Baseball Season Winding Down

Our youthful obsessions, how hard it is to shed them! For much of my childhood and adolescence, and well into adulthood, I followed Major League Baseball avidly. Many testaments to this enthusiasm fill past pages of this blog, and although I haven't ceased watching professional baseball, my ardor has waned, especially after the revelations several years ago about the extensive use of performance enhancing drugs by a large number of players, including some, like the New York Yankees' superstar third baseball Álex Rodríguez, who had denied ever doping up.

Jason Heyward, St. Louis Cardinals

More than being disgusted at all these athletes, including the ones who repeatedly and consistently misled the public, I was most disgusted with and by Major League Baseball itself, and its handling of the crisis as it erupted over a series of several years. For much of the 1990s into the 2000s the pro teams had benefited from the juiced players and their almost superhuman feats. The Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run battle in 1998, when McGwire hit 73 home runs to Sosa's 66, was the unmistakeable epitome of how PEDs had turned already great players into transhuman freaks, but Major League Baseball, attempting to draw audiences back after a strike and aiming to bank as much money as possible, aided and abetted the timber show, only later to denounce the two "heroes" for what was now clearly a PED-fed spectacle. (I must add that as far as I know, Sammy Sosa, once one of my favorite players, was never caught using PEDs.)

Perhaps even worse, by 2010, Major League Baseball had clear results of positive tests among a wide array of players, but rather than either exposing them and fining them or accepting the fact that supervised cycling could be beneficial for players and the sport, it appeared to hide the results until they later emerged as the result of a lawsuit, rendering the sport as believable as the theatrics on display with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It has taken years for me to surmount my distaste for MLB's debacles, but my support for the St. Louis Cardinals never completely died, nor did my interest in pro baseball in general, which brings me to the current 2015 season, now winding to a close.

Dee Gordon, Los Angeles Dodgers

So what does the coming playoff picture look like? Let's start with the NL. In the NL East, the New York Mets (84-65) have a 6-game lead over the Washington Senators; in the NL Central, the Cardinals (93-56) lead Pittsburgh's Pirates (89-60) by 4 games and the Chicago Cubs (87-62) by 6 games, with 10 the Cards' magic number and the other two teams likely to achieve Wild Card status easily; and in the NL West, the LA Dodgers (85-63) lead their closest competitors by 7.5 games, with 7 the magic number.

Thus far the Cardinals have set the pace with strong starting pitching and a solid position-playing lineup without any stars, unlike in past years, when future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, and Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Chris Carpenter led them to 2 World Series wins in 5 years (2006 and 2011). All of these teams have real talent, though. The Mets have one of the best starting pitching staffs in the league; the Pirates have excellent young players; the Dodgers play more as individuals than a coherent whole, but have the pitching and hitting to go all the way. I'm rooting for the Cardinals, but whether they can get past all these challengers will be the test.

Chris Archer,
Tampa Bay Rays

In the American League, the East division leaders are the Toronto Blue Jays. Yes, the 85-64 Blue Jays, and not the Yankees. It's almost like a flashback to their 1992-1993 Cito Gaston years. The Yankees are only 2.5 games back, at 82-66, but have looked far less dominant than in recent years. In the AL West, which seems to be the perpetually weakest division, the Texas Rangers (80-69), who've had several continuous years of playoff success without winning the World Series, lead the Houston Astros (79-71) by 1.5 games. It's in the NL Central, though, where you can find the AL's real powerhouse, the Kansas City Royals (87-62). The Royals have a good but not dominant starting pitching staff, bolstered by the excellent Johnny Cueto acquisition from the Cincinnati Reds, but they do possess a punchy ineup and strong pitching relief.

It also has been 30 years (1985) since the Royals and Cardinals faced each other in the (in)famous "Interstate 70" series that involved a terrible umpiring call, the superb pitching of former Royals All Star Bret Saberhagen, and the only World Series appearance of Hall of Famer George Brett. That year the St. Louis Cardinals won 101 games and lost 61; this year they are grinding towards another 100 win season. The last two times they won 100 games, in 2004 and 2005, they lost the World Series to Boston and the National League Championship Series to Houston (now in the AL). In their recent World Series-winning seasons of 2006 and 2011, they had what appeared to be shaky records of 83-78 and 90-72. This is not to say that they cannot win the championship if they break the 100-win mark but I want to note that the last time they won the World Series in a season in which they won 100 games was 1967--and they had one of the greatest pitchers of all time, Bob Gibson, on the mound to defeat Boston in 7 games. However it goes, though, Cards, Royals, Yankees, Mets, or one of the other teams, I'll be watching!

***

Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs

The statistical leaders thus far, in a season that has included six no-hitters, by Chris Heston (SF) against the New York Mets; Max Scherzer (WAS) against the Pittsburgh Pirates; Cole Hamels (PHI) against the Chicago Cubs; Hisashi Iwakuma (SEA) against the Baltimore Orioles; Mike Fiers (HOU) against the LA Dodgers; and Jake Arrieta (CHC) against the Dodgers, and Zack Greinke's 45 2/3 innings scoreless streak:

AL Batting Leaders: Miguel Cabrera (DET) .338, Xander Bogaerts (BOS) .322, Michael Brantley (CLE) .315

AL Home Run Leaders: Chris Davis (BAL) 43, Nelson Cruz (SEA) 42, Mike Trout (LAA) 39

AL RBI Leaders: Jason Donaldson (TOR) 120, Chris Davis (BAL) 109, Kendry Morales (KC) 105

AL ERA Leaders: Dave Price (TOR) 2.42, Dallas Keuchel (HOU) 2.56, Sonny Gray (OAK) 2.72

AL Wins Leaders: "King Félix" Hernández (SEA) 18, Collin McHugh (HOU) 17, Dallas Keuchel (HOU) 17

AL Strikeout Leaders: Chris Sale (CWS) 259, Chris Archer (TB) 243, Corey Kluber (CLE) 224

NL Batting Leaders: Bryce Harper (WAS) .343, Dee Gordon (MIA) .332, Buster Posey (SF) .327

NL Home Run Leaders: Bryce Harper (WAS) 41, Nolan Arenado (COL) 39, Carlos González (COL) 37

NL RBI Leaders: Nolan Arenado (COL) 114, Paul Goldschmidt (ARI) 100, Matt Kemp (SD) 98

NL ERA Leaders: Zack Greinke (LAD) 1.65, Jake Arrieta (CHC) 1.96, Clayton Kershaw (LAD) 2.18

NL Wins Leaders: Jake Arrieta (CHC) 19, Zack Greinke (LAD) 18, Madison Bumgarner (SF) 18,

NL Strikeout Leaders: Clayton Kershaw (LAD) 272, Mike Scherzer (WAS) 237, Madison Bumgarner (SF) 219

Escobar's Slur, "Tu ere [sic]..." + MLB Playoffs Picture

Yunel Escobar (Flickr / james_in_to)

A little baseball news today. First: today Major League Baseball suspended Toronto Blue Jays infield Yunel Escobar, a Cuban native, for wearing eyeblack with a homophobic statement "TU ERE MARICON [sic]" during home game on Saturday night, September 15, 2012, against the Boston Red Sox. At a press conference today in New York City, Escobar apologized and claimed that he did not intend to offend, although there is probably no part of the Spanish-speaking world in which that phrase, "Tu eres maricón," which translates directly as "You are a f*ggot," would not be considered somewhat to extremely inappropriate.

Nevertheless, at the press conference he claimed in Spanish that "It was nothing intentional directed at anyone in particular. I have nothing against homosexuals. I have friends who are gay. I’m sorry for what happened and I can guarantee that this will not happen again in my career…I didn’t mean for this to be misinterpreted by the gay community." He added that the words were meant to be a joke and often used in baseball with no meaning.  He also asserted that they didn't have the same impact as the translation would in English, but joke or not, the latter assertion is nonsensical.

Escobar's antics might have passed unnoticed and uncommented by teammates, team management or fans had not Blue Jays season ticketholder James Greenhalgh, sitting near the dugout in Rogers Stadium, not snapped a shot of Escobar and posted it on his Flickr site. Thereafter fans and the media noted the phrase, posted the image and words and Twitter, and baseball's authorities eventually responded.

Blues Jays management will donate the $28,000 Escobar will lose during his suspension to You Can Play and The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). He will also participate in an outreach initiative to "to help educate society about sensitivity and tolerance to others based on their sexual orientation," though it strikes me he might benefit from some education about the impact of such terms, whether or not he has any "gay friends," as he claims he does, and whether or not the phrase is used regularly without any "meaning" in baseball, or wherever else he rolls.

+++

More generally, the season is winding towards its end, and instead of the usual suspects in the playoffs, this October could feature several new squads gaining airtime. In the American League, with 14 to 15 games left, the division leaders are the Texas Rangers (3 games ahead of the Oakland A's) in the West; the Chicago White Sox (3.0 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers) in the Central Division; and the New York Yankees just 0.5 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in the East. To put it another way, any of these six teams could end up division leaders, and any (as well as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) in a Wild Card slot too. The Rangers, the AL's best team last year and World Series losers to the Saint Louis Cardinals, have the best record at 87-60, but nearly the all the other top teams aren't far behind. I expect Texas to repeat as league champions, but it would be exciting to see Baltimore or Oakland in the Series, after their long absences.

In the National League, the Washington Nationals, the league's newest team and, in its earlier incarnation, a perennial also-ran, leads the East division by 6 games. In the Central Division, the Cincinnati Reds top the standings, with an 11 game lead over the Cardinals. In the West, the San Francisco Giants are nine games ahead of their next closest competitors, the Los Angeles Dodgers. As a result, the scramble really is for the Wild Card slots, and Atlanta, the Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Dodgers, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are all within 2 to 4 1/2 games of a berth. Although I have no deep affection for the Senators, I would love to see them make the World Series, especially if Baltimore were the AL pennant winner. On the other hand, a reprise of the 1989 earthquake-jolted series between San Francisco and Oakland. (Oakland won that matchup 4-0, though San Francisco beat Texas two years ago, 4 games to 1.) Chicago or Detroit vs. Cincinnati wouldn't be uninteresting either.

As for the Yankees and Cardinals, I wouldn't complain if either or both teams ended up in the Series, but fresh faces wouldn't be so bad for a change, and given that the Cardinals won just last year (and before that in 2006), and the Yankees won in 2009 (which meant that I was able to attend the celebration in Lower Manhattan), I can go a few years or so with other teams succeeding to the main stage.

NFL Roundup + Victor Cruz, Interviewed

Classes start on Wednesday, tomorrow are the Iowa caucuses, so I'll keep this post light.  The NFL season finished today, and the team I root for, the Saint Louis Rams, lost to the San Francisco 49ers 34-27 and finished last in their division and worst in the National Football Conference, tying the Indianapolis Colts with a 2-14 record for most abysmal in the NFL.  Known a decade ago as "The Greatest Show on Turf" for their high-octane offense, the Rams have turned into a hapless crew since 2006 and managed only 197 points in 2011 while upholding their longstanding reputation as lacking any defense whatsoever, allowing opponents to score 407 points against them. While this wasn't the most points allowed this season, it was the worst points for-points against differential in either league, and a sign of how awful the Rams play, how awful their coaching is, and how awful the management has been in drafting and signing talented players. 

Sam Bradford, Rams QB

This morning the Rams' owner Stan Kroenke, to the relief of Rams fans everywhere and the surprise of no one, fired the coach, Steve Spagnuolo, a supposed defensive specialist, and General Manager Billy Devaney, who had been in place respectively since 2009 and 2008. Spagnuolo's record in successive seasons was 1-15 (2009); 7-9 (2010); and this year's 2-14 (2011), despite having a talented young quarter, Sam Bradford, and an outstanding runningback in Steven Jackson. Over the three-year span, Spagnuolo and Devaney went 10-38, while under Devaney's watch the team went 12-52.  Leading candidates for the job include former Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, but without a complete and thorough assessment of why the Rams continually lag in certain areas, such as a strong offensive line, a credible defense, and special teams play, not even the best coach available is going to be able to do anything with this gang except take the field and collect a paycheck. Clean house, and pronto.

Making the playoffs this year were several perennials, and some newcomers. In the NFC, the top team was the Green Bay Packers, who finished 15-1, and led the Central Division. Other playoff NFC playoff teams include the East Division champion New York Giants (9-7); the North Division's runner-up team, the Detroit Lions (10-6); the South Division's champions, the New Orleans Saints (13-3) and runner-ups Atlanta Falcons (10-6), and the always-shaky West Division's champions 49ers, who went 13-3 this season.  In the AFC, the top team overall was, yet again, the East Division powerhouse New England Patriots (13-3). Yawn. Other playoff teams include the North Division's Baltimore Ravens (12-4), who finished with a record identical to--but on differentials slipped past--division rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4). Also making the playoffs in the North Division were the Cincinnati Bengals (9-7).  A surprising playoff team was this year's South Division winner, the Houston Texans, who finished 10-6, ahead of the Titans, Jaguars and Colts, any one of which is usually a playoff candidate. The final AFC playoff team is the 8-8 Denver Broncos, who are probably best known these days not for their play but for a single player, the ultradevout quarterback Tim Tebow, who managed to complete only 8 passes over the last two games, but will face Pittsburgh next because the Oakland Raiders lost to the San Diego Chargers.

The playoff picture thus looks like this:

AFC:
(1) Patriots
(2) Ravens
(6) Bengals at (3) Texans
(5) Steelers at (4) Broncos

NFC:
(1) Packers
(2) 49ers
(6) Lions at (3) Saints
(5) Falcons at (4) Giants

Saturday: Bengals at Texans (4:30 ET); Lions at Saints (8 ET)
Sunday: Falcons at Giants (1 ET); Steelers at Broncos (4:30)

Jan. 22: AFC championship (3 ET)
NFC championship (6:30 ET)

Feb. 5: Super Bowl XLVI at Indianapolis (6:30 ET)

My predictions: either the Packers or the Saints vs. New England, which means I hope the Packers or Saints win. Should it not be New England the Pittsburgh Steelers make it to the Super Bowl, I'll go with them.

+++

Here is one of this season's standout players, Victor Cruz, a native of Paterson, New Jersey, speaking with Marly Rivera of ESPNNewYork, in Spanish--and Spanglish, about his team, the New York Giants, and his career.  He was not a Giants fan growing up, nor was he a supporter of the Jets either.  His team: Dallas! His favorite player growing up? Michael Irving! Say it ain't so, Victor.  Rivera asks Cruz some very personal questions, including whether he'll name his soon-to-be-born child "Vincent," after the coach and the Super Bowl's Vince Lombardi trophy. Hello? He has another name in mind--you won't guess it, but a hint: it's one of the main streets running through Hudson County, and an iconic American president. Embedding has been disabled, so click on this link to see the video, and the incredible Mr. Cruz.

Baseball Update (Cards, Rays in Playoffs!)

Albert Pujols, at potentially his
final game at Busch Stadium
in St. Louis, September 25, 2011
(Ed Szczepanski/Getty)

I'll keep this simple, but let me first note that although I'm not a superstitious person (yet grew up around quite a few such folks), I did fear that if I blogged at all about the amazing late-season comeback of the St. Louis Cardinals, who'd some St. Louis-area media and fans by early August had considered failures, I would somehow jinx their surge. I know, it's utterly ridiculous, but I decided not to post until things had sorted themselves out, and now, here we are, on the final day of the regular season and what a remarkable turn of events has occurred. Yesterday the Cardinals, had made up the 10.5-game deficit they had on August 26 to tie Atlanta, the National League Wild Card slot leaders, and today St. Louis defeated the Astros today 8-0 behind a complete game shutout by former Cy Young Award-winner Chris Carpenter, while Atlanta lost in 13 innings to the Philadelphia Phillies, the NL East Division winners, to fall out of contention. The Cardinals will now face the Phillies starting on Saturday in a best-of-five series to see who heads to the NL League championship series. In the other NL playoff game, the Milwaukee Brewers, the surprise NL Central Division leaders, will face the NL West Division leaders, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Pujols with Philly and former Cardinal
Plácido Polanco at Citizens Bank
Park, Philadelphia, September 25, 2011
(Jim Redkoles/Getty)

As astonishing was the American League's parallel, in which the Tampa Bay Rays experienced a late-season surge and ended up tying the Boston Red Sox for the AL Wild Card slot. Today would determine either a winner or a playoff for the slot, and as Tampa Bay was poised to lose to the New York Yankees after being down 7-0, the Rays came back and won it in the 12-inning, defeating the Yankees 8-7. The Red Sox, a mainstream media favorite, had a 9-game lead over Tampa Bay on September 4, but thereafter stumbled, yet still had a chance at least to vie for a one-game playoff to make it into the post-season, yet their star reliever, Jonathan Papelbon, could not hold a 3-2 lead against the Baltimore Orioles, and lost the game 4-3. The Rays now face the AL West-leading Texas Rangers, a team rarely seen in the post-season, while the other matchup will pit the perennial champion New York Yankees, the AL East Division leaders, against the Detroit Tigers, who won the AL Central Division.

Pujols breaks his bat
against Chicago Cubs at
Busch Stadium, St. Louis
September 25, 2011
(Ed Szczepanski/Getty)

A few other notes: the Cardinals have unfortunately not yet signed one of the greatest players ever to grace one of their uniforms, Albert Pujols, a sure Hall of Famer, but he has again made a case for them to find the money to keep him. Pujols struggled early on and broke his non-catching hand mid-season, but returned to form by late July, and was trying to continue his career-long streak of at least 30 home runs, a .300 batting average, and 100 runs batted in. He finished the season, his 11th in the major leagues, with 37 home runs, a .299 average, and 99 runs batted in, just points below his empyrean standard. Thus far he has amassed a .329 lifetime batting average and a .617 slugging average, 445 home runs, 1329 runs batted in, and 975 walks. He is only 31. Since he joined the team in 2001 he has played a key role in every Cardinals post-season, including their World Series victory in 2006. They--the Cardinals, the wealthy DeWitt family that owns the team, their partners--must sign him if they want to remain competitive. Without him they'll be hard-pressed to keep up even with the middling teams in their division, let alone better teams across the league.

NY Mets shortstop José Reyes (r)
escorted back onto the Citi Field
lawn by teammate Willie Harris
Flushing, New York,
September 28, 2011 (Jim McIsaac/Getty)

A pitching rarity seems set to occur. Both the American League and the National League will have pitchers who will qualify for the pitching Triple Crown, which  comprising posting the highest win total, most strikeouts, and lowest earned run average. In the AL, Detroit's Justin Verlander posted 1970s-style numbers, going 24-5, the first pitcher to win so many games in decades, while striking out 250 (in 251 innings) and posting a 2.40 ERA. He allowed 0.92 walks and hits per inning pitched. Opposing batters hit only .091 against him. The next closest AL pitcher in wins was the Yankees' C. C. Sabathia, with 19. In the NL, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, only 4 years in the majors, went 21-5, tying Arizona Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy (21-4) for the highest win total, yet bested him by striking out 248 batters in 233.1 innings, with a 2.28 ERA. Kershaw allowed only 0.98 walks and hits per innings pitched, and opposing batters only hit .207 off him. Seldom to pitchers in either league achieve the Triple Crown; the last NL pitcher to achieve it was Jake Peavy, when he pitched for the San Diego Padres in 2007, while the last AL pitcher to do so was Johan Santana when he pitched for the Minnesota Twins in 2006. The last time pitchers in both leagues achieved this pinnacle in the same year was 1924 (!), when Walter Johnson did so for the old Washington Senators in AL, while Dazzy Vance did so for the Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) in the NL. (The only pitcher to win it more than twice remains Sandy Koufax, who led the NL in all three categories during three of his final four seasons as a Dodger, in 1963, 1965, and 1966.)

Met José Reyes bunts a single in his only at bat against
the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field, Flushing, NY,
September 28, 2011 (Jim McIsaac/Getty)

Lastly, another player who may leave his longtime hometeam, José Reyes of the New York Mets, won the NL batting title for the first time in his career. The 27-year-old shortstop posted some of the best numbers of his career, hitting .336, scoring 101 runs, and stealing 39 bases. He edged the Minnesota Twin's Ryan Braun, who finished the day 0 for 4, leaving him with a .332 batting average.  Like Pujols Reyes hasn't been signed, and may leave the Mets for more lucrative environs. What a loss his departure would be for his team. In the AL, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera, a regular sparkplug from his days with the Florida Marlins, finished the season at .344, putting him ahead of Boston's Adrian González and Texas's Michael Young, who both finished at .338. In both cases both leagues had new batting title winners for the second straight season. The AL home run king was Toronto Blue Jays outfield José Bautista, who hit 43 this year and had won last year, while the NL saw a new star emerge in the Dodgers' Matt Kemp, who hit 39 and also was vying for the batting Triple Crown. He finished with a .324 average, but also led the league in RBIs, with 126.

Finally, hits marvel Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners ended his streak of 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons this year, posting only 184. In 2004 Suzuki broke the single-season record when he gained 262 hits; his final batting average that year was .372. This year he managed only a .272 average, the lowest of his stellar career. His team managed only a 64-95 record, putting them 4th and last in their division, and second-worst in the AL. Only the Twins had a worse record (63-99).

Now let the playoffs begin! GO CARDINALS! GO YANKEES!

New Format + Cards Out

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN THE WITH THE...NEON?
After nearly two years of blogging, I have to admit I tired of my old templat, which was one of the Blogger standards and was used by numerous blogs, so I set up this new one and created the banner, which I'm not sure I like, at least not yet. I thought about reusing my banner from my old website, but that struck me as nostalgic and unoriginal, thus the new one.

I'm also not sure about the green text either. Sometimes it's too hard to read. The photo of C and I under the Millennium Park "Bean" was too large, making the page too busy, so I've finally shrunk that. Additionally, when I switched templates, I lost my by Books picks list, as well as my original StatCounter, which had exceeded 119,000 total viewers, and had to plug in another one from the same site, which bumped me down to 79,000 viewers. Slowly but surely the number's rising again, even with me posting little original content.

Overall, what do you think? Is it keeping you away?

CARDS KAPUT, RAMS AWFUL
It's official. Last year's World Series winners are no longer contention, so there won't be any Redbirds homering and basestealing their way to yet another championship to whip Chicago's northside fans into a lather. No, the Cardinals simply went into a tailspin after it was revealed that feel-good-story protagonist Rick Ankiel, once an emerging star pitcher who completely lost his control and returned as one of the sharpest young batters in years, had basically purchased a year's supply of Human Growth Hormone in 2004. The Cards were only a game and half or so behind the division leaders, but then lost 10 straight (or something like that). Their starting pitching collapsed; several starting field players got injured (Albert Pujols, pictured above, has been hobbled by a calf pull); and their manager, Tony LaRussa, turned positively Hamlettian as the media tried to figure out if he was staying in St. Louis next year or leaving. (The verdict is still out.) Ankiel also stopped hitting, out of shock, fear, lack of confidence or 'roids, who knows?--and that spelled the end of what was already a shaky campaign. Now the team will have to rebuild its starting pitching corps and address the managerial issue. LaRussa has frequently been a bit of a liability, especially because of his bizarre playcalling, his unwillingness to bench favorites, and, this preseason, his DUI, but he did take an underachieving team all the way last year--luck?--so go figure. Front office, get to work.

Instead, the Chicago Cubs (with the incandescent Derrek Lee, pictured at right) are in first place in the Central Division, and unless they catch a case of Bartmanitis, they appear to be decent contenders for the league title. The New York Mets have been playing sloppily and stumbling this last month (though they're my choice to go all the way), while the Arizona Diamonbacks (snooze) lead the Western division. The probable Wildcard team is the Philadelphia Phillies, though the San Diego Padres have been hanging in the race. All of these teams have problems, though, and it's hard to say which one could outlast the rest. I think the Mets have the best chance, simply because of their overall talent, but the Phillies have one of the league's best sluggers, the Cubs have a solid lineup, San Diego has the league's top starters, and Arizona...I don't really know what to say about them, and don't even know who's on their squad, truthfully.

The National League yet again appears weaker than its counterpart, the American League, which has several highly talented and capable teams (the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, the Cleveland Indians, and the Los Angeles Angels) seemingly ready to stomp whichever National League club emerges. These AL teams are winning machines. The Red Sox can hit and pitch and close, as can the Yankees, and the Angels. The Yankees, in fact, have the best player in either league, the drama-plagued, profligately talented, emotionally volatile, matinée idol-faced Álex Rodríguez (posing, at left), who has managed to hit 52 home runs, 10 more than his closest challenger, and drive in 142 runs. After the usual early-season media-led Sturm und Drang concerning the starting pitching and lack of hitting, A-Rod's "Stray-Rod" scandal, and assorted other imbroglios, the Bronx Bombers have reverted to form and are winning as usual. Winning so much, that is, they're just 1.5 games out of first place in their division!

Cleveland has two innings-devouring, 18-game winners, Fausto Carmona and C. C. Sabathia (the 6'7", 280 lb. hurler pictured at right), who are among the most talented pitchers under 30 in either league. If I were the National League pennant winner, I would not want to face any of these teams, not at all. Since it's unlikely that last year's Series contender Detroit is going to break through, though, the National League winner will unfortunately have to face one of them, so perhaps it ought to be Cleveland, which hasn't won a World Series in half a century and thus has less recent playoff experience than the other three juggernauts. The Red Sox won the Series in 2004, the Yankees in 1996 and then from 1998 through 2000 (and played in it 2001 and 2003), the Angels in 2002.

As last year proved, however, the favorite doesn't always win the trophy. (I know there's a statistical formula that demonstrates this, right?) This should give consolation to all those people who viscerally loathe either the Red Sox (and Manny Ramírez, at left, one of my favorite players) or the Yankees, or who are praying that Cleveland breaks its half-century drought and that the Cubbies do something similar with their century-long exile from the championship ranks. Look, it worked for both of the Sox teams, White and Red, in the last five years. Let's not even get into all that "curse" nonsense. As I noted above, I want the Mets to win it all, but I will watch with glazed fascination and a smidgeon of delight if the team that regularly bumbles around Wrigley Field somehow figures out a way to overcome its limitations and win it all.

That brings me to a completely different sport, Pro Football, and the Saint Louis Rams, who are now 0-3, and coasting towards a 2-16 season. (This season would be a winless affair, except the Rams are in the same division as the perpetually horrible Arizona Cardinals, so they have two possible wins if they exert themselves even a little.) This team, whose players are collectively making probably more than some entire school district's teachers combined

1) cannot come up with anything approximating a 4-quarter offense;
2) cannot score in the red zone or get into the end zone;
3) cannot sustain defensive play for 4 quarters;
4) cannot make field goals;
5) cannot execute special teams plays.

In a word, there is no reason why they should be on the field.

Their head coach, Scott Linehan, seems incapable of guiding the team to a victory. Their offensive coördinator, Greg Olson, keeps running plays that not even the worst high school team would attempt. They have no offensive line, having lost their best players to injury. The lack of an offensive line has led to their quarterback, the middling multimillionaire Marc Bulger, being sacked multiple times to the extent that he's terrified of being crushed again, and playing accordingly. Their wide receivers are senescent and have surrendered more than a step. Their kicker is also at or near the end of his career. They have no secondary. Their inner and outer linebacking corps is also shaky. Did I say they have one of the worst offensive coordinators in the league?

The Rams had a strange and quirky coach named Mike Martz. He wore glasses and made faces and took them to the playoffs and Super Bowl. He liked to run trick plays, was overly fond of the passing game, and appeared not to realize that defense and special teams were integral parts of the game. Yet he took them to the playoffs and Super Bowl, and even when he had losing seasons the team's offense was fast and exciting. Under Martz they slid from their best years of 1999-2001, but they were still not at the league's bottom. Fans tired of Martz's shenanigans, all those trick plays and obsession with passing and failure to improve the defense or special teams, as did the ownership, and so they banished him, and hired this person named Scott Linehan, who'd never coached a professional football team. He's pleasant and soft-spoken and upbeat, and doesn't have a clue. Last year with Martz's players he posted a .500 season, and fans and the media held out hope. Yet this year he's demonstrated that last year was nothing but a mirage, a foxfire, a phantasm left in the wake of Martz's departure. This team is so awful it's painful to watch.

They are lucky they're in one of the weakest divisions in the National Football League. That will prevent them from a lot of enduring gross embarrassments this season. Yet they're already on their way. And they get paid far too much money to perform so lousily. Maybe they should all quit en masse and go into politics.