'06 Individual Performances

Where do you start? So far this year we have seen Jimmy Rollins scare the all-time hitting streak record. Kevin Mench has just fallen short of the all-time MLB record of consecutive games with a Home Run. Mench clubbed a round tripper in 7 straight. Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly and a fellow named Dale Long (Pittsburgh Pirates - 1956)share the record at 8. Mench, however is the only right handed hitter in that group and holds that distinction. Mench tied another all-time mark back in June when he smashed a homerun in three consecutive innings vs the LA Angels. During his current binge, Mench hit two Grand Slams and drove in 20 RBI's!

Speaking of Griffey, he has surpassed Mickey Mantle and continues to climb the all-time Home Run list. Mike Piazza crushed his 400th Home Run. Barry, yes Barry... he climbed over Babe Ruth. No, not for the Home Runs. Barry has amassed more walks in his career than The Babe. How many more marks will he topple? He sits just 3 Home Runs shy of Ruth for second place all-time. The problem for Barry is... nobody seems to care. MLB plans no celebration, the Ruth family seems distant. A far cry from the moments in 1998 that featured Mammoth Mark eclipsing Roger Maris. Poor Barry. Do you think the trust factor might be missing?

And oh.. mentioning the Babe Ruth records. One more of Babe's records could be tied this year. His pitching prowess is completely forgotten. But, the Babe could chuck the rock! Curt Schilling takes aim at tying Babe Ruth and Pedro Martinez (if he could only hit like the Babe)as the only Red Sox pitchers to chalk up five wins in April.

What else is happening out there? Oh, who could forget.. possibly the most intimidating hitter in the league (yea, even more than Bonds); Albert Pujols is drumming the opposing pitchers. Big Bad Mr. Albert (can't call him Fat) set the MLB record for most Home Runs in the opening month of the season - 14! Should we get a blood test here? Only kidding. I think Albert is as legit as they come... Humble, confident and completely honorable, there doesn't appear to be any "fat" on the man. We could be seeing something special from him this year.

MLB Team CheckUp

What a tremendous start to the 2006 season. As we have already noted, some surprising teams have forged their way to the top of their divisions. The Tigers remain hot holding the MLB best winning percentage on the road and sitting only 1.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers continue to pelt the ball at just about every park they go to. The great pitching of the Angels staff was able to put a small bump in their road.. but the teams that followed have paid dearly. Tigers scoring runs like a Little League team (I wonder if those XLR8 Balls have anything to do with it?).

Speaking of the White Sox.. Not even the great Angels pitching seems to slow them down. The World Series champs keep on pounding out hits, getting timely hitting and playing very solid in the field. If they win today they will sweep the Angels in their own ballpark.. no small feat. The addition of Jim Thome into that lineup has been huge. With Konerko, Dye and Crede swinging solid bats.. throw in the pitching and fielding.. this will be a tough challenge for any team to beat.

Then there's the NY Mets. They are simply running away with the East, beating up on the Braves at every opportunity. Sometimes pounding their teams, often times relying on the pitching. They are a solid team. Tom Glavine having a remarkable year beating the Braves yesterday and pitching like the Hall of Famer he will be. Glavine was contstantly fooling the powerful Braves hitters enroute to a sterline 1-0 win on Saturday. The only hitter that looked like he had a plan against Glavine was LF Diaz who went up to the plate with the right approach, had good at bats and still only managed one hit against Terrific Tom. The solid hitting of the Mets and their rotation that features one of the best of our time; Pedro Martinez.. well, they may just find themselves playing for a ring a little later in the year.

Other notable teams; Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds. The Astros have set a franchise record for the month of April with great pitching and timely hitting. Thats the great news. The bad news is they are in the same division as the Reds. Yea, the same Reds that have set a franchise record of their own.. reeling off 17 wins to sit atop the NL Central. They hold a single game lead over the Pujols powered Cards (who just keep chalking up wins) and a 1.5 game edge over the Astros. The Rockies, even without their star Todd Helton, have just decided to take over the West. Although a 14-10 record isn't exactly scintillating, they sit atop their division over the Bonds led Giants. Or should I say; The Alou led Giants. Moises has clearly had a great start to his year. I stand by my prediction that this division will eventually be won by the LA Dodgers. They just seem to be blogging along at this point, but up and down that lineup (with exception of the catcher spot.. where is Paul LoDuca when you need him)they look pretty solid.

Here is the standings as of today.