Weekend Watch!
There undoubtedly other fun sporting events to watch this weekend like the NHL and NBA playoffs, plus the Kentucky Derby. However, here’s what I’m watching on the diamond this weekend.
5) Orioles at Red Sox
The battle between the team in 2nd place in the AL East and the team in the basement. Only it’s the reverse of what everyone thought it would be at the start of this season. Can the Orioles keep up the momentum? For Baltimore, is Jason Hammel for real? That trade with the Rockies for him is looking pretty shrewd right now as Hammel is 3-1 with a 1.97 ERA and passed his first difficult test of the season against the Yankees. The Red Sox schedule is easing up, but after losing two straight against the Athletics, all hands need to be on deck in Beantown.
4) Blue Jays at Angels
I’ll really just be keeping an eye on this one to see if Albert Pujols is going to decide to hit a home run this season. The Jered Weaver no-hitter bump already seems to be gone as the Halos dropped the first game of this series on Thursday night.
3) Phillies at Nationals
I want to see if Bryce Harper can bring people to Nationals Park on the weekend. The Nats haven’t seen a bump in attendance in the first series with “The Chosen One” in the lineup. My leader in the NL Cy Young after April will be taking the hill on Friday night in Stephen Strasburg. If Washington can’t get 30,000 in the seats for that, I give up. Hamels vs. Zimmermann on Sunday Night Baseball will be a great duel.
2) Braves at Rockies
A little bit of a homer pick by me, but I always enjoy watching games in Colorado. I’m excited to watch Tim Hudson’s continued return, hopefully a 49 year-old Jamie Moyer vs. 40 year-old Chipper Jones matchup on Saturday, Carlos Gonzalez has been on fire lately.
1) Rangers at Indians
The only weekend matchup pitting two 1st place teams. There hasn’t been a lot the Rangers have done wrong so far this season with Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler mashing in the lineup and Yu Darvish and Colby Lewis cruising along in the rotation. The Indians have been a little bit of a surprise in the AL Central that was supposed to be controlled by the Tigers. The Indians started off hot last season before fading, did they learn from it in order to make a run in 2012? Winning this series against the two-time defending AL Champion Rangers would be a nice boost.
What are you looking forward this weekend in Major League Baseball?
-Bryan Mapes
Three Up, Three Down 