What A Week

Baseball season is a marathon. I don't care how good a player or team looks in March or April. This is a new era of baseball. The steroids are out of the game for the most part and the economy makes more decisions than any GM. The Yankees, Angels, and Nationals won basically all last week. The Yankees are now the best team in baseball for the week as the Dodgers lost 2 starters and seem to be in their first bad few weeks opf the season. Sidente, the Yankee-Sox Sunday game was the highest rated ESPN game in 2.5 years and what a game. A few quick hits for the week:

Junichi Tazawa - Welcome to the bigs, good luck you are going to need it this is no Japanese college league but the AL East

Jordan Zimmerman - out of for 18 months, poor Nationals, the clock is ticking on Strasburg, I think the Lerner's get it done at 6 years / 24 million with a $10 million dollar signing bonus prorated over the life of the deal

Alex Rios - No more Canadian taxes or healthcare, your contract pays you to be a 4 win player and I think you still are, my White Sox pick is looking better and better

Jason Schmidt - 14 years and $90 million, happy retirement

Jamie Moyer - your 45 in America, live in Philly and have a job, why are you complaining

Chad Billingsley - stop being injured your team needs you right now

Chris B. Young - back in triple A, hope he learns how to get on base, always been a fun player to watch

Pedro Martinez - I'm rooting for you but in the words of Randy Jackson "Sorry, dawg I'm just not feeling it"

Keep an eye on the deadline next Monday for players to get signed especially on Shelby Millers (STL), Donovan Tate (SD), Dustin Ackley (SEA), and of course Strasburg. The signings will all come in last minute as team's upset the commish to go overslot.

In a new post for the rest of the year, if the playoffs started today:

Detroit Tigers @ Yankees (Best Record)

Red Sox (WC) @ Anaheim Angels

Phillies @ Dodgers (Best Record)

Rockies (WC) @ Cardinals

This looks like a tough year to be a traveling secretary as the WC look to come out of the same division as the best team meaning a STL-PHI chase (loser plays LAD, winner play WC) and BOS-TEX chase will not allow the 2 best record teams to know who they play until a few days before even though they'll clinch 10 days before the postseason starts.