MLB Monday morning news.......
-Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn passed away at the age of 54. He had been battling salivary gland cancer.
-The KC Royals are surprisingly the hottest team in baseball right now, having won 7 in a row. I saw them against Toronto a few weeks ago & they're an exciting team!
-Both the Red Sox & Yankees have lost their last 2 games. NY is 6-4 in its last 10 games, while the Sox are only 4-6. The Jays & the Orioles split their 4-game series at Camden Yards.
As the Doc sees it......
I've been saying all season long that the Yankees will wind up in last place. However, i may have to revise my position. The Red Sox may get the honor of finishing last & be the first team to go from last place to first and back to last place. Currently, the Red Sox lead the Rays by only 4.5 games. The Rays have been surprisingly awful all season long and have recently shown an improvement. They can't be worse than they've already been.
The Red Sox
Third baseman Brock Holt has been very good hitting leadoff. But will it last? Team leader Dustin Pedroia isn't having a good season offensively and he's only hitting .264 with only 3 homeruns. Will he ever bounce back to being as productive as he once was? David Ortiz isn't doing any better. He's only hitting for .249. What would his hitting numbers be if he wasn't playing home games at hitter-friendly Fenway Park? Outfielder Daniel Nava is proving that last season was fluke. He's only hitting .198 and will likely be sent back to the minors. But that's nothing compared to back-up catcher David Ross, who's barely hitting. 169. Grady "The Experiement" Sizemore is only hitting .216 & it wouldn't surprise me if the Red Sox release him. Once-promising centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. continues to struggle at .208 & it's not surprising why he's been hitting at the bottom of the lineup for most of the season. But the worst hitter so far has been returning shortstop Stephen Drew, who's struggling terribly at the plate by hitting only .167. Hopefully for him his numbers will eventually rise considerably since he will once again be a free agent following this season.
The Yankees
On the Yankees side, things are only slightly better. They were clobbered by the A's yesterday & are currently tied with the Orioles, 4 1/2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. Highly-paid centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury appears to have lost his leadoff hitter's slot to Brett Gardner. He went hittless yesterday in the #3 slot & is now hitting .282 with only 4 homeruns. Combined with Brett Gardiner, Carlos Beltran & Ichiro Suzuki, the Yankees have weakest-hitting outfield in baseball. The power numbers that we've been accustomed to over the decades have simply not been there this season. Beltran has been awful (and injured) and is only hitting .221. That's what usually happens to ballplayers when they enter their mid-to-late 30's. They slow down, their eyesight isn't as good as it once was, same thing with their reflexes, and they are in decline. Suzuki's numbers have been decent in a limited role, but he's mostly a singles hitter & he hasn't hit a homerun yet. It wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't hit one for the rest of the season.
Designated Hitter Alfonso Soriano is hitting only .228 and has only 6 homeruns. Maybe it's time to give him a rest. Or trade him to whomever would accept his contract. I doubt anyone would take him this late in his career. He's at least 38 years old & should have retired as a Yankee after last season. Elsewhere on the team, free agent bust Brian McCann is hitting only .224 with just 7 homeruns. He should hand back some of the money the Steinbrenners are currently paying him. He's been absolutely awful! As for infielders Brian Roberts & Kelly Johnson, they've been very bad offensively, as i had said they'd be from day one. 34-year old Mark Texeira is only hitting .242. Like all the others, his numbers have been declining. Just like Derek Jeter's, who should have retired a year ago. Why? Because they're old, old, old!!! And finally, infielder Yangervis Solarte has come back to earth and his batting average has slowly declined to the current .274 level. He's got 6 homeruns & pitchers are now being more careful when pitching to him. He was playing second base yesterday & will not make Yankees fans forget Alex Rodriguez. Say what you want about A-Rod, but he was still a feared hitter & could still regularly hit the long ball when he was in the lineup.
The Blue Jays
Mark Buehrle has continued to pitch very well. Same thing with Drew Hutchison & J.A. Happ. R.A. Dickey has been good, but remains a victim of the long ball every game he starts. He left Saturday's game with a groin strain & his status is uncertain for his next start. Rookie Marcus Stroman was impressive in two of his three starts, and will likely get one of the starts in their series against the hated Yankees. Out of the bullpen, Dustin McGowan & Casey Janssen have been great, while the likes of Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil & Aaron Loop have been decent. The team is expected to re-activate set-up man Sergio Santos in time for the Yankees series. He may replace Brett Cecil, who suffered a groin strain in his last appearance.
Elsewhere on the team, Jose Reyes is red-hot, while injuries have begun to take its toll on some players. DH/first baseman Adam Lind was hit on his foot by a fall ball on Saturday & is currently walking on crutches with his foot in a boot. Preliminary x-rays were negative, but he's scheduled to undergo more testing in Toronto. Edwin Encarnacion is playing with a sore back & his production has slightly declined recently. Brett Lawrie continues to play great at both third base and second base, and the outfield has been steady. Centerfielder Colby Rasmus has missed a month due to a hamstring injury & should be re-activated soon. And finally, third baseman Juan Francisco has seen his numbers decline, even though he hit the long ball on Saturday. Brett Lawrie will get most of his starts at third base while Francisco works on getting out of his slump. When Francisco is in the lineup, Lawrie is moved over to second base ahead of Steve Tolleson, who's been quite effective at second base since being called up a month ago. Behind the plate, Eric Kratz is getting more & more starts while battery mate Navarro gets to DH when not catching. The Jays are expected to keep 3 catchers for the rest of the season since they've all performed very well.
Here are my slightly revised predictions:
Toronto will win the East, followed by the Orioles & Yankees. The Rays will likely pass the Red Sox in the standings & make a move on the 3rd place position. The World Champion Red Sox will once again wind up last in the division, just like they did 2 seasons ago. Will John Farrell be able to save his job with a strong finish?? I doubt it, but upper-management may give him one last look next season to see if he can turn the ship around.
As for Joe Girardi, he continues to impress me with the way he's handling that lineup he's been stuck with over the past 2 seasons. I feel for the guy. But if the Yankees continue failing, he'll likely be the one getting axed & not Brian Cashman, who is the real culprit behind this team's failures.