Baseball Weekend Preview 4/16

Here's a new feature I'm going to try. The Baseball Weekend Preview. I will also have the Baseball Weekdays Preview as well as corresponding recaps for each feature. Now upfront I'll say that subjectively the San Francisco Giants are pretty much always involved in the most intriguing series of the weekend for me and I typically prioritize watching their games over any other teams, but for purposes of this feature I'll try and point out the intrigue on the national level. Of course I plan to still provide frequent Giants updates whether in or outside of these features.

Most Intriguing Weekend Series: Tampa Bay (6-3) at Boston (4-5). Game times for the Friday through Monday series are 5:10 p.m. MT (MLB EI, mlb.tv), 5:10 p.m. MT (MLB EI, mlb.tv), 11:35 a.m. MT (TBS, MLB EI, mlb.tv) and 9:05 a.m. MT (MLB Network, MLB EI, mlb.tv). I'm interested to see how the Rays do at Fenway Park against their division foe and to see if they'll be able to continue their positive start. The Red Sox will want to make an early season statement that they are going to be a force to be reckoned with as well. The Red Sox have Beckett, Bucholz, Lester and Lackey going and I'm going to say that's going to be good enough to take three out of four at home, although Garza and Shields in particular should make the Saturday and Sunday games interesting. I still like the Rays to win the division despite the Yankees' strong start, however.

Another Intriguing Series: San Francisco (7-2) at Los Angeles Dodgers (4-5). Game times for this Friday through Sunday series are 8:10 p.m. MT (mlb.tv), 2:10 p.m. MT (FOX) and 2:10 p.m. MT (MLB EI, mlb.tv). One of the fiercest rivalries in all of baseball is renewed for the first time this year and I have to say that I am quite excited about it. The way the Giants have been playing it's tough to pick against them winning a series so I'm going to say they'll take two out of three this weekend at Dodger Stadium. Tim Lincecum is going on Saturday and I think the offense and bullpen will be enough to lead him and the other starters (Wellemeyer on Friday and Zito on Sunday) to the series victory. The Dodgers are off to a slow start and I'll be interested to see if their pitching staff and lineup can shake off the cobwebs and perform like I expected the team to before the season began.

Least Intriguing Series: Arizona (5-4) at San Diego (3-6). Game times are 8:10, 6:35 and 2:05 p.m. MT for Friday (Fox Sports Arizona Plus), Saturday (Fox Sports Arizona) and Sunday (Fox Sports Arizona). I don't think either team has enough to be competitive this year, despite the Diamondbacks having a winning record to this point. Neither team has enough pitching depth or offensive firepower to stay in the race in my opinion. I may check out a few minutes here or there during commercials if I'm watching other games but this will definitely not be the main attraction for me this weekend.