We are just about 1/3 of the way through the 2008 Major League Baseball season.  The Tampa Rays are still in first place in the American League East and has the second best record overall in the Majors.  The top team is the Chicago Cubs, who were picked by many to be the representative for the National League in the World Series this year.

However, the most comical prediction made by so many experts was the Seattle Mariners winning the American League West.  Time and time again I said “With who will they be winning that division?”

The team traded for Erik Bedard, which was the right move, but now Bedard is getting hit around.  The lineup isn’t that good, they don’t have much offense behind Ichiro who is still one of the best lead-off men in the game.  Their defense is average, the bullpen is alright but not great by any stretch.  Yet, so many analysts had them winning it over the Los Angeles Angels who are the clear class of the division.

A team with a burnt-out bulb (Jose Vidro) currently hitting third, the irrelevant Richie Sexson hitting clean-up and one-hit wonder Adrian Beltre sitting fifth in their lineup was chosen by experts to go to the playoffs.  You can’t dig much deeper in the desperation well than counting on those three to carry your offense outside of Ichiro.

The rotation isn’t a whole lot better.  Bedard is an ace, but isn’t pitching like one.  Felix Hernandez, once a can’t-miss prospect, has been ruined by being rushed to the majors, Jarrod Washburn was once effective, but is just about finished and Miguel Batista is just flat-out mediocre.  Carlos Silva is young enough that if he lands on a good team he could become a nice middle-of-the-rotation guy, but not on this team.

I’m not the best prognosticator in the world, but I thought it was absurd that I was laughed at when I picked the Angels to win the division.  But they are the class of the West barring a multitude of injuries.  They’ve already come so far without John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar, there’s no reason to think they can’t go the rest of the way with them.  Escobar, at last word, is soon to re-join the team and will likely pitch against after the All-Star break, barring a setback.  Imagine this team when Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar return from their injuries.

Tell me again why this team didn’t have enough to win the West?

About 30 minutes ago, Jorge Posada came in from his workout. Posada is still recovering from pain in his right shoulder (essentially a “dead arm”), but he’s throwing more and more and hopes to be ready to go in June when the Yankees get back from a road trip.

However, he was certainly full of fire this morning. When Mike Puma of the New York Post asked him what drills he did this morning he got indignant with him and the rest of the reporters, yours truly included.

“You guys don’t go out there?? Do I have to tell you what I did? Why don’t you come outside and see what I’m doing? Then I won’t have to tell you. Its really easy for you to do your job and stay in here [in the clubhouse], ask the questions and have everyone tell you what to do.”

I was always under the impression that Posada was a good guy in the game, however, he apparently has this acrimonious relationship with the media.  Its something you rarely hear about.  Puma didn’t ask him anything sensitive or bring up a subject that was out of bounds. It was a simple question asking Posada to outline the workout he did this morning.

I was out on the field and I watched him throw, but how are any of us supposed to know he’s throwing from 90 feet? Or 120 feet? I don’t go out there with a tape measurer and calculate the exact distance he’s throwing from at any given time.

It seemed like such an odd question to be upset about. Now, I’m not here everyday, so perhaps he gets asked that question a lot, but you can’t compare that to Alex Rodriguez who probably gets asked all the time about his relationship with Derek Jeter. I’m sure that’s a question that a player would really get sick of hearing.

If Posada’s arm comes back as quick and fiery as his tongue, he won’t have any trouble throwing out base runners this year.

Its really staggering how baseball just refuses to learn from the past.

In the mid 1990s the Mets had three futures aces coming up through their farm system: Paul Wilson, Jason Isringhausen and Bill Pulsipher.

Pulsipher and Wilson made zero impact, while Isringhausen survived the ordeal and became a fairly successful closer.

But, the fact is that all three of them were rushed to the majors, put into various roles and the New York Mets organization was shocked and flabbergasted when all three of them fell to injuries and were unsuccessful.  No one could understand how not one, not two, but three future aces all failed to live up to their promise.  Again, Isringhausen went on and found second life as a closer, but all three of them were supposed to be perennial all-stars.

For those who had not yet followed baseball in the mid-90s close enough to remember, just take a look at the New York Yankees of 2008.

In the role of Paul Wilson is Philip Hughes.  A big, young, strong kid with electric stuff.  Hughes is on the disabled list for the second time in his career and he’s only made 19 career starts.  At 22 years old, he was expected to be the Yankees No. 3 starter and he’s responded with a stunning 0-4 record and an ERA of 9.  That’s right, he’s given up 22 earned runs in 22 innings.  But, that’s immaterial because he’s out until at least the All-Star break.

In the role of Jason Isringhausen is Joba Chamberlain.  In their infinite wisdom, the Yankees decided to move Chamberlain out of the bullpen and stretch him out into a major league starter.  That’s a smart move.  Let us bare in mind that part of Chamberlain’s initial success is, in part, due to the fact that no one sees him more than once in a game.  Chamberlain has not had to make adjustments to hitters that have found success against him.  Keep an eye on him first time he goes through a lineup for a second and third time and see how he fares.

Taking a young pitcher who is still finding his way in the majors and throwing him out of his element into something new exposes a complete lack of logical thinking on the part of the Yankees organization.  Do they really think Chamberlain is going to have the success that Kennedy and Hughes couldn’t find? A pitcher who hasn’t started once in the major leagues and has a grand total of 15 career starts at the minor league level.

In the role of Bill Pulsipher is Ian Kennedy.  Kennedy a fine young pitcher who doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but very good command and certainly has the potential to be a fine major league starter.   Kennedy doesn’t have 200 professional innings to his credit, yet was expected to win 10-12 games and provide an ERA of 3.5 to 4. Of course, Kennedy hasn’t learned how to get a lineup of major league hitters out, so its not so surprising he hasn’t found success at the major league level.

The sad part is, its too late, at least for this season.  You can’t send the three of them down and let them develop anymore.  The  Yankees just have to hope they right their ships on their own.  And, unfortunately, its not the fault of the pitchers.  They put their trust in an organization that ruined them.

Perhaps 10-15 years from now when another franchise is blessed with three future aces, they’ll remember what happened to the Yankees Big 3.

As a writer, once in a while, you get a story that is so miraculous and unbelievable that it just writes itself.  Jon Lester’s no-hitter last night was nothing short of that.  He’s 24 years old and has already battled and beaten cancer.  Lester has also pitched a World Series-clinching game.  Here he is, less than two years after that victory, pitching an absolutely masterful performance going the distance and striking out nine Royals, including the last batter he faced with a 96-mile-an-hour fastball.

What else can you really say about this? I cannot imagine a better story in the majors this season.  Just the fact that Lester beat cancer is a huge story in itself, but now he’s tossed a no-hitter and pitched in Game 4 of the World Series last year in which the Red Sox won.

Its something that deserved to be written about in every newspaper, website column and blog in the entire world because it cannot be said enough times how beautiful a moment it was when Lester struck out Alberto Callaspo to finish it out.  He was still strong at 130 pitches.  Can you imagine Willie Randolph letting a starter throw 130 pitches? He’d be in cardiac arrest in the eighth inning.

But, really, all kidding aside, I could not be happier for Lester.  He deserves every bit of success he has along the way in his major league career.  Hats off to you, John.

In society, the media, and for that matter most people in general, have become obsessed with things that should be irrelevant.  Why should we care about the personal lives of celebrites and how many cars they drive and what bars and clubs they like to get drunk in?

Fine.  I choose to ignore that sort of thing, but most don’t, and I’m really okay with that.  But now it has crept into Major League Baseball.

Last night Nelson Figueroa of the New York Mets lambasted the Washington Nationals, calling them a bunch of “softball girls” for the way they cheered on their team.

Figueroa clearly wasn’t paying attention to his own game and that’s probably why he didn’t pitch that well and his team lost 10-4 last night.  He’s been promptly sent down to the minors.

Why are we caught up with things like this? The old men that write about this game kick and scream anytime Joba Chamberlain pumps his fist after striking out an opponent.

Lastings Milledge was run out of New York because he was an exuberant, youthful player that high-fived the fans going down the line after he hit a game-tying home run.

In all of these situations, you can give a decent argument for either side.  I just find it strange that these have been the subject of hot debate over the past couple of years.  Instead of letting these things just go away like they should, we hold onto them and discuss them for days and weeks on end.

I suppose its all part of the evolution of the game.  The players are behaving differently, perhaps its natural that we react in a different way.   Even the fact that I have to take the time to write this entry is proof of that.  Perhaps I should have left it alone altogether.

I, for one, would like to get back to discussing the game rather than discussing things that are unimportant to the game itself.  I promise that in the next entry.

May 7th was a very interesting day for baseball.  At Great American Ballpark, the Cincinnati Reds were able to hit four home runs in one inning, including one by Joey Votto who would go on to hit two more that day. 

In NewYork, Cliff Lee lowered his miniscule ERA even further shutting out the Yankees over seven innings.

At PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Barry Zito came back into the rotation and was handed his seventh loss of the season.

Which one is the biggest story? Probably Joey Votto’s three-home run game.  Although what Lee has done is very impressive, especially in the American League.  Zito is really only newsworthy because of how bad he and his team has been, so let’s not shed light on that.

Votto is a second year player who was excellent in Triple-A last year.  It was clear that he had every chance to win the first base job this year and indeed won it not too long into the season.  The Reds themselves are finally showing signs of becoming the offensive threat they should be and Votto is, thus far, leading the charge. 

The Reds themselves are a good team that has underperformed thus far.  The pitching has been a bit of a question mark, especially Bronson Arroyo who has an ERA of over one touchdown (with the extra point).  Edinson Volquez has been a huge surprise with a 5-1 record, 1.06 ERA and his most impressive stat: 11 K/9.  Johnny Cueto came out of the gates hot, but has been hit around lately, although he’s still striking batters out at an impressive rate. 

Edwin Encarnacion should not be leading this team in home runs and RBIs.  Adam Dunn is hitting .219, which is low even for him.  Brandon Phillips has been alright, but he’s not yet dominating like he is capable of.  Part-time guys like Jerry Hairston, Ryan Freel and Paul Bako are leading the team in batting average.  Jeff Keppinger is the team’s leading hitter for those who qualify for the batting title.  Keppinger is a good hitter, but again, he should not be leading the team in this category.  Freel, who is hitting .304, isn’t the starting center fielder and should be.  How he has not taken the job outright from Corey Patterson is beyond explanation.

In the end, this could be the day Cincinatti breaks free from their slumber and begins to charge up the National League Central Division.  Or its just another small moment in the web of baseball history.  We will see.

Go back one month in time and take a second listen to some of the unrealistic expectations held for some teams and players in this 2008 season.  Its really not a shock that these standards have yet to pan out, and they likely never will.  Here are my two favorite Grand Delusions from the beginning of the season.

Seattle Wins The West?
The Seattle Mariners were expected to be the class of the American League West.  Can anyone tell me how they were planning on achieving this? I know the trade for Erik Bedard boosted their rotation and moved young Felix Hernandez out of the ace spot, but that doesn’t suddenly make this bad team great. 

Nothing about this team’s lineup, rotation or bullpen says “division champion” or even “wildcard” anywhere near it.  With one regular (Raul Ibanez) hitting .300 and not much power to speak of (other than Richie Sexson’s seven round-trippers), the rotation better be dominant.  It hasn’t, although it has been okay, it is nowhere close to what it needs to be. 

This team is six and a half games behind the Los Angeles Angels who don’t even have Kelvim Escobar or John Lackey, 18 and 19-game winners respectively.

Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy will combine for 27 wins
I really don’t understand why pitchers skip Triple-A on their way up to The Show.  In Triple-A you learn to pitch tough innings every night, because the hitters there are essentially major leaguers who just aren’t quite full-time major leaguers, but a good enough test to be an indicator of success at the major league level.   

Something both Hughes and Kennedy have in common is that they both pitched less than 40 innings at Triple-A and less than 300 minor league innings in their careers.  That is not a recipe for success, especially for a guy like Hughes who came up last year and immediately injured himself when he went beyond his strict minor league pitch count. 

The expectations were so high, could they have succeeded? Probably not.  For the moment, however, it is moot.  Hughes is once again injured and we won’t see him until the end of July and Ian Kennedy is down in Triple-A, where he should have been to start the season and where he should be left until the end of the season.  Unfortunately, the Yankees don’t have that luxury.  Though both, at times, could foreshadow future outstanding performances, there will be no great impact from either of these “super-rookies” this season.

I don’t like giving this sort of thing more attention than it already has.  Its just not necessary with plenty of coverage in this tabloid-driven world.  However, I can’t help it.  If this were anyone other than Roger Clemens, I would feel sorry for the guy and trot out the “he-has-a-right-to-a-private-life” argument.  But Clemens has seemingly gone out of his way to turn every baseball fan in this country against him that I can’t even say I feel bad for him.

Roger Clemens, as I’m sure you are aware by now, had a confirmed affair with a country singer named Mindy McCready.  Is he admitting to it? Of course not.  He won’t admit to his HGH use, why should this be a surprise?

Clemens is now the epitome of the ridiculous attitude that this country is becoming infected with.  Clemens is never wrong, it is always someone else’s fault and then he compounds the situation by adding layers upon layers of prevarications.  Clemens claims that McCready is merely a friend of the family.  However, sources with knowledge of the relationship say that McCready has never met Roger’s wife, Debbie.

Amidst all of this controversy, it is not his actions that seem to anger the fans of the game as well as myself.  It is sanctimonious attitude and utter smugness that has really turned people away from him.  Had he played this correctly, he could have turned himself into a sympathetic victim of a tragedy.  Instead he motivated himself solely on his pride and false facade of a “man with family values.”

In other words, Clemens is now nothing but a loud gas-bag that everyone wishes would just go away.  Worst of all, he never needed performance-enhancing drugs, he was already one of the best pitchers in the game.  I do believe there was a time in his career where he was clean.  Its much more likely that he began taking it as really began to age.  Its too bad though, he’s still the premier power-pitcher of his generation.

Or, at least, he used to be.

It’s so easy to be a baseball blogger when you live in New York.  Just be patient and Alex Rodriguez will say something that everyone will criticize. 

On the surface, what A-Rod said was innocent, but take a second look and there is more to his statement than you think.  He has been playing through an injury lately and he said basically “I should have handled it more like Jeter.” 

That seems okay on the surface, but you have a lot of people out there talking about how this is another statement that stems from Rodriguez’s jealousy about the way Jeter is treated as opposed to him.

Alex Rodriguez will, for the rest of his career, be the favorite whipping boy of any city no matter where he goes.  Quite simply, he just rubs people the wrong way.  A lot of it probably has to do with money.  He makes 30 million dollars in a season which is more money than most will see in a lifetime. 

The demographic of major league baseball fans and those who cover the game as well is largely blue-collar, working class people who think its ridiculous that any athlete makes 30 million dollars in one season. 

What strikes the most dissonant chord with most people is that, no matter what, he always seems to mention Derek Jeter’s name.  Why does he do that? No one was talking about him, he wasn’t, in any way, the subject of conversation? Why does A-Rod keep bringing his name up?

He will not endear himself to anyone by suggesting he’s a better man than Jeter by attempting to play through his injury.  To those trying to stir the cauldron of the Yankees locker room, that’s how it was interpreted. 

I don’t really know which way to take this one.  I really wouldn’t be surprised if this was just another moment in which it was evident that Alex Rodriguez so desperately wants to be treated the way Derek Jeter does.  The difference is that Jeter has earned it by playing in this town for 12 years and winning four World Series rings.  Rodriguez is now in his fourth year and still hasn’t done squat in the post-season for New York. 

And most of all, no one cares.  No one wants to hear baseball’s 300-million dollar man whine about how unfair life is.  And neither do I.