Knee-Jerk Reactions: MLB April Musings
Written by Josh Katz Tuesday, 26 April 2011 10:07
Strange Days, The American League Central: If you look at the standings for the AL Central, it looks as if someone literally turned the division upside down. The White Sox and Twins are in the cellar, and have gotten off to dreadful starts, while The Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians, who are only brought up when we talk about contraction, are off to fast starts. While most experts do not expect the success of the Royals and Indians to last, this could be the type of year where one of these teams hangs around and makes it interesting throughout the summer months. With the Twins depleted lineup and uncertain health of Joe Mauer, and Ozzie Guillen literally calling out his own team after every loss, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for one of these usual cellar-dwellers to make some noise into later July or early August with good pitching and solid defense.
Surprise Stinkers: April is usually an extension of Spring Training, a month where teams can work out the kinks and gear up for the May-June stretch when the season kicks into that second gear. But that doesn’t mean we cannot speculate on the contender/pretender nature of the poor starts for some of these teams. The Boston Red Sox loaded up this offseason, spending both arms and one of their legs acquiring Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford in free agency. So far, the Sox have disappointed. They have righted the ship since their god-awful 2-10 start, but are still below .500 as we exit April. And Carl Crawford? Hitting .171 after signing his mega-deal in the offseason. The World Champion San Francisco Giants have struggled out of the gate too, sitting a game under .500 in the NL West. Also, sexy picks such as the aforementioned Twins and Tampa Bay Rays are hovering around the .500 mark, after many experts picked them to do some damage in their respective divisions.
Dodger Blues: Remember when the Dodgers were a once-proud franchise and one of the flagship teams of Major League Baseball? Me neither, a little before my time. But from what my Dad tells me, the Dodgers were the real deal back in the day. Well, it has been quite a tumultuous start for the Trolley Dodgers here in 2011. First, there was the Opening Day Massacre that occurred in the Dodger Stadium parking lot, in which two unidentified Dodger fans beat a Giants fan into a coma for simply being a Giants fan. This beating brought up discussions of how Dodger Stadium, a once great venue, is now a scary and unsafe place to see a baseball game. And I thought Philadelphia was bad. As if this wasn’t a large enough black-eye for Los Angeles, bumbling Dodgers owner Frank McCourt was forced by Major League Baseball to forfeit the team in light of his ugly divorce, after borrowing $30 million from FOX. McCourt had done his best to run the Dodgers into the ground, taking team money and spending it on mansions and haircuts, but it appears that Bud Selig will take the reigns from here on in. It’s gotta be a tough time to be a Dodger fan, especially when your bitter rivals, the boys from the Bay Area, are winning championships. On a lighter note, Matt Kemp is hitting .396.
