Tagged: Johnny Cueto
It can only get worse from here…
It was a glorious day in baseball yesterday. Unfortunately, all that day has left me with is a feeling that things can only get worse from here.
First, it was a fiesta on my fantasy team. CC Sabathia made one of his best starts of the year, holding the Twins to 1 run and 2 hits in 7 innings. This more than made up for Johnny Cueto’s disastrous outing yesterday (see my post from yesterday).
Also, Paul Konerko, previously just a utility player for my team, really came through after my decision to start him: He hit 3 homers!
In Boston, Josh Beckett followed up a brilliant performance by the A’s rookie pitcher Brett Anderson with a great outing, getting his 10th win on the year. 
(. Jason Bay also looked back to form as he went 2-3 with a homerun in the 2nd inning. Is his weeklong slump over? Let’s hope so…
And finally, in New York, the one thing that could brighten the mood as the Mets lost once again (yeah, I sort of like the Mets) was the sight of this guy getting ejected:
(that really looks like a mug shot, doesn’t it?)
So why do I keep getting the feeling that after this great night in baseball, things are only going to get worse from here?
Well, my fantasy team certainly hasn’t looked like it did last night before this season. CC has been good, but there is still much room for improvement. Konerko has also had a pretty good season, but a 3 homer night is rare and won’t likely happen again for him this season. I guess, on the bright side, Johnny Cueto can only get better from here!
For the Red Sox, it doesn’t look as much like things will get worse. We haven’t been amazing lately, but we are still the best team in the AL and things are still fine. Jason Bay has certainly been in a slump lately, and he won’t get much rest and relaxation during the All Star break. Let’s just hope we can hang onto this division lead and keep the pace in the second half of the season.
So, maybe I exaggerated a bit. I don’t know, can things get any worse with Manny?
Absolut… Slaughter?!
I was reminded of these ads after watching a few games last night:
“Why?” you may ask. Well yesterday in the MLB it was a day of absolut(e) slaughter. I will start off with the slaughter that least affected me (in the real world, at least).
Interestingly enough, the case of slaughter (baseball style) that least affected me was probably the worst. The scene of the crime was Citizen’s Bank Ballpark, in Philadelphia. The Phillies beat the Reds 22-1 in this game. Unfortunately, the sorrow I feel for Reds fans everywhere is only half of my problem with this one. See, the Reds’ starter in this contest was Johnny Cueto, a bright young player who has performed well this year, keeping his ERA in the 2.00 range and posting 8 wins. I’m not even sure when he was taken out of the game, I think he allowed 9 or so runs, ballooning his ERA to 3.45. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, aside from being a new favorite player of mine, Cueto is the ace on my fantasy team. But really, should that concern me in the real world?
There was also a case of slaughter to a lesser extent here in Boston. It was brightened only by the glorious return of Nomar,
as the rookie Brett Anderson threw a 2 hit shutout vs. the Red Sox. We lost it 6-0, and all the more depressing were Jason Bay’s continuing struggles, as he struck out once and went 1-3. In the past week he is 2-25, among the worst in the league. This miserable week has even included an 0-5 with 5 strikeouts on July 1. Hopefully the All Star game will cheer him up and get him back on course to take that MVP award from Texeira in the second half.
The final case of slaughter came in Seattle, where Jarrod Washburn threw a 1 hit, 5-0 win against the Orioles, a team that I am actually starting to root for to at least make a little bit of a comeback in the second half. With such bright young talent as Nolan Reimold and Matt Wieters, I’m beginning to really like the O’s.
It was a night to forget in the MLB, at least from this Sox fan’s point of view… (and I didn’t even consider the disappointing 9-4 loss for Kevin Millwood, another one of my fantasy pitchers, as legitimate slaughter)
Thanks for reading.
Fenway Bleacher Creature 