ADBL Week 3 Review

As Week 3 in the ADBL comes to a close, so do the inter divisional match-ups. With the first round of inter-divisional match-ups over with, the divisional races have started to take shape. After 3 weeks, the division leaders are the Tigers in the AL West, the Red Sox in the AL East, the the Giants in the NL West, and the Phillies out in the NL East. There are just two undefeated teams left (Tigers and Phillies), and just the Mets enter Week 4 without a win. Let's take a look back to see how we got to where we are now.

Cincinnati Reds (1-2) @ Philadelphia Phillies (3-0): 4-9-1
Well, who saw this one coming? Preseason favorite Cincinnati falls for the second straight week as the Philadelphia Phillies continue their scorching start to the season. The Phillies did it with a strong balanced effort from their offense and pitching staff, and continue to be one of the more consistent teams in the ADBL this season. Right now the Phillies are a true definition of a team, as their players may not stand out on paper, but when they are put together, they really excel and make-up this powerhouse team in the NL East.
MVP: I said it last week, and I'll say it again. The trio of Wade Davis, Cole Hamels, and Scott Baker were absolutely dominating this past week. The trio combined for 22 IP, 19 K's, just 1 ER allowed, and 3 wins. These 3 continue to power a dominant Phillies rotation and have helped catapult the Phillies to the best record in NL through the first 3 weeks of the season.
Goat: Tough week for Miguel Montero with just 1 hit in 15 plate appearances. His .067 average and .192 OPS. No that's not a typo, he had a .192 OPS. It can't get much worse than this and this might be the worst single player performance I have seen early on in this young season.

Atlanta Braves (2-1) @ New York Mets (0-3): 11-2-1
The Braves find themselves in a good position after knocking after Cincinnati last week, Atlanta knocks off the lowly Mets, who are the league's lone win-less team this season. The Braves cruised to a pretty easy victory, overpowering the Mets with better offensive and pitching performances. It has been a tough go for the Mets so far this year, but hopefully as some of their younger players get called up, they can make some noise in the league.
MVP: Ichiro Suzuki had an absolutely torrid week for the Braves. He hit over .430 with a .918 OPS, sprinkling in 4 SBs, 3 RBIs, and and 4 runs scored. His balanced effort definitely helped lead the Braves to a convincing win against the Mets.
Goat: Alex Gonzalez laid a stinker this week for the Mets, collecting just 3 hits in 26 ABs. That adds up to a .115 BA and a .332 OPS. Just 4 TBs, and 1 RBI didn't help the Mets' cause this week, as they could've used every ounce of offense they could've mustered. It's a tough road for the Mets, especially without their best offensive player, Joe Mauer.

Colorado Rockies (1-1-1) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (1-2): 10-4-0
The defending champs finally get rid of that 0 in the win column, notching their first win of the season against NL West rival Los Angeles. The Dodgers have lost two straight after starting the season with a win and now find themselves at the bottom of what looks like a very tough NL West. On the flip side, the Rockies bounce back from a rough loss to the Giants and manage to come out of the first round of Divisional play with a 1-1-1 record.
MVP: Brett Anderson couldn't have been much better than he was for the Rockies this week. The young lefty proved once again that when he's healthy he is definitely one of the best starters in the bigs. With 2 starts this past week, the southpaw surrendered just 1 run over 15 innings, striking out 14 while walking just 2. He displayed impeccable control and managed to collect 2 Wins in the process. 
Goat: Carlos Gonzalez's tough start to the season continued this past week, and the Dodgers offense continues to under-perform early on here. CarGo had just 1 hit in 20 ABs and had just 1 RBI for the whole week, posting a measly OPS of .217 and an equally unimpressive BA of .050.

San Francisco Giants (2-1) @ Arizona Diamondbacks (1-1-1): 8-5-1
The Giants follow up an impressive win over the defending champs by knocking off the league's surprise team of the 2011 season. With their most recent victory, the Giants now find themselves atop the NL West early on in the season. Meanwhile, Arizona falls for the first time this season, but have no reason to scoff at their most recent performance, as they were competitive in most of the categories. Expect more classic match-ups like this one from these two as the season goes on.
MVP: Journeyman Juan Uribe provided the Giants with a Pujols-esque performance this past week. The do-everything infielder hit 2 round-trippers this past week while knocking in 5 runs and crossing the plate 5 more times. Throw in a .375 average and an equally impressive 1.139 OPS and it's easy to see why he's the clear choice for this game's MVP.
Goat: Rough week for the D-Backs' Chris Young, as the young outfielder hit a putrid .080 for the week, managing only 2 hits in 27 plate appearances. His homer and 2 RBI's didn't do much for his OPS, as that stood at a low .360. Tough week for the D-Backs, but look for them to bounce back.

New York Yankees (1-1-1) @ Chicago White Sox (1-2): 8-4-2
The defending AL East champs finally notch their first win with a nail biter this past week. They knock off the South Siders, who couldn't follow up an impressive win over the Rays with another win. The Yankees climb from the basement of the AL East into the second spot in the division, while the White Sox join the Rays at the bottom of the division.
MVP: Big Game James lived up to his nickname this past week throwing not one, but two complete games for the Yankees, as their starting rotation started to come out of their early season funk. Shields allowed just one run, fanning 16 batters. When all was said and done, that comes out to a 0.50 ERA and a miniscule WHIP of 0.61.
Goat: Carlos Ruiz did the unthinkable. He went a whole week without registering a hit for the South Siders. He had a whopping 0 Hits in 14 ABs, however he did score a run. Definitely a week to forget for the White Sox catcher.

Tampa Bay Rays (1-2) @ Boston Red Sox (2-0-1): 3-10-1
Boston has jumped out to a heck of a start in the tough AL East. They finish the first go around through the division undefeated at 2-0-1. The Rays, on the other hand, have dropped their last 2 games after a nice opening week victory against the Yankees. It was a closer match-up than the score indicated, as many of the categories could've gone either way, but the Red Sox did just enough to get a tough victory. Definitely a huge win for the Red Sox as they hold on to the top spot in the division for another week.
MVP: Ryan Braun was an absolute beast this week, hitting a shade under .500 and posting an OPS of 1.373. He had a video-game like week knocking 3 balls out of the park, while driving in 9 and collecting 21 TBs and crossing home plate 9 times. Definitely a clutch performance from the Hebrew Hammer, as his production was much needed for the BoSox to get by the talented Rays.
Goat: Nick Markakis had a very rough week for the Rays, and it couldn't have come at a worse time with Scott Rolen heading to the disabled list. Markakis had just 4 hits in 23 ABs. All 4 hits were singles and the Rays Outfielder drove in a whopping 0 runs, while scoring just 2. His performance at the plate definitely did not help the Rays in a very critical game here early on in the season. The Rays are going to need Markakis to step up in the absence of Rolen.

Kansas City Royals (1-2) @ Texas Rangers (1-2): 3-9-2
The Texas Rangers finally get a win, and it couldn't have come any earlier. No team wants to start 0-3, as it is almost impossible to make a playoff push with such a huge hole to dig out of. Texas got an incredible week of starting pitching, and did just enough offensively to sneak by the Royals this week and earn their first victory of the 2011 season.
MVP: We have a Dice-K siting, as the under-achieving righty posted a dominant stat-line this week, allowing 0 runs over 15 innings, walking just 4 batters. With Dice-K, control is always a key to how successful he can be, and it comes as no surprise that when he limits his walks, he can be successful in this league. His big time performances this week helped propel the Rangers to their first win of the season.
Goat: Aubrey Huff had a rough week at the dish for the Royals, hitting just .167 for the week. With just 4 hits in 24 ABs, he just didn't produce consistently at the plate to make any noise for the Royals this week. Even with the 1 homer and 3 RBIs, he just didn't connect often enough to help the Royals this week.

Detroit Tigers (3-0) @ Los Angeles Angels (1-2): 9-4-1
The Tigers continue to cruise through the AL West early on here, and are the clear class of the AL West, if not the whole American League. Although the Angels put up a good effort this week, the Tigers were just overpowering in almost every category. These other AL West teams have their work cut out for them as they try to catch the Tigers.
MVP: How about the week Randy Wolf had for the Tigers...The veteran lefty tossed 14 superb innings, allowing just 1 ER, collecting 2 wins and posting an identical ERA and WHIP of 0.64. How often does that happen, if ever? Nonetheless, a dominant performance from the savvy vet.
Goat: This has to be the first week in the ADBL where guys with double digit ABs managed to go hitless. Mark Trumbo joins the White Sox Carlos Ruiz as they take home the dubious honor. Trumbo went 0 for 14 at the dish and didn't even manage to reach base once. Talk about a rough week. For the Angels sake, you got to hope he can connect on a few this week. At least he can't possibly be any worse this upcoming week.

News and Notes from around the League:

• The Tigers find themselves atop the League's Weekly Power Rankings for the second straight week. The Phillies and Red Sox round out the top 3 in that order for the second straight week as well. The Braves and Giants round out the top 5.
• The League has just two undefeated teams left after 3 weeks, one from each league. The Tigers and Phillies both sit at a perfect 3-0. Boston has also yet to lose a game as they stand at a cool 2-0-1.
• The Mets are the league's lone winless team at 0-3. On the bright side, they get to play games outside their division this week, so maybe their fortunes will turn around against the NL West.
• The league was pretty active on the trade front these past couple of days. Here's a rundown of a few big ones:
• The Angels dealt some of their bullpen depth sending promising lefty Chris Sale and righty David Hernandez to the desert, while receiving lefty Brad Hand,a top Marlins pitching prospect, and a couple draft picks (2nd and 3rd rounders). 
• Definitely a good trade for both teams, as the Angels dealt from a position of strength to bolster an already strong farm system, while the D-Backs needed some bullpen help if they want to compete long-term in the NL West.
• The Angels didn't stop there as they then shipped one of their 2nd rounders to the Dodgers for hard throwing lefty Bud Norris.
• As the Angels look to compete out West, they needed some pitching help, especially with Wainwright out for the year, so once again, the Angels GM deals from a position of strength to address an area of need. Smart trade for both teams, as the Dodgers get another draft pick to help stock up the farm.
• Today had a couple of huge trades, involving some big time names. The first one involved the Braves and Giants, two potential playoff teams. The Braves acquired 2B/OF Martin Prado, while sending rookie 1B Freddie Freeman and utility infielder Omar Infante back to San Francisco.
• This is certainly an interesting trade for both teams. For the Braves, they certainly can use Prado's flexibility and bat in their line-up. With Adrian Gonzalez and Adam Dunn already on their roster, there was no place to play Freeman, and Infante didn't really fit in either with the surplus of OF's and he wasn't going to see much time in the infield over Jeter or Chipper. Plus, Prado is a big upgrade over Infante, as they both qualify at similar positions. For the Giants, they get a huge boost at first-base with the arrival of Freeman. Derek Lee has done nothing for them at 1B and Belt was demoted back to the minors. With Infante, they lose a little production downgrading from Prado, but with the hot start Kung Fu Panda is off to and a healthy start from Reyes, they've got to hope the upgrade at first can offset the downgrade from Prado to Infante. He's going to be nothing more than a utility player who gets time on off-days for the Giants. Even trade for both teams, addressing areas of need.
• The other trade involved the Angels again, this time hooking up with the Rockies in a pretty big deal. The Rockies got the biggest name in the deal, acquiring Cardinals OF Colby Rasmus along with a 3rd Round pick. The Angels get flamethrower Edwin Jackson along with a first rounder (9th overall) and a pair of 2nd rounders. 
• The Angels continue to stockpile draft picks, while bolstering their starting rotation. The Rockies get a huge boost with the arrival of Rasmus. He helps sure up an outfield that had some question marks (Sizemore's health/Fuld's production). The Rockies had a ton of picks to begin with so losing a couple certainly doesn't hurt. Either way a good trade for both teams. We'll see how this one turns out as the season progresses. The only possible negative here is how the Angels offense holds up with Rasmus gone. He was their best OF option and their offense was not very strong with him. Now they are left with Maybin, Gordon, Young, and Adam Jones as outfield options. There is certainly talent there, but a lot of underachieving as well.
• This week marks the end of Divisional match-ups and the start of the East vs. West match-ups. The AL West squares off against the AL East, while the NL East squares off against the NL West. Stay tuned to find out which division claims the majority of match-ups as the weeks go on.
• The AL West is the only division in the league without multiple teams at or above .500. Definitely something to watch as the year progresses. On the other hand, the NL West is the only division with 3 teams at or above .500.

Week 2 Review

Week 2 in the ADBL was marked by a ton of surprises. As we move into the third week of play, a couple of early favorites find themselves struggling out of the gates, while some teams have come out of no where to jump to the front of the pack. Here's a game by game analysis of what happened last week in the ADBL:

Boston Red Sox (1-0-1) @ New York Yankees (0-1-1) - 6-6-2
In a showdown of two AL East rivals, both teams come away having to settle for a tie. Although not the most desirable outcome, it is certainly better than taking a loss, especially for the Yankees, who could ill afford to start the year 0-2. The Yankees pitching continues to struggle and was the major reason they were unable to come away with a win this week. Their bats definitely outplayed Boston, but the Red Sox got outstanding efforts from almost all of their starters. Despite the draw, Boston finds themselves atop the AL-East, while the Yankees find themselves in the cellar very early on here.
MVP: Troy Tulowitzki was on an absolute tear last week, and it's a pity his efforts couldn't have led the Yankees to a win. He hit a robust .519 with a video-game like OPS of 1.680. Sprinkle in 4 HRs, 8 RBIs, 7 runs, and 29 TBs and it's easy to see how the Yanks managed to claim most of the offensive categories.
Goat: The Yankees starting staff have to collectively share this dubious award, as they were absolutely atrocious. With the exceptions of Chad Billingsley and James Shields, the rest of the rotation pitched to double digit ERAs and WHIPs north of 2. I'm talking to you Guthrie, Garland, Nova, and Hughes.

Tampa Bay Rays (1-1-0) @ Chicago White Sox (1-1-0): 5-7-2
Well, the AL East continues to prove why this is going to be an extremely tough division to win. The Rays, victorious last week against the Yanks, fall on the road to the White Sox, who bounced back nicely from a opening week loss to the BoSox. In what was a close match-up throughout, the White Sox were able to ride a balanced effort from their offense and pitching to claim their first victory here in 2011.
MVP: Do everything infielder Michael Young had an absolutely scorching week at the plate hitting over .500 with an OPS of 1.239. Despite not hitting a HR, he did drive in 6 runs, while crossing the plate 5 times. Throw in 17 TBs, Young's play helped offset the early season struggles of Stanton and Figgins.
Goat: Chris Tillman went just 1.2 innings, yet managed to give up 6 runs and 9 hits. In case you were wondering, that translates to an ERA of 32.40 and a WHIP of 6.00. Definitely not what the Rays had in mind when they played him.

Los Angeles Angels (1-1-0) @ Kansas City Royals (1-1-0): 3-10-1
Utter domination from the Royals this week against the Halos. The Royals pitching was the story this week, as they dominated the hill, powering the Royals to their first win this season. The Angels will look to bounce back from this disappointing performance against the undefeated Tigers.
MVP: Livan Hernandez turned back the clock this week and pitched two gems for the Royals. He gave up just 2 runs in 13+ IP, pitching to the tune of a 1.32 ERA and a miniscule WHIP of 0.95. The 2 Wins and 2 QS were just extra frosting on the cake for the Royals.
Goat: Ian Kennedy had a start to forget when he took the mound against the Cardinals. He was rocked for 9 runs all earned in just 3 innings of work, while striking out just one batter. He just couldn't get anyone out. After two great outings to start the year, Kennedy suffered his first major blow, but there's no reason to expect this to become the norm from the young righty.

Detroit Tigers (2-0-0) @ Texas Rangers (0-2-0): 11-1-2
Talk about lopsided, the Tigers took care of business pretty easily against the struggling Rangers. These two teams are heading in totally opposite directions early on this year, but hopefully the Rangers manage to turn things around. The Tigers dominated almost all the categories, losing out only in RBIs.
MVP: Welcome back Albert Pujols. The Machine hit a bit of a rough patch coming out of the gates, but he turned things up big time this past week posting a cool .344 average with a typical Pujols OPS of 1.020. He scored 10 Runs and hit 3 round trippers this week. Back to business as usual for Pujols.
Goat: Nelson Cruz cooled down considerably this week, but his lack of production really hurt the Rangers this week. He hit just .190 and had an OPS under .500. He had just one more hit than Pujols had HRs. That just goes to show how tough a week Cruz had. Look for him to bounce back.

Atlanta Braves (1-1-0) @ Cincinnati Reds (1-1-0): 8-5-1
Huge win for the Braves this week, as they take down the division champs and early season favorite Cincinnati. The Reds just couldn't hit the ball this week, and the Braves took advantage of this subpar performance, walking away with their first victory of the season.
MVP: Cliff Lee was as close to perfect as you can get without throwing a perfect game. He threw a complete game shutout whiffing 12 and allowing just 3 hits. When all was said and done, that equals 0.44 WHIP.
Goat: Carlos Santana struggled mightily this week and has really gotten off to a slow start. The promising young Catcher hit under .100 with just 1 Hit in 17 Plate Appearances. The Reds hitters on a whole were off this week, as they only hit .192 as a team. Definitely an off week from a talented bunch.

Philadelphia Phillies (2-0-0) @ New York Mets (0-2-0): 9-4-1
The Phillies take a pretty closely contested match-up, as the Mets lose 2 tough games here out of the gate. Nevertheless, the Phillies are 2-0 and continue to play good baseball. The Mets are much better than their 0-2 record as they were competitive in all the categories barely losing in many of them.
MVP: The trio of Wade Davis, Cole Hamels, and Scott Baker helped fuel the Phillies to a very successful week and their second consecutive win. All three went 7 innings and had a combined 14 K's, while pitching to low ERA's and WHIPs.
Goat: Josh Willingham had a terrible week at the plate hitting just .174, collecting just 4 hits in 23 ABs all week. Throw in the lack of RBIs, runs, and even a single homer, Willingham did more damage to his own team, than the opposition this week.

San Francisco Giants (1-1-0) @ Colorado Rockies (0-1-1): 9-4-1
It's been a rough start for the defending league champs, as they fail to get their first win yet again, this time falling to the upstart Giants. The Rockies offense continues to sputter out of the gates, and not even the solid pitching could compensate for the offensive deficiencies. Solid win for the Giants this week, as they get rid of the doughnut in the win column.
MVP: Young gun Buster Posey had a really good week for the Giants as he hit over .300 and posted an OPS just under 1.000 to go along with his 2 dingers and 6 RBIs.
Goat: Miguel Tejada was absolutely terrible for the Rockies, as his struggles at SS definitely contributed to the Rockies overall hitting woes. Collecting just 4 hits all week, and hitting under the Mendoza Line, it was a week to forget for the former AL MVP.

Arizona Diamondbacks (1-0-1) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (1-1-0): 8-4-2
Talk about a huge win for the Diamondbacks. It has definitely been a great start for the guys from Arizona. With a surprising tie against the defending champs and a win against a tough divisional foe, the Diamondbacks are starting to turn heads in the ADBL.
MVP: Starlin Castro continues to collect hits left and right, while posting absurd Batting Average numbers. The young shortstop hit an absurd .536 and posted an OPS north of 1.200. Sprinkle in 5 RBIs, 2 SBs, 20 TBs, and 5 runs scored and Castro provided the D-Backs with a well rounded effort this week.
Goat: Bobby Abreu had a tough weak, hitting just .150 and collecting just 3 hits in 20 ABs for the Dodgers. He also failed to drive in or score runs, since he was hardly ever on base. Definitely a week to forget for the Dodgers Outfielder.

League Notes after 2 Weeks:

• There are 4 undefeated teams left, but just two of them have posted wins in both games. (Tigers and Phillies). There are 4 win less teams, but just two teams have lost both match-ups this year (Rangers and Mets).
• The final leg of the first inter-divisional games wraps up this week. Look for the division races to start to take shape after this week.
• Through two weeks, the division leaders are Arizona, Boston, Philadelphia, and Detroit.

Week 1 Review

With the first week of the season over, let's take a look back at what was a very good week and a half of baseball here in the ADBL.


Cincinnati Reds @ New York Mets - 12-2-0
Well, no surprise here. The Reds roll in their season opener, but things were closer than they actually appeared. The Mets put up quite a fight in the offensive categories, but the Reds superior pitching tipped the scales. All in all, this was a heck of a start for the Reds, and the Mets come away with some positives on the offensive side of the ball, but need to get that pitching staff in order.
MVP: Joey Votto had an absolutely monstrous Opening Week. He hit .455 with an OPS of 1.275 and 2 HRs. The 2010 MVP starts 2011 with a bang and helped lead the Reds to a big first win.
Goat: Mike Pelfrey was, to put it lightly, pretty darn awful for the Mets this week. In 2 starts, he pitched to a gaudy ERA of 15.63 and a WHIP over 2.60. Talk about awful. He barely managed to pitch over 6 innings combined in his two starts. To put this in perspective, the Reds RP Drew Storen pitched more innings out of the bullpen during the whole Opening Week. Go figure.

Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves - 8-6-0
Chalk up a huge road win for the Fightin' Phils. In what was a close matchup throughout, the Phillies managed to edge by the Braves in their opening match-up. The Phillies managed to take most of the major offensive categories, losing just SBs and RBIs, and managed to sneak out the 2 deciding cats with victories in Saves, Holds, and K's.
MVP: The Flyin' Hawaiian Shane Victorino gets the nod in this match-up. Hitting over .400 for the week and scoring 8 runs, while swiping 2 bags will do that for you. Sprinkle in 7 RBIs and 21 TBs and the Flyin' Hawaiian really lived up to his nickname for the Phils this week.
Goat: The trio of Derek Jeter, Ben Zobrist, and Alex Rios had a combined 1 HR and 8 RBIs (one more than Victorino). They also just had 29 TBs (8 more than Victorino) and each hit barely over .200 (Zobrist hit under .200) and had OPS's in the .500 range. The Braves need better production out of this bunch if they want to compete weekly in the offensive categories.

Colorado Rockies @ Arizona Diamondbacks - 7-7-0
One week into the season, and we've already got our first tie. The Diamondbacks pulled out a nice little upset here even though they didn't win, playing to a draw with the defending league champs. Arizona took most of the offensive cats, and managed to sneak out the Wins and Holds cats to get by with the tie.
MVP: Although Dan Haren and Clayton Kershaw were both filthy, I got to go with Jeff Francis here. He definitely pitched like it was 2007 and helped solidify the Rockies hold on the pitching categories, pitching to the tune of a 1.98 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP and 2 QS.
Goat: Matt Wieters had a terrible Opening Week here in the ADBL hitting under .200 and barely posting an OPS over .500. Wieters had just 5 hits and 2 RBIs with no dingers. Definitely a disappointing start to the year for the Arizona catcher.

San Francisco Giants @ Los Angeles Dodgers - 3-10-1
Finally a home team comes away with a victory here. The Dodgers were the lone NL team to come away with a win during the ADBL's Opening Week. It's not that the Giants played poorly, but the Dodgers started the year off on an absolute tear, and probably would've beat just about anyone here in the ADBL.
MVP: Jered Weaver was an absolute stud here in his first couple of starts. He chalked up 27 K's in just 20 IP. His ERA was just 0.87 and his WHIP was the exact same miniscule 0.87. The man was an absolute beast.
Goat: After a breakout campaign last year, Casey McGehee had a terrible start to the 2011 season. With an average barely above the Mendoza line and an OPS under .500, the Giants 3B definitely would like to forget his start to the season. He had just 7 hits and 1 run scored.

New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays - 1-12-1
Tampa starts off the year with a rather easy win in week 1, as the Yankees struggled to get going out of the gate. The Rays were red hot, and their pitching was absolutely outstanding. The Yankees fell behind early and were unable to dig themselves out of their early hole. Definitely, a convincing win for the Rays and they will be a force to be reckoned with come 2011.
MVP: Matt Kemp came out like a man on a mission hitting a robust .438 and posting an OPS of 1.170, swiping 7 bags and collecting 21 TBs.
Goat: The Yankees starting rotation was absolutely atrocious, especially Phil Hughes. In two starts, the righty allowed 11 ER in just 6 IP posting an ugly ERA of 16.50 and a generous 2.67 WHIP.

Boston Red Sox @ Chicago White Sox - 7-6-1
In another quality match-up pitting two evenly matched AL East teams, the Red Sox squeak by the White Sox by a hair. This game could've gone either way, but the Red Sox managed to get by because of a dominating performance in the pitching categories.
MVP: Welcome back Josh Beckett. The Boston righty posted a miniscule 2.08 ERA and 0.92 WHIP, including a dominating effort against the Yankees. The Texan whiffed 14 hitters in just 13 innings, while allowing just 12 base-runners in two starts.
Goat: Chone Figgins got off to terrible start last year, and this year is no different. Hitting below the Mendoza line and posting an OPS barely over .420 with just 5 hits.

Kansas City Royals @ Detroit Tigers - 3-11-0
An early season favorite comes away with a pretty solid victory in Week 1, as the Tigers squeal by the Royals. Even though they came away with a resounding victory on paper, a closer look at the numbers show that the Royals put up a pretty good fight, as most of the categories were very closely contested. The Tigers will have to play better than they did in this opening week if they want to come away with more victories in the future.
MVP: It was more of the same for Chris Carpenter, as the veteran righty continues to pitch extremely well for the Tigers. he posted an ERA just over 2 and a WHIP under 1 in his first 2 starts of the season, both of which were quality starts.
Goat: Can the real Scott Kazmir please stand up? What has happened to this once promising lefty? In just 1.2 IP, he managed to allow 5 runs, 5 hits, 2 BBs, and strikeout a whopping 0 batters. When all's said and done, that is an ERA of 27.00 and a WHIP that is equal to the price of gas 4.20. At least, he can't hurt the Royals staff any longer, he's now on the 15-Day DL with a 'back' injury. Carpenter on the other hand, had 2 walks in 13 IP and King Felix had 3 in 16 IP. Go figure.

Los Angeles Angels @ Texas Rangers - 8-6-0
Total domination by the Angels in the offensive categories coupled with 15 Saves helped power the Angels to a nice opening week victory. Despite a good showing from the Rangers pitching staff, the Angels offense managed to sneak by in all of the hitting categories and get them by for a win.
MVP: Billy Butler got off to one heck of a 2011 campaign posting an average just a tick under .400 and an OPS of 1.179. Couple that with 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, and 7 runs scored, on top of 22 TBs, and it's easy to see why the Angels took the offensive cats.
Goat: No one was really that terrible in this game, but Alcides Escobar gets the dubious honor of being dubbed this game's Goat collecting just 6 hits in 30 ABs, and scoring just 2 runs. It's easy to see why the Rangers offense struggled to keep up with the Halos when their burner on the base paths struggled to get on.

Intersting Tid-Bits from Week 1:

• Road Teams took half of the match-ups and had the advantage going into week 1 if you throw in the tie between the Rockies and D-Backs.
• The Angels had more saves (15) than any other teams had in their match-ups combined.
• The Rockies scored the fewest runs (28), the Giants, D-Backs, and Braves had the fewest HRs (5), Rockies also had the fewest TBs (102), Royals had the fewest number of RBIs with 32, Red Sox had the fewest SBs with 2, and the Rockies also had the lowest team AVG and OPS
• The Yankees had the worst team ERA and the Phillies had the worst WHIP.

As the weeks go on, I will keep track of Season Highs for Teams in some Cats, as well as individual highs.