Contrary to popular belief, there are teams in baseball besides the Yankees and Red Sox. There are other divisions besides the A.L. East. And there are, in fact, better rosters with better players than your fantasy conglomeration of stars like Nick Swisher and B.J. Upton. Last week I examined the American League East. This week, I examine the other guys.
You would think a team with Cliff Lee, Vladamir Guerrero and Josh Hamilton would be getting somebody’s attention. But here we are, midway through September, and the Texas Rangers are sitting quietly in the corner.
Playing in an uncharacteristically weak A.L. West division, the Rangers seem poised to have a breakthrough year. The team has been fighting bankruptcy like Josh Hamilton fights cocaine habits: it’s a long and tedious process, but the end product might just be worth it.
Midseason acquisitions such as catcher Bengie Molina and infielder Jorge Cantu solidify an already solid roster. Stars such as Michael Young and Ian Kinsler haven’t tasted postseason play, so experience may be a factor, but let’s not forget about the Rays in 2008, and how simple a team without publicity can tame the road to a pennant.
In the span of one week, the Chicago White Sox won seven games in a row, and made the Red Sox look like T-ballers during a four game sweep.
Although they stand a few games back of Minnesota in the A.L. Central, Chicago should really like their chances. A three game set against the Twins looms large on their horizon, and they finish the season with a series against Cleveland. Despite a few rough patches, there seems to be a firm sense of control in the White Sox clubhouse.
With the arrival of Manny Ramirez, the stagnant offense gets a bit of a boost, and I’m sure ESPN is just waiting to pounce on a Manny vs. Ozzy, player vs. manager, dual. But if it doesn’t happen, the team continues to click and Paul Konerko keeps whacking the heck out of anything that moves, this team could be a real contender down the stretch.
Sorry Reds fans, but my National League team to beat are the Braves. I’ll take manager Bobby Cox over Dusty Baker any day. And the pitching rotations aren’t even close.
Aaron Harang has been pitching himself out of Cincinnati since 2008 compared to the Braves boasting two phenomenal righties in Tim Hudson and Tommy Hanson at the top of their rotation. Billy Wagner seems to have woken up from his 2 1/2 year baseball coma quite effectively.
The Reds might have a triple crown candidate in Joey Votto, but it gets really worrisome for the fans when your team gets clobbered the way they did a few weeks ago against the Cardinals, at home… But the real reason I have the Braves as the team to beat is the top of the batting order.
Omar Infante is playing like he might have actually deserved to be an All-Star, and Martin Prado is playing like he definitely deserved to be an All-Star. No offense to a future hall of famer, but Chipper Jones is getting a first class “Your time here is over” from the Braves offense.
Everyone needs to have an underdog. The kind of pick that gives you a reason to yell “I told you so!” come November. My pick is the San Francisco Giants.
Pablo Sandoval might be large, and he might not be able to field, or hit or pitch, but people still keep buying those jerseys. And he still has a job. That kind of encompasses the Giants.
They’re mostly large, and kind of ragged looking and they don’t really do a lot of things well except win games.
The Padres are reeling in the National League West, and the Giants seem ready to jump into that postseason bracket. Potential Rookie of the Year, Buster Posey, is a classic ball masher. He’ll hit the ball over you, under you, through you, past your house, past your Grandma’s house and into the next time zone.
Hopefully he does it before the ninth inning too, because no one in baseball has hair like dominant closer Brian Wilson. Not to mention, he’s got a really nice fastball. I’m not sure if I actually like the Giants, or just the idea of them winning without Barry Bonds.
October is almost among us, which means it’s almost playoff time. A seesaw year culminates to a month of pinch hitters and 15 inning games. It’s a beautiful time to be a baseball fan.
Miles Parks can be reached at mparks@spartans.ut.edu.
It’s great to hear more about the National League. Thanks for considering the other side of things. I’d like to hear more about the Diamondbacks though.
-JL