-It was that time of year again for baseball fans, inter-league baseball. It is a time when the American League gets their chance to take on the National League, creating debate over who is the better league, and which of the two will be represented by the next World Series Champions. The week was about how teams would manage with the DL spot, and how some would do without it. However, this week was not just about AL vs. NL, it was about stories of rejuvenation, a near no hitter, and further proof that the 2012 season will be nothing like 2011. So without further delay let's get to the Week 8 Action.
Cy Young of the Week:
Justin Verlander SP, Detroit Tigers
9 IP, 1 Hit, 2 BB's, 12 K's
-It was an incredible week for 2011 MVP and Cy Young and Tigers SP Justin Verlander. After 7 strong innings of 1 run ball last Sunday against the Athletics, Verlander nearly became the 6th pitcher ever to have 3 or more no hitters (Nolan Ryan has 7). On Friday Night against the Pirates, Verlander took a no hitter into the 9th, before Pirates 3B Josh Harrison hit a shallow single to center to ruin Verlanders chance at history. Despite falling just 2 outs short of his 3rd career no-no Verlander threw a complete game shutout allowing the lone hit, while striking out 12. It was a remarkable outing for a Tigers team that is looking for any help they can get, in a season that has fell very short of expectations.
Slugger of the Week:
Andrew McCutchen CF, Pittsburgh Pirates
.360 BA, 4 HR's 8 RBI's, 3 BB's
-After a very slow start to the season All Star CF Andrew McCutchen is starting to heat up and it couldn't come at a better time. McCutchen has smashed the ball as of late with 5 HR's in his past 10 games after going all of April without 1 big fly. His success has correlated with the Pirates improving their play as of late, and will do big favors as McCutchen will try to be voted into the All Star game this season, after making it in last year as an injury replacement. After signing a big contract extension this off season, the Pirates have to be in love with their future in CF.
Gold Glove Play of the Week:
This weeks Gold Glove play of the week goes to Vernon Wells.
On Thursday in the 8th Inning against the White Sox with a runner on 2nd. White Sox 2B Gordon Beckham thought he had just sent his 4th Home Run of the year into the Angels bullpen, then this happened. Vernon Wells robs Beckham of HR this incredible robbery by Wells showed everyone that even at the age of 33, he can still make the amazing play every once in awhile. While the Angels did go on to lose this game, this is definitely the Gold Glove play of the week.
Power Rankings:
1.) Los Angeles Dodgers (28-13):
-The Dodgers continue to play great baseball even without their MVP CF Matt Kemp. After a CG Shutout by Clayton Kershaw Saturday Night, it appears this team has both the pitching and the hitting to go far in 2012.
2.) Baltimore Orioles (27-15)
-While many will continue to look skeptical at the Orioles sizzling start and anxiously await for them to come crashing down I'm not one of them. Thanks to young stars Matt Weiters and Adam Jones this is a team on the rise and ready to contend in the AL East.
3.) Atlanta Braves (26-16):
-The Braves stay hot for two weeks in a row as they rise atop the Nationals in the NL East. Thanks to a Cy Young start from Brandon Beachy (5-1 1.33 ERA) and an excellent bullpen led by closer Craig Kimbrel, this team is ready to contend for the World Series.
4.) Texas Rangers (26-16):
-Josh Hamilton has started to cool down, but the Rangers offense remains 1st in all of baseball. Led by Yu Darvish as their Ace, this Rangers team is prepared to go to the World Series for a 3rd consecutive year, this time with a different result/
5.) Tampa Bay Rays (25-17):
-After slowing down the past 2 weeks the Rays are heating up again as the return date of slugger Evan Longoria gets closer. The offense has been led by Matt Joyce, but it has been the trio of David Price, James Shields, and Jeremy Hellickson that have been the reason for the Rays rise back into the Top 5.
6.) Washington Nationals (24-17):
-The Nationals had an outstanding start t the season, but after this week have cooled down a little bit, splitting 2 game series with the Padres and Pirates, and dropping a 3 game series to the Pirates over the weekend. The injuries of Wilson Ramos, Jayson Werth, and Drew Storen have caught up to them a bit, but the still remain only .5 a Game back of Atlanta.
7.) Cleveland Indians (23-18):
-After a strong start to the 2011 season the Tribe are back at it again in 2012. Thanks to great starts by 2B Jason Kipnis and Asdrubal Cabrera the Indians offense has looked unstoppable lately. But the real story is castoff Derek Lowe who after being given away by the Braves in the off season is 2nd in the AL in ERA (2.15).
8.) Toronto Blue Jays (23-19):
-Uh Oh! Joey Bats is back at it again with that swing of his and now has 8 HR's already in the month of May. EVen he is being shadowed though by the surging Brandon Morrow who was simply brilliant in his last start tossing a 3 hit Shutout. This Blue Jays team is for real and should remain in the playoff race all year long.
9.) Miami Marlins (22-19):
-The Marlins have to like the direction they are headed after splitting a 2 game series in Atlanta they went into Cleveland against a scorching Indians team and put out the fire taking the 3 game series. Who ever would have guessed though that their best pitcher would be Carlos Zambrano with a /96 ERA, give it up to
"Big Z"
10.) Cincinnati Reds (21-19):
-No the Reds aren't in first place but right now they look like the best team in the NL Central. All Star 1B Joey Votto is heating up as the Reds continue to make up ground on the Cardinals and are now .5 a game back. Now let's see how the flamethrower, Aroldis Chapman will do as the new Closer.
11.) New York Mets (22-19):
-The Mets finally are starting to cool down but 3B David Wright isn't. Wright has posted a .535 OBP in May, and if he can stay healthy we may have the David Wright of old back. If Wright continues to stay hot and the Mets fall further, his name will start to pop up in Trade Rumors.
12.) New York Yankees (21-20):
-Andy Pettitte is back and picked up his first win since he his retirement in 2010. Pettitte threw 8 shutout innings against the Reds, and may have given the Yankees the No.4 pitcher they have needed for some time. If Pettitte can keep it rolling, and CC pitches like CC this Yankees team will finally have the pitching to win it all.
13.) St. Louis Cardinals (22-19):
-Down go the Cardinals dropping 5 spots in the Rankings this week. This team continues to have issues staying healthy with the latest victim being Lance Berkman after begin 100% last season. This years Cardinals team is just an example of how hard it can be to repeat.
14.) San Francisco Giants (21-20)
-Sitting at a game above .500 it will come as a surprise to everyone that the Giants worst pitcher right now is Tim Lincecum. While they sit above .500 with every other starter when Lincecum is on the hill the team has gone 2-7. Wether or not the issue has to do with an injury, mechanics or is just a mental problem has yet to be determined, but the struggles have gone on far to long for Bruce Bochy and Co.
15.) Philadelphia Phillies (21-21):
-Despite all the injuries the Phillies are starting to come back and it isn't Roy Halladay leading them it is Cole Hamels. Hamels is 1st in the Majors in Wins (6) and 4th in Strikeouts (58) as he looks to show off his talents before he hits Free Agency next year. This is a good Phillies team and will be even better when they get their sluggers back.
16.) Boston Red Sox (20-21):
-Here comes Bobby V and the Red Sox shooting up the Power Rankings. The Bo Sox have been helped by recent Quality Starts by Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, and Felix Doubront as they can finally rely on their rotation for the first time all season. The Red Sox are still far out from first but should get right back into things when Ellsbury gets back.
17.) Chicago White Sox (21-21):
-The White Sox are winning again and have found their way back to .500 baseball. After a series sweep against the crosstown rival Cubbies, the White Sox now head back home with another great chance to win a series against the Twins. The reason behind the Sox success can be credited to Jake Peavy after dealing with constant injuries in previous seasons he is 5-1 on the year and looks like he is back in Cy Young form.
18.) Oakland Athletics (21-21):
-After sitting above .500 last week the Athletics have since dropped back to .500 after a 3-4 road trip in Arlington and San Francisco. The biggest storyline for the A's isn't in Oakland however, as Manny Ramirez is getting some time in AAA Sacramento before he makes his return to baseball in June.
19.) Detroit Tigers (20-21):
-How far can this Tigers team fall before we all start to wonder if this whole off season plan was an utter failure. Detroit now stands at a game below .500 and Justin Verlander has been the only bright spot in the team's rotation. While the Tigers will bounce back, they have to do it sooner rather then later.
20.) Pittsburgh Pirates (19-22):
-The Pirates live and die by the play of Andrew McCutchen and that showed this week when McCutchen had multi HR games Thursday against the Nationals and Saturday at the Tigers. The Pirates won both games but lost the 3 game series to the Tigers, and walked away with a 2 game split against the Nationals. They may not have much hope for team success in 2012, but at least fans can enjoy the great play of their star CF.
21.) Arizona Diamondbacks (19-23)
-The Diamondbacks are starting to get healthy with Chris Young now back from a shoulder injury suffered earlier, and Daniel Hudson expected to make his return to the rotation next week. As this team starts to get all their guys back, they should steadily begin the climb back into the NL West race.
22.) Seattle Mariners (19-24)
-The Mariners started off the week getting swept by the Red Sox on Indians on the road, but a trip to Coors Field did wonders for that losing streak. The Mariners offense exploded in the 3 game series for a total of 20 Runs, while only giving up 7. Now the Mariners head back home where they will face a true test with a 3 game series against the Rangers, followed by a 4 game series against the Angels.
23.) Houston Astros (18-23)
-The Astros have slowly slid back into mediocrity again as they struggle to find a consistent lineup or rotation. The lone bright spot on this team is their bullpen, but on a team that rarely holds leads, a good bullpen doesn't factor into games very often.
24.) Milwaukee Brewers (17-24)
-The Brew Crew looked like they were in for an ugly sweep by the Twins, until Sunday when their offense exploded in a 16-4 thrashing. Their offense has seen a balanced attack from Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy, but it hasn't been enough as they are still 7 games below .500. A series at home vs. San Francisco may be the spark their rotation needs though to get it back in gear.
25.) Los Angeles Angels (18-24)
-The only story worth noting on this team is heralded rookie Mike Trout (.355 BA/4 HR's/11 RBI's/6 SB's) has been the lone spark on this offense. As for Albert Pujols he has fewer HR's then Trout, and has played 2x as many games.
26.) Kansas City Royals (16-24)
-The week started off great for Kansas City, sweeping a short 2 game series against the Rangers, but things went downhill from there. The team headed to Baltimore where they lost another 2 game series to the Orioles at home, only to follow it up with a series loss to the Diamondbacks. This is a young Royals team, but has already dealt with plenty of injuries this season to their rotation.
27.) San Diego Padres (16-26)
-What's the best way to get over a tough loss, go and take a 3 game trip against the Angels at home. That's what the Padres did this week. After dropping the first game the Padres won the next to contest winning both games 3-2, including a walk off win on Sunday. The bad news for the Padres is their rotation is going down one by one with Cory Luebke, Tim Stauffer, Joe Weiland, and Dustin Moseley all on the DL for an extensive amount of time, they now have to find stop gap replacements quickly.
28.) Minnesota Twins (14-27)
-Hey how about them Twins! After looking like a AA team for most of the season they have started winning games and may have shown a slight glimpse of a Major League team. Now the next test all be facing a White Sox team on a 4 Game Wining Streak. Can the Twins pass the test, let's find out.
29.) Colorado Rockies (15-25)
-The Rockies continue to roll down the hill of mediocrity, at no fault of Carlos Gonzalez. Gonzalez is playing like an All Star with 8 HR's, 32 RBI's and a .302 BA. If only the Rockies pitchers could pitch like regulars, this team might have a chance to contend in the West.
30.) Chicago Cubs (15-26)
-After looking like kryptonite to playoff caliber teams last week, it was the Cubs who came stumbling down the hill. Losers of 6 straight games the Cubs biggest highlight this week came when Kerry Wood made his final appearance in front of a cheering crowd Wood came in and struck out Dayan Viciedo on 3 pitches. It was a great moment for Wood, and every fans in the stands but served as the only highlight of the week.
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