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The MLB Fortnight

by Marty Gabel

MlbFortnightThe first month of regular-season baseball has already passed us by, and admittedly, though the second half of April perhaps lacked the excitement of the first, it’s still been an interesting couple of weeks with most of the divisions beginning to settle down and get a little bit tighter on the whole.

Tampa Bay, at 17-7, still possess the best record in baseball atop the AL East but have met a formidable opponent in the Kansas City Royals this weekend, dropping only their second series of the year. The New York Yankees remain just 1.5 games back but are still performing well on the whole, splitting a four-game series last weekend in Anaheim before taking two out of three from the Orioles midweek. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Curtis Granderson has suffered a groin injury which will put him on the DL. Toronto remain just a game below .500, and Boston have been showing signs of improvement despite being six games behind the Rays right now. Still, the humble Baltimore Orioles have already taken two games from them this weekend, and even their 6-18 record is an improvement on what it was two weeks ago. 

Things look a little different in the NL East. The New York Mets had a scorching couple of weeks in which they won eight-straight games to improve to 14-10 and overtake Philadelphia at the top of their division. The Mets took three-out-of-four from the Cubs then went on to sweep both the Braves and the Dodgers before succumbing to the pitching prowess of Roy Halladay yesterday afternoon. His complete three-hit game against them also saw the Phillies lift themselves from their recent offensive funk; Philadelphia had lost consecutive series to the Diamondbacks and the Giants. The Nationals are still rolling, just a game out of first place, with series victories over the Brewers, Dodgers, and Cubs in recent weeks. The Marlins are at .500 and saw Jorge Cantu’s hit streak finally end at a very respectable 21 games. The Braves have had a couple of disappointing weeks after a bright start, dropping nine consecutive games before picking things up against the Astros this weekend.

The Twins are still topping the AL Central, but their torrid start has showed some signs of slowing down. Their 15-9 record is merely a half-game above Detroit now. When the two teams met this week, the Tigers finally handed Minnesota their first series loss of the year. While the Twins have gone 5-5 in their past ten games, Detroit has been blazing, going 7-3 with four consecutive wins, and have already wrapped up a series victory over the Angels. Cleveland remain 4.5 games out of first place and have generally had a tough start to the season. They’ll be hoping to wrap up their third series win of the year today against the Twins. The White Sox and the Royals both possess less-than-stellar 10-14 records, but the AL Central is usually notoriously tight and there’s still a lot of time to go.

In the NL Central, St. Louis is still the powerhouse of the division with its 16-8 start. Having only dropped one series so far in 2010 and sweeping the slumping Braves over four games this week, the Cardinals will be looking to tie up another victory over the Reds today. Talking of whom, Cincinnati have definitely shown signs of improvement. Now at .500 but still five games out of first place, the Reds five-win streak was only stopped on Saturday. The Cubs are at 12-13 for the year so far, while both Milwaukee and Pittsburgh sit six games behind the Cardinals, with both teams losing more than they’ve won over the past fortnight. The Astros showed signs of improvement after a very rocky start to the season, with series wins in Chicago and at home to the Marlins and Pirates, before quickly relapsing into another losing streak

Out in the AL West, things have certainly tightened up a bit, with all four teams hovering nicely around the .500 mark and a mere 1.5 games separating Oakland at the top and the Mariners at the bottom. The A’s have quietened down a bit after their fast start, but are still holding their own. The most improved team (from this division) in the second half of April is probably the Rangers. They’ve already wrapped up a series victory at Seattle this weekend, took two of three from the White Sox midweek, and split a four-game series with Detroit last weekend. The Angels have come unstuck a little against the Tigers, but are still a team that’s likely to improve over time, and look to Seattle to continue to strengthen from their current 11-13 record as their starting rotation returns to full-strength.

Finally, we’ll turn to the always-intriguing NL West which sees both San Diego and San Francisco continuing to play great baseball while the three teams below them look average at best. The Padres surprised everyone with their quick start this season, but there’s no sign yet of them letting up. With its 15-9 Record, San Diego have only lost three out out their last 15 games which included an eight-game streak. A strong offense and healthy bullpen have been their key to success so far. San Francisco continue to boast a dominant starting rotation, and have won their last three series over St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Colorado. The Rockies themselves and the Diamondbacks are still just 3.5 games out of first place, so no need for panic just yet, while the Dodgers stopped a five-game skid on Friday night and have two consecutive victories for only the third time this season with a couple of victories so far over the Pirates this weekend.

Well, that wraps up another eventful couple of weeks in the MLB. Back in a fortnight with more news from the Majors.

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