Last season, the San Diego Padres jumped out to great start, going 15-8 in April, prompting questions like: “Are they for real?” and “Can they remain in first all year?”Well, the answers were, yes, they were for real, and no, they feel one game short.
Again, it’s April and we have some surprises.
Baltimore was a surprise at 6-1, but now at 6-8, they are just the Orioles again.
The Indians (11-4), Royals (10-5) and the Rockies (12-3) are surprises, as well. (And who would have thought the top two teams in the AL Central would be Cleveland and Kansas City with a combined record of 21-9. The three “division contenders” — Detroit, Chicago and Minnesota all have losing records.
Still, despite their early season success, I just cannot see either the Royals or the Indians winning the AL Central. They do not have the starting pitching to do so. Their starters have been good enough to start the year, but I would not expect them to pull a Padres and lead all the way through September.
The Rockies, who have the best record in baseball, however, have a great chance to do it. I picked San Francisco — I bought into the hype late in spring training — to win the division, but I like what I’m seeing from Colorado.
The pitching staff has been great — and that’s with an injured/struggling Ubaldo Jimenez — ranking fifth in the NL in ERA with a 3.39. Not bad considering the media-dubbed “Best Staff Ever” in Philadelphia is sixth with a 3.44. Backing that pitching up in Colorado is the 10th-best defense with a .986 fielding percentage.
Also backing the pitching is one of the highest scoring offenses in baseball — fifth in the majors with 76 (5.4 per game).
As can be said for all the teams — whether they are in first or last place — there’s still plenty of time to turn things around.
But I definitely give the Rockies the best chance to win a division out of the surprising teams.
Other notes
The Jimmyjam Slammers made an excellent midseason deal last year, trading Jonathan Broxton and Carlos Silva to the Backward Ks for Jeremy Hellickson and Ricky Nolasco. Nolasco had a great second half and Hellickson has emerged at Tampa’s No. 2, meanwhile, Broxton fell apart and Silva was awful after his great 8-1 start.
Seems like the tables have turned this season. The Slammers traded Dan Haren and Jake Westbrook to the Backward Ks for Brian Wilson and Clayton Richard prior to the start of the season.
Wilson blew up in his first two outings and Dan Haren is 4-0 with a complete game shutout in the books.
This is the second time the Slammers have traded away Haren. The Slammers did the same prior to 2009, and Haren went on to start the All-Star Game and finish fifth in the Cy Young voting.
He’s on pace to have the same type of season — if not better — and the Slammers will miss out on it again. So, if in 2013 the Slammers offer you a deal that includes Dan Haren, it may be in your best interest to accept the deal.
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