Who’s in first?
AL East: Yanks (21-14) & Red Sox (21-14)
AL Central: White Sox (24-12)
AL West: Rangers (19-17)
NL East: Mets (23-14)
NL Central: Cardinals (24-14)
NL West: Padres (22-16)
Who’s in last?
AL East: Devil Rays (15-23)
AL Central: Royals (10-25)
AL West: Angels (16-22)
NL East: Marlins (11-24)
NL Central: Pirates (11-27)
NL West: Giants (18-20)
NL = New Leaders: A couple of changes took place atop two of the three NL divisions this week as the Cardinals claimed the lead from the Reds in the Central and the Padres replaced the Rockies as leaders if the West.
St. Louis leading the NLC is not a surprise. The consensus pick before the season started, the Cards are going for their 3rd-straight division title and fifth in the last seven years. Led by Albert Pujols and an offense that is averaging over five runs per game, the Redbirds have won seven of their last nine games after opening May with a 4-game losing streak on the road in Cincinnati and Houston. St. Louis also leads all NL squads with a 3.45 ERA.
The Padres aren’t far behind the Cards with a 3.80 staff ERA, and rank first in the NL holding their opponents to a .686 OPS. San Diego is also playing great defense behind their pitchers with just 14 errors in 38 games up to now. The Padres have lost just once in May (13-1), dropping a 10-inning, 5-4 decision to the Brewers on May 9.
This week's dogs: The Los Angeles-Anaheim-Orange County-California-Near Malibu-Left Coast Angels get my nod after a 2-4 week dropped them into the AL West cellar. The club has won just four of 13 games so far this month to sit 16-22 after being picked by many to be the favorite in the division.
Not having their ace Bartolo Colon, out since mid-April with right shoulder inflammation, hasn’t helped things. Colon is just now starting to throw again, but the club has yet to establish any firm date for his return.
But unless Colon is going to start wielding a mighty bat, getting him back in the 25-man mix won’t help much.
The Angels rank ahead of only Kansas City and Tampa Bay in runs scored among AL squads and a team .686 OPS shares the bottom of the rung in the Junior Circuit. The injury/illness bug has also struck on this side of the Angels’ coin with both Darin Erstad and Casey Kotchman hitting the DL this past week. But with the two of them combining for a .195 average so far, perhaps their absence will give the batting order a lift.
Injury News: A few players came off the DL this past week, including San Francisco’s Ray Durham, Cincinnati’s Ken Griffey Jr., Houston’s Trever Miller, Anaheim’s Juan Rivera and St. Louis’ Larry Bigbie.
Making their way to baseball’s MASH unit this past week were Kent Mercker (CIN-elbow), Tanyon Sturtze (NYY-shoulder), Sergio Mitre (FLA-shoulder), Justin Duchscherer (OAK-elbow), Woody Williams (SDP-calf), Brian Schneider (WAS-hammy), Aaron Rowand (PHL-nose, face), Rob Bowen (SDP-thumb), Franklyn German (FLA-shoulder), Jason Repko (LAD-ankle), Horacio Ramirez (ATL-hammy), Jose Contreras (CWS-sciatica), Casey Kotchman (ANA-virus), Ben Sheets (MIL-shoulder), Gary Sheffield (NYY-bruised hand) and Darin Erstad (ANA-ankle).
Fantasy Studs & Duds: Florida rookie shortstop Hanley Ramirez took over the batting average lead in the NL with a tremendous week that included six consecutive games with two hits or more. Ramirez batted .519 for the week (14-for-27), with 13 singles and a double while scoring six runs. He raised his average 40 points to .345 in the process.
Albert Pujols continued his monster campaign with three more taters to give him 19 on the season and keep him on pace for more than 80 long balls this season. The Cardinals first baseman hit .429 on the week (9-for-21) with 3 HR, 10 RBI and eight runs scored.
Cleveland’s Casey Blake also kept his excellent season going with three homers among his eight hits to end the week atop the AL hitting charts with a .370 average … Houston’s Brad Lidge finally lost his closer’s job for the Astros during the team’s series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Lidge saw his ERA balloon to almost 6½ as manager Phil Garner had to summon usual setup man Dan Wheeler into one game to close things out. Lidge pitched the seventh at home for Houston on Friday and enjoyed his first 1-2-3 inning of the year … Yankees lefty Randy Johnson suffered a pair of losses during the week, one a 14-3 blowout in the Bronx at the hands of rival Boston. Johnson walked six and struck out seven in just under 10 innings of work during his two starts, and his ERA now stands at 5.13 on the season.
Detroit leads all teams with a 3.25 ERA so far in 2006; Kansas City’s 5.76 ranks last in that column … The Mets’ staff is running away with the K/9 category, averaging 8.33 whiffs every nine frames up to now. San Francisco ranks last (5.19), and it’s a mild shock to see the vaunted White Sox staff just above them at 5.32.
Milwaukee is the home run leader after six weeks with 59 long balls. Detroit is second with 56 while the Royals rank last (24) … Cleveland leads all major league teams with 225 runs in their 38 games (5.92 per game). The Royals also rank last in this column with 134 runs in 35 contests (3.82).
Quote(s) of the Week: "They're going to miss calls. They're human." - - - White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen after being ejected by 1B umpire Dale Scott during Saturday’s game in Minnesota.
"I do well here. Why, I don't know. I just do. I don't know what else to say." - - - Tigers lefty Mike Maroth after his win over the Indians Sunday gave Detroit a sweep in Cleveland. In seven career starts at the Indians’ home, Maroth is 6-0 with a 2.30 ERA.
“Maybe last year's dropoff was a warning. Pierre has been fine defensively…but a leadoff man with a .270 on-base percentage and an OPS of .563 has to be viewed as a massive disappointment.” - - - ESPN.com’s Sean McAdam in a column grading teams and players during the first quarter of the 2006 season.
On Deck: A lot of the media’s attention early in the week will be focused on Barry Bonds’ pursuit of career homer #714. The Giants open the week in Houston, site of Bonds’ 70th home run in 2001 when he set the major league mark of 73. The Astros will send three young starters out to face Bonds beginning with rookie Taylor Buchholz on Monday. Lefty Wandy Rodriguez and rookie Fernando Nieve will follow for Houston while San Francisco counters with Brad Hennessey, Jamey Wright and Matt Morris in the three games.
The Texas Rangers visit the Bronx for a 4-game series to open the week, with Monday night’s Kevin Millwood v. Mike Mussina matchup starting things off between two AL division leaders.
The first round of interleague play for 2006 begins next weekend, with several interleague rivalries on the bill. On Chicago’s South Side, the Cubs visit the White Sox with Greg Maddux and Mark Buehrle the starters listed for the series opener on Friday.
That night also finds the Yankees meeting the Mets at Shea, with Randy Johnson the scheduled starter for the Pinstripers against Pedro Martinez for the Metropolitans.
San Francisco will be in Oakland over the weekend while the Texas Rangers visit the Astros in Houston. The Angels will be at Dodger Stadium, with Friday’s listed starters being Jeff Weaver for the Halos and Aaron Sele on the hill for the Bums.
Despite those games, the one interleague series I’d most like to see is Cincinnati at Detroit. The Reds and Tigers are two of this year’s biggest surprises so far, and the series finale on Sunday intrigues me the most with Aaron Harang going for Cincy and Nate Robertson the scheduled starter for Motown.
AL East: Yanks (21-14) & Red Sox (21-14)
AL Central: White Sox (24-12)
AL West: Rangers (19-17)
NL East: Mets (23-14)
NL Central: Cardinals (24-14)
NL West: Padres (22-16)
Who’s in last?
AL East: Devil Rays (15-23)
AL Central: Royals (10-25)
AL West: Angels (16-22)
NL East: Marlins (11-24)
NL Central: Pirates (11-27)
NL West: Giants (18-20)
NL = New Leaders: A couple of changes took place atop two of the three NL divisions this week as the Cardinals claimed the lead from the Reds in the Central and the Padres replaced the Rockies as leaders if the West.
St. Louis leading the NLC is not a surprise. The consensus pick before the season started, the Cards are going for their 3rd-straight division title and fifth in the last seven years. Led by Albert Pujols and an offense that is averaging over five runs per game, the Redbirds have won seven of their last nine games after opening May with a 4-game losing streak on the road in Cincinnati and Houston. St. Louis also leads all NL squads with a 3.45 ERA.
The Padres aren’t far behind the Cards with a 3.80 staff ERA, and rank first in the NL holding their opponents to a .686 OPS. San Diego is also playing great defense behind their pitchers with just 14 errors in 38 games up to now. The Padres have lost just once in May (13-1), dropping a 10-inning, 5-4 decision to the Brewers on May 9.
This week's dogs: The Los Angeles-Anaheim-Orange County-California-Near Malibu-Left Coast Angels get my nod after a 2-4 week dropped them into the AL West cellar. The club has won just four of 13 games so far this month to sit 16-22 after being picked by many to be the favorite in the division.
Not having their ace Bartolo Colon, out since mid-April with right shoulder inflammation, hasn’t helped things. Colon is just now starting to throw again, but the club has yet to establish any firm date for his return.
But unless Colon is going to start wielding a mighty bat, getting him back in the 25-man mix won’t help much.
The Angels rank ahead of only Kansas City and Tampa Bay in runs scored among AL squads and a team .686 OPS shares the bottom of the rung in the Junior Circuit. The injury/illness bug has also struck on this side of the Angels’ coin with both Darin Erstad and Casey Kotchman hitting the DL this past week. But with the two of them combining for a .195 average so far, perhaps their absence will give the batting order a lift.
Injury News: A few players came off the DL this past week, including San Francisco’s Ray Durham, Cincinnati’s Ken Griffey Jr., Houston’s Trever Miller, Anaheim’s Juan Rivera and St. Louis’ Larry Bigbie.
Making their way to baseball’s MASH unit this past week were Kent Mercker (CIN-elbow), Tanyon Sturtze (NYY-shoulder), Sergio Mitre (FLA-shoulder), Justin Duchscherer (OAK-elbow), Woody Williams (SDP-calf), Brian Schneider (WAS-hammy), Aaron Rowand (PHL-nose, face), Rob Bowen (SDP-thumb), Franklyn German (FLA-shoulder), Jason Repko (LAD-ankle), Horacio Ramirez (ATL-hammy), Jose Contreras (CWS-sciatica), Casey Kotchman (ANA-virus), Ben Sheets (MIL-shoulder), Gary Sheffield (NYY-bruised hand) and Darin Erstad (ANA-ankle).
Fantasy Studs & Duds: Florida rookie shortstop Hanley Ramirez took over the batting average lead in the NL with a tremendous week that included six consecutive games with two hits or more. Ramirez batted .519 for the week (14-for-27), with 13 singles and a double while scoring six runs. He raised his average 40 points to .345 in the process.
Albert Pujols continued his monster campaign with three more taters to give him 19 on the season and keep him on pace for more than 80 long balls this season. The Cardinals first baseman hit .429 on the week (9-for-21) with 3 HR, 10 RBI and eight runs scored.
Cleveland’s Casey Blake also kept his excellent season going with three homers among his eight hits to end the week atop the AL hitting charts with a .370 average … Houston’s Brad Lidge finally lost his closer’s job for the Astros during the team’s series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Lidge saw his ERA balloon to almost 6½ as manager Phil Garner had to summon usual setup man Dan Wheeler into one game to close things out. Lidge pitched the seventh at home for Houston on Friday and enjoyed his first 1-2-3 inning of the year … Yankees lefty Randy Johnson suffered a pair of losses during the week, one a 14-3 blowout in the Bronx at the hands of rival Boston. Johnson walked six and struck out seven in just under 10 innings of work during his two starts, and his ERA now stands at 5.13 on the season.
Detroit leads all teams with a 3.25 ERA so far in 2006; Kansas City’s 5.76 ranks last in that column … The Mets’ staff is running away with the K/9 category, averaging 8.33 whiffs every nine frames up to now. San Francisco ranks last (5.19), and it’s a mild shock to see the vaunted White Sox staff just above them at 5.32.
Milwaukee is the home run leader after six weeks with 59 long balls. Detroit is second with 56 while the Royals rank last (24) … Cleveland leads all major league teams with 225 runs in their 38 games (5.92 per game). The Royals also rank last in this column with 134 runs in 35 contests (3.82).
Quote(s) of the Week: "They're going to miss calls. They're human." - - - White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen after being ejected by 1B umpire Dale Scott during Saturday’s game in Minnesota.
"I do well here. Why, I don't know. I just do. I don't know what else to say." - - - Tigers lefty Mike Maroth after his win over the Indians Sunday gave Detroit a sweep in Cleveland. In seven career starts at the Indians’ home, Maroth is 6-0 with a 2.30 ERA.
“Maybe last year's dropoff was a warning. Pierre has been fine defensively…but a leadoff man with a .270 on-base percentage and an OPS of .563 has to be viewed as a massive disappointment.” - - - ESPN.com’s Sean McAdam in a column grading teams and players during the first quarter of the 2006 season.
On Deck: A lot of the media’s attention early in the week will be focused on Barry Bonds’ pursuit of career homer #714. The Giants open the week in Houston, site of Bonds’ 70th home run in 2001 when he set the major league mark of 73. The Astros will send three young starters out to face Bonds beginning with rookie Taylor Buchholz on Monday. Lefty Wandy Rodriguez and rookie Fernando Nieve will follow for Houston while San Francisco counters with Brad Hennessey, Jamey Wright and Matt Morris in the three games.
The Texas Rangers visit the Bronx for a 4-game series to open the week, with Monday night’s Kevin Millwood v. Mike Mussina matchup starting things off between two AL division leaders.
The first round of interleague play for 2006 begins next weekend, with several interleague rivalries on the bill. On Chicago’s South Side, the Cubs visit the White Sox with Greg Maddux and Mark Buehrle the starters listed for the series opener on Friday.
That night also finds the Yankees meeting the Mets at Shea, with Randy Johnson the scheduled starter for the Pinstripers against Pedro Martinez for the Metropolitans.
San Francisco will be in Oakland over the weekend while the Texas Rangers visit the Astros in Houston. The Angels will be at Dodger Stadium, with Friday’s listed starters being Jeff Weaver for the Halos and Aaron Sele on the hill for the Bums.
Despite those games, the one interleague series I’d most like to see is Cincinnati at Detroit. The Reds and Tigers are two of this year’s biggest surprises so far, and the series finale on Sunday intrigues me the most with Aaron Harang going for Cincy and Nate Robertson the scheduled starter for Motown.
