Can I get a revision?

Okay, I'm watching ESPN. Some baseball highlights are on, and it got me to think about my early season predictions.

God, what the fuck was I thinking? Seriously....

Chien-Ming Wang winning 20 games? The NL Central being more competitive then the NL West? The Cubs..... winning? I feel sooooo stupid. On one regard, a few of my predictions, the Blue Jays being near the top of the AL East all year, the Cubs winning, Wang and Beltran's success have been hindered thanks to the unforeseen injuries. Although, Beltran has been outstanding when he's been on the field, and his injuries have all been minor. He's still gonna' play 140 games which could still get him an MVP, as I had originally predicted.

But it hasn't been a total shut out. Dice-K has pitched well enough to be considered the best rookie in the AL. Both Bob Jenks and Billy Wagner have been lights out, and are arguably the best closers in their respective leagues. Oh yeah, and the Red Sox are running away with the AL East.

I'm giving myself the chance to redeem myself. Here are five hot topics so far this season, as well as some of my favorite performances.

-The Red Sox best player's been David Ortiz. Yes! Just like I predicted! Wait.... you mean... he's not. Mike... Mike Lowell is? Yup. While Big Papi has played great and is clearly in the AL MVP talks, Mike Lowell's numbers have been just as impressive, and he actually plays in the field everyday, unlike his DH counterpart. Check out these numbers: .332 batting clip, 11 bombs, 45 ribs, 30 runs scored, and an on-base percentage right around .400. Like I said, those aren't David Ortiz's numbers, those are Lowell's. I should also mention that Lowell has played stellar in the field and has made several appearances on ESPN's Web Gems. Mike Lowell is a good player. Look for his string of solid play to continue

-I have absolutely LOVED watching the Devil Rays play. LOVED. Sure, they aren't 10 games over .500. How can you expect that? A team whose average age is around 25 playing in the tough AL East is actually staying competitive. This team is friggin' loaded with future all-stars. In all honesty, I could see several of their players making the cut this year. If it was up to me, I'd drop 100 million dollars in front of their front office, because these types of players deserve to grow together and play on the same club for a dozen years and win championships together. B.J Upton, Ellijah Dukes, Delmon Young, Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, James Shield and Scott Kazmir can all be something special. Heck, look at the year Upton is having right now. He could (might be a long shot) run down a 30/30 season and hit .300. And he's only 22? Christ, that's sick. Appreciate the way these guys play.

-Remember how I said the Mets weren't going to have stellar pitching, except for closer Billy Wagner? Ummm, can I take that one back? Okay okay, I shouldn't be too hard on myself. The Braves have played great so far this season, and the rest of the division has kept it interesting all year long (Hell, look how well the Nationals have played lately!) But that's not my original gripe. I busted pretty hard on their starting pitching, dismissing everyone besides Tom Glavine. It's pretty funny that he's been the THIRD best pitcher on his staff. Oliver Perez has stifled his control demons and pitched outstanding. John Maine has continued to develop into a solid big leaguer, and even El Duque has pitched like a 24-year-old during his 7 starts this year. Each of these men is sporting an ERA under 3, and has piled up a high strikeout total. All I can do is tip my caps to the Mets. They're the most complete team in the National League. And if you consider the Diamondbacks second, they're a very distant second.

-The Brewers young power tandem of Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy are slowly turning into the next great 1-2 punch in baseball. They're both running 1 and 2 in the NL for home runs and they're also both in the top 5 in runs batted in. While the Brewers pitching has stepped it up in the young 2007 season and really put this team atop the NL Central. Much like the Marlins and Devil Rays, I love watching the Brewers play. They're extremely fun. They run, they play defense, their pitching always makes it tough on opponents and they produce runs. Hats off to them. I hope their success continues.

-I've reserved this spot to talk about how much I hate the Yankees. I truly can't express in words how much I hate this franchise. Whether it's seeing George Steinbrenner's stupid face, or watching the team somehow blow a three run lead in the eighth inning, or even seeing each one of their overpriced aging superstars flounder at the plate, my face lights up with a smile that could power the Vegas strip for 24 straight hours. Oh, and their pitching.... can't forget the pitching. You know, I truly love getting a bio on the night's starting pitcher, because it seems every other day, we're getting introduced to their newest AA-prospect who has to be brought up prematurely because somebody on their major league roster can't stay healthy.Thanks for the great season so far, New York! The AL needed a punching bag.


Joey's favorite performances
#5 Cole Hamels: Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies:8-2 | 91 K| ERA 3.55 | WHIP 1.15
-Right now, there's no young pitcher in the bigs dominating like Hamels. His stuff is flat out ridiculous, especially his change-up that handcuffs even the best NL hitters. I'm blown away that he has an outside shot to win the NL Triple Crown. He's on his way to an 18-win season, and is proving to be the best player on the Phillies. Yes, right now, even better then Ryan Howard.

#4 Magglio Ordonez: Right Field, Detroit Tigers: AVG .362 | HR 13 | RBI 52 | OBP .436 |
-It's conventional wisdom that Maggs is an outstanding player when he can stay healthy. But, is he honestly this good? Leading the bigs in batting average, pounding homeruns out of the park on a regular basis, and he's even made some flashes of his leather out in right. Certainly you have to point to Gary Sheffield's addition to the lineup as a huge plus for everyone else. This is definitely a return to form of his 2002 season with my Chicago White Sox, when he finished with 38 home runs and a .320 batting average.

#3 Dan Haren: Pitcher, Oakland Atheltics: REC 6-2 | SV 0 | ERA 1.70 | WHIP .87
-I said it back in 2004 when the Cardinals included Haren in the Mark Mulder trade that they were going to regret this three years down the road. Welp... it's been three years. And look what Haren is doing on the mound. Looking at his WHIP is making me dry heave. In 90 innings, the guy has only allowed 57 hits. Not to mention, of his 12 starts this season, 11 have been at least 6 innings. Oh yeah, he's won his last 6 decisions, too. As of now, this guy right next to John Lackey for the AL Cy Young award.

#2 Victor Martinez: Catcher, Cleveland Indians: AVG .316 | HR 12 | RBI 50 | OBP .379 |
-Martinez is one-third of the Hafner-Martinez-Sizemore offensive machine in Cleveland, and is arguably the most well-rounded at this point of the season. He is already going to obliterate his 2006 home run total, and is well on his way to having his biggest offensive season in his career. I'm calling it right now.... 29 home runs, 119 ribbies... we'll give him that high on-base percentage, as well. Not to mention, he's thrown out 25% of potential base stealers. Not too shabby, V. Keep it up

#1 Vladamir Guerrero: Right Field, Anaheim Angels: AVG .357 | HR 12 | RBI 50 | OBP .460 |
-YESSSSSSSS! Vlad the Impaler is number one on my list. Not just because he is my absolute favorite baseball player. Not because he's spearheading the AL West's best... but because he's having a monstrous season. Third in the AL in batting average, second in RBIs, number 1 in on-base percentage, sixth in homers, and second in OPS. What blows me away is that Vlad does this every single year. And what's even more amazing is that he does it so quietly, on a team that offers very limited protection in the lineup. All of that aside, I just flat out love Vladamir Guerrero. I love the fact that he doesn't wear batting gloves. I love the fact that he has arguably the best arm in baseball, but nobody ever talks about it. I love the fact that he flails at first pitch fastballs in the dirt, and has the brute strength to smash them 440 feet into the upper deck. And how he does all of this going completely unnoticed, with a huge smile always plastered to his face. Sure, he doesn't get the attention like Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, or Johan Santana, but just like the first two, and possibly the third one, #27 is on his way to the Hall of Fame. He's without question, a first ballot player. And I'm proud to say I root for him day in and day out.

Honorable Mention: Matt Holliday (LF, Colorado), Kevin Youkilis (1B, Boston), Trevor Hoffman (RP, San Diego), Ichiro Suzuki (CF, Seattle), Jose Reyes (SS, New York)


Phew, that was a mouthful. But so worth it.