Really, did anyone expect Curt Schilling to be pitching at this level, this early? Did anyone expect me to break the italics record in the first sentence of my article? The velocity is there, the location is the best its been since 2004, and you know how another 2-1 victory tingles my spine. Even with Manny hitting like his friend Enrique Wilson, Jamie Moyer getting all over David Ortiz�s head in his four at-bats and assortments of runners left on base, the pitching stepped up and closed the door. I�m loving this Schilling for 7 or 8, Foulke, then the Almighty Papelbon trio for the stretch run. The only thing that concerns me is that the Red Sox could be in deep trouble if either Schilling or Beckett land on the DL.
Anyway, it�s too early in the season to write up a complete analysis on any player, so I�d like to introduce something that hopefully will continue once a month or so during the season. Not only do I love the Red Sox, but I love baseball in general. So, I�m introducing 3 Up, 3 Down, basically 3 teams on the rise and 3 teams on the downfall. When the records spread out and teams start to separate themselves, I�ll expand to 5 Up, 5 Down. Enjoy.
3 Up:
1. New York Mets (8-1)
The record is inflated due to a relatively weak schedule (Nationals, Marlins, Nationals, Brewers for 1), but the Mets are no fluke and might run away with the NL East. The sister team in New York is ripping the stitching off the ball early, even astoundingly racking up home runs from their 3, 4, 5 and 6 hitters at RFK Stadium against Livan Hernandez, in a pitchers ballpark against an All-Star pitcher. David Wright, whom I almost picked for NL MVP, is hitting a beastly .429, along with Delgado at .378, Reyes at .326 and even Carlos Beltran is contributing with 9 ribbies. Hear that Manny?
I really like Pedro and Glavine atop that rotation�until about August. I watched Pedro dominate the Nationals last week using dominating stuff, mixing his pitches beautifully, just being good old intimidating Pedro on the mound like his days in Boston. On Friday, I witnessed Tom Glavine strike out 11 Brewers in only 6 innings. His changeup was particularly exceptional, and you know how great Tom Glavine can be when he�s hitting his spots with perfection. I just know one of these guys will be on the DL by August. I wish I could put money on this. And after that, well, you�ve got Steve Trachsel, who�s been good thus far, but he�s still Steve Trachsel. We all know Victor Zambrano isn�t putting up a full season of quality outings. It�s going to be interesting to see whether Brian Bannister can continue his winning ways.
As of right now though, the Mets have all the momentum in the world. The fans at Shea are roaring, fans are jumping on their bandwagon across the country, and they�re even making Willie Randolph look like a decent manager. The Mets have two crucial series with Atlanta later in the month. If they dominate those series, they might win the division regardless of any pitching woes.
2. Cincinnati Reds (7-3)
Not really sure how the Reds are winning, but they are. It could be the force of Bronson Arroyo jacking home runs, it could be Austin Kearns finally coming into his own, it could be the fact they�re the ultimate underdogs in baseball right now (re-enforcing that- I had to look up their managers� name- sorry Dave Miley). Whatever the case, the Reds are playing with a swagger and confidence. Plus, with the Cardinals looking old, this division is wide open. I�m not sure if the Reds pitchers are corking their bats or not, but Aaron Harang had the lone RBI in a 1-0 win yesterday in St. Louis.
Still weary about the pitching staff of Harang-Arroyo-Claussen-Milton-Williams, which is, in other words, the second worst rotation in the National League. If you think these guys can carry the Reds and win the Central over 162 games, you should probably check in to a mental institution. They could be this years Orioles this season with that solid lineup, which is sort of like a consolation prize.
3. Boston Red Sox (7-3)
Playing the part of Red Sox Fan, I�ve got a very weird feeling in my stomach. One side of me feels this team has to be the favorite to win the AL East, that Curt Schilling is pitching in 2004 form and he and Josh Beckett form the best 1-2 combination the major leagues has to offer. That soon enough Manny will break out of his slump and slide into a hitting rampage so colossal that the entire face of the earth might be vaporized. That David Ortiz can hit lefties that throw off-speed pitches. That the bottom of the order isn�t lacking offensive power. That Trot Nixon will come back and stay healthy until the end of October. That Keith Foulke is back, and Papelbon won�t tire as the season wears on.
The pessimistic side of me says the Red Sox won�t win the division. The Baseball Gods have given us enough chances to overtake the Yankees, and it�s the Blue Jays turn in 2006. Coco Crisp is on the DL, with Curt Schilling next up. By the end of the year, Roy Halladay and AJ Burnett will prove superior to Schilling and Beckett. The Red Sox will struggle to score runs over the course of the season, making a trade for Miguel Tejada that ultimately backfires. And hell, I�m not even scared of the freakin Yankees, so I should probably get on that soon.
But I�m leaning towards optimistic. Let�s take advantage of this easy schedule and put up bunches of runs to ease my pain. Please.
3 Down:
1. Washington Nationals (2-9)
Over/under until Frank Robinson starts mysteriously missing games with back pains and eventually resigns? Until the baseball world finally figures out Alfonso Soriano will never play for a winning team? That last years stunt was a complete fluke? How about that Ramon Ortiz still has a job in the majors is perplexing to its greatest extent? Till Livan Hernandez walks away from the mound by himself after being down 6-0 in the third inning and nobody ever sees his face again? Until Jim Bowden figures out Royce Clayton is the worst modern day hitter since Cesar Crespo? I need answers.
This team is going nowhere fast. While they have played a very tough schedule with the Mets twice and Astros once, I�m not seeing this team making any threats later in the year. The division is much stronger than it was last season. Couple that with the fact they don�t have a major league shortstop or centerfielder, and surely RFK will be packed all year. I just don�t want to be in the same clubhouse as Jose Guillen right now. He might start chugging bottles of pills, hanging moose heads over his locker and chain smoking before June.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates (3-9)
The Pirates should learn from the Brewers. Three years ago, the Brewers were in complete shambles. They had a decimated farm system which culminated in their AAA team ultimately ditching the Brewers. The attendance was the lowest in baseball, the team was shattering every strikeout record in the book, and the aura at Miller Park probably felt like a haunted house. Needless to say, a Brewers game sucked. Now, they�ve brought in ownership that cares and one of the brightest general managers in the game, Doug Melvin. While sacrificing a few years of losing, Melvin has kept high-priced stars like Geoff Jenkins and Ben Sheets, while also building up the top farm system in baseball so the payroll doesn�t become too inflated. With any small payroll team, winning will come at a minimum. Luckily for Melvin and the Brewers, they�ve found the perfect formula to win with a relatively poor team in the baseball spectrum.
At least the Devil Rays are trying to head in this direction. The Pirates just continue to lose. Can someone please explain to me why the Pirates don�t try this? Why don�t they have one single prospect in the MLB.com Top 50? Is the money really that slim? Explain this to me. I like to be proven wrong.
(The Pirates have their first off day on April 20th. I thought that was interesting.)
3. Oakland Athletics (5-6)
Might be considered a surprise to be in the Bottom 3 with a 5-6 record, but the reeling A�s have lost four in a row to mediocre teams, and the Royals and Marlins don�t qualify for this segment because they�re supposed to lose. The Peter Gammons jinx is in full force with Bobby Crosby hitting .214 with 2 RBI�s. Dan Johnson is rolling at .034 with 1 RBI. Mark Ellis was good in 2005, right? 2006: .167 with 2 RBI�s in the leadoff spot. Maybe this Oakland team has too many holes to seriously compete and go deep in the playoffs. Another World Series pick up in flames! Gotta love it.
Also, Barry Zito is a complete mystery. One night he looks like Sandy Koufax and the next like Sidney Ponson.
April 3 vs. NYY: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 7 ER
April 8 @ SEA: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER
April 14 vs. TEX: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER
He baffles me. I�m still sticking with Rich Harden as the AL Cy Young winner, but unfortunately I completely looked over the fact Esteban Loaiza is in their rotation, which is a sign of bad things on the horizon. Billy Beane has done another amazing job of putting together these young players to win, but they have yet to complete the second part of that agenda. So I�m just jumping off the bandwagon. Just getting some fresh air.
