New York Metss

The New York Mets began their season with a 13-3 start, including an 11-game winning streak. The team currently has the best record in baseball.

The Subway Series kicks off the weekend of April 24th where the Mets will face off against their fellow New Yorkers, their rivals, the Yankees. Historically, the Yankees have dominated but now it seems a shift is occurring. The series is sparking a strong buzz, as the Yankees are in unfamiliar territory with a 9-7 record this season, and the Mets are holding their best record.

The Mets organization began in 1962. The team last won a World Series in 1969. The Mets made their last playoff appearance in 2006, losing the eventual World Series Champions, the St. Louis Cardinals. With this being 9 years ago, it’s safe to say the fans are ready, and welcoming this change!

The Mets have a generally young roster, which includes pitcher Matt Harvey, aka: the Dark Knight. The Mets drafted Harvey in 2011 after he pitched for 3 years at UNC Chapel Hill. He played for their minor league team and made his Mets debut in 2012. In 2013, Harvey continued to receive recognition for his throwing strength and control. In a game against the Atlanta Braves, Harvey attained a career-high 13 strikeouts, allowing just 3 hits in 7 innings. Due to a ligament tear in his elbow, Harvey required Tommy John surgery and as a result of this injury, missed the 2014 season. On April 9th of this year, Harvey pitched his 1st game since 2013 and allowed 6 innings with no runs and also struck out 9 Washington Nationals players.

While the majority of the team is young, the Mets also have experienced veteran pitcher, Bartolo Colon. Colon has played with several teams since joining the Cleveland Indians in 1997. This is his 2nd season with the Mets.

Following the conclusion of the Subway Series on Sunday, the Mets will face the Miami Marlins on the road before finishing next week at home against the Nationals.

San Francisco Giants

It’s not unreasonable that late in 2014, when you ask someone what they think of when they hear “San Francisco Giants”, that they respond with something along the lines of “winning” or “champions” or “3 in 5.” The Giants have won 3 of the last 5 World Series. Talented, skilled, hungry and determined are just a few words that could sum up the attitude and performance of this ball club.

Most recently, the Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals in 7 games to claim their 3rd World Series title in the past half-decade. Pitcher Madison Bumgarner delivered a stellar performance, leading him to be named the series MVP, allowing just 1 run to be delivered in his 21 innings of play throughout the series.

In 2012, the Giants swept the Detroit Tigers in 4 games. The Giants had home field advantage and began the series in San Francisco, then were able to wrap things up less than a week later at Comerica Park. The Giants started the series off strong, winning game 1 8-3. The victories continued with scores of: 2-0, 2-0 and 4-3 in each of the following games.

In 2010, the Giants defeated the Texas Rangers in 5 games. This was the Rangers’ 1st World Series appearance in the team’s 50 year history. Pitcher Tim Lincecum was instrumental in the Giants’ victory, which was their 1st series victory since 1954, when the team defeated the Cleveland Indians.

San Francisco celebrated its most recent victory with a downtown parade and will now focus on roster changes and free agency. Most notably, third baseman Pablo Sandoval’s status of return as a Giant will have the greatest impact on how the team shapes its roster for 2014-2015. It was reported that Sandoval previously rejected a 3-year, $40 million dollar deal from the Giants and is seeking at least a 6-year deal.

General manager Bruce Bochy’s leadership and expertise are considered to be among the factors which have led the Giants to their recent successes. Bochy was named a finalist for National League Manager of the Year. He has previously won the award in 1996 when he was with the San Diego Padres.

World Series

The hunt for October has come and gone. The World Series is in full swing and currently tied, with the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants tied at 2-2.

In the initial series faceoff, the Giants defeated the Royals 7-1 in Kansas City. The Giants had 11 hits, 7 of which were runs and the Royals’ only run occurred in the 6th inning. The Giants held a 3-run lead before the 1st inning was over. This was the Giants’ 16th win in their past 18 post season games.

Game 2 was a different story, as the Royals defeated the Giants 7-2. Each team scored a run in the 1st inning but Kansas City went on to dominate, scoring 1 in the 2nd and 5 more in the 6th inning. The Giants’ only other run came in the 4th inning. Giants pitcher Hunter Strickland struggled and after the game acknowledged he let his emotions get the best of him.

Kansas City managed to win Game 3 although it was closer than the previous 2 games with a final score of 3-2. The Royals scored 1 run in the 1st inning and 2 in the 6th.  The Giants scored both of their runs in the 6th inning as well. Royals shortstop Eric Hosmer’s 6th inning RBI proved to be the deal sealer for the team’s Game 3 victory, giving the Royals a 2-1 lead in the series.

In Game 4, the Giants came back to crush Kansas City, 11-4. Six different Giants had RBIs in this game. Giants outfielder Hunter Pence had 3 RBIs, while second baseman Joe Panik and third baseman Pablo Sandoval each had 2. San Francisco was able to come back, obtaining a 7-4 lead, which they were then able to extend to 11-4, to win the game. Giants relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit threw 3 shutout innings following starter Ryan Vogelsong.

Game 5 will take place Sunday night at 8:00pm EST in Kansas City. The teams’ pitchers will be the same as in Game 1, James Shields starting for the Royals and Madison Bumgarner for the Giants. Whichever team is victorious will have an advantage for Game 6, heading in with a 3-2 lead.

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are just 1 game away from claiming the AL Division title after a 29 year absence from the MLB playoffs. The Royals beat the LA Angeles 4-1 in Friday’s game, allowing the Royals to claim a 2-0 lead in the series. The Royals pitchers have almost halted the Angels’ high scoring offense, limiting their opponent to just 3 runs in 22 innings in the series so far. In their first game against the Angels, the Royals won 3-2 in 11 innings.

The Royals beat the Oakland Athletics last Tuesday in the American League wildcard game. The 12-inning game resulted in a 9-8 victory for the Royals although the As got off to a 7-3 lead. Salvador Perez’s hit in the 12th inning allowed rookie infielder Christian Colon to reach home plate and score a run, sealing Oakland’s defeat.

Between their victory over Oakland and the most recent 2 games against Los Angeles, the Royals have now won 3 straight postseason games in extra innings. Royals Manager Ned Yost has been highly criticized throughout much of the season, but the team’s postseason play thus far is an indication that it’s clear he knows what he’s doing. With his former teams, Yost has been to the World Series 6 times.

Just 8 teams in MLB’s history have come back to win from a 2-0 deficit so the Angels definitely have their work cut out for them if they plan on claiming victory and advancing. The underdog Royals have certainly been proving they belong here. James Shields is expected to start as pitcher when the Royals host the Angels for Game 3 on Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. CST. A strong start by Shields and an enthusiastic, faithful Kansas City crowd decked out in white and blue, should help the Royals keep up their impressive, and to many, surprising, streak of victory.

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are on the brink of playoff elimination, down 0-2 in the series after being defeated 7-6 by the Baltimore Orioles in last Friday’s game. Pitcher Justin Verlander started for the Tigers in this game. In game 1, Baltimore defeated Detroit 12-3, including 8 runs in the 8th inning. Pitcher Max Scherzer started for the Tigers in game 1.

Sunday’s game 3 is a must-win for Detroit. The Tigers will host the Orioles at home in Comerica Park. Tigers’ pitcher David Price is aware of the high expectations and the pressure to perform well in game 3. The Tigers obtained Price from the Tampa Bay Rays via a 3-team trade just before the league’s deadline on July 31st. They had 1 goal in mind with this move: a World Series championship.

Price is no stranger to pressure. In the Tigers final regular season game, Price assisted the team in defeating the Minnesota Twins by pitching over 7 shutout innings. This victory led Detroit to clinch their 4th consecutive AL Central Division title. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus is noted saying Price has unparalleled focus on each of his pitches and there is no lack of concentration here.

Centerfielder Rajai Davis will not start in Sunday’s game as he has been battling an injury over the past week. He played in both games 1 and 2 but was not able to play 9 innings in either. He may be able to assist the Tigers late in game 3 if needed. If the Tigers win on Sunday, Scherzer is expected to start as pitcher in game 4 on Monday, October 6th.

The Orioles have an aggressive swinging lineup and Detroit will need to pull some serious help from the bullpen, even if Price pitches well in game 3. Winning 3 in a row is not impossible for Detroit, but it will be a challenge they must be ready to now face.

Los Angeles Angels

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (aka: the LA Angels) wrap up their regular season play in Seattle this weekend for a 3-game series against the Mariners. The Angels just concluded a series with the Oakland Athletics in which the Angels won 2 of the 3 games.

In their most recent meeting, just last week, the Angels went 2-2 against the Mariners. The series was a back-and-forth one, as the Angels started off strong, winning 8-1 but were smoked in game 2, losing 2-13. In the 3rd game, the Angels won 5-0, but finished the series in game 4 with a loss of 1-3 against the Mariners.

As long as pitcher Jered Weaver is healthy, he is expected to start for Friday’s game. In the event he in unable to perform, it is likely the Angels will start Cory Rasmus instead. First baseman Albert Pujols is just 2 home runs shy of joining 5 players in history with at least 13 seasons of 30+ home runs! These players include: Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Babe Ruth and Mike Schmidt. Pujols joined the Angels after his 2011 World Series victory with the St. Louis Cardinals. He signed a 10-year $254 million dollar contract with the LA team. Pujols’ former Cardinals teammate, David Freese also joined the Angels last November.

Earlier this week, the Angels celebrated their 1st AL West Division title for the first time in the last 5 years. This was made possible by their 18/22 victories in their most recent games in addition to the Texas Rangers defeating the Oakland As, who have been dominating the division over the past few years. Centerfielder Mike Trout was able to celebrate for the 1st time since being drafted in 2009. Players on the team as well as throughout the league acknowledge that Trout is a rapidly rising star.

While the Angels have a relatively young team, veterans like Pujols and Freese are an advantage in post-season play, especially looking to the ultimate goal, the World Series. Freese was the 2011 World Series MVP with the Cardinals’ victory. The keys for the Angels in continuing their success lie in the players staying healthy, veterans with post-play experience guiding the team, and stars like Trout continuing to stay focused.

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are leading the National League Central division of baseball with a 1 ½ game lead. The golden number needed to clinch the division is currently 4. The Cards last won a World Series in 2011 and were National League Champions in 2013.

The Cardinals are currently wrapping up a 3 game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. In Tuesday’s game, the Cardinals fell to the Cubs 4-3. St. Louis scored all 3 of their runs in the 6th inning and Chicago scored 2 in the first, 1 in the fifth and 1 in the tenth inning. On a positive note, outfielder Matt Holliday became a 2-home run hitter for his ninth straight season. This game as a whole however was an obvious shift from Monday’s game, which the Cardinals dominated, winning 8-0. Pitcher Adam Wainwright extended his scoreless streak to 21 innings and this game solidified his second 20-win season.

The St. Louis team definitely has some things in their favor as they strive to advance into post-season play. The team’s roster is rich in depth led by Wainwright. Other notable pitchers include John Lackey and Shelby Miller. The Cardinals also have playoff experience. While teams are often young and hungry (as we all saw last year with the Seahawks playing in the Super Bowl), it’s challenging to beat the experience factor – teams know what they’ll face and know what they have to do to win. St. Louis is the only team in the league to have advanced to the playoffs in 4 straight years. The Cardinals are also leading in Defensive Runs Saved as a team. This is noteworthy and as the saying goes, “Offense sells tickets but defense wins games.”

The Cards will conclude their 3 game series in Chicago on Wednesday night before continuing on the road to play against the Arizona Diamondbacks, concluding their regular season play Sunday afternoon.

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are currently in 1st place in the National League East division. Their division opponents include the: Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. With just under 2 months remaining in the regular season, it will be exciting for fans to see who can hold their lead, which teams will climb and which ones will fall. 

This week, the Nationals host 5 games at home before heading to Atlanta for the weekend to take on the Braves in a 3 game series. The Nationals’ game against Baltimore on Monday, August 4th is a makeup game from July 8th, which was postponed due to inclement weather.  Following their series in Atlanta, the Nationals will move on to New York to face the Mets before returning home to host 4 different teams in 10 straight games. They will finish up the month by playing on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies and then the Seattle Mariners.

Most recently, the Nationals hosted the Phillies in a 3 game series, dropping the first game 1-2, but winning the second, 11-0. They will complete the series on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. In their 1st game of the series, Nationals right-handed pitche

To keep first place in the division, the Nationals will need to overcome the loss of Ryan Zimmerman, making appropriate adjustments to deal with his absence until he’s able to return, and continue delivering a strong pitching performance in the remainder of their games.

r Doug Fister threw for seven innings allowing 2 runs in 7 innings. It was an offensive challenge for the Nationals against Phillies pitcher Roberto Hernandez as well. In the 2nd game, Jordan Zimmerman pitched 7 shutout innings for the Nationals and Anthony Rendon drove in 4 runs as well as hit a home run. Prior to this game, the Nationals hadn’t hit a home run since 3rd baseman Ryan Zimmerman has been out, due to a strained hamstring. Rendon’s performance ended this drought. Phillies pitcher A.J. Burnett and manager Ryne Sandberg were both ejected from the game for arguing against an umpire’s decisions.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently completing a 3 game series at home against the Chicago Cubs. They lost the 1st game 2-8, won the 2nd 5-2, and will finish the series on Sunday afternoon. In the 1st game of this series, the Dodgers were plagued with multiple injuries. Paul Maholm (relief pitcher) and Adrian Gonzalez (1st baseman) both suffered knee injuries and center fielder Yasiel Puig suffered a sore hamstring. Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks threw 7 strong innings and this proved to be a challenge for the Dodgers. Dodgers pitcher Dan Haren also left the game early but not due to injury. He has recently struggled to deliver a consistent pitching performance. In the 2nd game, Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez hit a home run, bringing in three runs in the 12th inning. This was Ramirez’s 12th home run of the season and his 1st career walk-off home run, leading the Dodgers to a 5-2 victory over the Cubs.

Following the completion of this series, the Dodgers will face cross-town rivals, the LA Angels 4 times this week, twice at home and twice away, before hitting the road to play against the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves in 7 games. They will return home the weekend of August 15th to host the Brewers again followed by the San Diego Padres and New York Mets before wrapping up the month on the road in series against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Padres again.

The Dodgers currently lead the National League West, with their division opponents including the: San Francisco Giants, Padres, Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers hold a 3-1/2 game lead over their 2nd place division rivals, the Giants and have won 7 of their last 8 games.

To keep their division lead and finish the regular season on a high note, the Dodgers will need to stay healthy, fighting back against injuries and deliver a solid performance in pitching as well as offensively in the remainder of their games. Known for a very loyal fan base, the Dodgers can continue to count on their blue and white wearing supporters as they look to repeat the 2013 West Division title, and hopefully move beyond this round into the playoffs.

Detroit Tigers

Let’s play ball! The Detroit Tigers are currently in first place in their division of the American League despite losing 3 of 4 games last weekend against the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers lead the American League Central division by 5-1/2 games. The Tigers’ Central division opponents include: the Indians, the Kansas City Royals, the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins. The Tigers are currently 2nd in the league overall for team batting average and 4th in the league for runs.

In Sunday’s game against the Indians, Drew Smyly pitched an excellent 4th game in the series to help avoid the sweep, allowing only 4 hits in 7 innings, permitting the Tigers to win 5-1. The left-handed pitcher is scheduled to throw again when the Tigers face the Los Angeles Angels next Friday.

The player trade deadline for this season is July 31st. Postseason play begins September 30th with the 4 wildcard teams vying for the final spots. 10 of the 30 league teams make the playoffs, 5 from each conference made up of the 3 divisional winners as well as 2 wildcard teams.

The Tigers hit the road on Monday with an MLB best record of 28-16 for away games. They will look to improve upon this best record as they face the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase field. Monday’s game started Detroit’s road trip of 7 games: 3 against the Diamondbacks, followed by 4 against the Angels at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. They won the first game against Arizona 4-3. Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello will pitch at Arizona for the first 2 games.

The Tigers have been American League Central Division champions from 2011-2013. With a 5-1/2 game lead, it looks promising that they’ll be able to keep this title. Will this year be the season they are able to advance further into the playoffs? The last time Detroit won one the World Series was 1984. Next week the Tigers face the Chicago White Sox at home for a 3 game series as they continue this quest.

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are currently 54-44, putting them 1st in baseball’s American League Eastern Division. The Orioles are 4th in the league for team batting average and 9th in the league overall for runs. Their division rivals include: the New York Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles currently lead the Yankees and Blue Jays by 4 games.

Most recently, the Orioles beat the LA Angels on the road winning 4-2 thanks to center fielder Adam Jones’ 2 home runs, which brought in all 4 of the Orioles runs for the game. Jones now has 9 RBIs since the MLB All Star break. This is a great win after the Orioles dropped 2 of their last 3 games on the road against the Oakland As. Bud Norris pitched, making his first start since July 9, and Zach Britton pitched a perfect 9th inning to close the game.

The Orioles have made it known they are seeking help in rotation as well as the bullpen before the league’s upcoming trade deadline (July 31) and have expressed some interest in Phillies pitcher A.J. Burnett. Other teams including the Pirates are rumored to have interest in trading for Burnett as well. Buck Showalter, the Orioles’ manager said the organization has considered possible trade scenarios but wants to be careful about a selection and is not willing to expense its long-term future. With just over a week to go before the deadline, teams still have time to make some major moves in hopes of finishing the season strong before heading into the playoffs.

The Orioles continue their road trip with 2 more games against the Angels followed by 3 at Seattle until July 29, when they return to Camden Yards in Baltimore to host the Angels and then the Mariners.

MLB All-Star Game

It’s that time of the year again – fans who enjoy hot dogs and cold drinks on a warm summer day, sunshine spread wide across a freshly manicured field and the crack of a wooden bat striking a ball at the perfect moment, with the intent to launch it into the stands or beyond the park. Yes, it’s baseball season.

MLB All-Star week is a mid summer opportunity for players to showcase their talents and provide fans an entertaining occasion to watch these highlighted skills through events such as the Futures Game, the Home Run Derby and the All-Star game. The Futures Game is the opening event to all-star week and allows up-and-coming players to show their skills. It was designed to highlight “tomorrow’s stars.” 2014 will be the 16th year that the Futures Game is included among all-star activities. The Home Run Derby is held prior to the all-star game (Monday, July 14 this year) and includes the league’s top home run hitters. The goal is to see which player can hit the most home runs.

The All-Star game is played in a National League v. American League format. In 2013, the American League won 3-0. From 2010-2013 the National League claimed victory, but prior to 2010, the American League had won the previous 13 all-star games, excluding 2002 in which the teams tied.

Similar to the NBA all-star game, the MLB game moves to various host cities each year, offering different teams the chance to host and showcase what their city has to offer fans. This season’s all-star game takes place at Target Field, home to the Minnesota Twins. Target Field opened in 2010 and despite the Twins’ recent on-field performance, the stadium is well regarded among baseball fans nationwide. The design was carefully crafted and took over a decade to plan and then construct. In anticipation of the all-star game, Target Field has added two unique self-serve beer machines to the stadium. They debuted earlier in the month during a Twins home game and while they are self-serve, they still remain monitored.

This season’s all-star game is scheduled for Tuesday, July 15 and will air on Fox.

House Keys

As humans, we tend to get in the same pattern of events on an almost daily basis. It can be eating the same food for breakfast, taking the same route to work each day or doing the same exercise routine at the gym twice a week. Sure, organization is good and definitely helpful, but changing things up even by the slightest details can alter your mood or add a slight spark to your day. We use the same objects constantly so adding a touch of character to one or two of them is a great way to spice things up and eliminate the boring feeling we’ve all experienced at some point. There are plenty of ways to do this. A simple one is changing up your daily necessities. For example, try a new flavor of coffee, part your hair differently or change the design of your house key.

Changing the design of your house key can save a little time when you’re in a hurry to leave for work in the morning, or anxious to get inside after a long day at the office. Distinguishing it from your other keys is a simple way to spend less time fumbling when you enter or exit. Plus, if you have multiple homes, offices or other properties, having unique keys for each is a great way to avoid confusion and again, save time from having to fumble for the correct key or try multiple incorrect keys before finding the one you actually need.

Perhaps you have a vacation house in Orlando. A Mickey Mouse key is a great way to identify the key for this home! Maybe you’re renting an extra apartment to your cousin who is a huge San Diego Padres fan. Having a Padres key for this apartment is an easy way to differentiate it from your other properties. Additionally, personalizing a house key is a great way to show your thoughtfulness and that you take note of others’ preferences.

The house key options don’t just end with sports team logos or Disney characters either!  Elvis, cute puppies, Betty Boop, Garfield and Family Guy are among the many options available for unique, decorative house keys.