MLB: Basement Full of “Gems”

Posted on | May 19, 2008 | No Comments

Okay, there are a lot of experts at the beginning of the season who disappear by the All-Star Break. Their predictions go horribly wrong and they slink off to a corner of the sport’s world where they don’t have to answer to their faulty reasoning on why one team did so poorly after that team was predicted to be at the top. This is nothing new.

But what is new is that three – count ‘em – three teams in the American League who were thought by many to be playoff teams are currently in the basement of each of their divisions. Those three teams are the New York Yankees, the Detroit Tigers, and the Seattle Mariners.

There is huge trouble in New York. The Yankees have now falled to four games under .500. They are coming off a weekend in which they were swept by the New York Mets. And you know that can’t sit well with either Steinbrenner. The Yankees find themselves in the basement of the AL East as they are 5 games behind division leading Boston and two whole games behind the next worse team in the division – the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees will be getting A-Rod back for the next game so hopefully that will do wonders for them. But I wouldn’t count on it.

Meanwhile in the Al Central we’ve already spent too much time on the Detroit Tigers and their inexcusable play. They were shutout for the seventh time this season by the D-Backs on Sunday. And they still haven’t gotten rid of Gary Sheffield. I hear Leyland plans on playing him the entire series against the Mariners. Maybe his bat will come alive but I doubt it. More likely he’ll continue to strikeout and ground into double plays.

Finally, the Seattle Mariners are at the bottom of the AL West. They were pretty bad these last 2 years but they looked to be much improved coming into this year. Apparently not. They are coming off a decent weekend against the lowly San Diego Padres though. The Mariners will take a two game winning streak into Detroit on Tuesday. Perhaps that will be enough to get them kick started.

Related posts:

1. O’Callaghan full of motivation
2. MLB: Day One Hundred and Fifty-Six
3. MLB: Day One Hundred and Thirty-One
4. Great Day
5. MLB: A Good Night for the Rays

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