After eight consecutive weeks in primetime, Fox Saturday Baseball returns to its regular time of 4 p.m. ET today. Fox has given both Joe Buck and Tim McCarver the day off. And for Joe, it means he’ll have worked 12 out of a possible 15 Fox Saturday Baseball games.
Check out the schedule.
FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES
MLB on FOX’s Second Half Begins Saturday Afternoon @ 3:30 PM ET
Rosenthal & Morosi Hand Out Mid-Season Awards
MLB SECOND HALF SWING BEGINS THIS SATURDAY – Fresh off a successful All-Star Game; MLB on FOX kicks-off its second half of the 2012 season with three afternoon matchups. The Mets and R.A. Dickey travel to Atlanta to face Chipper Jones and the Braves. Looking to put the pressure on the NL Central-leading Pirates, Carlos Beltran and the Cardinals face off with Joey Votto and the Reds in Cincinnati. In Baltimore, Buck Showalter’s Orioles look to continue their strong season in the second half as they tangle with Jim Leyland’s Tigers.
Coverage begins with the FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL PREGAME SHOW, originating live from MLB Network’s state-of-the-art Studio 3 in Secaucus, NJ. The show is hosted by MLB Network studio host Greg Amsinger, who is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Dan Plesac.
For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.
New York Mets at Atlanta Braves — Chris Myers & Eric Karros, going to 46% of USA
Turner Field – Atlanta, GA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Birmingham, Buffalo, Charlotte, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Mobile, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, West Palm Beach
Probable Pitchers: R.A. Dickey, RHP (12-1, 2.40 ERA) vs. Tommy Hanson, RHP (10-5, 3.71 ERA)
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds — Thom Brennaman & Tom Verducci, going to 31% of USA
Great American Ballpark – Cincinnati, OH
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Austin, Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, St. Louis, Tulsa
Probable Pitchers: Lance Lynn, RHP (11-4, 3.41 ERA) vs. Mike Leake, RHP (3-6, 4.01 ERA)
Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles — Kenny Albert & Billy Ripken, going to 22% of USA
Oriole Park at Camden Yards – Baltimore, MD
MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Minneapolis, Providence, Seattle, Tampa, Washington
Probable Pitchers: Max Scherzer, RHP (8-5, 4.72 ERA) vs. Wei-Yin Chen, LHP (7-5, 3.93 ERA
MOROSI & ROSENTHAL DELIVER FIRST HALF AWARDS – FOXSports.com MLB writers Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal discussed which MLB players through the first half of the season are their favorites to win league MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year.
- Morosi on National League MVP race through first-half: “In the National League MVP race, I’ve got to go with Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen. I love Joey Votto with that sweet left handed swing but Andrew McCutchen has the Pirates in first place with basically no lineup protection.”
- Rosenthal on National League Cy Young: “R.A. Dickey, my goodness. Not only is he throwing that knuckle ball and controlling that knuckle ball but he is getting strikeouts with it. His WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) is down. It’s incredible what he’s doing when you look at it from a statistical standpoint. R.A. Dickey is a very worthy choice for the NL Cy Young.”
- Morosi on Rookie of the Year honors in American League: “Ken and I are part of the BBWAA, we should actually petition the folks there to just take Mike Trout out of the American League running for Rookie of the Year because it’s so obvious that it’s going to be him. Frankly, he’s obscuring what is a very good rookie class with Will Middlebrooks,Jared Parker, Tommy Malone, and Yu Darvish. There are a lot of guys there that would be in the mix but Trout is blowing away the competition.
*For additional analysis from Morosi & Rosenthal, click here: http://on-msn.com/NmrXLG
That’s all.
