I'm sick of the Minnesota Vikings

I'm sick of the Minnesota Vikings.Adrian Peterson this, Jared Allen that.All I ever hear about the NFC North is that the Vikings are going to be the best team in the division. Along with the work of David Aardsma, Lopez has proven to be one of the exclamation points in a somewhat disappointing bullpen. This article is also featured on Fire Brand of the American League. Also, in the Baseball Prospectus statistic Quality of Batters Faced, Lopez has retired hitters with a cumulative .765 OPS, holding them to just a .693 OPS.Let?s hope Lopez is able to continue what he?s done thus far- retire LHH, get ground balls, continue with his low ERA and BB/9 totals, and keep that stunning WPA where it is. Lopez is also able to get the opponent to ground into a killer double play in a big-time spot because of his tendency to throw ground balls- he led the entire bullpen in 2007, higher than Okajima and Delcarmen.

His WPA during his time with the Red Sox is +1.34, meaning I?m not just making up the fact he?s been big in high leverage situations (Delcarmen is +0.30, for comparison). What we have with Lopez is someone who can throw multiple innings on an occasion where the bullpen needs rest, someone who can get a lefty out in a big situation or be able to clog the floodgates during an opposing rally, and even throw high-leverage quality innings.I found some more statistics that help Lopez?s cause. Since April, Lopez has thrown 16.2 innings for a .225 BAA, 6 walks, and an ERA well under two. In April, he was shaky- 5.00 ERA, .278 BAA, 6/5 K/BB in 9 IP. Yes, those are more walks than you?d probably like to see (12 in 26.2 IP isn?t bad, though), but isn?t a slightly higher OBP relative to the batting average better than a higher slugging percentage? Lopez, overall, has a 2.36 ERA, which is very formidable, most of that due to the amount of baserunners his fellow bullpen mates have stranded for him.It also seems like Lopez is getting better and better as the season progresses.

This player is Javier Lopez- the unsung hero of the 2008 bullpen and someone who the Red Sox have been able to utilize at a relatively cheap price and receive great value.Lopez has been a godsend against left-handed hitters this season, the main reason why he has a job in the Red Sox bullpen He?s held LHH to a line of just .178/.333/.289. When he fails (which happens much rarer than even I thought), people don?t react. There?s one Red Sox player we really discuss save one mass article about the bullpen or a brief mention here and there in the comments section, yet the mention often comes with gripe and frustration When he does well, nobody seems to utter a peep. The Cubs hope to continue on to their next series against the Baltimore Orioles with a sweep of the Sox, which will put them at 48-28.. The Sox dropped to 0-8 in recent away games.The Cubs racked up 15 hits, with the Sox getting 11.The crosstown rivalry continues tomorrow with another game at Wrigley. Lou Pinellia pulled Howry after a one-run single by Dye as Kerry Wood came in to close it out.Wood came in to face Swisher and struck him out on four pitches, earning himself his 19th save, tying him for the lead in the National League in saves.Marquis got his fourth win in June and his fifth win in a row, making him perfect since May 13 and 6-3 on the year.

In the bottom of the inning, DeRosa hit a shot to center, scoring Lee.Lee went two-for-four in the game, and DeRosa hit one-for-two after coming in for Fontenot in the fourth. There was little action in the rest of the inning, as the Sox went down with Pierzynski in scoring position and the Cubs fell in order.The Sox left in order in the top of the sixth. They left the inning ahead by six runs.Juan Uribe led off the inning with a double for the Sox He was driven in on a single by A.J Pierzynski. It all began with back-to-back jacks by Jim Edmonds, who has been batting over .300 during his stint with the Cubs, and Mike Fontenot.Geovany Soto grounded out for the first out of the inning, and Jose Contreras, the Sox starting pitcher, would not get another out in the game.Ryan Theriot walked, followed by a single by Jason Marquis (the Cubs' starting pitcher) and an RBI single by Kosuke Fukudome.Next came RBI singles by Eric Patterson and Derrek Lee, followed by a three-run homer by Ramirez and yet another knock by Edmonds, giving him two in the inning.Mark DeRosa came in for Fontenot, flying out to center, and Soto struck out looking to end the inning.In all, 12 batters came to the plate during the bottom half, nine runs were scored and the Cubs racked up eight hits in the inning.