With the Yankees exacting a heavy price of payback for the Royals which now includes three straight losses, the American League Central race is getting tighter by the moment. Combined with the White Sox return home which has resulted in three consecutive victories and two consecutive victories by the Minnesota Twins, only .004 percentage points now separate these three teams from first place:
Just so the excitement stays hot, the Royals now open a four game series in the comforts of the Metrodome in what could be, for one of these two teams, a decisive series for the season. The Royals have a slight advantage, having taken 9 of 16 of the earlier matches against the Twins, but the two teams are split evenly in Minnesota, 3 wins and 3 losses apiece. The Twins outscored the Royals 27-12 last weekend while taking two-of-three at Kauffman Stadium.
After last night's close-but-no-cigar last minute rally, the Royals are now 2-13 in Yankee Stadium over the last four years. They could be like the Red Sox and blame some Babe Ruth guy whose been dead for over 50 years but the Royals could always point instead to their starting pitchers, who allowed 20 earned runs and 24 hits in just 14 1/3 innings during this series. Let's say that again, just for fun: Royals starting pitching: 12.59 ERA.
How does it look against the Twins? The Royals are just 3-8 against the White Sox and Twins since the All-Star break.
Rogers has won his last two starts. He had one of his strongest outings of the season against Kansas City on Aug. 15, allowing one run (none earned) and two hits with seven strikeouts in eight innings. Rogers has pitched at least seven innings in each of his last three starts. Paul Abbott, KC's fading hope, is 0-0 with a 11.17 ERA and 4-2, 6.15 lifetime vs. Twins.
Will the Royals have the AL's Rookie of the Year? Since May 6, Shortstop Angel Berroa has a .317 batting average. He has also settled down in the field, enjoying a 49-game errorless streak. That was the longest streak for a rookie shortstop in the Majors since Kevin Elster had a 61-game streak in 1988.
Meanwhile, out in Chicago, Esteban Loaiza's earned his 16th victory of the season in a 5-3 win over Anaheim which matches Toronto's Roy Halladay for the American League lead. Of Loaiza's 26 starts, 22 have been "quality starts" of at least six innings with a yield of no more than three runs. The 84.6 percent mark is the best in the majors. The White Sox, in first place for the third time this season, are going to get a chance to redeem their humiliating 3 game sweep at the hands of the Rangers of Texas who have now won 8 in a row. "We owe something to them," White Sox shortstop Jose Valentin said. Even after blanking the Tigers on Wednesday, the Rangers' team ERA of 5.70 is by far the worst in the league.
Some Hot Sox to keep an eye on: reliever Tom Gordon has pitched 4 2/3 innings in his last five outings and hasn't given up a run. Mark Buehrle, who will pitch Saturday against the Rangers, is only 1-1 in his last 3 starts but has a 2.24 ERA and has struck out 12 while walking only 2 over the last 24 innings pitched.
NL Central Spin and Rinse
Things are just about as tight in the NL Cental as the AL Central after the Cubs, led by savior Mark Prior, beat the Astros down in Houston, 6-0 to move within a half-game of first place. Since going on the disabled list, Prior is 4-0 and has allowed only two runs in 31 innings. He command has been sensational, as he has struck out 29 while walking only three. He allowed only three of 26 Houston hitters to reach three-ball counts.
Is this GM Jim Hendry a genius, or what? Sausage beater Randall Simon is hitting .500 with a homer and 4 RBIs in 10 at-bats since he joined the Cubs. Then, Tony Womack, who I whose pick-up I was ridiculing only yesterrday, had a three-hit in his first Cubs start. Aramis Ramirez, another Hendry pick-me-up, had a two-run homer last night and while he's only hitting .250, he's provided punch to the lineup with 6 homers and 16 RBIs in 25 games with the Cubs. That translates to 39 homers and 104 RBIs over a full season.
Maybe, as Mike Downey notes, with recent trades to Pittsburgh for Ramirez, Simon and Kenny Lofton, they should be called the Chicago Pirates. That trio, since joining the Cubs, have hit a collective .282 with 8 homers and 28 RBIs over 195 at-bats. It isn't Cooperstown, but it isn't Mudville, either.
Playing their final game against the Astros this season, Kerry Wood will take the mound for the Cubs. Wood had to exit his last start early because of a sore back. However, he says he expects to make this start. The right-hander, who leads the Major Leagues with 203 strikeouts, is 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA against the Astros, so this euphoric proximity to the NL Cental lead may be short-lived. Wood's second-half performance is troubling. He was 9-6 with a 3.19 ERA in the first half and is 2-3 with a 5.11 ERA since the All-Star break. Sadly for Cubs fans, Mark Prior can't pitch every game.
Doesn't Anybody Want the NL Wildcard?
How do the Phillies lose two in a row to the Milwaukee Brewers by a 16-5 margin?
How do the Marlins lose two in a row to the Colorado Rockies by a 19-5 margin?
The Marlins might be partially excused since they're playing in Coors Field but they have now lost back-to-back games to open a road series for the first time since they were swept at Montreal on May 22. Is the glass half empty or half full? They could have picked up two games and be ahead of the Phillies by 1 1/2 games after the Phillies two recent unexpected losses to Milwaukee. Instead they remain a half game back.
Philadelphia manager Larry Bowa offered a simple explanation for why his team is on the verge of getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers, a team that is 25 games under .500 and mired in last place in the NL Central Division,
"We didn't hit well and we didn't pitch well," he said. "They hit well and they pitched well. That pretty much sums up the game."
Hmmm. Why didn't I think of that?
Why Are Crappy Teams Suddenly So Good?
If you factor out the pathetic Detroit Tigers who couldn't even beat the pathetic 1962 Mets in a Fallen Classic, the last place teams in each division (NY Mets, Milwaukee, San Diego, Tampa Bay and Texas) have gone a collective 30-20 over their last 50 games.
Meanwhile, if you factor out the 8-2 Yankees from the list of first place teams, the rest of the first place squads, (KC, Seattle, Atlanta, Houston and San Francisco) have gone a collective 22-28 over their last 50 games.
So how come the last place teams are doing so well and the first place teams are so, well, mediocre?
Is it the influx of exciting new talent called up from the minors by teams with no chances for the playoffs, no expectations and no pressure? Is it a general apathy felt by better teams when squaring off against their weaker brethren now that a secure pattern of winning and losing has been established? Or is it the Sports Amnesia Principle which states that in hot months, youthful enthusiasm beats seasoned talent when divided by the square root of a lack of pressure.
It's Official: The Red Sox Tailspin Has Begun In Earnest
One minute you're watching the game and the Red Sox are ahead of the A's at home by what appears to be a comfortable 6-2 margin. You think to yourself, oh, the Red Sox are such demons at home, this one is in the bag and the AL Wildcard race is tied again.
EHHHHHHHNNNNN!
The A's scored 4 runs off of Red Sox "closer" Byung-Hyun Kim in the 8th as the bullpen suffered yet another catastrophic meltdown and the A's won 8-6 to pull two games ahead of the Red Sox for the AL Wildcard.
Hear This: It might as well be TWO HUNDRED games ahead of the Red Sox because this was it. This confirms the suspicions, this begins the annual funeral march, this is the final straw, the fork stuck in.
The Red Sox are Finished.
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