School’s out for summer…

Is May over already? It’s hard to believe that the second month of the season is over after tonight’s action. Things are starting to take shape but there is still a lot of baseball left to be played. The next three months will be important to determine if the September call-ups are there to help the team now or just to get experience for next year. Let’s hope our teams are in the hunt come September 1st.

The Orioles (30-24) are hanging in there. They sit 2.5 games behind the Red Sox who have taken the lead in the AL East thanks to a 5 game losing streak by the Yankees. The O’s have won 7 out of their last 10 and are only ½ a game behind the second place Yanks. Tampa Bay has also been playing well and is back in the hunt as well. Only three games separate the top 4 teams in the AL East. Baltimore hosts Detroit in a three game set this weekend.

The Braves (32-21) are plugging right along. Thanks to some help from Baltimore against the Nationals the Braves sit on top of the NL East by 5.5 games now. That’s a good thing because the Nats are coming to town for a three game set in Atlanta. Hopefully the Braves can keep up their winning ways against Washington this weekend.

The Cubs (22-30) are on fire! They have won 4 in a row and now sit only 12.5 games behind the division leading Cardinals. More importantly right now is they have opened up a 3 game lead over the last place Brewers. Arizona comes to town this weekend so maybe the Cubs can keep the streak going.

Memorial Day Weekend

As we head into another Memorial Day Weekend don’t forget to take a moment and recognize those who have died in service to our country so we can enjoy the greatest game, the National Pastime, baseball.

“Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.” Terence Mann

The Chicago Cubs (18-28) have gotten some outstanding pitching over the last week against the Mets and the Pirates. In the six games played the Cubs’ pitching staff has given up only 19 runs, about 3 per game. In today’s game, that is pretty good. On the offensive side they have managed 19 runs during that span. So what was the overall result? One win and five losses. Sorry Cubs fans there’s no good way to put it. The most recent sweep at the hands of the Pirates leaves the Cubs back in last place 12 games behind the Cardinals. It doesn’t get any easier as they head to Cincinnati this weekend. The best way to make up ground though is to beat the teams ahead of you. Go Cubs!

The Orioles (25-22) managed to right the ship a little bit this week by taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees. However, a loss to the Blue Jays last night has them still 3.5 games behind the Yanks in the AL East. They have three more against Toronto this weekend which gives them the chance to gain some ground. It’s time for a nice little winning streak to get back on top.

The Braves (28-18) are in the best shape of our teams this year. They hold a 4.5 game lead over the Nationals and have won 6 in a row and 7 of their last 10. They head to NY to take on the Mets in a three game series this weekend without Met killer Chipper Jones. It is time for someone else to step into that role for the Braves.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

In the words of Frank Barone, “Holy Crap!” That about sums up the weekend for the Baltimore Orioles (23-20). They couldn’t have had a worse weekend. Not only did they get swept by division rival Tampa Bay, which moves them into a tie with the Rays for third place, The Yankees have won two straight (7 of their last 10) and the Red Sox have won 5 in a row. The O’s have now lost 5 in a row and 7 out of their last 10 have been losses. I know you can’t win them all, but the best way to win the division is to avoid long losing streaks. They host the hated Yankees beginning tonight (ESPN) so they have a real opportunity to get things going in the right direction. Since they are 4 games back they can’t take over the lead with a sweep, but it certainly would be nice to win all three anyway.

The Braves (25-18) on the other hand had a great weekend. They swept the Dodgers at home (I mistakenly posted Friday that they were in LA) and have opened up a 2.5 game lead over the Nationals in the NL East. They take on the visiting Twins tonight in the first of a three game set before heading north to take on the Mets. The Braves have had some key injuries to the bullpen so it will be interesting to see if the “next guy up” can produce.

The Cubs (18-25) lost two of three to the Mets. They played well in both losses but just can’t find a way to win the close one right now. They are still ahead of the Brewers in the NL Central but now sit 10 games behind the Cardinals. The Cubs take on the division rival Pirates in a three game series beginning tonight in Pittsburgh.

On a more local note, the Hub City Heat dodged a few rain drops and came away with a tournament championship this weekend. 

Middle of May

Ok folks, here is where our beloved baseball teams stand heading into this weekend’s action…

The big news coming out of the NL Central is that the Cubs (17-23) are no longer in last place! Granted they are still quite a few games out of first (9.0) but they have moved past the Milwaukee Brewers who are now ½ game behind the Cubbies. Chicago hosts the Mets this weekend so victories will help both the Cubs and the Braves. Go Cubs!

Atlanta (22-18) is struggling right now out west. They have lost 6 of their last 10 games and begin a three game series with the Dodgers tonight. In spite of their struggles they still hold a ½ game lead over the Nationals. Hopefully the Braves can win the series over the Dodgers before they head home to host the Twins next week.

The Orioles (23-17) are hanging in there in the AL East. The Yankees have been playing good ball lately and have taken over first place but the O’s are just 1.5 games back. They get to host Tampa Bay in a big three game series this weekend. Got to win against your division foes.

Baltimore Oriole you better get to know…Manny Machado.

Here is a recent article about the young third baseman for the Orioles. I will also attach the link to his Wikipedia page. Sports Illustrated also has an article on him recently. His name is coming up with the likes of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout pretty regularly and this article compares the three. Enjoy.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/22248080/yearold-manny-machado-deserving-of-more-hype

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manny_Machado

Week of May 13, 2013

The Good news over the last few days is that the Red Sox have hit some hard times. They have lost 8 of their last 10 games and have now fallen behind the Orioles. The bad news is that the Yankees have won 7 of their last 10 games including 5 in a row to take over first place by a game over the Orioles. The Braves started their road trip in style by defeating the World Champion Giants in game one of their 4 game series. Then they promptly lost the next three. Fortunately, the Cubs found some road magic and beat the Nationals 2 out of three games to keep the Nats 1 game back of the Braves. Unfortunately for the Cubs, everyone else in the NL Central is playing well so they still sit 8.5 games out of first. The start of a new week brings all kinds of possibilities for our three teams.

Braves (21-16) head to Arizona (21-17)

Cubs (15-22) host Colorado (20-17)

Orioles (23-15) host San Diego (16-21)

Weekend Recap 5/6

Lots of bad weather around these parts this weekend. In fact one of the three games the Braves were scheduled to play was postponed. Looks like the Cubs could have used a rain out as well.

The Braves (18-12) are still 2 games ahead of the Nationals in the NL East. They split two games with the Mets and I guess the third will be played at a later date. They should get Brian McCann back this week. It is always good to get back an all-star but since the Braves have lost 7 of their last 10 games, it will be especially good to see him back out there. The Braves head to Cincinnati today.

The Cubs (11-20) are in trouble. They got swept by the Reds and have lost 4 in a row and 6 of their last 10 games. This puts them 9 games back in the NL Central. They welcome Texas to town this week and really need to right the ship or things could get ugly in Wrigley.

The Orioles (19-13) gained ground on the Red Sox this weekend. They sit 1.5 games out of first after taking 3 out of 4 from the Angels. They finally get to come home and face the Royals this week.

First Weekend in May

As we head into this weekend’s action not too much has changed. The Braves and the Cubs are going against division rivals so it will be important for them to play well over the weekend.

The Braves (17-11) are coming off of a series split with the Nationals. The Braves took the first two games and then dropped the final two. The good news is they maintained their 2.5 game lead in the NL East. This weekend they host the NY Mets for three games so they need to play well. Sunday’s game has Hudson matching up against the NL’s hottest pitcher in the Mets’ Harvey.

The Cubs (11-17) are 6 games behind the NL Central leading Cardinals after their split with the San Diego Padres, 2 games apiece. They are hosting the Reds in a three game series starting Friday afternoon. The Cubs need to make a push in this series and work their way back up through the competitive NL Central.

The Orioles (17-12) are still out west against the LA Angels. They are still 3.5 games behind the Red Sox as they look to continue their 4 game series against Los Angeles this weekend. They took game one last night so maybe they can keep up the momentum.