Sniped From Below

 

Since July 9th, the Arizona Diamondbacks are 19-11, and have reclaimed 2nd place. They're now 9 games back from the Dodgers, which still isn't ideal but it's a lot closer than it was. And they're currently riding another incredible run from Corbin Carroll, who just hit the 100th home run of his career. Slowly, and carefully, the D-Backs are making things happen this year.

The winning formula is flanked by the usual core of dominators [Carroll, Ketel Marte, Gabriel Moreno, Geraldo Perdomo], plus the addition of Nolan Arenado, who still has some tricks up his sleeve [and 18 homers too], and Ryan Waldschmidt, who's now hitting .285 as a deep lineup guy. Perdomo last year shocked the nation with a league-leading 7.1 WAR season, thanks to a surprise 100-RBI showing, 20 homers, 27 steals, 173 hits, an .851 OPS and a .290 average. This placed him 4th in the MVP voting. Many people wrote Perdomo off as a defense-heavy utility piece, but when everything lines up he can be a scarily accurate mid-lineup bat with some awesome perks. 2026 isn't quite as huge as 2025 for the shortstop, but he's still got 9 homers, 42 RBIs, 17 steals and a 3.7 WAR thanks to continued dominance at short. He's one of those pieces you need to make the rest of the team better, someone who can do it all without being flashy. Corbin Carroll is the multifaceted type that's more front-facing and gets the job done, while Perdomo is the more under the radar provider. Both work, along with Tyler Locklear's long-awaited audition for a starting 1st base job, Lars Nootbaar adjusting to his new surroundings, and James McCann still hitting .290 and playing catcher at 36.

The rotation is also evolving forward, as something that once looked so cursed now looks better than it has in a while. Eddie Rodriguez is a rock up top, we knew that, he's 11-4 with a 4.3 ERA, he's great. Now everybody else has caught up. Michael Soroka is healthy again, still has a 3 ERA and is 8-3. Brandon Pfaadt has reclaimed his mojo, and has a 3.36 ERA and 6 wins in 21 games. Mitch Bratt has finally adjusted to MLB play, and has a 3.74 ERA with 25 Ks in 7 starts. Zack Littell's talents are being used in long relief, and that's going a lot better for him. Merrill Kelly's getting his ERA back down and attempting to save his season. Eventually Corbin Burnes is going to return for the October push and nobody's gonna be prepared for how good the D-Backs will look at that point. The team WAS lacking in a solid ninth inning choice, but Brandyn Garcia seems to have taken that mantle, he's their go-to closer now, has 3 saves and a 2.18 ERA with 36 Ks. Very healthy sort of relief piece to have around.

Look, I'm not entirely sure how the D-Backs fit into the larger wild card picture, I see the Phillies falling, the Cardinals rising, and the D-Backs should just keep pedaling how they've been pedaling before. They've fallen just short of competition the past few years, and now they've got a winning formula, they just need to hang on, as the Phillies, Padres and even the Marlins, Nats and Pirates all won't go down without a fight. 

Coming Tonight: One of the best closers in baseball. Shame about the rest of the team, though.

Once Again Rewarding Ineptitude

 

Only in America can something suck for three and a half months and still win.

Let's compare the Astros' sudden rise to other teams I don't like rising midyear and taking off. The 2015/2016 Blue Jays teams had June swells and used smart July dealing to get even better and run to the ALCS. The 2010s Cardinals teams were also sneaky, efficiently run and always on the outskirts, waiting for that great three week stress to propel them to a division win. Last year's Blue Jays team, like the 2015 one, rode a June swell but used the 'uncommon man' theory and threw a ragtag, unpolished group of sheer competitors in the ring with the LA Dodgers. 

If the Astros are able to do anything at all this season despite having an absolute lemon of a roster, a completely snakebitten rotation that they themselves traded key pieces of away, and a frustrating lack of infrastructure, it'll be because the deal they made with devil upon joining the AL really is binding.

Like, once again, this is a first place team? Who, besides Yordan Alvarez or Jeremy Pena, is doing anything? What's going on here? Peter Lambert is the team's best pitcher, he has a 3 ERA, an 8-6 record and 111 strikeouts, it is perfectly fine but this team used to have Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole lead the rotation and now it's Peter Lambert and a still-rehabbing Hunter Brown and GOOD LUCK! Brown is doing fine, he's got a 3.68 ERA, and 67 Ks, but the dreams of a successful follow-up to 2025's breakout year have dissipated. This is fine, it's getting the job done, but it's been very human. Behind that you have Ronel Blanco and Cristian Javier continuously getting chased and Hayden Wesneski doing alright enough for himself but still having a few question marks above him. I remember back when putting Cristian Javier and Ronel Blanco out there meant you'd get consistency and stability, not a 7 ERA. You cannot get first place in the AL West with these chuckleheads still trying to pass off down years. 

Then you have an outfield consisting of Cam Smith, who's got 16 homers and 44 RBIs despite a .226 average, Taylor Trammell, who's usually a bench bat at this rate but is now starting and hitting .233 with 7 homers and 20 RBIs, and Daulton Varsho, who hasn't done a great deal in Houston yet. All of Jake Meyers, Joey Loperfido, Zach Dezenzo, Zach Cole, Lucas Spence and Brice Matthews are all chilling in the minors while this cobbled group of replacement level guys try and make it look like Kyle Tucker, Michael Brantley and George Springer weren't all just here. 

The team's batting .244 as a unit, but I have no idea how much lower that would be if Yordan Alvarez and Jeremy Pena weren't there, because DAMN. Yordan Alvarez is headed for an MVP right now, because he's got a triple crown in his sights. He's hitting .322, has 35 homers and 87 RBIs. Nobody else is on that level right now, and even if Aaron Judge were healthy, that would be THE mark right now. I'm not too salty to admit Yordan Alvarez is a league-wide talent, the dude's dangerous. But he's one of the few guys keeping this team in the race.

The Rangers and Mariners have both been winning lately, and look to be making this something of a foot race. The Astros are 2 games over .500 and trying desperately to get whatever momentum they can out of what they know to be a lesser iteration of the club. Like last year, they're trying to outrun themselves, and while I like to think I know how this goes...I don't think they'll go down without a fight.

Coming Tomorrow- One of the most talented all-around athletes in the game right now, multifaceted and versatile...and just one of the many guys working to reopen the book on the story of the NL West this year.

Busch Whacked

 

I continue to marvel at the Cubs' lineup. It continues to be a collection of like-minded, overpowering offensive threats that always find a way to come together and embarrass you. The Brewers may be the better team, and may continue to be the better team, but I will not count this Cubs team out.

First of all, they have a guy who's probably winning the MVP this year. Pete Crow-Armstrong heard all the mess about his slump last year, or about his high WAR, low production stuff, and he sprung into action, with a 27-homer season, 30 steals, 72 RBIs, the potential for 30-30 with the other 30 also being a definite possibility, and some of the most incredible throws and plays in center. This man is playing eye-popping baseball and ascending to the dominance the Cubs knew he'd get to. 

And it's not like it's just him, pretty much everybody is hitting. Both catchers are hitting, Kelly with some solid .265, 42 RBI work with great defense, and Amaya with some cheesy power in there too. Swanson's HR streak has slowed down but he's still got 17 and 63 RBIs. Hoerner is powering back up again, he's hitting .260 with 55 RBIs and 18 steals. Bregman has 13 homers and 54 RBIs, and even if it's not his best, he's still great at third. Michael Busch, though down from last year, still has 63 RBIs. Ian Happ's continued his solid 2020s run and his 20 homers. Seiya Suzuki has another 20-homer year, with 67 RBIs. Even Michael Conforto is quietly having a comeback year as a DH/bench bat, with 9 homers and 26 RBIs. And then you've got this Pedro Ramirez kid, who's great defensively, great on the base paths, and hits .300. And he's the bit player in place of Matt Shaw. That's a nice bit player to have, man. 

The thing that keeps this team grounded is the pitching, and even that's improved. Kevin Gausman did well in his first Chicago start, David Peterson's 3-1 and slowly getting his groove back in different blue pinstripes, Boyd's dominant again with an 8-1 record and a 3.50 ERA, and even Imanaga's figured his stuff out again. The hope is Clay Holmes comes around, because his comeback start was shakier than it needed to be. These guys also technically need to figure out who's gonna close games, because right now it's Jacob Webb, and that's RP1 more than anything. If Daniel Palencia would stay healthy for more than 5 seconds, I'd feel better about him, but he's hurt again. With Holmes at least you have an all-star closer, but you want him starting. It's that or going with Assad or Braxton Garrett. Still time to work it out, or for Palencia to come back, but it's still worrying.

As it stands, the Cubs have the first wild card spot, and I definitely think they have enough momentum to at least hang onto a wild card berth. The Phils are also in the mix, but they're way shakier. I see the Cubs keeping their padded lead over St. Louis and continuing their August dominance. I'm not sure if this year will end any differently than last year, but at least they've got a working model and can stick to it.

Coming Tomorrow- A starter for a team that really, REALLY wants to make the playoffs this year, huh?

Guards on the Table

 

The Guardians, in recent years, will pick this time of year to either run out of steam or get going. A few years ago, they threw in the towel around this time of year, the Twins won it. Last year, it was the Tigers' division to lose when suddenly the Guardians caught absolute fire with a month and a half left to go and won it in a squeaker. 

And so here we are, 2026. The Guardians have essentially claimed the AL Central all year without being over the top wonderful. Since the all-star break, they've been atrocious. The Rays, White Sox and Twins clobbered them, that's somewhat understandable, but the Mets?? The Mets, who are just now remembering they could have been good this whole time?? Unbelievable. They brought on so many great pieces at the deadline, and next to none of them are helping. Craig Yoho is struggling mightily, Foster Griffin blew his first start, Jo Adell hasn't really taken off yet and Blake Perkins isn't even up yet. At the very least Nathaniel Lowe has been alright but the reinforcements haven't reinforced a thing. And all the while, now Slade Cecconi is hurt, now Travis Bazzana's slowing down, and the Tigers, who have already jumped them in the standings, are up next.

This Guardians team is already fundamentally very good, and has the pieces necessary to make a run. They just need to solidify. And that starts with Jose Ramirez, who was having a decent season before the injury but now needs to lead the team forward. This is a slightly lesser J-Ram year all around, with only those 29 steals seeming that regular for him. He's hit 10 homers and 36 RBIs, his OPS is .736, it's a fine enough year but we've all seen him do better, even as recently as last year. And look, we all know J-Ram's destined for Cooperstown, he's got a 30 WAR the past 5 seasons, even an okay year like this one isn't gonna derail his career. But he's still gotta be Jose Ramirez to this team, and that means bringing them forward to stop the competition. You can see Steven Kwan filling that role a little, he had a huge power moment the other night against the White Sox. You can see Rocchio and DeLauter stepping up. You can even see Austin Hedges and Patrick Bailey both having terrific seasons after being mid for so long. The effort is there all around.

But it doesn't excuse the poor baseball we've seen recently. A lot of close games mishandled, a few too many blown saves, and a lot of guys left on base. The Tigers and White Sox also want it bad, and so do the Twins ultimately. The Guardians need that insane momentum from last August to reappear and get them all the way, because stretches like this one are not how they get there.

Coming Tonight: A typically reliable member of the RBI-friendly Cubs lineup.

Too Close for Comfort

 

We just had a Yanks-Braves series that was as close as a series between two competitive, surging teams should be. Every game was a question mark til the very end. Two went the Yankees' way, one went the Braves, and two of the three were denoted with a horde of terrible umpiring.

I was at the game on Saturday, which, fun fact, was also Old Timer's Day. Fun event as per usual. Hideki Matsui can still rake, Brian Doyle can still hustle, Mariano Rivera can still throw. Once the Braves and Yankees got on, it got slightly less fun because the guy who was umping was likely legally blind and taking it out on everyone else. Dan Merzel is this guy's name, and he seems to be a younger call-up, so it's weird that he's acting up now. It's like becoming the lowest-rated photo editor the year after Adobe Photoshop was released. Like, if you're gonna be obsolete, be good.

Among the things this guy did wrong was giving Spencer Jones an HBP when the ball didn't even touch him, penalizing Austin Wells because Jose Caballero took too long getting to first, being so hard to follow that the Braves lost both their challenges on one play, and some general tomfoolery that the Yanks were thankfully able to call him on. The most egregious crap came against Chris Sale, who Merzel first called a balk on to score a run, which got both Sale AND Walt Weiss yelling at him [Weiss was ejected]. Then before game 3, Chris Sale allegedly made a motion towards Merzel as he entered the field, and was ejected, perhaps because Merzel had waited 24 hours for a reason to eject Sale. This asshole really made the whole game about himself, which is unbelievable.

Now, what was fascinating was seeing someone like Jose Caballero contend with Merzel, because Caballero's antics have been pissing off everyone this year. A friend of mine's getting into baseball, and caught a game in the Bronx last month, and even he was getting annoyed at Cabby's pitch clock violations. Dude just lives in his own universe, a lot like Jazz Chisholm. The good news is, Cabby's been excellent for us, with 12 homers and 41 RBIs, plus 28 steals. He's a really handy guy to have around, and hits way more than your average Taylor Walls type utility man. He's just a little annoying sometimes, and it's better that one of those guys is with us rather than against us. 

That aside, the game went pretty damn well. Ben Rice hit a bomb, his 32nd. I got to see George Lombard Jr.'s second career homer, plus some exceptional infield work at short. Spencer Jones is looking very MLB ready all of the sudden, and Paul Goldschmidt is still excellent against lefties. Plus, Gerrit Cole looked like his old self, shutting down the Braves save for some small ball here and there. Ronald Acuna Jr. also remembered to show up, and hit a solo shot against Brent Headrick, though his shenanigans came off as pretty crass as well. 

The Braves winning yesterday, and keeping every game close, tells me how durable they are even with a slight slide in the last few weeks, and some messy work against the Mets tonight. They still have a terrific power core of Drake Baldwin, Matt Olson, Michael Harris, Ozzie Albies and a lesser but still noteworthy Ronald Acuna performance. They also now have Martin Perez as a very viable rotation option, with 7 wins, a 3.14 ERA and 78 Ks, proving that 35 year olds on the Braves this decade can't be counted out. And the bullpen's still excellent as well, with so many really impressive pieces keeping this team together. They're at 71 wins, still feel like a lock for first, and probably won't even let this New York stretch slow them down.

In conclusion, glad I was able to catch a nice, tight, exciting matchup between these two teams. Last time I did, the Braves had this guy on the mound that killed us, some guy named Max Fried. Hopefully he doesn't have to play the Yankees anymore..

Coming Tomorrow- His team may have taken a huge hit in the last week, but after 13 years of this, he's not about to take it sitting down.

Rays'd Objection

 First of all, this is just an odd picture. Not just Cedric Mullins on the Rays, though that is pretty odd. It's a 90s Rays jersey...but an early 2000s Rays cap. It's mismatched eras. I kinda wish for the HOF weekend thing, they'd have done full throwbacks, and do the vested early 2000s Steve Cox Rays uniforms, but no, it's gotta look weird.

Here's a fun fact about the Rays' schedule going forward. Six of the teams they're set to play going forward are below .500. The Jays, Orioles, Athletics [TWICE], Mets, Tigers. They will eventually play good teams [Braves, Yanks, Sox], but by that point they'll probably have an unreachable lead from playing the A's a ton of times, and the AL East will be called for them. I'd accuse the MLB of rigging the system for the Rays, but they are a very cheap team with a low payroll who'd get very few eyes on them if they made a World Series, so who even knows how this happened.

The Rays did help this by sweeping the Mariners, an actual good team [or at least they were supposed to be], and now they can coast a bit going forward. The O's may chase them a great deal in a couple weeks. I'll be at one of the games in Baltimore, so I sure hope so. 

The trade deadline strengthened what was already an extremely well-engineered Rays team, and now they're looking even better. They already didn't have a ton of issues scoring runs, but now they have Liam Hicks on the team and he's scored like 6 since getting here. Aranda, Caminero and Diaz make up one of the most formidable run-scoring tryptics in the game, which is widely when you consider that Yandy Diaz is 34. Caminero has 33 homers right now and is in no position to slow down. Even Cedric Mullins is helping out with the power game, with 13 homers and 35 RBIs, plus 18 steals. This isn't peak, early 2020s Mullins, but he's still very helpful, and he can still do some cool things. I also think the bench's array of guys like Ben Williamson, Victor Mesa Jr. [who, contrary to my earlier belief, is a different guy than former Marlins prospect Victor Victor Mesa], Jonny deLuca and Ryan Vilade, is extremely helpful. Vilade especially is just built like a ballplayer, this massive thing who can hit really hard. 

The bullpen has overcome some early-May struggles and mellowed into a really nice unit, with Bryan Baker, Kevin Kelly, Ian Seymour and now Tyler Wells working on great seasons. Steven Matz has swung back into the rotation to replace Griffin Jax, and he's not doing too badly. I do worry about Freddy Peralta, because he's still struggling the way he did in New York, but hopefully things even out. Martinez and Rasmussen are still excellent though, and solving a ton of problems. 

Again, even as the Yankees threaten, I don't see the Rays giving up 1st anytime soon, even if there are minor flaws. This team's really blossomed, and come together in a way I wasn't expecting early on. I don't think they're THE favorite in the AL going into October, but they're one of the only teams acting like it this year. 

Coming Tomorrow- The Braves really corner the market on 'life begins at 30' guys, don't they?

First to Cursed

 

There is a subject I don't like mentioning on the blog, but it's inevitable here. 

Y'see, a couple months ago, the New York Knicks were going on an absolute tear in the finals, they were outdoing the Spurs on every level. The Spurs only won one game of that series, and it was at the Garden, with...um...a guest. 

Recently. The Los Angeles Dodgers made a visit to this guest's current place of residence, or one of them at least. And since visiting said place of residence, they have won 5 games, and lost ten, including two against division rivals the Arizona Diamondbacks. More proof that no sports team is safe from being ruined at the hands of a massive...er, jinx. 

And at least the Knicks eventually won the Champs, but because it's only a 7 game series, all it takes is just getting the jinx out of the room. I think some Knicks fans did some cleansing rituals, a little sage, maybe something from a nearby halal cart, anything that could possibly work. And so, the Knicks won in 5, as depicted on the walls of the Sistine Chapel. But in a long season like this, it's gonna take more than just a game to pass for the stink to completely go away. So the Dodgers are still very much mired in this losing streak, and are gonna need to really rethink policy and outreach in order to come back from it.

There's at least good news, and it's that some pieces of this team that haven't had the proper time to really excel this season are finally getting there. Mookie Betts is one of them, as he was injured for most of the year, then took a while to really make an impact. He currently has 13 home runs and 36 RBIs in 80 games, plus the usual brand of excellent play at shortstop. Teoscar Hernandez also missed some time, but has been much better in the last few weeks, hitting .279 since the ASG break, with 3 homers and 5 RBIs. Tanner Scott is now a very viable ninth inning option again, with a 2.31 ERA and 16 saves, which is a very good thing because Edwin Diaz suddenly isn't. Roki Sasaki has been piling together more and more quality starts, and has his ERA down to 4.50. 

The frustrating part is the continued setbacks, the lighter bench work, the fact that both catchers are now injured and Hunter Feduccia is suddenly the top backstop on the team, and the knowledge that the Red Sox, Cubs and D-Backs all can find the leverage to top these guys. Yes, having Tarik Skubal helps, but the ESPN smear campaign is already in full effect to hide the fact that his first start was A.) during a loss and B.) nowhere near as effective as his Tigers starts. Blake Snell will be back soon, but for how long? Will Ohtani be pitching again anytime soon? Or are they gonna be stuck with Wrobleski and Lauer making crucial postseason starts?

The cracks have finally formed. And though the Dodgers are still a lock for the playoffs and a very good team, they are no longer unstoppable, and now may need to work harder to procure that all-important threepeat. I'd suggest maybe giving the guy who had them over a cease and desist.

Coming Tomorrow- He's not even playing his best baseball anymore, but he's still a crucial performer for a 1st place team, so that's definitely something.