Why Doesn't Anyone Like A-Rod?

Well, if you saw the game with the Jays on Wednesday you would have seen why. If things aren't going his way then he acts like a petulent child stomping his feet and screaming until someone caves.

For those of you who don't know what happened, basically the Yankees were up by two in the top of the ninth with two outs when Posada launched a pop up to third base. Newly promoted Howie Clark parked under it to end the inning and leave the Jays an unlikely chance at making a comeback against Mo Rivera. However, A-Rod wasn't satisfied with that and obviously thought that Rivera isn't quite good enough because he felt the need to call, "Mine" as he rounded third and Clark, thinking his shortstop McDonald had called him off, stepped aside and let the ball drop.

Now as much as some of us dislike the Yankees, you do respect them as throughout their history they have won games by simply playing the game the way its supposed to be played and backing their talent. There is no way you can respect such Sandlot League styled antics. Rodriguez even mentioned how it was like how Hill had stolen home earlier in the series saying both were extreme acts because they were 'desperate to win'. Newsflash Alex, you WERE winning already.

Jon Gibbons summed it up well, "One thing you know about the Yankees, one of the reasons they're so respected, is they do things right," Gibbons said. "They always have. They have a lot of pride and a lot of class. They play the game hard. That's not Yankee pride right there. That's not the way they play. I thought it was bush league."

Baseball's Train Wreck AKA The AL East

Long seen as the toughest division in MLB with the two biggest franchises in the sport, you'd be forgiven for thinking that its this years worst and least competitive with Boston already amassing a ten game lead on the second place Yankees. However, if we look at whats going on behind the scenes we will see how a lot of factors have gone into making this division such a debacle.

Of course the main issue has been injuries.

We all know about the problems the Yankees have had in the rotation which has resulted in eleven different guys starting games for the side. In fact only Andy Pettitte has been ever present in the rotation since opening day and even with the resources the Yankees have, no team can expect to be consistent with that kind of turnover. Even guys like Wang and Mussina haven't been able to get settled into the season yet and they were seen as the stable elements of the staff going into the year.

Then we have the obvious dark horse in the division in Toronto who are missing three of their top starters including one of the best in baseball (Roy Halladay), their leadoff man (Reed Johnson), the principal catcher (Greg Zaun) and their ace closer BJ Ryan. So that's their most important starter, their most important bullpen guy, their leader in the field and the sparkplug of the order. Who'd have thought that would dampen a teams season?

Even the Orioles, who got off to such a hot start, have suddenly tappered off. They shot out of the gates on the back of a very good rotation and then they lost Jaret Wright (not necessarily a big loss) and Adam Loewen (now he is a big loss) and what was a very good rotation has become a rotation with a couple of good guys and a bunch of who?

Much was made of Tampa's new influx of young talent and even with Elijah Dukes subbing for Baldelli, that's still one of the best outfields in baseball. But the DRays are still the DRays and a contender for the worst record in the AL. Its also fun to look at the depth charts on MLB.com and see that the primary first baseman, second baseman and shortstop are all BJ 'E6' Upton since Iwamura went on the DL.

Thus far the BoSox have only recently picked up their first injury to an impact guy with the inevitable spell on the DL by Josh Beckett (is he their new Pedro?) and we're all still waiting for the injuries to Drew and Papelbon and Dice-K's inevitable fatigue down the stretch.

In these days of the ridiculous unbalanced schedule (how they can justify that in the days of the Wild Card is beyond me) should we be surprised that Boston are winning so many games now? They already had a very talented roster and then you handicap all the half decent teams they have to play the majority of their games against and it's going to happen. Imagine how happy Detroit would be if Santana, Ortiz, Sabathia, Carmona, Westbrook, Pierzynski, Podsednik, Buerhle and Jenks all went down?

I still say it's early and I still think the Yankees will make a race of it come September but all you people who look at Boston with those league leading 31 wins and are saying they'll win the World Series, get ready for some disappointment. To say they have a lot of things going their way is an understatement.

The Waiver Wire Podcast

I've had a minor hiatus away from the blog of late (I know its not like I'm posting that regularly anyway but still) but that is because I've been dallying with a new project.

Myself and Neil M from 3.079 Miles.... have just put together a semi-regular podcast called The Waiver Wire which will be an informal baseball show that can be found at www.thewaiverwire.mypodcast.com

The first few shows are up and running but it was all done in a very kamikaze fashion without much forethought which is why a 30 minute show turned into six 20 minute shows but we're confident of good things for the future so dip in and tell us what you think at our MySpace page (www.myspace.com/thewaiverwire)

Hopefully I can now get back to posting on here again and hopefully things can start to get back to normal on here...relatively speaking of course.

Where There's Money...

Surprise, surprise. Roger Clemens has come out of 'retirement' again and has signed a monster deal (prorated of course) to play for the Yankees.

I know he said he would only play for his home town team so he could spend time with his family but thats The Rocket for you. Must be hard to say no to a $28m contract (again prorated).

He has still managed to secure the ability to not go on road trips from time to time (such a team guy) and I'm sure he'll usual thing of going six and then getting out of dodge so he can keep his ERA intact (does anyone know when he last pitched a complete game?).

Does this make the Yankees any more a World Series winning team? Not likely. He's not going to spare the bullpen any more than any of the guys they've already got. He might allow them to keep Phil Hughes on the farm one more year but this team needs a horse who can churn out innings, not another primadonna looking for glory.

The Atlanta Where'd Our Pennant Go?

Last year Atlanta scored a lot of runs (more than you might think) but their pen just couldn't hold a lead. This season they have built themselves one of the best bullpens in baseball with the additions of lefty Mike Gonzalez and right Rafael Soriano who could both close out games when Bob Wickman is unavailable (and with his figure added to his age that is inevitable).

The offence took a bit of a hit when the dealt LaRoche to Pittsburgh in the Gonzalez deal but still have the likes of Francoeur (he still seems offended by walks), Brian McCann (the best power hitting catcher in baseball I'll have you know) Andruw and Chipper Jones and with Edgar Renteria continuing to look more at ease in the NL than he was in the AL, it all comes down to how well Kelly Johnson does in the leadoff spot over the year.

Of course the problem for Atlanta is that they're in the NL East with the monster Mets club and while the Braves will score some runs, NY will score many more than anyone and the Mets aren't that far behind with the pen so the only way Atlanta can hang with them is if their starters come up big and that means Tim Hudson and thus far he has been fantastic. Hudson is looking a lot like the guy who used to be the best pitcher in the AL rather than the one who has been taking to the hill for the Braves the last couple of years and bring in the ever reliable John Smoltz and oft overlooked Chuck James and you have a strong rotation that will make this a very consistent team.

It would be a very brave (honestly thats not an intended pun) person who would say that anyone could better the Mets in the East this year but a wildcard isn't out of the question. There may be deeper teams in that race in the West and Philadelphia could get on a roll (better start soon) but Atlanta should linger all year round.

Philip Hughes : First Impressions

Well, we've heard the hype and seen the first game so what do we make of him?

Naturally either nerves or adrenaline took their effect on him in the first and the better hitters in the Jays lineup took advantage of some loose pitching but after that he settled down well and there was enough to believe he has a very good future. However, there was also plenty to make you think he needs more time to develop.

It all starts with his fastball which settles in the low 90's but occasionally creeps towards 95 with plenty of movement. He still left it up more than he would like and was fortunate that Toronto was missing a few of its better hitters. It was too much for many of them to handle but the likes of Rios, Wells and Thomas hit him fairly hard.

He has a very good differential between his pitches and the 75 mph curve will get him plenty of K's in conjunction with his fastball and his change shows signs of being a plus pitch. Right now the change had a tendency to stay straight and up. After the first they used the change as more of a show pitch and, as a result, it didn't hurt him.

Its funny when you see Hughes and his inexperience and compare him to Igawa who has a good few years experience in Japan as Hughes does a much, much better job at repeating his delivery with a consistent stride and arm slot. Comparisons have already been made between him and Roger Clemens' mechanically which says it all really as The Rocket is one of the most technically sound hurlers of recent years.

The thing that marks him out most of all as a potential front of the rotation guy is his mental make-up. At no point in time did he look out of place on the mound and he never backed down to any of the hitters. Even after the rough first inning he never panicked.

So what does all this mean? It's all down to fine tuning and filling out. He could do with a bit more body mass to help his durability but he just needs to fine tune his offspeed stuff and he'll be ready to be something like the pitcher everyone keeps saying he could be. He's probably a better pitcher than half the guys in the Yankee rotation right now (the reason they called him up in the first place) but his long term development could probably do with more time at AAA.

He's not as advanced at that age as guys like King Felix, Verlander and Ankiel were but few are. The sad thing for all us non-Yankee fans is that he really could be special.

The Rhyme of the Seattle Mariners

Bottom feeders for so long in the west, Seattle shouldn't be anyones whipping boys this year but a playoff spot might be a step too far.

It all starts with a pretty decent rotation that is helped by one of the best pitchers parks in the AL and a slick fielding infield led by the athletic Yuniesky Betancourt who might be the closest thing to a true Gold Glove calibre shortstop in the AL.

The rotation will be lead by a couple of steady veterans in Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista who have seen their way around the league a few times and can usually supply consistent starts every fifth day without ever really being spectacular. The spectacular will be supplied by sophomore phenom King Felix (Hernandez) whose ability and poise often make you forget that he is still just 21. He comes at you with a fastball that can get into the high 90's, a good change and a truly vicious slider and he is still a long way from being as good as he will be.

The bullpen has one of the games underrated closers in J.J. Putz (more than just a guy with a funny name) to nail down the ninth but getting him the ball will be the tricky bit. Chris Reitsma might have a resurgence now he's back in the set-up role he's more suited to but Arthur Rhodes is the only other guy with any kind of track record behind him but he's coming off a hit and miss season and elbow problems and who knows what they'll be able to get out of him?

Once again the offence will be sparked by the prodigious talents of Ichiro who will once again frighten the living daylights out of baserunners with his arm in centre and catchers as he uses his speed on the bases. He'll also be in the running for another batting crown (his .330 career average is only marginally behind Todd Helton and Phat Albert among active players).

Behind Ichiro are a bunch of so so players who are merely solid citizens (Raul Ibanez, Jose Guillen) or could do better guys (Richie 'The Strikeout' Sexson and Adrian 'Is It A Contract Year?' Beltre).

Kenji Johjima will look to build on a solid rookie campaign both with the bat and in the armour and there's no reason to think he won't and the addition of Jose Vidro will add more consistency to the order but this team won't overwhelm anyone with their offence.

So what's in store for Seattle? Well they should look to improve on last years 78 wins and there is no reason to think they can't get beyond Texas and if things go well for them they might even sneak into second place but with the bullpen and reliance on youngsters consistency might be too much of an issue.

The Wonderful, Most Wonderful Thing About Tiggers

OK, we'll start by saying this team scored a lot of runs in the regular season thanks to an incredible amount of depth in terms of power all the way up the order. Leyland would like to make this a more dynamic team with more guys running but Granderson is only leading off because there's no better option and while he does have speed, he's not a genuine base stealer. In other words, its all about homeruns and the only time that will become an issue is in the playoffs.

The reason why they can get away with not having the most versatile offence is because what they have is possibly the best rotation in baseball and one of the best bullpens too.

Kenny Rogers gives the team an experienced hand and then there is Jeremy Bonderman who is not far off having a monster season. Its amazing to think that this guy won't even be 25 at the start of the season.

Mike Maroth is another lefty who will eat innings and provide balance and Nate Robertson is as dependable as they come in the middle of the rotation but a return to the World Series will ultimately come down to how good Justin Verlander will be. He was always going to hit a bit of a wall in his rookie year, especially only being in his second pro year but he'll be eyeing his first 200 inning year and as he gets older and fills out more, his strikeouts per inning will go up and his ERA will get closer to 3.00. Have no doubts that Verlander knows how to make adjustments and stay ahead of the curve.

How good does the pen look? Well, Todd Jones returns to close the games and he'll be set up by two of the leagues hardest throwers in Fernando Rodney (what the heck has happened to him?)and the filthy Joel Zumaya. They've even bolstered the pen with Jose Mesa (assuming the injury was what effected his performances early on) to add even more depth and who knows if Chad Durbin will turn up because he's got massive upside.

From the left side Jamie Walker will be missed. Wilfredo Ledezma will likely split time between the pen and the rotation and is the only lefty with a track record on the 40 man roster and he's not really a situational guy but there is so much quality they probably won't need to worry about match ups (although Seay has done a solid job so far).

Things are on the up and up in Detroit with a tonne of young pitching thats only going to get better (even Kyle Sleeth is starting to shake off the injuries and he was once higher up the prospect list than Verlander and Zumaya) and they've even brought in a Gary Sheffield to give them more runs to play with. Even in a very tough AL Central they have to like their chances.

Washington Nationals

We went on a momentary hiatus with the previews so we're going to attempt to wrap them up pretty quickly so we can talk about better things. This was originally written back in March and I couldn't be bothered to redo it so instead I've plugged in some 'hilarious' abridgements.

How Ryan Zimmerman didn't win the Rookie of the Year award is beyond me. He showed tremendous presence at the plate (especially surprising as he was really in his first full year of pro ball), good ability on the bases and was so good defensively that people had to think for a bit whether Scott Rolen should have won the Gold Glove (of course he should but Zimmerman is the only 3B even in the same league defensively). He is an exciting player and will be an All Star for years.

The main reason I'm waxing lyrical about Zimmerman is that not only is he a great player who is fast becoming one of my favourites but there's not a whole lot else to talk about in Washington. So much of the team is in the air as to how it will pan out with Felipe Lopez at second, Brian Schneider at catcher, Austin Kearns and Ryan Church in the outfield and John Patterson will likely be the opening day starter (if he's physically able that is). Its not even that these guys are that good (except maybe Schneider), it's just they're just the only ones who really have any kind of track record in The Bigs.

You could also throw in that either Nick Johnson or Larry Broadway will be at first. Broadway offers more pop but his D is nowhere near as good as Johnson and I'm not even a fan of Johnson's D (he just seems to do dumb things from time to time).

The bullpen should be better than last year but there are questions. Chad Cordero is still a dependable ninth inning guy and Jon Rauch had a strong year setting him up. Luis Ayala is coming back after elbow problems (at least that's the rumour) and should settle back in and will be looking to re-establish himself as a top tier middle reliever.

Ray King is a non-roster invitee who could be a good pick up for this club (he's inactive but on the 40 man roster). Last year was a rough one but he certainly has a strong pedigree during his career as a situational guy and would allow the club to use Micah Bowie more creatively (Bowie is rooted in the pen now).

The line-up lacks a table setter or a dominant hitter, there are holes in key positions defensively and they have one solid starter who is injured a lot (not that he's looked it so far but Shawn Hill has done well). It really isn't a good time to be a Nationals fan. I think they call these times "transitional years".