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//  Saturday, July 31, 2010

The MLB Season As I See It Now

Friday, May 23, 2008
Posted by Jayk Baechle

44 games into the season, roughly just over the quarter mark, is when we begin to have a great idea of who the serious contenders are and who is going to fall short, though this season is not cooperating very much with that way of thinking. Because of this we find that at this point the biggest lead any one team has in all the divisions in baseball are the Arizona Diamondbacks who lead the Dodgers by 5 games.

The Central Division which was believed to be, before the season started, to be the most competitive in baseball has really been everything but that. The White Sox lead both the Twins and the Indians by 1.5 games with the Royals right behind them at 2.5 back, and does anybody remember that amazing Tigers team? The one that was prematurely given the nickname “Motorer’s Row” (a cute little twist on the New York Yankees 1927 batting order that consisted of many greats such as Ruth, Gehrig, etc. called: ‘Murderer’s Row’) after acquiring Miguel Cabrera, Jacque Jones (since been released and picked up by the Marlins), and Edgar “I once made a twelve-year-old cry in 1997” Renteria. The only problem with having that “amazing lineup” is that hitting is only part of the game; you are not going to win many games when you are giving up the third most runs in baseball right behind the Texas Rangers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. So, statistically right now the A.L. Central is the worst in baseball and some could argue that this is just the case of them beating up on each other in Divisional play, but the Tigers with a 4-15 record inside the division is hardly what I would call beating up on Central opponents. My prediction is that the Indians, who have the best starting rotation at this point in the season, will make a trade to pick up a hitting infielder and will win the division in a close one with the White Sox right behind them, and the Tigers coming in fourth.

The A.L. East has offered some surprises up to this point in the season, mainly the new look Rays. No surprise however is that the Red Sox are the best team in baseball, as much as it pains me to have to admit that, and they will be there at the end of the season winning the division by 10+ games. Though, right now they are only one game up of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays, who as of just a few days ago and before the current 4 game winning streak by the Red Sox, were actually leading their division for the first time ever in their 11-year history. The Rays are making splashes ... no pun was intended... because they have a young team that can run well and hit. Though, the real reason for the success has been their pitching. Scott Kazmir, easily and arguably, the Rays’ ace had missed the majority of the season and is now back and healthy and boasts a 2-0 record after 3 starts. Though, James Shields, Andy Sonnanstine, and Matt Garza, who was acquired from the Twins in the offseason, have been huge for the Rays staff. One big surprise, and I for one am personally loving it, is the fact that in the cellar of the A.L. East we find the New York Yankees. The Yankees find themselves 6.5 games back from first right now in the season, and yes it could be worse, but I for one am enjoying it. My prediction for the A.L. East right now is that the Red Sox will win the Division; the Yankees will come in third. And though this probably will change I am really going to go out and make the bold statement that for the first time in their short history, the Tampa Bay Rays will make the playoffs and win the Wild Card.

Next up is the A.L. West, and really the only surprise there for me so far is that the Mariners are not in second place, they are in last, and boy have they been sucking it up this year. Since the Mariners have been sucking it up though, it allowed the A’s to make an early season run, and they are still hanging in there just 2 games back of the Angels. But, lack of consistency will probably be the biggest downfall of the A’s this season, they are an extremely young team still looking for chemistry and I think consistency will be the key so we will have to watch and see how they work and build on that as the season goes, but I see them finishing up the season right there in second place. Then we have the Texas Rangers. Does the story ever really seem to change with them? They always hit the ball a ton, score a ton, but they also allow their opponent to do the same and then some. The Rangers have scored a boatload of runs this season, 232, but compared to the 251 runs they have given up, it really is not that impressive anymore. I have been saying it for years now that the Rangers should get a pitching staff that consists of sinkerballers and sinkerballers only, because anything hit into the air there in Arlington is leaving the ballpark. Then we have the Angels, and I do not see them losing this division. I know that that really is not going out on a limb, but some picks cannot all be as exciting as the Rays winning the Wild Card. The Angles are just a complete team. Probably could be one of the most complete teams in baseball without the most talented pieces, but they are complete. So, once again I see the Angels finishing ahead of the A’s for the West Division.

I love how the Florida Marlins as a team is making less money than Alex Rodriguez who has barely played this season, and the Marlins are leading their division by 1 game 43 games into their season at 24-19. I truly do not see, and honestly do not want to see the Marlins win the division seeing as how they have already won 2 World Series titles in 15 seasons going into this one. But they really, really do not have the experience, and I will probably end up eating crow on this one, to win the division, though they have a ton of pieces to build on with Hanley Ramirez, Uggla, and Jacobs. The only team I cannot feasibly see winning this division is the Washington Nationals, but they do have an exciting team to watch and a beautiful new stadium, which I guess really does not mean much. I am going to get right into this one and say that it will be a slugfest throughout the season, but I will predict that the Atlanta Braves return to form and win this division, Chipper Jones will end up hitting somewhere around .375 though I would absolutely love to see someone hit .400, and the New York Mets will come out alive with the Wild Card in the N.L. East.

The N.L. Central is really interesting to me. I thought that at this point in the season the Brewers would be up there near first, they are in dead last and the Cards would be in the cellar with the Reds, but the Cards are right up there with the Cubbies just 2 games back. I really do not even know where to begin to call this one. Not one team in this division really blows me away, especially now that the Cards have apparently returned to the form they so miserably lost last season. I guess though that I will get right into some bold predictions for this titanic 6-team division. First off the Pirates will not make the postseason for the 16th consecutive season, but I will not give up hope on them just yet for finally ending their 15 consecutive losing season’s streak, which they can end with just 81 wins! The Reds will finish up in last place with the only real bright spots on their team being Brandon Phillips, Edinson Volquez, and that Jay Bruce who will finally get called up and get a ton of playing time after Griffey hits his 600th homerun and traded. Someone out there is going to have to convince me why I should give the Astros some credit to being an actual contender in this division other than Lance Berkman hitting the cover off the ball with his .389 batting average. I believe the Brewers are playing well below expectations and will pick it up and become serious contenders in just a few weeks, I would love to pick them to win this division, but right now I just do not see it happening. I do see another cursed ending to the Cubbies season, in my mind I cannot imagine a baseball world with the only real curse being the curse of Rocky Colavito with the Tribe, it is not even that exciting of a curse! After the epic collapse of the Cubbies once again, I am seeing at this point a return to success from the Cardinals who will win this division.

Finally, we have the N.L. West. After last season I thought that there were some very good teams in this division. I thought that it would end like this: Diamondbacks, Padres, Dodgers, Rockies, and Giants. But, uhh, that is not exactly how it has happened so far. Yes the Diamondbacks are in first and right now I do not see them walking away with anything less than a N.L. pennant. But, the Padres, in my eyes might be the second biggest disappointment in baseball right now behind the Detroit Tigers, though I do not personally view what has happened to the tigers as a disappointment. The Padres right now are facing the biggest deficit in baseball 13 game back in the Division, and things are not looking any better for them because reigning N.L. Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy is heading towards the DL. The Giants are just a joke right now, monetarily their best player, is not. Barry Zito is now 0-8 with a 6.25 ERA a far cry from the pitcher who has won 113 games in his career with an ERA of 3.74. Not to mention on paper the Giants may have the worst offense, ever. Then we have the Rockies, currently in third, which made that historic run last season, and what they did was amazing, but I think I am the only person who did not buy into their streak. I knew the real World Series last year was the Red Sox-Indians series, which in case you missed it, the Indians blew a 3-1 lead. The Dodgers will continue to be an exciting team to keep track of though it appears that they will now be losing Andruw Jones for some time to a knee injury, but do you think that any Dodgers fans out there really care? I am going to go ahead and say, no. Which leaves us with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and I cannot imagine them not winning this division this season. Brandon Webb is unhittable, plus throwing in Micah Owings, Dan Haren, and Randy Johnson who has actually surprised people with his 4-1 record, and that is a pretty intimidating pitching staff. Arizona wins this division easily.

Now that does it for the divisional breakdown through this point in this season, and by no means do I want the readers thinking I am investing much into my predictions, because, well I am not. I write these types of articles just for fun and these are just my opinions. But please feel free to e-mail me all of your thoughts and opinions at jbaechle@sportinformant.com, and with the hopes that I do not become too famous, I will do my best to respond to any and all emails. And please, do not take me too seriously.

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