MLB: Jose Reyes, Realignment, and Other Sunday Morning Musings 6/12

Hola amigos!

I'm going to try something new here, and post with some semblance of regularity.  

I have never really gotten publicity from my baseball articles, but because it is my passion, I am going to write more on baseball.  This type of post is very similar to that of a blog, for good reason. I started a baseball blog called Gasoline Suit about a week ago, and I am trying to market it. For this reason, I will post the first half of my posts here, and link them back to the blog, which I hope you'll follow if you're interested.  

So why Sunday Mornings?  

It's when I would want to read something like this.  I usually find myself in want of something to read when I awaken before I get ready for church, or the time between church and the afternoon games. There's just something about the serenity of Sunday morning that baseball pairs with very nicely.

Anyhow, just to prepare you for my style of posting, I will usually introduce the post with a story, rant or rave that may or may not have anything to do with the subsequent post.  However, because I haven't actually posted anything yet, I can't make any promises to uphold any type of format at this point.  Regardless and without any further ado, I present to you the first "Sunday Morning Musings."

As I flipped on yesterday's Yankees-Indians game, I saw Bartolo Colon had gotten injured.  Yes, Big Fat Bartolo Colon, the same guy who hasn't thrown over 100 innings since 2005, when he threw 222.2 to the tune of a 3.48 ERA and 21 wins and won the Cy Young Award.  Since then, he's had seasons of 56, 99, 39, and 62 innings pitched, largely acting as a waiter for opposing hitters, serving up home run after home run.  

Yes, the one and only, all 5'11", 245 pounds of him.  I heard Eric Karabell on ESPN's Baseball Today mention Colon this season, but I never really listened to what he was saying about him. To me, Colon will always be the 2006-'10 version of himself.  Anyhow, after I check out his stats, I find he's actually pitching very well this season, pitching 71.2 innings with a 3.39 era, 1.13 whip, and 66 strikeouts.  For a 38-year-old who has been irrelevant the past five years, that's not bad at all.  Very Carl Pavano-esque, albeit without the awful facial hair.  Some things never change though, as he's given up over a home run per start.

By the way guys, if you haven't figured it out, I'm a big numbers guy.  Most purists don't believe that numbers guys can be true fans.  I don't believe that is completely true, but if it is, then I am a walking anomaly, because I am one of the biggest purists you will ever read. 

I'm a National League fan, which means strategy is my thing.  Small ball, in my opinion, is the way to play the game, from the bunts to the bloops, the double-switches to the defensive replacements, the pinch hitters to pitchers hitting, the steals to the sac flies.  By simply eliminating the DH, the strategy increases tenfold.  This is not to say I am anti-DH though; I would love the AL to keep it, and baseball live on with two styles of baseball differentiated by the two separate leagues. 

However, there are two managers in the American League that run National League-style teams: Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays.  

They play small ball, they run, they bunt, they simply manage the game instead of waiting for a big fly.  Because they manage as if they play in the National League, as well as many other reasons, these guys are two of my favorite coaches in all of sports. 

I will probably do a more in depth post on MLB realignment another time, but from what I gather, the league is looking into ridding itself of divisions, moving one team from the NL to the AL, and adding a fifth team to the playoffs to duke it out with the fourth seeded team in the opening round of the MLB playoffs.  Quite honestly, I'm not sure about this.  

I like the idea of maybe Houston moving to the AL and forming a rivalry with Texas, but I don't know how to respond to the dissolving of divisions.  I am completely against adding a fifth team to the playoffs in each league as of this point.  I might be persuaded with time, but I'm not so sure the playoffs need fixing.  I have always liked the division format even if an undeserved AL East team gets a vacation sooner than it would have hoped.  Maybe the divisions realign, maybe they dissolve, but Baseball needs to look at all of the options before making a final decision. 

Cliff Lee is my favorite pitcher in the game, other than Tim Wakefield.  He's gotten off to a mediocre start for a pitcher of his caliber, but in the end, I would rather have my team facing Doc Halladay or King Felix than Cliff Lee.  He has made pitching an art again, using his pinpoint control and movement instead of velocity to get hitters out.  On top of this, he's actually striking out hitters this year more than usual, which is a scary thought once he returns to being one of the top five pitchers in the game.

To read about who will challenge Philadelphia in the National League, or a dark-horse contender that Jose Reyes fits into like a puzzle piece, follow the link to my blog below.

http://gasolinesuitbaseball.blogspot.com/