AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
EA:
Ed Agner
BB:
Bill Barnwell
PR:
Phil Rippa
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Record
at the All-Star Break (46-38)
First
Half Review
PR: The Pale Hose, at times, looked
like the team that should be running away with this sad sack of a
division. At other times, they looked like a team managed by Ozzie
Guillen with Kenny Williams acting like the black Chuck Lamar.
ED: But they've got SPUNK~! SPUNK~! What more do you want?
PR: Esteban Loaiza has showed that last season wasn't a fluke.
ED: Actually, Loaiza has shown that he pitched out of his gourd last
year. This year is merely the type of year we all thought he
should have been putting together when sucking for the Rangers and Blue
Jays. How he's an All Star is another matter all together.
PR: Paul Konerko has shown that last season was a fluke.
ED: Stupid Konerko!
PR: And Frank Thomas has shown that he can produce every year and be an
insufferable bastard at the same time. Oh and Magglio Ordonez, when
healthy, is by far and away their best player. So, of course, they are
trying to move him instead of resigning him.
BB: So, of course, I signed Paul Konerko this year in our fantasy
league and offered to trade him a week or so ago to Ed – who had him
last year. I'm sure that went over well.
ED: Like I didn't spend far too much time thinking about it.
Fortunately, I sobered up or something. God I hate you,
Bill. And Konerko. And Pat Burrell. So much hate.
BB: Shigeo Takasu decided that it would be okay if he coasted off of
the success of Akinori Otsuka to become the White Sox best reliever.
Billy Koch still didn't realize that the way to get big league hitters
out is to throw faster. Keith Foulke, meanwhile, still throws
eighty-eight miles an hour, still phenomenal. But he'll never have a
cool goatee. I will say, in all fairness, that acquiring Freddy Garcia
was a part this team needed – considering Buehrle's really been their
only effective starter (what is Rippa talking about with Loaiza? His K
rates this millennium: 6.19, 5.21, 5.17, 8.23, 5.31. You don't need to
play "Trend or Outlier?" to figure it out.) I'm not saying that it was
a GOOD trade – but it was effective in fulfilling the White Sox biggest
immediate need. Well, second biggest immediate need, since there are no
GMs on the market.
PR: I got Loaiza and Buehrle and Melido Perez and Wilson Alvarez and
Jon Garland and Floyd Bannister and Dave LaPoint and Neil Allen and
LaMarr Hoyt and Eddie Cicotte and Ed Walsh and Nick Altrock all
confused. I like shiny things.
ED: Dan Evans is out there. He smokes Kenny. Dan Evans is,
unfortunatley, as white as a Big 10+1/18*27 second-division basketball
team, so no dice. And put me down in the no fan o' Freddy
camp. Get him out of Safeco and he's...ehh. Certainly, he's
not gonna be worth the cash in the three-year deal the ChiSox just gave
him. Kenny will somehow blame the Yankees for that deal then
trade Freddy to Oakland where he'll shine in the big ol' Mausoleum -
either that or explode his liver when partying with Janikowski.
Whatever.
PR: The thing that will be remembered most about the first half of the
White Sox 04 campaign is how they rode in and got the services of
Freddy Garcia right out from under the noses of a half a dozen teams.
This was probably due to the fact that Williams was willing to be
swindled yet again. Garcia, in theory, will provide a nice compliment
to Loaiza but he is no longer pitching in Safeco and he wasn't exactly
putting up silly numbers there. Plus, Chicago now is stuck with either
Sandy Alomar Jr. or Ben Davis at catcher. I have heard of punting
positions in whatif but never in real life.
BB: It works for the Yankees – when July rolls around, they know
exactly what position they have to upgrade and don't have to hear about
how they should coax Paul O'Neill or Paul Assenmacher out of
retirement. They need a second basemen…unless of course they are
playing the Red Sox. Stupid Miguel Cairo. The White Sox, unfortunately,
don't have any trading chips left – unless someone really, really likes
Joe Borchard. Gord Ash has to be a GM somewhere.
PR: If it wasn't for the Garcia trade, the thing that would have
probably taken up 10 minutes on the Sports Illustrated season in review
tape that they pawned onto unsuspecting season ticket holders was the
fact that the White Sox have a horrific bullpen (oh yeah – this a theme
throughout this miserable division). A few years ago Billy Koch was
fairly effective as closer for Oakland.
ED: Uh...by effective in Oakland, you mean Koch blew enough saves to
get Miguel Tejada the MVP, right?
PR: Effective is effective.
PR: His role as CWS closer was so firm at the start of the season that
Williams was bringing in PVCs from foreign countries. Now Koch is in
Florida and Chicago is left to wonder about those wins that should have
been. Mike Jackson proved that a year away from the sport doesn't help
and Cliff Politte proved that last season was more indicative of his
stuff than 2002 was.
BB: Does Mike Jackson have a family in Cuba or something that he could
fly in? The other problem the White Sox had was in the back of the
rotation, where they decided that Jon Rauch's confidence was fun to
mess around with. Oh well – he'll always be tall.
ED: You just know Jamie Navarro is calling Kenny up telling him he can
still pitch.
BB: The White Sox have been doing one thing really well – smacking the
crap out of the ball. The usual suspects are doing their thing and
Konerko's back up to a .558 SLG, but the real difference this year has
been the power Jose Valentin's shown (slugging .569), and the emergence
of Aaron Rowand as a legitimate everyday player (slugging .519). His
isolated power has pretty much trended upward over his career (.138,
.136, .166, .219), so it's not like this came out of nowhere.
ED: Well, Valentin always had pop. Ending the horrible switch
hitting experiment has been his best friend. He learned that from
J.T. Snow who...well...wasn't so fortunate.
Second Half Outlook
PR: The question now remains of how
much more of a commitment the White Sox are going to make towards
winning this season. And when I say winning, I mean the World Series
because at this point myself, Bill, Ed and a few other fellas could
take the Central.
ED: Ahh, the visual of me barreling into Sandy Alomar. I can hear
the bones snapping already.
PR: Do you move Ordonez? Especially when its Williams orchestrating the
deal. "Oh, Hi Brian. Okay, so you want Magglio for Kenny Lofton, Felix
Heredia and Jose Contreras? Hmmm… I tell you what, we will throw in
Damaso Marte too. Deal? Great!"
BB: The White Sox have Takasu and Marte in the pen as pretty reliable
guys. They need a third reliever if they are going to win the division
– whether it's someone in-house like Politte or Neal Cotts, or Williams
goes out and (aww…this'll be funny) trades for a reliever (told you
so), the White Sox aren't going anywhere without another guy out of the
pen.
ED: Cotts has been used pretty heavily so far, so I wouldn't bet on a
good second half there. I like Politte well enough, but Ozzie
doesn't know how to protect a reliever's weaknesses so he'll continue
to get bashed around enough to be an ace in Cleveland's pen.
Ergo, I can see easily see Jose Mesa with the Pale Hose. Oh,
would that ever be fitting.
Self Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
PR: Well, can't really take credit
for the Kenny Williams bashing. My fondness for Mike Jackson turned out
about as well as my fondness for Mike DeJean.
MINNESOTA TWINS
Record
at the All-Star Break (47-40)
First
Half Review
PR: The plucky Twins have been able
to continue their little Screw-You Selig tour a running… but mainly
because they are in the pathetic AL Central. Johan Santana found his
rhythm (seconds after being traded away in fantasy by yours truly) to
give some relief to Brad Radke who was carrying the entire team for two
months. The loss of Eddie Guardado had been minimized since Joe Nathan
panned out just as hoped. Finding a replacement for LaTroy Hawkins has
been comical with Terry Mulholland getting far two much work. Juan
Rincon has been the best option before having to go to Nathan but he
still walks too many for any Twins fans to breathe easy… HEY! Maybe he
is the perfect Hawkins replacement after all.
PR: The offense has been provided by a couple of veterans – not
surprisingly – Torii Hunter and Corey Koskie and youngster; again no
surprise…. Err… wait a second. The youngster is outfielder Lew Ford he
has done nothing but blister the ball since his call up last September.
Meanwhile, the wheels fell off the Joe Mauer bandwagon fairly quick
thanks to injury. Of course, Ford wouldn't have been playing if Shannon
Stewart hadn't got hurt.
BB: The fact that Lew Ford is the Twins outfield prospect who's earned
a starting job is pretty amazing, since he's never been the guy at the
top of their endless crop. Michael Cuddyer, who was supposed to be the
best Twins prospect of all, hit .249/.308/.414 and seems set to lose
any shot he had at a full-time gig for his career. Rivas and Guzman
have drawn 20 walks in 511 at bats, which tells you all you need to
know about their improvement.
ED: In Cuddyer's defense, he was put at second when Rivas went
down. Being thrust in a mostly unfamiliar position at the major
league level isn't a good way to get your legs underneath you
but...these are the Twins. Someday, Beane will make a deal for
Cuddyer and Matt LeCroy or something and the A's will put together the
all-Twins prospect OF that Minnesota fans should be enjoying instead of
the Jaques Jones K Experience. And yet the Twins will still
continue to win the Central because Kenny Williams is an idiot.
Second Half Outlook
PR: Since this is the Central, the
Twins will be in contention to the end of the season. Pitching – both
in the form of a third starter (I think I just made Carlos Silva and
Kyle Lohse cry) and bullpen help should be the priority. Ideally, you
move the VETERANESS~! Of any of the threesome that is Hunter, Stewart
or Jacque Jones (ideally Jones but beggars can't be choosers) to do
so.
BB: I think Phil meant move FOR veterans because, somehow, that became
the Twins' business. It's like the entire organization suddenly
realized they didn't have Ron Coomer anymore and suddenly had a
hankering.
ED: Oh, who DOESN'T have a hankering for Ron Coomer? Ugly guy
slump buster!
BB: I wish I could put money on Jacque Jones becoming a Giant one
day, though. Mauer's hit .315/.382/.618 in his eighty or so at bats of
health, so if he can get some ABs, there's going to be some more runs
to go around. Doug Mientketc. is going to hit above .244 in the second
half, and if that average comes with a spurt of power, he can have his
official John Olerud season.
ED: And Matt LeCroy continues to hit whenever Gardenhire remembers that
he's a member of the team and not a memeber of Minneapolis'
finest. Mmm, doughnuts!
PR: Minnesota can afford to keep all those pesky white fellas around
since they play in Minnesota after all so no heat to worry about. Maybe
they are some other folks of Nordic descent that they can big up on the
cheap. Anyone, who can survive a half a season with out separating
ligament from bone. Playing in the Metrodome makes this a tough
assignment. Can they unfreeze Dan Gladden or something?
ED: Aww, Dan Gladden - Viking Warrior! That's so beautiful.
PR: The Twins still have nine games left with the White Sox which most
likely will determine who gets swept by the Yankees in the Wild Card
round. Of course, not letting the Royals take any more games from them
should also be a priority.
Self Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
PR: Bill derided the way Radke
became the #1 starter. Well whatever works. Nathan is still the closer
so our Twins salary conspiracy theories were misguided. Minnesota still
has 45 elder OFers blocking their prospects and Ron Gardenhire is
still… special.
CLEVELAND INDIANS
Record
at the All-Star Break (42-45)
First
Half Review
PR: Probably the most appropriate
place in for the Indians to be is hovering right around mediocrity in
the most mediocre of mediocre divisions in all of sports. The bloom has
FINALLY fallen off the rose that was Omar Vizquel.
ED: Says you. You don't live in Ohio and hear about how cute
Vizquel's HOF plaque will be. When I go a-shootin' one day, I'll
blame it all on Omar.
PR: The youth movement seems to be working for the Indians with
only Vizquel creating a giant sucking sound in the lineup. (Only
starter with an OPS lower than .780? Yup, St. Omar.) Even despite that,
Cleveland has scored the third most runs in the majors. (Poor little
run differential) Oh, and we would be remiss if we didn't mention that
Vizquel has 10 errors already. I guess one for each gold glove that he
will still be awarded. Yeah, let's move on.
BB: Travis Hafner is having a career season right after Prospectus gave
up on him, while Victor Martinez cemented himself as the next great
catcher in the American League by hitting .295/.365/.528; while he'll
lose some of that as he tires in the second half, he's going to slug
.600 one of these years and might end up winning an MVP award. Him and
Hafner are the only legitimate pieces in the lineup here.
ED: Personally, I get a Sandy Alomar, Jr.-fragile vibe from
Martinez. I don't know why but I do. I love the fact that
the Tribe are talking of giving up on Ben Broussard experiment since I
had buddies who were Indians and Reds fans tell me how terrible the
Broussard-Russell Branyan deal was for the other team. Aww, poor
li'l failed Ohio prospects. Hey, you know Fernando Seiguig...aww,
forget it. That was my Preview riff.
PR: C.C. Sabathia is having a fine season… when the hefty fella is
actually out on the mound. Jake Westbrook has starting to live up to
the billing that someone placed on him and some point in the last few
years (because honestly, who isn't a hot prospect these days).
ED: Eric Almonte? Kirk Sarloos? Freddy Sanchez? Ruben
Mateo? Mark Quinn?
PR: The bullpen was an unmitigated disaster with a Lake Erie sized
round of musical closers. Jose Jimenez had his PVC card revoked and
David Riske didn't want to grab the job with his meaty little hands.
Things got so bad that Cleveland had to turn back to Bob Wickman, fresh
off a 765 year stint on the disabled list.
BB: Riske's back, though. At least, my fantasy team hopes so. The
problem has really been that whoever's been placed in the closer's role
either has gotten hurt or become ineffective – there is a bunch of good
pitchers here with Riske, Rafael Betancourt, and Kaz Tadano ready to
form the crux of the next Yankees bullpen.
ED: Are you suggesting the thing that is NOT called Bullpen By
Committee? Do you want to make Peter Gammons wet?
BB: Cliff Lee is going to be the Indians #3 starter when it matters.
Grady Sizemore is hitting .306/.375/.460 in AAA, while Brandon Phillips
is slowly returning to prospect status by hitting .299/.357/.419. Those
two things matter more than most of the major league
shenaningans.
ED: SHOULD matter more, you mean. But the Indians have fallen for
Ronnie Belliard (rightly or wrongly, I dunno. I've liked Belliard
more than most over the years), so that leaves the SS job for young Mr.
Phillips. Sure, the Indians have talked about letting Omar fly
after the season, but this is a team that inexplicably just signed
Aaron Boone to a $4M/yr contract. You think Omar's getting out of
town that easily?
Second Half Outlook
PR: If MLB had 10 day contracts, I
could see the Indians signing Albert Belle to run over Vizquel one more
time to finish the job properly. Cleveland can linger around the
Central because… well you all ready know. The bullpen is going to be an
enormous anchor and an immediate fix doesn't appear to be coming
anytime soon. They desperately need a 4th and 5th starter because Jason
Davis – though not as much as Chad Durbin who managed to devastate the
rotation and the pen.
ED: Finding a REAL 3rd baseman would be a help too. And no,
I didn't forget about Casey Blake and Aaron Boone. I bet Travis
Fryman would still take the Tribes' calls.
PR: Being ahead of last year's pace I guess should be something to be
proud of but Cleveland needs to figure out how to win on the road. Ohio
isn't usually that accommodating.
ED: Ohio hates us all. Cleveland really needs to go on a nice
losing streak to get out of contention and figure out who will be a
part of the next decent Indians team come next year or so. This
whole consideration of running for the Central title this year merely
makes them look like a Kenny Williams-ran team.
Self Mockery
(Looking Back At Our Preview)
PR: I nailed Jimenez being a failure
and I am glad that the thought of Wickman being out for the season
turned out to be wrong. Ed wanted Cleveland to try out Riske… whoops.
Bill's analogy about Jody Gerut turned out much too true – much to
Gerut's chagrin. The hatred for Omar came fast and furious as did the
jokes about CC's weight.. These were too easy to truly take credit for.
ED: Hey! I expressed my love for Ronnie Belliard way back
in April. I get half a point there or something, right?
DETROIT LIONS
Record
at the All-Star Break (42-45)
First
Half Review
PR: Well that was one free agent
signing that panned out as Ivan Rodriguez has been all about providing
the writers the hip choice for AL MVP. He will also be the man who hit
.500 for the month of June and lest anyone ever think about forgetting
that fact. What? There are other players on the Tigers besides Pudge?
Oh yeah. Carlos Guillen is quietly having the best season of any AL
shortstop. Alex Sanchez is no longer the guy you settle for in fantasy
when you are searching for steals after Juan Pierre, Carl Crawford and
Dave Roberts have been selected. Dmitri Young is healthy again, hitting
cardiac home runs and a continued jolt. Even Bobby Higginson is putting
up decent numbers for a guy getting paid $800,000 this season… err… oh…
Higginson is making $8.85 million. At least it isn't $11.85 million.
BB: Alex Sanchez is hitting .326/.339/.395 this year. Alex Sanchez's
career numbers have him hitting .293/.328/.366. Alex Sanchez is about
to become the guy who you settle for in fantasy when you need steals
again.
ED: Not that I'm any fan of Snachez, but his learning how to bunt
has probably been a deciding factor in upping the average - for as long
as his legs hold up, which doesn't figure to be much longer. Of
course, he still has no pop, so...buyer beware.
BB: Carlos Guillen had a career season at exactly the right time, and
while he's always been an underrated player, he's going to settle down
some. Carlos Pena is striking out in 30% of his at bats. At least he
has that Northeastern education. The real bizarro season for the
Tigers, though, is Omar Infante, who suddenly decided that he was going
to hit .286/.360/.490 at age 22. Considering Infante showed no power
whatsoever in the minors, this is either a trick of sample size or a
sudden dramatic rise in power. If it sticks, and it's for real, Infante
will be one of the twenty most valuable commodities in baseball next
season.
ED: Poor-poor Fernando Vina. You just know he's now gonna end up
in Baltimore with their 700 on-again off-again injured second basemen,
waiting for the trainers table as B.J. Surhoff is getting peiced back
together. Never leave the comfort of LaMullet, Fernando.
PR: And it is a good thing that the Tigers have all that offense since
the pitching isn't anything great. No one is losing 20 games but no one
is befuddling batters either.
BB: Nate Robertson had a pretty decent first half, striking out eight
batters per nine and only walking four, which will get you pretty
decent money. Jeremy Bonderman's ERA is right around six. Mike Maroth
will take the ball every fifth day, and he probably doesn't smell awful
or anything. Nate Cornejo has no knee ligaments, which is kinda cool.
ED: And Jason Johnson has done a nice job eating innings. Which,
considering he's a diabetic, proves that innings are not sugary or
something. You figure it out. It's been a long time since I
took a Health class.
Second Half Outlook
PR: The Tigers have the offense –
especially with hitters like Young and Rondell White finally playing
everyday – to continue to fight through the struggling staff.
ED: I love me some Rondell White, but I wouldn't put money on him
staying off the DL for any length of time. Same with...aww, hell,
ANYONE in a Tiger uni, really.
PR: A total collapse doesn't seem likely so staying north of 100
losses shouldn't be a problem. But, wackier things have happened in
baseball. Actually trading Urbina away isn't going to help the
struggling pen (neither would things like letting Franklyn German or
Matt Anderson ever pitch again but it sure would provide the comedy).
Detroit is going to be a player in the AL Central race – not in that
they are going to capture first but because all the other contenders
are going to drop games that they wish they didn't to the Tigers and
then Lance Parrish and Lou Whitaker and Kirk Gibson and Matt Nokes and
Dan Petry and Chet Lemon and Howard Johnson and Darrell Evans and Tom
Brookens and Milt Wilcox will beam with pride.
BB: It's not like Urbina's been that good so far. Steve Colyer has
given up 7 home runs in 24 innings. Yes – 7 in 24. That is nasty.
Self Mockery
(A Look Back At Our Preview)
PR: Well, the Tigers aren't as bad
as last year. Sadly, Pudge didn't snap and start cursing the team on
Mother's Day. Maybe catchers do put butts in the seats.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Record
at the All-Star Break (31-54)
First
Half Review
PR: To the casual observer, the only
thing that matter to the Kansas City Royals is that they dealt away
their top player in Carlos Beltran because no one knows what to do with
the 854 billion they get each season in revenue sharing.
ED: Just a guess, the fund that keeps Rob and Rany away from Zack
Greinke. But that's just a guess.
PR: So off Beltran went to the Houston Astros in a deal where
Allard Baird didn't get fleeced, even with Billy Beane involved. The
trade was the white flag on the KC season and conceded the fluke that
was 2003.
BB: He didn't get fleeced, but he didn't get too much for the guy who
every team wanted. He got a decent, but not great third base prospect,
a guy whose upside is being a solid #4 starter, and a decent catcher
prospect. Those are spare parts. Baird was too pigeonholed into filling
his team's gaps with the Beltran trade, and forgot that he needed to
get quality for the best player on the market. Look at what Seattle got
for Freddy Garcia – one of the top five hitting prospects in baseball
and a starting catcher with pop. Sure, Kenny Williams was involved…but
so was Bill Bavasi. They cancel each other out. Baird would've been
better off holding onto Beltran, waiting to see if anyone got
desperate, and then pocketing two first-round picks if no one did.
ED: Yup. If nothing else, Baird could have gotten some real arms
from the A's instead of the fungible stuff that Billy's always glad to
pass around the league. You find nice facsimilies of what Baird
got in that trade easily enough, mostly - though I am a John Buck
fan. The Royals needed arms more than anything and they got
bubkis. No, it's not fleecing, but it sucks if you're a Royals
fan.
PR: Hey, I was expecting him to give up Beltran for a half eaten
sandwich and a copy of the DaVinci Code so that is why I said he wasn’t
fleeced. And it sucks if you’re a Royals fan whether or not that
trade happened.
PR: There was plenty else going on with the Royals that didn't involve
Beltran. To no one's surprise except Baird’s, Juan Gonzalez and Benito
Santiago spent considerable time on the disabled list. Mike Sweeney
hasn't put up numbers close to what he usually does. The pitching has
been U-G-L-Y to the point that the 2003 ace – Jeremy Affeldt – had to
be flipped into the closer because no one else was getting the job done
(in fact, two of the previous choices – Mike McDougal and Curtis
Leskanic – are no longer with the big club; Leskanic just being
released and McDougal just being Rick Ankielesqe).
BB: Angel Berroa has totally regressed, hitting .240/.272/.373 and
basically showing that his 2003 was just his version of 2001 Cristian
Guzman. Desi Relaford, a useful part the last few years, is slugging
.262 this year. Aaron Guiel is hitting .173/.279/.360. David DeJesus,
Beltran's replacement, has hit .167/.254/.167. This lineup has been
ugly. Affeldt's problems with injuries and blisters have turned his
previously fantastic strikeout rate into chaff.
ED: Well, you have to factor in the Royals moving out their
fences - something Bill made note of in the preview - as a factor in
the hitting problems. Of course, that SHOULD have helped the
pitching. But it didn't so...never mind.
PR: The positive for KC is 20-year-old ace in the making Zach Greinke
who, ever since his callup has been basically as good as advertised.
Greinke is doing his part in spite of lack of run support that borders
on criminal. Now he just needs to shed the fawning eyes of Rob and
Rany.
Second Half Outlook
PR: It is going to be a long second
half of the season. It boils down to a matter of whether Tony Pena will
be allowed another year of forgiveness and if the Baird can shed enough
payroll so that the Wichita Wranglers made more as a whole. I will be
interested to see if the team can ever give Greinke more than three
runs in a single game.
BB: Baird was right to give up on the season; the thing now is to get
value for the parts that teams can use. No one wants any Joe Randa.
Sweeney's expensive and his back is ticking. Matt Stairs will get a
C-level pitching prospect, as will Juan Gone. Scott Sullivan can be
someone's hope this year – maybe the White Sox again.
PR: Stumpy wants some Joe Randa.
ED: Well, there's always the 20 year anniversary celebration of
Don Denkinger's blown call in the '85 WS to look forward to. That
should keep Royals fans happy for another year and a half. And
Baird really needs to change the spelling of his name. I read it
as Bard every time and I think, "No wonder the Royals suck!
They've got a man who's been dead for 500 years running the
team." Stupid useless English degree.
Self Mockery
(A
Look Back At Our Preview)
PR: It's inexcusable that we forgot
to factor in Beltran getting traded when we were making mean jokes
about the Royals. The notion that Matt Stairs would provide some sort
of offensive support was moronic. Bill was correct on saying Jamie
Cerda would be the best acquisition that KC made all offseason.