already & not yet

In light of Barry Bonds’ unwelcome assault on 755, the most hallowed number in sports, I started reflecting on the entire Steroid Era that hangs like a dark cloud over Major League Baseball. Thing is, Bud Selig knows this cloud ain’t going anywhere anytime soon. (Did you see his body language as he witnessed Bonds’ tie his good buddy Hank Aaron? No clapping, hands in pockets…I honestly thought the guy wanted to yawn. Or cry. Tough to tell.)

As much as I hate to see Aaron’s name stricken from the record book, you have to acknowledge Bonds as the home run king, legit or not. Let’s face it; Bonds was an otherworldly talent before steroids. The juice just took him from Hall of Famer to one of the two best players ever. Period. That said, it is something of a travesty that a person of grace and dignity like Aaron will be surpassed in our collective consciousness by a clod like Bonds. But what else do you do? You can’t “asterisk” the record. Not unless you also asterisk the entire era. Which is what I might do if I were the commissioner.

I came across this website called Baseball’s Steroids Era. Really fascinating stuff. They list all the usual suspects we’ve known about for years (Palmeiro, Giambi, McGwire, Clemens, Tejada) but the site also chronicles the steroid use of players whose names I’d never heard in conjunction with these allegations. (Wally Joyner? Really? Don’t remember the news coverage on that one.) If anything, the site sheds light on the ever-increasing number of players from the past 20 years who used performance-enhancing drugs. Again, with such rampant steroid use, why single out Bonds? In essence, the entire era (and its dubious numbers: 70, 73, 760 or wherever Bonds ends up…) deserves an asterisk.

In a game that values its numbers like baseball does, that seems to be the only solution*.

*By solution, I mean “way of keeping the storm clouds at bay just a little longer”.

Looks like somebody stoked the fires in the NL East.

In my opinion, the Atlanta Braves became the prohibitive favorites to win the NL pennant with their acquisition of Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira. Arguably the biggest bat available at the trade deadline, Teixeira gives the Braves the league’s most potent offense. Parting with Salty was tough, I know, but Tex gives the Braves an unbelievably formidable lineup. Kelly Johnson, he of the .389 OBP, will be batting 8th for crying out loud! As if that weren’t enough, word has it that Atlanta is close to a deal to acquire Kansas City Royals closer Octavio Dotel to solidify the bullpen. Atlanta’s the team to beat in the NL now, in my opinion.

Not to be outdone, the Mets have acquired a much lesser name, Minnesota second baseman Luis Castillo. He’s not the burner he was in his salad days in Florida, but he provides steady defense and a .300 average. He’s a definite upgrade over Ruben Gotay, in my opinion. Even with Chase Utley on the DL, the Phillies made a move today, acquiring Kyle Lohse from the Reds to fortify their rotation. I’ll give you a moment to allow the absurdity of the previous sentence to wash over you. How bad does your rotation have to be that you look to the Reds for an upgrade? Amazingly, the Phils are still only 3 games out of first place in the division, so I don’t blame them for trying.

Man, I wish the Cardinals were good….

Back in March, I made my 2007 Baseball Predictions where I made my picks for division winners and the wild card. I thought it’d be an appropriate time to revisit those picks to see how I’ve fared thus far.

AL East: Yankees
OK, so the Red Sox look like they’re pretty comfortable atop the AL East. But the Yankees have quietly been playing some pretty decent ball lately. Two months ago, the Sox lead over the Yankees was 14 games. Now as July is coming to a close, the Bronx Bombers have cut that deficit in half. It’s still a bit of a stretch, but the Pinstripers will only get healthier from this point on (Philip Hughes, Jason Giambi, Doug Mientwiczkdieakd or whatever his name is). Don’t sleep on Torre’s boys.

AL Central: Tigers
I’ve been pretty surprised by the Indians this year; I think they’re for real. But the Tigers are the superior team. I’d be surprised to see the Tigers cough up the division lead this year. Their bullpen is on the mend and it sounds like they’ll be players in whatever trade market develops over the next week. They could win it all, in my opinion.

AL West: Angels
I love the way this organization is run. Pitching, speed, defense…this is a baseball fan’s kind of team. It seems like they’re always one bat away from being an elite team, but I think they’re built for October as is. And who knew that the Mariners would be this competitive? I sure didn’t see that one coming. I guess you’re a lot smarter than we thought, Bill Bavasi.

AL Wild Card: Red Sox
All right, well, I can’t be right about all of ’em. This should be a pretty good race between the Indians, Mariners and Yanks. If I had to pick one, I’m going with New York.

NL East: Phillies
I admitted from the get go that this division was wide open and I was right. I suppose the Phillies have a Phigtin’ chance here, but I’m willing to modify my pick here. The team I like the most here is Atlanta. Their lineup is as solid as anybody’s 1-7 (although they make up for it by inexplicably playing Julio Franco at 1B more than they should). Smoltz and Hudson give them a pretty formidable 1-2 punch atop the rotation. If they can somehow acquire another arm, I think they’ll be set (although in order to do so, they’ll likely have to part with Salty).

NL Central: Brewers
Some scoffed when I picked the Brew Crew to win the NL Central. But they’ve proven they’re here to stay since storming out of the gates strong in April and May. Not to go all Nostradamus on you, but here’s what I said before the season:

Look for big things from Corey Hart, a multi-tool outfielder who Yost loves. This team has a great blend of veteran depth and youthful hunger. The biggest question will be whether or not Ben Sheets can finally stay healthy. If so, it could be a good year for the Beer-makers.

Looks like I was right about Hart. And, predictably, Ben Sheets has gotten hurt (again). The difference maker for the Brewers might be Yovanni Gallardo, who’s taken Sheets spot in the rotation. The kid is lights out. This might be the beginning of a run of division titles in Milwaukee.

NL West: Padres
I went oppo here as well, picking San Diego over Los Angeles. Although the Fathers are slipping somewhat, they’re still only a game or so back from the Dodgers. With the kind of pitching they have, I fully expect them to be in this thing until the end. For the record, I picked the Dodgers to win the NL Wild Card, so I can take credit for their success, too!

Well, there you have it. Just for the record, that’s 3 division leaders I picked outright (Milwaukee, Detroit, Anaheim) and 3 other clubs that are definitely in the hunt (Boston, San Diego, Los Angeles). But who’s counting, right?!