He’s a Great Book! with Ozzie Guillen — Of Mice and Men from Dan Bulla on Vimeo.

Love the intro of Ozzie at the field, belting books out of the park.

…oh, stop it. You don’t count, Yankee Fans.

The Red Sox, a preseason favorite of many pundits, have started off the year losers of six in a row. Their team ERA is 7.13, Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, Marco Scutaro, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and big money free agent Carl Crawford are all hitting below .200, and Indians starter Mitch Talbot just struck out 13 Boston batters on Wednesday night. (That’s 13, and that’s Mitch Talbot.)

The Rays have also started off 0-6, but they haven’t even held a lead this year. They’ve scored one run in five of their first six games and fans are already booing Manny Ramirez. Ironically, White Sox starter Edwin Jackson also struck out 13 Tampa Bay batters in a 5-1 win on Thursday.

What does this all mean? Maybe something, maybe nothing. Pundits figured that the Rays could struggle with the amount of talent they lost in the offseason, but nobody saw an 0-6 start for Boston. Not after they shelled out big money for Crawford and traded for slugger Adrian Gonzalez. But the reality is that they’ve done nothing right so far.

Of course, we haven’t even reached the middle of April yet. If Boston sweeps two three-game series, they’ll be back to .500 (I took math in college) and this 0-6 start will fade a bit from memory. Besides, you can’t look too deep into what a team does in April – nevertheless the first week in April. Does anyone think the Pirates will continue to play well? No, they’ll eventually fall off. They’re playing well now because everyone expects them to finish dead last in the NL Central and therefore, the pressure is off.

That said, teams like the Red Sox that are expected to make a World Series run have a tendency to press when things aren’t going their way. Boston shouldn’t worry too much about being 0-6 but they obviously can’t wait too long to start winning either.

From ESPN.com:

“A lot of the stuff with Ozzie [Guillen] and the front office gets old,” the right-hander said of his former manager, according to the Chicago Tribune. “It has been a problem for a long time. It was a problem before last year. It was a problem before last year. … It’s going to be nice for me to see how things are done here.”

Jenks went on to say that he did “like it in Chicago” and that it was a good place for his family. But why make comments about Guillen or the front office? I appreciate when athletes speak their minds and don’t revert to default answers like “no comment,” but maybe Jenks needs a reminder of his early years in baseball.

For those needing a brief history lesson, the Angels drafted Jenks in the fifth round of the 2000 draft and then watched him spend most of his time on the DL because of elbow problems. In 2002, he was suspended for repeatedly bringing alcohol on the team bus of the Halos’ Double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers. By 2004, he was designated for assignment and seemed destined to be a career minor league (or out baseball entirely).

It was GM Kenny Williams and his scouting staff, along with manager Ozzie Guillen (who joined the White Sox in 2004) that gave Jenks new life in Chicago. He repaid them with a couple of solid years and helped them win a World Series in 2005, but none of that wouldn’t have happened had the Chicago front office not taken a flier on him.

Granted, you wouldn’t have to look hard to find someone who agrees with Jenks’ point of view on the ChiSox’s front office and/or Guillen. But maybe Jenks should show a little more humility considering how he arrived in Chicago in the first place.

The Yankees just keep winning, and suddenly the Padres keep losing, sitting with an 8-game losing streak, but still clinging to a three-game lead over the Giants. We may wind up with very few pennant races, but we are likely to have lots of new match-ups in the postseason this year. For that, I’m excited. And let me go out on a limb here. Watch out for the Rockies. They have this knack for winning 98% of their games in September and climbing fast in the standings.

1. New York Yankees (85-50)—They haven’t lost since I did my last rankings. The Rays caught up, but then the Yanks jumped back out to a 1.5-game lead. I know I’ve been high on the Rays, but the Yankees ain’t gonna fold. And CC for Cy Young?

2. Tampa Bay Rays (83-51)—With a 7-game lead in the wild card, that’s got to be what the Rays are gunning for. And they’d have to suffer a major collapse for that to happen at this point.

3. Cincinnati Red (78-56)—No longer a flash in the pan, the Reds are not just for real, they are striking fear in every other MLB team. How about the addition of Aroldis Chapman? Did anyone thing he would be helping this team in a pennant race in September?

4. Minnesota Twins (78-57)—The White Sox have Manny Ramirez now, but that won’t stop the Twins from pulling away this month.

5. Atlanta Braves (78-57)—Hanging tough as the Phillies make a charge. This could be one division race worth biting your nails over.

6. San Diego Padres (76-57)—Speaking of biting nails, how are you Padres’ fans feeling these days? Yikes.

7. Texas Rangers (75-59)—Now with a 9-game lead, Nolan Ryan can print those playoff tickets.

8. Philadelphia Phillies (77-58)—This team has caught fire at the right time, and we all knew they had it in them. One game back, and the Braves could wind up missing the postseason entirely after a great year.

9. Boston Red Sox (76-58)—A good season, and they’d be in the divisional hunt in every other division but the AL East.

10. San Francisco Giants (74-61)—With the Padres losing 8 in a row, the Giants have still not been able to capitalize. And now they trail the Phillies by 3 games in the wild card hunt.

I’ve got one two words of advice for the Los Angeles Dodgers right now: Have patience.

SI.com’s Jon Heyman is reporting that the White Sox have won the waiver claim on outfielder Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers now have until Tuesday to either trade him or pull him back. Ken Rosenthal is also reporting that L.A. has placed starter Ted Lilly on waivers, meaning a deal could also be forthcoming for him if he’s claimed.

The problem is that the Dodgers have won three in a row and are now only five games behind the Giants in the NL Wild Card race. Less than a week ago, it made sense to put players like Manny and Lilly on waivers seeing as how neither of them will be part of the team’s long-term plans. But today, things are much trickier.

Do the Dodgers keep Manny and Lilly in order to make a run at the playoffs or do they trade them and hope to get lucky over the next 30-plus games?

If they wait, that question could be answered for them over the next three days. The Dodgers are set to play the Rockies (who are four games back in the Wild Card chase) in Colorado for a three-game set starting tonight. If they take the series and the other Wild Card contenders (Giants, Phillies, Cardinals) struggle, then why not keep Manny and Lilly and try to make a run?

Look, I get it. It stands to reason that even with Manny and Lilly (who has been outstanding since coming over in a mid-season trade with the Cubs) the Dodgers don’t have much of a chance to make the playoffs. And even if they do, how far would they be able to go given their current collection of talent?

But what do you think they’d get for Manny and Lilly in a trade right now? Nothing of value, I can tell you that. They’d get some salary relief, but we’re not talking about a ton of money here.

Now, if they get swept by Colorado or even lose 2 of 3, then all bets are off. Trade Manny and Lilly for whatever you can get and use the money on draft picks or free agents next year. It makes no sense to sit six or seven games back in the Wild Card with just over 30 games remaining and carry dead weight.

But by all means, wait three days. The picture will become clearer at that point.

Due to a calf injury that has sidelined him for the better part of a decade, Manny Ramirez has completely fallen off the baseball map over the last couple of months.

ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Dodgers will likely put Manny on waivers sometime this week, which would end his brief stay in “Mannywood.” Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that if L.A. does put the aging outfielder on waivers, the White Sox plan to claim him for the stretch run.

But does Ramirez have anything left to give a contender?

Let’s get this out of the way first: the Dodgers have little to know need for him at this point. He’s a free agent at the end of the year and seeing as how Scott Podsednik (picked up in a mid-season trade) gives the club three quality starters in the outfield, L.A. might as well get something for Manny while they still can.

Despite the general consensus that Ramirez is washed up, keep in mind that he’s still hitting .312 this year with a slugging percentage north of .500. Yes, injuries are a major concern, but if he can stay healthy for the final 35-plus games then he could give a team like the White Sox a shot in the arm.

Now losers of seven of their last 10, the Sox continue to slide further behind the Twins in the AL Central. They’re currently 4.5 games out of first place in the division and seemingly have zero chance of catching the Yankees or the Rays for the Wild Card now that they’re 9.5 back in that race.

Paul Konerko continues to carry this club, but Alex Rios has started to fade and Carlos Quentin has been incredibly streaky. If Ramirez (who obviously knows American League pitching) can be had for cheap, there should be nothing stopping GM Kenny Williams from claiming him.

That said, Manny still has to get past all the National League teams and clubs with a worse record than the Sox. Plus, the Dodgers and Sox would still have to agree to a deal.

But if all of that happens, the Sox have nothing to lose at this point. They could use another bat and while Manny probably won’t be the difference between them making the playoffs this year or not, he still has enough left in the tank to provide a spark.

With football season upon us, that’s when baseball gets real interesting. To me, there is no better time of year than that first weekend in October when you have four MLB playoff series and a full slate of NFL games. As for the pennant races, they’re starting to shift and some teams are beginning to pull away while others lose hold on their position…

1. New York Yankees (75-47)—A one-game lead but the Mariners are in town this weekend, so it’s as good a time as any to start padding the margin over the Rays and Sox again.

2. Tampa Bay Rays (74-48)—Still hanging on, as the Yankees continue to look in their collective rear-view mirror.

3. San Diego Padres (73-48)—The Giants had their five-game winning streak, and the Padres answered with one of their own, widening their late August lead to 6 games over the G-men until losing last night. Is there any question about manager of the year here?

4. Atlanta Braves (72-50)—Bobby Cox hopes his team will feast on Cubs’ pitching at Wrigley while the Phils face the Nats at home.

5. Texas Rangers (68-53)—The Rangers lost four in a row this past week but still have a seven-game lead over the A’s and Angels. I’d say they have nothing to worry about.

6. Minnesota Twins (71-51)—As we suspected, the Twins keep adding to their lead, now 4.5 games over the White Sox.

7. Cincinnati Red (71-51)—Just when the Cardinals made a statement, the Reds have now won 7 in a row while St. Louis has lost 5 straight, giving Dusty Baker’s boys a 4.5 game lead and increasing the chances Brandon Phillips will start smack-talking again, if he hasn’t already.

8. Boston Red Sox (69-54)—Time is running out on the Sox, and also on Roger Clemens’ days as a free man.

9. Philadelphia Phillies (69-52)—They’ve stayed hot, but so have the Braves. Do you think the Phils wish they still had Cliff Lee?

10. San Francisco Giants (69-54)—Only trailing Philly in the wild card chase by one game, two in the loss column. But a recent slide took them out of that spot and their hopes of a division crown are fading away.