San Francisco Giants Starting Pitching Preview

By Kalen Patrick

The biggest strength of the Giants through the 2 recent World Series Championships has been the pitching, will this trend continue as the Giants look to defend the title this season? Ultimately I think the Giants will get another very strong season from the pitching staff.

THE CORE OF THE GIANTS STARTERS (RYAN VOGELSONG, MATT CAIN AND MADISON BUMGARNER)

Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner are pitchers #1 and 2 at the top of the rotation. Matt Cain is the ace of the staff and Mr. Consistent (consistently very good), while Bumgarner provides similar stability for the Giants. Bumgarner did have some control issues leading up to the playoffs last season, but judging by his amazing performance against the Tigers in the World Series, these were fixable problems for him. He is a confident, heavy throwing pitcher, who is developing and refining his pitches. He will have another very good season. The 3rd pitcher of the rotation in my opinion is Ryan Vogelsong. Wow what a story he has been. The Giants will look for another strong year from Vogelsong, and I see no reason as to why this wouldn't happen.

WHICH TIM LINCECUM WILL SHOW UP IN 2013?

The 2 big question marks on the remaining projected starters are Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito. Zito overall had a pretty solid 2012 regular season, some surprisingly good starts, the expected rough patches that left your face in your palm and then the average Zito type games (5-6 innings with 2-5 runs allowed). Something happened to Zito in last years playoffs and he had the biggest game of his career against the Cardinals winning in St. Louis. While Zito will never really earn the money he has made, I expect another solid outing this season. Probably finish 13-13 with an ERA around 4 or maybe a little higher. As good as he was in the playoffs and World Series, this is Barry Zito after all and over the course of a season he will have quite a few terrible outings I'm sure.

Tim Lincecum, well he may just be the biggest question mark in the Majors. 2 time Cy Young winner, who last year had the worst ERA for a starting pitcher (who met the innings pitched to qualify). The 2 biggest issues with Timmy were his fastball and his confidence. His fastball has lost 4-5 MPH since his Cy Young years (95/96 to 91/92). Timmy was able to use his higher velocity fastball to set up hitters with his deadly off-speed pitches. With his decreasing velocity, this clearly effected Lincecum's confidence as he battled control issues all year and he couldn't strike people out nearly as efficiently as before. Not only this, but he was very hittable which led to his inflated ERA. While I do expect a bounce back year from Timmy, he will not regain Cy Young form, maybe become a 3.4-3.8 ERA type pitcher, middle of the pack. I am making a prediction right now that this will be Timmy's LAST SEASON as a Giant, you heard it here first!

Check back for further posts about all your favorite San Francisco based Sports Teams

Over and Out

SF Giants - Offseason

By Kalen Patrick

The San Francisco Giants won their 2nd championship in 3 years, this may have been the most unlikely championship in recent years in any sport. Think about everything that happened, Tim Lincecum (the Giants ace) had a terrible year, Brian Wilson (All-Star closer) done for the season, Melky Cabrera was hitting out of his mind and got busted for PED's and suspended for most of the 2nd half of the season. All of that and I haven't even mentioned that the Giants were down 0-2 in the NLDS Series to the Reds, down 1-3 against the Cardinals in the NLCS. That is hardly the recipe for a Championship, but then again a lot of things went very right for the Giants too.

The Giants approach this offseason has been to hang on to the guys who got the team this years championship, re-signing Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro were key for the Giants as both are expected to bat 1 and 2 in the Giants order and key reliever Jeremy Affeldt. The Giants proved all year long that they can use (and win) with a Closer by committee and make it work. Hence, the Giants not reaching to sign Brian Wilson to big money.

GIANTS WANT AND EXPECT BETTER ON-FIELD PRODUCTION FROM HUNTER PENCE

Quite honestly I really can't fault the Giants or critique their approach too much. The Giants are not the Dodgers or Yankees where they can have endless money, so we have to keep that in mind. I think the Giants are banking on improvement's from many of their own players, as opposed to going out and signing a bunch of over priced players. Guys like Hunter Pence really stand out to me as one of those guys, while Hunter was definitely a key locker room presence, I feel he is due to play a much bigger role in terms of his production on the field this season. The Giants got a Hunter Pence who in 59 games hit .219 Average, .287 OBP and didn't hit for much power either. Expect a big turn around season for Pence and the Giants are certainly hoping for it.

Another key guy the Giants are banking on is World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval. The biggest question mark surrounding Pablo is his weight, Giants skipper Bruce Bochy has publicly announced the importance of this even after the World Series Victory. A healthy and fit Pablo Sandoval can be one of the most lethal hitters in baseball and a key cog for the Giants in continued success going forward. Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford are two other guys the Giants definitely want to see improve at the plate. I don't expect either to become world class hitters but I know the Giants are thinking they can take the next step and contribute to more success.

I really think the Giants are making the best decision in "keeping quiet" in free agency, keep the team together and develop and progress to be even more formidable. When was the last time the Yankees won the World Series? What happened to the Dodgers when they took on $250+ million in contracts when they traded with the Boston Red Sox? Money and big contracts don't mean wins and championships. With the recent success of the Giants, I think we all know we are in good hands and can expect to be competitive.

Over and Out.

San Francisco Giants Race to the Playoffs

By Kalen Patrick

We are entering the final stretch run leading up to the 2012 Playoffs and just as expected there is a close race between the rival San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. As of today, the Giants hold a major advantage, as they own a 5 game lead over the Dodgers with each team having 20 games left to play. I'm a big Giants fan and the last thing I would ever want to do is jinx my team but I find it very hard to imagine a scenario where the Giants don't win the division. Lets take a look at some of the reasons why.

If the Giants play .500 ball and go 10-10,the Dodgers would have to go 16-4 over their final 21 games in order to just draw even. Now don't get me wrong, crazier things have happened (just ask the New York Mets), but the Dodgers (even with all of their additions) have showed me almost nothing to prove they can play at the level they will need to. Adrian Gonzalez really hasn't been the force in the lineup that the Dodgers had expected, Matt Kemp is battling injuries, Eithier, Victorino and Ellis have not been difference makers. The Dodgers Ace Clayton Kershaw is an absolute beast, but after him, they have to send out pitchers who have been overachieving all season (Capuano and Harang) along with Josh Beckett and Joe Blanton. Just looking at the roster, I don't see a team that can go 16-4 when you factor in the teams the Dodgers will be facing.

THE GIANTS - DODGERS RIVALRY IS ALIVE AND WELL IN 2012

The Dodgers remaining schedule is significantly more difficult than the Giants. The Dodgers have a 4 game series vs the St. Louis Cardinals, then go on the road to take on the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds, who own the NL's best and 2nd best records respectively. The rest of the Dodgers games are within the NL West. In comparison, the rest of the Giants schedule is against NL West opponents.

The Giants are going to need some major improvements from certain players if they want to not only wrap up the NL West but make some noise in the playoffs too. The Starting Pitching must improve significantly, Vogelsong has been getting shelled lately, Zito is someone you can't count on for a strong performance, Lincecum has rebounded to have a very steady 2nd half of the season. Most importantly both Bumgarner and Cain have to be better, even in tonight's game for example, Bumgarner's line was 4.1 Innings with 5 ER allowed. Not good enough. Secretly the Giants offense has been carrying the load due to the struggling pitching staff.

BUSTER POSEY IS MAKING A STRONG CASE FOR NL MVP

On offense, surprisingly its been Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence who have been struggling. Sandoval's season average has plummeted to .276, while Pence is hitting a measly .260. Pence, as of late, has at least shown some power but Sandoval has been a disaster since coming back from injury in Mid-August. He has only 2 extra base hits, no HR's (last HR on July 8th) Batting around .230, Slugging .275, On Base % around .295 in that time. These are garbage numbers for your supposed number 3 hitter. Can't consistently win when your 3 and 5 hitters are not performing up to expectations.

On a positive note, Posey has been playing at an MVP caliber, Pagan and Scutaro are making Brian Sabean look really good, Joaquin Arias and Brandon Crawford get timely hits and last but not least Belt has been very good, in his last 10 games he has 2 HR and 12 RBI, all season has been seeing the ball well with his ability to draw walks leading to a .361 OBP.

If I had to bet, I would put my money on the Giants making the Post Season, I could see them winning the 1st round of the playoffs, but I just can't see the Giants winning the NLCS on top of that. Giants would most likely have to beat the Reds and then the Nationals to get to the World Series and unfortunately I don't see that happening, but then again, once you get in to the playoffs, ANYTHING can happen. That's it.

Over and Out.

San Francisco's Best Kept Secret

By Kalen Patrick

Ryan Vogelsong has been setting the Baseball World on fire since re-joining the San Francisco Giants in 2011. Vogelsong once a high draft choice of the San Francisco Giants had a forgettable MLB career. He was in the Majors between 2000-2006 spending most of his time in Pittsburgh. He then played overseas for 5 years before his triumphant return to MLB with the San Francisco Giants.

In his 1 and 1/2 seasons with the Giants he has an ERA a shade over 2.5, a WHIP under 1.2 and an impressive 21 W's to 11 L's. The Giants prior to Vogelsong's arrival had a very good rotation, heck we won the World Series the year before and that was mostly due to the Starting Pitching. However, that does not take away the importance of Vogelsong's arrival to this team.

SF GIANTS SP - RYAN VOGELSONG

He has no doubt been the most consistent and reliable pitcher on the 2012 SF Giants. Lets look at the numbers: He has not gone less than 6 innings this year, the most Earned Runs he has given up in a game has been 4 and that was way back on April 26th against the Reds in Cincinnati. Vogelsong is Mr. Consistent, you know you will get between 6-8 innings and he will only likely give up a 1 or 2 and put the team in a position to win every single time.

I think the most fascinating part of the Vogelsong story, is the fact that while he has been the best pitcher for the Giants this year and maybe for the last year and a half, he is not even well known outside of San Francisco. He lives in the Shadows of Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner. Maybe that is a good thing though, he doesn't have the pressure of those guys, he does his job, and does it very well. Sure he doesn't have the flashy numbers but you know what you're gonna get and that is something I know Bruce Bochy and all the Giants players and fans love.

San Francisco Giants - Pathetic

By Kalen Patrick

The San Francisco Giants won their first title in San Francisco not even 1 year ago after 52 years of suffering. You know who suffered too for those 50+ years? The fans. This team ended the suffering when Brian Wilson struck out Nelson Cruz and I have never seen a fan base so happy. Now fast forward to last night (August 30th 2011), the team has been struggling for a month and the fans were booing the team off the field.

A part of me is wondering if the fans are justified in booing the team that still are the defending world champs. However, when a team is struggling mightily against the likes of the Houston Astros and Cubs, that just spells bad news. The Giants often struggle to score more than 2 runs, and while the Giants lineup is far from lethal, they do have some capable hitters.

When you look at Jeff Keppinger, Carlos Beltran, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Belt and Aubrey Huff, all of these guys can hit. And what is funny is they actually are hitting pretty well, Keppinger and Sandoval are hovering at or over .300, Beltran has been hitting over .300 with the Giants, and Belt and Huff both have pop and Belt has been hitting extremely well of late. The problem with the Giants is hitting with RISP (Runners In Scoring Position).

JEFF KEPPINGER HAS BEEN AN EXCELLENT ADDITION, EXPECT HIM TO STICK AROUND

As easy as it is to put all the blame on the hitting, the pitching has been pretty inconsistent too, even with the additions of Beltran and Keppinger, they don't even replace the loss of Posey and Freddy Sanchez. The strength of this team is the pitching and always will be. The losses of Brian Wilson and Sergio Romo certainly don't help, and Vogelsong has come right back down to Earth. To be honest, sometimes it just isn't a teams year, similarly to last year everything going right for the Giants, everything has gone wrong this year.

The future is still very bright for the Giants, young pitching staff, capable hitters, next year the 1st 4 hitters in the lineup should be Keppinger, Sanchez, Sandoval, Posey and possibly they bring back Beltran or sign another bat and with having an improved Brandon Belt. 2010 was the year of the Giants, it may be as simple to say that 2011 is not.

GOOD MEMORIES, SF GIANTS 2010 WORLD CHAMPS

SF Giants Slumping - Fact or Fiction?

By Kalen Patrick

The San Francisco Giants have been in their biggest slump of the year and look to continue that tonight (Top of the 5th down 5-0 to the Pirates currently). So when or where did this slump come from? It's easy to point to adding Beltran and Cabrera and look at the Giants record since they joined and blame them. I however would strongly disagree with that theory. The Giants slump started right after their great series in Philly taking 2 of 3 games. Since then the Giants have gone 2-8 and things don't look to be getting better. So what has happened?

GIANTS PITCHERS GOTTA START PITCHING UP TO THEIR HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Well, its the pitching. The Giants even with the additions of Beltran, Keppinger and Cabrera, are still built to be a scrappy team that wins games 4-2 and 3-1 and the always fun 1-0 games. Since the Giants left Philly, the pitching staff has given up 4,7,9,5,6,3,9,2 and 5 so far tonight. Of course the Giants pitchers like any team will have off days, but to have that many high scoring games in such a short space of time is very rare for this pitching staff. Let's not put all the blame on the pitching though, these hitters get paid to hit, and they haven't been producing runs at all.

In the 10 game slump the Giants have scored a total of 21 runs (Average 2.1 runs/game) which is pathetic. Also the Giants have been shut out twice, 8 of the 21 runs came in 1 game. You take that game out and they have 13 runs in 9 games and that equals less than 1.5 runs/game. Even more pathetic. I don't care how good your pitching staff is. Can't win if you don't score.

CARLOS BELTRAN MUST START BEING EXTREMELY PRODUCTIVE

Only when the Giants pitching staff get it together again (and I'm very confident they will) then will they start winning consistently. Also they really need a much bigger contribution from Beltran. Overall Keppinger has been a much better addition and even Cabrera when you factor in what the Giants had to give up for each player.

Only time will tell, luckily the D-Backs are also in a bit of a slump too. But the Giants have to turn it around soon or else they won't be seeing the playoffs this year.

MLB Power Rankings

By Kalen Patrick

Its been too long to call them my Weekly Power Rankings, but here I go again with the top 5 and bottom 5 teams in Baseball. Honestly, at the top not much has changed in terms of who the better teams are. We have them figured out for the most part. The bottom there will be some surprises. Lets get it going.

Top 5
1 - Boston Red Sox (64-39) - The Red Sox boast the most productive run scoring offense in the Majors (and its not even close). Gonzalez is hitting like a mad man, Ellsbury and Pedroia have been amazing, and the pitching is more than good enough to get them deep in the playoffs.

CARLOS BELTRAN, A WELCOME ADDITION TO SF

2 - San Francisco Giants (61-44) - Tough choice between the Phillies and Giants for #2. However, the Giants just won 2 out of 3 IN Philly, and they just added Carlos Beltran. To me, right now, that puts the Giants above the Phillies. Not to mention the pitching especially the bullpen has been unhittable. Possible repeat of last year in the works.



3 - Philadelphia Phillies (65-39) - They have the best winning percentage in Baseball (.625) are looking to add another bat to the lineup, and have the best starting pitching in Baseball. I can definitely imagine a Phillies/Giants NLCS rematch.

4 - New York Yankees (61-41) - All around good team, they can hit, they have the best closer in the game, and the pitching is doing enough to keep them close to the Red Sox. Will Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes ultimately be the downfall of the Yankees? Will they acquire a SP before the trade deadline?

5 - Texas Rangers (60-46) - The Rangers are maybe the most dangerous team to face, good (not great) starting pitching, they sure can hit and they look to be very close to getting closer Heath Bell which would help solidify the 9th inning. This team if they get hot can be almost unbeatable.

Bottom 5
26 - Chicago Cubs (42-63) - It was between the Cubs and Padres for this spot, when you look at the difference in payroll. The decision was incredibly easy.

27 - Kansas City Royals (44-61) - The usual bottom feeder teams are out in full force (besides the Pirates)

28 -  Baltimore Orioles (41-60) - That strong start seems like an eternity ago.

29 - Seattle Mariners (44-60) - They lost 16 (or 17?) in a row. 3 weeks ago they were in the thick of the AL West race, now they are done. What a shame.

30 - Houston Astros (35-70) - What a joke. Not worth anyones time or money.

Post Script
Wanna make a note of how well the Pittsburgh Pirates have done this year, as of this second they are only 1 game out of 1st place in the NL Central. Who would have ever guessed that we could say that in late July/early August. Well done for them and hope they can keep it up. Nice to see their awesome stadium actually have people in it.

The Mystery that is Barry Zito

By Kalen Patrick

Barry Zito may be the most overpaid player in Baseball, no, Professional Sports, he may always be remembered for this and on numerous MLB Network and ESPN shows for Baseball/Sports worst contracts, he may be a lot of these negative things, but one thing he definitely is, is pitching excellently. Coming off the 60-Day DL Zito was expected to just fill innings while Jonathan Sanchez gets healthy and back in the groove of things, but now, Zito is making a serious legit case to keep him in the starting 5 rotation.

In his last 3 starts Zito has put up the very impressive stat line of: 21 IP, 3 ER's, 11 K's to only 4 BB.

Looking at that in his 3 starts he has averaged going 7 Innings and giving up 1 Earned Run in each appearance. Of course we have seen this before from Zito, even in a Giants uniform, but there seems to be something very different this time around. Before he was trying to thro w 5 different pitches and just trying to do too much to justify his contract. Zito now has stuck to his 3 pitches which he has got down, his Fastball, Changeup and of course that lethal Curve Ball. Zito's curve may be one of the best in the Majors when he's got command of it.

BARRY ZITO SEEMS MORE CONFIDENT AND DETERMINED THAN EVER BEFORE

Not only this but the biggest change I have seen is that he just seems focused and confident. He isn't doing too much and can focus on what he does right and now has the confidence on the mound. Of course there will be games that Zito will get beat up on, but if he can give the Giants a bunch more games like he has done so far since coming off the DL, that would be huge.

The Giants are stuck with Zito, so if Zito can contribute that makes either Jonathan Sanchez or Ryan Vogelsong expendable, especially with a guy like Zach Wheeler in the minors who will be up in another year or two. Sanchez could be the trade bait in order for the Giants to get themselves another bat. A good Zito gives the Giants so much pitching and flexibility. And that is always a good thing.

Most Spoiled and Tortured Sports Towns

By Kalen Patrick

Real fans only know what it's really like when things are good and when things are bad. Real fans will stick by their teams through thick and thin no matter what. But which cities have it the best and which cities have it the hardest? Lets take a closer look....

Most Spoiled
Boston. My aim is to keep it in the recent years, Boston have celebrated a World Championship in all 4 major sports in recent years. The Bruins won just a matter of weeks ago, the Celtics won in 2008, the Red Sox in 2007 and 2004, the Patriots have won 3 Superbowls this decade. Not only this, but the Celtics have been to numerous Finals, Patriots were in a Superbowl a few years ago. All of the Boston teams are always in the playoff discussion and most are legitimate championship contenders. Honestly, if you are a fan in the Boston/New England area, you have absolutely nothing to complain about and just relish these times because they won't always be this good.

Most Tortured
Cleveland. It has to be Cleveland right? Lebron leaves the Cavs, the Browns are well the Browns, the Indians gave the city some hope but have crashed all the way back down to reality, and since Lebron left the Cavs only had the 2nd worst record, tied a record for most consecutive losses and had the 1st and 4th overall picks in one of the weakest drafts in recent memory.
While the teams do have some glimmer of hope, doesn't it just seem like they are cursed? The Browns are in a division with 2 of the best run franchises in Baltimore and Pittsburgh. The Cavs have a serious inability to attract any kind of talent and the Indians are the definition of mediocre. How things could have been different if the Cavs traded for Amare Stoudemire and not a 40 year old Shaq.

MLB Weekly Power Rankings

By Kalen Patrick

So here we go with another addition of my Weekly Power Rankings, posts have been few and far between with a hectic work schedule. Don't worry, haven't forgotten about the Sports Cave. Lets get to the top 5

Top 5
1 (1 ) Philadelphia Phillies (53-31) - An incredible 22 games above .500 and not even at the All-Star Break. Best record in Baseball and THE team to beat in the NL

2 (3) New York Yankees (50-31) - On a hot streak (8-2 in their last 10 games) and they have by far the best run differential in baseball at +122.

3 (4) Atlanta Braves (49-35) - This team is so consistent, 7 games above .500 at home and on the road. Pitching has been amazing and the hitting will get better, maybe they trade for a bat too

4 (NR) San Francisco Giants (48-36) - Team has been hitting a lot better, In their last 6 games they have had games where they scored 13, 15 and 6. Also Barry Zito has been a pleasant surprise off the DL.

PABLO SANDOVAL AND THE GIANTS MAY BE THE MOST RESILIENT TEAM IN BASEBALL

5 (2) Boston Red Sox (48-34) - Red Sox had a rough time recently but the Astros cured that nicely. Every team goes though slumps, the Red Sox will rebound right now I expect.

Bottom 5
26 (NR) Baltimore Orioles (35-45) - 2-8 in their last 10 games. Remember when they started the season hot? And everyone said they'd come back down to Earth? Everyone was right.

27 (28) Chicago Cubs (34-50) - They got some lucky timely wins against the Giants, this team is still awful and a waste of money.

ITS A SHAME THIS GREAT FIELD IS RUINED BY THE PRODUCT THE CUBS PUT OUT

28 (NR) Minnesota Twins (35-46) - Twins got hot for a while but now back to reality, and its a bleak one

29 (29) Kansas City Royals (33-50) - Said it before and will say it again, check back on this team in 2013

30 (30) Houston Astros (29-55) - They stink.

Who's Hot?
Drum roll please........San Diego Padres! They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and while odds are they will be crash landing back to Earth soon but hey, they should enjoy it while they can.

Who's Not?
Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics, 2 teams who rarely know what it feels like to score runs, both are 3-7 in their last 10 and both still kind of have a shot in the division? God the AL West is awful.

Kalens MLB Weekly Power Rankings

By Kalen Patrick

Here we go with another addition of my baseball power rankings, big changes all across the board at the top, while the bottom teams continue to struggle. Also have added a new section called Who's Hot and Who's Not. Lets do this.

Top 5
1 (2) Philadelphia Phillies (47-29) - Phillies have the best winning % in baseball at .618, the bats have been waking up as of late and their pitching has allowed the fewest runs in all of baseball. Hard to top that. NL's team to beat.

2 (1) - Boston Red Sox (44-30) - The Red Sox have the best hitter in Baseball (Adrian Gonzalez), the best pitcher (Josh Beckett), the best record in the AL and the best offense in Baseball. Any questions?

3 (5) - New York Yankees (43-30) - Yeesh I promise I don't work for ESPN and I promise I don't have any kind of East Coast bias, but even I can admit that these are the best 3 teams in Baseball. Yankees have the best run differential in the Majors (+92) and are right in line to fight the Red Sox for the AL East/Wild Card crown.

4 (NR) - Atlanta Braves (43-33) - One of the most underrated and forgotten teams in all of Baseball. The pitching has been outstanding, 2nd in ERA, 1st in WHIP and 1st in BAA. The Braves Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson are #1 and #2 respectively in ERA in the NL. While the offense has been struggling the return of Jayson Heyward should help and they look to be right in the thick of the playoff race.

BEST PITCHER IN THE NL IS........JAIR JURRJENS?

5 (NR) Arizona Diamondbacks (42-34) - I guess these D-Backs aren't going anywhere, with all the injuries the Giants have suffered, it really has opened up a great opportunity to make some noise and give them a realistic shot at playoffs. While I question whether they can maintain this level of play through the season, right now they are playing very well.

Bottom 5
26 (27) - San Diego Padres (32-44) - The Padres are tied for the fewest runs scored in Baseball and they somehow have an awful home record at 14-26. 3-7 in their last 10 games and thats including the 2 game win streak they are on now. Weird how things have gone so far south compared to last year.

27 (26) - Florida Marlins (33-42) - The Marlins are 1-9 in their last 10 games, Hanley Ramirez looks washed up (at 27?), the coaching change is a major hit or miss move and they suffer from having almost no fans show up to games. Pretty bleak.

PICTURE OF A RECORD SETTING ATTENDANCE AT A MARLINS GAME (JOKE)

28 (28) - Chicago Cubs (30-44) - This team is the highest paid bunch of losers I have ever seen. Prince Fielder said he would be open to signing with the Cubs in the offseason? Why? (oh yeah the insane money he will get). This is what I wrote last week and nothing has changed.


29 (NR) Kansas City Royals (31-44) - Fewest wins in the AL, 3-7 in their last 10 games, and while the Royals have some promising prospects coming up and playing respectably, this is a team that will be relevant come 2013.

30 (29) - Houston Astros (28-48) - The Astros are already 20 games below .500, have allowed the most runs in Baseball and have the worst run differential at -72. This team is in full rebuild mode, would trading Hunter Pence be the best way to get some promising prospects?

Who's Hot?
Teams that are deserving of honorable mentions here are the Washington Nationals who are 9-1 in their last 10 games and they have beaten some damn good teams lately. This team could be a force in a few years when Strasburg is back, Harper gets to the Majors and other prospects come up. The Oakland A's have stepped their game up, sweeping the Giants and getting a 6 game winning streak going. The Minnesota Twins are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have been just as hot as the Nationals.

Who's Not?
Besides for all the teams in the Bottom 5, the leading teams in the NL Central have been struggling, both the Cardinals (who are now minus Pujols until mid August) and Brewers are 3-7 in their last 10 and have allowed the Reds to get right back in the race despite only playing .500 ball lately.

Check back in next week for another edition of my Weekly Power Rankings and my new section of Who's Hot and Who's Not.

MLB Weekly Power Rankings

By Kalen
Here we go for another dose of the weekly power rankings in Baseball. The Cleveland Indians have fallen all the way back down to Earth and more, throwing away their big lead in the AL Central. Staying in that division, the Twins are showing signs of life and getting Joe Mauer back soon will be huge. Lets now get to the top 5 and bottom 5 teams in my opinion. The rankings I have are based between both Overall record and how the team has played the last week. Lets do this.

Top 5
1 (2)  Boston Red Sox (40-27) - Hitting has been exceptional, pitching has been superb and this team seems almost unbeatable, hence why the Red Sox are 9-1 in their last 10 games. Adrian Gonzalez is making a case for AL MVP so far and Josh Beckett for AL Cy Young.

BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID

2 (NR) Philadelphia Phillies (43-26) - Best record in Baseball, and they are finally getting hot with the bats. The team to beat in the National League for now. With this pitching staff it will be hard to stop them when they can hit too.


3 (5) San Francisco Giants (39-29) - May call this a 'homer' ranking, I will absolutely admit this is not the 3rd most talented roster, but my Giants just keep on winning despite big injuries to notable players at key positions. 7-3 in their last 10 and Aubrey Huff seems to be getting hot.

4 (NR) Milwaukee Brewers (39-30) - The Brewers have snatched the lead in the NL Central from the slumping Cardinals. All round good team, I look for the Brewers to be very active to add a piece or two at the trade deadline as they make a push for the World Series.

5 (NR) New York Yankees (38-28) - Keeping pace with the Red Hot Red Sox, suffered some notable injuries this week (Derek Jeter and Bartolo Colon), this teams depth at pitching will be put to the ultimate test. One stat to note is the Yankees are 37-20 against teams not called the Boston Red Sox.

Bottom 5

THIS SUMS UP THE CUBS FRANCHISE

26 (NR) Florida Marlins (32-36) - My how things have turned for the worse, lost 6 in a row, 1-9 in their last 10 games and Josh Johnson has been put on the 60 Day DL. They are also 3-17 since the game where Scott Cousins took out Buster Posey (Karma?).

27 (NR) San Diego Padres (30-40) - You know your team is in trouble when your home record is 14-26, yet they are 2 games over .500 on the road? The Padres have the fewest runs scored in the Majors.

28 (29) Chicago Cubs (27-40) - This team is the highest paid bunch of losers I have ever seen. Prince Fielder said he would be open to signing with the Cubs in the offseason? Why? (oh yeah the insane money he will get)

29 (27) Houston Astros (25-44) - Worst win % in Baseball (.362) and they have the worst run differential too (-77). What else is there to be said?


30 (30) Oakland Athletics (29-40) - They don't score runs, their pitching has struggled and they have injuries left right and center. Is it any wonder the A's have to offer $2 Wednesdays just to get people to show up to watch this team?

That's the rankings for this week. Let me know what you guys think, give your thoughts on my rankings and let me know where you'd rank the teams. Kalen from the Sports Cave.

SPREAD THE WORD.

Baseball Realignment - My Thoughts

By Kalen
Personally I like how Baseball is with the number of teams going through, it makes it so the best of the best get in, unlike football where teams like Seattle with a 7-9 record get in or in Basketball where the 1st round tends to be a snoozefest the majority of the time. However, I can and do understand the arguments for adding 2 extra teams to the playoffs. And not only this but maybe realigning the divisions too. Is it really fair to have teams like Baltimore and Toronto have to compete with the likes of Boston and New York year in and year out? I think changes can be made without having to completely alter the game. The beauty of this debate is hearing all the interesting ideas people come up with. Here are my thoughts:

What to do with the Divisions? - I've heard arguments that have just 1 division in the AL and NL, and the top 4 teams go though and so on and so forth. This is an intriguing idea but not one I agree with. One of the beautiful things about baseball are the rivalries and division teams playing each other regularly, Boston vs New York, San Francisco vs LA Dodgers, St. Louis vs Chicago Cubs. Not only this, but having the Mets and the Padres in the same division means so much more travel in an already crazy schedule for the players.
Here is my idea, move 1 of the National League teams to the American League. The easy choice has to be the Houston Astros, they are already a team re-building, a great rivalry can be made with the Rangers and they can be slotted in to the AL West. Thus giving each division 5 teams. I never understood why so many thought it was fair having 6 teams in the NL Central but only 4 in the AL West?

WOULD MOVING THE ASTROS TO THE AL BE GOOD FOR BASEBALL?

What to do with the Playoffs? - As I said before, I quite like how Baseball is done with the playoffs, but I can't help but think it can be improved. Hear me out on this, 10 teams go through, 5 in the AL and 5 in the NL. The winners of each of the divisions automatically go through to the 2nd round, so in both the AL and NL you have 2 teams play each other. 1 game, and whoever has the better record gets the home field advantage. Can you imagine how exciting this one game would be in each League? Imagine the Phillies, Cardinals and Giants win their respective divisions and then you have the Braves travel to the Brewers to play sudden death. How great of a start to the postseason would that be? What a way to kickstart it.

Minimum Team Salary - First off I want to say that Baseball will never be like the NFL where you can have 1 salary cap figure for every team, its just impossible. What my idea is to implement a minimum team salary that owners must spend. MLB needs to do this on a team by team basis, and the number is based on how much income the team gets. Example, the Yankees make so much more than the Pirates, so the minimum salaries are going to need to be significantly different. I just don't think it's fair or reasonable to fans of say the Pirates to look at their awful team of 18 straight years losing, most owners should wanna spend money to win and therefore make money. In recent years, all the Pirates have done is dump contract after contract and spend so little on the team and they just keep losing. I feel that owners of each team need to be serious about the team and not just in it to make money. This would be good for all the smaller markets like Kansas City, Florida, etc.

WHILE HAVING A SOLID 2011, THE PIRATES HAVE NOT SPENT ENOUGH TO KEEP THE TEAM COMPETITIVE

All in all I think Baseball is in a great position and with the pending Lockouts of both the NFL and MLB, they can hope to expect a big surge in interest. By possibly implementing my ideas I feel it could vault Baseball to be right there with Football and ahead of Basketball once again. The one issue you can say about Baseball, is the refusal to alter the game for the better. This is something that Football has been great at.

Baseball is my 2nd favorite sport behind......you guessed it Football. Who knows how that will go in the future? Giants are playing great and the 49ers have been tough to watch. I like the direction of the 49ers and the Giants and Bulls are all in great positions going forward. God it's good to be a sports fan.

Kalen from the Sports Cave. Check in tomorrow when I update my weekly MLB Power Rankings.

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Can the Giants Survive?

By Kalen
Just when things start to look like they will be getting better with the imminent return of Pablo Sandoval, the Giants most consistent hitter Freddy Sanchez goes down with a dislocated shoulder and the prognosis does not look good. The Giants are now missing their 2 most reliable hitters at very key positions, Posey at Catcher and Sanchez at 2B. It is very hard to find much depth at these positions as opposed to finding a new OF or 1B which is what makes these injuries even worse. Do I think the Giants can still make the playoffs? Yes, I think they CAN make the playoffs, and when you get in to the playoffs, anything can happen. Especially when you have pitching like the Giants do (ranking 4th in the Majors in ERA and that with Lincecum struggling his last few times out).

The Giants however do have a lot of work to do, Sandoval is coming back tomorrow and I project the starting lineup to look like:
Andres Torres CF
Emmanuel Burriss 2B
Pablo Sandoval 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Cody Ross LF
Nate Schierholtz RF
Brandon Crawford SS
Eli Whiteside C
Pitcher

Now that lineup is not gonna put much fear into any Pitcher, I do think it is scrappy enough to pull out some wins, the Giants will have solid guys off the bench with Rowand, Burrell, Fontenot, Gillaspie, Belt. I expect a nice rotation of players as Bochy looks to fine tune the lineup and see what works best. I do however think the Giants should make 2 moves to help solidify this hitting.

BRINGING BENGIE BACK WOULD BE A SMART MOVE

First of all, I cannot believe the Giants haven't already been aggressive in getting Bengie Molina to come back. Molina knows the pitching staff very well, especially Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and Wilson, he has proven to be an every day catcher, and he can hit some, much better than Whiteside. Molina just 2 years ago ended a season with 20HR's 80RBI and a .265 AVG. Now what's the harm in giving Bengie some money this year and improve the hitting as a critical position and have excellent experience behind the plate being the every day starter. Bengie is not playing right now and I'm sure is in no where near playing condition. But if the Giants get him going now, by the All-Star break he should be good to go full time. I think standing pat so far has been a mistake, and the Giants should not settle for Whiteside and Stewart. When you can improve the productivity from your catchers spot without giving up any prospects then you do it.



The Second move the Giants will need to make is a trade, in or around the All-Star break. I don't expect or think the Giants will make a big splash in the trade market, but I do think they will do something. When you have pitching like the Giants with most in the prime of their careers, you have to take every chance you get to make the playoffs and see what happens. The Giants will have to look at teams that have poor records (Astros, A's etc.) or teams looking to dump contracts and money (Mets) and see what's on offer. Hunter Pence of the Houston Astros would be a very nice addition, but it would most likely require some high valued prospects, he is however playing extremely well and only making $6.9 million and is up for Arbitration the next 2 years. It's extremely difficult to project who will be traded. I do expect the Giants to make a solid addition, most likely at a corner OF spot or else 2B.

Would trading for a guy like Hunter Pence be a wise move for the Giants, given the probable asking price?

With Bengie Molina and another addition would definitely improve the lineup and could be enough to get this team in to the playoffs again. A projected lineup with Molina would look like:

Torres CF
Burriss 2B
Sandoval 3B
Huff 1B
Ross LF
Schierholtz RF
Molina C
Crawford/Tejada SS
Pitcher

I would love to hear your guys' opinion on who the Giants should look to possibly make a trade for, and let me know what you think of bringing back Bengie. Again, when you have a pitching staff like the Giants who are in the prime of their career, you have to make sure you make every season count. Can't just look to next year, the window to compete for a World Series can be very short. I hope the Giants are in win now mode without making a dumb panic trade. I guess in Sabean I trust (something I couldn't have said a year ago).

MLB Weekly Power Rankings

Here again is another issue in my weekly MLB Power Rankings. This weeks version will be shorter than previous weeks but will certainly get the job done. In my rankings I take overall record and how well the team has played recently in compiling my Power Rankings. Here goes, starting with the top 5:

Top 5
1 (1) - St. Louis Cardinals (37-26) - What can I say about the Cards, Pujols is back to being Pujols, Matt Holliday coming back from injury soon, pitching has been great. Not much else to say except I'm glad my Giants don't play them again and they are right now, the best team in Baseball.

Gonzalez and Crawford have been red hot for Boston

2 (NR*) - Boston Red Sox (35-26) - Red Sox have won 5 in a row, have beaten the Yanks in New York in back to back games, Carl Crawford has come to his usual form and Adrian Gonzalez has been better than advertised. Also they have the best pitcher in the AL with Josh Beckett.


3 (NR) - Detroit Tigers (33-28)- The hottest team in the Majors. 8-2 over their previous 10 games and have their sights firmly set on taking over the Indians who have come way back down to Earth. This team can hit, and the pitching has improved significantly.

4 (NR) - Texas Rangers (35-28) - They have been getting great pitching recently out of Alexi Ogando, CJ Wilson and Colby Lewis. They have a legit closer in Feliz, and we all know how well this team hits. 7-3 in their last 10. The Rangers are gonna open up a gap at the top of the AL West.

5 (NR) - San Francisco Giants (35-27) - The Giants have been without star catcher Buster Posey for 2 weeks. Giants lost 3 of their first 4 games after the injury, since then they (we) have won 7 of 10 and are eagerly awaiting Pablo Sandovals return to send Tejada to the bench.

Bottom 5
26 (30) Minnesota Twins (23-38) - The Twins have gone 6-2 since last weeks rankings, they are playing better for sure. Hopefully they can get Morneau going and Mauer back soon. Their overall record is what keeps them in the bottom 5. They may not be here next week.


27 (28) Houston Astros (24-38) - They are showing some signs of life, a red hot Cardinals team with Pujols hitting like crazy is tough for any team to stop. Will they trade Hunter Pence in July?


28 (27) Kansas City Royals (26-36) - 3-7 in their last 10 games, a pathetic 6-16 road record. Imagine where they would be without all those walk off wins.


29 (29) Chicago Cubs (24-36) - They have gone 1-5 since last weeks rankings, pitchers can't pitch, problems all over the clubhouse and have such an overrated and overpaid lineup.


30 (NR) Oakland Athletics (27-36) - They have lost 9 in a row, they can't hit and have injuries all over their good pitching staff. Yikes.

         Oakland A's have found Wins hard to come by the last 2 weeks

That concludes this weeks rankings. Be sure to check out the blog daily, give feedback, and tell me what you think of my rankings and where you might make changes. Power Rankings will be back next week. Until then, enjoy the other posts I will be making.

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* NR = Not Ranked Top 5 or Bottom 5 last week

Whats to Come

So this week I will be updating my blog some more. Some of the things to look forward too include: my latest MLB Power Rankings, my thoughts on the NFL Lockout and updates on the 49ers. Also the impact for the San Francisco Giants getting Pablo Sandoval back and the great play of rookie Brandon Crawford. I also plan to give my thoughts on both the NBA and NHL finals. With my predictions on who is going to win each series and they are both tied 2-2 after 4 games played. Gonna be a fun week. Be sure to check in regularly, leave comments, vote on the polls and spread the word!

Underrated Starting 9 - American League

So I previously wrote on the Underrated Staring 9 in the National League link , now I'm turning my attention to the American League. Again the aim here is to get my readers to find out more about players they don't know or know very little about. The rule I'm using is the player I pick at a position must make most if not all starts at that position. Lets get this started.

Pitcher - Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels - Weaver has been in a word 'Dominant' this year, not often a name you hear with the elite pitchers in the AL, but he has been playing that way. Weaver has a 2.14 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 7 wins already. His ERA and wins are 2nd in the American League only to Josh Beckett and his WHIP is also 2nd. Weaver is right in line for a potential Cy Young this year if he can keep up his already impressive season. At the age of 28 expect Weavers name to be mentioned in Cy Young candidacy for the next 5 years.

      Don't be surprised to see Weaver be in contention for the AL Cy Young.

Catcher - Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers - The young 24 year old is having his coming out party this year, with significantly less at bats than most other hitters, Avila is already hitting 9 Homers, with 32 RBI and a .351 OBP. If you take these numbers and project them for the rest of the season, expect him to hit between 20-25 HR's, 85 - 90 RBI and is currently at a .289 AVG. Russell Martin of the Yankees is having a resurgence, but needs to improve upon that .238 AVG.

1st Base - Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox - Konerko is one of the most reliable consistent hitters in the game, just one of those guys who's not flashy in any way but always puts up big numbers. This year he is on pace for a 36 HR and 121 RBI season with an impressive batting average floating between .315 and .320. Again I think playing for the White Sox, a mostly non-playoff team in recent years and being one of the most normal, non-flashy guys in baseball is a reason he gets overlooked and underrated so much.

            Paul Konerko has been the one consistent piece of the White Sox team.

2nd Base - Howard Kendrick, Los Angeles Angels - Maybe its the team being stranded in mediocrity and out in Anaheim, maybe its the total East Coast bias of ESPN, but Angels players get so overlooked. Not only Weaver but Kendrick has been having one of the best seasons for a 2nd basemen in the Majors. He has solid power numbers, his RBI numbers should definitely increase, but his main weapons have been his defense and AVG. Can't ask for much more then that.

Short Stop - Jhonny Peralta, Detroit Tigers - Peralta is the best SS you've never heard of. Guys like Tulowitzki and Reyes seem to hog the attention at his position and Miguel Cabrera and Verlander on his team but Peralta is having himself the best year of his career. Right now Peralta is projected to finish with 22 Homers, 86 RBI's and is currently hitting for high average too (.314). With solid defense and these numbers, thats excellent production for your Short Stop.

3rd Base - Wilson Betemit, Kansas City Royals - Overall 3rd Basemen have really disappointed this year in the American League, A-Rod, Youkilis, Beltre and Longoria have all not played up to expectations. This are all the big name underperforming 3rd basemen. Betemit is earning 1/25th of what A-Rod is earning, and keep in mind Betemit plays better defense, hitting for almost 20 points higher in average, and if Betemit played in the Yankee lineup would have just as much RBI.

Left Field - Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals - Another Royal makes the list here. Was very tempted to go with Corey Patterson who is extremely underrated playing up in Toronto in the shadows of Jose Bautista, but Gordon is just as underrated and is putting up much better numbers:
Patterson: .281 AVG, 5 HR, 28 RBI and .311 OBP
Gordon:   .280 AVG, 7 HR, 31 RBI and .350 OBP

Center Field - Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles - Cursed with playing for a bottom feeder team that hasn't much chance competing with the likes of Boston and New York, Jones is still a great player. Recently Jones made one of the best defensive plays you will ever see, think Willie Mays and add in being able to brace himself for the wall too. Besides for awesome defense, lets not forget his numbers this season so far, 8 HR's, 32 RBI's and a .301 AVG.




Adam Jones' unforgettable catch, 1st picture during the catch and 2nd picture (with footprints in wall) after




Right Field - Jason Kubel, Minnesota Twins - Most casual baseball fans wouldn't have heard of Kubel (myself included), then you go and check out his stats and they are so much better than you'd expect. Often when people think of the hitters for the Minnesota Twins, the only guys they can come up with are Morneau and Mauer. But Kubel has been just as good as any of those guys. Kubel on one of the worst teams in baseball has a projected statline to finish the season with 14 HR's, 82 RBI's and a .310 AVG. Great numbers for a guy you would never have heard of.


I wanna say that half the players on this list are guys I never heard of, the other half I was shocked when I saw just how good they have been doing. This is my list of the most underrated players in the AL, I intentionally left off the DH. Not a fan of the DH at all.

San Francisco Giants - Show Me the Money

The San Francisco Giants are quite a mystery, they have in recent years given out god awful contracts. Yet in 2010 they were able to win the World Series, and this with their 2 highest paid players essentially being on the bench or non-factors in the playoffs (Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand). However, it doesn't stop there, in 2011 not much has changed, they are still paying outrageous money to Zito and Rowand, and lets not forget Mark DeRosa who has been one big injury with the Giants. Furthermore, so far in 2011, Miguel Tejada and Aubrey Huff have been underwhelming to say the least, and this year they are earning a combined $16.5 million, with a stat line of .210 AVG 1 HR and 16 RBI for Tejada and .219 AVG 5 HR and 24 RBI for Huff. Just awful production for what these guys are being paid*

Now lets take a look at the team as a whole. The Giants are 8th in the Majors in payroll, thus we know that the owners are willing to spend quite a large amount of money and they are. Unfortunately as I have pointed out, the majority of the money is going to the wrong people. It is almost mind blowing how the Giants could win a World Series, with so much money basically being flushed down the toilet. Lets take a look at the 5 worst contracts currently with the Giants. Barry Zito, Aaron Rowand, Mark DeRosa, Miguel Tejada and Huff. We have already taken a look at the numbers in the Tejada and Huff contracts. Let's now combine all 5 of these players contracts. The money those 5 players are making is, get ready for this, a whopping $54.6 MILLION. For this incredible number the Giants are getting: "6th" starter on the team (Zito), 5th Outfielder (Rowand), walking injury (DeRosa), backup caliber SS (Tejada) and a way under performing 1B (Huff).

      Barry Zito has been one of, if not the biggest Free Agent Bust in recent history

I am no expert when it comes to Major League contracts, I don't fully understand exactly how the arbitration works, or all the increments of how a contract is formed but I will do my best with where I think that money should go once it's off the books. Let's take a look at the guys who absolutely have to be re-signed long term by the Giants: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Brian Wilson. Now I don't wanna get in to too much detail as I could probably write an entire book as to where the money should go. So lets focus on the previously mentioned players the Giants must re-sign (in my opinion). For the sake of simplicity, lets assume that the contracts will be given out when they are needed and they can be structured to be front loaded or back loaded. I will just give the average salary the player will earn each year. Basically what I will be doing is, using the $54.6 million in bad soon to be finished contracts to re-signing the stars on the team. Here goes.

Tim Lincecum - This year earning $14 million, I think Timmy gets a contract approximately the same as Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee. Maybe a 6 year $123.6 Million contract, average salary = $20.6 million. So an increase of 14 to 20. So we take $6.6 million off the total. Now we have $48 million of the total left.

Matt Cain - This year Cain earns $7.33 million, next year he gets $15.33 million. I think Cain will get a contract along the lines of 6 years $92 million, therefore an average of $15.33 million and an $8 million increase over this years contract. So now the total is $40 million left.

Brian Wilson - Fan favorite Brian Wilson makes $6.5 million this year, the top closer in the game Mariano Rivera makes $15 million/year, I don't think Wilson will quite get that. I think Wilson will get something like a 6 year $69 million contract. Making an average of $11.5 million/year and therefore an increase of $5 million leaving $35 million left on the total.

            The Giants future will be in good hands by keeping this trio intact 

Buster Posey & Pablo Sandoval - Both of these guys are making around $500,000 this year and are currently hurt, Posey for the year and Sandoval is scheduled back in the next 2 weeks. Both are major faces of the franchise, and are destined to be part of the heart of the order for a long time. Posey and Sandoval are to the Giants, what Mauer and Morneau are to the Twins, except the Giants players are younger and have just as much if not more potential. I think you basically throw the rest of the $35 million at these guys. Again to compare to the Twins, Mauer is making $23 million/year and Morneau $15 million/year, I think the Giants can get Posey locked up at an average of $20 million/year and Sandoval if he can prove to stay in shape and hit well, could get up to an average of $15 million/year. Both of these guys will hit .300+ AVG, 20+ HR and 90+ RBI for the next decade. 

We can argue about the numbers, we can argue about the years, I was just giving examples of what the Giants could give these guys. The main point I wanted to show here was that the Giants can and should use the huge sum of money they currently have invested in minimal impact players, to lock up all their stars. Not only are these players extremely talented, but they are all so charismatic, AT&T gets sold out regularly to see these guys play, they are in essence, Giants in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

*Wrote that prior to the game today, where Aubrey shut my mouth by hitting 3 HR's with 6 RBI

MLB Weekly Power Rankings

This is the 2nd week of my Baseball Power Rankings. Just like the first week I will do the top 5 and bottom 5 teams in my opinion. There will be quite a few changes to this week's rankings, especially at the top. My Rankings are based on overall record and how well the teams have done from one week to the next. Lets get this started.

Top 5

1 (2) - St. Louis Cardinals (33-23) - This team has been hot as of late (7-3 in last 10 games), the Cards have an excellent road record (18-13) and they have played 6 more games on the road than at home. The Cards SP has been much better than expected, Salas has stabilized the 9th inning woes and they are tied with the 2nd most runs in the Majors, and with Albert Pujols struggling.
My question is, how will you stop the Cards offense when (not if) Pujols starts hitting .320 with power, and you also got Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, Colby Rasmus and clutch hitter Yadier Molina to worry about? Yikes. People talk about the Brewers being the best team in the Central? Really?

It's only a matter of time before Pujols (see above) finds his swing again. Watch out Baseball, here come the Cards.

2 (1)- Cleveland Indians (32-20) - They have definitely cooled off as of late, however, the Indians still have the best winning percentage (.615) in the Majors. While we knew they would come back down to Earth, it appears that this Indians team is for real and if they can continue to get good all around production, they should be in my top 5 for quite some time.

3 - Arizona Diamondbacks (30-25) - This team has resembled the weather in Arizona and been extremely hot lately. They have won 13 of their last 15 games, taken a lead in the NL West from the now Buster Posey-less Giants and appear like a legit contender in that division. The last 2 weeks they have had an outburst of offensive production, scoring 15, 11, 9, 8 and 7 in games, while also showing the ability to win the close low scoring games too. They will cool down, but they have a realistic shot in the wide open NL West.

4 - New York Yankees (31-23) - The Yankees have won 4 in a row, while rival Boston has lost 4 in a row. The Yankees have the best run differential in the Majors (+67) and all this with A-Rod and Mark Teixeira not hitting what we know they can. Both Bartolo Colon (3-3 3.26 ERA) and Freddy Garcia (4-4 3.34 ERA) have been pleasant surprises for the Yanks.

5 (3) - Philadelphia Phillies (34-22) - The Phillies do have the best winning percentage in the National League (.607) but just edged out the surging Brewers. They also have allowed the 3rd fewest runs in the Majors even with Cliff Lee having a few rough outings. The Phillies would be higher but losing to the Nationals in 2 straight games when you roll out Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt to the mound doesn't impress me too much. The offense needs to become more consistent.

Bottom 5
26 (28) San Diego Padres (24-31) - The Padres have a bottom 5 winning percentage in the Majors with a meager .436, add to this they are tied for scoring the fewest runs too. It's hard to win consistently when you don't score runs. There is a positive, the Padres have won 4 in a row and are only 6 games behind in a winnable NL West. If they can get some offense going, then they cannot be counted out yet.

27 (27) Kansas City Royals (24-30) - The one thing you gotta like is that they have been pretty decent at home, posting a respectable 18-14 record. That is basically where the good ends for this team, 6-16 on the road, played 10 more home games than road games, and they are 2-8 in their last 10 games. Said it before and will say it again, lets check back with the Royals in 2012 or 2013.

   Rookie 1B Eric Hosmer will be a big piece in Kansas City's Puzzle moving forward

28 (29) Houston Astros (22-34) - The Astros have a dreadful .393 winning percentage, with only the Twins having a worse percentage. Allowing the 2nd most runs is gonna spell disaster for any team, however they are showing some signs of life having just swept the Cubs in Wrigley. Hunter Pence has been extremely productive this year and could be a huge trade asset as we get closer to July.

29 Chicago Cubs (23-31) - This team is slumping bad. They just got swept by the aforementioned Houston Astros at Wrigley Field. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games, they have an awful record at home (12-19) and have allowed the 3rd most runs in the Majors. To add insult to injury their only power hitter Alfonso Soriano is now on the DL. Pray for the Cubbies.

30 (30) Minnesota Twins (17-36) - This team is just awful right now. They are 2-8 in their last 10 games and have by far the worst run differential (-91) and winning percentage (.321) in the Majors. Nothing more to be said here.

Some things to note, had I done a full 30 team power rankings, my San Francisco Giants would have fallen quite a bit from their 4th place last week. Losing Buster Posey and going 4-6 in our last 10 would have a lot to do with that. Also just missing out on the top 5 are the Milwaukee Brewers and Florida Marlins.

And there we have it for this week folks. Let me know what you guys think, agree or disagree with my rankings? Let me know in the comments section.

The Steroid Era and The Hall of Fame

This is gonna be an age old question, do players who have tested positive for steroids or have overwhelming evidence of doing so, belong in the Hall of Fame? The answer has to be Y-E-S yes! Look I completely understand the argument of the more traditional baseball enthusiast, that steroid era players should not get voted in, that their numbers are inflated, etc etc. But let me give you my side of the argument as to why, in my opinion, players from the steroid era do belong in the Hall of Fame.

The Steroid Era happened. Nothing we will ever do or say will erase that fact. I get the feeling that a lot of people who don't want the players from this era in, is that eventually the era itself will be forgotten. That is simply never going to happen. There are just too many Hall of Fame caliber players from this era to just simply flat out ignore it. Place an '*' beside their name, in Cooperstown have a special section dedicated to this era, do what ever you want to them, but first they must be voted in. How can you seriously have a Baseball Hall of Fame which doesn't include the likes of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez etc etc.

382 HR's, 1451 RBI, .298 AVG, .352 OBP and 1 MVP
762 HR's, 1996 RBI, .298 AVG, .444 OBP and 6 MVP's

The 1st stat line is that of recent Hall of Fame inductee Jim Rice of the Boston Red Sox. An excellent player in his time and in my opinion, just about deserving of induction. The 2nd line contains the career numbers of Barry Lamar Bonds. Odds are if you are not a fan of the San Francisco Giants you probably flat out hate the guy, you probably hate the fact he holds arguably the most coveted record in American Sports, hitting 762 Home Runs. But don't tell me this guy doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame. His numbers are way too ridiculous to even have to think twice about it.

          Whether you love or hate him, Barry Bonds belongs in the Hall of Fame

So I'm guessing many responses would be "Oh you are a Giants fan! Of course you'd say that about Bonds!" Well I will save you some time, guys like Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, all belong in there too. I hate Roger Clemens and I hate A-Rod, but they along with every other deserving player from this era, need to be in the Hall of Fame when it's all said and done.