Notes from around the League

I’ve just reached the one third point of the league (all of the teams have played six games) and it seems like a good time to check in with some developments around the league.

The 1993 Giants and the 1985 Yankees are off to the best starts, with both teams 5-1 in the early going. The Giants aren’t really a surprise.  They were a powerhouse regular season team that was only denied a playoff berth due to the unfortunate luck of sharing a division with the 104 win Braves in the pre Wild Card days. The Yankees are a little surprising though, not just for the hot start, but for how dominant they have been in doing so.  They have outscored their opponents 55-25 and have the firepower to turn any game in a moment.  And yeah, I know we’re talking about six games but this is only an 18 game season. 

On the other side of things are the 1983 Phillies, a pennant winning team that just can’t get anything going.  Steve Carlton and John Denny have been getting rocked, the bullpen is in shambles and Gary Matthews has been their best hitter by far. That’s not a good thing. They are 1-5 and in danger of letting the Giants run away with the Rendell division.  Looking at the players on this team I am shocked that they were able to make it to the World Series. They just aren’t that good. Pete Rose in particular is awful and is probably worthy of his own post at some point.  

Oakland’s Curt Young has been making a case for the best pitcher in this short season. Two starts, two complete game shutouts. In fact, those are the only two shutouts by a starter in the league so far.  Nolan Ryan is defying Father Time once again and looks pretty good with a 2-0 record, 1.69 ERA and almost 11 strikeouts per nine. 

The 2-4 Pirates have been devastated by injuries in the early going.  They’ve lost Jose Lind for ten games, Andy Van Slyke for two games, and Jay Bell for one game.  Not exactly superstars, but they don’t really have the depth to absorb those losses. Especially in the infield.  Mike LaValliere has been getting a lot of playing time this season.  Next time I do one of these seasons I need to take a look at how I should prorate injuries to be reflective of a short season.  A ten game injury is a major loss.

1997 Randy Johnson was one of the players I was really looking forward to seeing in action but so far he has stunk up the Kingdome.  It’s only two games but he is 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA in 14 innings.  He’s walked nine guys and only struck out eleven.  I expected more from the Big Unit!

Early favorite for the AL MVP is the Man of Steal, Rickey Henderson.  His line so far: 478/613/913 with 8 RBI, 12 runs, 4 steals and 3 home runs.  NL MVP is a little closer but I’d have to go with Fred McGriff. 455/538/773 with some clutch hits. But it’s really a wide open race.