Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
The most remarkable thing about this season as we hit the not-halfway halfway point of the All-Star break isn't Albert Pujols' RBI total. Or Zack Greinke's ERA. Or the PED suspension of one of the game's biggest stars.
It's the standings. And they not only reflect the season so far, they give us a clue as to the weeks head leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline.
The Phillies and Dodgers are the only first-place team with a lead of more than 2 1/2 games. And 21 of the 30 teams are within 7 1/2 games of a playoff spot: nine of 14 in the AL and 12 of 16 in the NL.
The Tampa Bay Rays (neé Devil Rays) are the biggest question mark in the AL East. We know that Boston is going to do well. We know the Orioles are going to be terrible. We know the Yankees are going to seem unstoppable when the season starts, fall into, like, third place sometime in early June and make everybody freak out, the Steinbrenners are going to start threatening people, and they'll be fine and at the top of the division by the end of the year. We know the Blue Jays will exist (?). The Rays, though... who knows what the Rays are going to do.
Tonight's Dugout, which might be about the Blue Jays (I don't know), is after the jump.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Tampa Bay Rays.
Although they ended up falling short at the end, 2008 was the year of the Rays. After being the butt of jokes for the first 10 years of its existence, Tampa Bay turned an impressive collection of baseball talent into an impressive team, finally assembling a competent bullpen, and utilizing some position shifts to put a much improved defense on the field. With the pieces in place, everything came together, and the Rays increased their win total by 31 games on their way to winning both the AL East and AL pennant.
Fernando Perez was probably going to have the first two weeks of the season to prove himself as an everyday major league starter. B.J. Upton, the Rays' regular center fielder who is coming off shoulder surgery, will likely need an extra few weeks after Spring Training before he's ready to come back. The speedy 25-year-old Perez was ready to step right in and take his shot.
Thursday morning, however, he received some very bad news. After rolling his wrist attempting a diving catch, he dislocated it. This injury will keep him in a cast for the next six weeks. All told, Perez will miss at least the next three months.
It's certainly not fair to say that the Brewers are off to a bad start, because 14-10 isn't a bad start. It is fair to say that they're probably mildly concerned to find themselves in third place, even this early, if only because the Cubs and Cardinals have played so well during this first month. Accordingly, they're probably happy to get one of their key off-season acquisitions back this week when Mike Cameron returns from his 25-game stimulant suspension on Tuesday.
The real question now is how the Brewers are going to align their outfield with Cameron back in the lineup. In his absence, Gabe Kapler unexpectedly mashed the ball, with 4 homers and a .577 slugging percentage in 52 at-bats while Ryan Braun (.280 OBP, only .312 SLG) and Corey Hart (1 homer, .391 SLG) have struggled. It would be foolish to bench either of the promising youngsters for a guy like Kapler. Still, it's not something I'd put past Ned Yost.
Maybe the bigger question is what kind of offense the Brewers can expect out of Cameron. There was certainly some question about the signing last year, though it was generally justified as a move that would strengthen the defense (and certainly, Bill Hall at third and Ryan Braun in left is an improvement over those two in center and on third, respectively, last year). Still, the Brewers other big off-season acquisition acquisition has worked out poorly thus far and the they can ill-afford Cameron to flame out in a similarly spectacular manner.
If you told everyone a couple of weeks ago that Gabe Kapler's name would surface soon after the release of the Mitchell Report, I'm not sure many people would be surprised. I mean, the dude is just plain ripped -- he was on the cover of bodybuilding magazines before even reaching the majors. There's never been any real evidence to suggest he was on the juice, except for the fact that, well, normal people just don't get pythons like that.
As it is, though, Kapler has not been linked to any PED allegations but is simply making a comeback. After spending last year managing the Red Sox' Single-A team down in Greenville, S.C., he decided he hadn't yet lost the itch to play ball instead of simply coaching it. According to the Boston Herald, he worked out for four teams a few weeks ago and then signed a one-year, $800,000 deal with the Brewers yesterday.
"I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I'm in the best physical condition of my career," said Kapler by phone while vacationing with his family in Turks and Caicos. "I'm looser, more relaxed and made some changes as it relates to stretching and flexibility that are really useful. The year off, the timing could not have been better. It really, really made me hungry.
A comeback really isn't that far-fetched; I mean, he's only 32 years old. He basically rushed into retirement after dealing with a nagging Achilles injury, but after taking the entire year off, there's no reason to think he can't become the player he used to be ... which wasn't really much. He's had a nice little career as a fourth outfielder/fringe starter type guy, but he never developed into the stud many people predicted he would back when he was breaking RBI records as a minor leaguer.
Let the swooning begin in Boston. Gabe "the babe" Kapler announced today that he plans on returning to the diamond as a player in 2008. Kapler won the hearts of Boston fans - many of them female - in 2004 as part of the team of destiny. Known as much for his physique as for his skills on the field, Kapler retired after suffering a debilitating Achilles tendon tear, and spent the past year managing a Class-A Red Sox farm team in Greenville, S.C.
"My body is as healthy as it has ever been, and I must take advantage of that," he said. "Managing was an important component of my development, and I am eternally grateful to the Red Sox for having provided me the opportunity to tackle a new challenge."
Known in some circles as The Hebrew Hammer, Kapler is second only to Dave "The Steal" Roberts for 4th outfielders garnering the affection of Red Sox Nation. Unfortunately for those fans, Kapler will probably not be donning a Red Sox uni in his return. With Coco Crisp, Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew as the regulars, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brandon Moss are likely to pick up any leftover playing time.
When did the Rays sign J.J. from Good Times?
It's certainly not fair to say that the Brewers are off to a bad start, because 14-10 isn't a bad start. It is fair to say that they're probably mildly concerned to find themselves in third place, even this early, if only because the Cubs and Cardinals have played so well during this first month. Accordingly, they're probably happy to get one of their key off-season acquisitions back this week when 
If you told everyone a couple of weeks ago that 
Let the swooning begin in Boston. Gabe "the babe" Kapler announced today that he plans on returning to the diamond as a player in 2008. Kapler won the hearts of Boston fans - many of them female - in 2004 as part of the team of destiny. Known as much for his physique as for his skills on the field, Kapler retired after suffering a debilitating Achilles tendon tear, and spent the past year managing a Class-A Red Sox farm team in Greenville, S.C.
