For the first time since I started writing an MLB Weekly Review, there was not one single no hitter this week. However, in a possibly stranger twist, RA Dickey is pitching like Sandy Koufax lately. He seems to be a bit of a pitching hipster. You see instead of going the normal no hit route, Dickey seems to fancy the one-hitter as he's thrown two consecutive one hit games. In addition, he hasn't allowed an earned run in over a month. Yes that's right....a month(40+ innings). He's now 11-1 with a 2.00 era, a .87 whip and over 100 strikeouts. To put this in perspective 11 wins is Dickey's career high, he's only finished one season with an era lower than 3 (2.84 in 2010), and only had four complete games prior to this year(three already this year). He's 37 years old and he's never been an all star; in Texas in 2006 he was sent to the minors after ONE appearance and never made it back to the majors that year or the next. He spent all of 2007 in the minors at the age of 32. But none of this matters now. Because after a few years of bouncing around, RA Dickey is the best pitcher in baseball.
While All eyes are on young star/phenom/world hunger ender Bryce Harper, a young man by the name of Mike Trout is putting up ....(looking around for Harper fans) ....better numbers. The 20 year old Angels call up is second in the AL with a .338 batting average. The center fielder also boasts a .402 OBP and a .942 OPS. No disrespect to Harper but Trout is a hair better than him at the moment.
It looks like it's shaping up to be a hell of an NL MVP race this year. Not only are former MVPs Joey Votto and Ryan Braun having stellar seasons; perrenial all stars such as David Wright and Andrew McCutchen are as well. What's really making the race interesting though is the emergence of Carlos Ruiz, the return to form of Carlos Gonzalez, and the fact that Melky Frigin Cabrera is this good. I'll have a hell of a time figuring out who to pick for my mid season report just as the writers will this fall.
Hot Teams
Texas: After a late spring slump and an appearance in this column's not so hot section; the Texas Rangers appear to be back to form. They've won seven in a row and ten of the last eleven. Roy Oswalt looked sharp in his debut which could be huge for the team. If Oswalt can be counted on, they have four legitimately good starters to go to war with in October. In addition they have a solid bullpen anchored by reliable closer Joe Nathan. Then of course they have the best offense in baseball which should only get better as Josh Hamilton gets over his virus. Perhaps they were forgotten a bit quickly.
New York Mets: Bolstered by the brilliance of knuckleballer RA Dickey, the Amazins are staying in the NL East race and making many analysts (including myself) eat their words. My only worry as a Mets fan would be regression to the mean. How long can Lucas Duda, RA Dickey, and Jon Niese keep this effort up? Even David Wright is certain regress even just a bit. Good news though, they finally climbed over the positve run differential barrier.
Not so Hot Teams
Chicago White Sox: After a 6-12 skid, the Sox have fallen out of first place in the less than intimidating AL Central. While Chris Sale and Jake Peavy are still performing admirably, they are struggling to find anyone beyond that. Even the formerly perfect Phillip Humber has been abysmal. The sox may deal one of their many bats or prospects for an arm at the deadline. Otherwise they have no shot at the playoffs.
Tampa Bay: Although the Rays have suffered throught a mild 3-7 skid, it's not a good sign when one of the best pitching staffs in baseball can't win. A rash of injuries has rendered the offense nearly useless and it seems as though they haven't been able to buy a run recently. It doesn't help that the Yanks and O's seemingly can't be beaten recently either. In more bad news, Evan Longoria suffered another setback in his rehab. Could a team with this good of a pitching staff and manager really miss the playoffs?
Look for the mid-season report soon and Stay Hungry My Friends.
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