Tag: Chicago White Sox (Page 3 of 13)

      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      August 14, 2010 /

      Pennant races are heating up, brawls are starting to happen, and the Padres still have the best record in the National League. Ah, the dog days of summer. However, not much has changed in the upper half of our power rankings, and hasn’t for well over a month now…..

      1. New York Yankees (71-44)—I’ve been touting the Rays for a while now, and I won’t back down from that, but the Yankees sure aren’t letting go of the top spot.

      2. Tampa Bay Rays (69-46)—All that talent, and yet they were almost no-hit for the third time last Sunday. Something’s not quite right with the Rays’ bats.

      3. Texas Rangers (66-48)—They seem to be coasting now, and with an 8.5 game lead, they can afford to do that a bit. The Rangers still have the largest lead of any division front runner.

      4. San Diego Padres (68-46)—A five-game win streak has the Giants gasping for air again. Raise your hand if you keep thinking the other shoe is going to drop. I thought so. But it still hasn’t.

      5. Atlanta Braves (67-48)—Bobby Cox’ team had a huge blow with Chipper Jones out for the season, but this is a talented roster top to bottom, so they should hang in there against a charge from the Phillies.

      6. Boston Red Sox (66-51)—It’s getting to the point that the Sox have to win every game to stay in contention. Or at least every series. .

      7. St. Louis Cardinals (65-49)—They absolutely bitch slapped the Reds, sweeping them after Brandon Phillips ran his mouth. Now that’s the mark of a Tony LaRuss-run team.

      8. Minnesota Twins (66-50)—They have a hold on first place now, and they aren’t going to let go. Do you hear that, White Sox fans?

      9. San Francisco Giants (66-51)—Little losses here and there are keeping the Giants from catching San Diego. But they still lead the wild card chase.

      10. Philadelphia Phillies (64-51)—They are getting healthy and hot, and that’s not a great sign for the Braves.

      External Sports, MLB

      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      July 31, 2010 /

      It’s hard to believe July is ending today and the dog days of summer are in full swing. It also means pennant races are heating up, and this year they are more so than ever. You can safely say the Rangers are playoff-bound, but every other division lead is no greater than 3.5 games, and we have three divisions that have the top two teams separated by 1.5 games or less. How awesome is that? I mean, this could be the greatest stretch run as far as the entire league, ever. Here are Mikey’s power rankings (yes, I just referred to myself in the third person, I need to stop that!)……

      1. New York Yankees (65-37)—The Rays are inching closer, but the Yanks are still the team to beat. Adding Lance Berkman was a way for them to bully the Rays a little, like “Take that, small market team!” I also keep thinking about how they are going to sign Cliff Lee in the off-season and then they may play .800 ball next year. And really, who wants to see that?

      2. Tampa Bay Rays (64-38)—Don’t think the Yankees aren’t sweating, however. Because these Rays just sweat talent.

      3. San Diego Padres (60-41)—Seriously, when was the last time the Padres were contemplating trades at the trade deadline to bolster their team for the stretch? It’s such a great story this year.

      4. Texas Rangers (60-43)—Speaking of great stories…..the Rangers are up by 8 games in their division and could be the first team to clinch a playoff spot.

      5. Atlanta Braves (59-43)—Another great story. I wonder if Greg Maddux could come back and help these guys for a few months.

      6. Boston Red Sox (58-45)—Now these guys will definitely be the odd team out, and it almost seems like if they keep winning it won’t matter.

      7. San Francisco Giants (59-45)—Don’t look now, but the G-men are 2.5 games back of the Padres. And they have one of the best starting rotations in baseball, so they have the goods to contend down the stretch.

      8. Chicago White Sox (58-44)—Another 5-game win streak, but barely hanging on to first place in the AL Central

      9. Cincinnati Reds (57-47)—How many great team stories can there be in one year? Forget the year of the pitcher, it’s the year of the Cinderella. Sorry, Cardinals fans, I know you have a half-game lead, but Joey Votto just hit another home run. Wait, there goes another one!

      10. Minnesota Twins (57-46)—It’s just a matter of time before the White Sox fade, and the Twins are putting ridiculous pressure on them with their own 6-game winning streak.

      In the hunt: St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, LA Dodgers
      Fading fast: New York Mets, LA Angels, Colorado Rockies

      External Sports, MLB

      Will the Brewers trade Prince Fielder at the trade deadline?

      July 20, 2010 /
      Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder eyes a pitch against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 18, 2010 in Denver. Colorado beat Milwaukee 2-0. UPI/Gary C. Caskey Photo via Newscom

      The Brewers seemingly have two options when it comes to Prince Fielder: trade him now, or trade him later. Either way, they’re going to have to trade him at some point because Scott Boras is going to make sure that in a year and a half, Fielder is richer than Bill Gates’ personnel chef.

      Fielder signed a two-year, $18 million contract extension with the Brewers in January of last year. Only $4.34 million remains on that contract through the end of the season and then Fielder becomes arbitration-eligible for the 2011 season. After making another $15-16 million in arbitration next year, Boras will ensure that the slugger makes $100 million once he hits free agency in 2012.

      A bidding war over a home run commodity like Fielder isn’t something the small market Brewers are prepared for. They could break the bank in hopes of re-signing the slugger, but the more likely scenario is that GM Doug Melvin will seek a top-pitching prospect in a trade for Fielder now or in the offseason.

      If Melvin waits, he’ll probably have more suitors interested in the first baseman. But if he trades him at the deadline this year, he might find a desperate general manager who is willing to give up a top arm in order to acquire a slugger for the stretch run.

      There are several teams that could be interested in Fielder’s services, although you could make an argument for and against every one of them. The Brewers scouted White Sox pitcher Daniel Hudson on Monday night, but it’s doubtful that he could be the centerpiece in a deal for Fielder. At least not when the Rays (Jeremy Hellickson and Wade Davis) and Giants (Madison Bumgarner and Zach Wheeler) have more highly touted arms and could be interested in Fielder as well.

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      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      July 17, 2010 /

      The all-star game is behind us now, which means pennant races are about to heat up for real. And there are so many teams in contention this season, it really promises to be a wild rest of the summer. Here is a look at our post-all-star-game power rankings…..

      1. New York Yankees (57-32)—Playing with heavy hearts this week after the passing of George Steinbrenner, but nothing else has changed. They just keep winning, and for the Yankees, that’s just what they do.

      2. Tampa Bay Rays (54-35)—David Price is the real deal, and one of many reasons this young Rays team is battling the Yankees for AL East supremacy. They’re one of a handful of teams that can compete with the boys from Gotham, but they’d better not get swept this weekend.

      3. Atlanta Braves (53-37)—They suddenly have a 5-game lead over the slumping Mets (and 5.5 over the Phils), and have the look of a team that wants to send Bobby Cox out on top.

      4. Texas Rangers (52-38)—Cliff Lee and that lineup? The Rangers can start printing playoff tickets now.

      5. San Diego Padres (52-37)—At this point, you can’t call it smoke and mirrors. Just like the Rays, this young team plays hard, manufactures runs and keeps games close with solid pitching.

      6. Boston Red Sox (51-39)—Someone has awoken the beast that is David Ortiz. Home run derby was just a tease of what’s to come at Fenway this summer.

      7. Chicago White Sox (50-39)—A 9-game winning streak was snapped yesterday, but the south side of Chicago is beaming. Too bad Jake Peavy is out for the year, but that doesn’t seem to matter much right now.

      8. Cincinnati Reds (50-41)—See Padres, San Diego. Dusty Baker is one heck of a manager, and that is showing again now. Of course, when you have Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Scott Rolen in the middle of your lineup, all is right with the world.

      9. Colorado Rockies (49-40)—This year, the Rockies won’t wait to make their move until September. They have already started making it, and the Padres had better watch their collective back

      10. Detroit Tigers (48-39)—They have quietly kept right up with the White Sox, just one game back and now 2.5 ahead of the Twins. And Jim Leyland is still one of the best managers in the game.

      External Sports, MLB

      All-Star Break Rewind: Taking a look back at preseason MLB predictions

      July 13, 2010 /
      May 23, 2010 Philadelphia Phillies' pitcher Roy Halladay leaves the game against the Philadelphia Phillies' at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. The Red Sox beat the Phillies' 8-3.

      It’s always fun to take a look back and see how many faulty predictions members of the media got wrong in the preseason. It’s even more fun when you look back at your own faulty predictions and provide people the opportunity to all you a moron by laying out how wrong you were.

      Now that we’ve reached the halfway point in the 2010 MLB season, let’s see how my preseason predictions are holding up. (Click on the links provided to read the entire preseason prediction for that division.)

      AL East

      My Predictions: Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Orioles, Blue Jays.
      Current Standings: Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Orioles.

      Not too bad, although I thought that the O’s would be more competitive and without Roy Halladay, I thought the Jays would sink to the bottom of the division. I also underestimated the Rays a tad, but there’s still a lot of baseball to be played. It’ll be interesting to see if Tampa can stay ahead of the Red Sox, Tigers, Twins and Angels in the AL Wild Card race.

      AL Central

      My Predictions: White Sox, Twins, Tigers, Royals, Indians.
      Current Standings: White Sox, Tigers, Twins, Royals, Indians.

      Up until a couple of weeks ago, the White Sox were making me look like a bigger clown then I already am. But they’ve been on fire recently, winning eight in a row and nine of their last 10. The problem of course, is that Jake Peavy appears to be done for the season with a nasty back injury, so who knows how the Sox’s rotation will hold up in the second half. The rest of my predictions look good, although as I wrote in my preview of this division, the Central is a crapshoot.

      AL West

      My Predictions: Angels, Mariners, Rangers, A’s.
      Current Standings: Rangers, Angels, A’s, Mariners.

      Yeee-ikes. I missed badly on the Rangers, who have been the biggest surprise in the AL so far, and I also drank the Kool Aid on the Mariners before the season. I thought that Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee would make up for their shit-show of an offense, but I was wrong – way wrong. The Angels are only 4.5 games back of Texas and therefore could still win the division, but the Rangers are far and away the better team and I don’t think they’ve relinquish the lead. I need a mulligan for this division.

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