Last Week In Baseball

Subject: September 10 -- New York State of Mind
Time: 2:26:10 PM EDT
Author:  cu21ti27mi

Winners: It was a demoralizing weekend for New York football, but on the diamond, things couldn't have gone smoother. The Yankees (81-62, 5-1) and Mets (81-61, 5-1) won ten of their twelve games and are on a combined eight-game winning streak.
The biggest downside for the Bombers was the fact the Red Sox (87-57, 5-2) didn't do much worse, but a series win over Seattle had huge wild card implications and left the Yanks in strong position for the AL's final slot. Besides a head-scratching series loss to Tampa Bay, the last two weeks have gone to plan for Joe Torre's squad, with a key sweep of the Sox and three gimmes this weekend in Kansas City. Considering that New York only has AL East games left -- of which only three are against Boston -- the wild card is their's to lose.

• On the other side of the city, the Mets have been rolling since an embarrassing four-game sweep at home to Philadelphia. They've lost only once in nine games since then, though it should be noted their five wins this week came against NL Central cupcakes Cincinnati and Houston. Still, even a halfway decent showing this week against Philly and Atlanta will put the division title on ice, as only Florida and Washington remain on the schedule after that.

• The major news in the majors this week was Arizona pulling ahead of San Diego in a big way with the season winding down. The Diamondbacks (81-63, 5-1) started Monday with an ugly 10-2 loss to the Padres that dropped them into second place, but took the next two to win the last series of the season between the division rivals. And while the Padres were busy losing two of three in Colorado, the D'backs were putting what should have been the final nails in St. Louis' coffin with a three-game sweep.(Luckily for the Cards, in the NL Central, you aren't dead until the coffin is nailed, buried and left to rot, but that's another issue.) The end result is a healthy-looking three-game lead with as many weeks to go.

• After winning more games than anyone over the previous two weeks, Cleveland (83-60, 5-2) was once again right at the top, matching the league-high five wins.
 The Tribe may have only managed a split with Los Angeles this weekend, but the earlier sweep of Minnesota let them maintain their cushion over Detroit (76-66, 4-2) and put out any faint playoff hopes the Twins had left.

• Finally, it's always nice to see one of the league bottom-feeders pull together and go on a little tear. But the way Texas is playing of late, "little" almost isn't the right word anymore. Since Aug. 22 -- the day they dropped 30 runs on poor Baltimore -- the Rangers (68-74, 5-1) haven't looked back, winning 14 of 18, and more recently five in a row. That morning, they were cleanly in the AL West basement, seven and a half games back of third-place Oakland. But the A's have only gone 6-11 since then, meaning the Rangers have made up that deficit in its entirety. And after three games with Detroit, Texas gets Oakland for four; that may not seem compelling to you, but why don't you ask the Royals how it felt to leapfrog the hapless White Sox in the Central?

Losers: We detailed in this space last Monday exactly how miserable life has gotten in Baltimore, and things haven't gotten any better. At least nobody scored 30 or no-hit the O's this week. Turns out, that 30-3 game was as much a deflating influence for Baltimore (61-81, 2-5) as it was a spark for Texas. The Orioles are 3-17 since then, including a league-worst five losses this week. On that fateful August afternoon, they were still in fourth in the AL East, but at least they had a twelve and a half game lead over last-place Tampa Bay. Now that's down to just one and a half.

Of course, I don't want to make it seem like Baltimore hogged all the misery this week. An astonishing eight teams lost five games, so real quickly:
- Chicago Cubs (72-70 , 2-5) fell out of first place in the NL Central, but are still just a game behind Milwaukee despite being on two games over .500
- St. Louis (69-71 , 2-5) lost five of seven, but still kept pace with the Cubs; they're still right there with the other two
- Minnesota (70-73 , 1-5) could have made up a lot of ground on Cleveland, but is instead making October vacation plans
- Kansas City (62-80 , 1-5) still leads Chicago by a game and a half, so still have the inside track to avoiding a last-place finish despite getting knocked around by New York
- Oakland (69-75 , 1-5) has gone an unAthletics-like 25-31 in the second half, and now has Texas breathing down its neck
- Florida (61-82 , 1-5) is pulling an Oakland, or a Chicago, or a Baltimore, or whatever you want to call it, by falling apart and offering last-place Washington a shot to escape a basement finish
- Pittsburgh (63-80 , 1-5) has joined Cincinnati and Houston in a revolving door at the bottom of the NL Central, and having only recently abdicated the spotto the Astros appears to have changed its mind and wants back in


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Subject: Sept. 3 -- Here Comes the Tribe
Time: 10:43:03 AM EDT
Author:  cu21ti27mi

Winners: It's been two weeks since the last entry, which means there's been twice as much time for teams to make their moves as September rolls around.
Or not.
From top to the bottom, the standings went almost unchanged since August 20. All six first-place teams are still in first (with the quasi-exception of San Diego moving into a tie with Arizona). Same goes for all second-place and third-place teams. The only change was Cincinnati slipping by Houston into fourth in the National League Central, which barely registers as sort-of-significant in Ohio or Texas, and certainly not anywhere else. But that's not to say that there weren't key changes in spacing, or that certain teams didn't step up.

• Cleveland may not have been the best team the past two weeks, but they sure took advantage of a soft schedule and piled up the best record over that span. It started with a series win over Detroit that sent the AL Central rivals spinning of in different directions. The Indians (78-57, 10-3) dropped their next game against Kansas City, then rolled off eight straight wins over KC, Minnesota and Chicago. The streak came to an end yesterday against the White Sox, but the damage might be done. The Tigers were average during the same stretch, going 5-5 and falling five and a half games off the pace. Their saving grace is that all three of the top wild card contenders have struggled of late, but more on that later.

• Four teams won nine games in the last fourteen days, led by St. Louis and San Diego. The Cardinals (67-66, 9-4) continue to win more than they lose, which puts lots of pressure on middling Chicago and Milwaukee, who combined to go 13-12 this week. Three weeks ago, the Redbirds had a chance to actually take first after sweeping the Brewers and heading into a four-game set at Wrigley. They cooled off quickly, losing the first two, then getting washed out in the Sunday matinée. But the salvaged the finale, and have been back on track since, taking series from Florida and Atlanta, dropping one in Houston, but then sweeping Cincinnati.

• The Padres (75-61, 9-4) took a more direct route to applying pressure on first-place Arizona, taking three of four from the first-place Diamondbacks earlier this week. Throw in a 4-2 swing through New York and Philly, and a series win over Los Angeles this weekend, and the Padres put together what is probably the most impressive two weeks of anyone in baseball. It doesn't get any easier, though, with a nine-game road trip to 'Zona, LA and Colorado on deck.

• In the "wait, what?" category this week, we have Texas and Tampa Bay. The unlikely pair rounds out the nine-win club, though both seasons have long been lost causes. The Rangers (63-73, 9-4) were unbeaten in their four series, but the most prominent might have been the only one they didn't win -- they split four games with Seattle, but their wins in the final two games sent the Mariners careening into a losing streak that has the M's on life support. Although you might remember their series with Baltimore, too: they dropped thirty on the hapless Orioles while taking two of three.

• Finally, there's the Devil Rays (56-81, 9-5). They went 4-3 two weeks ago and 5-2 this past week. For perspective, Tampa Bay had put together only two winning weeks all season, and they certainly weren't back to back (5-2 the first full week of June, and 4-3 the last week of April). The nine wins over two weeks in a season-high, and the five losses matched their effort from that first week in June. At one point, it took the Devil Rays six weeks just to win nine games, in the month and a half bracketing the All Star break. But keep in mind the Rays aren't playing awful baseball right now -- their 22-28 record since the break is better than either Milwaukee or Detroit.

Losers: It's hard to believe anybody's having a worse couple weeks than Seattle, which is currently mired in a nine-game slide with its playoff hopes dimming. But the Mariners haven't gone a league-worst 2-11 since Aug. 20, they weren't swept by Tampa Bay of all teams, they weren't no-hit, and they didn't give up 30 runs to Texas. That honor goes to Baltimore, of course, who unofficially had the worst two weeks of anyone in baseball this season. The Orioles (59-76, 2-11) had a nine-game losing streak of their own, which started with the 30-3 abomination in Camden Yards. During those nine games, they were outscored 83-38, and never held opponents to fewer than five runs. And after winning for the first time in ten days Friday, the cherry on top came a day later, when the O's were no-hit by Boston rookie Taylor Buchholz.

• The Mariners (73-62 4-10), on the other hand are in deceptively good shape considering they sport the majors' longest active losing streak. They've virtually knocked themselves out of the AL West race, but are fortunate to be in wild card race that nobody seems to want to win. After all, New York and Detroit both went 6-7 the last two weeks, leaving the M's only two games out if they feel so motivated to start winning again. And besides, it's not like the Mariners are taking any unforgivable losses. They took two of three from Minnesota and split four with Texas before hitting the skids against Los Angeles and Toronto, both teams that are playing well right now. Ultimately, the last two weeks are meaningless compared the upcoming one; their next six games are against the Yankees and Tigers, and will likely make the difference between whether the Mariners will be playing meaningful games in the season's final weeks.

• It seems there is not a more determined team in the league than Chicago; two weeks ago, they made a hard charge to catch Kansas City in the AL Central basement, and started padding the cushion since then, leading the Royals by three and a half games. Now the White Sox (58-79, 4-10) have turned their eye to Tampa Bay, owner of the junior circuit's worst record. The Devil Rays lead the Sox by two games, but having been playing better of late, making it tough to hold off Chicago, which has all the momentum. (And keep in mind, we kid only because we love, and are trying to add a little spice to an otherwise undistinguished second half for Ozzie Guillen's crew, which is 4-18 since Aug. 11.)

• Two teams comprise the nine-loss club this week: Florida (60-77, 4-9, who cares they've been out of the race since July) and Atlanta (68-69, 4-9, thanks for playing and enjoy your October vacation).

Movers: The Angels (80-56, 8-5) played well the past two weeks, but most of the credit for padding their lead by a league-best four and a half games goes to Seattle, who's corresponding drop was somehow only third-worst in baseball. Cleveland did almost as well, upping its lead over Detroit by four games. San Diego erased its four-game deficit to move into a first-place tie with Arizona.
On the flip side, at least Baltimore's six-game dropoff wasn't the worst in baseball. Chicago somehow lost six and a half games on the first-place Indians, slipping to twenty and a half games back.


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Subject: Ed. Note
Time: 1:00:36 AM EDT
Author:  cu21ti27mi

Sorry, this week's entry gets lost in the shuffle of moving back in to school. Should be back with a full two-week version next week.


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Subject: August 20 --
Time: 1:32:06 PM EDT
Author:  cu21ti27mi

Winners: For the past few weeks, the best team in New York has been the Yankees, hands down. The Yanks have had the best record in baseball since the break while closing quickly on first-place Boston. In that same timespan, the Metropolitans had been a pedestrian 17-13 while clinging to a fragile division lead in the National League East. But this week, the Mets (70-53, 5-1) finally got some of their footing back against some of the league's doormats, taking two of three from Pittsburgh and sweeping Washington. Most importantly, their injury-ravaged offense has finally started to come around again, particularly since Carlos Beltran's return from the disabled list Aug. 10. Beltran hit two home runs last night, and since he's been back, the Mets have been held to less than five runs just once and are averaging a hair shy of seven runs-per-game.

• It's hard to pump up any team for a good week after it lost two of three to Kansas City. But Oakland (62-64, 5-2) still won five times this week, thanks mostly to a three-game sweep of hapless Chicago. Though it might be a little late for a patented second-half surge, the Athletics have quietly won thirteen of twenty since their dismal 5-13 start coming out of the All Star break. With their next ten games against Toronto and Tampa Bay, the A's have at least a decent shot at breaking over .500 for the first time since July 7.

• San Francisco opened a hectic week last Monday by splitting a doubleheader in Pittsburgh and have played every day since. Though they lost their first two against Atlanta, the Giants dodged the sweep and moved on to South Florida, where they took three from the Marlins. That puts them at five wins for the week for the first time since the week of April 16. So even if The Barry Bonds Show is still buried deep in last place in the NL West, at least the team finally won a few games for the first time since Bonds' record-tying 755th home run. After all, the Giants have more wins since Thursday (four) then they did in their first thirteen games following that homer in San Diego (three).

Losers: These days, if you're going to talk about losing, the discussion starts and ends with the White Sox. A couple weeks ago, I was touting the Sox' three-game sweep of then-AL Central leader Detroit. But before that series, Chicago had been barely keeping itself out of the Central basement. Since then? They've finally crossed that line. The White Sox (54-69, 0-6) have only won twice in twelve games since that series, and are currently mired in an eight-game losing streak that has allowed them to supplant Kansas City as the worst team in the division, and the second-worst team in the junior circuit. And while that slide includes four one-run losses and only two defeats of more than three, eight losses is eight losses. The silver lining is that Chicago can make its stay in last place a short one -- up next are three games with the Royals.

• Speaking of misery in the Central divisions, first place in both leagues was up for grabs this week, and fumbled away by those who had been in control. Detroit (67-57, 2-5) led Cleveland by a half-game heading into the week, then proceed to lose five of seven and slip a game and a half back. Milwaukee (63-61, 1-5) was a game a half up on Chicago, then only managed one win in their six games to fall a full game back.
The Tigers are, of course, still in much better shape. They've been in a dogfight with the Indians all season, and have a strong presence in the wild card race to fall back on. There is certainly little shame in losing three of four in the Bronx these days, and the defending AL champs can jump right back into first with a couple wins over the Tribe this week.
The Brewers' situation is a bit more bleak. Unlike the Tigers, who still have one of the better records in baseball, Milwaukee is barely treading water at this point, sitting just two games over .500 after being thirteen over as recently as July 19. They had a chance to quell the hard-charging St. Louis rally early this week, and got swept. Along the way, they abdicated first to Chicago, then lost two of three to Cincinnati. In the last month alone, the Brew Crew has losing streaks of three, four and five, and no winning streak of more than two. And everyone seems to have Ned Yost's squad in the crosshairs. The Cubs made their big run toward the end of the first half, and won't go away; now the Cards have taken a stake in the final month. And don't look now, but even Houston is making a run at poor Milwaukee, closing to within just seven games of the now-second place club.

• Two other teams dropped five this week. Florida (56-68, 1-5) got knocked around out West, courtesy of Arizona, then San Francisco. Washington (56-67, 1-5) could have actually leapfrogged the Marlins out of last place in the NL East if they didn't struggle just as badly this week against Philadelphia and New York.

Movers: The Cubs (63-59, 3-2) could have done a lot better to start the week, when they lost two of three to Cincinnati. But unlike the Brewers, they responded against the streaking Cardinals, dropping them twice before yesterday's rainout. Had those two gone the other way, Milwaukee would be ahead of both Chicago and St. Louis by a game, while the Cardinals would be leading in the all-important loss column. But instead, the Cubs lead all the way around, and get top props for their two and a half-game surge past Milwaukee.

• The Reds (54-69, 4-2) shouldn't go without recognition for a fairly dominant series wins over the eventual division leader and former division leader. Yes, they're still nine and a half out, but that's two games closer than they were to start the week.

• In other first-place news, the Mets strong week allowed them to pad their lead over Philly and Atlanta by two games, while the Indians (68-55, 3-2) passed Tigers to net a two-game jump.

• In the going-the-wrong-way department, both Florida and Washington fell four games further back of New York, as if the Mets needed the extra cushion for those two teams. The White Sox fell three games further back of the Detroit/Cleveland dichotomy and into last place. And the Cubs' two-and-a-half-game jump is of course the Brewers loss.

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Subject: August 13 -- Bronx Bombs Away
Time: 10:37:48 AM EDT
Author:  cu21ti27mi

Winners: It's still tough for me to say there's been any team in the second half better than Arizona, given the degree of difficulty compared to the other best team, the Yankees. But after weeks and weeks of games against the likes of Tampa Bay and Kansas City, New York finally faced a real test this week and passed with flying colors. Having already won two of three in Toronto, the Yanks (66-51, 5-1) went to the banks of Lake Erie and pounced on then-American League Central leader Cleveland. The Bombers outscored the Tribe 22-6 in three games, and more importantly, got solid starting pitching in all three games from Phil Hughes, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettite. Since the break, New York is 23-8 and making Boston sweat. More on that later.

• A few weeks ago, an Angel collapse looked imminent, with Seattle and its new manager charging hard. But Los Angeles has weathered the storm, and now both teams are playing pretty good baseball.
John Lackey may have missed out on being the majors' first fifteen-game winner Thursday by a couple hours to Boston's Josh Beckett. But Lackey and the Angels (69-47, 5-1) had already secured the last laugh earlier in the week by taking two of three from the Red Sox, who are suddenly needing every win they can get. Lackey got his fourteenth win in that series, then picked up his fifteenth in a three-game sweep of reeling Minnesota. Ironically, he will take his first crack at his sixteenth this week in Boston of all places against -- you guessed it -- Beckett.
Meanwhile, Seattle (65-50, 5-1) kept pace with LA of A by sweeping Baltimore and taking two of three from Chicago. Since a nearly disastrous seven-game slide a few weeks ago, the M's are holding strong at 11-4, including two wins in three tries against the first-place Angels. But as the August days dwindle, it was almost as important that they held on to a share of the wild card lead with New York. With the Twins struggling and Toronto twiddling its thumbs, the race has really whittled itself down to those two and Cleveland. And while the Yankees may be playing the best of those three, I wouldn't count the M's out just yet. After all, there was a point where I had all but counted them out of the division race, and look where that's gotten me.

• At some point, I feel I'm obligated to discuss the National League, even though I'm pretty sure everyone but Arizona isn't really worth mentioning. Seriously, New York,Milwaukee, Chicago, San Diego and LosAngeles are all floundering, and they're supposed to be the good teams. The second-best team in the senior circuit right now is either Atlanta or Philadelphia, both of whom have been roughly .500 teams the past few weeks. Still, there was some small-scale good to talk about. Though history may prove it came a week too late, St. Louis finally made a push toward the NL Central lead that nobody seems to want. The Cardinals (55-60, 5-2) took three of four from the Padres and two of three from the Dodgers, and are still lurking at five and a half back. They seem to have taken a small shot in the arm from the return of Rick Ankiel, but the real boost has been the starting pitching lines. Kip Wells: one run on six hits in seven innings to beat San Diego. Anthony Reyes: two runs on seven hits in six innings to beat LA yesterday. Even when Ankiel made his big splash with his first home in a 5-0 win over the Padres, most people probably missed the seven shutout innings tossed by Joel Piniero. That's three quality starts from pitchers who had been a combined 5-25 before going three-for-three this week. If they can hold that level with semi-consistency, the NL Central crown is certainly within reach. Of course, a lot could be decided this week, as the Cards pack up the bus and hit I-55 for a trip to Milwaukee and Chicago.

• Colorado rounds out the five-win club this week, after sweeping the Brewers and splitting four with the Cubs. The Rockies (61-56, 5-2) haven't really made a strong move toward first, but they aren't going anywhere either. With the Diamondbacks as the front-runner in the West, Colorado might want to turn its attention to the wild card, where it trails the Padres by just two games. They do have to jump Atlanta and Philly, but they are (believe it or not) ahead of both Chicago and LA right now.

Losers: I don't know if there's something in the the Great Lakes that's working its way into the water coolers of Midwest teams, but nobody from the coast of Lake Erie to the shores of Lake Michigan is playing well right now. From east to west, Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit, both Chicagos and Milwaukee are on combined runs of 37-61, including 16-23 this week. The Blue Jays are the closest to respectable, going 8-7 in their last fifteen. But the Brewers have lost ten of fourteen, the Indians have lost ten of fifteen. The Cubs, who get more air time below, have won just three of their last eleven.

• Minnesota isn't technically on the coast of any lake; still, Minneapolis is only 150 miles from Duluth, on the western tip of Lake Superior. More importantly, the Twins (58-59, 1-6) are playing just as bad as their Central counterparts, piling up six losses in seven games this week. They started with a loss in the series finale with Cleveland, which snuck its way into this week. They salvaged one win in three with lowly Kansas City, then got swept by Los Angeles. Though they plated eleven runs in Wednesday's win, they managed only seven in their other six games combined. And with seven games in their next ten against a Seattle squad that's both playing well and fighting for a playoff spot, the Twins -- who are, in contrast, NOT playing well and therefore WERE fighting for a playoff spot -- are going to have to dig deep.

• Back to Chicago. The Cubs had lost six of seven to New York and Houston before it appeared the regained their footing with back-to-back wins in Colorado. But the Rockies forced the split, and Chicago (60-57, 2-5) finished a discordant week on a sour note. Since taking a percentage-points lead over Milwaukee on August 1, the North Siders have won just three times in eleven games. They've lost their best hitter to the DL with a strained quad, and their third-best hitter to the bench with a wrist injury. The saving grace has been the Brewers themselves, who only sport a 4-6 record over that stretch.

• Besides all the steroids talk, the Barry Bonds situation could also be used as another of countless examples where the focus was put on an individual instead of the team. Then again, there isn't much to focus on in the Bay Area when it comes to "team." Oakland has dug itself a nifty fourteen-game hole and appears to be taking a year off from its patented second-half runs. San Francisco (49-67, 2-5) is even worse off, having lost four straight and nine of twelve since Bonds hit No. 754 two weeks ago. At ten and a half games behind fourth-place Los Angeles, and sixteen and a half behind first-place Arizona, the Giants have all but sealed a basement finish a year after a virtual three-way tie for last.

Movers: New York has been playing well for a couple weeks, but wasn't gaining any ground on Boston, who was playing just as well. But this week, the Red Sox stumbled and the Yankees jumped all over them, slashing a seven-game lead almost in half to move within four of first. The three-game leap was tops in the bigs this week.

• St. Louis took a chunk out of their eight-game deficit, moving to five and a half back on Milwaukee. With a sweep to start this week, they could take that as low as two and a half, so long as Chicago doesn't overtake the Brewers. Houston (52-65, 4-2) has a lot further to go, but moved two games closer to the Brew Crew and got their deficit down into single digits at nine and a half.

• Philadelphia and Atlanta were both 3-2 on the week going into last night's series finale, and both were guaranteed to pick up a game on first-place New York for the week. But the Phillies (62-55, 4-2) picked up the win, and added a second game to their jump, moving to just three games back. The Braves (62-56, 3-3) had to settle for a just a one-game trim of their deficit, which is down to three and a half. Either way, the NL East is getting tighter by the day.

• Besides the Red Sox' loss of three games, which were the Yankees gain, the biggest droppers this week were the Twins and Giants, who fell two and a half games further back in their respective races. There's still a good six weeks to play, but I'd venture a guess you can stick a fork in both of 'em.

Mailbox

"How 'bout my Braves, didn't they dust Arizona pretty good?  What do you think their chances are to be in the playoffs?  We meet the Mets tomorrow, I've got my fingers crossed that Chipper and Edgar are up to playing well, then I know we'll beat them. I'm almost 80 but I can't miss a Braves game on TV."
-- ggjack7

Got this comment on Monday, heading into Atlanta's series with the Mets. The Braves had whalloped the Diamondbacks 14-0 a week earlier, though they lost the series. A quick note about the D'backs. Before last night's 7-6 loss to Washington, Arizona had only lost three times since July 20 -- but those three losses were 14-0 to Atlanta, 11-0 to San Diego and 8-3 to Pittsburgh. So remember, it's OK to get run off the field now and then, just as long as you win every other game you play. Anyway, back to the question.
I do like the Braves chances, right now I think they're the fourth-best team in the National League behind Arizona, New York and San Diego. The problem is that if they do finish with the fourth-best record behind those three, they'd still miss the playoffs because the final spot would go to the Central winner, whether its Milwaukee or Chicago, or even the dark horse, St. Louis. I do liketheir chances over than the walking miracle that is the Phillies, who somehow have to survive another couple weeks without Chase Utley and an outfield so banged up, it's rivaled only by the Mets.
Ultimately, if the Mets come around, the Braves are gonna be thrown in the scuffle with the Padres and Rockies and NL Central also-rans for the wild card. (And for the record, the Braves took two of three from the Mets that series; and if I'm still watching baseball when I'm 80, I'll have lived a good life).


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Subject: August 6 -- Raising Arizona
Time: 11:21:24 AM EDT
Author:  cu21ti27mi

Winners: At this week ago, Arizona was making a push in the National League West, but still needed a strong showing against fellow contenders Los Angeles and San Diego to maintain that momentum. Done and done. The Diamondbacks (63-50, 5-1) are now in sole possession of first place, after two wins in three over the Padres and a three-game sweep of the Dodgers. Particularly impressive this week was Brandon Webb, who has returned to Cy Young form in a big way since getting hit around a little in Chicago back on July 20. He hasn't given up a run in three starts, including a shut out of LA yesterday, to pull his ERA down a half run to 2.92 in winning all three games. The best part for the D'backs is that they've survived a particularly rough schedule to start the second half, going 16-7 against five of the six other best teams in the league (plus Florida). Now they get a break, with three each against Washington, Pittsburgh and Florida.

• The only team that's as close to as hot as the Diamondbacks is the Yankees. New York (60-50, 5-1) is 18-7 thus far in the second half, though it is playing a much, much easier schedule. In contrast to Arizona, they've drawn four of the five worst teams in their league, including 15 games against either Tampa Bay and Kansas City. That's not exactly Murderer's Row, and with 17 of their next 23 games against Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles and Boston, we're going to see what the Bombers are really made of soon enough.

• When you've had as many bad weeks as Washington has, it's hard to get too excited about one diamond in the rough. But with six home games against middling NL Central teams, the Nationals (51-60, 6-0) took full advantage. They swept both Cincinnati and St. Louis by a combined 41-14, winning by at least three in five of six games. Of course, in a season as dismal as this one, dwelling on the present doesn't do much good. Instead, the Nats turn their attention to this week's trip to San Francisco, where Barry Bonds sits on 755. Going tonight for Washington is rookie John Lannan, who already made waves two weeks ago when he crippled Philadelphia's playoff chances with a pitch to Chase Utley's right hand. Lannan picked up his first career win Wednesday against Cincy, and goes for only the third time in his career -- this time, with history staring him in the face.

Losers: As baseball rolled into the All Star break almost a month ago now, it looked like Detroit might be the bestteam in baseball. What a difference three and a half weeks makes. The Tigers (61-49, 1-5) are collapsing, and can only take solace in the fact the Cleveland train wreck is following right behind. But its the defending AL champs who are in the toughest spot right now, having lost six of eight to Chicago alone in the past two weeks. This week, they were swept in three games by the White Sox after dropping two of three in Oakland. Though the pitching has righted itself somewhat since last weekend's 34-runs-in-three-days debacle in Anaheim, the Tigers still gave up seven runs three times in the span of four days during the middle of this week. Justin Verlander hasn't won since July 15. Jeremy Bonderman hasn't won since two days before that, Nate Robertson since the day after. Andrew Miller just went on the DL, and Kenny Rogers' return from the list lasted all of three days. With the Indians struggling almost as badly, it's not time to go into full panic mode in the Motor City. Still, the Yankees are bearing down hard in the wild card race, and if Cleveland wins the race to turn things around before Detroit, the Tigers might have to snuggle up close with their 2006 pennant and watch the 2007 playoffs from home.

• The Dodgers had a great opportunity this week to trip up the rolling Diamondbacks and regain some control on a division that's been slipping away for two weeks now. Instead, they went and got themselves swept, fell into third, and now have Colorado breathing down their necks. Probably not what Grady Little had in mind when Arizona came to town. Of course, LA has bigger-picture problems, having lost nine of its last eleven. After all, San Diego struggled against Arizona, too, but also swept last-place San Francisco to come out ahead for the week. The Dodgers couldn't even handle the Giants, losing two of three at home. Luckily, they get series against Cincinnati and St. Louis next; given the wonders these two worked on Washington this week, they should help LA regain a little form. Otherwise, this season could turn into a lost cause in a heartbeat.

• Last week, I tipped off that one team to watch was St. Louis, who had quietly moved within six games of struggling Milwaukee, and had a decent shot at reaching .500 on the season with five or six wins this past week. Anyone who followed that tip can return to their regularly scheduled programming -- the Cardinals (50-58, 1-5) stunk it up this week, dropping from four games under to eight.They lost two of three to last-place Pittsburgh, then were swept by the Pirates predecessor in the NL Central basement, Cincinnati. Next up they get San Diego, LA, Milwaukee and Chicago. Good luck going eight games over against those four.

• Kansas City (48-62, 1-5) rounds out the five-loss club this week. On the bright side, they didn't lose much ground on first ... their thirteen-game deficit only went up by a half game.

Movers: With Detroit and Cleveland falling back to the pack, Minnesota and Chicago took full advantage .The Twins (57-43, 4-2) in particular are now right back in the AL Central race, cutting a seven-game deficit down to just three and a half. The White Sox (52-59, 4-2) matched the two-and-a-half-game jump, though they still trail by ten games.

• Then there's the NL West, which reordered itself in a tidy fashion this week. The Diamondbacks captured first for themselves, taking a game and a half lead on the Padres, who are a game further back then they were this time last week. The Rockies, in turn, lost two games in the standings; the Giants are chasing history, but lost three games. Finally the Dodgers, who were in first, fell four games back of Arizona.

Streakers: Some said it could never be done ... but the Washington Nationals currently sport the majors' longest winning streak at six. As far as meaningful tears go, the Padres may not be the hottest team in the West, but their four-game streak is actually a game longer than the Diamondbacks' three. Of course San Diego is only 6-4 in its last ten -- the D'backs are 8-2.

• St. Louis and Detroit may have played in the World Series last year, but right now you'd be hard-pressed to find two teams playing any worse, Pittsburgh notwithstanding. Both the Cards and Tigers have league-worst five-game losing streaks


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Subject: July 30 -- Snake Eyes
Time: 9:31:06 AM EDT
Author:  cu21ti27mi

Winners: A couple weeks ago, it was starting to look like the National League West was slipping back into a two-team race. Turns out, it's tough to keep a good snake down. Arizona (58-49, 6-1) shook things up this week with a league-best six wins, including the tail end of an eight-game win streak, putting the pressure on division leader Los Angeles (57-48, 2-4). Make that division co-leader. Before the mojo ran out in a big way in yesterday's 14-0 loss to Atlanta, the Diamondbacks hadn't lost since last Friday in Chicago. They rolled up Florida in a four-game sweep, outscoring the overmatched Marlins 27-10, then bounced the Braves twice. The D'backs started the week three and a half games behind the Dodgers, but wiped out that deficit completely to move into a tie for first. But they have to be careful, because they can undo a lot of hard work in a big hurry this week. First, they travel to San Diego (56-48, 3-4), who isn't going anywhere at a half game back; then they head up I-5 to the City of Angels to take on the Dodgers. A strong week could give them a two- or three-game lead. A bad one could drop them even further back.

• Philadelphia was only 4-3 two weeks ago, which is why little attention was paid to the 28 runs they scored in winning three straight in San Diego, where its always tough to muster much offense. But that weekend was just the beginning for the suddenly-hot Phillies (55-49, 5-1), especially once they returned home to batter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. In its last nine games, the league's best offense has lost only once and is scoring 8.5 runs-per-game, up from their 5.5 season average. Pittsburgh in particular took its lumps over the weekend, getting bounced by its in-state rival, 23-6. Philly also took two of three from Washington, and now turns its attention to the NL Central's finest: three games each against red-hot Chicago and reeling Milwaukee.

• The American League East as a whole had a solid week, particularly the top four teams, who went a combined 19-9. Boston (64-41, 5-2), New York (56-49, 5-3) and Baltimore (49-55, 5-2) all won five games, while Toronto (52-52, 4-2) was right behind them with four. Granted, it's hard to imagine anybody is thrilled except the Red Sox, since nobody gained any ground on first. But all four teams should all take solace in the fact they aren't Tampa Bay (39-65, 1-5).

• Finally, it may be too late to save the season, but don't tell the White Sox (48-57, 5-2). They got five, count 'em five cracks at first-place Detroit this week, and walked away feeling good with three wins. So good, in fact, they kept on winning against the Blue Jays, taking two of three. Problem is, the Sox are still twelve and a half behind the Tigers, but only a half game up on last-place Kansas City.

Losers: Things didn't get much better for Detroit (60-44, 2-6) after it left the Windy City; three games in LA, three more losses to the tune of 34 runs allowed. As balanced a team as the Tigers are, they are still built around their young arms, and when they fall apart like they did against the Angels anemic offense, that's not a good sign. The only saving grace is that Cleveland (60-45, 2-5) stumbled almost as badly this week, or you could have added a fall from first to the list of the Tigers current woes. But more on them later.

• The biggest loser of the week has to be Milwaukee. With Chicago bearing down, it's time to ditch the glass slippers in favor of something a little better suited for the final sprint that is the next two months. Instead, the Brewers (57-49, 2-6) seem to be running in mud. Most teams would lick their lips for eight games against Cincinnati and St. Louis, but Milwaukee could only managed one win in each four-game series. Against the same two teams, the Cubs (55-48, 4-2) won four of six and moved within a half game of the Crew, their smallest deficit since opening day. And though I love a good Cinderella story as much as the next guy, I'd be suprised if that deficit isn't gone altogether by this time next week.

• Meanwhile, Florida (49-57, 1-6) dodged history in San Francisco, but couldn't avoid two more losses after getting swept by Arizona. They snapped their skid at six with a win Sunday, but still took a major step backwards in the NL East race, dropping to ten and a half back of New York (59-46, 4-3).

• Four teams lost five games this week: Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay don't matter because they're both awful, and Cleveland can breath easy because Detroit was tripped up this week, too. But the one team of note was Seattle (57-46, 3-5), which finally hit a wall after a month of playing way over its head. Two losses at the tail end of last week turned into a seven-game slide, though they salvaged three games over the weekend against Oakland. The good news is that the Mariners can right the ship in a big way this week with three games at home against first-place Los Angeles (61-42, 4-2).

Movers: The Diamondbacks and Cubs started the week a combined seven games out of first, but wiped out six and a half of that dual deficit. Arizona now owns a share of first after making the league's biggest jump of three and a half. Chicago came up just shy of closing the gap, but it seems like it's only a matter of time. Their cross-town rivals also slid up three games in the standings, though the White Sox have a significant amount of work left to do.

• Milwaukee's struggles were actually distributed pretty evenly across the division, which is starting to tighten up a little. Chicago got its three, but St. Louis, Houston and Cincinnati all picked up two and a half gams on first. The Cardinals (49-53, 4-3) have quietly snuck within six games of first, and are just one big week away from breaking even on the season and moving within striking distance of first. The Astros (46-59, 4-3) are threating to get their deficit down to single digits for the first time since who knows when. And the Reds (45-61, 4-3) are out of the NL Central basement, though that's mostly thanks to the Pirates -- after getting my blessing at the All Star break -- have fallen completely apart since then, going 2-13.

• Checking in on the other first-place teams: We touched on the Angels finally getting a break from the Mariners; the Halos actually took care of their own business this week too, padding their lead by two. The Mets are still three and a half games ahead of the second-place team, only it's the Phillies now instead of the Braves. Boston picked up a half game, now leading New York by a whole eight games. And Detroit's one-game lead over Cleveland was cut in half.

• And in the while you were sleeping department, the Kansas City Royals actually picked up two and a half games on Detroit. Only thirteen more to go.

Streakers: While we're on the Royals, their win Thursday against the Yankees, combined with a three-game weekend sweep of Texas means they've won four in a row. That's only their second streak of more than three wins, after taking five straight toward te end of the first half. It's also good for tops in the league, along with the Angels, who were ironically at the heart of KC's aforementioned first streak. In fact, until this weekend, LA of A was the only team the Royals had swept all season.

• On the flip side, the Tigers are mired in just their second four-game losing streak of the season. The other came back in April, when they were swept at home by Cleveland, then lost at Tampa Bay. Which is more embarassing is up to you. Anyway, a loss at Oakland today would make it their worst slide of the season. It should be noted that the Tigers are facing the tough task of playing 18 of their first 21 games of the second half on the road; fifteen games in, they are 8-10, which is respectable for most teams. For a pennant contender? That's another issue.

• We mentioned a couple long streaks that ended this week: Arizona had won eight straight, Florida had lost its last six and Seattle had dropped seven in a row.

Team of the Week: The NL West is a tight division. LA is tied for first, San Diego is just a half game back, Colorado isn't going away. But right now, nobody is making more noise in a noisy division than Arizona. The question is, can they hold steady this week against the Dodgers and Padres?

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Subject: July 23 -- The Bronx Goes Boom
Time: 10:47:59 AM EDT
Author:  cu21ti27mi

Winners: In a week when the only other team to win more than four games is hopelessly mired in the National League East basement, the biggest winner this week is easily the New York Yankees. Not only did the Bombers (51-46, 6-2) win plenty, they won big, too. They responded to Friday's 14-4 series opening loss to Tampa Bay (38-60, 3-4) with three wins in two days by a combined 45-12. Though you have to take the degree of difficulty into account, the Yanks have been playing well since the break, winning three of four against the Devil Rays, Blue Jays and Devil Rays again. And things aren't getting a ton harder as they head to Kansas City for a four-game set with the Royals (43-54, 4-2).

• The aforementioned "other" team, believe it or not, is Washington. The Nationals (42-56, 5-2) had a solid seven-game homestand, taking two of three from Houston (42-56, 3-3), then three of four from Colorado (49-49, 4-3). In the long run its only a small victory for a team that's still thirteen games behind the Mets, but when you've been in last place this long, you take what you can get.

Losers: Pittsburgh and Atlanta both lost a league-worst five games this week. But when you consider the Braves swept a three-game series between the two last week, the Pirates (41-56, 1-5) are clearly at the bottom of the league totem pole right now. They followed up the Atlanta series with a three-game sweep at the hands of Colorado, then lost three of four to Houston. The pitching actually has been there, but in the eight losses since the break, they've averaged just 2.5 runs-per-game. So much for them being a second-half dark horse.

• The Braves (52-47, 2-5) did get those three wins coming out of the break, but were inexplicably swept by Cincinnati (41-58, 4-3) before splitting four with St. Louis (45-50, 4-3). For the record, that's 5-5 on a ten-game homestand against three mediocre teams from the majors' worst division. Not exactly a recipe for catching first-place New York. Up next? The circus in San Francisco, where Barry Bonds will in all likelihood hit No. 756.

Movers: By the numbers, the biggest movers this week were both in New York. The Mets (51-40, 4-3) took advantage of the Braves' struggles to pad their lead by an extra two games, moving to three and a half games up. Meanwhile the Yankees are finally starting to make a move on Boston, trimming a nine-game lead down to seven and a half.

• Still, the most significant movement may have been Seattle (54-41, 3-3) inching ever closer to Los Angeles (57-41, 2-4) out in the American League West. On June 20, the Mariners were seven and a half games back and at the tail end of a six-game slide that would eventually lead to manager Mike Hargrove stepping down. Since then? They've gone 19-9, while the Angels are a pedestrian 12-13. The lead is down to two games, and the two teams go at it a week from today in a three-game set that might end with the M's in first.

Streakers: It's tough to really pick anybody out, since no team is on a streak of any kind longer than three games. At 9-3, the Yankees are the hottest team in baseball since the break, but again, they aren't exactly playing the cream of the crop. The Cubs (51-46, 4-3) have won seven of their first ten in the second half, but didn't make up any ground on Milwaukee (55-43, 4-3) this week.

• At the other end of the spectrum is the Pirates, who have only won once in nine games since the break. Though until they won a couple games this week, nobody was playing worse than Oakland (46-52, 2-4), who had lost eight straight until a win Wednesday. The perennial second-half stronghold has started 2-8.

Team of the Week: The big question is, does anyone deserve mention in one of the most mundane weeks in recent memory? Twenty-one of thirty teams were within a game of .500 over the past seven days. Twenty-four are between 6-4 and 4-6 in their last 10. Nobody's won or lost more than three straight. Twelve teams are in exactly the same spot in the standings as they were a week ago, while five more only shifted a mere half-game. Gun to my head, I'd go with the Yankees, but come September, this will probably go down as one of the more irrelevant weeks of the second half.


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Subject: July 16 -- Weekend Warriors
Time: 11:21:46 AM EDT
Author:  cu21ti27mi

With the short week following the All Star game, there isn't a ton to talk about. The biggest winner over the weekend was the Dodgers, who swept San Francisco and passed San Diego, who dropped two of three against Arizona. Minnesota also took advantage of its first series of the second half, sweeping Oakland to pick up two games on Detroit, who split with red-hot Seattle.

The Braves and Cubs both swept (Pittsburgh and Houston, respectively) to keep the pressure on first-place New York and Milwaukee. The AL East stayed mostly the same, as the Yankees won three of four in Tampa to move a game ahead of Toronto into second and a game closer to Boston, the two of whom split four games this weekend.

Back with a full entry next week.

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Subject: July 9 -- Halfway Home, Pt. II
Time: 10:17:35 AM EDT
Author:  cu21ti27mi

With the All Star break upon us, we'll take a break from the usual format and take a team-by-team look at how the first half wrapped up.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
New York (48-39, 2-5) -- So maybe the offense managed more than five runs in three games at Coors Field, something that escaped the cross-town rival Yankees a few weks ago. But at least the Yanks held Colorado to just thirteen. The Mets only scored twelve runs in getting swept by the Rockies this week, while giving up a whopping 34. For those keeping score at home, that's three losses by an average of more than seven runs-per-game. A split of four games with Houston doesn't really wash out the bad taste, either. Atlanta, who was playing a poorly as anybody two weeks ago, has now snuck within two games of first, and Philadelphia is lurking at four and a half back.

Atlanta (47-42, 4-3) -- With a really good week, the Braves could have actually caught the Mets and moved into first. As it is, they'll have to settle for a solid week, splitting four with Los Angeles and taking two of three from San Diego. The bigger picture is brighter for Atlanta; since their infamous four-shutouts-in-five-days two weeks ago, they've won nine of thirteen. Plus, they get creampuffs Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis out of the break, all at home. Compare that to the Mets, who also play Cincy at home, but then have to travel to Los Angeles and San Diego. So while some might consider a Mets division title an inevitability, we might only be a week and a half away from the Braves taking over first place.

Philadelphia (44-44, 2-4) -- The big news in Philly heading into the break was the Phillies coming to the rescue of an overmatched Colorado grounds crew, then dodging their 10,000th loss later that night. Like Charlie Manuel said following loss 9,999 on Saturday, the big number is irrelevant to the players, who have been involved at most in a few hundred of those 10k. What is impressive is the amount of loyalty the city has shown, and is still showing, to a team that's had that many awful years, that many defeats piling up. In a lot of cities, atendence would have plummeted, and the team would have bailed out for greener pastures a long time ago. (See Expos, Montreal)

Florida (42-47, 4-3) -- It was a non-descript end to a non-descript first half for the Marlins. This week, they won four but lostthree, scored 26 but gave up 26, beat All Star starter Jake Peavy but couldn't solve Mark Hendrickson, who lost 15 games last year. It's been that kind of season so far, and that probably won't change after the break. And nothing against Fredi Gonzalez, but you have to wonder what kind of season it would be if Joe Girardi was still at the helm.

Washington (36-52, 3-4) -- The Nationals are tied with Cincinnati for the worst record in the NL, but after a 9-25 start, anything other than being the sole worst team in all of baseball has to count for something. This week, the Nats should keep an eye out for a fruit basket from Chicago, after giving the Cubs three wins in four games, then turning around and taking two of three from first-place Milwaukee.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
Milwaukee (49-39, 2-5) -- The darling of the National League crawled into the break, losing seven of its last ten. With Chicago finally playing better, it's going to be interesting to see see how long the Brew Crew can maintain its hold on baseball's worst division. If they keep losing series to the Pittsburghs and Washingtons of the world, it won't be very long.

Chicago (44-43, 4-3) -- The Cubs' plans to finish strong were scuttled in Pittsburgh this weekend, as the Pirates took two of three. But the North Siders still went 12-4 down the stretch to give Milwaukee cause to start sweating a little. And for those who are keeping track, Chicago is 22-12 since the Barrett-Zambrano-Piniella debacle of a weekend.

St. Louis (40-45, 4-3) -- The Cardinals opened the season with a three-game sweep at the hands of the Mets. They're still waiting for things to really start getting better. The defending NL champs' longest winning streak so far is a measly four games, and that came April 8-11. Their longest streak since spring actually arrived is only three, which they've only done twice. Not exactly a recipe for success, but then again, they didn't let mediocrity stop them last year either. With Milwaukee's recent struggles, the Redbirds have pull within seven and a half in first, but this isn't a bandwagon I'd recommend jumping on.

Pittsburgh (40-48, 5-2) -- They may be the only team to get swept by St. Louis this year, but if you do want to pick a dark horse in the second half, the Pirates are really interesting. If you haven't familiarized yourself with Tom Gorzelanny (9-4, 3.10 ERA) or Ian Snell (7-5, 2.93), you probably should. And while maybe you can't ride two young guns to a division title, it's not like the three teams ahead of them inspire all that much confidence right now. After all, the Pirates were able to make pretty quick work of the top two teams this week, going 5-2. Now they just have to figure out the Cardinals ...

Houston (39-50, 4-3) -- If Pittsburgh's going to try rising to the top of the division with just two pitchers, the Astros are going to have to do it with one. Roy Oswalt is 8-5 with a 3.53 ERA, while the other starters on staff are 19-31 with a 4.58 ERA. Though the 'Stros have to like what they've seen out of Wandy Rodriguez in his last two starts (2-0, 16 IP, 0 R, 7 H).

Cincinnati (36-52, 5-1) -- The Reds finished stronger than any other team in the division, taking advantage of a collapsing Arizona squad that's lost five straight. The rest of the season, of course, leaves a lot to be desired. But hey, the Bengals' season is right around the corner.

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
San Diego (49-38, 3-4) -- The Padres only lead Los Angeles by a game out west, but the consolation right now is still the wild card, which takes some of the urgency out of the race. Arizona is falling back, and Colorado is still trying to shake off its 1-9 road trip from last week. Though San Diego didn't close strong against Florida and Atlanta this week, the most important thing was taking two of three from LA last weekend.

Los Angeles (49-40, 3-4) -- The Dodgers had the same record as the Padres this week against the same two teams. Like St. Louis, LA hasn't really had a definitive winning stretch yet, though they've had more than their share of three- and four-game streaks, which is why they're in much better shape than the Cardinals. The wild card lead is two games over Atlanta.

Arizona (47-43, 1-6) -- Two weeks ago, the Diamondbacks were in first place; since then, they've gone 3-11, relinquished the division lead to San Diego, and are threatening to fall past Colorado into fourth place. This week alone, they lost three of four to a very average St. Louis club, then got swept by last-place Cincinnati. They are still just two and a half behind the Dodgers in the wild card, but the way they're playing, that won't last either.

Colorado (44-44, 5-1) -- The Rockies are seven games over .500 at home, where they've swept both the Mets and Yankees. They're seven games under .500 away from Coors Field, including a 1-9 road trip that mercifully ended last Sunday. This Sunday, a loss to Philly was the only thing that kept them from a perfect homestand. So despite the fact they moved back within five and a half games of first this week, the ten-game road swing to open the second half doesn't bode well.

San Francico (38-48, 3-3) -- Between Barry Bonds and this week's All Star festivities, al eyes are squarely on the Bay Area. The way the Giants are playing these days, it's probably not a good thing. They seem to have moved past the eight-game slide from a couple weeks ago, but they're only 8-6 since then, which isn't something to write home about. And it's certainly not helping them dig out of the NL West basement,

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