Around The Bases #5

As we start the month of June and with the summer around the corner, there are still 100+ games to be played. With the new Wild Card format, more teams have a chance of playing meaningful games into September. The top story lines from the last few weeks include the Los Angeles Dodgers last in their division, Domonic Brown's emergence, and the Pittsburgh Pirates hope to finish above .500 for the first time in 20 years.

Top 5 Storylines:

1) Pittsburgh Pirates
2) Domonic Brown
3) Underachievers
4) Umpires and Video Review
5) Tampa Bay Rays early standouts

5) The Tampa Bay Rays are used to having a #1 ace in their rotation but with James Shields traded to the Kansas City Royals in the off-season and Daivd Price struggling mightily, it is finally time for the young pitchers that the Rays have gushed about to step up. While Price is the leader of the rotation, he has not been able to find the strike-zone, cue Alex Cobb and Matt Moore who is off to a wicked (8-0) start. Cobb and Moore are holding down the fort with Price injured, but James Loney's bounce back season has him as the frontrunner for the "Comeback Player of the Year." Loney was the most notable acquisition this past-off season for the Rays, despite struggling in his last two years in LA and his half season in Boston. After being traded in the monster deal between the Boston Red Sox and Dodgers last year, Loney signed with the Rays for a mere $2 million one-year deal with the Rays.He was a 1st round pick of the LA Dodgers back in 2002 and had high expectations, but never panned out. Despite a few seasons with 90 RBI’s, Loney has never been as affective as he is now. He is finally living up to his potential and the Rays are reaping the benefits. Heading into June, Loney was in the top-5 in batting average and a reason why the Rays sit just 2.5 games back of division leading Boston.

4) If 2013 is the year in which the MLB finally looked at the “Challenge” or added usage of video replay, than it was because plays like this.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OIBcTE2DlA)
Or maybe it’s the home run that was not called in a game between the Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Indians that would have tied the game in the bottom of the 9th .
(http://bit.ly/13xAS3H)
It’s really been a gong show on the part of the umpires. We have the technology these days to make sure that these things don’t happen. Yes, baseball is a long game, and yes if their were 10-15 minute delays in a Yankees/Red Sox 4-hour marathon it would probably be a little irritating and end up being a 6-hour event, but the right call needs to be made. Hockey has people waiting in Toronto, reviewing every game and every goal. Football has the challenge flag, which allows coaches to reverse a play they feel is unfit with the help of a video review. Even Tennis players have challenges! Baseball must finally adopt a new format because it is getting way out of hand and this argument that baseball needs to have the human element is bogus. Take a look at a slideshow that Fox Sports did of all the umpire gaffes in 2013 so far… (http://on-msn.com/1anP8OQ)

3) If you had to summarize the first two months of the season for the Dodgers, Angels and Blue Jays, you could bunch them together and label them as “Underachievers”. The Jays for all the moves they made sit last in the AL East 10.5 games behind division leading Boston Red Sox and 8 games back from the final wild card spot held by the Baltimore Orioles. The Angels are 7 games behind .500 and are showing no signs of the team that people expected with a lineup of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Mark Trumbo and Josh Hamilton. The biggest disappointment though is the Los Angeles Dodgers. They play in a weak NL West and have both the hitting and the pitching to win a division title. Clayton Kershaw leads the team with a (1.85) ERA but can’t get any run support. In all five of his wins his team has not scored more then four runs. Adrian Gonzalez is having a very respectable season so far, but Matt Kemp is in the worst slump of his career and currently sits on the disabled list. To put things into perspective, Gonzalez leads the team with 41 RBI’s, Kemp is second on the team with a measly 17. The lack of offensive production has caused the team to start a “Fire Don Mattingly” Facebook group. These teams on paper should all be on the road to the playoffs, but at this rate none of them will be playing meaningful games in September.

2) Some players just take the league by storm. Mike Trout did it last year in his rookie debut, and the early star to the 2013 season belongs to Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown. Brown was a nobody in April, with just 3-homeruns, a batting average around .250, he and the Phillies were off the map. It wasn’t until May that things started to click. Brown hit 12-home runs in the month of May and one already in June, becoming the NL leader in long bombs to this point. Brown leads the team in batting average (.282), homeruns (16) and RBI’s (40) and is on pace for (46) homeruns and (120) RBI’s. That coupled with the recent play of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard have put the Phillies back on the grid.

1) Is this the year? The year the Pittsburgh Pirates finish with a record above .500. The last few seasons the Pirates have flirted with having an above average season but each time they have trailed off in August and September and out of the playoff hunt. Last year they led their NL Central division at the All-Star break only to finish (79-83) and 18 games back. This year they are red hot at again to start the season (35-23). They are playing great ball and getting production up and down a very young lineup. They currently sit behind St.Louis and Cincinnati in their division, but the Pirates are no longer cellar dwellers. The thing that’s amazing is how young their players are. Pedro Alvarez(26) 11hr/30rbi,Andrew McCutchen(27).284/28rbi/14sb, Starling Matre(25).291/36runs/15sb and pitcher Jeff Locke(26) 5-1/2.25 ERA, will all be on this team for a long time. This team has continued to progress under manager Clint Hurdle and has become one of the most exciting teams in all of baseball. After years of having the worst record in baseball the tide is changing, and the Pirates are on the path to making their first playoff appearance since 1979, a span of 33 seasons.

Games To Watch:

1) St.Louis Cardinals (38-19) @ Cincinnati Reds (36-22)
- Friday June 6th to Sunday June 8th
- ESPN's game of the week. Sunday Night 8:10
- Cardinals (20-9) on the road Reds (21-7) at home... Something has to give
- Yadier Molina is batting (.350) and has become one of the toughest batters in the game to retire.

2) LA Angels (25-33) @ Boston Red Sox (35-23)
- Friday June 6th to Sunday June 8th
- Clay Buchholz (8-0) starts Saturday
- Albert Pujols is struggling but has good numbers at Fenway Park
- A series win or sweep for the Angels would go along way

3)Tampa Bay Rays (31-25) @ Detroit Tigers (30-25)
- Tuesday June 3rd to Thursday June 5th
- Wednesday pitching matchup TB: A.Cobb (6-2) vs. DET: D.Fister (5-2)
- Last year's AL MVP Miguel Cabrera is on fire
- TB (7-3) in last 10. DET (4-6)