Culture Stew is a bit of an experiment in having the average girl or guy share thoughts on the things that make life worth living in many regards: television, sports, movies and music. Come and take a look at http://www.culturestew.com. A look back on the opening two weeks of baseball's marathon season, chronicling the upswing of Jim Thome, the downturn of the San Diego Padres and the awesome power that is Detroit Tigers first baseman Chris Shelton. Read on for this week in baseball.
by Andrew Moore
Culture Stew Columnist
In Major League Baseball, some things seem to happen every season. A few of the most notable occurrences are:
Tampa Bay has a better record than the New York Yankees. This seems to happen every April. The Yankee bats forget how to work most days and George Steinbrenner lets the team know how upset he is. Then the Yankees right ship and win 95 games.
Kansas City is horrible. Except for three years ago when the Royals held the Central league for a large part of the season, they have been awful for the past decade, be it April or September.
The Atlanta Braves trail in the NL East. We all know that the Braves will win the East. It’s a given. Just like the sun will come up tomorrow, the Braves will win the East. It hasn’t seemed like such a sure thing the past couple of years, but they’ll find a way. Look who is ahead of them. The New York Mets are off to a torrid start, tying the record for quickest five game lead in major league history.
Albert Pujols is crushing the baseball. With the Cards down two entering the ninth inning, the brilliant Reds decide to pitch to Pujols. That’s not all that bad, except for the fact King Albert had already hit two out of the yard on the afternoon. Pujols is tied with Chris Shelton at 9 home runs, in only 13 ball games.
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. is on the disabled list. Everyone knows about Griffey’s talent. They also know that he gets hurt... a lot. Since joining the Reds in 2000, Griffey has missed over 400 games. He is truly one of the best and most exciting players in baseball. If he can find a way to stay healthy he will still go down as one of the best players ever.
There are also a few early surprises this season:
Jim Thome has hit a home run, seven of them in fact. Thome is notorious for his slow starts dating back to his Cleveland days. He would have 15 homers at the All-Star break and then hit 30 over the last three months. Last season Thome hit only seven home runs for the Phillies, in an injury plagued season. In the off-season Thome signed with his hometown White Sox and is taking advantage of a fresh start.
The Houston Astros are 9-4 without Roger Clemens. After being swept in the World Series by the Chicago White Sox, the Astros weren’t expected to do much this season. Unlike most seasons, the Astros are off to a hot start with the hot bat of Lance Berkman and stellar pitching by ace Roy Oswalt.
Detroit Tigers first baseman Chris Shelton is off to a torrid pace, ranking second in the AL in batting average (.471) and leading the AL in both homers (9) and RBI’s (17). Shelton is on pace for 112 home runs this season, which would be a major league record. His 212 RBI’s would also break Hack Wilson’s historic record of 191 RBI’s set in 1930. Neither of these will obviously hold up as Shelton will "struggle" to hit 40 this season.
The Two-Week Awards
AL MVP: Chris Shelton. There isn’t even a question about this one.
AL Cy Young: Curt Schilling/Josh Beckett. Both have been phenomenal, going 3-0 with sub-2.00 ERA’s for the Red Sox.
AL Rookie of the Year: Kenji Johjima. The Japanese catcher is hitting .364 with 2 homers for the Mariners.
NL MVP: Albert Pujols.
NL Cy Young: Greg Maddux/Tom Glavine. The Braves… er former Braves aces have started with three and two wins respectively, to go along with sub-1.50 ERAs.
NL Rookie of the Year: Brian Bannister. The Mets rookie has started 2-0 in three starts with a 2.50 ERA.
Top 5 / Bottom 5
1. New York Mets: Great hitting and pitching have the Mets at 10-2 and a five game lead in the NL East.
2. Boston Red Sox: Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett have pitched superbly early on.
3. Chicago White Sox: The defending champs are playing good ball behind the bat of Jim Thome and the arms of their five aces.
4. Cleveland Indians: The Tribe is even with the Sox early on thanks to solid starting pitching and the bat of Travis Hafner.
5. San Francisco Giants: Who needs Barry Bonds? The Giants are winning without any contribution from their troubled slugger.
26. San Diego Padres: Woeful hitting (.234) has lead to a woeful start for the defending NL West champs.
27. Washington Nationals: Frank Robinson’s team is struggling at the plate, hitting only .239. That’s what happens in massive RFK.
28. Florida Marlins: No veterans will mean a long season.
29. Pittsburgh Pirates: Sean Casey breaking his back is the least of their worries.
30. Kansas City Royals: They’ve lost eight in a row. The streak is expected to get to 80 before they win.
Thoughts? Comments? Send them directly to andrew@culturestew.com.