Ray of Indifference

The Rays, once again it seems, have decided to sit this season out, in terms of relevancy.

Yes, Chris Archer's throwing strikes, and yes, Logan Forsythe has suddenly become amazing, but, for the third straight season, the Rays have been the forgotten link of the AL East. They're not the best, they're not the worst, but in the overall state of the division, they don't mean a ton.

And that's sad, because there are people like Evan Longoria who have stuck with this team for a while, waiting for them to hit the World Series again like they did in 2008. The fans aren't really going to games anymore, and the once proud farm system is sort of waning, giving way to a ton of older, non-grown players.

Corey Dickerson was airlifted in from Denver, and while he's hitting a ton of homers, he, like several Rays starters, is hitting below the Mendoza line. Only one guy on the lineup is batting over .270 right now, and it's the aforementioned Forsythe. The pitching's doing marginally better, but nobody's winning games. The momentum is gone, and the only thing that's keeping the Rays above the Yankees in the standings is a lucky start.

I feel bad for the Rays, and Rays fans, but hopefully something will be done to stop this from happening every year. They all deserve better.

Coming Tomorrow- Wait...is my hometown team...DOING WELL?? HOW IS THIS HAPPENING? Here's their 2nd-year fireballer, absolutely STOLEN from Houston in exchange for a closer that currently isn't closing.

Custom Card of the Day: Segura Edition

Baseball has these ways of folding back into itself and making these fitting little coincidences.

Jean Segura, in 2012, was a member of the Anaheim Angels. Of course, this was Mike Trout's rookie season, so a lot of you probably didn't know that. Any other LA rookie meant absolutely nothing that year. The Angels were attempting a playoff run, and needed another arm to complement their already-amazing rotation.

So, that July, they traded Jean Segura to the Brewers in exchange for Zack Greinke. Long team, the Brewers won that trade, because Segura had an All-Star caliber season in 2013, and though he never returned to that status offensively, he became an impressive defensive threat for the Brew Crew, while Greinke eventually wound up on the other side of LA.

The funny little coincidence I spoke of earlier is that both Segura and Greinke are a part of Arizona's latest franchise reclamation project, and are playing alongside each other, finally. And...so far I'd say that Segura, once again, is playing better than Zack Greinke. He's off to a fantastic start, hitting excellently, and playing better than a majority of the D-Backs squad right now. I'm pretty impressed, actually, as sad I am for Greinke not doing as well.

Not sure about the D-Backs being the SERIOUS THREAT they seemed like they'd be a while ago, but I'm hoping for a bunch of nice seasons at least for people like Segura.

Coming Tomorrow- Newly acquired home run hitter doing a serviceable job in Tampa.

Elvis has Reentered the Building

Welp, it's looking like the Rangers are awesome again. Had me going there, but they're back to being good, and it helps that they have someone like Elvis Andrus, playing some intense defensive ball, just like he did when he came up in '09.

The Rangers' biggest improvement is shifting the emphasis from big, veteran backs to younger, speedier players. Aside from Shin-Soo Choo and Adrian Beltre, not a ton of older veterans on the Rangers. A ton of younger additions, Rougned Odor and Nomar Mazara included, are leading the charge this season. They're not in first, and that would be thanks in part to the red-hot Mariners, but they're getting pretty damn close to a threat.

Andrus is a pretty nice player, and him and Odor make a pretty nice double play combo. The guy's been around for half a decade, and he's slowly been making more of an impact in Arlington, which is pretty great. Hoping he keeps this stuff up. For once I'm behind the Rangers, so maybe they'll do something cool.

Coming Tomorrow- The D-Backs are hit-or-miss this season, but their new shortstop is pretty ferocious.

Does Ryan Braun Still Matter?

I really don't know what to think of this guy.

Ryan Braun's been caught using human growth hormones twice now. After his first time, he came back, reclaimed his team, and went back to normal. After his second time...that bit has taken a little longer, to the point where I'm not exactly sure whether or not to like him.

Last year was Braun's first full season since his HR-Leading season in 2012. He only hit 25 home runs last year, but made an All-Star team and stepped up as the leader again amidst the disappearance of people like Carlos Gomez and Aramis Ramirez. So, now that the Brewers are circling the bottom like this again, they need someone like Braun to be the anchor. So far...he's been adequate, I guess.

Ryan Braun post-steroid-allegations has been kind of unspectacular, mostly because he stopped juicing, but also because of a lack of self-confidence. Last year was a tiny bit better, but if he can do something right while off of HGHs, he can get back into the fold again. I don't know if the MLB public is ready to accept Braun with open arms again, but he seems to have the right idea.

Brewers probably won't trade him this year. They wouldn't do that. Get rid of Lucroy or Gennett or Chris Carter, but not Braun. He's, like it or not, the face of the franchise. And until they get a face that isn't famous for steroids, this is how it's gonna be.

Coming Today: The shortstop for that team that used to do really well, but then sucked, and is now doing really well again.

The Second-Most Important Upton in Detroit

Right now Justin Upton is playing some pretty solid baseball in Detroit. I mean, this shouldn't be too much of surprise. The last few seasons, on hard luck teams, Justin Upton's been fantastic, smashing home runs and keeping cool. The guy's still a pretty nice player, even if he's not the biggest star on the roster, like this season on the Tigers.

The thing is...as of last week, he's been demoted in terms of relevant Uptons. Because another person with the surname Upton just agreed to marry top starter Justin Verlander. Which...puts her up above anyone else, especially considering she's been on more Sports Illustrated covers than Justin (I think).

So, Kate Upton's gotta be up pretty high on Tigers priorities. And that's gotta suck for Justin. Like, he comes in this season, and wants to make an impact, but gets sidelined thanks to someone with his last name. Heck, he hasn't been the lone Upton in town since 2012. He's been on the same squad as his brother for the past three seasons, and the second he's away from Melvin, which has to be refreshing, the Kate thing appears.

I'm hoping Justin Upton does some good stuff this season, beside the Kate Upton thing. He's on a better squad, a squad that's been hitting pretty well and is currently fighting for third, behind the White Sox and Royals. They have a chance to break the mold, but they need to fight for it, and J-Up could be a big piece of this.

Coming Today: The Hebrew Hammer.

Still Wright

There's a point in a ballplayer's career when they realize they can't be superman every day, running and hitting like you're making rubber cement. It takes a while to realize humanity still applies, and it's a sad day, but the only thing you can do is work with it.

Sadly, this is the case for David Wright. Guy's in his thirties, and he knows he can't be absolutely amazing every day, so he's just doing what he can. His back's failing, but he's still hitting pretty well, which sure is a blessing. He knows he's just got to be a leader, a captain, to make sure everybody stays in line.

He knows he's not Derek Jeter, but he's doing the best he can to be somebody.

I'm really proud of the way the Mets have been playing, and even if they're in 2nd this season, I hope they keep up the good work. They're a fun team, and they were a joy to watch in person last year.

Coming Tonight (?)- One of the Detroit acquisitions that's making a difference so far.

April in Review (ft. Mark Trumbo)

A few years ago, in an effort to stay on top of things in terms of writing, I had a post at the end of every month summing up the big stories, and I kept it going all year. Because I've been very substance-light (again) this year, I figured I'd roll that strategy out again. So, as Mark Trumbo was basically the face of April 2016, let's talk about April under this beautiful custom of his.

To start, Five Things from April 2016 That No One Could Predict
1. First Place White Sox. Seriously, look at them go. The pitching is on point, led by an especially hard-throwing Chris Sale, and the new infield is a success, thanks to Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie. They've earned one of the best records in the AL, which is something nobody could have predicted before this season. Heck, they're so far ahead that everyone else is at least 3 or 4 wins behind. This is something that's a long time coming, and that had been brewing for a while, and I'm glad they've finally gotten good.
2. Last Place Astros. This one really hurts, especially given the success story of last year, the one that caught the hearts of millions of sports fans. After rising to first and riding into the playoffs, the Astros...are right back in last. Nobody's hitting, the pitching's failing, and the rest of the AL West has taken advantage of this. I'm hoping they turn it around, but this is not a good sign.
3. The bats in Baltimore coming alive. Not just Mark Trumbo, the man at the top of the post. Manny Machado, Chris Davis, JJ Hardy, Adam Jones. All playing beautifully. Hardy has since wound up on the DL, but Manny Machado has come into his own, moreso than he did last year. Trumbo has completely erased the last two seasons of inconsistency, and is hitting like a champ. Even if the pitching is catching up to them, the bats are a huge statement for how the AL East is going to go.
4. The Phillies are winning games! They're not in first, nor did I expect them to be, but they're actually doing pretty well for themselves. Ryan Howard, somehow, has remembered how to hit home runs, as has Carlos Ruiz. They've won their last six games, on the heels of people like Odubel Herrera and Vince Velasquez. Nobody knows how they're doing this, but they're in third right now, and they're actually staying afloat. Here's hoping they keep it up.
5. Greinke and Miller deflate. Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller were brought into Phoenix to bring a whole new era of strong arms to the team, and make the D-Backs a force to be reckoned with. Both are getting absolutely killed by NL batters. It's kind of hard to watch, especially considering how awesome both of them were last year.

Now, Five Things That Aren't Very Surprising at All
1. Surging Nationals and Bryce Harper. Yeah, this isn't too much of a scare. Harper's picking up exactly where he left off last year and the Nats are on his back.
2. Last place Braves. I don't think we knew they'd be THIS bad...but they're pretty friggin' bad.
3. Unstoppable Cubs. Everyone, going into 2016, knew the Cubs would be huge, and here they are ruling the NL. That works pretty well.
4. Disappointing Yankees. The division was stacked against them long before the season began.
5. Some rookie out of Arlington coming up and hitting like hell. This happens every year. This year, it was Nomar Mazara.

Five Most Important Players of April 2016:
1. Bryce Harper, Nationals
2. Manny Machado, Orioles
3. Chris Sale, White Sox
4. Robinson Cano, Mariners
5. Jake Arrieta, Cubs
(Runner Up: Neil Walker, Mets)

Finally, here are Five Things I'd like to see happen in May:
1. Both Chicago teams to keep the momentum going.
2. The phrase "third place Cardinals" to continue to be applicable.
3. Someone in the NL West to come out in front. Right now they're all just fighting for first. I'd like a definitive frontrunner by June 1st.
4. Feel good teams like the Mets and Royals from last year to not be completely out of the race.
5. Someone from the Yankees to start hitting in a big way.

That was April, folks. Let's get onto May.