Managers,
Yeah, I usually do a *Mid*-season report. (last year i didn’t do one at all). And this year I was in Guatemala over the All-Star Break. Hey what can i say, better late than never, right? But since I don’t have the time and patience to do this whole deal at once, and you guys probably don’t have the patience to read it all at once…I’m splitting it into 2 parts. Real baseball awards this time. And our fantasy league awards next time.
So MLB…feel free to comment/gripe/respond…
It’s been an interesting year. Since Clemens and Bonds aren’t actively playing, we haven’t had to hear their names 250 times a day like we did during the pre-season. And we’ve come across some new names…like Carlos Quentin?!?! who is this guy?
With the exception of the AL West, all the division battles are feverish right now…..
Best Surprise Team: Tampa Bay “don’t call them Devil” Rays
These guys win by a landslide. First place in the AL East!!! They’re 40-16 at home! And they got a great bullpen…they’re 19-11 in one-run games (only the Brewers are better, thanks to Ryan Braun and not *their* bullpen). No one should be asking whether these guys are for real at this point… we’re 110 games deep into the season. Stacked when healthy, what’s scary is they could be even healthier, and imagine if Carl Crawford was having even a decent year. Young players with huge chips on their shoulders, they’re pretty much a bunch of thugs. Don’t know why the Red Sox and Yankees keep beaning them, cuz i sure as hell would be hiding behind the gatorade cooler in a fight with these guys, they’re ripped. We’ll see if their inexperience starts to show down the stretch.
Honorable Mention: The next tier is tough… a lot of surprises this year. Cardinals and Twins are playing great baseball under the radar. How do they keep doing it? I’ll never count out the Twins ever ever again (i’ve said that so many times). Cubs and White Sox are playing well, but they’ve got star power. So I have to go with the Florida Marlins for now, who are only a game or two back in a tough NL East, with a bunch of no-names. Unfortunately, it’s temporary…. their run scoring differential is -30!!! The other teams on this list, and more importantly in their division, are all +50 or much more. The Marlins are gonna be toast. Well, it’s amazing they’ve been lucky this long. I thought they’d be bottom of the barrel.
Most Disappointing Team: Cleveland Indians.
The year started out with Detroit winning this category, but things have changed. The Indians have become sellers! I’m shocked. I picked these guys to win their division over a Tigers team I predicted for 1,000 runs this year. They have (or had) strong starting pitching but have no bullpen. Offensively, I’m not sure what the problem is. they’re just playing sub-par it seems. As a team, their record is beyond disappointing.
Honorable Mention: A bunch in the next tier again… Colorado, San Diego. and until recently you had Detroit, Yankees, and Mets in this category. But i have to go with a last place team…Seattle. I’m sure many of you would disagree, but for me it’s the Mariners…even over the Rockies and last-place Padres. I thought these guys would be up there playing ball with the Angels. But I also thought they’d hang in there last year too.
Management to be Fired: I have to throw the Mets in here. cuz as much as I like Willie, he has to go…oh wait, he’s already gone?…when did that happen? oh, they fired him at 3am while he was on a road trip? real classy there, guys. he didn’t deserve that. that was so weak. I thought GM Omar would be gone by now too (well, i thought he’d be gone last year). So if i have to pick the next manager to be fired, i’ll just go with Dusty Baker. he should’ve been fired last year too. i’ll just put Dusty Baker in this spot every year, regardless of whether or where he’s managing. i can’t believe anyone gives that guy money. otherwise maybe the Braves really want to shake things up and move Bobby Cox out of town and fire him in the middle of the night on a roadtrip too. But in all seriousness, Seattle management has really messed things up badly. They will be in last place in the AL West for years to come.
Best Trade: Yankees win with Pudge for Kyle Farnsworth?!?! Yes Pudge is old, but they got him for a box of rocks. And also getting Nady and Marte in another trade. All without selling their future.
Worst Trade: So the Red Sox give up 2 prospects to downgrade from Manny to Jason Bay? i can’t think about that move anymore. Although there’s a big defensive upgrade here. And Jason Bay’s batting stats are very good this year. So it will be about consistency. Will it be the Jason Bay from 2007 or the good version? There’s some risk here, although Manny is risky too.
Another trade I actually hate is the Angels move to trade Kotchman for Teixeira. Yes, it’s a short-term upgrade. But they already have the best record in baseball! They’re running away with the division and guaranteed to make the playoffs!! How much difference is this slight upgrade really gonna make? Anything can happen in the playoffs. Then what? Are they gonna sign Tex long-term for $15 Million/yr? he aint’ worth the super big bucks, but they pretty much have to sign him just to justify the swap. while Kotchman, who is younger and less injury-prone, also the toughest man to strike out in the major leagues which works real well in their base-running hit-and-run offense, with so much future potential, makes so much less money. couldn’t they use that money to… sign F-Rod maybe?!!!??!! or Lackey?!?!!! stupid stupid stupid. they will regret it.
I was gonna do some predictions on MVP and Cy Young and stuff, but it’s too early. I have no idea.
Pennant Race…
AL East: Rays (they hang on)
AL Central: White Sox (Twins drop off)
AL West: Angels
AL WC: Yankees (eventhough no moves for SP, they got better…while Red Sox didn’t)
NL East: Phillies (sorry Mets fans, but all things being equal, Phillies made moves and Mets didn’t…they’ll quit again down the stretch)
NL Central: Cubs (Harden addition is huge, takes some pressure off Lilly and Dempster. they all go deep in games. their bullpen will be fresh)
NL West: Dodgers (Yes, Manny is enough. it’s a weak division. trade 2 prospects and get Manny. and now they get to blindfold Andruw Jones, drive him out to Nevada and drop him off somewhere.)
NL WC: Milwaukee (CC and healthy Sheets. dangerous in a 5 game series. first time in the playoffs.)
Divisional (best of 5):
Angels crush the Yankees in 4. Rays beat the White Sox in 5.
Cubs beat Brewers in 5. Phillies beat Dodgers in 4.
Conference (best of 7):
Angels beat the Rays in one of the best 7-game series we’ve ever seen.
Cubs beat the Phillies in 6.
World Series:
Cubs beat the Angels in 6.
anyway, stay tuned for Part II at some point soon with comments and awards on our Fantasy League…
- Jason Chen