Baseball; There Ain't No Time For The Summertime Blues [BCochran]

Hello my friends. We're entering the summer which means it's dead in the middle of baseball season. The good teams are starting to establish themselves and their records while everyone else is.....well....doing what they do.

We're a little over a third of the way through the season and I thought now might be a good time for a check of the standings. Let's see where everyone's at, shall we?

AL East
1) NY Yankees
2) Tampa Bay Rays
3) Toronto Blue Jays
4) Baltimore Orioles
5) Boston Red Sox

The Yankees currently have a 2 game lead on the Rays. Unsurprising. What is surprising is just how bad the Sox are. After loading up with talent in the offseason, they've failed to produce in the regular season. Well below .500 and 7 games back of the Yanks right now. They're going to need to turn it around in a big way to even sniff at the Wild Card.

AL Central
1) Kansas City Royals
2) Minnesota Twins
3) Detroit Tigers
4) Chicago White Sox
5) Cleveland Indians

Not entirely surprising. The Royals showed us what they had last year and they've picked up where they left off. Minnesota is a scant 2 games back and with much of the season left, even the lowly Indians (sorry Alex) have a chance to get in the hunt being only 7 games back.

AL West
1) Houston Astros
2) Texas Rangers
3) LA Angels
4) Seattle Mariners
5) Oakland Athletics

Yes, you read that right. The Houston Astros are in first place in the AL West. I'm as shocked as anyone. Of course, they could be out to a commanding lead, but they've lost 7 in a row. Because...Astros. The biggest story from this division is the Athletics and just how ridiculously awful they are. Let me be honest, I am unimpressed, and always have been, with "Moneyball". You might be getting the best bang for your buck, but you aren't winning sh*t. And winning is what matters in professional sports. Bring me championships, then I'll be impressed.

NL East
1) New York Mets
2) Washington Nationals
3) Atlanta Braves
4) Miami Marlins
5) Philadelphia Phillies

The Mets are currently leading in what is probably the weakest division in baseball. The Nationals are only a half game back, but considering the expectations going into the season, they're not performing well. The Braves sold the house, including their closer the day before the season opened, but somehow are still in contention. The Marlins attempted to bring in talent to fill in around Stanton, but have looked just awful so far. I don't expect much of a showing from the NL East in the postseason.

NL West
1) LA Dodgers
2) San Francisco Giants
3) San Diego Padres
4) Arizona Diamondbacks
5) Colorado Rockies

LA and SanFran have, thus far, shown themselves to be the class of the division. Only a game and a half separate the two and I expect them to battle it out all the way through the season. Past performance indicates the Giants will pull it out in the end, but the Dodgers have one of, if not the best pitchers in baseball in Kershaw. In fact, with the combo of Kershaw and Grienke, the Dodgers likely have the best 1-2 in the bigs. This division should provide some excellent fireworks down the stretch.

NL Central
1) St. Louis Cardinals
2) Chicago Cubs
3) Pittsburgh Pirates
4) Cincinnati Reds
5) Milwaukee Brewers

St. Louis is utterly dominating this division already. They have the best record in baseball and have already built a 6.5 game lead. I fully expect them to walk into the playoffs with the division title. Chicago and Pittsburgh are left to scramble for a Wild Card berth.

I don't know where your favorite is in the standings, but I hope you're enjoying baseball. With the NBA finally winding down, it's almost the dog days of summer and fully baseball season. Before you know it, the All Star break will be here and then it's a fast slide into the end of the year and post season. So take some time to enjoy America's Past-time. Head out to watch your local minor league team. Enjoy a Thirsty Thursday and check out the guys whose name everyone will know in a couple years.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the post and I hope you're enjoying the season even more.

I'll check back in with you folks sometime around the All Star Break.

posted by Open Blogger at 06:00 PM

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