The standings aren’t taking long to sort themselves out this season. The only divisions where a preseason favorite isn’t leading are the American League Central and National League East, where the White Sox and Marlins sit on top, respectively. Other than that, the Red Sox, Angels, Cubs and Diamondbacks are exactly where people predicted.
Three Up:
1. Boston Red Sox- The Sawx, after a slow start, have gone 9-1 in their last ten games and have taken over first place in the A.L. East. Even more importantly, Boston is now 3-2 against the Yankees. The Red Sox have been winning even with star David Ortiz struggling at the plate. Ortiz is batting just .177 with only two home runs as of Monday. Big Papi did heat up this weekend against the Rangers, going 5-12 with 8 runs batted in. If Ortiz can re-find his stroke, which appears to be happening already, look for the Sawx to put some distance between themselves and the Yankees as Boston plays 9 of its next 12 at Fenway Park.
2. Chase Utley: Jimmy Rollins won the MVP in 2007 and Ryan Howard won it in 2006 so it makes sense that Phillies’ second baseman Chase Utley will win the award this year. Utley, the biggest favorite with female Phillies fans Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams, is well on his way to doing so. With five homers in his last seven games, including two against rival New York Mets on Sunday night, Utley now leads the league.
3. Hank Steinbrenner: Hank, the heir apparent to the Yankee Empire, goes off on manager and Northwestern alumni Joe Girardi and General Manager Brian Cashman, saying only an “idiot” would not start current setup man Joba Chamberlain. Daddy George must be proud of his boy.
Three Down:
1. The A.L. Central: Before the season started there was talk of the A.L. Central being the best division in baseball. Instead, only the White Sox are above .500 and “World Series contenders” Cleveland and Detroit have a combined 14 wins. On a brighter note, the Twins have a “Joe Mauer Fishing Lure” night coming up on May 2. Road trip, anyone?
2. Andruw Jones: The L.A. Dodgers signed Jones to a $36.2 million deal betting that last year’s season, when he batted a measly .222, was a fluke. Now, the Dodgers are just hoping Jones can get his average that high. Jones is batting just .169 with only one home run, and Los Angeles is in last place in the competitive N.L. West.
3. The Pope: The poor guy gets to two baseball stadiums, Nationals Park and Yankee Stadium, without seeing one inning. It’s too bad. Had the Nationals been home, the Pope probably would have even gotten a chance to pitch.
YouTube Clip of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXoHuQGSJBI
And that’s exactly why the Rays should never ever be contracted.
Series of the Week: Angels at Tigers, April 25-27. The good residents of Detroit might be too preoccupied with the Pistons and Red Wings to care much about the Tigers right now, but they won’t be happy if they check the standings in June and their team is still in last place.