National League
Yesterday, we took a quick look at the American League, so today it's the senior circuit in view after nearly two weeks of play.
Mets Hold Slim Lead in East
With their 6-3 win at Atlanta Thursday, the Mets leapfrogged over the idle Phillies into first place in what appears to be baseball's most contentious division. The only team likely to be out of it by August 1 or sooner is the Miami Marlins, though with the Braves, Mets, Nats, and Phillies all flawed to some extent, that's not exactly a surety.
New York is just 1/2 game to the good over the Phillies, who did themselves loads of good in the off-season, snatching up the biggest free agent prize in Bryce Harper among other pick-ups, including All-Star infielder Jean Segura. The deal sent first baseman Carlos Santana and shortstop J.P. Crawford to Seattle.
Segura was one of the top hitters in the AL last season, notching a .304 batting average. A sure-handed fielder, Segura fills a big hole in Philadelphia at short, though he's unlikely to add much power. He hit just 10 homers last season with 63 RBI. Look for him to up his runs total of 91 last season to over 100 if he's batting at or near the top of the lineup. He's batting .304 though 11 games and has crossed the plate 10 times.
Harper is off to a decent start, with four homers and 10 RBI to go with a .314 batting average. In his new surroundings, Harper may challenge for the batting title. He hit .330 with Washington in 2015 and is in a good spot in a hitter's ball park. Last year's .249 average will be overlooked if he produces as expected.
The Mets have as good a shot as any team to take the division if they get quality starts from the rest of the rotation and score runs for Jacob deGrom. The keys are the keep Noah Snydergaard healthy, get Steven Matz though six innings and get solid innings from middle relievers Robert Gsellman, Jeurys Familia, and Seth Lugo. Closer Edwin Diaz, with five saves already in the books, appears to have his role nailed down.
Washington still may have the best rotation in the division, but will miss Harper's bat. Atlanta, last season's division winner, will be in it as long as Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuña Jr. stay healthy. Their pitching matches up well anywhere they play.
Cards Catch Brewers With Five Straight Wins
After a 3-5 start, St. Louis has reeled off five straight wins, including Thursday's 11-7 rip over the visiting Dodgers. The Cardinals may not have much thunder in their lineup, but as long as they get good pitching, their youthful lineup seems capable of keeping them in games, especially if the old man behind the plate - 36-year-old Yadier Molina - continues to play like a future Hall of Fame inductee.
Paul DeJong, Kolten Wong, Harrison Bader, and Marcel Ozuna form the nucleus of the offense, and the pickup of Paul Goldstein from Arizona gives the Cards' long-ball potential. Goldstein is batting just .180, but he's already swatted six homers. He needs to be more consistent (and he likely will be) for the Cardinals to hang in over the long haul.
In Milwaukee, the Brewers - also at 8-5 with the Cards - will have every opportunity to defend their 2018 division title and move forward in the playoffs. With the remarkable Christian Yellich leading the charge, Milwaukee is likely to repeat, especially if the Cubs continue to flounder. At the moment, Chicago is tied with the Reds for last place at 4-8, 3 1/2 back of the Brew Crew and Cardinals.
San Diego Improved With Machado
The Padres couldn't get much worse than their 66-96 mark in 2018, so they pulled the trigger and landed Manny Machado in the off-season after Machado had bailed on the Orioles mid-season for a playoff shot with the Dodgers in 2018.
A post-season hero Machado is not. His lifetime .213 average in the playoffs and World Series included 16 games with the Dodgers, a .227 batting average, three homers and 12 RBI. Those numbers are unlikely to raise any eyebrows, save those of Machado's detractors. Over the course of a full season in San Diego, Manny is likely to be "the Man" in bordertown California.
Thus far, Manny's helped the Padres to first place in the West, their 9-5 mark a game better than LA's 8-6 record. With three homers, seven RBI and a .245 batting average, Machado is probably trying a little too hard to impress his new team and fans. If he shakes off the nerves, he's capable of 35 homers and 100 RBI for the next six years or so. He had 35 and 86 in 2015, 37 and 96 in 2016, 33 and 95 in 2017, and 37 and 107 splitting time between Baltimore and LA.
Obviously, Machado can't do everything for the Padres. He'll need help, especially from the pitching staff, which includes left-handed rookie, Nick Margevicius, who has shown promise in three starts, winning two of them, against one loss. in 16 innings, quick Nick has fanned 12 and sports an ERA of 1.69.
It's a long season, and while the Padres probably won't go worst to first, the contenders in the division are few and far between. The Giants haven't been able to figure it out for a few years and don't look very competitive in 2019. Ditto the Rockies. Arizona has a good mix of veterans and good pitching, but the Dodgers, should they play to their potential, may run away and hide in the West.
The Dodgers are just a game off the pace and that's without Clayton Kershaw, who started the season on the 10-day IL. He's slated to make his seasonal debut Friday night, agains the Brewers. LA opens a three-game series with Milwaukee and will host the Reds for three following the weekend. Cody Bellinger has been carrying the team, batting .411, with seven HRs and 19 RBI.
Other series of note this weekend are San Diego at Arizona and the Mets at Atlanta. Both series began on Thursday, with the Mets topping the Braves, 6-3, and the Padres nipping the D-Backs, 7-6.
Friday, April 12, 2019
Thursday, April 11, 2019
American League Highlights: Yankees Loaded On IL; Red-Hot Rays; Seattle Ripping the West
We're just about two weeks into the new season, and, since nobody pays much attention to baseball until after the NHL playoffs end (June), just figure that nobody missed our insights and observations.
Here's a quick run-down of the start of the season and what to watch going forward.
American League
The Yankees are Banged Up
Before the season even started, the Yanks put their ace, Luis Severino, on the IL. Since then, they've been subjected to more hurt, including these notables:
As this writer points out, these guys could likely beat the current Giants' roster. Whether that's true or not, there are some good names out there, especially Stanton, Hicks, and Andujar, but Tulowitzki gets injured waking up, and Ellsbury's been gone so long, nobody really misses him. He's going to retire soon, because he's slowed down and the Yankees have some good, young outfielders.
Thus, the Yankees entered Thursday tied with the Orioles at 5-7, both chasing 10-3 Tampa Bay. The Rays have opened up the biggest lead in the majors, a whopping 4 1/2 games, and they're not going to be looking over their shoulders. Tampa has plenty of pitching (Charlie Morton, Blake Snell, Diego Castillo, and José Alvarado, to name just a few), a bevy of young, hungry players, and manager Kevin Cash may be one of the great innovators of any generation.
His use of relievers as starters and rotating his staff via short stints is revolutionary. If the Rays win the AL East by 5-10 games, it wouldn't surprise this writer.
(Incidentally, the Orioles are about done. Saying good-bye to second place with an 8-5 loss to the visiting A's Thursday, the O's dropped 1/2 game behind the idle Yankees. Chris Davis, who is currently extending the longest hitless streak in MLB history, went 0-for-3, putting the new mark at 52. The former record was 46. Davis is still in the midst of a $116-million contract, but there's not enough money in the world worth keeping this guy on the field. He's become a serious distraction on a team which is struggling for respectability. Sending him to the minors might be a sympathetic move. The O's cleaned house last season, but could find no takers for Davis. It's just sad.)
Seattle Soaring
Other than the Rays, the surprise thus far has to be Seattle and their 12-2 start. The M's are scoring at a blistering pace, putting up 110 runs for an average of 7.86 per game. Tim Beckham is batting .386; Domingo Santana leads the league in RBI with 19, Jay Bruce has belted seven homers and Mitch Haniger hasn't even gotten started (.254, 3HR, 10RBI).
Obviously, the Mariners aren't likely to keep up that pace, and the Astros, A's and Angels are likely to offer plenty of resistance. Right now, though, the West division looks to be up for grabs.
Central Casting
In the Central, Cleveland's already up close, within 1/2 game of the Tigers. The Twins are one game back of Detroit and it looks like the White Sox and Royals may have to wait until next year to be considered contenders.
Cleveland has the best roster in the division, and they could easily run away with it again, but Minnesota is on the move and should keep the Indians honest (no pun intended, really).
One bright spot for the Royals is the amazing hitting streak of second baseman Whit Merrifield, who extended his hitting streak from last season to 31 games, a number that bettered the franchise mark owned by Hall of Famer, George Brett. In his second full season with the Royals, Merrifield has stamped his name in baseball's annals. A pure singles hitter, only five of his 16 hits this season have been for extra bases. He's worth watching as one of major league's least-heralded upcoming stars.
UPDATE: On Thrusday, Merrifield went 0-for-6, snapping the streak at 31. The Royals blew a 6-4 ninth inning lead, with Seattle winning in 10, 7-6. Merrifield had more than his fair share of opportunity. He struck out in the bottom of the 10th to end the game.
We'll take a look at the National League tomorrow. There are some solid weekend series coming up.
Here's a quick run-down of the start of the season and what to watch going forward.
American League
The Yankees are Banged Up
Before the season even started, the Yanks put their ace, Luis Severino, on the IL. Since then, they've been subjected to more hurt, including these notables:
- Miguel Andujar
- Dellin Betances
- Jacoby Ellsbury
- Didi Gregorious
- Ben Heller
- Aaron Hicks
- Jordan Montgomery
- CC Sabathia
- Giancarlo Stanton
- Troy Tulowitzki
As this writer points out, these guys could likely beat the current Giants' roster. Whether that's true or not, there are some good names out there, especially Stanton, Hicks, and Andujar, but Tulowitzki gets injured waking up, and Ellsbury's been gone so long, nobody really misses him. He's going to retire soon, because he's slowed down and the Yankees have some good, young outfielders.
Thus, the Yankees entered Thursday tied with the Orioles at 5-7, both chasing 10-3 Tampa Bay. The Rays have opened up the biggest lead in the majors, a whopping 4 1/2 games, and they're not going to be looking over their shoulders. Tampa has plenty of pitching (Charlie Morton, Blake Snell, Diego Castillo, and José Alvarado, to name just a few), a bevy of young, hungry players, and manager Kevin Cash may be one of the great innovators of any generation.
His use of relievers as starters and rotating his staff via short stints is revolutionary. If the Rays win the AL East by 5-10 games, it wouldn't surprise this writer.
(Incidentally, the Orioles are about done. Saying good-bye to second place with an 8-5 loss to the visiting A's Thursday, the O's dropped 1/2 game behind the idle Yankees. Chris Davis, who is currently extending the longest hitless streak in MLB history, went 0-for-3, putting the new mark at 52. The former record was 46. Davis is still in the midst of a $116-million contract, but there's not enough money in the world worth keeping this guy on the field. He's become a serious distraction on a team which is struggling for respectability. Sending him to the minors might be a sympathetic move. The O's cleaned house last season, but could find no takers for Davis. It's just sad.)
Seattle Soaring
Other than the Rays, the surprise thus far has to be Seattle and their 12-2 start. The M's are scoring at a blistering pace, putting up 110 runs for an average of 7.86 per game. Tim Beckham is batting .386; Domingo Santana leads the league in RBI with 19, Jay Bruce has belted seven homers and Mitch Haniger hasn't even gotten started (.254, 3HR, 10RBI).
Obviously, the Mariners aren't likely to keep up that pace, and the Astros, A's and Angels are likely to offer plenty of resistance. Right now, though, the West division looks to be up for grabs.
Central Casting
In the Central, Cleveland's already up close, within 1/2 game of the Tigers. The Twins are one game back of Detroit and it looks like the White Sox and Royals may have to wait until next year to be considered contenders.
Cleveland has the best roster in the division, and they could easily run away with it again, but Minnesota is on the move and should keep the Indians honest (no pun intended, really).
One bright spot for the Royals is the amazing hitting streak of second baseman Whit Merrifield, who extended his hitting streak from last season to 31 games, a number that bettered the franchise mark owned by Hall of Famer, George Brett. In his second full season with the Royals, Merrifield has stamped his name in baseball's annals. A pure singles hitter, only five of his 16 hits this season have been for extra bases. He's worth watching as one of major league's least-heralded upcoming stars.
UPDATE: On Thrusday, Merrifield went 0-for-6, snapping the streak at 31. The Royals blew a 6-4 ninth inning lead, with Seattle winning in 10, 7-6. Merrifield had more than his fair share of opportunity. He struck out in the bottom of the 10th to end the game.
We'll take a look at the National League tomorrow. There are some solid weekend series coming up.
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