Finally… TWiB has come back to SnS!

Posted on May 21, 2009 by MusicMan in Featured, SnS TWIB

twib_large This Week Month Season to Date in Baseball
Once upon a time, a humble writer took it upon himself to summarize the goings-on in the rest of baseball (even in that bastardized “American” League) for the unwashed masses that stumble across the SnS front page. As the name would imply, this was to be a weekly recap, featuring hot teams and players, the biggest goings-on from the TZ, and a grab bag of other information that may or may not have been interesting. Unfortunately, as both of my regular readers know, the last edition of this “weekly” endeavor was at the beginning of the Beijing Olympics. It was a simpler time, when Shawn Johnson was doing gymnastics instead of dances, and Michael Phelps was doing laps instead of lap dances. A time when the stock market was at 11,782. A time when people even might have thought that Cecil Cooper was remotely competent at his job.

So I’m back, back again, tell a friend. We’ll start with some breaking news: The Friars have agreed to trade Jake Peavy to the White Sox. First of all, this is outstanding news if it keeps Peavy away from the (FT)Cubs. Second, this does remind me that the White Sox seem to be the AL version of the Astros; a team with a lot of old pieces that are continually predicted to fall on their face, and sometimes do, but more often surprise the “experts” with a successful season. A team led by a batshit crazy manager. A team that may cut some costs, but will always be willing to make the big move. The fact that these two teams met in the 05 WS was almost destiny, it seems.

Of course, Peavy could veto the deal and continue the drama.

Looking around the rest of the majors – what moves worked, what moves didn’t, and how do things look from here on out:

AL East
The Blue Jays are easily the suprise of the division, and likely the majors, with their 27-16 record. Apparently JP Ricciardi, when not insulting other teams’ players, managed to stockpile an amazing array of young arms that have helped to carry the team (along with Roy Halladay’s continued brilliance). It doesn’t hurt that Aaron Hill is absolutely murdering the ball, especially since there is nobody else in that lineup that strikes fear into you. Pitching and defense, folks. Remember that.
The Rays, on the other hand, are working their way back toward .500 after a rough start. Scott Kazmir hs fllen off the map, and their other starters aren’t doing much better; the fact that David Price remains at AAA is mind-boggling.
Oh, and some guy named Rodriguez came back with a crazy .189/.412/.595 line, making the “3 true outcomes” crowd absolutely orgasmic. The Yankees have also won 8 straight and are busy killing any media members who mention that their billion-dollar stadium is a joke.

AL Central
The Tigers have kept Jim Leyland out of the firing pool with some – wait for it – pitching and … well, pitching at least. The fire sale my be postponed, especially as the Twins and White Sox are struggling, and the Indians are just an absolute disaster. No pitching, no defense, and a bunch of pieces that don’t fit at all. The Royals are in the “happy to be here” category, but I may have to get Extra Innings on DirecTV just to watch Zach Greinke. The guy has always had a world of talent, and it’s great to see him putting it all together. (Am I the only one that takes more pleasure in seeing young pitchers blossom than position players? Yes? Let’s move on.)

AL West
Up is down, water is dry, and the Texas Rangers are the season’s biggest “pitching and defense” success story. Moving Young to 3b improved their defense at 2 positions, they made out like bandits in the Mark Texeira trade, and they sit in an IMMENSELY winnable division. Of course, it’s may, and the Rangers always suffer an August swoon, so let’s not start sucking each other’s… um, pospicles… just yet.
Oakland is 15-22 and the rest of baseball waits to see what Billy Beane will ask for on guys like Matt Holiday. It might actually be an interesting time for Michael Lewis to go back to Oakland, as well as Toronto, and find that for all of the economically interesting viewpoints that Moneyball provided, the actual lesson of the A’s is that young pitchers are, and will always be, the most valuable commodity in baseball.

NL East
Let’s see… the Phillies are 8-12 at home and still lead the division? Brad Lidge has given up 35 baserunners in 18 innings, and the Phillies still lead the division? I see a group of teams failing miserably to take advantage of the situation. The Mets can’t pitch, the Braves can’t hit, and the Marlins have fallen apart after setting the world on fire in April.
Oh, and the fact that the Astros left Washington without a win is shameful. 11-28, folks. 11-28. They allow a full run per game more than the next-worse team in the league. Other than Ryan Zimmerman, there is NOTHING to see there.

NL West
I’ve got nothing. The Dodgers will win this division before Labor Day, and I can’t see a single team out there doing anything of note.

NL Central
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the best division in baseball. Any ESPiN mediot that breaks out the “Comedy Central” routine this year should be fired, unless they are on Sunday Night Baseball, in which case they should be waterboarded on general principle.
Only the Reds have a losing record outside the division. Overall, the Central is 55-36 (or a .604 clip) against the East and West. Compare:

NL Central 55-36 .604
AL East 63-48 .568
AL West 45-47 .489
NL West 38-43 .469
AL Central 49-62 .441
NL East 39-52 .429

The Astros currently sit at 2 games under .500, yet look up at the entire division. Folks, everyone who thought the Cubs would run away and hide were WRONG. These Brewers continue to pitch, and they are beating up on their division rivals – 16-8 within the division. That’s how you stay in contention. And I must say that it disturbs me that the Astros have given up more runs than anyone in the division, despite a performance from Wandy Rodriguez that would be Cy Young worthy if Johan Santana weren’t winning or losing every game 1-0.

And just so we don’t forget…
Chocolate starfish of the season to date:
Lots of candidates here, but I’ll go with Cecil Cooper. You can debate a manager’s decisions, you can debate the wisdom of his moves. But you cannot debate that by sitting in the dugout and not even explaining the situation in last night’s game to the players involved, “Coop” completely abdicated his job responsibilities.
I stand by my prediciton – Coop will not be managing the Astros come the All-Star Break.

Hopefully I’ll be back sooner next time.

This Week in Baseball, Olympic edition

Posted on August 11, 2008 by MusicMan in SnS TWIB

Before we get to baseball, two points:

1. Apologies for the missing TWiB last week – work interfered, along with preparations for Tropical Storm Towles.

2. I absolutely love the Olympics. Every 4 years, I revert to the proverbial “rip the knob off the TV” mode and just lock in to NBC. I will watch synchronized diving. I will watch equestrian. If I could find the fencing medal rounds, I would watch them. I will watch the leader of the free world give an Olympian the traditional slap on the ass.

Not to go all Bill Simmons here, but if you can’t get in to the Olympics as a fan, then I don’t think you and I are ever going to see eye to eye on anything.

The Opening Ceremonies were amazing, especially when you see just how much this country can get mass quantities of people to operate in perfect synchronization. Nothing will ever top lighting the torch with a freaking bow and arrow from across the stadium, but walking across the sky came close.

Now, with that out of the way, on to baseball:
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This Week in Baseball: As the Rumor Mill Churns

Posted on July 28, 2008 by MusicMan in SnS TWIB

“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up!”

Powerful words. Words to live by. Maybe not so much words to run your professional baseball team by, Drayton.

3 UP:

1. Brewers – so the Astros took 2 of 3… the real key here was going into St. Louis and sweeping a 4 game set. There’s just no better way to break the spirits of the BFiB, and that is something I will always support, especially where the Brew Crew is involved; after all, has a player ever been so aesthetically matched to his city as Prince Fielder in Milwaukee? (Oh, right… John Rocker in Atlanta.)
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This First Half in Baseball: Literary Edition

Posted on July 14, 2008 by MusicMan in SnS TWIB

Breaking format this week, in honor of the All-Star Break and its typical deluge of first-half instant analysis from the Traditional Media, Blogosphere, and Average Joes like me.

To match appropriately to the Instant Analysis nature of such a column, I shall go all Bill Simmons on you and describe the season by matching it to great opening lines / paragraphs from some famous works of literature (“books”, for some of you, or “Barnes and Noble checkout line stuff”, for others.)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.
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This Week in Baseball: Tombstone edition

Posted on July 7, 2008 by MusicMan in SnS TWIB

Tombstone

I tried to tell you, didn’t I? I tried to explain that anyone excited about winning 3 series in a row – 2 at home – was getting a little too far over their skis. And one week later, here we are. This team is done, D-U-N done, and so we who are about to suffer through the second half salute you.

3 UP:
1. Rays – They have a 5 game lead over the Sawks, 7 in the loss column. The swept Boston and KC to build a nice little 7-game winning streak. They have prospects galore if there’s a deadline deal to be made, and given Percival’s shaky health, adding one arm to the pen might not be a bad idea. The only thing they don’t have is fans, but they should come around. Taking 2 of 3 in the Trop might be the highlight of the Astros’ season when all is said and done.

2. Brewers – Forget the record for the week; by adding Sabathia, they’ve got themselves a perfect fit – a strikeout-throwing innings-eater, which is just what a poor defensive team with a horrid bullpen needs. This is another team that needs to add an arm to the pen.

3. Dodgers – 5-2 on the week, as we know all too well. They’re now two games under .500, which makes them the prohibitive favorite in that crapfest out West.

3 DOWN:
1. Indians – The 8 game losing streak, I suppose, convinced them to pull the trigger on the Sabathia deal, but really? The going rate for an ace in a AA DH, a back-of-the rotation AAA guy, and a projectible A arm? I understand his contract status devalues him quite a bit, but if that’s all that an Oswalt deal would fetch, then I may have to reconsider my stance on dealing Sparky.

2. Red Sox – At this time last week, they were tied for first; they’re now 5 games out. That’s down. Oh, and Terry Francona made the absolutely indefensible move of adding Jason Varitek to the ASG roster; the BBGs will not look kindly upon this.

3. Astros – A very thin line separated thme from having an OK week; namely, two 7-6 extra-inning affairs. But the bottom line is, they were at 5-2 on a homestand that ended up 5-5, and then blew a 3 run lead on the road. The team is going nowhere fast, the owner won’t want to hear that, and I don’t see a way out of it in the forseeable future.

EN FUEGO:
JJ Hardy managed the Yackball 6 times during a 15-25 week, raising his SLG a sickening 105 points in the span of 7 days. Well done, well done indeed.

STINKNG UP THE JOINT:
Edgar Renteria: 1-22 on the week, .254/.302/.328 on the season. Exhibit 23 in the case of the Underachieving Tigers. And yet they’re .500.

SnS TURNING POINT… AND WHAT THE HECK, CHOCOLATE STARFISH OF THE WEEK:

Long time forum poster Jose Cruz III apparently counts “tugging on Superman’s cape”, “pissing into the wind”, and “hitting on 17 because he has a gut feeling” as his hobbies, as evidenced by this affront to the BBGs. We can only hope that JCIII has learned his lesson, before we finish the season staring up at the entirety of the NL Central.

THE WEEK TO COME
At PIT for 3, and at WAS for 3, and then the All-Star Break; this should be the easiest week of the season. Unfortunately, this team just isn’t good enough to take advantage. Look for 3-3 at the best, but 2-4 more likely.

This Week in Basebrawl

Posted on June 30, 2008 by MusicMan in SnS TWIB

3 UP:
1. American League – 52-31 last week. I cannot even begin to tell you how much this pains me. And before you argue the payroll disparities, please note that the Twins owned the best interleague record at 14-4, with the Royals (really? the freakin’ Royals??) next at 13-5.
Speaking of which…
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