Meet me in St Louis as baseball's most recognized players converge on one of the country's truest baseball town with one of the best stadiums in the Camden Yards tradition to complete the picture missing for so long before its opening in 2006 fielding the home team's championship that year.
Some aspects of the 2009 season are quite predictable. How many folks are shocked that the Red Sox and Yankees command the best two records in the American League and the California Angels lead the West? In the National League, Philadelphia would be a pretty good bet for first in the east and surely it would have been hard not to pick the Dodgers in the West.
Choices for the American League Central varied, but would fans have expected Cleveland to have collapsed so completely showing the league’s worst record?
The National League Central had many picking the Cubs, but the Cubs haven’t been able to get it together while still being in contention. St. Louis is up by 2 ½ games over Milwaukee with Houston (a bit of a surprise albeit at .500 44/44) and the Cubs at 43 and 43, 3 ½ games back.
For overall team performance, most of the American League teams are playing within what would be reasonable to expect. Tampa Bay is hovering around being a contender with a .539 winning percentage, 6 ½ games out. Chicago then Minnesota are the next in line behind Detroit within striking distance but Kansas City and Cleveland are toast. Texas is only 1 ½ games behind the Los Angeles Angels but bigger news might be Seattle is in third only 4.0 games out of first, but this squat of overachievers will probably do no better than they are now.
In sizing up the National league teams, as horrible Philadelphia has been, they then go on spurts which keep them atop the East right now leading Florida by four games despite having the worst home record in the business. Florida is only two games over .500 with the Braves two games behind them, which leads to the Mets 6 ½ back. Weren’t the Mets with a rebuilt bullpen supposed to be able to edge out the Phillies in 2009?
Playing their first year in Citi Field, injuries and underachievement have kept the Mets from even remotely looking amazing.
Out west, the big surprise is the San Francisco Giants while seven games behind the Dodgers lead the wild card chase by two games over division rival, Colorado.
While perhaps no team gets the publicity the Detroit Lions got for their winless season in the NFL, there are some miserable franchises in the majors. The Washington Nationals flirt with historical failure at 26 and 61, a .299 percentage projects to a 48 and 114 final record. Manager Manny Acta’s firing should be no surprise though it’s hard to say the team’s failure is his fault. While there are some promising players around whom a winning team of the future might be emerging, most notably Ryan Zimmerman, the Nats have a long way to go. At least while he’s traveling through DC, left fielder, Adam Dunn cranks some of the nasty deep homeruns recently seen. It’s hard to imagine he will remain in Washington for long.
What should baseball fans in Pittsburgh think? The Pirates got off to a decent start then started unloading players. No team in sports has gone so long without a winning season, and while there are two teams between the Pirates and the Nationals, the Padres and Diamondbacks, those teams are clearly rebuilding for the future while the Pirates in their charming ballpark on the river provide nothing on the field to marvel other than the picturesque view beyond the outfield.
The Baltimore Orioles will finish in last place but maybe for the last time for a long time. Two years into the rebuilding process, the Orioles have a fine looking outfield of Nolan Riemold, Adam Jones, and Nick Martakis. All-star second baseman, Brian Roberts is locked into a long term contract, but the biggest buzz in crab town is the arrival of baseball’s number one prospect, former Georgia Tech star, Matt Wieters behind the plate. While the kid still is very raw talent, improvement by the week is quite evident.
The story for the Orioles will be unveiling the rotation of the future as the journeymen and roll players have been the laughing stock of the American League for several seasons now. Brad Bergeson looks like the player with the best shot to be part of the future rotation, but Matt Albers and Jason Berken have their shot too. The real future is working in Norfolk and Bowie maybe ready for action in the second half.
New Yankee Stadium has been full of surprises mostly for giving up homeruns so generously often against the home team. The most luxurious palace in baseball is also not selling its premium seats as expected, but as the Yankees approach post season, those seats could fill in quickly.
The top player story comes from St. Louis. Albert Pujols continues to legitimize his claim as being the game’s best player now in his 9th season poses one of the most legitimate shots at securing the major’s first Triple Crown since 1967.
Sadly, the top stories of the season so far this year focus on the misbehavior of two marquis players, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez. Rodriguez admitted to steroid use while playing for the Texas Rangers while many think his involvement in more widespread. A player who used to seem like such a pleasant and natural star now personifies the epitome of self-infatuated filthy rich star whose lifestyle mishaps and reputation in the clubhouse have tarnished his claims to baseball immortality as he continues to move up the all time lists.
Manny Ramirez failed a drug test and gained a 55 game suspension. The new happy Manny in LA still demands way too much patience.
The steroids scandal is not buried in the past. More names will surface as no confidential list is ever secure. Reporters and investigators will continue to identify implicated players. A look at the all-time homerun leaders with Barry Bonds a top the list with # 6, Sammy Sosa and #8, Mark McGwire also in the top ten being implicated shows how high the scandal rises. However, keep looking on that list, 10th (for now) Alex Rodriguez, 11th – Raphael Palmeiro, 16th (for now) Manny Ramirez, and 24th, Gary Sheffield. Ken Griffey Jr. and Jim Thome are the only active players not to be implicated in the top 25 all-time sluggers.
While baseball is cracking down significantly, they still aren’t administering an effective test for human growth hormone requiring a blood test and still some debate if an all-effective test exists.
Still, the damage is done. Surely from the mid-to-late 1980’s to around 2005, all major accomplishments will be under the microscope. Sure hall-of-famers like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are the highest profile suspects. Many cases are still being developed and have not reached trial.
Establishing this era in the chronicles of baseball history and honoring those who should stand as immortals in the Hall of Fame will be a difficult task to be debated for decades.
Regardless, baseball is a resilient sport. There’s plenty to like about the game on the field but the small market versus large market debate continues to linger regardless of which little towns achieve big post season dreams. That both LA teams, the Red Sox and Yankees are all right up atop the standings tells the tale while a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates is MLB’s version of NASCAR’s “start and park” competition.
Choices for the American League Central varied, but would fans have expected Cleveland to have collapsed so completely showing the league’s worst record?
The National League Central had many picking the Cubs, but the Cubs haven’t been able to get it together while still being in contention. St. Louis is up by 2 ½ games over Milwaukee with Houston (a bit of a surprise albeit at .500 44/44) and the Cubs at 43 and 43, 3 ½ games back.
For overall team performance, most of the American League teams are playing within what would be reasonable to expect. Tampa Bay is hovering around being a contender with a .539 winning percentage, 6 ½ games out. Chicago then Minnesota are the next in line behind Detroit within striking distance but Kansas City and Cleveland are toast. Texas is only 1 ½ games behind the Los Angeles Angels but bigger news might be Seattle is in third only 4.0 games out of first, but this squat of overachievers will probably do no better than they are now.
In sizing up the National league teams, as horrible Philadelphia has been, they then go on spurts which keep them atop the East right now leading Florida by four games despite having the worst home record in the business. Florida is only two games over .500 with the Braves two games behind them, which leads to the Mets 6 ½ back. Weren’t the Mets with a rebuilt bullpen supposed to be able to edge out the Phillies in 2009?
Playing their first year in Citi Field, injuries and underachievement have kept the Mets from even remotely looking amazing.
Out west, the big surprise is the San Francisco Giants while seven games behind the Dodgers lead the wild card chase by two games over division rival, Colorado.
While perhaps no team gets the publicity the Detroit Lions got for their winless season in the NFL, there are some miserable franchises in the majors. The Washington Nationals flirt with historical failure at 26 and 61, a .299 percentage projects to a 48 and 114 final record. Manager Manny Acta’s firing should be no surprise though it’s hard to say the team’s failure is his fault. While there are some promising players around whom a winning team of the future might be emerging, most notably Ryan Zimmerman, the Nats have a long way to go. At least while he’s traveling through DC, left fielder, Adam Dunn cranks some of the nasty deep homeruns recently seen. It’s hard to imagine he will remain in Washington for long.
What should baseball fans in Pittsburgh think? The Pirates got off to a decent start then started unloading players. No team in sports has gone so long without a winning season, and while there are two teams between the Pirates and the Nationals, the Padres and Diamondbacks, those teams are clearly rebuilding for the future while the Pirates in their charming ballpark on the river provide nothing on the field to marvel other than the picturesque view beyond the outfield.
The Baltimore Orioles will finish in last place but maybe for the last time for a long time. Two years into the rebuilding process, the Orioles have a fine looking outfield of Nolan Riemold, Adam Jones, and Nick Martakis. All-star second baseman, Brian Roberts is locked into a long term contract, but the biggest buzz in crab town is the arrival of baseball’s number one prospect, former Georgia Tech star, Matt Wieters behind the plate. While the kid still is very raw talent, improvement by the week is quite evident.
The story for the Orioles will be unveiling the rotation of the future as the journeymen and roll players have been the laughing stock of the American League for several seasons now. Brad Bergeson looks like the player with the best shot to be part of the future rotation, but Matt Albers and Jason Berken have their shot too. The real future is working in Norfolk and Bowie maybe ready for action in the second half.
New Yankee Stadium has been full of surprises mostly for giving up homeruns so generously often against the home team. The most luxurious palace in baseball is also not selling its premium seats as expected, but as the Yankees approach post season, those seats could fill in quickly.
The top player story comes from St. Louis. Albert Pujols continues to legitimize his claim as being the game’s best player now in his 9th season poses one of the most legitimate shots at securing the major’s first Triple Crown since 1967.
Sadly, the top stories of the season so far this year focus on the misbehavior of two marquis players, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez. Rodriguez admitted to steroid use while playing for the Texas Rangers while many think his involvement in more widespread. A player who used to seem like such a pleasant and natural star now personifies the epitome of self-infatuated filthy rich star whose lifestyle mishaps and reputation in the clubhouse have tarnished his claims to baseball immortality as he continues to move up the all time lists.
Manny Ramirez failed a drug test and gained a 55 game suspension. The new happy Manny in LA still demands way too much patience.
The steroids scandal is not buried in the past. More names will surface as no confidential list is ever secure. Reporters and investigators will continue to identify implicated players. A look at the all-time homerun leaders with Barry Bonds a top the list with # 6, Sammy Sosa and #8, Mark McGwire also in the top ten being implicated shows how high the scandal rises. However, keep looking on that list, 10th (for now) Alex Rodriguez, 11th – Raphael Palmeiro, 16th (for now) Manny Ramirez, and 24th, Gary Sheffield. Ken Griffey Jr. and Jim Thome are the only active players not to be implicated in the top 25 all-time sluggers.
While baseball is cracking down significantly, they still aren’t administering an effective test for human growth hormone requiring a blood test and still some debate if an all-effective test exists.
Still, the damage is done. Surely from the mid-to-late 1980’s to around 2005, all major accomplishments will be under the microscope. Sure hall-of-famers like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are the highest profile suspects. Many cases are still being developed and have not reached trial.
Establishing this era in the chronicles of baseball history and honoring those who should stand as immortals in the Hall of Fame will be a difficult task to be debated for decades.
Regardless, baseball is a resilient sport. There’s plenty to like about the game on the field but the small market versus large market debate continues to linger regardless of which little towns achieve big post season dreams. That both LA teams, the Red Sox and Yankees are all right up atop the standings tells the tale while a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates is MLB’s version of NASCAR’s “start and park” competition.
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