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.
In 2008 the Seattle Mariners, projected by many to contend with the Angels for the AL West title, suffered through a miserable season, finishing the year 61-101. Because of that disappointment -- they ended the season 39 games behind first place L.A. -- people were generally down on their prospects in '09. So when they started hot out of the gate, 9-6 and 2 1/2 games clear of the rest of the division, it took many by surprise.
For a variety of reasons, though, it's really not all that shocking. First and foremost, it's only 15 games; I mean, come on, even the Pirates are 9-6. But there were also a number of reasons to think that Seattle would be significantly improved entering the season.
When the Mariners signed Ken Griffey Jr. to come back to Seattle, it pretty much seemed like nothing other than a public relations move. Junior is way past the prime of his Hall of Fame career, and it was an accepted fact that the Mariners were destined for the basement of the AL West. Well, turns out the Mariners are in first place at 8-5, even though Junior is struggling with a .205 average.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.
Meet the... Team who someone predicted would win the World Series last year. Seriously. When you stop laughing, you can check out the link (he's the top one listed -- though when you see his other atrocious picks you won't be surprised). Was I any better? Glad you asked. I actually took Mr. Downey to task before Opening Day. You can check the rest of my stuff if you wish, as there were some misses in there.
Anyway, it's safe to say expectations are a slight bit lower heading into '08.
* If anyone saw the ESPN Sunday Conversation with Derek Jeter in the middle of the 2008 season, they'll remember he said he was taking a keepsake from the old Yankee Stadium when the season was ended. Well, now we know what he took. There was a sign in the tunnel leading to the Yankees' dugout with this quote from Joe DiMaggio on it: "I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee."
It is now in Jeter's possession. Bravo, Mr. November.
Where's My Tater? tracks the slow starts of notable sluggers who are taking their sweet, sweet time leaving the yard.
The Cardinals were supposed to be a train wreck this year, but someone forgot to tell them: they're sitting pretty right now, second in the Central with the third-best record in the National League.
Troy Glaus has been a big factor, getting on base, smacking extra-base hits and driving in runs. Any sane fan of the game would be happy with his production ... but if you look at his stats, something just seems wrong: he's homer-less. He may be on pace for 72 doubles, but there's something comical about a projected stat line of .268-0-97.
It happens every so often, where a guy spends all his career with one organization, and then he jumps to another team in the waning moments of his profession. It's going to happen again as Mike Sweeney, who spent the first 17 seasons of his career with the Royals organization (13 of them in the majors), has signed a minor league deal with the Oakland A's.
"They want me to play first base and DH and be a veteran presence for the younger guys," Sweeney said from his San Diego home. "I'm excited about the opportunity and it's close to home." (...)
"This is the best I've felt in years ... and I'm hungry as I've ever been," he said.
Sweeney was once considered one of the best hitters in baseball who has had the misfortune of never making the playoffs with Kansas City. He's still known for being one of the class acts in baseball who has deserved a better fate than that.Sorry, No Photos
I wonder if now that the Mitchell Report has been released if every single players who isn't mentioned in the report is going to try and use that as proof they've never done steroids. Former Royal Mike Sweeney has heard whispers about himself for years now.
How did he elevate himself from an average hitter to a power hitter that got hurt all the time? You know, the same type of player whose name is generally linked to steroid use. For years Sweeney has maintained he did it the old fashioned way of hard work and dedicaton, and now that he didn't hear his name in the Mitchell Report, he feels he's vindicated.
"Maybe now people will really believe me," Sweeney said by phone from California. "People now know that No. 29 was clean. And if I've played my last game with the Royals, you don't have to put an asterisk by any of my stats."
"I shouldn't have to worry about what other people say or do," he said. "But it did bother me when I would hear it. I mean, I put my hand on the Bible and my hand on my son's head and swore I didn't take steroids.
"Maybe once and for all, this will put it to rest. I've always said that if people really had any doubts about how I got stronger, come and work out with me sometime."
Now I don't know if Mike Sweeney ever did steroids, but just because he isn't mentioned in the Mitchell Report doesn't prove he hasn't. I mean Sammy Sosa isn't mentioned in the report either, but I'm not about to start believing him when he says he's always been clean.
No, it just means that the Royals clubhouse assistant wasn't trying to avoid jail time and didn't have to tell George Mitchell about everything that's gone on in the Royals clubhouse the last 10 years or so.
I thought that the emergence of Billy Butler in Kansas City surely meant the end of Mike Sweeney's injury plagued career with the Royals. Hell, even Mike Sweeney thought that was the case. Well now it could be Billy Butler's emergence that keeps Sweeney in Kansas City.
Apparently the Royals are so pleased with Butler's defensive progress, they're considering him to play first base next season instead of DH. They plan on having him play there a lot over the winter. That would leave an open spot for Sweeney, and he knows it.
"Believe me, I've thought about that," Sweeney said, smiling. "I'm just tied to Billy Butler no matter what.
"I'll be following his every move when he goes down to play winter ball. I'll be watching mlb.dominican.com for highlights. Do they have that?"
No, Mike, they don't. Not yet anyway, give baseball some time.
I don't care if Billy Butler becomes a Gold Glover this winter, I don't think the Royals should even think about bringing Sweeney back. Especially if there's a solid veteran like Mike Piazza around relatively cheap. Not only is Piazza a better hitter than Sweeney, he also has the amazing ability to make sudden movements without breaking or tearing something.
I'm not so sure Mike Sweeney can say that.
The Royals are a lot closer to being respectable than I can remember them being for a long time. If they're going to take a step to the next level in 2008, they should leave all their dead weight behind them, and that includes Mike Sweeney.
Perfect games are a complete crap shoot. Sure it takes some skill, but it also takes some fortuitous bounces and a lot of luck. Regardless, if one were to try to handicap which pitcher could possibly throw a perfect game, Scott Baker of the Twins would be one of the last pitchers you'd think of. Well after Friday night ... well he'd still be one of the last pitchers that you'd think of because he didn't throw it then either.
But you wouldn't believe how close he came, setting down 24 straight Royals (and going back to his last start against the Royals on July 30th, 38 straight Royals ... which is kind of like a perfect game spread out over a month), before walking John Buck, and facing Mike Sweeney in, get this: Sweeney's first at bat in about ten weeks after coming back from injury:
Sweeney - activated just before the game from the disabled list, where knee surgery had left him since June 17 - came to the plate knowing he would have to hit a good pitch. "I talked to some of the guys and asked what he was throwing," Sweeney said. "They told me, nothing over the middle of the plate. Fastball in, slider and cutter away. ... First pitch, he threw a heater on the black, kind of what he had been doing all night."
Then catcher Mike Redmond called for a fastball, figuring "I didn't want him to throw a bad slider and have (Sweeney) speed his bat up. ... He hit (Baker's) best pitch, his fastball."
"It was the right pitch," said Baker, who needed only 111 of them to throw the first shutout of his career. "It might have been a little bit up, but he put a good swing on it."
"I wouldn't do anything different," agreed Redmond.
Neither would Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire ... I think.
"You didn't want to do anything; you don't want to change your seat. I was getting a drink of water twice per inning, and I didn't want to change that, so I'm full of water now," Gardenhire said. "You just kept doing the same thing over and over. We were sort of looking at each other, going 'Woof, this is good stuff.' "
I'm assuming he meant Scott Baker's repertoire, and not the water. Woof, indeed.
When the Mariners signed 
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
It happens every so often, where a guy spends all his career with one organization, and then he jumps to another team in the waning moments of his profession. It's going to happen again as 
I wonder if now that the 
I'm so confused.
Perfect games are a complete crap shoot. Sure it takes some skill, but it also takes some fortuitous bounces and a lot of luck. Regardless, if one were to try to handicap which pitcher could possibly throw a perfect game, Scott Baker of the Twins would be one of the last pitchers you'd think of. Well after Friday night ... well he'd still be one of the last pitchers that you'd think of because he didn't throw it then either. 
