Week in Review - May 13 thru May 19

Egads!  I haven't written a "Week in Review" since 2014...and that's because I forgot the review for the week of May 6-12!  I need to pick up the pace of my games played or I won't finish this until I'm in my sixties...

The Phenomenal Phive

1.  Toronto Blue Jays (28-10)  The Blue Birds have maintained their lead in the super-competitive AL East despite the Tigers closing the gap between first and second place.  George Bell continues to rake and Damaso Garcia is a league leader in hits and batting average.  Meanwhile, Doyle Alexander is the leading Cy Young candidate.

2.  St. Louis Cardinals (29-11)  The Cards have certainly outperformed their expected offensive output, led by Ken Oberkfell and Ozzie Smith, but their balanced starting rotation and the lethal Bruce Sutter are distancing themselves from the rest of the pack.

3.  Houston Astros (27-11)  If you thought Jose Cruz was the best hitting outfielder on his team you would be wrong.  If you thought he was second best you might still be wrong!  Terry Puhl and Jerry Mumphrey are absolutely torrid right now.  Nolan Ryan is tied with Dwight Gooden for the league lead in strikeouts and the Houston bullpen is as deep as they are talented.

4.  Detroit Tigers (25-11)  Lurking in the jungle are Kirk Gibson, Lance Parrish, and the rest of the Detroit crew.  While the Blue Jays are hitting above their heads right now, Detroit is performing right about where they should be, which leads me to believe they'll soon overtake the enemy north of the border.  Willie Hernandez has four wins out of the bullpen.

5.  New York Yankees (25-12)  I'm not sure how the Bronx Bombers continue to dominate, but they're still hanging tough.  And they just got Willie Randolph back from the disabled list, which will only make them more deadly.  Some of their bench players are too good to stay at their current levels, but Don Baylor is due for some more home runs off the FAC cards.

Useless Stats

• God bless him, Ken Phelps has just enough plate appearances to overtake Joe Morgan as the OPS leader in the AL!  He also leads in slugging percentage and is second in on-base percentage.
• The worst pitcher's ERA among qualified starters in the National League is Charlie Hudson of the Phillies, who clocks in with an 8.04.  Putrid!
• The worst WHIP in the AL?  Mike Moore of the Mariners and his 2.24.  His saving grace is his strikeout total, as he's in the top five right now.  He's also tied for the lead in passed balls (2).
• Steve Lake, the backup catcher for the Cubs, has six errors in eight games.  That's not good.  Mike Schmidt and Ivan DeJesus, the left side of the Philadelphia infield, are first and second in errors.  That can't be helping Charlie Hudson's confidence.
• Brian Downing has played more games at this point of the season than anyone else in the AL.  He's appeared in all 41 contests for California, the only Angel to do so.