The Phenomenal Phive
1. Detroit Tigers, 19-6. The roar of '84 is alive and kicking heading into the month of May. Lance Parrish is crushing the ball, Kirk Gibson continues to excel, and Sweet Lou Whitaker remains the most consistent hitter in the lineup.
2. Toronto Blue Jays, 20-7. Nipping right on the Tigers' heels are the Blue Jays. Their balanced batting order and superior starting pitching continues to propel them forward. If they have one weak spot it is their bullpen.
3. Houston Astros, 19-7. Houston's pitchers might be the best in Statis Pro, but it's their over-achieving offense that has made them the leaders in the NL West. At some point they'll cool off, but for now, they continue to ride the wave of good luck. Terry Puhl seems to be the chief benefactor of that streak.
4. St. Louis Cardinals, 19-8. I'm not sure how they're doing it, but the Cards are riding a seven game win streak. Ken Oberkfell his swinging a hot bat, and my move of Ozzie Smith to the lead-off spot is paying dividends. Bruce Sutter is up to eight saves now on the season.
5. New York Yankees, 18-7. That's right, three AL East teams in the top five. The Yankees have quietly maintained their strong start. Phil Niekro has tossed two shutouts and Dennis Rassmussen is a league leader in strike outs. And to top things off, Don Mattingly's bat is finally warming up too.
Useless Stats
-Wayne Tolleson of the Texas Rangers hast the most at-bats (59) without a walk in the AL. Terry Francona of the Expos leads that stat in the NL with 49.
-Scott Fletcher and Kent Hrbek lead the majors with 4 hit by pitches. Scott McGregor has plunked the most hitters, also with 4.
-For some reason I'm tracking when a hitter reaches base by fielder's choice or error. Jose Cruz and Tony Pena have both reached this way 9 times.
-Milt Wilcox of the first place Tigers has given up TEN homers in 30 innings.
-Mike Schmidt has committed 11 errors. Woof.
No comments:
Post a Comment