The Dodgers rolled the Cubs 5-1. Adam Dunn homered off of Jose Valverde in the ninth to give the White Sox a 3-2 win over the Tigers. The Rangers needed 11 innings to do it, but they still beat the Indians 5-2 thanks to a homer by Adrian Beltre. Johan Santana got his first win since September 2010 as the Mets beat the Diamondbacks 4-3. Felipe Paulino's first start of the year was a good one, and the Royals beat the Yankees 5-1. Madison Bumgarner led the Giants to a 5-2 win over the Brewers. The Astros beat the Cardinals 8-2 behind a strong game by Chris Johnson. The Pirates got a couple of homers and beat the Reds 3-2. The Angels beat the Blue Jays 6-2 with no Albert Pujols in the lineup. The Braves came back from a huge deficit (again) and beat the Rockies 13-9. Offense and pitching weren't a problem for the Mariners, who shut out the Twins 7-0. The Marlins shut down the Padres in a 4-1 win.

Today's Games: Yu Darvish starts for the Rangers against the Indians. Mat Latos will go for the Reds in Pittsburgh. Matt Moore starts for the Rays as they host Oakland. Brandon Beachy goes for the Braves in Denver, where their starters have struggled this series. Phil Hughes and Luke Hochevar will duel in a battle of two pitchers with ERAs above 7.00. Shaun Marcum and Matt Cain will go at it by the bay. And finally, your primetime game in the spotlight series is the best pitching matchup of the day: Cole Hamels versus Jordan Zimmermann. Ohhhhh yes.

Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.

Like TOC on Facebook

Follow TOC on Twitter

Evan Longoria hasn't played for the Rays since Monday. He's their offensive star, and without him, they were expected to struggle. Naturally, since Longoria has played in a game, the Rays are feasting on weaker competition. The Rays are 4-0 in May, with three wins over the Mariners and one over the A's. They only have a .710 OPS in May, and have a .296 OBP as a team...but dammit, they're outscoring their opponents 19-10. It's not the result the team has been hoping for, but the team has used their OK offense and some excellent pitching to hardly miss a beat.

Game of the Night: Braves 9, Rockies 8 (11 innings). When the Rockies put five runs on the board in the first inning, no one expected the Braves to have much of a chance in Friday's game. But then, things started turning around. Freddie Freeman put a pair of runs on the board in the third after at two run homer. The Braves used an onslaught of offense in the fifth to actually take a 6-5 lead. Naturally, the Rockies tied it in the bottom of the inning by the light-hitting Jonathan Herrera. The Braves got the lead by in the sixth courtesy of a Chipper Jones solo homer, and gave it back AGAIN after a Tyler Colvin RBI groundout. The scoring stayed silent until the 11th, when Eric Hinske hit a two run homer. The Rockies would go down fighting though, as Todd Helton brought in Herrera with a groundout to make it 9-8, but Craig Kimbrel shut the door to end it.

Pitching Line of the Night: David Price was dominant for the Rays in their win over the A's. He went eight innings, allowed three hits, one run, and one walk, and struck out a whopping 12 hitters. Yeah, I'll say that's a good start. Henderson Alvarez threw a complete game shutout against the Angels, allowing just six hits, one walk, and three strikeouts, and only threw 97 pitches in the process. And then, Johnny Cueto of the Reds torched the Pirates, allowing one run while throwing a complete game, giving up seven hits and four strikeouts without a walk.

Hitting Line of the Night: Freddie Freeman and Eric Hinske both had four hit games for the Braves, Each guy had a homer and a double, with Freeman scoring and driving in two, and Hinske scoring one and driving in three. Their ancient teammate Chipper Jones had a great game as well, going 3/5 with three runs, two RBI, a walk, and his fifth homer of the year.

Spotlight Series: The Nationals beat the Phillies 4-3 in a game that led to many Phillies fans crying about the umpiring and a pair of missed calls in the seventh inning. Of course, blaming the umpires is largely a juvenile move that happens when a fanbase is looking for someone to blame aside from themselves. The Phillies led 3-1 after five innings, but Nationals backup catcher Jesus Flores drove in a run in each of the sixth and eighth innings to tie the game at three and send it to extra innings. Of course, the Phillies erred with bullpen management again, letting Michael Schwimmer throw multiple innings in extras with closer Jonathan Papelbon sitting in the pen collecting dust. In the 11th, Schwimmer's third inning of work, he got the first two outs quickly before loading the bases after a single and a pair of walks (neither of which were intentional). Wilson Ramos singled to bring in Steve Lombardozzi, and that was the game. HARPERWATCH: 0/3 with three walks and two strikeouts. Three walks in a game at age 19. That takes skill.

Other Games: The Indians beat the slumping Rangers 6-3. The Cubs beat the Dodgers 5-4, as new closer Rafael Dolis shut the door in the ninth. Jhonny Peralta walked off for the Tigers against the White Sox. The Orioles stayed hot and beat the Red Sox 6-4. The Reds and Johnny Cueto were aided by three homers to beat the Pirates 6-1. The Rays shut down the A's 7-2. The Diamondbacks edged the Mets 5-4. CC Sabathia cruised as the Yankees beat the Royals 6-2. Jose Altuve homered and the Astros handed Kyle Lohse of the Cardinals his first loss, 5-4. The Blue Jays shut out the Angels 4-0. The Marlins blew a five run lead, but beat the Padres 9-8 in 12 innings. The Brewers beat the Giants 6-4 in what turned into a battle of the bullpens.

Today's Games: Jason Hammel goes for the Orioles against Aaron Cook, making his season debut. Vance Worley and Gio Gonzalez is a good matchup in DC. Pat Corbin makes his second career start, against Johan Santana. Hiroki Kuroda goes for the Yankees against Felipe Paulino in his season debut. Madison Bumgarner goes for the Giants against the Brewers. Jaime Garcia starts for the Cardinals against the Astros. Kyle Drabek and CJ Wilson will duel in LA. Mike Minor will start in Colorado. Felix Hernandez will start for the Mariners against the Twins.

Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.

Like TOC on Facebook

Follow TOC on Twitter

Albert Pujols, meet rock bottom.  Rock bottom, I'd like to introduce you to Albert Pujols.

As if Pujols' now infamous homerless streak wasn't already bad enough, you can add a new ignominious achievement to his 2012 resume: he's dropped below the Mendoza line.  After going 0-for-4 against Henderson Alvarez and Toronto tonight, Albert's batting average on the season now stands at a lowly .194.  To add insult to injury, Pujols was booed loudly by the home fans at Angel Stadium in his final two at-bats.

The man that a few months ago was treated like arriving royalty at his introductory press conference is now being booed.  Loudly.

It is hard to blame Angels fans for getting frustrated and targeting Pujols with their frustration as his poor performance was central to the Halos getting shutout for the second consecutive game and for the sixth time this season, the most in baseball.  Oh, and it was also the fifth consecutive start for Ervin Santana in which the Angels have been shutout, which just so happens to be a MLB record in its own right.  Yes, the natives are more than justified in getting restless.

While Albert Pujols certainly isn't solely responsible for this epic offensive ineptitude, he is its face and until Pujols turns into the franchise savior that he was believed to be and gets the Angels back to winning, he is going to keep getting booed.

It could be looooooong season in Anaheim.

Like TOC on Facebook

Follow TOC on Twitter

Earlier today, the news broke that Beastie Boys member Adam "MCA" Yauch had passed away at the age of 47, losing his three-year long battle with cancer.  To anyone that grew up in the 80's or 90's or just had even the most basic appreciation for music, this was truly sad news.  Fans all across the globe showed their respect for Yauch and honored him in a variety of ways.  Included amongst them was the New York Mets, who, as a group, elected to show their appreciation for the Brooklyn native and loyal Mets fan by each selecting a Beastie Boys song as their at-bat walk-up music. 

Here are those selections:

1. SS Ruben Tejada - "Intergalactic"
2. 2B Daniel Murphy - "No Sleep 'til Brooklyn"
3. 3B David Wright - "Brass Monkey"
4. RF Lucas Duda - "The New Style"
5. LF Scott Hairston - "Root Down"
6. 1B Ike Davis - "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)"
7. CF Andres Torres - "So What'cha Want"
8. C Josh Thole - "Make Some Noise"
9. P Dillon Gee - "Body Movin'"

The Mets haven't done much right in recent years, but this, this was perfect.  It showed a great deal of appreciation for Yauch and the Beasties but also was not exploitative.  And don't even think about quibbling with the song choices because this was about a man and his influence on music, not your musical taste.  Just let it be.  Perfect.

(h/t Anthony DiComo at Mets Cetera)

Like TOC on Facebook

Follow TOC on Twitter

This series with the Phillies has been marked with a bullet on the calendar of Nationals fans since February. The Nationals wanted to pack Nationals Park with their own fans, and not Phillies fans, during this series. We'll see how good they did this weekend, as the first place Nationals host the fourth place Phillies in Washington's first real divisional test this year.

Washington's rotation has been dynamic this year, leading baseball with a 2.03 ERA this year. That's largely powered by a .247 BABIP and a miniscule 3.9% HR/FB. but Washington's 2.41 FIP is still best in the league. The second best rotation in baseball belongs to the Phillies, who have a 2.97 ERA and 2.94 FIP. The Phillies and Nationals rotations also have identical 3.12 xFIPs, showing just how close the two really are.

The Nationals have the clear advantage when it comes to the bullpen, with a 3.21 team bullpen ERA, with the Phillies pen holding an ERA a run higher at 4.22. When you look at FIP, Washington's advantage remains clear, with a 2.90 mark compared to Philadelphia's 4.00 FIP. Despite not having closer Drew Storen all year, and even with Brad Lidge missing time and being ineffective when healthy, the Nationals still possess a clear advantage at the end of games in comparison to the Phillies.

When it comes to offense, neither team excels. The Phillies have a .661 team OPS, while the Nationals are just at .629. One clear advantage the Nationals hold over the Phillies on offense comes in the form of plate discipline. As a team, Washington has walked in 9.3% of plate appearances, a top ten mark in baseball. The Phillies on the other hand, have walked in a major league low 5.5% of plate appearances. 

The pitching matchups in this series clearly favor the Nationals. Tonight's game one features Stephen Strasburg, with his 34 strikeouts, six walks, and 1.13 ERA in 32 innings, against Kyle Kendrick, who's made just two starts this season and spent the rest of the year in relief. For the season, Kendrick has thrown 13 2/3 innings, striking out ten and walking five, and has a 6.59 ERA. To be fair in both regards, seven of the ten earned runs Kendrick has allowed this year came in one appearance against the Diamondbacks, while seven of his strikeouts came in one appearance as well, against the Cubs.

Game two on Saturday will feature prized Nationals offseason acquisition Gio Gonzalez against young Phillies starter Vance Worley. Gonzalez has struck out 34 and walked 12 in 29 2/3 innings, and has allowed just 16 hits on the season. Worley the other hand, has struck out 32 and walked 11 in 32 innings. Both pitchers have ERAs under 2.00, and this will more than likely be a low scoring affair.

Game three on Sunday night will be the matchup of the series, with Nationals stud Jordan Zimmermann against long-time Phillies rotation stalwart Cole Hamels. Zimmermann has been a victim of hard luck this year, with a 1-2 record despite 22 strikeouts and only three walks in 33 1/3 innings. He's five for five in quality starts this season as well. Hamels on the other hand, has had a season typical of himself. He's thrown 32 1/3 innings over five starts, struck out 36, and only walked five. Hamels has a 2.78 ERA, and is 4/5 in quality starts, only missing one in his first start of the season. The two starters in this game have combined to strike out 58 and walk eight in 65 2/3 innings. Yeah, that's pretty solid all-around.

Washington's offense has received a jolt of positivity since Bryce Harper was called up last weekend. Harper has a 1.014 OPS in five games, and has four doubles over that time period. Yeah, he's holding his own pretty well on offense. The much-maligned Adam LaRoche, who was injured for most of last season and awful when he wasn't hurt, has a .903 OPS in 24 games, with a team-leading four homers and 17 RBI. Jayson Werth has also enjoyed a nice bounceback year, though he's not at the level he was at prior to joining the Nationals. Werth has an .802 OPS this year, but has only homered twice. He does lead the team with three stolen bases, but that's not really something to brag about. The rest of Washington's offense is struggling, led by stsarters like Danny Espinosa, Wilson Ramos, and the injured Ryan Zimmerman, who could return this weekend.

Philadelphia's offense has largely been a disaster, with a few exceptions. Catcher Carlos Ruiz is having his best season thusfar, OPSing .938 and leading the team with 17 RBI despite only 73 at bats. Ty Wigginton, whose getting a majority of the playing time at first base with Ryan Howard out, is performing about as expected with an .812 OPS. The rest of the team...uh, yeah. Hunter Pence has a .706 OPS. Shane Victorino leads the team with five homers and eight stolen bases, but only has a .691 OPS. Jimmy Rollins, who the team gave a three year extension to this offseason, has just a .550 OPS and only has three extra base hits. It uh, really hasn't been a good run for the team this year. Wigginton leads the team with eight walks. In comparison, there are five Nationals players with at least eight walks.

As for picking a series winner...man, it's tough. Both teams have great pitching and largely inept offenses. The Phillies are a much (much!) more veteran team than the Nationals, and I think they have a lower potential to rebound. I can honestly see this series going in either direction. Game one seems like a lock for the Nationals to win, while the other two could go in either direction. I'm going to say that the Nationals win games one and three, while the Phillies win the second game. I'll also say that over the series, the teams combine to score less than 25 runs.

One thing is for sure, though: the Nationals aren't going into this series as the sizable underdog. In fact, they might be the favorite. I just hope that for their sake, the promotion they ran earlier this spring leads to a lot of Nationals fans in the stadium, and they succeed in taking back the park. Because if the Nationals can't pack the park for this series, against this team, with the way they've been playing...I don't think they'll ever be able to.

Photos courtesy of Daylife.com

Like TOC on Facebook

Follow TOC on Twitter

There’s this new movie – maybe you’ve heard of it – called The Avengers. It’s supposed to be pretty epic, but I’ll leave that discussion for other places. Here, it’s all baseball, so we’re not going to look at the movie, cartoon, or comic book versions of the Avengers, but rather who their baseball counterparts might be.

Giancarlo Stanton is The Hulk – Obviously.

The name Giancarlo means “God is gracious” and when it comes to Stanton’s physical tools, he has been indeed. at 6'5",233, Stanton might just be the strongest hitter in baseball and he might actually be able to hit a ball farther than the giant green man appearing on your movie screen. Last season Stanton's home run balls traveled a true distance of 14,163 feet (according to HitTrackerOnline.com). The average distance of those home runs was 417 feet. And who could forget this monster...

Albert Pujols is Iron Man – He has spent very little time on the DL and also this.

Pujols might not seem like a superhero at the moment, but he has played like one over his major league career. Unlike Tony Stark, however, Pujols has been a model citizen in the community.

Ryan Braun is Captain America – From Wikipedia: “Captain America has no superhuman powers, although as a result of the Super-Soldier Serum and "Vita-Ray" treatment, he is transformed from a frail young man into a "perfect" specimen of human development and conditioning”

Not only is Braun one of the best players in baseball – an “advanced species” of ballplayer if you will – but he fell under immense scrutiny when MLB originally suspended him for using PEDs. Though the suspension was lifted, the shadow had been cast and won’t completely disappear anytime soon. In other words, there are some who might think that Braun has excelled due to a certain "Super-Baseball Serum" and not just natural ability. Others love him because he blasts baseballs into the far corners of Wisconsin -- I'm looking at you, Kenosha.

Adam Wainwright is Thor – Best hammer in baseball.

Though Wainwright has had his struggles this season, and hasn't yet regained the feel for his tremendous curveball, that pitched proved to be one of the best in baseball over the last couple of seasons. Wainwright saved 21.4 runs thanks to his curve in 2009 and 19.5 runs via the deuce in 2010 (stats from FanGraphs).

Roy Halladay is Hawkeye – Pinpoint accuracy.

From 2009 to 2011, no pitcher in baseball walked fewer batters than Roy Halladay. His BB/9 over that three-year span was 1.24.

Ron Washington is Nick Fury - Mostly because I could see Samuel L. Jackson playing the part of Ron Washington someday. Actually, I could see Ron Washington playing Samuel L. Jackson someday too.

Photo courtesy of DayLife.com

Like TOC on Facebook

Follow TOC on Twitter

The big news yesterday was obviously Mariano Rivera's torn ACL. He'll miss the rest of the season, and in a tearful press conference last night, Rivera said he didn't know if he'd ever pitch again. If this really is the end for Rivera, which is a completely rational expectation, it was a sad and anonymous end to a historical run. Best of luck, Mariano.

Game of the Night: Reds 4, Cubs 3 (10 innings). I feel bad for Cubs fans. Ryan Dempster threw eight shutout innings, and let Carlos Marmol come in for the ninth to finish off the Cubs' 3-0 lead. Then Marmol...turned into Marmol. He walked the first two batters, and a run scored on an error by Ian Stewart. A singled and another walk came, this one with the bases loaded, to make it a 3-2 game. Rafael Dolis came up, and got a double play from Devin Mesoraco....but the game-tying run scored at three. Dolis pitched the 10th, and allowed a single, had a sacrifice attempt turn into a two base error, and allowed a game-winning sac fly to Scott Rolen to complete the Cubs' collapse.

Pitching Line of the Night: we had a pair of complete game shutouts yesterday. Brandon Morrow shut down the Angels over nine innings, allowing three hits without a walk and striking out eight. Joe Blanton did the same for the Phillies against the Braves, allowing three hits without a walk but only striking out six. Blanton threw his masterpiece in just 88 pitches, though. I'll give a nod to Dempster too, who went eight scoreless and allowed three hits with one walk, and struck out six.

Hitting Line of the Night: Jason Kipnis of the Indians went 2/3 with two runs, four RBI, a walk, a triple, and a homer. The Pirates' Pedro Alvarez went 2/4 with two runs, two RBI, and a homer. His SLG is over .600, and his OBP is below .300 for the season. Yup. Mike Moustakas of the Royals went 2/4 with a run, three RBI, and a homer.

Spotlight Series: the Orioles-Yankees series ended on Wednesday....new spotlight series coming later today!

Other Games: the Rays beat the Mariners 4-3 to complete a sweep. The Phillies shut out the Braves 4-0 in a stark contrast of Wednesday's game. Justin Masterson and the Indians beat their divisional rival White Sox 7-5. Danny Duffy had another solid start as the Royals beat the Yankees 4-3. Erik Bedard struck out 11 in Pittsbugh's 6-3 win over the Cardinals. The Blue Jays completely shut down the Angels in a 5-0 win. The Marlins swept the Giants after a 3-2 win. The Nationals beat the Diamodbacks 2-1 in DC.

Today's Games: Colby Lewis goes for the Rangers as they try to get back on track against the Indians. Stephen Strasburg will start for the Nationals as they take on the Phillies. A pair of stunningly good starters will duel in Detroit, as Jake Peavy of the White Sox takes on Drew Smyly. David Price starts for the Rays, who suddenly have the best record in baseball, as they take on the A's. CC Sabathia goes for the Royals. The shockingly good Kyle Lohse starts for the Cardinals against the Astros. Josh Johnson starts for the Marlins in San Diego. Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum will duel in San Francisco in a great looking matchup.

Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.

Like TOC on Facebook

Follow TOC on Twitter

The Angels bullpen has blown as many leads as any team in the American League so far this season.  Perhaps in a well reasoned panic move, Los Angeles General Manager Jerry Dipoto chose to act quickly and acquire a dependable late inning reliever in Ernesto Frieri.  The Columbian born Frieri was utterly dominant in parts of four seasons with the San Diego Padres, compiling a 2.33 ERA across 108.1 IP with 137 K's and a 1.23 WHIP.  Ernesto features a 91-94 mph diving fastball and a decent slider that he uses effectively against both RHB and LHB.  Frieri is expected to arrive in Anaheim (a mere hour and a half drive) on Friday and inherit the all-important 8th inning role immediately.

In return the Padres will receive 23 year old super utility man Alexi Amarista and 22 year old RHP Donn Roach from the Angels.  The Venezuelan born Amarista plays a competent second base, shortstop, left field, centerfield and right field.  Amarista's minor league numbers are rather impressive (.313/.370) and he figures to take over as the everyday second baseman or shortstop very soon.  Amarista's best tools are his ability to hit for average and steal bases and may or may not be suited for the top of a major league lineup depending on how he adjusts to major league pitching.  Donn Roach is sinker baller in Advanced A Ball with pinpoint accuracy and an array of offspeed pitches.  Across six starts this season Roach is 5-0 with a 2.16 ERA and 29 K's in 41 IP.

This move figures to help both teams now and in the future.  The Padres are in rebuilding mode and are in need of some top of the order production which Amarista can provide.  The Angels were in desperate need of a shutdown reliever to bridge the gap between the starters and closer Scott Downs.

Like TOC on Facebook

Follow TOC on Twitter

Awful, terrible news out of Kansas City tonight: while shagging flyballs in the outfield before tonight's Yankees-Royals game, legendary Yankees closer Mariano Rivera fell awkwardly on his knee. The verdict isn't good: Rivera has a torn ACL, and will miss the season.

The Yankees are largely covered at the closer position with the presence of both David Robertson and Rafael Soriano in the bullpen, but neither of those two are as legendary and established as Rivera, who had five saves this season, and is the all-time leader with 608. The man is 42 years-old, and his career is in its twilight years. 

Rivera isn't under contract for next season, and this could be the end of the line for him. Even Red Sox fans are feeling bad about this injury. Hopefully, this won't be the end of the line for Rivera, but if it is, it was a pleasure.

Photo courtesy of Daylife.com

Like TOC on Facebook

Follow TOC on Twitter

There have been many shortstops that get talked about as prospects in the minor leagues, but the majority of them end up being utility players or second-division starters. That's just what happens when you play the most demanding position on the infield, as the tools to succeed at the Major League level are higher than perhaps any other position. But for the Cleveland Indians, who already have a pretty fine shortstop in Asdrubal Cabrera, they have someone who just began his minor league career that at this point, could be better than even Cabrera when it's all said and done.

18-year-old Francisco Lindor, the eighth overall draft pick by the Indians in 2011, was the top high school prospect going into the draft, with many pundits putting him in the discussion with the UCLA pitching duo of Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer as potential #1 picks at one point. This was simply due to the fact that he was a top flight talent at a top flight position, and that even if he couldn't stick at shortstop, his hit tool would put him as an average Major Leaguer at second base or center field. Baseball America threw a projection of a 60 hit tool (above-average), 40 power (about normal for a shortstop), 55 speed (above-average) with a 65 on defense (plus glove) and a 60 on his arm (above-average). 

Considering his standing as the top high school player in the 2011 draft, the Indians were able to get him in to a few games in the New York-Penn League after he signed, where he went 6-for-19 in five games. In 2012, they sent him to their Low-A affiliate Kane County in the Midwest League, and all he's done in his first 23 games is hit .314/.369/.451 with only 14 strikeouts and earned rave reviews for his glovework. The switch-hitter is doing mainly against lefties, as he's hitting a ridiculous .462/.462/.654 in his 26 plate appearances versus those who throw of the southpaw persuasion.

Born in Puerto Rico, he's only 5'11" and listed at 175 pounds, and with a slight frame to build on, he'd have to take on one hell of a growth spurt to move off the six hole. Another plus in his favor is that his work ethic is top of the line, with many coaches and scouts in various reports glowing about how hard he works and how much he continues to get better. Cabrera is signed through 2014 and the Indians already have a budding superstar at the keystone in Jason Kipnis. If Lindor continues to work as hard as he has and flies through the system, the Indians will probably make him the every day shortstop come 2015, even if it means saying good-bye to Cabrera. When you have the ability to potentailly knock off an above-average shortstop at the Major League level, you have a prety special player, and that's the type of player that Lindor is to the Indians.

Like TOC on Facebook

Follow TOC on Twitter