Quote of the day
"It all starts with Asdrubal." -- Clevelnad manager Manny Acta, after Asdrubal Cabrera homered twice in a 9-6 win over Boston in Fenway ParkDaily blurb
Do you think Derrek Lee likes being back in the National League? In his first game since his trade from Baltimore to the Pirates, he homered twice. It wasn’t enough for Pittsburgh, who still lost 5-3 to the Cubs. I guess they needed a couple of dingers from their other new player, Ryan Ludwick, who could only muster up a walk in four plate appearances.
I’m leery of the Indians new starter, Ubaldo Jimenez. Admittedly, his away splits are pretty decent this year – 3.38 ERA, .183 BAA, 1.08 WHIP. But the sample size is small (10 games), and over the past decade, not many pitchers who were struggling in the NL have improved with a move to the American League, while movement in the other direction has been beneficial more often. Granted, I don’t have stats to back up that statement, just anecdotal evidence, gut feel – and a sense of foreboding. We’ll see.