Senior Editor Mark Haverty's work has regularly appears in such places as FOX Sports and Sporting News, where Mark is one of TSN's lead minor league analysts. Mark has also been featured in multiple print publications and as a featured guest on multiple radio shows.
Big money in hand, Mark Buehrle is back to being a big money starter.
Series of the Week – Early Edition Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox
This series is so good that it will take four days and five games to finish it. Okay, the White Sox have issues now, but how can you not love a five game series? Both teams will certainly be glad to see new opponents after their weekending series this week. The White Sox were completely embarrassed in Boston, losing by football-like scores (with them resembling the Houston Texans and not their hometown Bears), while the Tigers lost two of three from the Royals and needed extra innings in the middle game to pick up their one win.
The most intriguing matchup of the series will be the first, which has Mark Buehrle and his fat new contract facing off with rookie sensation Andrew Miller. Through eight starts this year, Miller is 5-3 with a 3.18 ERA, with 36 strikeouts and 23 walks in 45 1/3 innings. While Miller has only allowed three or more runs only three times, and only more than three twice, he has just four quality starts due to the unwillingness of the Tigers to let Miller rack up innings. While it might be being cautious, it is also annoying to his fantasy owners. Sure, those same fantasy owners might appreciate it a year or two down the line, but as we all know fantasy baseball is very much a “what have you done for me lately” recreation. Buehrle enters the game 7-5 with a 2.91 ERA and he has been pitching extremely well after getting over some issues in May, and he has made four straight quality starts and five of his last six.
The hitter to watch in this series for the Tigers is Sean Casey. With Casey’s lack of power – the last time he put up anywhere near respectable home run totals was 2004 – the only way he is in any way useful is if he is hitting for a high average. He did that last month, when he hit .355 with one home run, nineteen RBI, and five runs in 76 at-bats, but he is failing at it so far this month. In 53 July at-bats, Casey is hitting just .264 with one homer, five RBI, and seven runs scored. He did try to make up for the significant drop in average with a stolen base, just his second of the year, but that is far from enough to make his other inadequacies. Casey is going to need to get back to the way he was hitting last month, or at least close to it, if he is going to help the Tigers stay in front of the division.
For the White Sox, the season is largely over for them, as they are closer in the standings to the Royals than the front of the pack, but they can at least go out on a high note and play spoiler. If they are going to play spoiler, they need to keep Paul Konerko on a roll, as he has been this month. In 67 at-bats in July, Konerko is hitting .343 with seven home runs, seventeen RBI, twelve RBI, and more walks than strikeouts (14:10).
Series of the Week – Weekend Edition Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies
The Rockies have climbed back into the race, but still have some work to do. As of this writing, the Rockies are at 49-48, trailing the Dodgers by six games. This four game series kicking off on Thursday could go a long ways towards getting them either right in the thick of things or burying them for good. Brad Penny takes the ball for the Dodgers to start the series, with Rodrigo Lopez getting the start for the Rockies. Penny had been a Cy Young candidate for much of the season, but he has faltered this month. In his first start of July, Penny was knocked out after just four innings, having allowed nine hits, four walks, and six earned runs. In his most recent start, he allowed six hits, two walks, and four runs (three earned) in 6 1/3 innings, and he struck out five while picking up the win. Overall for July, Penny is 2-0 despite a 5.19 ERA.
As the season has gone on, Rodrigo Lopez has gone back to looking like Rodrigo Lopez, and that is never a good thing. His last two starts, however, have been solid. Over his last two starts, Lopez has logged 13 innings and allowed six hits, three walks, and four earned runs, and he struck out eight. History is against him performing this well, though; do not rely on this lasting too much longer.
For the Dodgers, the hitter we are watching is Matt Kemp, who continues to proof how foolish it for the Dodgers not to trust him as an everyday player heading into this season. After hitting .383 with a home run, five RBI, seven runs, and three stolen bases in 47 at-bats in June, he is hitting .365 with five home runs, fifteen RBI, and thirteen runs this month in 52 at-bats. His OPS is a robust 1.171 this month.
On the Rockies side, we are spotlighting Manny Corpas, who has rolled off four saves in four save opportunities this month. Overall, for the month of July, Corpas has a record of 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 11:1 in eight innings, and he has allowed just two hits. Regardless of whether Brian Fuentes returns or not, Corpas has shown that not only can he close effectively, but that he can do so at a dominating level.
