As I mentioned in my previous column, I haven't been able to access the blog much because of some technological issues. Thus, my MLB columns have come to a screeching halt at the worst time possible. So here are my thoughts on much of what has happened in my absence.
In the last few weeks, the Nationals have gone from unlikely contender to World Series favorites. Now they've created quite a controversy for themselves by deciding to shut down golden child Steven Strasburg. You all know why they're doing it and you've heard everyone and their brother's position on the issue. But you probably haven't heard that Strasburg is 4th in e.r.a for Washington starters. You probably haven't heard that Washington now has the best one-two pitching punch in baseball with Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman. You probably haven't heard that the guy replacing Strasburg in the rotation (Ross Detwiler) has only allowed more than four runs in an outing once in his last 20 starts and has a lower e.r.a (3.15). After a slight bump in the road against Philly, the Nats have won eight of 10 and own a 6.5 game lead in the NL East. You probably haven't heard much about that either. Maybe you've heard of Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman or Adam LaRoche? They're the guys who are making the National's offense just as dangerous as it's pitching. Could it be that Strasburg's benching is....not that big of a deal? At least in terms of Washington's 2012 chances.
The addition of the second wild card team has caused the AL playoff picture to be as chaotic as it's been in years. Texas is the only team firmly in control of their own spot right now. It seems as though they have a solid grip on the AL West for the time being. The A's, Angels, Orioles, Rays, and Tigers are all fighting for the two wild card spots right now. But the Tigers are only two games back of the White Sox for the AL Central lead and the Orioles and Rays are hot on the Yankees trail for the AL East lead. The Yanks have made it easy thus far by refusing to win games and collapsing to the point where Baltimore winning the division is a serious possibility. How did this all happen? How can Baltimore be competing for a division lead with the Yankees? How can the Angels slip into obscurity while the A's lead the charge for a wild card spot? Moneyball and the Sabermetric/advanced stat revolution have changed baseball to the point where money really is no longer important. The luxury tax has also gone a long way to encourage clubs to reduce spending. Oh yeah and George Steinbrenner died. Overall clubs aren't going out of their way to build their teams on overpaid free agents anymore. Look what happened to the Red Sox and Phillies. They attained some success through the draft and shrewd free agent moves/trades. Then they decided that they needed to stay relevant in the national conversation (after all who wants to be the MLB's Spurs?) and signed their veterans to money they didn't deserve, traded key prospects for overrated veterans, and signed free agents to more money than they deserved. In 2012 they both fell apart before cleaning house to some degree. Luckily for the Red Sox, the Dodgers have decided to ignore the modern trend of team building and have opted to pay the GDP of a small country for an over the hill, washed up pitcher with a bad attitude and an even worse e.r.a, a left fielder who can't play until 2014 and is barely above replacement level when he does, and a slighly above average player who may or may not be past his prime. Yes, the Dodgers are shelling out over 50 million a year for the next few years for that. They might have so much money that it won't matter but I have to think ignoring the way the rest of the league operates seems a bit reckless.
While everyone's focused on Steven Strasburg and the Yankee's impression of the 2011 Red Sox (spot on by the way), the second best team in baseball is flying under the radar. The Cincinnati Reds are inching closer and closer to clinching a playoff spot each day as they hold a huge division lead (8.5 games). This comes just as first baseman Joey Votto is set to return from an injury that's kept him out for almost three months. This gives the Red's the best pitcher (Cueto), reliever (Chapman), and position player (Votto) in the National league. That's not to forget slugger Jay Bruce (32 home runs), rookie of the year candidate Todd Frazier (.288/.346/.538 line), Ryan Ludwick (a sneaky 25 home runs), and the old familiar Brandon Phillips. This team is far better than the average fan realizes. They're the only team in the NL with the pitching to match up with the Nationals AND the offense to give their own pitchers some leeway. Don't sleep on these guys.
Stay Hungry My Friends.
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