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| Our seats at the Indians 5/19/12 game vs. the Miami Marlins |
AL EAST
Talk about your upside down division, heading into Memorial Day weekend. The Baltimore Orioles (27-16) continue to play well and not only are they leading the AL East, they have the best record in the American League. Not far behind the Orioles, are the Tampa Bay Rays (25-18) are just two games back and continue to play well at home with a record of 15-7 inside the Trop. The team with the biggest upside in this division, the Toronto Blue Jays (24-19) some how have the highest playoff % in this division at 60, we will see how they far as we head into the days of summer. As for the two highest payrolls in all of baseball, the NY Yankees (21-21) losers of three straight and 7 out of 10 games and the Boston Red Sox (21-21) winners of three straight and 8 out of 10 games find themselves tied for last place.
AL CENTRAL
The Cleveland Indians (23-18) still hanging onto first place got back-to-back two-game series sweeps this past week vs. the Twins and vs. the Mariners, before losing two of three at home vs. the Marlins. The Chicago White Sox (21-21) the hottest team in the division, winners of 4 straight have the only positive run differences in the division at (+9). The Detroit Tigers (20-21) continue to just motor along at the .500 mark, but have a big 3-game series starting tonight in Cleveland vs. the Indians. The Kansas City Royals (17-24) continue to struggle at home (where the 2012 All-Star Game will be held) going 5-17 at home and 12-7 on the road. As for the Minnesota Twins (14-27) have the worst run differences in all of baseball at -70.
AL WEST
The Texas Rangers (26-17) seem to have let up on the gas a little by only going 4-6 in their past 10 games. The Rangers continue to have a huge run differences with a +79 and still hold a solid 4-game lead over 2nd place Oakland A's (22-21), who have just been 5-5 in their past ten games. The hottest team in the division has been the Seattle Mariners (20-24) winners of four straight games after their sweep of the Rockies this past weekend in the Mile High City took the first of three last night vs. the Rangers. As for the LA Angels (18-25), they continue to struggle (3-game losing streak) and looks like they will be in last place as we head into the Memorial Day weekend, a big disappointment for sure, after all those off-season signings.
NL EAST
The Atlanta Braves (26-17) and Washington Nationals (25-17) have been flip flopping back and forth the past week/10 days for first place in this division. The Braves continue to score runs (217) and are 2nd in the NL, where as the Nats are doing it with pitching and defense only allowing (138) runs to this point of the season, the best in the NL. The Miami Marlins (23-19) took 2 out of 3 this past weekend up in Cleveland and are only 2.5 games behind the Braves. The NY Mets (22-20) have started to fade a bit only winning 4 of 10, are currently on a 6-game road trip. As for the Philadelphia Phillies (21-22) every time you think they are turning things around, they lose a few (currently on a 3-game skid). Will they be able to turn things around as we dive into summer.
NL CENTRAL
The two-team race that is the NL Central has quietly turned into a potential three-team race. As the St. Louis Cardinals (23-19) barely hold onto 1st place, have just went 3-7 in their past 10 games, the Cincinnati Reds (22-19) have won three straight (including taking 2 out of 3 vs. the Yankees in New York) continue to close the gap on the Cardinals for first place (only .5 game behind) going into tonight's action. Sneaking up on the top two teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates (20-22) find themselves only 3 games behind 1st place, but continue to struggle to score runs (123) last in all of baseball. The Houston Astros (19-23) are 4 games back, the Milwaukee Brewers (17-25) are 6 games back, while the lovable Chicago Cubs (15-27) have lost seven straight and are 2-8 in their past ten games are 9 games out of first place.
NL WEST
The best team in baseball resides in this division, as the LA Dodgers (29-13) continue to play great baseball early on in this season. The Dodgers have a 15-4 record at home and have won 5 straight and 8 out of 10 games, without the services of their MVP candidate CF Matt Kemp. The Dodgers now hold a 7 game lead over the SF Giants (22-20), the largest lead for any division leader. The Arizona Diamondbacks (19-24) continue to struggle this season and don't look anything like the team that surprisingly won the NL West last season. The San Diego Padres (16-27) are actually out of last place, as the Colorado Rockies (15-26) now resided there after losing 5 straight games.
Boomer's Clubhouse Chat
Cleveland Indians: 23-18
This week's games: 3 vs. Tigers, 3 @ White Sox, 1 vs. Royals
It was nice to see the Indians sweep both the Twins and Mariners in back-to-back 2-game series this past week. You need to beat those kinds of teams if you expect to contend and win a division crown. Unfortunately, over the weekend the Tribe dropped 2 of 3 games vs. the Miami Marlins and still continue to struggle to score runs. After holding a 2-0 lead in Friday Nights game, they let it slip away losing 3-2. On Saturday afternoon, I had the privilege to watch the Indians live, win a 2-0 decision, but in the rubber match the Indians again dropped a 5-3 decision. The Indians need to figure out this lineup issue, because at this rate they won't be able to hang around and contend if they are only scoring 2, 3 runs a game. Big 3-game series starting tonight vs. the Tigers, as the Indians start a stretch playing 15 straight divisional games. How they fare in the next two weeks, will give me and the rest of the loyal Indians fans a idea of how they will fare the rest of the season. Go Tribe, and Chris Perez do your job and shut up!
Cincinnati Reds: 22-19
This week's games: 3 vs. Braves, 3 vs. Rockies, 1 vs. Pirates
After a 4-3 road trip to Atlanta and New York this past week, the Reds returned home last night, where they defeated the Braves, 4-1 on the night the Reds hit 4 solo HR's and got another solid outing from pitcher Mike Leake. The Reds have been getting solid outings from Leake as well as Homer Bailey, the last week or so good signs if you are a Reds fan. The Reds showed some grit this past weekend, winning 2 of 3 in Yankee Stadium vs. the Yankees and find themselves only .5 game behind the Cardinals. The Reds are 3-games above .500 mark and still have not played their best ball yet. The Reds have the potential of being one of the best teams in the National League, but will they be able to prove that on the field as the season heads into the summer months. LETS GO REDS!
