MLB: I Live for This!
Written by MC Homer, Friday August 07 2009
The baseball season is two thirds of the way over, and the dog days of August are just around the corner. This season has had it all. Surprises and disappointments. Career Milestones. Brilliant performances to go with the forgettable ones. Rivalries renewed. We are getting down to it now. It is time for the contenders to make their playoff push. It is time to start that out-of-town scoreboard watching, unless you already have, like me. Don't blink, October is fast approaching. It's time to put up or shut up.
It is no surprise to see the Yankees (65-42) and Angels (64-42) pacing the American League, with the Red Sox (62-44) nipping at their heels. In the NL, anyone stunned to see the Dodgers (66-42) and Phillies (61-45) atop their respective divisions, needs to see a doctor immediately. To no one's dismay, the race in both the AL and NL Central is a close one, does anyone want to win either of those divisions? Doesn't look like it.
Randy Johnson got his 300th win in front of 26 people against the Nationals, in DC. Mark Buehrle pitched the 18th perfect game in history, his second career no-hitter. He then proceeded to sit down 18 more hitters in a row (the next game, obviously), to set the record at 45 straight outs. Jonathan Sanchez got his first career no-hitter, and complete game, and shutout, all at once. That was very economical of him during this recession.
Albert Pujols, who hit his 350th career homerun on July 3rd, also needs just one more grand slam to tie the single season record (6), that is, if anyone is willing to pitch to him in that situation from here on out. Pujols is 7-9 with five homeruns and 24 RBI with the bags full this year. I might even walk him in the bottom of the 9th, in a tie game, with 'em loaded, he is so good. Gary Sheffield joined the 500 homerun club. Miguel Tejada, Bobby Abreu, Jason Kendall, and Todd Helton all notched their 2,000th career hit this year. And Rickey Henderson along with Jim Rice joined the elite club in
The Mets have been horrible, probably worse than that even. I'm not sure there is a word in the dictionary to describe how bad they have been. It seems like every game, they find a new way to lose that leaves their fans dumbfounded. Talk about a disappointment. Sports Illustrated had them in the World Series. Ha! Ten and a half games out and ahead of only the Nationals in their division, is it safe to say they are out of it? Yup. Oh, and don't give me that 'injury' crap or I'll call the whaaaambulance.
Like the Mets, the Indians were supposed to be very good this year. Instead, they had a firesale at the trade deadline. Might as well, they are 11 ½ games out, and getting nowhere fast. Mark DeRosa was the first to leave, then the flood gates opened. Victor Martinez, gone. Cliff Lee, goodbye. Ryan Garko, see you later. Ben Francisco, he gone. Who's next? Waivers has never stopped anyone before...
The Texas Rangers are four and a half games back of the Angels, wait, the who? Yes, the same Texas Rangers who all of the sudden found some decent pitching to go along with an offense that does nothing but mash the ball 800 feet. Okay, not quite that far, but 750 easy. They lead the majors in homeruns with 161 (prior to action August 6th).
How about them Giants? Yeah, I'm a Giants fan, don't hate, appreciate. No one thought they would even be a .500 ball club this year. They were supposed to be a couple years away from success. Here they are leading the NL Wildcard race. If they could figure out how to win away from
As we head down the stretch, emotions will rise. Prince Fielder got that train moving. Will the standings stay the same or will a dark horse like
Tags:
Leave a comment
Not So Fast! To publish your comment, you have to login
Not Registered? Register now as it only take 20 seconds!
Click here to browse
6 comments
Please sign in to rate!
You don't THINK they would be where they are. Nothing in sports is guaranteed, you know that just as well as I do. If Reyes didn't play in NY, he would get nowhere near the publicity he gets. Beltran has yet to live up to his HUGE contract. Wright is having a down year (power-wise) and they never had a good starting rotation, so let's not pretend their starting pitching is depleted from injuries. Billy Wagner has never been healthy for the Mets, and Putz is a setup man, while he is missed, he is not going to make or break them. Even before the injuries wasn't Sheffield still starting every night? Uh, he was good about five years ago, but now? Not so much. Shall I go through all the other positions too? I'm just sayin', the 'injury' excuse is nothing but a cop out. Sure, it has some merit, but you have to play the hand you're dealt. The team isn't outwardly bitching about the injury situation (or maybe it is, I'm not from NY), so why should the fans?
Please sign in to rate!
I didn't mention anything about the last two seasons. I'm also not saying that I'm not looking ahead towards next year. If it was up to me I would not bring Wright, Reyes, or Beltran back this season. But the fact is the Mets would not be where they are right now without the injuries.
Please sign in to rate!
Injuries plague everyone, some more than others. It's just another excuse. What was it the last few years where they choked the last week of the season away? Injuries then too? Excuses are like assholes, everyone's got one. Quit cryin about it, and go get 'em next year. I never hear Cubs fans bitching about anything, and they haven't won shit since we found out the earth isn't flat.
Please sign in to rate!
How can you not honestly blame the Mets' terrible season on injuries? They lost their starting 1B, SS, C, CF, 2B, 3B, RF, #3,4,5 SPs, set up man, 4th OF, back up INF, 2 replacement SPs, and replacement INF all to injuries at some point this season. But you're right we shouldn't blame it on the injuries.
Please sign in to rate!
Baseball is by far my favorite sport, I don't think that is a secret, at least not anymore. It pains me to see the NFL hog the spotlight year-round. Big series this weekend with Phils and Marlins though, it might be a do or die series for Florida. Same with Giants and Dodgers beginning Monday (for the NL West pennant, not necessarily the wild card). Thanks for the read tf.
Please sign in to rate!
Very good article, MC (in my humble opinion)...don't count out the Marlins just yet, history is on their side. It is unfortunate that just as the MLB season is really heating up, football is about to hog the spotlight.