Upon things to be Glad For

Despite strong performances in the face of adversity, the Yankees and Mets are perhaps the two least surprising division leaders in baseball as teams enter June. Many NL pundits had the remodeled Mets in first, but few thought Cincinnati and Arizona would be there with them. The Texas Rangers have overachieved with their primarily offensive club, and after one-third of a season the Detroit Tigers will not go away in the AL Central. This early baseball season has provided many great stories, which I want to address before the gathering steroid/HGH storm descends.


New York Baseball Part 1- Subway Series II?-

The 2000 World Series brought many New York old-schoolers back to the days of the Yankees, Giants, and Dodgers. The final 4 games to 1 outcome overshadowed one of the better and more closely contended Series in recent memory.

This season, the Yankees and Mets possess nearly identical records (35-23 NYY, 36-23 NYM), and both have hopes of representing their league in the big show. The Mets took the first set of interleague games 2-1, and could have swept the Bombers absent an implosion from Billy Wagner. Look to the next series in the Bronx for some pre 4th of July fireworks. The health of the Yankees and the durability of an as-yet unproven Mets squad will determine if another cross-town showdown is in the cards for October.

New York Baseball Part 2- Young Guns, Old Guard-

The combination of youth and experience is alive and well on both sides. Tom Glavine and Pedro are keeping the Mets on top, with Glavine continuing a strong second-half of 2005 with a stellar start to 2006. Julio Franco is 47 years old and playing on another first-place ball club, which needs no further explanation. On the young side, David Wright is a star, Jose Reyes is exciting, and Lastings Milledge has a buzz around him that we haven’t seen in a while (though I’m not sold on him).

In the Bronx, while Randy Johnson continues to run hot and cold, Mike Mussina is rolling and Bernie Williams has filled in on this MASH-unit and made things happen. Melky Cabrera is working to make people forget his appearances in 2005, and things like pulling a Manny Ramirez HR back in the yard will go a long way toward doing that.

Strong teams are built on successful combinations of young bodies and veteran savvy, and the NY squads have both.


The Tigers Earn Stripes-

Perrennial laughing-stock and cellar dwellers Detroit have surprised nearly everyone by surging to baseball’s best record, and sustaining it. Recent games against the Yankees, Red Sox, and defending champ Chicago have brought them back to Earth a bit, but they were in all of those games, and a wild card does not seem out of the question. The young arms they have stockpiled (Verlander, Zumaya, Bonderman) have finally come around, and Kenny Rogers is having great season under the radar. Skipper Jim Leyland has baseball fans hoping in Detroit for the first time in a while. We’ll see if they can continue to play over their heads, and hold off a more talented White Sox squad.


The Merciful End of the Bonds-a-thon-

The TV show has been pulled, 715 has come and gone, and we aren’t subjected to a cut away for every at-bat. I wonder if Ruth looked this done at the end, dragging his broken down frame around the bases and hobbling out in the field.

The Return of Jason Giambi-

I know it may wind up being HGH, but Giambi is a major ballplayer again, proving that his unbelieveable July from last year was not a fluke. The Yankees offensive MVP so far in my opinion.

Bronson Arroyo says "Wily Mo this!"-

Traded from the Sox for some supposed insurance in the lineup, all Arroyo has done is go crazy in Cincy, both on the mound and even more surprisingly at the dish. he is hitting HR, winning games for a streaking Reds club, and probably still playing in his terrible rock cover-band. The Red Sox got Wily Mo Pena, who rarely hits like Ortiz, but often fields like him. Their supposed plethora of pitching, which made Bronson Arroyo "expendable", has been anything but solid after 1 and 2. The only negative is Arroyo's insistence on the white-guy corn rows.

While the name Jason Grimsley threatens to cast another cloud on the game, I am happy with what I have seen so far from Major League Baseball. Stay tuned for my “other” list, which will detail things we as fans could do without this season.(It does promise to be longer)