On Deck: Enough is Enough, C.C. - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

Kansas City Royals (9-10) vs. Cleveland Indians (7-12) - 8:10PM Est.

Nobody is sure what the problem is with C.C. Sabathia right now, but everybody agrees that there is most definitely a problem. Is he too busy thinking about free agency at the end of the year? Did he just throw too many innings last season? Have they stopped serving donuts in the Indians clubhouse before games?

What is it?

I can't pretend to know, but what I can pretend to do is see the future. When I looked into that future, I saw Sabathia picking up that first win of the season tonight. He has to win a game at some point, so why not tonight? He's had some decent success against the Royals in his career, going 13-8 with a 3.38 ERA, but he will need some help from his teammates.

While I chose to make fun of Cleveland's left fielders yesterday, the truth is the entire offense is struggling. A lineup that scored 811 runs last season is currently worst in the American League with a .235 average and only 79 runs scored.


Though the good news for the Indians and C.C. is that the Royals have scored less runs (63) than anybody in the AL this season. Which means that Gil Meche is going to have to keep these frigid Indians bats as cold as possible. Meche hasn't been all that fantastic this season, either, and it'll be up to him to stop KC's current four-game slide.

In his career against the Indians, Meche is 2-6 with a 5.32 ERA in 12 starts.

Milwaukee Brewers (11-7) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (13-7) - 1:05PM Est.

While I was shaking my Magic 8-ball looking into the future to see that C.C. Sabathia would win tonight, I also took the time to find out when the Cardinals would start sucking like we all thought they would. I saw nothing. Whether or not that means the Cardinals are going to keep winning, or whether I need new contacts, I can't say for sure. I did see Prince Fielder eating a cheeseburger, though, which may mean he's going to homer tonight.

Whether or not he does so off of Cardinals starter, Kyle Lohse, I didn't see. Lohse has been a very pleasant surprise for the Cardinals this season. In his four starts he's put together a 2-0 record and 1.48 ERA, though the Cardinals are only 2-2 in those starts. In his career against the Brewers, Lohse is 3-3 with a 5.38 ERA, but he's 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA in his last three starts against them.

Manny Parra gets the start for Milwaukee, and he squared off against Lohse in his last start as well. He'll be looking to perform better than he did in that start, as he went 4 innings and allowed three runs and five hits while walking five. Though I suppose Parra's performance doesn't really matter, because even if he does pitch well, Eric Gagne will only blow it in the end anyway.

Boston Red Sox (14-7) vs. Los Angeles Angels (12-8) - 7:05PM Est.

The Angels get to face the Red Sox for the first time since Boston swept them out of the playoffs last season. They'll also be going against a pitcher that the never enjoy seeing, though really, how many teams are happy to see Josh Beckett on the mound? Including his game one start in the ALDS last October, Beckett is 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA and 30 strikeouts against the Angels in his career.

The Angels will counter Beckett with Jered Weaver, who hasn't gotten much help from his team this season. Weaver is 1-3 on the year with a respectable ERA of 3.60. In his last start he allowed only two runs in six innings against the Royals, but ended up with the loss anyway. He'll be looking to beat the Red Sox for the first time, as he's 0-2 with a 4.70 ERA in four career starts.

Everybody Else

• Cubs vs. Mets 2:20PM
• Braves vs. Nationals 7:00PM
• Tigers vs. Rangers 7:05PM
• Pirates vs. Marlins 7:05PM
• Reds vs. Dodgers 7:10PM
• Rays vs. Blue Jays 7:10PM
• Astros vs. Padres 8:05PM
• White Sox vs. Yankees 8:11PM
• Rockies vs. Phillies 8:35PM
• DBacks vs. Giants 9:40PM
• A's vs. Twins 10:05PM
• Mariners vs. Orioles 10:10PM