Alright kids, time for some expert National League analysis from yours truly. Yeah, since none of you believe that, Adam Man has thankfully provided some insight into the National League Central race. Therefore, I will merely glaze over the only division in baseball with six teams. Less work for me! Seriously though, I blame TBS not having any damn Braves games on anymore for my lack of NL knowledge. I know the Bill Engvall show and House of Payne are quality programs and all but still. Oh wait, all their original programming is complete crap! Geez, next thing you know they'll give Frank Caliendo his own show...
NL East:Philadelphia Phillies
They've been in the top 3-4 in the entire league in run differential all year. They are one of three teams that have a winning record on the road. Also, having Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell and Jimmy Rollins in your lineup doesn't hurt. Brad Lidge has performed very well for Charlie Manuel going 21 for 21 in save opportunities. Unfortunately, after Cole Hamels, their rotation is kind of horrific. You know, horrific in the way that we had to see Britney Spears' girl parts every time she got out of a car for months at a time. (For those of you who don't read What Would Tyler Durden Do, I'll save you the feeling of mace in the eyes...it didn't look good down there.) Adam Eaton? Brett Myers? Yikes. I don't know how well Joe Blanton will fit into the equation but if Hamels misses more than a couple of starts, they are in trouble. But I'm assuming he'll stay relatively healthy, and thus fend of the Mets and Marlins (and Braves?). New York is riding a hot streak right now but they don't hit behind Santana and besides Mike Pelfry, they're rotation approaches "Spears bathing suit area" levels as well. Now with Wagner's shoulder becoming a problem, the last season at Shea most likely won't get extended into October. I have a couple of friends who are diehard Mets fans and they wanted to blow the team up before Willie Randolph was fired and just start over with Wright, Reyes, Pelfry, Santana and Church. They might get their wish in the offseason. Conveniently, Philly and NY start a three game series tonight, so we'll see what happens. And regardless of where Florida ends up finishing, it's amazing what they've done with a payroll lower than one year of A-rod's salary. Uggla and Hanley Ramirez are scary good.
NL Central:Chicago Cubs
Again, go back to Adam Man's post about the Central but with Soriano coming back, that lineup is unstoppable. Which means...
Wild Card:Milwaukee Brewers
Sabathia pushes them over the edge. St. Louis won't be able to compete. But that leads me to...
NL West:St. Louis Cardinals
Yeah, I said it. The West is embarrasing. There should be a rule where if no team in a division finishes above .500, they forfeit their spot in the postseason. Pujols, Ankiel and Ludwick are having phenomenal seasons even though their rotation is extremely suspect. When Kyle Lohse is keeping you afloat, you may be on borrowed time. Adam Wainwright is coming back which will help too. You could have the Mets or the Marlins here either and I wouldn't be upset. But since none of that is actually happening...
NL West(seriously):Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado and San Diego have been HUGE disappointments. Just unforgivably bad this year. Everyone knew the Giants were going to suck but at least they don't have Bonds anymore. The Dodgers have a nice young core of players in Russell Martin, James Loney, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier so it's not a complete surprise that they're "contending." Furcal going down really, really hurts though. They'll miss Saito a lot as well. Clayton Kershaw was sort of a bust in his first stint in the majors and didn't have the impact LA was looking for. Billingsley, Lowe and Koruda don't strike fear into a lot of batters' hearts, but they've been serviceable. Now Arizona has two of the top pitchers in all of baseball. The team got off to that great start, but they're bats just went dead. Like Eddie Murphy's career dead. Remember when guys like Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton were hitting the cover off the ball? This division is so bad though that Haren and Webb can carry the team to a first place finish. Also calling Max Scherzer back up couldn't hurt.
Therefore:
Chicago vs. Arizona
Philadelphia vs. Milwaukee
I think the Brewers might be able slip past the Phillies because of the Sheets/Sabathia combo. Philly can't answer that. Chicago protected themselves by getting Harden to counter Haren and Webb. There's going to be some great pitcher's duels. To the awards!
Rookie of the Year:Edinson Volquez, Cin
Volquez will get heavy Cy Young consideration. He's having an amazing year so far, but like his trade counterpart Josh Hamilton, I'm not sure if he'll be able to finish his first full year as strongly as he started it. Either way, he's the clear cut favorite. Jair Jurrjens of Atlanta is having a nice year as well but Volquez and his 9.46 K/9 ratio is ridiculous. Pencil it in now.
*EDIT*-A reader pointed out that Volquez is indeed not a rookie anymore. Although he never pitched more than 50 innings in a season, he had a combined 80 innings pitched from his time with the Rangers. If he's not in consideration, I'd go with either Geovany Soto or Jay Bruce. Bruce got off to an insane start, cooled off but is starting to hit again and is currently on an 11 game hitting streak. Soto has done a great job behind the plate for the Cubs. Right now, he has 16 home runs and an .849 OPS. Joey Votto is also having a good rookie year.*EDIT*
Manager of the Year:Ned Yost, Mil
Does Lou Pinella deserve MOY honors just because he didn't screw up? The Cubs are cursed and whatnot, great, I get it. But they clearly had one of the best, if not the best, team on paper coming into the year. Pinella is a great manager (but leave the rapping to Rick Ross and such, okay Lou?) and I'm not taking anything away from the job he's done this year. But Yost had more on his plate in my opinion. I'll have to see if the different way he handles the fifth spot in the rotation works out. And of course, if Milwaukee falters down the stretch again and miss the playoffs completely, the hardware will go to Lil' Lou.
Cy Young:Dan Haren, Ari
He is at the top of every stat category. Every single one. I'm not kidding. His BAA and OPSA is first in the NL at .209 and .573 respectively. He's first in WHIP at .95. Get the point? His teammate Webb is also having a great year. Tim Lincecum has been the lone bright spot on the Giants and strikes dudes out like crazy. I mentioned Volquez already and Ben Sheets might get some votes as well. But this is Haren's year. Just filthy.
Most Valuable Player:Albert Pujols, Stl
And we get another year of, "Do we vote for Most Productive Player or Most Valuable Player?" Lance Berkman and Albert Pujols are having insane years (again). Pujols has the higher average and rarely strikes out. Berkman's power numbers are better and he actually has 15 steals already. That's almost not fair. They are a wash defensively too. Chase Utley is a tremendous all around player and has the stats to make an argument for MVP. But he still has great hitters in the lineup with him and isn't the most valuable guy by definition when compared to Berkman or Pujols. The problem is, Houston has no shot of making the postseason barring some insanity. Chipper Jones has to be mentioned but again, Atlanta most likely won't be playing in October. Yeah, he won't hit .400 but I don't know if anyone will ever again. That brings me back to Albert though. He's got the stats and his team will be contending through September. They are only 2 back behind Chicago right now and are tied for the Wild Card with Milwaukee. But I just don't see those younger guys in St. Louis' lineup being as productive without Pujols there.
Whew! That's a whole lotta baseball coverage right thur. I wonder what trades will be made in the next nine days. Will any superstars be on the move or just role players that GMs need to complete their rosters? I'll just keep my ears to the ground and listen to Peter Gammons whenever possible. I suggest you do the same.
2 comments:
Eddy Volquez is not actually a rookie.
I'd disagree with you downplaying Chad Billingsley. He's an ace. Right now, as far as NL pitchers go, the only ones I'd definitely rather have starting a game for me are Haren, Hamels, Lincecum, Webb, Santana, Sabathia and Peavy... maybe Harden when he's healthy. Even if you throw in the AL pitchers, I'd add to the list only Beckett, Kazmir, Lackey, Halladay and perhaps Felix Hernandez.
In my eyes, he's a top 15 pitcher, and I'd rather have him than some of the other aces out there - I'm thinking guys who might have longer pedigrees of success like Ben Sheets, Justin Verlander, and Carlos Zambrano, but who also have had a pedigree for failure at times that Billingsley has not yet shown in his duration as a starter. And I definitely like him better than some of this year's hot hands (Cliff Lee, Edinson Volquez, Danks, Justin Doucheeater...)
Anyway, nice writing going on here.
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