This week's column will deal mostly with what teams are hot and cold right just because there are so many that fall under those categories right now. There is one team, however, that seems to fall under one of those two categories nearly every week. The Baltimore Orioles have already made appearances in several columns this year for a multitude of reasons. Now they're making an appearance because I have no idea what to think of them. They always seem to be on a streak of some sort but they never relinquish their post at second place in the AL East. Despite a -47 run differential, bad starting pitching, and a pretty average offense; the O's keep chugging away. But who knows? Maybe they'll have fallen to last place by next week, that's the way the Orioles have operated this year.
Five Hottest Teams:
New York Yankees: I hate to beat a dead horse but the Yankees have been really, really, good since Mid-May. In fact, they're 36-16 since then even with losses in the last three games. C.C's return is huge but Pettitte's fate is uncertain, Gardner may not be back for the rest of the year, and worst of all; Joba could return soon. Yikes. But the Yankees do have the benefit of having a rotation in which all five guys are pitching well, a solid bullpen, a lights out closer, and apparently some awesome German stem cells for their bench players(Jones, Ibanez, Chavez, Wise). They might just be hot for the rest of the year. Unless of course Joba returns.
Detroit: It appears as though I, among many, wrote off the Tigers just a little bit too soon. They've now won 11 of 13 and are fighting with Chicago for supremecy in the AL Central. The trio of Miguel Cabrera, Austin Jackson, and Prince Fielder is as good as any trio in the league, Justin Verlander has been brilliant as always, and the rest of the staff(Porcello, Fister) has shown improvement of late. The Tigers seem to be coming into their own lately and they might be legitimate World Series contenders. If two of the three of Porcello/Fister/Scherzer are on for the playoffs the Tigers are as dangerous as anyone. This is, of course, assuming Verlander is on. Pretty safe assumption to make I'd say.
Oakland: The A's have won 13 of their last 15 and are legitimately in the race for the second wild card spot now. All this with the AL's worst offense. Lucklily they also have the AL's best pitching staff. They're having trouble at the 5th starter spot but once they get McCarthy back it might not matter. The A's may finally have to change their tune at the deadline though. The perennial sellers may need to grab a bat or two if they want a chance at competing in October.
Cincinatti:The Reds have won 10 of 12 to retain control of the suddenly competitive NL Central. However, the Joey Votto injury has put somewhat of a damper on any excitement surrounding this recent streak. They were already going to need to trade for a bat at the deadline but now they're absolutely forced to. This is offense is simply not good enough to compete for a World Series without Votto returning AND another big bat in the line-up. Look for the Reds to make a move within the next ten days.
Three Coldest Teams:
New York Mets: The Mets are finally making their long anticipated trip back to Earth as they've lost 11 of the last 15. Much of this has to do with the putrid post-no hitter performance of Johan Santana (3-5, 6+ e.r.a). Niese and Dickey have been solid but they simply don't have a good enough offense behind David Wright to win. There is not much the Mets can do to stop simple, old regression to the mean. This was going to happen at some point, they had to know it
Houston: Ah so we find ourselves in the same spot as last year. Houston is again, by far, the worst team in baseball. How bad are they? They were the first team to crack the elusive -100 run differential, they've won only 12 of the last 50, and their best player is some guy named Jose Altuve. Despite a respectable start(22-23), the Astros are threatening to be the first team in eight years to lose 110 games. It's not all bad though; teams have had success after grabbing the top pick in multiple years(Tampa Bay, Washington). It's all about the distant future now for the Astros.
Kansas City: The Royals are about as cold as a franchise can get. For starters they've lost seven of the last ten. More importanly however Eric Hosmer hasn't impressed at all (.226/.296/.359), four of their staring pitchers are having Tommy John surgery, and they were harshly criticized for the fan's booing of Robinson Cano and other players. The season was already a wash so it's not a huge deal but the Hosmer situation has to be unsettling. Especially for a franchise that is starting to be considered the least relevant/biggest perennial doormat in baseball.
That's it for this week, Stay Hungry My Friends.
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