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Lucky 13 in the 4th

By Chris Pollay

What the Hell is going on in Arizona?

During the first week of the MLB season, the D-Backs have been on an absolute tear... a veritable epidemic of home runs has invaded Chase Field, and most of them are coming from the home team.

Not only is the team tied for first in home runs in the entire league with 12 (the St. Louis Pujols... er, I mean Cardinals, also have a dozen), but Arizona managed to set a franchise record by scoring 13 runs in the 4th inning yesterday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Howard having an amazing first week

On a night when the Phillies and Astros turned back the clock to 1965, Ryan Howard continued to turn up the heat on opposing pitchers. To honor the first regular season game played at the Astrodome, the two teams wore throwback jerseys dating back to 1965, but the highlight of the evening was when the Phillies slugger hit his third home run of the year in the seventh inning. Howard’s home run tied the game at 5, and the Phillies would soon get a timely base hit, as well as a later home run, from Shane Victorino to capture the lead for good.

Sure, it is early in the 2010 season, but Ryan Howard is playing exceptionally well, and the Philadelphia faithful should be encouraged by what they are seeing from the big guy. Typically, Ryan gets off to slow starts and then catches fire when the calendar turns to May or June. With the exception of his three strike outs in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Houston, he is striking out less and picking up extra base hits when they count the most. He has 10 RBI’s already and was batting over 0.400 before Sunday’s subpar performance. Look, I know the Phillies haven’t really faced quality pitching, beating the likes of Washington and Houston, but who cares as long as he is helping the Phils pile up the wins?

From Big Papi to Big Poopy

In 2004, David Ortiz was looked at as an idol in the eyes of Boston fans. Coming off a 40 HR season, the Bosox superstar DH single-handedly led the self-proclaimed Idiots (including Johnny Damon, who in my opinion should spend his afterlife in fire and brimstone, but this is not a time for my anti-Damon rant) to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS against the Yankees and easily beat the Cardinals in a lopsided World Series. In 2006, he had 5 walk-off hits, and led the American League in HRs with 54 (a franchise record). The following year Papi hit .332 with 35 HR, 117 RBI, and 52 doubles.

A's Evolve and Look to Lead Weak AL West

A's fans have a lot to look forward to this year. After the team's worst season in years, the team is poised to take the weak AL West division this year, based on the improvement of young prospects, the addition of some new ones to the Major League roster, the return of veteran players from injury and the additions of Coco Crisp and Ben Sheets.

The Phillies and The Astros: Light Years Apart

With the first series in the books, the Philadelphia Phillies will kick off their second one tonight in Houston against the Astros. With the season being less than a week old, it is difficult to get a good gauge on any team right now, but it is never too soon to take a look at the Phils’ struggling opponent for the weekend and make a prediction about how the series will go.