Mid-Season Rankings

Over the past six or seven weeks, a lot has changed in the baseball world. As we've reached the mid-way point of the season in terms of number of games played, two weeks shy of the All-Star Game, it's time to look back on the first half of the season and where teams stand now as the second half unofficially gets underway.

1. Tampa Bay (49-32): The Rays are not only the best team right now, but putting them at the top of the rankings is a trendy thing to do these days. (LR: 5)

2. Chicago-NL (49-33): If the Cubbies can figure out how to win on the road (16-23), they might actually win a few games in the playoffs this year. (LR: 2)

3. Boston (50-34): Manny Ramirez has been asked to wear a straight-jacket from now on when he isn't on the field. (LR: 3)

4. Chicago-AL (49-35): Lately, it's been the White Sox bats making a lot of noise, and not Ozzie Guillen's mouth. (LR: 10)

5. L.A. Angels (49-33): The Halos have petitioned with MLB to play their remaining home games on the road instead (MLB-best 27-15 road record). (LR: 6)

6. St. Louis (47-36): Mark Mulder will be taking a gurney and an ER surgeon to the mound with him every time he pitches. (LR: 8)

7. Minnesota (45-37): The Twins are looking for a way to trade back for Johan Santana for the pennant stretch. Nah, just kidding! (LR: 15)

8. Oakland (44-37): Even GM Billy Beane is shocked at how quickly all of his trades this past off-season have worked out for the A's. (LR: 13)

9. N.Y. Yankees (44-38): The Yankees have designated Jason Giambi's new mustache as the team’s new good luck charm, which will be prominently on display during games. (LR: 23)

10. Detroit (41-40): In light of the Tigers recent play, Jim Leyland's cigarette intake has dropped from three packs a day to two. (LR: 27)

11. Philadelphia (44-39): Chase Utley is so popular in Philly, the city is replacing the Rocky statue at the city's Museum of Art with one of Utley. (LR: 12)

12. Milwaukee (44-37): Upon Eric Gagne’s return, Bob Eucker will be asked to cover up his white wife-beater, and cut back on the booze, so as to not distract Gagne during save opportunities. (LR: 20)

13. Florida (42-39): The City of Miami has decided not to build the Marlins new stadium until they reach the 15,000 mark in home average attendence. (LR: 7)

14. Baltimore (41-39): The Mariners new GM called and inquired about possibly trading Eric Bedard back to the O's for Adam Jones and George Sherrill. (LR: 14)

15. Texas (42-41): Josh Hamilton is driving in runs at such a ridiculous rate that Cincinnati has called and asked for him back to help their offense. (LR: 19)

16. Arizona (41-41): What gives? The Snakes' offense has tanked, and Brandon Webb is now on pace for only 24 wins and 1.5 Cy Young Awards. (LR: 1)

17. Toronto (40-43): Back to the Future Part IV? The Blue Jays have brought Cito Gaston back from 1997 to turn the team around. Great Scott! (LR: 18)

18. Atlanta (40-43): The Braves are still trying to figure out how they can take Turner Field with them on road trips. (LR: 11)

19. L.A. Dodgers (38-43): The Dodgers have decided to place the remaining $56M of their $119M payroll on the DL with the other $63M. (LR: 9)

20. N.Y. Mets (40-41): Omar Minaya is having second thoughts and is contemplating re-hiring Willie Randolph. (LR: 17)

21. Cleveland (37-45): C.C. Sabathia will ask the Indians to include the locker room buffet table in any trade he's involved in. (LR: 16)

22. Houston (39-43): Lance Berkman has cooled of so much that not even the heat and humidity in Houston can keep him hot. (LR: 4)

23. San Francisco (36-46): Suddenly, being 10 games back in this division isn't so bad afterall. (LR: 28)

24. Pittsburgh (38-43): Pirates fans are already counting down the days to the Steelers and Penguins season openers. (LR: 22)

25. Kansas City (37-45): I'm telling you, Royals fans are really, really ticked about that George Brett pine-tar incident. (LR: 21)

26. Cincinnati (38-45): Team trainers are still trying to remove the toothpick lodged in Dusty Baker's throat. (LR: 24)

27. Colorado (32-50): The Rockies may not need to win 13 straight games at end of the season to make the playoffs again. (LR: 29)

28. San Diego (32-51): Greg Maddux has been stuck at 350 career wins for so long, he's resorted to playing himself on PS2 to remember what its like to win a game. (LR: 30)

29. Seattle (31-50): At this rate, Mariners fans might ask the M's to leave town for Oklahoma City with the Sonics. (LR: 26)

30. Washington (33-50): Opponents, feeling bad about the Nats' -114 run differential, have been offering to spot them runs to give them a chance. (LR: 25)

LR = Last Rank

Pierre Lands On DL

Well, it's about time! (Just kidding! Hahaha...)

Actually, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm tired of watching him hitting his little pop-ups to left field every other at-bat, and I'm tired of watching below average runners take an extra base on him because they know he can't throw a lick. This could be a blessing in disguise, either way, especially with Raffy Furcal expected back this weekend.

In any case, Pierre hurt his knee running the bases during yesterday's game, and limped off the field in obvious pain. An MRI today revealed a sprained MCL in his left knee. He is expected to mis anywhere from four to six weeks. (This might be the best news of all!)

Jason Repko will take his spot on the roster, probably until Andruw Jones is ready to come off the DL after the All-Star Game next week. In the meantime, Delwyn "Pee Wee" Young will get Pierre's playing time in left field for now, and then when Andruw comes back, the Dodgers can go with what should be their best outfield of Jones, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. Unfortunately, that will only last until Pierre comes back.

Dodgers Get No-Hit... And Win

No, that's not a typo. It really did happen! The Dodgers were no-hit through eight innings by two Angels pitchers, but came away with a 1-0 win thanks to an unearned run in the fifth inning. Unfortunately, by Major League Baseball rules, because the Dodgers were the home team and didn't bat in the ninth inning, the game does not count as an official no-hitter. Regardless, the Dodgers pulled off a rare feat.

Matt Kemp led off the fifth inning reaching base on a little roller down the first base line that was misplayed by Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver. The play was originally ruled a hit, and then changed to an error. Kemp then stole second base and took third base when Jeff Mathis' throw sailed over second base into center field. Blake DeWitt then hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Kemp, and the Dodgers made it hold up.

And we'll all take it. A win is a win, right? And it was a big win because Arizona won earlier tonight. So with the wins, Arizona (41-40) maintains a 2.5 game lead in the standings over the Dodgers, who improve to 38-42 with their second straight win. And, more importantly, the Dodgers trail by only two games in the loss column.

I dunno about anyone else, but this division, for the moment, reminds me of the division in 2006, when the Padres won the division with 82 wins. But with half a season still left to play, I think the Dodgers are in pretty good shape to start doing some good things here.

They are expected to get Rafael Furcal and Nomar Garciaparra back sometime next weekend, and Andruw Jones is about two weeks away from returning from the disabled list, as well. Hiroki Kuroda and Brad Penny threw in the pen today to test their shoulders, and felt no discomfort. The telling tale will be how they feel in the morning. And Jason Schmidt will be resuming his rehab this week, and he, too, could make his first appearance in over a year after the All-Star Break. So all-in-all, lots of good news for the Dodgers (although personally, I'd prefer if Schmidt never steps foot on a mound again as a Dodger).

In the meantime, they're getting some much needed help from the guys stepping up and filling in for Kuroda and Penny, as Chan Ho Park and Eric Stults have been solid in their absences. The same can't be said for Furcal's replacements. His replacements are hitting below .200 combined, and that's basically Chin-Ling Hu (.159), back in AAA Las Vegas, and Angel Berroa (.185 before tonight's game). Luis Maza (.236) has seen some play at short, but he's hitting a tad better than Hu and Berroa.

So, back to tonight's game. When was the last time a team lost a game after not allowing a hit? How about 1992. Long time ago. That was also the last unofficial no-hitter in Major League Baseball history.

Anyway, Dodgers take the series against the Angels, with one more tomorrow, and can sweep the series, and win the season series with the Angels with a win. John Lackey opposes Derek Lowe at the Ravine.

Interleague Woes; Injury Reports

It's been a while since I've had a chance to post anything here, but there really hasn't been anything spectacular to write about when it comes to the Dodgers. Since May 24th, the Dodgers have gone 9-17 and amazingly have not lost much ground on the division-leading Diamondbacks. The Dodgers had just come off a three-game sweep of Cincinnati, and conveniently enough, before last night's extra-inning loss to Cleveland, they just came off another three-game sweep of the Reds. The only other decent stretch during that time was a split of a four game series at home against the Cubs, who the league's best record.

The Dodgers are sorely missing Rafael Furcal's presence in the lineup. Unfortunately, his back injury turned out to be more serious than originally thought, and the bulging disk in his back causing the problems doesn't have him close to 100%. Furcal's injury, along with Chin-Lung Hu's struggles as a temporary replacement forced the Dodgers to trade for former AL Rookie of the Year winner, Angel Berroa. It also prompted the Dodgers to send Nomar on a rehab assignment from his calf injury; he was told to be prepared to play shortstop when he returns. However, there's no timetable for either of their returns.

Andruw Jones appears closer to returning from knee surgery. But in the meantime, Brad Penny and Hiroki Kuroda have since been DL'd with stiffness in their pitching shoulders. Penny had been God-awful in his last five starts before being disabled, and Kuroda had been inconsistent all year, going just 3-6 with an ERA around 4.

The bright side of all this is Andy LaRoche was activated and recalled from AAA Vegas, where he got some work in at first and second bases. The idea was to find more ways to get him in the lineup, and to make him more versatile around the infield, so he could occasionally spell Loney, Kent and DeWitt.

Back to the games themselves. The Dodgers, for whatever reason, just can't seem to find a way to win a game against an American League team. The Dodgers, who have struggled mightily during interleague play in recent years, are already 1-6 after last night's loss. Last night was a tough loss to swallow because after being shut down for 7 innings by Cliff Lee, the Dodgers erased a 4-0 deficit with two runs each in the 8th and 9th innings off the Indians bullpen. They actually had a good chance to win it in the 9th but LaRoche hit a rocket to center field to end the inning, leaving the bases loaded in the process. Then Saito gave the lead back in the 10th.

The Indians loaded the bases with no outs off Saito. Before Jhonny Peralta's game-winning two-run double, former Dodger Franklin Gutierrez hit into a very rare, but huge 6-2-5 double play. Unfortunately, the defensive web gem didn't help in the end. And as awful as he was in the 9th inning, Indians closer Joe Borowski was taken off the hook by the offense and he was credited with a win. Makes no sense to me.

Oh, and to add insult to injury, Indians starting pitcher CC Sabathia hit a 450-plus bomb for a home run this afternoon off Dodger starter Chan Ho Park. Park has 8 K's through 4 innings, but it's 1-0 Indians.

The Mess That is the Mets; Hammerin' Hank Hates the NL

We all saw this one coming, didn't we? And it all started with a little incident last season when Willie Randolph benched his superstar shortstop after failing to hustle down to first base. I've heard countless Mets fans, generally the Latino fans, suggest that the Mets are Jose Reyes' team; the clubhouse is Jose Reyes' clubhouse. All I can do is laugh when I hear that kind of ignorant banter.

The Mets, in what appeared to be a cowardly act, fired their manager after a 9-6 win last night in interleague play at Anaheim. But it was the way Mets GM Omar Minaya did it. Once he made the decision that the time was now, he boarded a flight to Los Angeles, went to the team hotel, and then told him he was being let go, at midnight.

Here's how this really went down, says ESPN's Buster Olney, and I can't help but to agree with every last bit of it. The circus that is the Mets front office really should think twice about the way they handled this. And then to add insult to injury, Minaya went out and made a bigger ass of himself by trying to explain this to anyone who was willing to listen to him or believe him during his press conference this afternoon. Karma's a bitch, isn't it? I'll be the first to sit back with a smile on my face when this all comes back to bite the Mets and Minaya in the ass later on. Or, maybe it's already starting? Reyes left tonight's game against the Angels with an apparent leg injury, which turned out to be a stiff hamstring.

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And how about this from Yankee's co-chairman, Hank Steinbrenner.

During yesterday's game in Houston, Yankee pitcher Chien-Ming Wang hurt his foot running the bases while trying to score from second base. The diagnosis after an MRI yesterday leaves him in a protective boot and on crutches for six weeks, and he is expected to be out until September.

But in the aftermath of the injury, Hank had some choice words, which I found rather amusing and cute, for the National League.

"My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st century. They need to grow up and join the 21st century. Am I [mad] about? Yes. I've got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He's going to be out. I don't like that and it's time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s."

Now I don't know about anyone else, but doesn't the American League basically play with the same rules now? Sure the game has evolved and some of the rules have been modernized over the years. But the basic rules of the game that Major League Baseball uses today... is from the 1800s, Hank! The 21st century? Please, Hank. Your pitcher could have just as easily got hurt on the pitchers mound or running to cover first base on a defensive play, or to back up the catcher behind home plate on a throw from the outfield. Don't go crying to MLB because your pitchers don't know how to run the bases properly. Don't go crying to MLB because they aren't well conditioned to run the bases. And let's be honest, I can't begin to remember the last time a pitcher in the American League hurt his foot the way Wang did while running the bases during interleague play. In fact, the answer is never! Heck, that kind of injury has never happened to an NL pitcher from running the bases! (Sure, Derek Lowe re-aggravated a pre-existing hip injury last season in Houston trying to leg out a hit to right field. It happens.) There's no crying in baseball, Hank!

And to be honest, I absolutely hate the designated hitter. It's a useless position. The player doesn't play on the field. And if you really dig in and did research, I'll bet only a small number of American League teams have really benefited and had success with it over the years. But we'll save this for another time.

But for now, I'm just going to sit back and chuckle a little more over Hank's little crying tirade.

Instant Replay Coming?

More than any other season, umpires have blown an insane number of home run calls this season, most notably in May. Because of this, baseball and its umpires have been under fire to get instant replay into baseball to help prevent these calls, some of which have dramatically affected games. While I'm one of the "old school" fans who prefer to not have instant replay part of baseball, what I've seen this season has changed my opinion on the issue and I would certainly favor it... in limited use. So, baseball has implemented a plan that could become reality by August 1st, where instant replay would be used only on "boundary" calls involving home runs, meaning fair or foul, or did it clear the yellow line or not. I would also not be opposed to it used for plays at home plate, as missed calls there could affect the outcome of a game, as well, but that's far from becoming a reality.

Some people worry instant replay would lengthen games and drag them on. But after giving this much thought, I've concluded that since umpires generally spend a minute or two discussing these type of controversial calls before they finalize a decision anyway (as they did in the aforementioned situations), using that time to walk over to a camera in the camera well next to one of the dugouts and viewing a home run in question within a 90-second time frame wouldn't lengthen or drag a game on any more than without the use of instant replay. What generally lengthens and drags games on are all the little nuances that players bring with them to the field, such as a pitcher taking forever to make a pitch by either waiting until the alloted time to make pitch has elapsed, or continuously stepping on and off the pitching rubber on the mound, or a hitter who keeps stepping in and out of the batter's box.

This is all probably still in the early stages but it appears that this could all come to fruition over the next six weeks as we approach August 1st. It seems to me that baseball is as concerned about these calls as the general public, as well as the teams it could affect. Baseball seems to be finally getting things right!

Early All-Star Selections

I've always thought voting for and discussing possible All-Star nods in late-May and early June didn't make a whole lot of sense when the season's not even two months old, and the game is still six weeks away. But here we are anyway, on June 3rd, and the first voting results are already in with still another month left in the voting.

I've also never understood, mostly since MLB decided that the All-Star game winner would determine World Series home-field advantage, why fans are allowed to vote. Most fans don't understand the concept of how important the All-Star game is now, even if it shouldn't be important to them or the players, now that it is tied to the World Series. The game is supposed to be an exhibition of the best players having the best seasons at their position up to that point in the season. It's supposed to reward players for the excellence over the first half of the season. Instead, it's become nothing more than another popularity contest, much like American Idol (which is why I refuse to watch thae show, or get caught up in the hype surrounding the show). That said, I thought I'd try to make sense of the current vote leaders so far, and come up with my own All-Stars, not to be confused with my pre-season picks!

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1. FIRST BASE - So far, the voters have this one right. Lance Berkman is having an MVP-caliber season thus far, hitting .385 with an astounding .750 slugging percentage to go with his 17 home runs and 47 RBI. You really can make a case for Albert Pujols "quietly" hitting .366 despite having an elbow just short of requiring Tommy John surgery, but not with the season Berkman is having so far.

2. SECOND BASE - Chase Utley leads all Major League hitters with 21 home runs and all National League hitters with 52 RBI. There isn't a second baseman in either league anywhere near his production, and thus he should get the nod here. Voters are right on target here, as the MVP-candidate leads the N.L. in voting with almost 900,000 votes. However, very worthy honorable mentions to Florida's Dan Uggla (.297/16/38/1.008 OPS), and Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips (.287/11/32/.865 OPS).

3. THIRD BASE - Some guys just get better with age. And there's no question Chipper Jones is one of those guys. The N.L. early front-runner for MVP is off to an astonishing start, hitting an MLB-best .407, an OBP near .500, and slugging a robust .637. No one else should matter right now at third base in the N.L. The voters haven't missed a step yet!

4. SHORTSTOP - The N.L. is loaded with premier shortstops throughout the league: defending MVP Jimmy Rollins; Jose Reyes; Rafael Furcal; Miguel Tejada. But Rollins and Furcal are hurt, and Reyes has been inconsistent much of the season. You can make a case for either Tejada or Ramirez, but Ramirez is having a slightly better overall year than Tejada despite Tejada being ahead of him with a .312 average. Plus, Ramirez is one of the big reasons why the Marlins are in first place in the N.L. East.

5. CATCHER - Much like the shortstop position, the catcher position is stacked in the N.L. with several guys deserving of All-Star nods. Brian McCann leads all N.L. backstoppers with 10 home runs to go with his .313 average. Russell Martin, last year's starter, leads all catchers with an astounding .429 on-base percentage to go with his .321 average after a horrid 3-for-29 start. And Bengie Molina leads all N.L. catchers with 63 hits and a .332 average. But because he's getting a lot recognition on the league's best team, Rookie of the Year candidate Geovany Soto should get the nod here. Soto is hitting .296 with a .388 on-base percentage and nine home runs. The voters have chosen Soto so far, but any of the aforementioned catchers are deserving.

6. OUTFIELD - Premier N.L. outfielders are not having the best of seasons so far. Among the vote-leaders, Alfonso Soriano had a recent hot-streak after a stint on the DL and is still trying to make up ground; Kosuke Fukudome has shown flashes of greatness with a solid average and defense, but lacks power; Ken Griffey Jr is hitting .255; 2007 MVP runner-up Matt Holliday is on the disabled list; Carlos Beltran is just now starting to hit. That said, four outfielders (including three 'Ryans') who have flown under the radar this year are having All-Star type seasons and should be recognized for their achievements: Ryan Ludwick (.321/13/42/1.062 OPS), Ryan Braun (.297/15/42/.899 OPS), Ryan Church (.314/10/42/.928 OPS) and Nate McLouth (.312/13/42/1.002 OPS). You can make a case for any three of these four young outfielders to start in the All-Star game.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1. FIRST BASE - The voters say Kevin Youkilis, but you can make the very same case for Justin Morneau. Both first basemen are having practically identical seasons offensively. The only other first baseman worthy of mention here is Casey Kotchman, who is leading all A.L. first basemen with a .324 average. Youk or Morneau. Take your pick.

2. SECOND BASE - Ian Kinsler leads all A.L. second basemen in every offensive category. But because he plays for Texas and not Boston or New York, the voters haven't taken much notice, and Dustin Pedroia has a commanding lead, with Robinson Cano a distant second. Kinsler should be the starter as of today, with Jose Lopez as a reserve.

3. THIRD BASE - There really isn't a worthy selection here among third basemen who haven't spent any time on the disabled list. So by default, because they're both having better seasons than any other third basemen despite having missed significant time due to injuries, Alex Rodriguez or Mike Lowell are obvious choices. The voters like A-Rod in a landslide.

4. SHORTSTOP - There really is only one obvious choice here, and it's not who you think. Derek Jeter is having an average season (.279/3/26/.747 OPS); nowhere near good enough to warrant 832,000 votes. The nod here should go to Michael Young (.296/5/26/.778 OPS), who is a distant third in the voting behind Jeter, who leads the second place vote-getter, Edgar Renteria, by more than half a million votes. Yikes!

5. CATCHER - Once again, the voters have gone with the popular vote here, which is another Boston or New York player. With Yankee catcher Jorge Posada stuck on the DL, Jason Varitek is getting the majority vote. However, Varitek is hitting .269 despite leading A.L. catchers with just six home runs. The nod here should be Joe Mauer, who leads all A.L. catchers with a .319 average and a .405 on-base percentage despite the fact he has just one home run. There really isn't any one else to mention this year here.

6. DESIGNATED HITTER - Because the game is being playing in an A.L. park (Yankee Stadium), the DH is on the ballot for the A.L. David Ortiz is running away with the votes here in a major landslide, but that all might be for naught. Ortiz struggled early in the season to keep his average above .200, and is now at .252. He leads all DH's with 13 home runs and 43 RBI. But he's headed for the DL after learning yesterday he has a partial ligament tear in his wrist, and will likely be out at least a month. Second on the voting list is Hideki Matsui, having a solid year hitting .328 with a .409 on-base percentage despite having only six home runs and 26 RBI. But Milton Bradley should get some mention here. All Bradley is doing is hitting .317, with nine home runs, 34 RBI, a .425 on-base percentage and is slugging .552. My vote goes to Bradley over Matsui.

7. OUTFIELDER - The outfielders should be three guys, and the voters have two of them right. There's no mistaking what Manny Ramirez does year in and year out, and this season is no different. Leading MVP-candidtate Josh Hamilton is having an insane year, hitting .331 with 16 home runs, an MLB-best 65 RBI, with an OPS just a tad under 1.000. You can make a slight case for Ichiro, third in the voting, and even Magglio Ordonez (.322/9/37/.908 OPS), but the third outfield starter should be Carlos Quentin, who has come out of nowhere after an off-season trade that brought him to Chicago from Arizona. All Quentin has done is hit .293 with 14 home runs and 48 RBI, with a .967 OPS. There's no reason he shouldn't be out of the Top 15 among A.L. outfield voting.