A new month, the All Star game approaches and Tampa Bay leads the AL East.
The Yanks are playing better but not really making up any ground as Boston and Tampa have played as well.
This series Boston has with Tampa has me a little worried. Boston hasn’t been great away from home and if they get swept, they might have some work to do.
Tampa can not win the division. It isn’t right. Frankly, I’d rather the Yanks win it than Tampa.
Now that is a little odd. I am not sure the Yanks have what it takes to take the division this year and I don’t want them to foolishly trade the farm just to make a stab at winning the division.
All that said, my thought was I would rather see Tampa win it then Boston. It won’t feel as bad as a Yankee fan. Last year left me very numb. Of course this was still an improvement over that other time when the curse ended. That completely destroyed my stomach and had me on medication for 3 months.
It isn’t that I have any particular hatred toward Tampa, I don’t. I just don’t much like change. I’m afraid my reasoning isn’t any more interesting than that. Incidentally, It threw me for a bit off a loop a few years ago when the Clippers had a respectable team. There are some teams that should just always suck.
Now if Tampa would change their name to something without it’s history of sucking, I might have less of a problem.
Are you a Red Sox fan? Because I’m pretty sure Bill Simmons and Ted Williams’ head just announced your excommunication.
So, let’s see. It’s July, and my Mets are still playing like dogs. Whee! We begin our first full month with Jerry Manuel as the manager, and he seems like a nice and knowledgable man, for a total and complete crazy person. Idiot Met fans and local writers are giving Johan Santana - who has an ERA of 3.01 and is third in the NL in strikeouts - the full-on Alex Rodriguez treatment, blaming him for the bulk of the team’s troubles instead of recognizing him as a major reason the team is not in last place. Tony Armas, Jr, will start tonight against the Cardinals, I guess because Eddie Harris wasn’t available. And it’s always most depressing when your team goes into a deadspin like this in baseball, because it’s not even like if they play poorly enough, it will translate into a really meaningful high draft pick that can turn your fortunes around.
Inexplicable hatred of Adam Dunn continues to spread, from the journalists laptops to the offices of idiot GMs everywhere. I’d take him on the Mets, is my position on that.
Shawn Chacon is filing a grievance through the Players’ Union, alleging that his dismissal from the Astros - which I should remind everyone was because he attacked and threw to the ground his boss’ boss - was improper. In other, related news, a band of cockroaches recently erected a golden idol in the shape of Donald Fehr, announcing via press release that they would now worship him as a god.
The Rays are in first place. I keep hoping hawkeyeop will show up and tell me the winning lottery numbers or something, but he has disappointed so far.
The Yankees are running out the plain ugliest pitching rotation I can remember in pinstripes. Quick! Which of the following pitchers is not a real Yankee starter in 2008: (1) Dan Giese; (2) Sidney Ponson; (3) Darrell Rasner; (4) Brian Bruney; (5) Yolanda D’Elia, my deceased 101-year-old great-great-grandmother? Astonishingly, one of those five players - it may have been Yolanda - recently helped shut out the Mets, because the Mets, as always, suck.
The Cubs are just flat out awesome. Whoever says there are no great teams in the majors is not paying attention to the Cubs, who have the deepest lineup in the National League and it’s not even really close.
And in other news, Barry Bonds still has no job, but Brian Sabean still does.
Frankly I prefer the Yanks losing in the playoffs, what can I say…
Sidney Ponson having a job again warms my heart. Frankly, though, I’m a little disappointed they didn’t DFA him immediately after his win Friday night just to mess with him. He’s a very entertaining oaf.
I’m also hoping that the Mets buy my Buffalo Bisons when Cleveland goes through with its rumored switch to Columbus as AAA affiliate.
Just checking in to point out the Cubs are still in first. Must not be August yet…
This is going to be a great 4th of July weekend for Cards and Cubs fans. With Pujols back on two legs and several of the supporting cast looking like they’re poised for hot streaks, the Cards could steal first place.
(Or, you know, not. But still, it should be a great series.)
The Tigers have been red hot and look to stomp out the Twins tonight to take another series. It’s 8 series in a row, if memory serves me right.
Ordonez now on DL. Tiger rooks have a heavy load.
Since we’re now halfway thru the season I think it’d be fun to do a full rundown of the various divisions. I shall start with the AL East.
- TAMPA BAY 51-32
Uhhh… wow, the Rays are in first? Can this last? Even Eric “Krispy Kreme” Hinske is contributing. The Rays are outperforming their expected W-L but not by much; the pitching is very good, and a healthy Scott Kazmir could mean a playoff spot. They would be enormously helped if Jason Bartlett would hit up to his ability.
Pleasant Surprise: Eric Hinske
Disappointment: Apparently, the 2007 Carlos Pena was a one-year thing.
Holy shit: Last year the Rays had, easily, the worst defensive effeciency rating in baseball. This year, they’re second best. That alone could improve your team by 15 games.
- BOSTON 50-36
The Red Sox were widely touted to finish first and would be there if not for their new rivals, the… the Rays, God, am I really typing that? Boston might still be the league’s best team, actually, and I suspect by year’s end they’ll have the best record. The rotation’s as good as anyone’s, with only Toronto being as good, and the offense is better than anyone’s save Texas, and there’s something about Texas that makes the runs come cheap there.
Pleasant Surprise: J.D. Drew has turned it around and is quietly having a great year.
Disappointment: Jason Varitek appears to have hit the end.
Holy Shit: The Red Sox are second in the league in steals. The Red Sox!
- NEW YORK 44-39
Heavens knows how good this team is or isn’t. There’s piles of offensive talent, some of which is doing fine and some of which isn’t, and the pitching staff, who the hell knows. They’re still sorting through how this team’s going to look in the long run, so it’s hard to tell if they’ll putter along just about .500, collapse, or get scorching hot and win the World Series.
Pleasant Surprise: Mike Mussina has made a wonderfully effective transition into being a control pitcher, and has been the rock of the rotation.
Disappointment: Robinson Cano and his .280 on base percentage.
Holy Shit: Mariano Rivera, 0.72 ERA. I’ve said it before and I will say it again; he’s not human. He’s a cyborg.
- BALTIMORE 41-40
I don’t think one in a hundred baseball fans outside Baltimore thought they had a chance in hell at .500, so this is a surprise. Whether it’s reflective of fluke or talent, I guess we’ll find out, but I really don’t believe they’re this good, and will probably settle into 75-87 or something like that.
Pleasant Surprise: I dunno, Jim Johnson, I guess.
Disappointment: Melvin Mora. Jesus, he’s 36 years old? When did that happen? God, how old am I?
Holy Shit: Jeremy Cuthrie is second in the league in innings pitched, has a 3.50 ERa, and has won only four games.
- TORONTO 41-43
Along the league’s most extreme teams in any direction; one of the best pitching staffs and one of the worst offenses. What offense they do have hits great with nobody on base, then hits like Mark Belanger with men in scoring position, over a 30-point difference. Four games under their expected W-L, things seems to have been turning around since the dismissal of most of the coaching staff, but they’ll have to pull off a hell of a comeback.
Pleasant Surprise: Scott Downs, even though he just gave up a home run. It was the first run he’d allowed in twenty-eight innings.
Disappointment: More or less the entire offense.
Holy Shit: Roy Halladay has pitched six complete games - more than any other TEAM in the major leagues except Cleveland. He’s tied with them.
Randy Johnson loses again. When will the D-backs realize this isn’t 2001 and get rid of him? He’s had a great career, but stuck around too long.
My mid season predictions:
AL East
Boston. I’m picking Tampa Bay for the wildcard. This will be fun as both teams trade the lead back and forth.
AL Central
Detroit. They’ve finally come to life and have enough talent to win this weak division. I don’t see Minnesota or Chicago staying as hot as they’ve been. Cleveland is a major disappointment. It will be very interesting to see what they do with Sabathia.
AL West
Anaheim ends up running away with the division. Oakland stays respectable in second place above .500. Oakland will move Joe Blanton and Huston Street. Seattle finishes with the worst record in the AL.
NL East
The Phillies come back to life and win the division easily. The Mets continue to implode and make headlines for infighting on the team. The Marlins finish second and look very strong going into next year if they don’t start dumping their talent as they tend to do. Braves have too many injuries and struggle to stay at .500
NL Central.
Cubs win the division. The Cards fade and the Brewers make a move and win the wildcard. The Reds will trade Ken Griffey, Jr.
NL West.
The D-backs pull it out after trading the lead back and forth with the Dodgers. Rockies have a major fire sale. San Diego comes back to life to finish third while the Giants fade.
Let’s switch over to the Senior Circuit but continue on the right coast:
- PHILADELPHIA 45-39
Despite being in first the Phillies are actually tied with the Blue Jays as the majors’ most underperfmorning team, based on runs scored and allowed; they should be 50-34. Obviously, with the Phillies, it’s all about the homers. As a Jays fan it does not escape my notice that the Phils have three guys who’ve outhomered the entire Toronto outfield.
Pleasant Surprise: Brad Lidge has been awesome.
Disappointment: Jimmy Rollins is not only not as good as his MVP season, but even by his career standards he’s been poor.
Holy Shit: Brett Myers has already given up 24 home runs.
Holy Shit #2: Jamie Moyer’s still in baseball? He’s still alive?
- FLORIDA 43-40
The Marlins, conversely, are outperforming their projected W-L. Somehow they’ve hit 120 home runs, which leads the major leagues, despite having lost their best hitter from 2007. The Marlins and Miguel Cabrera are Lesson #1 in an old, but easily forgotten, truth about baseball; no one player means as much as you think they do. Cabrera went to the Tigers and it was widely viewed as a huge blow to the Fish and a poennant guarantee for the Tigers, and yet the Marlins are a lot closer to the playoffs than Detroit is, at least for now. I don’t think the Fish are really this good, because the starting rotation is weak.
Pleasant Surprise: Dan Uggla has substantially elevated his hitting.
Disappointment: Mike Jacobs’s hitting has gotten worse at an age you’d expect it to peak.
Holy Shit: MARK HENDRICKSON leads the team in starts? Mark Hendrickson? Wow, you know your rotation is weak when…
- NEW YORK 41-42
Here’s Lesson #2. Johan Santana, widely cited as the best pitcher in baseball, goes from the Twins to the Mets, and all proedict doom for the Twins and victory for the Mets (Except me, I knew the Mets would be mediocre. However, since I predicted Atlanta would win the division, I think I just got lucky.) Instead, the Mets struggle and fire their manager, while the Twins have streaked into contention - despite the fact that Santana has pitched very well.
As crappy as the Mets have been it’s worth noting they’re just three and a half out. Nobody’s dead this early.
Pleasant Surprise: Ryan Church has worked out very well.
Disappointment: I’m not sure Carlos Delgado qualifies as a disappointment because if you’re surprised that a big, clumsy 36-year-old power hitter is losing it, you haven’t been watching baseball very long. Still, I’m sure Mets fans hoped for more.
Holy Shit: The bottom of the Mets stat sheet looks like the Home for Old And/Or Lost Ballplayers: Moises Alou, Trot Nixon, Andy Phillips, Tony Armas Jr., Fernando Tatis. I thought Tatis was in Japan. But he’s just in the National League, which is kind of like Japan.
- ATLANTA 40-44
Braves fans are starved for postseason baseball after an unprecedented 1-year run of finishing out of the playoffs. I take back my earlier comment that the Blue Jays were the majors’ most underperforming team as measured by expectred W-L: actually it’s the Braves, who have a very good run differential. Since this is usually due to luck, I stand by my prediction the Braves will be in contention. It would help if they’d stop playing Matt Diaz.
Pleasant Surprise: Chipper Jones is obvious, but how about Jair Jurjjens?
Disappointment: I’m not really shocked Jeff Francoeur sucks all of a sudden. If anything I’m surprised this didn’t happen last year.
Holy Shit: This isn’t really a holy shit, but speaking of Chipper Jones, remember back in 2002-2003 or so, when the Braves suddenly decided he had to play the outfield, and couldn’t be a third baseman anymore, and instead signed Vinny Castilla and ran him out there for awhile? And then suddenly he’s a third baseman again. What the hell was that all about?
- WASHINGTON 34-51
The first team of 10 I’ve reviewed who are legitimately out of it. Boy, the move from Montreal sure helped this franchise. What a hapless pack of losers. The sources claim that over a million fans have gone to see them play in Washington, but I’ve never in my life met, or ever heard of the existence from, a Nationals fan. They even have a stupid name. I wonder if in 2023, when they move to Portland or Brooklyn or something, they’ll put a stop to this Washington baseball nonsense once and for all.
Pleasant Surprise: I had to dig pretty deep, but you do have to admit Cristian Guzman is hitting better than he usually does.
Disappointment: Wow, has Austin Kearns sucked, huh?
Holy Shit: They actually let a baseball team move to Washington.
Cards win the division, the Cubs fade and the Reds make a move and win the wildcard. The Reds also trade Ken Griffey Jr for a bag of baseballs, a snowglobe and some chili dogs.
If the AL, Central is weak ,what does that make the National league that just got slaughtered by these weak teams?
Not only that, but over the past two years, the Tigers are the best in the league in interleague play. Weak division or cannibalization? You decide.
Not this time. I see the Cards and Cubs flip-flopping the lead back and forth in the NL Central in the month of July, then the Cubs all get Healthy and we blow you guys out of the water as the Cards start racking up injuries.
I think you’re dreaming. The Dodgers are crippled with injuries right now, and we’re getting closer to you in the standings. I don’t think the Dodgers are going to set the world on fire or anything, but if we get some kind of stability in the lineup, we’re going to leave the D-Backs in the dust. I am blown away by how far you guys have come down since the beginning of the season.
Interleague
Tigers 13-5
Royals 13-5
White Sox 12-6
Twins 14-4
Indians 6-12
58-32 26 games over .500 If that is a weak division ,what is the National League.?