The Season in Review - April

AHHH, the long wait is over, baseball is back and all is right with the world. So far we have put about 15 games underneath our collective belts and in the relatively small sample sizes there have been a few surprises although none of them earth shattering.

Firstly, Ubaldo Jimenez is good. I don't think anyone is surprised he pitched the years first no-hitter. The kid has some absolutely filthy stuff and when he is on he is practically unhittable. He followed up his no-hitter with another dominate start. His name should be in the mix at the end of the year for the Cy Young even though he pitches half his games in Coors.

I wonder if the Cardinals increased strikeouts and higher reliance on home runs is a side effect of Big Mac being the new hitting coach. Honestly, I don't really know what wisdom he has to impart, he wasn't a very good hitter honestly. He swung as hard as he could at pitches in the strike zone and missed them at a fairly high rate. I am not sure that his approach to hitting works for anyone without super human strength or a super soldier serum running through his veins. If his work was in evidence throughout that 20 inning exercise in futility then its going to be a long year for the Cardinals with runners in scoring position.

Anybody surprised by the Rays being good? I am not, they have a ton of talent. Nor am I surprised by the fact the Nats can at least play .500 ball. I am equally not surprised that the Mets are terrible. How much longer can Omar blame Steve Phillips? The Mets are just lucky that they fired Steve Phillips before the got Kris Benson. I am sure the Steve Phillips Anna Benson combo would have been tabloid worthy. Also is there any question that the Padre's aren't pretenders?

Jim Edmonds can still hit boys and girls. His Gold Glove certainly has some tarnish on it, but his swing is looking pretty sweet after sitting out a year. My guess is that he wants to play at a decently high level for this year and maybe one more so that he can eclipse the 400 career homer mark. He is 17 homers short and although it is a relatively minor thing it would increase his chances of making the Hall of Fame. His percentage numbers are excellent with a career OPS of .906. Oh yea, and this just in, the Brewers may not have any class, but they sure can hit the baseball.

The AL East could be the most exciting division in baseball this year. There are three high quality teams in that division, with only two possible playoff spots. A good team is going to get left out in the cold. And yes folks, the Red Sox aren't going to struggle like this all year, they just haven't started hitting yet.


The Astros may not have the best team in the world but few teams would end up with a winning record after running through Lincecum, Cain, Wainwright, plus others. They aren't going to be a contender in the Central but they aren't nearly as bad as their 0-8 start indicates. Carlos Lee has been terrible and Lance Berkman has been injured so the middle of their lineup will only get better from here on out.