I’ll say it right now. Curtis Granderson’s game saving catch in the bottom of the 9th against the Indians last night at Progressive Field was the greatest catch I think I’ve ever seen. And I’m not being biased here either. (at least I’m trying not to) Either that or I just can’t remember recently a better one. The situation undoubtedly made the catch that much better too. If this was in the first inning say, then yea it’s an awesome catch, but it’s not a game saver. Here, bottom 9, tying run on first, winning run at the dish, Verlander’s got a shutout going, and Granderson brings back a big L in the loss column for the Tigers by flashing the leather. The only thing that could have made the catch bigger perhaps were if it the scenario was 2 outs in game 7 of the World Series.
 
(oh and by the way, Tim McCarver just said the word discombobulated on
the Sox/Rays FOX game of the week – don’t you just love the English
language)

But what about Verlander? Well, that’s three straight starts now where he’s been downright dominant, and to be honest, I haven’t seen him look this good since 2007 when he notched 18 wins. So things are looking up. In fact, his start in mid April in Seattle was a beauty as well. But the line doesn’t look all that good – 7 1/3, 8 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned. The misguiding this about that line was that the runs all came in the 5th inning. Prior to that, JV had thrown 4 perfect innings. He was lights out. So it seems that Mr Verlander’s turned it around. Speaking of guys who’ve turned it around, Cliff Lee has done the same. After compiling a 9.90 ERA in his first 2 starts, the 2008 AL Cy Young award winner has thrown 5 straight quality starts – but due to the Tribe’s anaemic offense, Cliff has just 1 win out of those last 5, including 2 straight losses to Verlander and the Tigers.

And while we’re on the topic of Cy Young, hows about Zack Greinke for the AL’s top pitching award? Man this guy has been crazy. How about a 6-0 record in 6 starts. A 0.50 ERA in April to lead the majors. 3 complete games, including 2 shutouts. And his May 4th complete game shutout against the White Sox lowered his ERA to an incredible 0.40. What’s next for Greinke? I watched Zack dominate the Tigers April 24th and it was just ridiculous. Kinda what it miust have felt like last night as a Tribe fan watching Justin Verlander put up zero after zero – helpless. 

My pick right now for NL Cy Young winner is Chad Billingsley. At this point, he’s been virtually untouchable. 5-1, a 2.45 ERA in 7 starts. He might not have gone past 7 1/3 innings yet in any of his starts, but each one has been a quailty outing.

Continuing on the theme of guys who’ve turned it around, hows this about Barry Zito? The Giants lefty has thrown 4 straight quality outings, so maybe that 7 year, $126 deal he signed back in late 2006 might actually be worth something? Some would say it’s about time.

And you know what else I’m liking right now that came out of last night’s Tigers game? The fact that the Tigers got great pitching, and didn’t blow it. They’re winning tight, well pitched ballgames, and yes the offense has been harshly inconsistent, but at least the pitchers aren’t getting bombed just yet. They’ve got improved defense, a little dash of speed and hell, even Jim Leyland has been sending runners this season from time to time. Underlying point: These Tigers aren’t one dimensional anymore. There’s a reason why the phrase pitching and defense wins ballgames is true.

A couple more observations:

• Boy it’s nice to see Joel Zumaya back and healthy. So far so good for Zoom, 5 scoreless innings. Let’s hope he keeps it going, cause he’s fun to watch
• Nice to see Rick Porcello keep pitching well. After getting roughed up against the Yankees, he rebounded nicely by blanking the Twins for 7 scoreless. This guy is gonna be something special.
• Also I’m glad that Dontrelle Willis is making it back to the big leagues. He’ll make his first start Wednesday at Minnesota, and you betcha I’ll be watching. I remember watching the D-train duel with then Diamondback Randy Johnson in his rookie year in 2003 when he won 14 games. The excitement, the energy he brought to the table. He’s one hell of a character. And it makes for great entertainment. For his sake, I hope he’s got himself straightened out.
• It’s got to be frustrating to be Jake Peavy right now. Once again marred by inconsistency, high pitch counts and a lack of run support, Jake sits at 2-4 with a 4.27 ERA. His last two starts he was lights out. 8 shutout innings of the Dodgers last friday went for naught after Clayton Kershaw was more than equal to the task and the Dodgers won in the bottom of the 9th. Then in his last start, Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, who ranked last in the NL in just about seemingly every offensive category, managed to claw out a 3-1 win. Jake makes one single mistake that ends up costing him the game – a meaty fastball with one man on that Justin Upton drilled over the wall in center field at Petco Park. As per the norm for the Pads when Peavy starts, they couldn’t generate anything offensively, grounding into 4 double plays including a huge on with the bases loaded in the 9th inning. The D-backs made 4 errors, but the Padres couldn’t get anything except for the single run off the double play in the 9th. Crazy. What does jake have to do?
• Does Jordan Schafer want to strike out anymore? This guys got 40 K’s already! That’s tops in the National League right now. Only perennial strikeout king Mark Reynolds of the Diamondbacks is close at 39. Schafer’s a promising rookie who will blossom into one of the games best for sure, but only if he cuts down those K’s.

• Still, as always, Albert Pujols remains the best hitter in the game today.
• The less said about Manny Ramirez, the better.
• I’m pulling for Ryan Zimmerman right now. It’s about time the Nationals had some sort of success. They’re finally settled in in Washington. They’ve got a great new ballpark. They’ve got a few promising young players (See Jordan Zimmerman), and I love their jerseys. (hey, these things matter to me! If a team looks more asthetically pleasing, then that’s a plus in my book) In May, Zimm is batting .484, and he’s got the 26 game hitting streak rolling right now. And if you’re counting, that means that Ryan has only not got a hit in one game this year! One game! And that was the second game of the season.
• One guy I want to give a shoutout to is Toronto’s Adam Lind. This guy is mashing the ball. Currently swatting .333 in 123 AB’s, Lind’s a big reason why the Jays are having such a great start.  

Here’s what to look for this weekend:

• The FOX saturday games of the week feature a couple of gems. I’m watching Braves/Phillies right now and this one’s a good un. Then there’s Giants/Dodgers. And if that wasn’t enough, check out Saturday’s best pitching matchup of Scott Kazmir and Jon Lester.
• Zack Greinke will be shooting for his 7th win of the year when he takes on Joe Saunders on Saturday night in LA. My money’s on Greinke.
• As far as Sunday goes, Edinson Volquez will try and get Albert Pujols to take a seat at Great American Ballpark. Volquez has given up just 5 hits in his last 3 starts, including back to back 8 inning, no run performances against Houston and Florida. After a shaky start, it seems he’s found the groove once again.
• Tim Lincecum will battle the Dodgers and Jeff Weaver at 4:05pm ET, and this one will be worth watching. Seabiscuit is always worthy of a look, and it’s Giants/Dodgers. Enough said.
• Finally, ESPN’s Sunday night baseball comes our way from Fenway Park, where it’s the almost perfect Matt Garza against Josh Beckett.

Keep watching folks, cause we’re only a month in. And in just over a month’s time, I’ll be done with exams, so I’ll be free to watch an absolute ton of ball!