With slightly more than 100 games played in the season.. the deadline now dead.. here's the shakedown on MLB as I see it.
There were some interesting moves made within the last 48 hours. I think Abreu moving over to the Yankees and the fact that neither the Red Sox or the Blue Jays did anything much to help their causes.. The Yankees were our pick in the beginning and I think they give the AL East a good run.
The Red Sox have been getting such tremendous production from their young closer, together with some incredibly timely hitting by Big Papi and Manny, they have shown what a Championship seasoned team can do. But, the season is far from over and this two team battle is going to be one of the most entertaining and exciting races to watch.
There really is no pressure on the NL East leading NY Mets. With the sweep of the Atlanta Braves.. the East is pretty much wrapped up. They made a nice move to shore up the pitching rotation loss of Duaner Sanchez (injured in a car accident and out for the season) by picking up Hernandez from the Pirates. Since Roberto has been with the Mets in the past and proven he can play under the pressure of the Big Apple press.. I think that was a safe and very solid move on the Mets' part.
Over to the wild and whacky West. In the AL it is still a tightly bunched up Division. From top to bottom the separation is 3.5 games. I put my hat in the ring with the Mariners early in the season and I think they are playing fairly decent ball recently. They have some issues in the pitching department .. but only 3.5 games back and the troubles in this Division they could still pull it off.
As for the trading.. It appears the Rangers have made the biggest moves in an attempt to make a run at the top. Although the wise move might be to go with the Angels who are stacked.. or the Rangers with all the moves.. or even the A's who still have the best pitching staff in this group.. I have to go with what I picked in the beginning. The bat of Sexton has been heating up and Ichiro's leadership will make a difference in the end.
As for the NL West.. speaking of leadership.. The Dodgers made a leadership type of move when they picked up Greg Maddux. A certain HOF'er .. his game may not be so perfect after his big 5-0 start to the year.. but.. his leadership abilities are without question. He may be just the stabilizing force the Dodger staff needs.. especially following the embarrassing tirade put on by Brad Penny in his last start. The injuries continue to slow the Dodger parade though. They can't seem to keep the same lineup on the field.. Nomar and Kent have been in and out all year.. No Bill Mueller. Letting go of Izturis and picking up Lugo may end up being a super move in the long run. The Dodgers have some outstanding young talent in the farm system as far as their position players are concerned. This move makes a lot of sense to me. Five games back and at the bottom of the NL West does not bode well for my early season pick.. but hey, it ain't over til it's over.
The Detroit Tigers look like they have finally separated a bit from the Chicago White Sox. Ozzie showing a bit of frustration a few games back may be just the chink in the armor that the Tigers needed to see. Since that time the Tigers have steadily pulled away. I see them finishing strong. The White Sox will battle for the Wild Card.
The NL Central looks like St. Louis staying strong. Although, the Reds made some nice moves to shore up their pitching staff and 3.5 games is not that large a deficit if they can get on a bit of a roll. Strong hitting leads the way for both clubs and it will come down to whether the pitching additions were the smart move or not.
All in all the season has been outstanding.. with tremendous plays (remember Matthews, Jr's catch?) incredible hitting performances.. now it is Chase Utley in the spotlight.. and topsy turvy divisonal races. Baseball is awesome and I am proud to be involved in my own little way.
Enjoy the rest of the season!
