Around the Horn - 6/9

Tampa is still in a feisty mood even though they are no longer playing the Red Sox. During yesterday's game with the Rangers, catcher Dionner Navarro and starting pitcher Matt Garza had to be separated. Garza was then yanked from the game by manager Joe Maddon, who later downplayed the incident.

The Angels have very quietly put together a 7-game winning streak, which ended with their loss to Oakland on Sunday. They're still not hitting, but their pitching continues to stand out. Imagine if they get Kelvim Escobar back healthy.

Every team in the American League is playing .500 ball or better, but it doesn't seem to be very good ball for most of the teams.

Despite a penchant for issuing walks, the Red Sox Justin Masterson is 3-0 after beating the Mariners yesterday. He'll get at least one more start until Dice-K comes back.

The White Sox have won 6 straight to take a 5.5 game lead on 2nd place Minnesota. Chicago is the only team over .500 in the AL Central.

The Tigers have probably lost Jeremy Bonderman for the season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.

The Indians have definitely lost Jake Westbrook for the season after it was announced he'll undergo Tommy John surgery.



















The Padres turned up the heat again on Willie Randolph with a 4-game sweep. San Diego came into the series 13 games under .500. They won three straight 2-1 games and rallied on Sunday for an 8-6 victory.

In case you haven't checked Jay Bruce's stats lately - in 13 games he's hitting .429 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI, has 14 runs scored, and a 1.227 OPS. His teammate Ken Griffey Jr. still waits for that 600th home run.

Chipper Jones has a slight tear in his quad, but is only expected to miss a couple of games.

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Around the Horn - 5/26

Memorial Day, 2008; how many people would have had the Tampa Rays and Chicago White Sox sitting atop their respective divisions?

Tampa got back in the lead of the East by winning 3 straight from the Orioles while the Red Sox lost 3 in a row to the A's.

The Indians appeared to be starting to take over the AL Central, then they went out and lost 8 of 11. They've also lost starter Fausto Carmona for a month with a strained hip. The Tigers continue their mediocrity, they split their last 10 games and sit with the Royals in last place, 8 games under .500. The Tigers might have found themselves in sole possession of last if not for the Royals having lost 7 straight. The White Sox have risen back to the top in spite of their lack of hitting. 4 of their 5 starters sport in ERA under 4.00.

Our pick for the AL West title, Seattle, is sinking faster than the Titanic. The Mariners are 5-18 in May, and though Ichiro backs his manager, John McLaren's days could be numbered. The Angels, like the White Sox, have been severely lacking in runs scored, but pitching has kept them afloat, and above inferior teams like the A's and Rangers, who are both above .500.




















Somehow the Marlins still sit atop the NL East despite fielding an inexperienced team. But players like Dan Uggla (.318-16-37) and Hanley Ramirez (.305-9-23 13 SB 41 Runs) are playing like league MVPs.

While the Mets continue to scuffle, the Braves are right in the thick of things and could actually pull out the title. The Phillies pitching woes and Ryan Howard hitting under .200 have kept the team from running away with the East.

The Cubs, the surprising Cardinals, and the even more surprising Astros are doing battle in the NL Central. The Cubs and Cards are tied for first, with the Cubs actually ahead by 3 percentage points.

The Cubs are still clearly the best team, but the Cardinals starting pitching and the play of Carlos Lee, Miguel Tejada, and MVP candidate Lance Berkman for the Astros could make this a 3 team fight right to the finish. The underachieving Brewers could cost their manager, Ned Yost, his job if things don't turn around soon.

The Diamondbacks are still the best, most consistent team in the West. A different player steps up every day on offense and the pitching lead by Brandon Webb (9-1) has been superb. The Dodgers will be there to the finish, but could the Rockies stage a big 2nd half again? The Giants and Padres are battling as well, to finish last. With Jake Peavy, Greg Maddux, and Chris Young in the rotation, just how is San Diego that bad?

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Terrible news out of Venezuela; former big leaguer Geremi Gonzalez, who pitched with the Mets, Cubs, and Red Sox among others, was killed over the weekend when he was struck by lightning. He was only 33.

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Lost in last day and night's 18 inning affair between the Reds and Padres, Aaron Harang struck out 7 batters in a row at one point and had 9 K's in his 4 innings of relief. This was just 2 days after his last start.

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The Red Sox couldn't work out a deal with the Rockies for Julian Tavarez, who then opted for free agency. It appears he's set to sign with the Brewers.

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Around the Horn - 5/5

Time to look at the standings once again as we are on Cinco de Mayo.

















The Red Sox swept the Rays over the weekend to take a 3-game lead in the AL East. Four of the five teams in the division over .500 and the last place Blue Jays are just 2 games under the even mark.

The Twins are red hot, having won 5 in a row. They took a 3-game sweep of the Tigers, who were coming off a 3-game sweep of the Yankees. The Twins are the only team in the AL Central as both the Indians and Tigers continue to dwell at the bottom of the division, albeit just 2.5 and 3 games out respectively. The White Sox have hit the skids, having lost 5 in a row and 8 of 11.

The Angels have been without John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar all season, but are still 7 games over .500 and have a 1 game lead in the AL West over the surprising Oakland A's. The Mariners, despite one of the best starting staffs in baseball, continue to get a lack of run support and sit at 6 games under .500 along with the Texas Rangers.





















The NL East has 4 teams over .500 with last year's title winner, Philadelphia sitting atop the lead. The Phillies have won 7 of 10 and took 6 of 8 from the NL West, but cheese steak lovers beware. The Phils have lost 6 of 9 games in the division. The Mets are keeping their heads above water as they try to get healthy and more consistent. They took 2 of 3 from a hot Arizona team (no pun intended) to move 3 over .500 and get within a half-game of the Phillies.

No one is more surprised about the Cardinals than us. They have to collapse some time, don't they? The Redbirds have won 7 of 10 and have the second best record in baseball at 20-12. The Cubs have dropped 7 of 10 to move back to 5 games over .500 and trail the Cards by 1.5 games. The remainder of the division has done poorly of late, though the Astros swept 3 games from the Brewers to reach .500.

Despite losing 2 of 3 to the Mets, the Diamondbacks still hold a 4 game lead over the surging Dodgers. LA had their 8 game winning streak snapped by the Rockies on Sunday, who ended their own 4 game slump. After last year's playoff performance, the Rockies are one of the biggest disappointments, going 12-19 out of the gate. The Giants and Padres continue to range from mediocre to poor play.

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