July 2022 in Review [feat. Jon Gray]

 

We have reached the end of July, which means it is time to look back on July as a whole and interpret what made it so interesting, unpredictable and entertaining. 

First of all, as usual, let's take a look at the 5 Predictions I made at the end of last month:

1. As per usual, something involving the All-Star Game will piss me off. Mostly the usual 'people opting out for undisclosed reasons with days to go before the game' stuff. Oh, and also Ryan Helsley??
2. Brian Cashman will do something misguided at the trade deadline. Uhhhh so far so good, but we've got a couple days left, so I'll come back if he does.
3. Either the Braves, the Padres, the Guardians or the Cardinals will flip their division. Noooooope. Business as usual in all four.
4. There will be a long-awaited return from an oft-injured player. Maybe Tatis, maybe Matt Boyd, maybe Lewis, maybe even Sixto Sanchez finally.  There's a few borderline ones that come just outside the confines of the month, and the big one is Jacob deGrom. However, Kyle Lewis did return this month as well, so that too.
5. Someone will catch up to Aaron Judge on the HR leaderboards in a big way, and it's someone who hasn't quite caught fire yet. Noooope, nobody's passed Schwarber, and nobody's even within 10 of Judge. Then again, Judge is at 42 as I write this.

Didn't do too well there. Thought things would be a bit more hectic than they were. So, to that end, let's talk about 5 Things from July 2022 that no one could predict:

1. THE BALTIMORE ORIOLES. I did have 'the Orioles are somewhat good this year', but I didn't think they'd lap Boston. I did say there was a chance, but...the way Boston was playing in June, I didn't think it was possible. WELL. The O's are pretty damn good now, and the lineup has surprised me so much. Even having Ramon Urias, Jorge Mateo and Tyler Wells all playing well is fantastic. You're seeing even the bullpen guys, like Clonel Perez, Keegan Akin and Jorge Lopez, surprising people, and guys like Adley Rutschman and Felix Bautista have come into their own as rookies. They've already passed the Red Sox, are taking some games from the Rays, and even as they're expected to sell at the deadline, I don't even think THAT will stop them. I dunno if they're a full playoff team considering who else is doing well right now, but they're a good team that could be the spoiler in the AL. SIMLARLY,

2. THE SEATTLE MARINERS. This team was circling the drain towards the end of June, and then things began to shift. By the all-star break, the team had 14 wins in a row and were looking insanely good, on the backs of Julio Rodriguez and Ty France. And even if the team has been a bit more human recently thanks to some series' with the Astros, they got Luis Castillo, J-Rod's still hot, and Kyle Lewis is back. A lot of the details that took a while to work, like Robbie Ray and Cal Raleigh, finally fit in this month. And as they're deep in the wild card race, I really want them to keep this up and make the playoffs. Seeing them this good right now would make it heartbreaking if they miss out again.

3. The Giants fall apart. I did see some signs of this Giants team not performing up to standards, but this month the team pretty much dissolved. Without Crawford, Longoria, Casali and now Joc Pederson, the team failed to really keep a solid lineup together, and have had to rely on a lot of people, like Darin Ruf, LaMonte Wade and Tommy La Stella, who were good last year but are more disappointing now. Not even comeback stories like Yermin Mercedes and Thairo Estrada have kept this team from falling below .500 and out of the wild card race. With Gabe Kapler's impressive management skills, there's still a chance something could happen, but it's gonna take a ton of work.

4. Edwin Diaz is BACK. Not that, uh, he really went anywhere, he's been a decent reliever for the last few years, but his Jekyll-and-Hyde tendencies caught the ire of many Mets fans. This season has been much more reminiscent of Diaz's former glory with the Mariners, as he's notched 23 saves AND has 84 Ks and a 1.50 ERA. Not a lot of people are touching his stuff, and he's proving the haters wrong thanks to being part of an excellent Mets team. Hopefully he uses this as a launchpad for a career revival.

5. RYAN HELSLEY? 

And now, alternatively, here are 5 Things from July 2022 You Probably Could Have Predicted:

1. Aaron Judge gets really damned hot after the All-Star Break. Of course, at this rate, why should he slow down? Again, as I write this, he's got 42 home runs and to get all that done before the end of July is practically unheard of. I have no idea what this means for the rest of his season. All I can say is...Cashman, start working on a deal he'll accept and maybe see what can be disposed of this offseason in order to afford it.

2. Freddie Freeman returns to his Braves material in LA. He had some time to be remorseful when he made it back to Atlanta in order to set all this up. Now that he knows what really went on, he can make the Braves regret it, and he's been pounding the hell out of the ball this month. Maybe he wants another ring. At this point, who can stop him?

3. Yordan Alvarez can literally get injured in the middle of the field and it won't even affect the Houston Astros' hold on the AL West even a little bit. Plus, they're strong enough to get past incredible teams like the Mariners and Yankees. 

4. Strasburg doesn't even last 5 innings before going right back on the IL again. At this point, you've got to feel awful for him. 

5. The Braves pick this point midway through the year to start looking like a competitor. Again, it worked for them last year. 

Now, here are my picks for the 5 Most Important Players of July 2022

1. Ryan Helsl Aaron Judge, New York Yankees 

2. Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins

3. Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers

4. Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners

5. Juan Soto, Washington Nationals/?

And, even with the deadline not even elapsed yet, let's be ballsy and go in with 5 Predictions for August 2022

1. Soto suits up for a competitor and makes the Nationals regret short-shifting him. 

2. One team in particular is going to become a competitor almost overnight because of their deadline acquisitions, and it won't be the Braves because they did that last year.

3. The Red Sox lose sight of Baltimore in the race to stay out of last.

4. With not much left to go, a major competitor completely loses steam and exits the race early. 

5. An incredible comeback story featuring someone we never thought we'd hear about again takes place in a smaller market. 

This is what July looked like for me, bring on August.

Coming Tomorrow- A custom I have been waiting to post since MARCH. MARCH OF THIS YEAR. And if he gets injured before I can post it I am going to LOSE IT.