Dropped Third Strike

IMHO - 10.5.08

What a week - not only did the Mets miss the playoffs, but the two teams that caused this are playing each other, so one of them will get to move on.

The Cubs, however, will not get to move on. I feel badly for Cubs fans (at least they made the playoffs...), but I don't care that they have waiting 100 years. I have not been alive for most of those 100 years, as is the case with the vast majority of the Cubs fans, so lets stop using that battle cry. I thought this might be the year though, they just ran into a Dodgers team that played very well.

I am sorry to see that the Phillies moved on - I was hoping for a humiliating defeat. Maybe the Dodgers can do this. The Dodgers have been good - Manny has been huge, and Joe Torre is one of the best. What if the Dodgers played the Red Sox in the World Series. That would be some story line - Manny coming back to Fenway, and Joe Torre vs. the Sox yet again. This won't happen though, I think the Rays will come out of the A.L.

Good for Joe Torre, finding success in L.A. It goes to show you, he wasn't the problem in NY, it was everyone else. I wonder how the view is from third place.

It's not fair, I have been to Rays games when there were 7000 fans in attendance. They become successful, and I lose a lottery to get tickets to a playoff game. Meanwhile, the other winners are selling them on Ebay. Oh well, at least a soda doesn't cost $5 when I watch the game at home.

IMHO - 9.27.08

Here we go again - the Mets' chances of making the playoffs come down to the last day of the season. I would imagine that Mets fans have a higher level of stress than most - and may even have a shorter life expectancy because of it.

Johan Santana is worth every cent spent on him. I have said this all along. He proved it again today by tossing a three-hit shutout, on three days rest, in a game where he was needed the most. 16-7, 2.53 ERA - only a few wins away from a Cy Young. The bullpen is to blame for this. For everyone that said his stuff isn't as good as it used to be - this is his lowest ERA over a full season. He also gave up 10 less home runs this year than last year.

I would like to change my pick for NL MVP. As much as it hurts, Ryan Howard is the correct choice. His level of production has been incredible, and the timing is even better (unless your a Mets fan).

Please come back Mark McGwire.

Where in the world is Barry Bonds? Is he still working out hoping some one signs him? I haven't seen anything.

The Rays did it. The are the Anti-Mets. The won the AL East when no one thought it was possible. Thank you Rays for knocking the Yanks out of the playoffs. I am glad to see them go, just like the Braves a few years ago.

Is Larry (Chipper) Jones going to name his next child Citi?

We could see a Cubs-Rays World Series... That would be different. I am not sure the Tropicana Dome is ready for the World Series. I love the stadium - parking might be a problem!

If K-Rod wins the Cy Young because he leads the league in saves, then Ichiro should win the MVP for leading the league in At-Bats.

Jason Giambi is a dork.

IMHO - 8.19.08

We are half way through August, and things are getting interesting in some divisions, and pretty boring in others.

- The Angels, Rays, and Cubs should be a lock for the post-season. The Rays and Cubs don't have huge leads, but I don't see anyone catching them. All of the other races should make for some exciting September baseball!

- The A.L. Wild Card winner looks like it could be the Sox, I don't mean the Red ones. A Boston and Yankee-free post season will be nice. With the Yankees' season ending at the end of September, Sidney Ponson will have a full winter to hibernate!

- If the Mets can figure out their bullpen mess, the will easily win the East. The only reason it is close is because of all the blown saves. The Mets having good starting pitching. Johan has been excellent (more on him in a second), Ollie has been much more consistent, and Mike Pelfrey has continued to improve throughout the season. John Maine is back, and Pedro has been effective. The bullpen, however, is still a mess.

- I still think the Dodgers will win the West - I have said that all year.

- Johan Santana has been excellent - and has been clutch. Like I said last week, the Mets' bullpen has blown six of his wins - with those he would 17-7 (pretty good for August). His ERA is 2.75, only 0.15 higher than the league leader. The bullpen has cost him a shot at the Cy Young.

- I enjoyed Lee's article about the Twins - maybe someone should forward it to Hank and George Steinbrenner, and teach them to win and save a few bucks. Maybe they need a good mascot. How about someone like Mr. Moneybags - he looks like Mr. Met, but he carries around bags of money and throws excess cash at over-aged, over-rated baseball players.

- Riveraveblues.com speculates about the future of Derek Jeter. I couldn't imagine him somewhere else, I am sure the the Yanks will throw huge amounts of money at him, too. I mean, he is worth more than Jorge Posada, who they over-paid for. Maybe Ford will kick in some, I heard he drives a Ford Edge... Yeah, he's got an edge. (I am so sick of those commercials).

IMHO - 8.9.08

So, it looks like Manny may want to be a Yankee next year, maybe for a chance to get back at the Red Sox for the awful way they treated him. They were pretty awful too him, the whole $160M for 8 years really dampened his spirits. What's worse is that they expected him to do his best work. It hardly seems worth it for only $20 Million per year. Then they have the nerve to get mad at him for faking an injury - those knees seem to be working in L.A.

Speaking of $20 Million, Johan Santana is definitely earning his... The Mets owe him something for ruining his shot at a Cy Young, and blowing 6 potential wins for him. Do you realize that if they didn't blow those games he would be 15-7? I get tired of reading all of these stories about what a waste of money he is, and how he isn't living up to the hype. The bottom line is that he is, and the Mets can seem to back him up. A couple of years ago Steve Trachsel won 15 games with an ERA right around 5. At this rate, Johan might not win 12 with an ERA under 3.

The Rays are for real. We are in the middle of August, and they are up by 3.5 games. Two teams will make the playoffs from the A.L. East - and one of them won't be the Yankees. The Yanks starting pitching is a mess - I am not a doctor, but Joba's injury may have had something to do with him being switched to a starter in the middle of the year. Mike Mussina is having a nice year though, and could sure-up his Hall of Fame hopes with a 20-win season.

If they Rays win the division, Evan Longoria should be given strong consideration for MVP. He has 22HR and 71 RBI, and he wasn't even on the opening day roster. He always seems to be in the middle of their wind. MVP voters always seem to look at the playoff teams for candidates. He is the best player on the best team in the A.L. East - and maybe the league.

Jose Reyes is quietly having an outstanding year. People wrote him off with his poor finish last year and poor start this year. He is batting over .300, leads the N.L. in hits and triples, is second in stolen bases, and fourth in runs. If the Mets win the division, maybe he is an MVP candidate?

Speaking of the Mets - I think they should pick up Delgado's option for next year. He will cost $4M if they don't, so to keep him will only cost an additional $8M on top of that to keep him ($12M total). Can they get someone else who can produce for $8M? Probably not... Keep Delgado, spend the money on a big outfield bat. The guy is still hitting.

Are the Cubs really this good? I hope they do not go to the World Series, then what would we talk about? Baseball needs a team to feel sorry for.

Mark McGwire should be in the Hall of Fame. Seriously. He may have been the single biggest reason baseball recovered from the 1994 strike. As a fan, I stopped caring after 1994, and couldn't stop watching McGwire in 1998. We don't know for sure what he did (although some people claim to know), and he was hitting against pitchers who were probably juicing. I am sure he hit against Roger Clemens. His power numbers are outstanding, and he was a hero when baseball needed one. He hit 49 homers in his rookie year, weighing in at 185 pounds - can anyone admit that he just knew how to swing a bat?

The Washington Nationals are pretty bad...

I saw the Houston Astros' fans boo Carlos Beltran the other night. I can see why they would have bad feelings towards him, being as he played there for all of a couple of months - Didn't they know they were just getting a rental? Probably not, mlbtraderumors.com wasn't running then.

Why do the Astros keep looking like buyers? Has no one told them yet that they have no chance - they must not watch Baseball Tonight, or maybe the think they still play in the N.L. West.

That's all for this week.

Leave us some comments and tell us your opinions...

DTS Top 5/Bottom 5 - 8.4.08

Each week here at DTS we will be picking the Top 5 and Bottom 5 teams in baseball. The writers here vote, and we will post our results here each Monday. First place (or last place for Bottom 5) are in parentheses.

Top 5
1. Angels (2) - What a great week it was for the Halos, going a combined 5-2 on the road in Boston and New York, and perhaps more importantly, picking up a much-needed power bat in Mark Teixiera. The Rally Monkey lives on!
2. Rays (1) - The Rays are ahead in the toughest division in the majors and nothing seems to be able to stop them.
3. Cubs - To go along with their impressive sweep of the Brew Crew this week, they also improved their already MLB-best run differential to +131. FYI - the second best in baseball belongs to Boston with +91.
4. Red Sox - Maybe trading Manny was a good thing - they haven't lost without him, and Jason Bay (I know he's not technically his replacement, but come on, you know that's how he's going to be looked at all year) is hitting .363 in those three games, and has even gone yard once.
5. Minnesota - He's baaack... Liriano looked good on Sunday.

Other teams getting votes: White Sox

Bottom 5
26. Braves - I pity the fools...
27. Giants - Put Tim Lincecum on a team that hits, at all, and he's a Cy Young candidate.
28. Padres - Which comes first - Hoffman retires, or they bring in the fences at PETCO? The are in last place in the weakest division in the majors.
29. Mariners - They gave up George Sherrill and "The Other" Adam Jones, among others, for Erik Bedard, who has made only 15 innocuous starts this year. It doesn't look like too many more are ahead for him in a Seattle uniform, either. Oops.
30. Nationals (3) - Does their broadcasting crew return from breaks with a hearty, "Welcome back to Major League Baseball...sort of" call, a la Harry Doyle in Major League 2? Is there anybody out there in the Beltway area who can confim this suspicion for me?

Other teams getting votes: Indians, Pirates

National League Predictions - Mike's picks...

With a little more than two months remaining in the season, here are my picks for the National League:

N.L. East - New York Mets

Obviously the Mets are the strongest team in this division. For those of you who don't see them as the obvious choice, here are my reasons: First of all, they have the strongest pitching rotation in the East. Johan Santana has been very good this year, but has lacked run support. Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey have been really strong in July, and they are still getting better and more consistent. The offense has started to heat up too. It is true they were underachievers for most of the 1st half, but the production has been great as of late. Carlos Delgado will be the difference maker. Look for the Mets to put some distance between them and the rest of the division in August. Their biggest weakness is the bullpen, they are too inconsistent. I think Jerry Manuel should let his starters go a little deeper into games to take some pressure off of the bullpen.

Longshots - Marlins and Phillies - The Marlins can't pitch and I hate the Phillies.

By the way - the Atlanta Braves are pathetic. They were waiting to decide whether they were buyers or sellers. You've got to be kidding me, did anyone besides them and their fans think they were still in this?

N.L. Central - Milwaukee Brewers

C.C. Sabathia is a great rental. It would be sad if they didn't win with him, because this is their only chance. The Cubs have a good team, but will blow it because they are the Cubs.

N.L. West - Los Angeles Dodgers

Isn't it a shame that every division has to be represented?? Almost every team in the A.L. East would be in first place in the N.L. West. I guess someone in the West has to win it, and at least Joe Torre knows how to win (at least in the regular season).

Wild Card - Chicago Cubs

Well, we can forget about anyone in the West. The Marlins don't have the pitching, and I hate the Phillies.

National League Champs - New York Mets

Well there are my picks - no bias at all.

What do you think? Leave me a comment.