TWIB Notes- 8/14

- What a great year this is turning out for pennant races. When was the last time 5 divisions were still this close this late in the year? How about never- since the change to 6 divisions in '94, most races have been confined to wild-card and a couple of divisions. Have you even really heard anything about the wild-card yet? 2 divisions are tied as of this morning: NL West (Dodgers- D'Backs), NL East (Phils- Mets), and AL Central is 1/2 game difference (Twins- White Sox). Should be an exciting last 40 games for all involved.

- Could we possibly see an NL MVP and NL Cy Young who weren't even in their league on July 1st? It's never happened, but Manny Ramirez (Dodgers) and CC Sabathia (Brewers) are making a case. Sabathia is 7-0 since joining the Brewers and has them poised to make their first playoff appearance since 1982. Manny is hitting .467 with 5 HRs and 16 RBIs in 12 games with LA. Both are probably long-shots just because of a lack of games in the NL, but should that really be a punishment? I don't think so.

- Team USA Baseball won this morning against the Netherlands. If we don't win the gold medal, we will never see baseball in the Olympics again. Something to play for, indeed.

TWIB Notes- Trade Deadline Edition

Here are the winners and losers from the most exciting trade deadline in a decade:

Winners

Dodgers- Of course I am starting with my boys in blue. Casey Blake and Manny Ramirez (see my previous post) add playoff experience to a young team.

Brewers- Traded for CC Sabathia (above) 3 weeks ago, and all he has done is go 4-0 with 3 shutouts and a 1-something ERA. Milwaukee loving baseball for the first time since Molitor and Yount.

White Sox- This move is getting bashed by some, but adding Ken Griffey Jr to their lineup is an immediate upgrade. And Griffey getting a chance on a contender is fantastic as well.

Yankees- Once again this year, the Yanks give up nothing and get everything they want. The idiot teams who agree to this are the ones to blame. Damaso Marte, Xavier Nady and an HGH-free Ivan Rodriguez are not marquee names, but should fill the holes the Yankees needed.

Check Back In October

Red Sox- Addition by subtraction, as they say. Manny was mailing it in, but Jason Bay is not an upgrade, and Big Papi may not get pitched to the rest of the year. Boston may just be good enough to get past this.

Cubs- Rich Harden is a great pitcher if he stays healthy for more than a month. A curious move for a team that has dealt with the Prior and Wood injuries for 5 years. So far so good for the Cubbies, but will he last till October?

Angels- Why do people love this move? Mark Teixiera adds great offense, but the Angels are up by a zillion games in the AL West. Supposedly picked up for the postseason, Teixiera has never played a postseason game, and pitching, not hitting, wins in October.

Rays- Did nothing, and that was they should have done. Will it pay off? If they continue their magical season, it should be with the chemistry and youth that got them here.

Phils- Joe Blanton may be the kind of quiet deal that makes the difference is the NL East.

Losers

Braves- Gave up 4 top prospects last year for Teixiera. This year, got serviceable Casey Kotchman and 1 prospect for Teixiera. Yikes.

Astros- Traded prospects for LaTroy Hawkins. They are currently 14 games out in the best division in baseball.

Pirates- Traded their 3 best players for alot of prosects, but none that stand out. Sound like the last 15 years for the Pirates? That's because it is.

Nationals- Worst team in baseball should have traded for more prospects. Instead, did nothing and then released 3 veterans (LoDuca, Lopez, and Estrada) immediately after the deadline. You couldn't get anybody back for those guys? Anybody??

Mets, D-Backs, Twins- All in hotly contested races and made no moves of note. Could be the reason none of them make the playoffs.


My baseball comrade Lazardus has returned from a hiatus that would make Tony Kornheiser proud. Check out his thoughts here.

TWIB Notes- All Star Edition

Some random thoughts on last night's never-ending Mid-Summer Classic:

- Pregame ceremony with 49 Hall-of-Famers was very nice and the coolest since Ted Williams at Fenway in '99. But it was not as good as that, as there should have been more former Yankee All-Stars invited, and the spontaneity from '99 was missing. Nice to see just the same.

- George Steinbrenner looks horrible. Really horrible.

- Tony Gwynn looks fatter. Really fatter.

- Apparently we were only an inning or two from 3rd baseman David Wright pitching for the first time since elementary school. Really, how much less of a farce is that than the tie in Milwaukee was?

- Lone Dodger Russell Martin (above) was the highlight of my night with great plays at the plate. But Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, and Ben Sheets also will be remembered as well.

- The NL may never ever win an All Star game again. Really ever.

TWIB Notes- 7/7

- All-Star teams were named yesterday, and this is the closest to correct that I've ever seen it- kudos to fans, players and managers. The best stories to me are the two tales of redemption. Rangers' Josh Hamilton, covered here everywhere (including here) for his story of overcoming a drug addiction that almost killed him, will be starting in the outfield for the AL. And a totally different kind of redemption in Phils pitcher Brad Lidge, who was written off after losing his closer role in Houston last year, will be in the NL bullpen. Congrats to both.

- Big trade as CC Sabathia was traded to the..Brewers? I'm sorry, what? The Brew Crew, who haven't even made the playoffs since 1982 (when the above logo was in style), just picked up the biggest name available. Now the rest of the contenders will be vying for lesser names like AJ Burnett, George Sherrill, et al.

- So let me get this straight- Brett Myers beats his wife on a Boston street in '06 and nothing happens. He yells at a reporter the other day ("Boom! Outta here!"), and he's sent to the minors. The difference? He was doing well in '06, but stinking up the joint this year. As it is too often in sports, you can get away with almost anything when you are playing well (Mike Vick being a notable exception). Probably my least favorite aspect of sports.

- The DEVIL Rays have the best record in baseball. The Brewers now have Sabathia. How do the baseball execs and Fox folks feel about a Milwaukee-Tampa World Series? Not too good, I can assure you. But it would be great for baseball.

TWIB Notes- 6/27

- Shawn Chacon has been suspended and released from the Astros for choking and throwing his GM to the ground. He needs to be kept out for at least a full calendar year for such a stupid move.

- The Indians continue to flounder and may get rid of ace CC Sabathia sooner rather than later. Lots of potential destinations, as the Phillies, Dodgers, and Yanks all vie for a rent-a-player. I would personally rather see the Dodgers get a huge bat, but that seems unlikely.

- Interleague play wraps up for the year this weekend, with traditional rivalries such as Yanks-Mets, Dodgers-Angels, and Braves-Blue Jays. Yes, the ridiculous schedule-makers still have no "natural" rivalries to give some teams, so you get ludicrous matchups like Atlanta-Toronto, which are only 16 hours apart. I actually like interleague play, but they must fix some things, like the completely unfair imbalance- the Yankees, for example, got bottom-feeders Reds, Padres, and Mets this year, while their biggest rival Red Sox played good teams like the Phils, Cards and D-Backs. Everyone in a division should play the same basic schedule to ensure a true pennant race. OK, I'm done. :)

- I don't, for a minute, believe that Curt Schilling is done forever. He will come back next year in hopes of boosting stellar, but still borderline, career numbers to help his Hall of Fame case. I think he gets in even if he never throws another pitch, but it will be close.

TWIB Notes- 6/17

- The Mets have taken over the role of the most classless organization in New York, surpassing the Yankees, at least temporarily. Their firing of Manager Willie Randolph at 3:15 AM via press release is absolutely pathetic. This firing may be overdue, but waiting until the team had flown to Anaheim, and the fact that they had finally started doing well, is absolutely disrespectful of a good guy.

- The Seattle Mariners have cemented their place as my (and others') worst pick of the year. Supposedly ready to contend for the World Series, The M's have the worst record in baseball, behind even the lowly Pirates and Nats. So many things have gone wrong for this team, including Ichiro not hitting, Richie Sexson still coming down from his HGH high, and Eric Bedard not being the stud he was billed as.

- Chien-Mien Wang is out till September. Yankee haters everywhere rejoiced just a little.

- The Dodgers stink, stink, stink. Can't pitch, can't hit, and now are only 2 wins ahead of the pace of the '92 Dodgers, who finished with the worst record in LA history. The fact that we're only 7 games out is amazing. I guess they better wait to put Saint Torre's plaque in Cooperstown.

For Lazard's take, go here.

TWIB Notes 5/20

- Have to start with the obvious- Jon Lester's no-hit game last night was the REAL feel-good story thus far this year. A year ago, Lester (above) wasn't even strong enough to stand on a mound, as he was recovering from a rare form of cancer. To see him return late last year was wonderful, and last night was simply incredible.

- Lance berkman is just hitting the ball silly, hitting .389 (2nd), 16 HRs (1st), and 44 RBIs (1st). Talk of a Triple Crown is pointless in every way in May, but keep an eye on this kid- he could go places.

MLB is already at the quarter mark of the '08 season, and while some things are still out whack, some of the baseball universe has returned to normal.

- First, the normal: Boston, Anaheim, Cleveland, the Mets and the Cubs all reside at or very near the top of their divisions. Cleveland and the Mets are still only so-so, the rest of their divisions have just come back to earth.

- The abnormal: Tampa, White Sox, Florida and St Louis all continue to linger near the top. At some point, these teams will either show their true colors are force people to really start to believe.

- The downright putrid: Detroit, San Diego and Seattle have the worst records in baseball. All potential division winners, the wheels have continued to stay off, and something drastic will have to take place soon for these teams to recover.

To hear from the Tim Kurkjian to my Buster Olney, see here.

TWIB Notes 5/1

Hard to believe a month is already in the books for the Major League baseball season. As usual, some teams have already come back to earth (Nats, Royals), some continue to amaze (Cards, DEVIL Rays), and some are right where they should be (Red Sox, Cubs). For more on the Cards and Chipper Jones adoration, stop by here.

Other news to close out April:

- Josh Hamilton (above) continues his feel-good story for a second year. After years of severe personal and drug-related problems, former top prospect Hamilton leads the AL in RBIs and appears to have cleaned up his act completely.

- The Dodgers have finally gotten hot, winning 5 in a row. And they're doing it by...hitting?? Wow..They still have those ridiculous Diamondbacks ahead of them, however. My thougt is that the D-Backs cannot stay that hot. Let's hope not.

- The hopeful crumbling of the Yanks continues as A-Rod, Jorge Posada and Phil Hughes are all on the DL. I won't truly believe they're out of it till the D-Rays are up by 20 games. I'm sorry, I meant Red Sox.

- On a personal note, I get MLB stadium number 24 in on Sunday as we head to Toronto. Roy Halladay pitching as I see my first game out of the US. Should be awesome!

TWIB Notes 4/23

Even with the PA Primary commanding my attention, I have had time to mull over the ridiculousness that continues to be April baseball:

- Memo to Hank "Sonny Corleone" Steinbrenner: Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! Do you really think that shooting your mouth off will make winners of your dad's(ie not your) team? Joba Chamberlain (above) belongs in the bullpen, at least for right now. Maybe for good. He's got a closer's mentality and an awesome fastball. Starters are much easier to find than a lights-out closer. And Rivera will not last forever. Regardless, you, Hankie-boy, have no baseball sense and have never earned anything in your life. So crawl back in your hole and let the baseball people do their thing.

- Miguel Tejada lied about his age? Why, he seemed like such an honest and forthcoming person, with his "B-12" shots and clubhouse negativity. But, do we really care about this? He was 19 and poor, and not 17 and poor; would this really have stopped him from being signed? The answer is no.

- Mike Jacobs and Nate McClouth: please pinch yourselves before this gets out of hand. You guys aren't this good, are you??

- Frank Thomas was released this week, joining Kenny Lofton, Mike Piazza, among others, as unemployed 1990's superstars who can still contribute. Damn youth movements...

- Congrats to John Smoltz on his 3000th strikeout. One of baseball's true class acts.

- The Dodgers still can't hit. In fact, they stink. My suicide watch continues..

TWIB Notes 4/14

While I try not to jump off a bridge because of a Dodger 5-7 start:

- Welcome back Randy Johnson, who returns tonight for the D-Backs. Johnson hasn't been healthy in 3 years, but is just 16 wins away from 300. Hopefully he's got a little left to be able to get there.

- Andruw Jones (above) looks very, very bad. Batting .100 with O homers and 1 RBI, the Dodgers are starting to sweat their big new bat. Way too early, and if this slump happened in mid-June, it would basically go unnoticed. But still...

- Does any team look worse than the Tigers? The answer is no. But not for the reasons that I thought they would struggle. Their starting pitching has stunk, their bats have stunk worse, and Jim Leyland just blew a gasket. Again, too early to freak out, but they better get it together soon.

- The Nats' attendance has been underwhelming for their new digs. As it gets warmer, people will come. But I believe they turned people off with the lack of parking. You can push Metro all you want, but some people (including me) would rather walk there than ride on that disaster.

- The Royals keep chugging along, sitting only 1/2 game out of first. The biggest reasons are starters Zach Greinke and Brian Bannister, both with ERAs under 1.00. In a division that's starting to look tighter than expected, KC may be able to look respectable for the first time in 2 decades.

TWIB Notes (WIth Apologies To Mel Allen)- 4/8

More to come when I'm more rested, but here's what's rattling around in my head about the first week:

- White Sox, Royals, Orioles, Marlins, and Cards are in or near first place. This will not last. For more on this, see here.

- It really looks like a Year of The Pitcher may occur for the first time in nearly 20 years. Home runs are way down(no surprise), and alot more 2-1, 3-0 games. I think I'm okay with that. Peavy, Webb, Santana, et al have picked up where they left off.

- Billy Buckner(see above for 1986 moment) threw out the first pitch in Boston and was cheered. Amazing what 2 Series titles in 4 years will do to forgive "curses."

- Moises Alou forgave Steve Bartman, saying he probably couldn't have caught the foul ball infamously touched by Bartman in 2003. Amazing what some perspective can do, eh?