Browsing Archive: June, 2011

Pirates, Indians head list of first-half surprises

Posted by Michael Seff on Thursday, June 30, 2011,

Though much of the first half of the 2011 Major League Baseball campaign has been predictable (see Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies), as usual there have been a few enjoyable stories that have kept fans' interest until the inevitable sets in come October.

Raise your hand if knew that Kevin Correia was tied for the National League lead in wins? Maybe Kevin's parents didn't even know, but his Pirates teammates sure do, as Pittsburgh shockingly finds itself over .500 in June for the first time since...

Tigers thriving despite roster of ex-stars

Posted by Michael Seff on Saturday, June 11, 2011,

Passion runs deep in the roots of Detroit fans, and the Tigers are a blue-collar, hard-working team reflective of their city. So it goes without saying that there is excitement surrounding the baseball team in the Motor City this year, as they have surged to just one game back of the Cleveland Indians after trailing by as many as eight at the beginning of May.

But it has to be a little bit disheartening to Tigers supporters that a bevvy of former players are making splashes with other squad...

A first-hand account of Gerrit Cole, albeit a brief one

Posted by Michael Seff on Sunday, June 5, 2011,

If you really wanted to watch Gerrit Cole, the potential No. 1 overall pick in this year's 2011 MLB Draft, you might do something as drastic as hike two miles through the backwoods to get to Jackie Robinson Stadium. You might, but I did.

Cole was called upon to start the opening round game of the NCAA Regionals against Fresno State in front of a packed house. The game created so much buzz that even Luke Wilson dropped by to check out Cole pitch (he kept a low profiles sitting in the cheap seat...
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Rays' 2011 resurgence shows Draft smarts prevail

Posted by Michael Seff on Wednesday, June 1, 2011,

The Tampa Bay Rays are proving that, in spite of the notion that they are “baseball's farm team”, their recent run of success in the rugged AL East is no fluke.

GM Andrew Friedman has been criticized (even by yours truly) for failing to pull off a big midseason trade during the team's 2008 and 2010 division-championship seasons. Instead, he and manager Joe Maddon felt confident in the young core they had in place. The result? 97 and 96 win seasons.

But it appeared this offseason would b...