July 2008
Junior to the White Sox
Fox Sports and the Associated Press initially reported that the Cincinnati Reds have agreed to trade Ken Griffey Jr. to the Chicago White Sox and the only thing standing in the way of this deal going through would be Griffey and his right to veto the trade because he is a 10-5 player (10 years in baseball and 5 years with the same team).
Griffey has in fact agreed to waive his no trade clause and will be sent to Chicago in exchange for infielder Danny Richar and pitcher Nick Masset.
It is unknown how Griffey would fit into the White Sox’s lineup. With a full outfield consisting of Jermaine Dye, Nick Swisher, and American League home run leader Carlos Quentin, and the DH spot taken by Jim Thome, it is uncertain where exactly Griffey would go. With first baseman Paul Konerko batting .214 with only 9 home runs and 35 RBI and having the worst year of his career, it is possible that manager Ozzie Gullien could opt to bench Konerko, start Swisher at first base, and put Griffey in center field.
Swisher has played in 42 games at first base for the White Sox this year and hasn’t committed any errors. For this reason, he is the more likely option to be moved to first base over Thome who has played in the field only four times since he joined the White Sox in 2006.
No matter what, the White Sox would figure out a way to play Griffey, but it would probably been done at the expense of Griffey giving up a lot of playing time. Because of this, it is pretty surprising that the White Sox would make a trade to acquire Griffey and it is also surprising that Griffey had no problem with waiving his no trade clause.
Although Griffey left the Seattle Mariners in 2000 to take the big contract offer in Cincinnati, Griffey is an old school player who isn’t one of these players today who are all about the money.
There are two things the 38-year-old Griffey wants: playing time and a World Series ring. By joining the White Sox, he will greatly increase his chances of completing this season with a championship, but he might not necessarily get the playing time he wants.
Only time will only tell how the White Sox will work this whole situation out to everyone’s best interest.
Pudge In, Farnsworth Out
Yesterday
afternoon it was announced that the Yankees and Tigers agreed on a
trade that would send reliever Kyle Farnsworth to Detroit and catcher
Ivan Rodriguez to New York.
This trade is essentially even and both teams benefited from this
deal. The Yankees really needed a catcher and the Tigers really needed
a pitcher in the bullpen.
However, in the minds of Yankees fans, they were the clear winner.
This is so because not only were the Yankees able to acquire a great
catcher, but also were able to get rid of the much despised Kyle
Farnsworth.
Over the last three seasons, Farnsworth has been one of the most hated
men in New York. On July 28 Farnsworth gave up 2 runs against the
Baltimore Orioles, his last appearance with the Yankees. Before then,
he hadn’t given up a run since June 22 and in that time has lowered his
ERA from 4.24 to 3.65. However, Yankees fans don’t care about that.
He has blown too many games over the years and has caused too many
problems.
Farnsworth is a good pitcher, but simply has not done well for the
Yankees. Farnsworth joined the Yankees in 2006 and since then has been
one of the hardest throwers. But one thing he just couldn’t seem to
fix was his location. You can throw the ball 100 MPH all you want, if
you can’t paint the corners and leave pitches right down the middle,
you’re going to get hit.
Farnsworth will be playing for the Tigers for the second time in his
career. He played with them for a half of a season in 2005 and did
very well. In 46 games, he pitched 42.2 innings, surrendered only 29
hits, 11 earned runs, 20 walks, and struck out 55 batters with a 2.32
ERA. Hopefully for the Tigers and especially for Farnsworth, he will
play just like he did three seasons ago.
The other person in the trade, Ivan Rodriguez has said he would love to
play for the Yankees, now he has gotten the honor. However, it appears
that his career with the Yankees will come to an end after this
season. Rodriguez is a free agent at the end of the season and
Yankees’ long time catcher Jorge Posada will have recovered from his
surgery and will be ready to go opening day of 2009.
Rodriguez has a career batting average over .300, has 13 Gold Gloves,
and is a 14 time All-Star. And although he is 36 years old and his
offensive numbers have deteriorated over the years, he is still one of
the best catchers in the game. Because of this, Rodriguez would expect
a pretty big contract.
Signing Rodriguez to a big contract is not a financially rational
decision the Yankees would make. There’s no need to sign Rodriguez to
a big contract when they can have Jose Molina for much less money and
who is a fine backup catcher with one of the highest rates of throwing
out base runners. Not only that, it would be an insult to Rodriguez
and his great career to be signed as a backup. For these reasons
alone, Rodriguez will not be wearing Yankee pinstripes next season.
All in all, both teams will benefit from this trade as they each got
what they needed. However, in the Yankees case, this could be one of
the few times in the history of baseball where a team could lose a key
part of their bullpen without getting another pitcher in return and
fans would be happy about it.
Angels Land Teixeira
For the second time in the last two years, power-hitting first baseman Mark Teixeira has been traded near the deadline and finds himself in the AL West once again. The only difference is this time he has a legitimate shot of completing this season with a World Series ring.
Major League Baseball’s best team has just gotten better as the Los Angeles Angels have acquired Teixeira from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Steve
Marek.
The Angels have clearly got the better hand in this deal. While Kotchman has had a pretty good season with a .287 avg., 12 home runs, and 54 RBI, there isn’t a soul on the planet that would want him over Teixeira and his 20 home runs and 78 RBI.
Teixeira has been one of the top players in the game the last few years and his great switch hitting ability makes him even more appealing.
Teixeira has hit 26 or more home runs in every season of his career and has had 100 or more RBI in every season since his rookie year.
Something else the Angels should be real excited about is how well Teixeira hits against the AL West. In his career, he has 52 home runs, 166 RBI, and a batting average of about .280 versus the West.
Not only that, Teixeira is a great first baseman. His career fielding percentage is .955 and has committed more than 4 errors in one season at first base only once in his entire career (in 2004 with 10 errors).
Teixeira is all around a great player, one that will fit perfectly in the Angels’ line-up.
The Angels have quietly been the best team in baseball for a few weeks now and don’t get much respect. Now, with the acquisition of Teixeira, there is no question who is on top. As Teixeira joins Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Garret Anderson, and Howie Kendrick, the Angels already great power and quality hitting just got that much better.
MLB Power Rankings: July 28th
30. Washington Nationals (38-67) (Last week #29, -1): With
the worst record in baseball, a 6 game losing streak, and having lost 8
of their last 10, the Nationals are clearly the worst team in the MLB.
29. Seattle Mariners (39-65) (Last week #28, -1): With a win
versus Toronto on Sunday, the Mariners snapped their 7 game losing
streak. However, they have still lost 10 of their last 13 games.
28. San Diego Padres (41-65) (Last week #30, +2): The Padres have won 3 in a row and are rolling right now. Don’t get too excited though, the Padres aren’t going anywhere.
27. San Francisco Giants (43-61) (Last week #27, +0): The Giants are making a serious run for last place in the NL West with a 3 game losing streak and standing at 10 games back.
26. Cleveland Indians (45-58) (Last week #25, -1): Nothing
is really going right for the Indians. They just can’t seem to win and
could very possibly play sellers at the trade deadline.
25. Kansas City Royals (47-59) (Last week #23 -2): The Royals simply cannot get a winning streak going. Every time they win a game, they seem to lose their next 2 or 3.
24. Pittsburgh Pirates (48-57) (Last week #24, +0): The
Pirates’ current starting rotation’s ERA is 6.17. They lost one of
their best hitters (Xavier Nady) and their best reliever (Damaso Marte)
to the Yankees and received essentially nothing in the deal.
23. Houston Astros (48-56) (Last week #22, -1): The Astros are 12.5 games back and with no pitching or hitting, they are sinking fast in the Power Rankings
22. Colorado Rockies (48-58) (Last week #26, +4): The
Rockies are really hot right now. They have won 5 in a row and are 9-1
in their last 10 games. All of the sudden, they are only 6 games out
of first place and looking like the second half team they were last
season that took them to the World Series.
21. Baltimore Orioles (49-55) (Last week #20, -1): The
O’s just snapped a 5 game losing streak, are 2-6 in their last 8 games,
and have only won 2 series in the entire month of July so far.
20. Atlanta Braves (49-55) (Last week #18, -2): The Braves have not been playing good baseball at all are falling even further back in the division and the Power Rankings.
19. Cincinnati Reds (50-56) (Last week 21, +2): The Reds
haven’t moved up 2 places in the Power Rankings because they have been
playing well, it’s because they teams behind them have been playing so
poorly. The Reds are also struggling with 3 game losing streak.
18. Detroit Tigers (53-51) (Last week #17, -1): The Tigers have won 5 out of their last 7 games and are still only 6.5 games back.
17. Toronto Blue Jays (53-52) (Last week #19, +2): The Blue Jays have been playing some pretty good baseball and are now over the .500 mark.
16. Los Angeles Dodgers (52-52) (Last week #15, -1): The Dodgers are pretty hot right now with a 3 game winning streak but have lost the division lead of the Diamondbacks.
15. Arizona Diamondbacks (53-51) (Last week #16, +1): The Diamondbacks have once again taken claimed top spot in the NL West.
14. Oakland Athletics (53-41) (Last week #13, -1): The Athletics have lost 9 of their last 11 games are dropping even further in the AL West.
13. Texas Rangers (54-51) (Last week #14, +1): The Rangers
are playing pretty well lately. Unfortunately for them, they play in a
division that is locked up by the Angels and a league in which the wild
card winner will most likely be either the Rays, Yankees, or Red Sox.
12. Florida Marlins (55-50) (Last week #12, +0): Who
could have predicted that the Marlins would only be 2 games out of
first place at this point in the season? They’re playing well and have
a very good shot of making a playoff appearance.
11. Philadelphia Phillies (56-49) (Last week #9, -2): The Phillies are struggling as of late going 4-5 in their last 9 games including a very big series loss to the Marlins.
10. New York Mets (57-48) (Last week #11, +1): The
Mets and Phillies have been going back and forth for first place in the
NL East. Having won 5 of their last 7, the Mets are once again on top
in the division.
9. St. Louis Cardinals (58-49) (Last week #7, -2): The
Cardinals have lost 6 out of their last 7 games including a 4 game
sweep at the hands of the Brewers. Because of this, the Cardinals have
dropped from being very close to taking top spot in the division top
being in 3rd place and 4 games back.
8. Minnesota Twins (57-47) (Last week #6, -2): The
Twins have been playing .500 baseball the last couple of weeks and
haven’t made a serious threat at taking the division lead.
7. New York Yankees (58-46) (Last week #10, +3): The
Yankees have been the hottest team in baseball since the All-Star
break. They’re 8 game winning streak was snapped on Sunday to the Red
Sox, but have won all 3 series since the break, are now just 3 games
back, and have acquired a big bat in Xavier Nady and a strong lefty
reliever in Damaso Marte while giving up next to nothing.
6. Chicago White Sox (59-44) (Last week #5, -1): The
White Sox have been playing very well lately. The only reason they
dropped a place in the Power Rankings is because the Brewers have been
so hot.
5. Milwaukee Brewers (60-45) (Last week #8, +3): The
Brewers are simply on fire as of late. They have won 9 out of their
last 11 games and are now just a single game behind the Cubs for first
place in the NL Central,
4. Boston Red Sox (61-45) (Last week #4, +0): The
Red Sox are in a minor skid having lost 5 of their last 9 games.
However, they haven’t lost any ground in the standings are only 1 game
back of the Rays. Plus, they David Ortiz back in the line-up and he’s
is looking like he didn’t miss a single game.
3. Chicago Cubs (61-44) (Last week #3, -2): The Cubs have no been playing their best baseball of the season. They have are 4-6 in their last 10 and need to find a way to give newly acquired pitcher Rich Harden some run support. However they are still in first place in the NL Central.
2. Tampa Bay Rays (61-43) (Last week #3, +1): Having overcome that terrible 7 game losing streak, the Rays are 6-4 since the All-Star break are back on top in the AL East.
1. Los Angeles Angels (64-40) (Last week #1, +0): With the best record in baseball, a deep team, and a great pitching staff, the Angels remain at number 1 in the Power Rankings for the second straight week.
Manny on the Market?
Word has been spreading around that Boston Red Sox’s left fielder Manny Ramirez could possibly be on the market. Before returning to the line-up on July 26, Ramirez had missed the previous two games with an apparent right knee injury. After an MRI was given, it was revealed that nothing was wrong with either of Ramirez’s knees and they looked perfectly clean. This has led some to believe that Ramirez is sending a message saying he’s tired of playing and that the Red Sox are ready to make a move if necessary.
Although the Red Sox have loved everything Ramirez has been able to do for the franchise in the past 8 seasons, they clearly wouldn’t have a problem trading him. This was evident when the Red Sox had decided to trade Ramirez in 2004 to acquire Alex Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers before the trade fell through and Rodriguez then was traded to the New York Yankees.
Ramirez is in his 8th year with the Red Sox, the final year of his contract with a $20 million club option for next season, and is a 5-10 player. Because of this, he has a no trade clause and it’s not certain if Ramirez would waive the clause. However, on the FOX broadcast of the Yankees – Red Sox game, Tim McCarver
stated that he talked to Red Sox’s General Manager Theo Epstein about
the possibilites of Ramirez being traded. And as McCarver put it,
Epstein said, “if he would waive that no trade clause then they would
be interested in talking to other teams about the services of Manny
Ramirez.”
Ramirez, who recently became a member of the 500 Home Run Club, is a great slugger and has been one of the best power hitters in the last decade. Unfortunately, many might be turned off by his lack of hustle and his feelings of not caring. Nonetheless, if Ramirez were to waive his no trade clause and the Red Sox were to shop him around, it is clear that interest would be sparked in the other 29 ball clubs; well maybe 28, excluding the Yankees.
Kennedy for Fuentes? In a Heart Beat!
As the days go on, it appears that the end of Brian Fuentes’ time with
the Colorado Rockies is approaching sooner and sooner and many teams have
expressed interest in the lefty reliever. According to espn.com’s MLB
Rumor Central, the teams that are interested are the Angels, Cardinals, Cubs,
Athletics, Red Sox, Mets, Marlins, Phillies, Rays, and Yankees.
Adding Fuentes to any team’s bullpen would instantly improve their
pitching. Fuentes has a 3.15 ERA, which is considered a little high
for a closer, but is a very good number when you take into
consideration all the games he pitches in Coors Field.
Talented lefty relievers is a rare commodity to come across. In fact,
there are only two lefty closers in the top 10 list of saves (George
Sherrill and Billy Wagner). A south paw reliever is extremely
beneficial to bullpen’s due to their scarcity.
The Rockies have expressed their strong interest in acquiring Yankee
pitcher Ian Kennedy but the Yankees have constantly stated that they
aren’t going to deal him. This a big mistake. The Yankees are holding
on to Kennedy like he’s an All-Star pitcher. Well guess what, he’s
not. Kennedy is 0-3 this season with a 7.41 ERA. What are the Yankees
thinking?
Sure the Yankees are changing their ways by building up their farm
system and sure Kennedy is a top prospect who has a good chance of
being a good pitcher, but the fact of the matter is, the Yankees can’t
wait for that time to come. One key piece they’re missing on the team is a
strong set-up man.
They can deal him to the Rockies for Fuentes then sign C.C. Sabathia in
the off-season. Sabathia is a free agent after this year and there is
no way the Brewers can afford him. And there is no doubt in my mind that Sabathia will be wearing Yankee pinstripes next season because no matter what, they will top every other team’s offers. Honestly, they should just hand him a blank check.
It doesn’t appear that Kennedy will make another appearance for the
Yankees this season, so what is the reason they won’t trade him? What
Yankee fan would seriously rather have Kennedy on the team, who hasn’t
done anything yet, instead of Sabathia, who is a proven dominant
pitcher and last year’s AL Cy Young winner?
The Yankees know they made a huge mistake by passing on Johan Santana;
there’s no way they can make the same mistake of passing on another ace
again.
Let’s just say the Yankees do in fact sign Sabathia this off-season.
If they do, their 2009 starting rotation would look like this:
1. Sabathia
2. Wang
3. Chamberlain
4. Mussina (he has earned a new contract)
5. Hughes
Sounds pretty good to me. Notice how Kennedy doesn’t fit into the
rotation. Now I ask you, would you rather have Kennedy serve as a 6th
pitcher and only start occasionally with Kyle Farnsworth and LaTroy
Hawkins as the set-up men, or have no Kennedy and have Fuentes and the
set-up man? If you ask me, there is no debate.
People, especially those in the front office of the Yankees, feel that
Kennedy is so important to hold on to because he is so young. Sure
youth is very important, but it’s not a good excuse to not want to
improve a pitching staff. Come to think about it, the fact that
Kennedy is 23 years old is the only reason the Yankees are so attracted to him. He doesn’t have a good resume this year and is not ready to be a MLB pitcher. The numbers that Fuentes could put up in the next few years would be way more beneficial than the lack of numbers Kennedy puts up while the Yankees wait for him to become the pitcher they hoped he would be.
To make a long story short, the Yankees must trade Kennedy for Fuentes. Kennedy isn’t playing now so the Yankees don’t need him. Acquiring Fuentes would be a huge transaction, a transaction that could make the difference in the Yankees playing in October versus watching the playoffs on TV.
Tight Race for the NL Central
The National League Central is shaping out to be a tight race as the Cubs, Brewers, and Cardinals are separated by only 2 games. This could be a race that won’t be decided until the final week of the season.
The Brewers are scorching hot with a 6 game winning streak, including 2 straight wins over the Cardinals, which has allowed the Brewers to move into second place in the division.
The fact that the Cardinals have dropped 2 straight games to the Brewers couldn’t have come at a better time though. The Cubs are also on a 2 game losing streak, so the Cardinals haven’t lost any ground in the division.
At this point, it is really hard to predict who is going to come out on top in the division as no team has a clear advantage. The Cubs have 32 home games remaining, the Brewers have 32, and the Cardinals have 28.
If there is any indicator of who is going to win the division, a sign could be each team’s record against the rest of their division. The Brewers have the best record versus the NL Central with a .610 winning percentage against the Cubs .548 winning percentage and the Cardinals .532 winning percentage.
The Cubs and Brewers have 10 more games against each other on the season where the Brewers are home in 7 of them. The Cubs and Cardinals play 9 more games versus each other where the Cubs are home in 6 of them. And, including the final two games of their current four game series, the Brewers play the Cardinals only 4 more times where the Brewers are home in all of the games.
The Brewers are a very good home team with a 31-17 record and are a .500 ball club on the road. The Cubs tend to struggle on the road with a poor 21-31 record versus a gaudy 37-12 record at home. And the Cardinals are 30-23 at home and 27-22 when away. So, if statistics mean anything, it could be hypothesized that the Brewers will beat the Cubs in 5 out 7 games when Milwaukee is home and the Cubs will win 2 out of 3 times when they are home. In the final 9 games between the Cubs and Cardinals, the Cubs should win about 5 out of 6 games when home but the Cubs should lose 2 out of 3 games when visiting the Cardinals. And lastly, the Brewers should win 3 out of their final 4 games (all at home) versus the Cardinals.
After these three teams play all their games against each other, the Cubs will have 43 games left in the season (23 at home), the Brewers will have 48 games remaining (22 at home), and the Cardinals will have 47 games left (26 at home). Again, according to statistics, the Cubs will go 17-6 in their remaining home games and 8-12 on the road, the Brewers will finish the season 14-8 at home and 13-13 on the road, and the Cardinals will be 15-11 at home and 12-9 away.
Obviously statistics aren’t predictors, they are just indicators. The outcome of the season will not be determined 100% based on what you see on paper. However, if the season were to end based on what the statistics say, the Cubs will finish with a record of 94-68, the Brewers will be 93-69 (1 GB), and the Cardinals will be 88-74 (6 GB).
This will most definitely be a tight race and soon enough, we’ll see how well these statistics predict the conclusion of the National League Central.
Yankees Are Up, Posada is Down
The Yankees are scorching hot and are proving to be a legitimate playoff team. People were already counting them out of the post season, but here they are changing everybody’s minds. The Yankees are 4-0 since the All Star-Break and have won 8 straight home games. They are finally playing like they should have from day one of the season.
One if the key components to the Yankees’ hot streak is the 25 year old second baseman Robinson Cano. Cano is a career .338 average hitter post-All-Star break. This year, in 4 games since the All-Star break, Cano is batting .526 (10-19) with 2 HR and 5 RBI, raising his season batting average by 14 points to .260.
Not only is Cano on fire, but the players who have been playing well all season are staying hot. Alex Rodriguez is 6-15 since the break with 2 HR and 6 RBI.
If the Yankees can stay hot and their players keep playing well, the Bombers should have no problem making the playoffs. Standing at only 4.5 games behind the Rays in the AL East and only 3 games behind the Red Sox, the Yankees have a very good chance of playing in October.
The Yankees did receive very poor news yesterday when they learned that long time catcher Jorge Posada, who recently came off the DL, is going back on the DL and could opt for season-ending surgery.
While the surgery would be very beneficial for Posada in future seasons to come, this would be a big blow to the Yankees this year.
Sure Jose Molina has served as a good backup while Posada has been hurt, Molina is not a player the Yankees want to call their “everyday catcher.” Because of this, it would not be surprising if the Yankees traded for a big name catcher.
I’m not saying that Posada’s career as Yankee catcher is over, but if he chooses to through with the surgery, his season will certainly be over and his appearances as catcher next season could certainly be limited.
Some of the catchers who will free agents this off-season include: Brad Ausmus, Johnny Estrada, Kenji Johjima, Mike Lieberthal, Paul Lo Duca, and Ivan Rodriguez. Assuming that Posada selects to go through with the season-ending surgery, look to see if the Yankees make a serious run at acquiring one of these players.
MLB Power Rankings: July 21st
30. San Diego Padres (37-62) (Last week #29, -1): With an MLB worst 6 game losing streak, the Padres moved into last place in all of baseball and have dropped to number 30 in the Power Rankings.
29. Washington Nationals (38-61) (Last week #30, +1): The Nationals have won 2 games in a row but aren’t exactly turning heads as they are still one of the worst teams in baseball.
28. Seattle Mariners (38-60) (Last week #28, +0): The Mariners are stuck at 28 with a 2 game losing streak and no signs of improvement.
27. San Francisco Giants (40-58) (Last week #26, -1): The San Francisco Baseball Giants have lost 3 in a row and allowed the the Rockies to surpass them in the division.
26. Colorado Rockies (43-57) (Last week #27, +1): The Rockies are very hot, winning 4 in a row, and are now only 6 games out of first place in the pitiful NL West.
25. Cleveland Indians (43-54) (Last week #25, +0): The Indians are stuck at the same position in the Power Rankings with a 2 game winning streak but a very poor record.
24. Pittsburgh Pirates (44-54) (Last week #23, -1): The Pirates have dropped 5 games in a row but are 1 win better than the Indians, thus explaining why they are at number 24.
23. Kansas City Royals (45-54) (Last week #24 +1): With a modest 2 game winning streak, the Royals are improving, but not exactly making any kind of run at the division.
22. Houston Astros (46-52) (Last week #22, +0): The Astros are playing .500 baseball as of late. Unfortunately for them, their playoff hopes are getting smaller and smaller as the days go on.
21. Cincinnati Reds (48-52) (Last week 21, +0): The Reds are not improving nor are dropping in the standings. For this reason, they stay put at number 21.
20. Baltimore Orioles (47-50) (Last week #20, +0): The Orioles stay at a sub-.500 ball club and remain at the cellar of the AL East.
19. Toronto Blue Jays (48-50) (Last week #18, -1): The Blue Jays are 1-2 this week and have dropped even further in the standings. Not only that, by losing the series to the Rays, the Blue Jays have allowed the Rays to retake the division lead.
18. Atlanta Braves (46-52) (Last week #15, -3): The Braves are sinking fast. Now in the 4th place in their division, they are 6 games out of third. Granted, the first three teams in the NL East are seperated by 0.5 games, but they are still not a very good team.
17. Detroit Tigers (49-49) (Last week #19, +2): After splitting their 4 game series against the Orioles, the Tigers are still playing .500 baseball and are a very reachable 6.5 games out of first.
16. Arizona Diamondbacks (48-50) (Last week #16, +0): The Diamondbacks have lost 3 of their last 4 games and have allowed the Dodgers to tie them for first in the NL West.
15. Los Angeles Dodgers (48-50) (Last week #17, +2): Even though the Dodgers are playing very inconsistent baseball, they have managed to catch up to the D-Backs and are showing signs of turning their whole season around.
14. Texas Rangers (51-48) (Last week #13, -1): The Rangers are 9.5 games out of a division in which the Angels seem to have on hold.
13. Oakland Athletics (51-47) (Last week #12, -1): After falling victim to a 3 game sweep to the Yankees and losing a total of 5 games in a row, the A’s have dropped one place in the Power Rankings.
12. Florida Marlins (52-46) (Last week #14, +2): The Marlins, who have won 2 in a row and 6 out of their last 8 games, are very hot and all the sudden are only 0.5 games out of first place.
11. New York Mets (52-46) (Last week #8, -3): The Mets long winning streak couldn’t have come at a worse time. Although they did win their 10th in a row, their streak was interrupted by the All-Star break and really seemed to knock the Mets off the hot train.
10. New York Yankees (53-45) (Last week #11, +1): After sweeping the A’s, the Yankees have won 3 games in a row and 8 out of their last 11 games. They are scorching hot and are now only 4.5 games out of the first place Rays and only 3 games behind the Red Sox.
9. Philadelphia Phillies (53-46) (Last week #6, -3): The Phillies have lost 2 in a row and are still even with the Mets for the lead in the NL East
8. Milwaukee Brewers (55-43) (Last week #10, +2): The Brewers are simply on fire, winning 4 games in a row and gaining on the leading Cubs.
7. St. Louis Cardinals (57-43) (Last week #9, +2): The Cardinals’ NL Best 5 game winning streak is coming at the best possible time. It’s coming at a time where the Cubs aren’t winning and when the Brewers are. In other words, they are real close to the Cubs and aren’t let the Brewers surpass them.
6. Minnesota Twins (55-43) (Last week #7, +1): The Twins have won 5 out of their last 7 games and are breathing down the White Sox’s necks as they trail them by only 0.5 games.
5. Chicago White Sox (55-42) (Last week #5, +0): The White Sox haven’t been playing their best baseball as of late but still are holding on to the AL Central division lead.
4. Boston Red Sox (57-43) (Last week #3, -1): The Red Sox have dropped 3 in a row and 4 out of their last six games. They have allowed the Rays to retake the division lead and have let the Yankees catch up some serious ground.
3. Tampa Bay Rays (57-40) (Last week #4, +1): After going 2-1 this week, the Rays have once again claimed the top spot in the AL East.
2. Chicago Cubs (58-40) (Last week #1, -1): After winning 5 out of 6 games, the Cubs went on to lost 3 out of their next 4, allowing the Cardinals and Brewers to catch up. But, they still hold a 2 game lead in the division.
1. Los Angeles Angels (60-38) (Last week #2, +1): With a 5 game winning streak and now the best record in baseball, the Angles have moved into the number 1 spot in the Power Rankings.
Clutch Hitting & Pitching Guide Yankees in Victory: 7/18 Game Summary
There wasn’t much of a contest in this game as the Yankees beat the Athletics by a score of 7-1. This was a game of a lot of offensive production as there was a total of 19 hits (10 by the Yankees and 9 by the A’s). The only difference was how well the teams hit with runners in scoring position. It seemed as the Yanks got a hit in every clutch situation as six of their seven RBI came with two outs.
Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez provided the only two home runs of the game. Cano’s three-run home run was his 7th of the season and first since June 27. It came off of Greg Smith in the 3rd inning and Rodriguez’s 20th home run on the season came off of Dallas Braden in the 6th inning.
Mike Mussina struggled early on in the first inning as he gave up double and a single to the first two batters of the game, then the third hitter drove in the A’s only run. After that little bump, Mussina turned around and never looked back. He pitched a solid 6 innings, struck out 6, walked nobody, and gave up that only run that was just mentioned. This is the eight time this year that Mussina has not allowed a walk in an outing and has a real impressive streak of walking only 16 batters in his last 20 starts (113.1 innings).
With his strong outing, Mussina improves his record to 12-6 and ties himself with Cliff Lee and Joe Saunders for most wins in the American League in what’s shaping out to be his best season since 2003.
Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano, who had a tough first half of the season, started the second half on the right foot. Cano is a much better hitter after the All-Star break with a career .334 avg. versus a career .280 avg. before the break, and it showed as he added another hit in the game to go along with the three-run blast mentioned earlier to end up 2-4 on the night.
Newly acquired Richie Sexson must be thrilled that another team gave him a chance after his abysmal season with the Mariners, and it appears right now that the Yankees made a decent move. Sexson went 1-3 including an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the 1st inning.
The Yankees, who haven’t played since last Sunday, jumped right back into the swing of things and started their second half with a bang. A bang that needs to continue if they have hopes of making the playoffs this year.
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