The
National League teams appear to be taking on behavioral patterns like the
weather in Chicago and
St. Louis. They
say in both those cities that if you don't like the weather, just wait 10
minutes. Well, if you don't like what your club is doing, just wait 10 minutes.
Or a day. Or a week. Yes, things can change in an NL minute around this league.
One thing for sure is that this season will be a roller coaster ride to
September. You had better lower your shoulder harness and get comfy. It's going
to be a bumpy ride.
East
Division
New York Mets (36-27) - The
Mets looked as though they were gearing up to dominate the National League once
again, but the Detroit Tigers
and now the Los Angeles Dodgers
have slapped them back to the reality that winning this league is tougher than
it may look. Their last win came when Jorge Sosa pitched 8.0 fabulous innings to combine with Billy Wagner in shutting out the
Tigers for the first time this year, 3-0 on Friday. Already stricken with
injuries, the Mets suffered another setback when outfielder Endy Chavez strained his hamstring and landed on the DL. On the
bright spot, Shawn Green returned to the lineup Monday with a pair of hits, an RBI,
and even a rare stolen base in his return debut.
Atlanta Braves
(35-30) -
After dropping the first two games against the visiting Cubs, the Braves rallied
to win the last two of the four-game series. The series was full of drama as the
starting pitching of both staffs struggled tremendously, leaving both bullpens
tired. And there was no shortage of beanballs, taunting, and rough slides in the
field. Edgar Renteria, who is having a great year batting .325 with 9 home
runs and 33 RBI, got hit in the hand of the first inning of Sunday's finale by a
Ted Lilly inside fastball. He remained in the game for several
innings before leaving with a hand contusion, and he hasn't played since. Right
now he's day-to-day. Lance Cormier made his second start this weekend after coming off the
DL and lasted just 3.2 innings giving up 4 HRs and 5 runs. Consequently he
landed back on the DL with a "tired arm".
Philadelphia
Phillies (34-31) -
Perhaps the White Sox knew what they were doing. Freddy Garcia landed back on the DL with a sore shoulder, and there is
a chance he could be done for the season. It's a big setback for the Phils, who
had high hopes for their rotation this year. Garcia was just 1-5 with a 5.90 ERA
in 11 starts this season. At least Ryan Howard had a good week. He's starting to hit with more power,
though his average is still .241. This past week he did crank three home runs
and drive in six runs.
Florida
Marlins (32-33) -
Miguel Cabrera was named NL Player of the Week. He tallied up four
consecutive multi-hit games and blasted three home runs and seven RBI in those
four games. Starting pitcher Sergio Mitre is just 2-2 in ten starts despite a commanding 1.59 ERA.
Unfortunately his next start has been pushed back to at least June 15 due to a
hamstring injury. Mitre's last game was a 5.0-inning no-decision against the
Braves where he gave up just four hits and no runs.
Washington
Nationals (27-37) - Who
said the American League should be able to just beat up on the weaker teams in
the NL? The Nationals traveled up to Minnesota and took two of three against the
Twins. Levale Speigner outdueled Johan Santana Saturday earning the much deserved win with 6.0 solid
innings of two-hit, one-run ball. Ryan Zimmerman, who is starting to produce a bit more as of late,
provided the support Speigner needed, hitting a three-run home run off Santana.
Zimmerman has hit two homers in the past week and driven in seven
runs.
Central
Division
Milwaukee
Brewers (34-30) - Last
season was definitely no fluke for the Tigers and Justin Verlander. And they proved that to this year's Cinderella team
Monday night when Verlander pitched a no-no against the Brewers, giving
Milwaukee their
fifth loss in the last seven games. There doesn't appear to be anything stopping
Prince Fielder, though. The youngster is leading the NL with 23 home
runs thanks to three more this past week, and he's even got his average up to a
very respectable .295. Jeff
Suppan's pitching has fizzled. He's 2-5 in his past seven
starts, and his ERA has crept to 4.04. Still, the Brewers know what they get
with him in each start - typically five-plus innings and three to four
runs.
Chicago Cubs (28-35) -
After an ominous week of clubhouse fighting, ejections, and losing, the Cubs
played some of their best baseball of the year this week and got back to second
place in the division. Alfonso Soriano caught fire and blasted three home runs Friday night
against the Braves. His batting average was up to .326, but he's in an 0-for-16
slump since then, which has knocked his average down to .305. Carlos Zambrano has pitched back-to-back gems earning a win against
division-leading Milwaukee, and
then holding Houston to
three hits and one unearned run over 8.0 innings for season win number seven.
Zambrano also hit his second home run of the season to help himself out in the
2-1 victory.
St.
Louis
Cardinals (27-34) -
After rising back to second place in the division, the Cards dropped four of
their last five games. The jury might still be deliberating over Todd Wellemeyer, but the
flamethrower has managed a 2-0 record in his three starts wearing a Cardinals
uniform. As long has he can keep the walks to a minimum, he's a decent starting
pitching option for the Redbirds as they continue to sort out their starting
woes. For all those folks who were worried about Albert Pujols, take note that he's got his batting average up to .298,
and with a three-homer week has his long ball total up to 15 and RBI count to
40. On a side note, outfielder Preston Wilson had season-ending surgery on his knee this past
week.
Pittsburgh
Pirates (27-37) -
Tom
Gorzelanny didn't factor into the decisions, but in his past two
starts against the Dodgers and Yankees, he pitched into the seventh inning in
both games giving up seven total runs. Outfielder Xavier Nady is starting to show some signs of life. Nady has four home
runs in the month of June and 10 RBI. He's also lifted his batting average to
.288 in that span.
Houston Astros
(27-37) - In a
desperate move to get some life to their starting rotation, the Astros went out
and signed veteran Chan Ho Park to a minor league contract Tuesday. Park has pitched in
just one game this season, and is more infamous for his performance on
April
23, 1999 when
he surrendered two grand slams in the same inning against the same batter, the
St. Louis Cardinals’ Fernando Tatis. Lance Berkman has hit safely in six of his last seven games, but his
.251 average is a shell of his .301 career number. And his eight home runs this
season puts him way off his 2006 pace when he knocked out 45 long
balls.
Cincinnati Reds
(26-39) - The
Reds are winners of four of their last five games, and just like that they are
threatening to pull themselves out of the NL Central cellar. Aaron
Harang continues to knock out great starts and keep his team
competitive. His last outing against Cleveland was a 7.0-inning shutout gem,
good for 10 strikeouts, but not good enough for the win. The Reds lost 1-0 and
Harang took a no-decision. But there is lots of speculation already flying
around regarding trades and the Reds. At the top of the rumor list is
Adam Dunn, whose productivity has tapered off a bit this
season.
West
Division
San
Diego Padres
(36-27) - The
Padres were on fire until they ran into interleague play this weekend against
the Mariners. They've since dropped four straight. In his last two starts,
Jake Peavy gave up seven
total earned runs. That's more than he had given up in his previous seven starts
combined. On last Wednesday night, the Padres did get to celebrate with
Trevor Hoffman, who earned his 18th save of the season, and career save
number 500. The Padres made a big deal of Hoffman's accomplishment, and
considering how valuable that closer role is, it's no surprise the players
carried him around on their shoulders in celebration.
Los
Angeles
Dodgers (37-28) -
Derek Lowe tossed a
complete game on Saturday against Toronto, but
it wasn't good enough for the win. Lowe gave up just one run thanks to a solo
shot by the professional hitter Matt
Stairs, and that was all the Blue Jays needed. But in the big
matchup this week with the Mets, the Dodgers have taken the first two of the
three-game series. Tuesday night it was the bottom of the order, including
starting pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo that got the job done. Kuo earned the W and helped himself
capping back-to-back-to-back jacks with Wilson Betemit and Matt Kemp.
Arizona
Diamondbacks (37-28) -
Against the Astros, Mets, and Giants, Brandon Webb had won three straight starts and held his opponents to
just two earned runs. The Yankees lineup is a little different. He held his own
Tuesday, giving up four runs in 7.0 innings, but the D'Backs lost 4-1. Third
baseman Chad Tracy was activated over the weekend. He's 1-for-7 since his
return, with the lone hit accounting for the only run Tuesday when
Tracy
homered against the Yanks.
Colorado
Rockies
(31-33)
- Todd Helton has just one home run and two RBI this month but he's
still batting .326; he's just not getting enough chances to hit with runners on
base. Ryan Spilborghs is trying to make a name for himself with some
regular action this week, and he did just that on Sunday against
Baltimore.
Spilborghs hit two home runs and drove in six runs doubling his season total for
the year.
San
Francisco Giants
(30-34) -
After a disappointing 2006 campaign, Randy Winn appears to have some things figured out in 2007. He's
batting .309 this year compared to that dismal .262 average a year ago. Starting
pitcher Matt Morris continues to shine and has that dominant 12-to-6
curveball working again. Morris tossed another complete game Monday against
Toronto giving up three runs, earning the win, and improving his record to 7-3
on the season.
Got
questions or comments? Sound off to pete@petekhazen.com.