Baseball Week #5: Manny and the Aftermath

In what has become a rather interesting year for baseball, given the economic climate and the surprise teams, this past week was marred by Manny Rameriez' suspension. I've already spoken about this topic and would rather not address it anymore. But I think what should be discusses is how this will affect baseball this season and beyond.

For the immediate, one can't help but wonder how this will affect the Dodgers. In my and other people's books, the Dodgers were a favorite to win the NL pennant. I think while they have a big lead now in a pretty dead division, it does give teams hope that they can close the gap on the Dodgers. The Dodgers will weather the storm because they were a pretty solid team without Manny anyway. But the psyche and how it will affect the Dodgers during the next 50 games. Not to mention the distraction afterwards. Just ask the Yankees (who aren't as good as we all suspected-with or without ARoid). I don't care what Manny has said or will say on the subject. He's a caught cheater who put his own selfish needs ahead of the team's. Plain and simple. And that's what all of these prima donnas have and will do.

Beyond this season, I think baseball needs to once again change their policies about illegal drug use. As I posted yesterday, they need to adopt a zero tolerance policy. Zero means zero. No exceptions. Baseball has been corrupt from top to bottom on this issue for many years. It's now time to take drastic action or baseball will be destroyed. For good.

Enough about that. On to happier topics. Like some surprises of the season so far. Like the Kansas city Royals. Maybe the kids are finally paying off. The Royals find themselves in first place and given the mediocrity of the AL Central, should hang in there for a while. Perhaps this is the team that replicates (sort of) what the Rays did last year. Toronto is another surprise. Maybe we should not be, given Cito Gaston is managing this ball club. But Toronto finds itself in first place in a rugged division. I'm not sure how long the Jays can hang, but with Roy Haliday as the horse, they stand a good chance. In the NL, St. Louis was not expected to contend, let alone be in first place. But given the Cubs issues, St. Louis (I told you so!!!!) will be in this race for the long haul.

Hunter Flops:

Many contenders this week, so lets not waste any time

-Mark Teixeira. .196 BA and only 6 HR. Maybe ARoid being back will help

-Brian Giles. remember how good he used to be? DFL among qualifiers with a .151 BA.

-Derrek Lee. .209 BA. Please go on the DL. Now. Before you wreck your health and the Cubs at the same time.

-BJ Upton. .165 BA. More flop than fantastic.

-David Ortiz. .221 BA and 1 HR. Think he misses Manny??

If you have a winning record, does that make you a flop? Bronson Arroyo, Jamie Moyer and Josh Beckett all have winning or .500 records and each has an ERA of 6.75 or higher.

-Oliver Perez. 9.97 ERA. Maybe the Mets need Pedro back ASAP.

-Cleveland. Now they almost have as bad a record as Washington. This year's version of Detroit.

-Oakland. I expected better than last place this year; some expected them to win.

-NY Yankees. This team has issues galore. Too many to print.

-Arizona. They were expected to contend; instead, they have flopped and fire their manager.

I almost want to put the Cubs on this list. They had depth issues (to me) going into the season. Now that Aramis Ramirez is out at least six weeks...or longer.., there's no great Plan B. Derrek lee has been hurt almost all year; Carlos Zambrano is on the DL as well. Milton Bradley is sucking badly. Yet the Cubs are a respectable 16-14, but a rough road lies ahead. Time to deal. It's not too late to save the season.

Enjoy Mother's Day!!

JP