MLB Contenders, Pretenders, Not Yet, and Hopeless

Baseball's Flowers and Skunks

 

 

More than a third of the baseball season is over. A lot can happen over the next 90+ games and, if you know baseball history, even a big lead like the Yankees possess can evaporate. But, if you think spring games don’t matter, the Yankees suggest otherwise. Now that baseball is almost as bad as the NHL in rewarding playoff spots to mediocre teams, the Yankees are nearly a lock for the postseason. As I type this, they are 50-18! If they merely split their remaining 94 games they will accumulate 97 victories, which would secure them a playoff slot.

 

How good are they? Hard to know given how many smelly teams are playing. Here’s my capsule analysis of Contenders (C), Pretenders (P), Not Yet teams (NY), and the Hopeless (H) by order of standings on 6/22/22.

 

American League East:

1. Yankees (C): Starting and relief pitching has been spectacular, Judge is having a historic year, and they hit a ton of home runs. Weaknesses: They don’t win unless they homer, Gallo stinks, like much of the bottom half of the order.

 

2.  Blue Jays (P): Spent a lot of money and got limited results. Guerrero is a stud but... Weaknesses: Biggio, Springer, and other young players haven’t impressed and their pitching is thin after Manoah.

 

3. Red Sox (C): Best batting averages in the AL and a strong manager. Weaknesses: They hit but only a few players make anyone quake. They will go as far as their frequently-injured starting pitching takes them. Terrible bullpen. 

 

4. Rays (C/P): Always steady but... Weaknesses: You can’t dump high-priced talent every year and expect replacements to duplicate them. The league has caught on to the “opener” gimmick. The Rays could surprise, but they won’t go deep into the postseason.

 

5. Orioles (H/NY): They don’t smell like dead Chesapeake Bay oysters any more, but no way they make the playoffs. Desperately seeking new ownership.

 

American League Central:

 

1. Guardians (P): Resource-poor Cleveland has the best manager in MLB (Francona), the wonderful (Jose) Ramirez, and a few good pitchers but every year Francona is like a single mom trying to feed 25 growing boys on a box of mac n’ cheese.

 

2. Twins (P): Some decent players. Also spent a lot of money and have gotten less than they hoped–I’m looking at you Correa–so I’ll just say this: Never bet on the Twins.

 

3. White Sox (P): Might be the most disappointing team in MLB. They should walk away with a weak division and still might, but they believed their hype and haven’t bothered to show up very often. Still the odds-on favorite, but won’t get far in October. Weaknesses: Pitching blows hot/cold. Need a manager from this era.

 

4. Tigers (NY): The rebuild will take time and there are still more holes than a pair of hobo socks. Not good when you best hitter is over 40.

 

5. Royals (H): Who cares?

 

American League West:

 

1. Astros (C): I hate them, but there’s no denying the talent. As they’ve been, so they are: a solid team with good pitching. Weaknesses: No production in center field or catcher. Closer Pressly can be had and Verlander is 39.

 

2. Rangers (NY): They are rebuilding slowly, as they should.

 

3. Angels (P): Can we just stop the Trout Hype Wagon for heaven’s sake? He’s great but also injury-prone.  He, Ohtani, and Ward are not enough. The pitching is just as lousy as it always is.

 

4. Mariners (PP): A team that deserves a double PP. A yawn, yawn roster crafted by inept leadership at all levels.

 

5. Athletics (H): Simply a shameful tear-apart of a former contender. Move this team. Now!

 

National League East:

 

1. Mets (C): Yep, they’re for real and a Subway Series with the Yankees is not out of the question (though probability is another matter). Alonso, McNeil, Lindor are productive. Weaknesses: Starting pitching is so-so with Scherzer on the DL. Not much power beyond Alonso and Lindor.

 

2. Braves (C): The defending champions have been lethargic but remain formidable. They are like Houston in that they are steady and solid, not spectacular. There is more power in their lineup than the Mets can muster. Weaknesses:  Acuna has been injured, the bullpen and starter Morton are showing their age.

 

3. Phillies (P): They fired Girardi, went on a small tear, and reverted to their usual around .500 routine. Harper is great though. Weaknesses: They already regret signing Castellanos and at some point must come to grips with a roster that looks better on paper than on the field. Nola and Elfin continue to underwhelm.

 

4. Marlins (P): Do you care? No one in Miami does. (I'll bet they would in Montreal.)

 

5. Nationals (H): Time to admit that Corbin was a one-year wonder, dump the always-injured Strasburg, and rebuild around Bell, Soto, and Robles.

 

National League Central:

 

1. Brewers (P): It’s them or St. Louis in a lousy division, but unless Yelich wakes up, all they have are guys (Tellez, Adames, Renfroe) punching above their weight class. Hader might be the best reliever in baseball. He needs to be on a ho-hum staff.

 

2. Cardinals (P): The Cards look great with Goldschmidt, Arenado, and Edman but when they play good teams–witness their trip to Fenway Park–they look very mortal. It’s not good to rely on a 40-year-old ace (Wainwright) or a guy who lives on the DL (Matz).

3. Pirates (NY): They’re not embarrassing anymore, but watch what happens at the trade deadline. If they trade young talent, bury ‘em again. Right now, they are a cut above AAA, but not a big slice above.

 

4. Cubs (H): What an embarrassment! An inexcusable tear down of a wealthy franchise. Season ticket holders should sue for refunds.

 

5. Reds (H): Two phrases: Sell ‘em. Move ‘em.

 

National League West:

1. Dodgers (C): East Coast hoopla aside, they’re probably the best team in the majors. Freeman, Betts, Turner, Gonsolin, Anderson... and Muncy and Bellinger haven’t yet gotten untracked. I vote them the team most likely to throw a monkey wrench into Subway Series dreams. Weaknesses: Not liking Kimbrel as closer and why they signed Heaney is anyone’s guess.

 

2. Padres (P): Lots of hope, but it’s most hype. This is another team bettors should avoid. Machado, Hosmer, Darvish, Musgrove (IL), and? Yeah, that’s the problem.

 

3. Giants (C/P): 2021’s 107 wins was a fluke, but this team has good chemistry and enough talent to make it to the postseason. Pederson has finally come into his own and where did (Luis) Gonzalez come from? If Yaztremski, Belt, and Crawford wake up they will make some noise. Rodon, Wood, Webb are a good top three for starters. Weaknesses: Like the Rays, they need all the pieces to fall into place.

 

4. Diamondbacks (H): When the weather heats up, the D’backs cool down. You probably wouldn’t recognize their starting lineup or any pitcher other than past-his-prime Bumgarner. There’s a reason no one beyond Tucson knows the names.

 

5. Rockies (H): Would somebody please trade for Blackmon and save him from all of this? MLB should not have a franchise at this altitude.

Rob Weir