LWAL's preseason pick of Tigers over Mets in the 2008 World Series is in critical condition. Granted it is still May, but for how long can one continue to say "it's only April," "its only May," its only the All Star break?" Before breaking out today, the Mets had lost 5 in-a-row, falling to two games under .500 and 4.5 behind the super surprising Marlins. You know things are going bad when Fernando Tatis is starting in the outfield. Bad bullpen pitching and injuries in the outfield are seriously slowing down this offense. Also, Jose Reyes has not been able to evolve into the dominate lead-off hitter it seemed like he would be at this time last year. As for the Terrible Tigers, they still reside in the basement of the AL Central, 6.5 behind the White Sox (another surprise at the top). The only team with a worst team ERA in all of baseball is a team everyone expected to be there, the Pirates (5.05 compared to the Tigers robust 4.98). For the record, it does not matter how many runs you score if you give up five runs a game (Detroit is third in the AL in runs scored and team batting average). There is still a lot of time, but time is of the essence in Detroit and Queens.The Not-So Crappy Cardinals have weathered a storm of bad play, winning 5 out of 6 and currently sit .5 game behind the Cubs for the best record in the league. The story for this team has been the play of Ryan Ludwick, which was chronicled here two weeks ago. Ludwick started the season splitting time with Skip Schumaker (who has also played surprisingly well). Currently, Ludwick is fourth in batting average (.347) and home runs (13) and fifth in RBIs (37). His play has been a pleasant surprise for those of us who thought this team would struggle mightily offensive outside of Pujols' normal production. Now for some random thoughts:
- Josh Hamilton-Williams and Lance Berkman-Ruth are playing out of their minds right now. Talking triple crown this time of year is about as productive as talking about Chipper Jones-Hornsby hitting .400 (.415 currently), but it is worth taking note of the way these guys are playing. Hamilton-Williams is currently tied for the league lead in average (.335) and home runs (12) and leads the league in RBIs by 13 (53). Berkman-Ruth is second in average (.387) and leads the NL in home runs (16) and RBIs (45). Somewhere Carl Yastremski is getting uneasy.
- Francisco Rodriguez has saved 20 of the Angels' 29 wins. Somewhere Bobby Thigpen is feeling uncomfortable.
- Brandon Webb is a loser.
1 comment:
I cannot root for the Mets, and I'm not surprised by either team, but I wish people would leave poor Willie alone. It's not his fault everyone doesn't get along or is not playing particularly well. That's like blaming Bud harrelson for the '92 Mets..oh wait, bad comparison.
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