Week of: May 26 – June 1, 2008
Welcome to a new, and possibly recurring, feature on Sns: a recap of the last week in the world of baseball – with an Astros focus, to be sure, but also spanning the globe to find the agony of a Cubs defeat.
Unfortunately, that was nowhere to be found for the week, so those diseased ursines lead off..
3 up:
1. The Cubs – 7-0 on the week. However, as has been referenced in the TZ, the Cubs are the beneficiaries of a favorable schedule. This 7-0 homestand came against the Dodgers and Rukkakkes, and they now stand at 21-15 against teams that are not in last place (and a figure-padding 15-6 against those that are, including 9-3 against the Black Knights of Pittsburgh.) 26-8 at home, 10-13 on the road. Payback’s a bitch, loveable losers.
2. The Rays – 5-2 on the week, including a 3 of 4 beatdown of the White Sox that caused Ozzie to bitch and moan, and his GM to tell him to open up a can of Shut the Hell Up. The Rays are also benefiting from a favorable home/road split, but they’re 5 games up on the next Wild Card contender behind the Red Sox. They’re for real, and anyone that causes ChiSox infighting is OK in my book.
3. The Reds – 5-1, including a sweep of the Braves. They’re quietly getting their shit together. More on this later.
3 down:
1. The Astros – like it would be anyone else?
2. The Rockies – hey, didn’t you go to the World Series last year? 0-7 last week. Actively shopping their best player. Unable to pitch (15 of 16 in ERA), hit (13 of 16), or to have any hope of competing this year (12 GB, worst in the NL).
3. The Braves – 2-5 on the week, 1-5 on the road. Now 7-21 on the road for the year. That’s just embarrasing.
En fuego:
Jay Bruce – yeah, this might be helping the Reds. Starting Corey Patterson in place of this guy would have been defensible if (a) Bruce hadn’t looked great all of last year, or (b) Corey Patterson didn’t suck to Clarkian levels. 13 for 22, 10 runs, 2 HR, 6 RBI, a .591/.690/1.000 line. Only that type of Berkmanesque performance could push out runner-up…
Albert Fucking Pujols – let’s just say if the Astros are playing the Jakes, this guy will show up here. .526/.609/1.105 for the week on 10 for 19 with 3 HR.
Too cold to hold:
Coco Crisp – mix in some Wheaties, man. 0 for 18, but the 2 walks were nice.
Chocolate starfish of the week
If I picked Ozzie Guillen, he’d win the damn thing every week. So I’ll split the award between Chacon, for losing his shit on the mound, and Coop, for totally overreacting.
SnS turning point of the week
On the afternoon of May 28, Noe came to sing the praises of the Astros’ lineup construction, which then evolved into discussion of the proper name for the Four Caballeros.
Since that time, the Astros have scored 6 runs in 5 games.
Dear BBGs: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.