New World Disorder

So the Sox do something they haven't done in 86 years. Not only did they win the Series but they beat the Yankees in baseball's greatest comeback to get there. They also won it all on the anniversary of the night they lost the '86 series and on a full moon too.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, the world of baseball doesn't seem to be the same. Here we are, 1 month into the 2005 season and the American League East is in complete disarray. The Baltimore Orioles are off to a really strong start. Toronto seems to be holding their own as well. Boston is playing .500 ball in third place. The big surprise is the $200 million Yankees who are in a battle for last place with, of course, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The once God-like Joe Torre now seems somewhat human. Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer in the game, is also showing weakness. Even if the Yanks get their shit together soon, they're a 90 game winner at best. But at this rate, I wouldn't even put my money on that. It's still very early in the season, but Baltimore actually has a good chance of either taking the division or at least the Wild Card. The one thing that doesn't really impress me is their pitching. They're doing good now, but we'll see how that last. Their hitting, however, is amazing.

And the AL East isn't the only place where there's some surprise. Check out the AL Central. The White Sox are looking damned good. Detroit is also looking to pull off a winning season for the first time in how many years. Then there's the NL East... The Braves and Marlins are leading the pack as usual. But, the Washington Nationals are doing pretty well in 3rd place. They're ahead of the "Amazin' Mets" with their new big payroll who haven't really done shit yet. Everyone figured Washington would suck it up and be the Tampa Bay of the National League for a couple of years until they got some revenue and maturity. Well, they're not a contender yet, but looking damned good compared to New York's bloated salaries.

Now onto the Sox. These bastids need to get their shit together. Pitching is a mess, our infield isn't hitting for shit and aren't the inpenetrable wall of defense we thought we were getting with Renteria. If this keeps up I guarantee you we'll see another big trade similar to what we saw last year. A few sports rags have hinted at this and I think it's something very possible that we may see Clemens in a Boston uniform again. To a point, its wishful thinking but look at it like this. He's got a 1 year contract. Houston doesn't look like they'll be a contender this year and Boston needs pitching badly. The only 2 teams in baseball that could float his salary are Boston and New York. The thing is, Houston would have to be stupid to accept a trade from New York. Their farm system is shit, and the whole roster is full of old men with huge salaries. Boston, on the other hand has some good trade bait and the fact that Theo is smart with negotiating, we don't have too many longterm deals. Schilling and Wells should be back soon. But Schilling still scares me. I'm not sure he'll be 100%. Wells is a reliable pitcher, but he's no ace. We have Wade Miller but there's no knowing how effective he'll be yet. One thing to watch too is, we just signed John Olerud for some insurance at first. His bat isn't anything to brag about nowadays but look at what Millar is doing. The Astros also have Jeff Bagwell at first right now who's got a bum arm and won't be around much longer. Millar would fill the gap well providing both and offensive and defensive improvement for Houston. If Houston realizes they won't to anything this year, they're going to want to make some acquisitions that will give them a shot next year or the year after. So... keep any eye on that. We may see the Rocket back.