ABOUT AT BAT

MSNBC.com baseball analyst Ted Robinson gives his take on the hits and misses by players, managers, umpires and owners in Major League Baseball.

Robinson has an extensive background in covering the sport. He called the play-by-play on NBC's Major League Baseball Game of the Week telecasts from 1986-89. Additionally, he has been the lead play-by-play announcer for the Minnesota Twins, the television and radio play-by-play voice of the San Francisco Giants, and a member of the New York Mets broadcast team.



Baseball season promising a big finish

Posted: Monday, August 13, 2007 4:46 PM

It's truly August. Look at the standings and the biggest division lead is four games. And who could have truly thought that the Yankees would get this hot and narrow Boston's lead. The Sox are still playing .600 ball, but the Yankees have simply been on fire.
 
Each division has a race and six NL teams are within three games of the wild card. A great final seven weeks of the season loom, and here are some things that I'm watching in each division:
 
NL WEST
Arizona leads the division. Has anyone outside the Pacific Time Zone taken note of the Diamondbacks? A great baseball story about the total rebuilding of a franchise is unfolding in the desert . This team won a World Series using tomorrow's money, much of it borrowed from MLB and the teams. Think anybody in the game was happy about that?

With an ownership change came a new philosophy and this team is to be admired. Young, talented and scrappy, they win defying the numbers (like being outscored on the season). Eric Byrnes, their spiritual leader who just signed a new deal, says the team reminds him of the A's in the Giambi/Tejada/Hudson/Mulder days. That's a great compliment.

What to watch: the kids. Can Chris Young, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, and the 19-year-old Justin Upton handle August and September ball?
 
NL CENTRAL
The most insane baseball fact is the Cardinals are only 5 1/2 games out. Milwaukee came back to earth, and the Cubs have stumbled after their surge. So here are the Cards and as long as Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen are together in the lineup, they must be respected.

What to watch: Milwaukee's outstanding rookie third baseman Ryan Braun. In New York, he'd be a star already. His game-winning homer off Houston's Brad Lidge in Saturday's ninth inning (it's stunning to see Lidge still struggle) was his 22nd and he didn't join the team until May. He is hitting homers at a record rookie pace. Coming down the stretch can he carry the offense in tandem with Prince Fielder?

NL EAST
Moises Alou homered twice Sunday to help the Mets salvage one game of three from Florida. But Alou also played Saturday night. Mets manager Willie Randolph is boxed: feeling the heat of a division race, he needs Alou's bat. However, Alou's legs have repeatedly demonstrated they can't take constant play. Meanwhile, the Braves and Phillies hover, neither able to put together the win streak needed to pass the Mets, but neither going away. And the Braves own the Mets in the season series (Atlanta has won eight of twelve so far).

What to watch: Pedro Martinez. Can he give the Mets the late-season lift they seek? Carlos Beltran. Quietly, he had a monster year as the anchor of the Mets 2006 offense. With Carlos Delgado and Paul LoDuca off their norm this year, the Mets need a big finish from Beltran.

AL EAST
All credit to the Yankees. Doubters are once again silenced as the New York bats roar and they sweep the Indians (previously 37-22 at home) over the weekend. Meanwhile, Boston's recent bullpen addition, Eric Gagne, had a bad week and some panic has begun in New England.

What to watch: Joba Chamberlain. The Yankees have totally overhauled their bullpen ahead of Rivera and this young stud -- recently called up from Triple-A -- is the key. But he's in a harness as he can't pitch consecutive days and needs two days rest after a two-inning outing. Can the Yankees' front office continue to tie manger Joe Torre's hands with such restrictive rules in a pennant race?
 
AL CENTRAL
It looks like two teams and neither the Indians nor Tigers is charging at present.

What to watch: Detroit's starters. With Kenny Rogers and Andrew Miller disabled, the Tigers need the big three, especially Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson to pitch as they did last year.
 
AL WEST
Seattle's renaissance continues and it has not suffered since Mike Hargrove resigned as manager earlier in the season. Their bullpen, so strong in the first half, has wobbled a bit of late, but not enough to derail them. They'll push the Angels but won't pass them. Suddenly, though, their competition comes not from Oakland, but the Yankees, breathing down their necks for the wild card.

What to watch: Can the Angels John Lackey win 20 games? The quietest star pitcher in the game is dealing and has a lights-out closer in Francisco Rodriguez.

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Comments

Even though I am a long, loyal Cub fan, I believe that St Louis will eventually prevail in the NL Central.  The Cubs surge was an exception to every and all rules.  Take away Zambrano and Lilly and they have no pitching.  Take away Rameriz and with Lee in a prolonged slump and Soriano out, they have no pitching.  For us Cub fans, unfortunately, 2007 will go down in the "wait until next year" column.

Jeffrey Stein, San Diego, CA (Sent Monday, August 13, 2007 10:09 PM)

Not that I disagree with anything else Ted says about the NL West but we live in the AZ time zone so we've certainly noticed. It's been a thrill to watch these guys play this year. Just when you think they've set a line up to make a run, some new star comes up from Tucson or Mobile.
Can't say that I agree with claiming Cirrilo(sp?) or Kim off waivers though. Our boys beat up Kim pretty good when he pitched for the other guys and he didn't have an impressive start. And then we send down proven outfield help in the form of Davanon to make room for infield/utility pinch hitter?????

Kevin B, Surprise AZ (Sent Tuesday, August 14, 2007 5:18 PM)

'Dice-K' & Gagne they have been a big disappointment so far, along with Wakefield who consistantly loses almost as many games as he wins.  Beckett & Papalbon are the real good pitchers for the Red Sox, both should share in 'Dice-K's' 100 million dollar salary, instead of Dice-K getting it.

Charlie, Franklin,MA (Sent Tuesday, August 14, 2007 8:21 PM)

Yeah, we in Red Sox Nation know that this is way it goes in August. The sox are now stablizing after a miserable week with Gagne. All credit to the Yankees, though; they are really making it interesting after everyone wrote them off. No surprise there; despite all the Boston-NY fan BS, the Sox know how competitive those guys are down in the Bronx. It's all playing out as it should. Yeah, there are lots of great teams out there, but Fall baseball is always a lot more interesting when the Red Sox and Yankees are competitive and fighting off surges from each other.

I.M. Itchy (Sent Wednesday, August 15, 2007 10:34 AM)



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