TUPATALK: Mostly business as usual so far in MLB daily hope opera
About six weeks into the Major League Baseball season the scenarios are reminiscent of business as usual.
In the American League East, someone already has a sizable lead — Tampa Bay (29-8) has a 5.5 game lead on second-place Baltimore (23-13) and is 7.5 games up on Toronto (21-15).
But, there are only 3.5 games separating first place from last place/ The trend in the AL East often is for teams to get red hot and cool off. One just never knows when the tide of momentum is going to shift.
The AL Central is a dogfight already with Minnesota (19-17) leading Cleveland (17-19) by two games and Detroit (16-19) by three games. As expected, the Central teams are struggling compared to the AL East.
How much? The last place team in the AL East, the New York Yankees (20-17), boast a better record than AL Central leader Minnesota (19-17).
Texas (21-14) tops the AL West, which has a grueling four-team battle that includes the L.A. Angels (20-17), Seattle (18-18) and Houston (18-18). But, it looks like Oakland might be eliminated by the All-Start break. The A’s — who are set to move to Las Vegas — are stumbling along with an 8-29 record. They are already 14 games out of first place.
In switching focus to the National League, the Atlanta Braves are driving the East division the with an impressive 25-11 record — including an 8-2 mark the last 10 games. Meanwhile, the NL East’s four bottom teams are trying to gain traction.
Miami (18-19) is in second place but 7.5 games behind Atlanta. Washington (15-21) occupies the cellar.
In the NL Central, the Pittsburgh Pirates (21-16) are making their usual strong April-May run to lead in first place a half-game ahead of Milwaukee (20-16). The Chicago Cubs (17-19) and Cincinnati (15-20) are in fairly easy striking distance, while St. Louis (13-24) is in last place. But, the Cardinals have shown an ability during recent past seasons to come on strong in August and September.
Not surprisingly the L.A. Dodgers (22-15) stand atop the NL West, but by only by slim margins over Arizona (20-16) and San Diego (19-17).
It’s too soon to handicap the NL West, but the Dodgers seem to play with more consistency during the dog days of the season.
As far as notable stats, Luis Arraez of the Miami Marlins is holding a .408 batting average. Could the 26-year-old become the first batter in 82 seasons to finish with a.400 average since Ted Williams did it in 1941 (.406)?
There’s also a lot of balls being put over the fence, led by Max Muncy (Dodgers) and Pete Alonso (Mets) with 12 apiece.
Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase has already recorded 13 saves.
What other heroes will emerge in the slowly-unfolding drama of the final 120-plus games?
Stay tuned to the daily hope opera.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: TUPATALK: Mostly business as usual so far in MLB daily hope opera
