Who Will Own The Summer?
I just watched Matt Kemp hit a walk off homer and decided, you know what, I'm going to live up to my promise last week and give the RW faithful an MLB update roughly a third of the way through the season. Let's see how my predictions are holding up
NL WEST
Order is almost restored in the NL West. The Dodgers are almost back to being healthy, and after finding a diamond in the rough in Ely, the rotation doesn't seem like as much of a problem. The Giants and Rockies are hovering slightly above .500 as expected. The Diamondbacks stink, as expected, but what did they put in the water in the Padres locker room? Is Jake Peavy still there throwing for another Cy Young? Who's winning all of their games. These guys are nickle and diming their way to an impressive start. I don't think it lasts though. The Dodgers are still the pick.
NL CENTRAL
I'm glad everybody spent all of that time trying to figure out what was wrong with Albert Pujols. Apparently they just woke the Machine up. I wouldn't want to be opposing pitchers when the Cardinals come to town. I expected Cincinnati to be good, but not this good. However, the rest of the division predictably stinks. The Cardinals are just too solid not to win this division, but the Reds could sneak into that Wildcard spot.
NL EAST
The real question here is what in the world is wrong with the Phillies? I think I could mow down their hitters at this point. I don't think it will last, but Phillies fans have reason to be worried at this point. The Nationals were a surprise hot starter and could get a jolt with Strasburg getting called up to start June 8 against the Pirates but they should flame out starting after the All-Star Break. The Mets don't have what it takes in the long haul either. Florida isn't looking as good as I thought they would and the Han-Ram saga isn't going to help matters. I was worried I was wrong about the Braves but they've done a very good job proving me right lately.
AL WEST
Seriously? Who cares? They all stink. The leader of the division 51 games into the season is 3 games over .500. You really want me to waste time analyzing this stink bomb of a division? How about you write the Angels, A's, and Rangers on separate sheets of paper, throw them into a hat, and pick one to see who has the honor of getting swept in the first round? I just did it. Angels it is. There it is folks. Science.
AL CENTRAL
Glad to see that I was right about Cleveland, Kansas City, and the White Sox all stinking. Although, being right about the Royals stinking is like being right about the sun coming up. I would like to point out that my sleeper Tigers are still playing some good baseball, but they're in the shadow of the Twins who are excelling despite the big time loss of Joe Nathan. I'm beyond shocked that they're a hair below .600. Ron Gardenhire gets my early vote for Manager of the Year. The Twins are always good. I'm starting to think he might have something to do with it.
AL EAST
How much fun is the AL East? Toronto is looking good. It won't last. Boston is fluttering. Called that. Baltimore stinks. See: Royals, Kansas City. But the cream of the crop is atop this stacked division once again. The Rays are just plain fun. Their lineup is fast as can be with some pop in Longoria in the middle and their pitching staff averages about 16 years old. Ok, maybe not that young, but still. They're awesome. But the story come season's end will be the Yankees. They've been fighting injuries at the bottom of the lineup and that will start to mend itself with Posada coming back soon. Add to that the inevitable move before the trade deadline and the Yankees look primed to win the AL.
So there you have it. Your brief update in case you slept through the first third of the MLB season. As it stands now, I still like my Cardinals over Yankees World Series pick. The Cards are still 7 games over .500 despite a sub-par Albert Pujols thus far. And as we've seen, it looks like Pujols is back to form. It may be an upset pick, but it's my upset pick. I haven't seen enough wrong with the Cards to waiver and the Yankees are money in the bank. Stay tuned. Oh yeah, and Go Dodgers!
NL WEST
Order is almost restored in the NL West. The Dodgers are almost back to being healthy, and after finding a diamond in the rough in Ely, the rotation doesn't seem like as much of a problem. The Giants and Rockies are hovering slightly above .500 as expected. The Diamondbacks stink, as expected, but what did they put in the water in the Padres locker room? Is Jake Peavy still there throwing for another Cy Young? Who's winning all of their games. These guys are nickle and diming their way to an impressive start. I don't think it lasts though. The Dodgers are still the pick.
NL CENTRAL
I'm glad everybody spent all of that time trying to figure out what was wrong with Albert Pujols. Apparently they just woke the Machine up. I wouldn't want to be opposing pitchers when the Cardinals come to town. I expected Cincinnati to be good, but not this good. However, the rest of the division predictably stinks. The Cardinals are just too solid not to win this division, but the Reds could sneak into that Wildcard spot.
NL EAST
The real question here is what in the world is wrong with the Phillies? I think I could mow down their hitters at this point. I don't think it will last, but Phillies fans have reason to be worried at this point. The Nationals were a surprise hot starter and could get a jolt with Strasburg getting called up to start June 8 against the Pirates but they should flame out starting after the All-Star Break. The Mets don't have what it takes in the long haul either. Florida isn't looking as good as I thought they would and the Han-Ram saga isn't going to help matters. I was worried I was wrong about the Braves but they've done a very good job proving me right lately.
AL WEST
Seriously? Who cares? They all stink. The leader of the division 51 games into the season is 3 games over .500. You really want me to waste time analyzing this stink bomb of a division? How about you write the Angels, A's, and Rangers on separate sheets of paper, throw them into a hat, and pick one to see who has the honor of getting swept in the first round? I just did it. Angels it is. There it is folks. Science.
AL CENTRAL
Glad to see that I was right about Cleveland, Kansas City, and the White Sox all stinking. Although, being right about the Royals stinking is like being right about the sun coming up. I would like to point out that my sleeper Tigers are still playing some good baseball, but they're in the shadow of the Twins who are excelling despite the big time loss of Joe Nathan. I'm beyond shocked that they're a hair below .600. Ron Gardenhire gets my early vote for Manager of the Year. The Twins are always good. I'm starting to think he might have something to do with it.
AL EAST
How much fun is the AL East? Toronto is looking good. It won't last. Boston is fluttering. Called that. Baltimore stinks. See: Royals, Kansas City. But the cream of the crop is atop this stacked division once again. The Rays are just plain fun. Their lineup is fast as can be with some pop in Longoria in the middle and their pitching staff averages about 16 years old. Ok, maybe not that young, but still. They're awesome. But the story come season's end will be the Yankees. They've been fighting injuries at the bottom of the lineup and that will start to mend itself with Posada coming back soon. Add to that the inevitable move before the trade deadline and the Yankees look primed to win the AL.
So there you have it. Your brief update in case you slept through the first third of the MLB season. As it stands now, I still like my Cardinals over Yankees World Series pick. The Cards are still 7 games over .500 despite a sub-par Albert Pujols thus far. And as we've seen, it looks like Pujols is back to form. It may be an upset pick, but it's my upset pick. I haven't seen enough wrong with the Cards to waiver and the Yankees are money in the bank. Stay tuned. Oh yeah, and Go Dodgers!
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