Is Josh Hamilton going to slow down??

Now that I've had a day to let the world of MLB sink back into my blood, there's some crazy stuff going on. It has BEEN going on, but now it's June, we might have to start taking some of these things seriously.

Josh Hamilton
.329, 17 hr, 67 rbi
-Last year when I was shadowing Sean T. McMann at a Hudson Valley Renegades' game, the giveaway that night was a baseball with Josh Hamilton splurged all over it from his 15 games with the 'Gades in 1999 and his 16 games with them in '06. He barely hit .200 with them either season, had no homers, and there was really nothing significant about his stay there. He just made the majors so they had to rub it in. At the time, the only significance about the ball was its uncanny ability to yield a joke about advocating cocaine use. Now I might actually be able to pawn it off to a six-year old at a HVR game for like $5. If he wins the triple crown, I'm putting it up on eBay. Now that's a thought.

What happened to the D'Backs?
When I left, they were the best team in the bigs. Now they're only in first because every other team in the West is playing like it's the '05 season all over again. Now the Cubbies are on nine-game run and they're the best team in the majors.

The Rays are HOW MANY games over .500???
12 of them. And in first place! Patience is a virtue when you have to fold your first 10 seasons because you play in the same division as the Red Sox and Yankees. Maybe the Orioles and Blue Jays should take a page out of Tampa Bay's book. A few smart trades (a la Victor Zambrano for Scott Kazmir) and a timely front office change has really changed the fate of the lovable losers.

Or maybe it was just the name change. The old (only) people in St. Pete didn't like the connotation "DEVIL" brought to the team. Maybe they're God's team of the MLB!

Where's the offense?
The Yankees are 7th in the A.L., and 20th, that's right, TWENTIETH in the Majors in runs scored. They won't score 1000 runs this season, nor will the Tigers, nor will any team. I'm not saying 10 pitchers will keep their E.R.A. below 3.00 the entire season, but it's a good year to be on the hill.

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
When I left on May 22, he was hitting .412, now he's hitting .409. Is he going to slow down?

If the season ended today:
AL 1 - Angels
AL 2 - Rays
AL 3 - Chi Sox
AL WC - Red Sox

NL 1 - Cubbies
NL 2 - Phils
NL 3 - D'Backs
NL WC - Cards


wait, what??

Oh yeah, and if the Rays stay in the race for the next month or two, look for their 2007 #1 pick, a southpaw, David Price to be called up. He's the real deal. More hype than a young Scott Kazmir, and able to produce similar, if not better, results.