Gee Tommy…Slim Fast really did work for me!!! (George Brett to Tom Lasorda)

One of my favorite posts lately has been doing my weekly baseball recap. Inspired by my newspaper reading (I know-given the events of Buzz Bissinger, should I be supporting this??...another post for another day…), I like the idea of regular feature. Plus, you get the Hunter Flops, which is the best part. This week, I’m going to sneak in a non baseball Hunter Flop…stay tuned!

Well, the SI jinx reared its ugly head and to (I’m sure) no one’s surprise, the Cubs folded under the pressure: a tough week for them and a slide to second place.

Roger, oh Roger! I am tres dissappointed! You better hope nothing comes out of your dalliance with a 15 year old. Two of the supposed dominant players of my generation-Bonds and Clemens-turn out to be complete jerkoffs. Would you vote them into the Hall Of Fame???

Poor John Smoltz is hurt again; when he returns, he will be the closer again. Interesting…..

What up with Tampa Bay? I read today that they have NEVER been five games over .500 at any point in any season. Wonder if they keep it up….of course not, as they lose two in a row to Boston.

The Anti-Flop: Pleasant Surprises so far this season:

-Teams: Tampa Bay, Minnesota (who is now in first place!), Oakland, St. Louis (what is it with the Central Divisions this year??) and the LA Dodgers (they do actually play in LA and have won eight in a row)

-Players: Chipper Jones (only player who qualifies hitting over .400), Xavier Nady (30 RBI for Pittsburgh, second in the majors; anyone have him on their fantasy teams??), Albert Pujols (yes…I mention him because, to me, is doing better than expected with an elbow that requires surgery), Edinson Volquez (4-1; 1.27 ERA for a poor team in Cincinnati), Carlos Zambrano (for keeping his sanity in check so far) and Cliff Lee (5-0 with an amazing 0.96 ERA)

And now…The Hunter Flops!. Some changes for this week, as Detroit escaps the Flop list by mere percentage points. They are technically tied for last place, but are a hair ahead ofKansas City, but only 2 games out of first in what is shaping up to be Baseball’s Black and Blue Division. Ted Lilly will not be listed anymore because he has been somewhat more respectable lately, although he’s still only 2-4, 5.97; at least the ERA is no longer over 7 (for now).

The Flops:

-Toronto, although this is iffy because they’ve won three in a row, but they are in last place and expectations were high.

-If Detroit is not a flop, should Cleveland be listed? Yes, because they are also underachieving so far.

-Seattle. Definitely should be on the list. I thought they might surprise, and they still might, but right now, the air is out of the baloon.

-San Diego and Colorado in the NL West. Colorado, it might be understandable because of the post World Series hangover. I still expected better, but the West is extremely tough this year. Where in the world is (Carmen) San Diego? Close to last. Your offense? Well…it’s quite offensive…

Players:

-Robinson Cano and Jason Giambi, NY Yankees: What are the odds two players from the same team are in the bottom three among qualifiers in batting average? (.150 and .154 respectively)

-Andruw Jones, LA Dodgers: The bigger the contract, the hatder they fall. Did Atlanta know something? .163 BA, 1HR, 4 RBI, 34 K’s. We know who’s not contributing to the eight game winning streak.

-Gary Sheffield, Detroit: .185BA, 2HR, 5 RBI and now an injury for an excuse.

-CC Sabathia, Cleveland: This is his contract year??: 1-5, his 7.51 ERA is DFL among qualifiers.

-Gil Meche, Kansas City: The royals would be in first place without his 1-4, 7.22 ERA

-Matt Chico, Washington: 0-5, 6.87 ERA

-Justin Verlander, Detroit: A pitcher this good shouldn’t be this bad: 1-5, 6.28 ERA

BONUS HUNTER FLOP:

Boston Celtics: pushed to seven games by the worst team, record-wise, in the NBA playoffs??
I’m actually rooting for Atlanta in this one. Could be the biggest upset ever in any playoffs.

Dishonorable Mention: Bronson Arroyo, Nate Robertson, Ryan Howard, Troy Tulowitzki, Adam LaRoche

Cubs-Cardinals prime time tonight. Nothing like Joe Morgan to buzz-kill this one.