A's Update: Just a Bunch of People Named Matt Edition

Matt Chapman. Matt Joyce. Matt Olsen. I think the force of Matts alone is pushing them above .500 right now.

The odd part is that it's honestly not really the lineup that's doing the heavy lifting right now. I mean, yes, Khris Davis, Matt Chapman and Marcus Semien are all doing good offensive work, but overall there's just a lot of guys hitting .230 and not doing anything spectacular. Even Jonathan Lucroy's big start has worn off a bit. The bench isn't too potent either, sad to say.

It does seem to the pitching that might be the deciding factor. Sean Manaea, Daniel Mengden and Trevor Cahill are all heading up a potent, surprisingly effective rotation. Yes, injuries have affected the back half, but without injuries we wouldn't have the INEXPLICABLE RESUSCITATION OF FRANKIE MONTAS!! How is he doing phenomenal? How is he back?

Plus, the bullpen is also pretty good. Blake Treinen's a great closer, Yusmeiro Petit's a great setup man, and Lou Trivino has been doing sharp relief work all over. So while the A's aren't making a HUGE splash this year, they're winning games with little things rather than a huge force. They're not too far behind the Angels, whose star has fallen since April, and could theoretically jump into third place. I don't know if the A's have the capable squad, but I'm not ruling it out.

Coming Tomorrow- Former All-Star, WS-winning first baseman, now holding up an NL West squad singlehandedly.

No No-No for St. Louis

There's a rule in my house. When somebody's pitching a no-hitter, you don't say they're pitching a no-hitter. You just...allude to it. You say 'I'm not saying anything', and the name of the pitcher. So, in the past, something like 'James Paxton, not saying anything, ninth inning, c'mere' is how it would work.

When it's the Cardinals, the modesty doesn't apply. So tonight, I hollered over to my dad and went 'oh yeah, Michael Wacha's trying to no-hit the Pirates'.

...and he didn't. And that's how that works.

My hatred of the Cardinals has gone down since 2011, but I still very much dislike the team, and the fact that they can have big teams and win big games without really breaking a sweat franchise-wise. They've just...been good for a while, and they haven't really had a bad season lately. And if you don't like the Cardinals, that's not a great stretch.

The Cards are currently in third, close behind the Cubs, and closely in front of the Pirates, who they just...well, one-hit, I guess, but still. The team is getting by not thanks to established stars like Adam Wainwright, Matt Carpenter, and Yadier Molina, but thanks to the new breed, like Harrison Bader, Luke Weaver, Jordan Hicks and Jack Flaherty. The 2011 team is beginning to break off to reveal a new team, a new, genuinely impressive-looking squad that will succeed them. The one problem right now is the fact that Carlos Martinez and Wainwright are injured, and the rotation belongs to a bunch of kids and Miles Mikolas. Which...isn't a problem, as Mikolas is pitching like a pro this year, but...there's not a TON of depth in the rotation.

Thankfully, there is some bench depth, and a lot of people in the lineup that have been reliable so far this year. Marcell Ozuna's finally hitting home runs again, Gyorko and Pham are picking up from last year, and Harrison Bader has gone from a bench player to a legitimate lineup talent.

This is the kind of team that, if they get lucky, WHICH THE USUALLY DO, might do some dangerous things this year. I just hope I can jinx some more of them.

Coming Tomorrow- One of the many Matts in Oakland.

What to do When Your Team's in Last: White Sox Edition

So. Your team's in last, and you're a legitimately great player. What do you do?

Well, if you're Jose Abreu, you do the same thing you've been doing for the last 5 (!) seasons; you hit a bunch of home runs, and you do so for the benefit of an average. Which...initially, we didn't really think Abreu could do. The guy came up as a home run hitter, and his rookie season was a 36-homer-year, a number which...granted, he hasn't touched since, but he also belongs to a rare breed of hitter these days that remembers to hit RBIs and actually play well-rounded baseball in between hitting homers.

Aside from him...not a hell of a lot else going on. Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson make a GREAT double play combo, and the rookies they've been plugging into the mix have mostly worked well (especially Daniel Palka). And yes, Reynaldo Lopez is still doing what he can heading up the rotation, with occasional help from James Shields and Dylan Covey. But overall, there's a lot of meh, and even more guys that aren't worth their weight. Their star catcher got busted for HGHs, Avisail Garcia's hurt, and a lot of the guys that are usually building momentum by now...aren't.

They're currently in last behind the Royals, and while those two will probably alternate over the next few months, but...I still don't think the Sox have enough to make it out of last. Jose Abreu is doing the best he can do, and he's still a franchise player all those years later. He's just stuck on a team that won't get him anywhere.

Coming Tonight: Bench player turned starter for a surging, yet still hateable, NL Central team.

Duke Newcomb

(Had to)

So, as great as the Braves' lineup is this year, what's even more impressive is their pitching staff. After the 2013 season, their big, homegrown bunch of young arms was split up, leaving only Julio Teheran to contend with some random contracts and disappointing arms.

...Until last season, when Mike Foltynewicz finally became a trusted arm, and figured out how to throw strikes. Then, halfway through last season Sean Newcomb came up, and he became another great arm to have. Folty, Newcomb, Teheran, and...when he's healthy, Brandon McCarthy, have been a surprisingly strong foursome in Atlanta, throwing great games, and keeping the team insanely strong, even during a stretch where the Nationals are in first and the Phillies are right behind.

Good news is that Anibal Sanchez, who was on the DL for a bit, is back, and he's still delivering some rather nice stuff. The bullpen does have enough depth that they can even bolster this bit. Plus, Mike Soroka's on the DL, and could alternate with Sanchez in a little bit.

Bottom line is...this team has been building momentum for a few years now, to the point where they are legitimately a division power this year. The bench is full, the lineup has spark, and there's enough intricate energy to keep the momentum going for a while.

Coming Tomorrow- His team's not great, but he's still one of the more consistent power hitters in the league.

Stanton and Deliver

It's June, and I've FINALLY made a Giancarlo Stanton as a Yankee custom. Sorry, J.D., Eric, Lorenzo, Jake. I'll get to y'all soon.

Anyway, I think we were all worried about Giancarlo Stanton for a second. He was striking out a lot in his first week on the team, he was getting booed by bleacher creatures, and he wasn't making his mark in the city that gave him a ton of money to be as good as he was in 2017.

But then...the homers started coming, the RBIs built up, and slowly the Stanton we all know and loved began to take shape, and became a fixture in a lineup of home run hitters. Judge may be leading, Sanchez may be surging, but Stanton still has 12 home runs so far, and while it's not THE MOST, it's still pretty great.

The Yankees, by the way, are in 2nd place behind the Red Sox...because of course they are. The Sox have had a better week, with less former-AL-champions to face, so of course they're leading. It's insanely tough to win games against the Astros, so I'm kinda thankful that the Yanks are up in Baltimore playing a 5th place O's team right now, so they can eventually catch back up. This team has a ton going for them this year, with a lot of great parts, a lot of team heroes, and a lot of promise, including Mr. Stanton. They should be just fine heading into another month of MLB action.

Coming Tonight: His team's back in 1st, and he's been pitching gems for a team that's surprising everyone this year.

Taylor Made to Save the Dodgers

The Dodgers are currently without their star shortstop, their star pitcher, and...three of their OTHER star pitchers. So...the only way to go is up, and damned if they're trying to get some upward momentum.

First of all, without Corey Seager, they're struggling to find a marquee star, and with Justin Turner only recently returning to the lineup, it was, for a while, Chris Taylor who had to step into the spotlight and carry the team. Cody Bellinger, Yasiel Puig and Joc Pederson were...to be honest, giving Mondesi, Karros and Hollandsworth a run for their money in post-ROY ineptitude. Okay, Puig's not doing THAT bad, but they're not owning the team like they did in their younger years. If anything, older players, like Yasmani Grandal, Chase Utley and Matt Kemp have been dragging the team back to third, with Kemp having one of his best seasons since he left the Dodgers, hitting above .300 and with only 7 home runs (compared to his usual 5 zillion). Taylor, in his versatility, has been giving consistent numbers at multiple positions, and giving some high WAR that is slightly reminiscent of their 2017 season.

The pitching has some holes, but Ross Stripling and Walker Buehler have come up in a big way, making up for some fallen veterans, joining Alex Wood and...no, wait, Kershaw's gone again. Ah well, he'll be back in the next week or so.

This team isn't perfect, and at times it feels like it's falling apart, but Taylor is trying to carry everything back to where it was. I don't know how successful he'll be, but...this Dodger team is too complex to be completely out of the race.

Coming Tomorrow- In November, the rumors were saying he'd be headed to St. Louis, and I shook my head in shame. Then, when we found out where he was REALLY going, I shook my head in shame...until I realized how awesome it would be.

The Correa Reign Continues

So...even if the Astros are a bit more human this year in terms of W-L percentage, they still have some deadly tools. Their rotation, and...their middle infield. Altuve's been well-heralded, but Carlos Correa, one of the best shortstops in the game, is 23 years old and already has some well-formed career years under his belt.

The guy's insanely well-rounded: he plays great defensive shortstop, he can hit home runs, and he's great at hits/RBIs as well. He does all of the things that statisticians love, as well as just being a generally cool face of Houston baseball, despite the fact they have more of a collage of faces at this point rather than just one singular face.

And yes, even on a team where Justin Verlander and Jose Altuve are already making their Hall of Fame cases incredibly clear, it's Carlos Correa who is slowly building his resume as a team-builder, the kind of person you build a roster around. Look, Altuve might not stay in Houston forever, and Verlander might stick around for a few years and do an end-of-career-nostalgia tour of the midwest or something, but Correa might be the guy that stays around and becomes Mr. Houston. And with the numbers he's had so far, that might not be the worst thing.

The Astros are still atop the AL West, but the Mariners and Angels aren't terribly far behind (the A's and Rangers, on the other hand, definitely are). The Astros need to hold onto their momentum despite the losses of Brian McCann and Josh Reddick to the DL. They're a great team, and they definitely have what it takes to stay dominant over the MLB.

Coming Tonight: The Dodgers are slowwwwwwly improving. Here's their versatile defacto star.