A Moose in Texas

Another great game from the 39-year-old as he continues to redefine his career. He looked so done last year (I admittedly buried him), but he's excelled beyond anyone's hopes and expectations. A 3.27 ERA is phenomenal for any pitcher, never mind a pitcher with 3500 innings on his arm with a 5.15 ERA last year and an 87 MPH fastball. He has a legitimate chance at winning 20 games for the first time in his career.

This win goes to our pitchers, who again walked just one batter. And the bullpen needed just 15 pitches to close out the game. Outside of Mo, who's pitched each of the last two nights, the entire bullpen is ready for tomorrow's game in Anaheim (good thing too, with Kennedy pitching).

A few rehabbing pitchers threw tonight - notably Phil Hughes, Mark Melancon, Carl Pavano, Kevin Whelan and Victor Zambrano.

Scranton:

Hughes - 4.2 ip, 3 h, 1 r, 2 bb, 2 k. But the most encouraging sign is the nine groundouts to three flyouts.

Melancon - 1.2 ip, 0 h, 0 r, 1 bb, 3 k

Trenton:

Pavano - 3.2 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 2 bb, 4 k

Whelan - 2.1 ip, 0 h, 0 r, 1 bb, 4 k

GCL Yankees:

Zambrano - 4 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 1 bb, 3 k

Any Giant fans here?

They lost their first pre-season game against Detroit, 13-10. If baseball Spring Training is meaningless, then the NFL Pre-season is even more so. Eli didn't look great, but Plax and Steve Smith were out with injuries. The run defense was absolutely suffocating (2.4 yards/carry), but Detroit used the play-action pass to success many times - they've got to play more disciplined. Zak DeOssie and Michael Johnson disappointed.

But Kiwanuka, Moss, Jacobs, Boss, London, Hixon and Terrell Thomas looked good. And Kenny Phillips looked great. He was flying all over the field, making tackles for losses when other defenders were whiffing. On Draft Day, I couldn't believe he fell to us. He looks like a future Pro-Bowler. What was a huge weakness last year (our safeties) looks to be a strength this year, especially in terms of depth.