Five Things I Think I Think
I’m back with the 4th installment of “Five Things I Think I Think.” Here’s what’s in my brain right now!
1) I have no words to describe what Matt Kemp is doing right now. NINE home runs on April 21st? No one saw that coming. Kemp has evolved into the best player in the game. If you have seen his workout videos during the offseason then you’ll know how dedicated he is to his craft. There might not be a player in the game that deserves the accolades he’s gotten so far.
2) Philip Humber will have the best pitching performance of the 2012 season. A perfect game is special in itself. A perfect game in 96 pitches is nothing short of amazing. My favorite stats from the game? There have now been 21 perfect games in the history of MLB, the White Sox have three of them, Charlie Robertson in 1922 and Mark Buerhle in 2009 are the others. Secondly, Humber became the 7th different former New York Met to throw a no-hitter, the Mets have zero no-hitters in their franchise history.
3) Cliff Lee vs. Matt Cain is probably going to be the best pitchers duel of the season. There were 19 scoreless, efficient innings between the two aces and you’re watching it thinking that Lee could have gone into the 11th inning if needed. Both finished the game with Bill James game scores over 85. Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing Cliff Lee for a while as he was put on the 15-day DL with a strained oblique.
4) I’m way too excited for this one. The Atlanta Braves are the hottest team in baseball. Since starting off 0-4 and making me already plan to 2013, Atlanta has gone 10-1 since and swept the Brewers and taken the first three games of a four-game set against the Diamondbacks. Braves and Dodgers have a 3-game series starting Monday in a matchup between two of the hottest teams to start the season. Brandon Beachy looks like an ace in the making, as he has a sparkling 0.47 ERA and 0.88 WHIP over his first three starts.
5) Ivan Rodriguez is the greatest Texas Ranger of all-time. He helped mold that team in the mid 90’s from a laughing stock into a playoff team. He has more Gold Gloves than any catcher in baseball history and won an MVP award in a Rangers uniform. There are a few players on the current roster (Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young) that can make a run at this title. For now and probably for long time, Pudge will be the greatest Ranger.
What are you thinking about right now in this MLB season?
-Bryan Mapes
Three Up, Three Down 