Game Day: Sunday, June 21st
It's the Vernal Equinox and I am up late tonight. Rain in the schedule all day tomorrow. If I am going to get a pick in for Sunday I'm going to have to work the midnight shift.
I used to like midnights until I started living outdoors. Artificial light has a way of disrupting your circadian rhythms. When you live outside for an extended period of time, and you detach yourself from televisions, air conditioning and artificial light, you become very attuned to the phases of the sun and the moon. When the sun rises, you are up and the when the sun sets, you are down. I never use an alarm clock and most days, I'm up with the sun. Most nights, I'm asleep an hour after dusk. Loud televisions, bright lights, modified atmospheres, they interrupt that connection and so does this computer phone but I like the computer phone and my sports news.
A quick look at the standings, the Guards are back on top in the AL Central and they haven't been winning games. It seems like just last week the White Sox were a game up in the division. The White Sox are 2-5 over their Last7 and the Guards are 4-3 over their Last7, the Guards flipped it from a game back to a game up.
The Twins made up some ground this week and it is sort of outrageous that both the White Sox and the Twins are in contention as we enter the last week of June. I had pegged both teams for the cellar.
The Yanks pulled ahead of Tampa and have a comfortable three-game lead in the AL East. Tampa has an awfully soft schedule into the end of the month. The Yanks don't have a day off until July 2nd. It's going to be a difficult stretch. Tampa could very easily make up three games before the all-star break. The Blue Jays, Orioles and Red Sox are doing their best to remain wild card contenders. All three teams are rather unexciting if you ask me about. The Blue Jays are emerging some but I'd like nothing more than to write them all off as out of contention.
I'd be happy with the Yankees, Rays, Guardians, White Sox, Mariners and A's in the playoffs. All six teams I find to be more exciting than the Blue Jays, Orioles and Red Sox.
A lot of baseball to play and we still have the trade deadline to navigate.
In the NL, the divisions aren't all that closely contended. The Brewers have a five-game lead over the Cardinals in the NL Central. The Braves are up 7.5 games on the Phillies in the NL East and the Dodgers lead the Padres by nine games in the NL West.
Anything can happen but those teams, for the most part, have been the best three teams in the NL this season.
The Braves have a very good bullpen. If their bullpen is well-rested, it's a tough game to win for the opposing team. Without Ronald Acuna Jr., they aren't as formidable of a team offensively but their pitching has been really good and that wins games. The rotation is going to get some reinforcements by the end of July. Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep could both return. AJ Smith Schawver is potentially going to be available late in the season. Three starting pitchers that, if healthy, could make a big difference. It allows the Braves to focus on adding to the offense at the trade deadline and if they can find a bat or two, with that bullpen pitching as good as it has and with six or seven starters available to the rotation, the Braves are going to be difficult to unseat at the top of the NL East.
The Brewers struck gold in the Caleb Durbin trade. Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan are both currently locked into Milwaukee's rotation and David Hamilton has played in 62 of Milwaukee's 74 games this season. He has 15 stolen bases and has scored 30 runs. Brewers nailed the Red Sox for the second straight season. If you recall, they picked Quinn Priester off the Bo Sox in '25 and he won 15 games last season. Without the Durbin trade, the Brewers would be struggling mightily this season. It does speak some to the team's lack of depth in the pitching department. It will be interesting to see how they approach the trade deadline this season.
The NL Central is a five-team race. All five teams can still win this division. It is in that way the most exciting division in MLB this season.
The Dodgers' don't look to have much competition in the NL West. The Diamondbacks imploded this week with both Ryne Nelson and Michael Soroka heading to the IR. That is a crushing blow for a team has been surprisingly competitive this season. Their GM was just talking about buying at the trade deadline and now he might be down two starters into August. Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly have both pitched poorly all season. They really only have one starting pitcher that can win games, "Arizona" E-Rod.
The Padres' hit the ball some last week. Minor league free-agent Samad Taylor has made an impact for the Friars and with Ramon Laureano out for the season, Taylor will be needed down the stretch. Gavin Sheets and Ty France have been the team's two best hitters this season. The highly paid players: Jackson Merrill, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis, Xander Bogaerts -- as a group, this season, will earn 95 million dollars. Thus far, they have produced a combined 1.5 WAR. It's about as bad as it could possibly be but WAR isn't everything and somehow the Padres manage to win games. Walker Buehler is pitching like his old self, Randy Vasquez has maintained his form all season and ace Michael King, well, he isn't an ace exactly but he gets them good innings and their bullpen is really good. The bullpen wins games. They could get Nick Pivetta back. They could trade Giolito if he makes a few good starts into the trade deadline. They could find a way to make the playoffs.
Dodgers will win this division but the Padres, they should post a second place finish without much difficulty. Will it be good enough for a wild card? Phillies look like a lock for one of the three. Mets are still in it. Nats are in contention. Marlins are in contention. Nine teams in contention for two wild cards in the NL. It's going to be an interesting month of games into the end of July.
That's it for Game Day on Sunday. It's the Vernal Equinox.
Try not to get your mind warped into oblivion by alien intelligences and their intergalactic radio frequencies.