MLB Week in Review (April 27 – May 3)
The Boston Red Sox have been the best team in the MLB after the first month of the season as they have come alive. It was not expected this year as the Red Sox were a complete disaster last year with the entire locker room falling apart. They would get a new manager in John Farrell and would lose some of the troublemakers but many people believed there was still a long road ahead. With such a bad season behind them the expectation was that they would continue to struggle and find it hard to get to the top of a division that had some new powerhouses. They would not have the best start to the season although it was better than most would have thought. Then they would become the symbol of Boston Strong and immediately would start playing for an entire city after the tragic bombings at the Boston Marathon. Since that time the Red Sox have been on fire and have launched themselves far above anyone else in the division and in the league. A large part of their rise has been their pitching staff that has been one of the best in the league after one month. They are led by Clay Buchholz who would win the Pitcher of the Moth award for April after going 5-0 with a 1.19 ERA. He has been almost untouchable in his first month of play but this week his dominance would come under question. While pitching against the Toronto Blue Jays, colour commentator for the Blue Jays, Dirk Hayhurst, would point out that the arm of Buchholz seemed off. The left arm of Clay Buchholz would look shiny and it was not sweat or anything natural as it was only on one arm. Throughout the game Buchholz would rub his index and middle fingers on the arm seemingly putting something on his fingers. The accusations would state that Buchholz was putting an illegal substance on his fingers to doctor the baseball. When confronted the Red Sox and Buchholz would not say what was on his arm with Buchholz claiming something about stains on his shirt. It was clear that something was on Buchholz’s arm as it was shinning with something that was not natural. The big debate is what it actually was which will likely never be found out especially if Buchholz stops putting something on his arm. The fact is that if he was doing something to doctor the ball it is cheating but most pitchers do something to try to get more grip on the ball. Doing it and making it so obvious as to have an arm that clearly had something obvious is the mistake of the pitcher. There is something weird about what Buchholz had done and may be the reason that he was so dominant during April. It will likely never be solved though as Buchholz should not have anything on his arm in his next game and if he does there will be an even bigger cry to find out what it is. If he doesn’t and he continues to pitch strong than the problem will go away with most people just stating that the Blue Jays announcers were trying to find an excuse to why they could not hit Buchholz. The Red Sox are a lot more than just Buchholz though and are still the best team in the MLB after one month. There is a lot more to this great season than one pitcher and the bigger question now becomes, how long can the Red Sox hold this pace to remain the best team in the MLB this year?
Extra Innings:
(Thoughts on the past week in the MLB)
Chicago’s Debate
The Chicago Cubs play in one of the oldest and most legendary stadiums in the MLB and recently the Cubs have put into place a renovation plan of Wrigley Field that includes putting in a digital scoreboard which has been met with a lot of resistance
Hudson’s Milestone
Tim Hudson would enter the record books and become the latest player to win his 200th game which may become a much bigger accomplishment in the near future as 200 wins seems to be becoming a very tough achievement
The Marathon
The Miami Marlins and New York Mets were the latest teams to get into a marathon game as they would play 15 innings of very close baseball for one of the longest games in MLB history that ended with a SAC fly
MLB Standings
American League
AL East:
1. Boston Red Sox (.690)
2. New York Yankees (.607)
3. Baltimore Orioles (.567)
4. Tampa Bay Rays (.464)
5. Toronto Blue Jays (.333)
AL Central:
1. Detroit Tigers (.607)
2. Kansas City Royals (.600)
3. Cleveland Indians (.500)
4. Minnesota Twins (.480)
5. Chicago White Sox (.444)
AL West:
1. Texas Rangers (.621)
2. Oakland Athletics (.567)
3. Seattle Mariners (.452)
4. Los Angeles Angels (.379)
5. Houston Astros (.267)
National League
NL East:
1. Atlanta Braves (.586)
2. Washington Nationals (.500)
3. Philadelphia Phillies (.467)
4. New York Mets (.444)
5. Miami Marlins (.267)
NL Central:
1. St. Louis Cardinals (.621)
2. Pittsburgh Pirates (.586)
3. Cincinnati Reds (.533)
4. Milwaukee Brewers (.500)
5. Chicago Cubs (.379)
NL West:
1. Colorado Rockies (.586)
2. San Francisco Giants (.586)
3. Arizona Diamondbacks (.517)
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (.464)
5. San Diego Padres (.414)
Scores:
Miami Marlins 4 – 3 New York Mets (15th)
– The Marlins and Mets were not fighting for the division but that didn’t stop them from playing one of the longest games in MLB history as the two teams would go 15 innings until Nick Green hit a walk-off SAC fly
Atlanta Braves 8 – 1 Washington Nationals
– Tim Hudson would earn his 200th win as the Braves would once again get past their division rivals in the Washington Nationals who continue to try to get back into the division race against the Braves
Boston Red Sox 10 – 1 Toronto Blue Jays
– Clay Buchholz continued to dominate this year and the Blue Jays continued to struggle after their spending spree as the Red Sox would put up 10 runs while allowing only one but it wasn’t without controversy as Buchholz was accused of cheating during the game
Los Angeles Angels 4 – 0 Baltimore Orioles
– The Angels had struggled for the majority of the season but they seem to be figuring things out as Mike Trout is beginning to find his swing and Albert Pujols is playing much better as they would go on to beat the O’s in a shutout
Next Week:
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants (Saturday May 4th; 9:05 pm ET)
– The Dodgers and Giants continue their long time rivalry as both fight for the division lead as both teams are tied for the top of the NL West as one of the oldest rivalries in the MLB continues
Detroit Tigers vs. Washington Nationals (Tuesday May 7th; 7:05 pm ET)
– The Detroit Tigers struggled out of the gate but after a month they are beginning to turn things around and now they will take on another team who is looking to get at the top of their division in the Washington Nationals
Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants (Thursday May 9th; 10:15 pm ET)
– The Braves are having a great season as they have risen to the top of the NL East while the Giants continue to be a strong team and are trying to overcome the Dodgers in the NL West as both teams look to take the win to either stay on top or get to the top
Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros (Friday May 10th; 8:10 pm ET)
– The Houston Astros were added to the AL West this season and immediately a new rivalry was started as the battle of Texas will once again get underway with both teams on complete opposite ends of the standings
The Sport Addiction 
Reblogged this on Baseball Trash Talkin and commented:
MLB WEEK IN REVIEW (APRIL 27 – MAY 3)