We get our first interleague weekend coming up in a couple days, which is met with equal parts welcome and disdain. Next year we'll have interleague every weekend because of Houston's move to the American League (giving each league an odd number of 15 teams), which will make it even less "special."
What we do get are some matchups we don't normally see. Ranking them this weekend:
- Baltimore Orioles at Washington Nationals: The Braves and/or Rays could spoil it as the first-ever first-place matchup between the Beltway rivals. But both are still among the best stories in baseball right now.
- Miami Marlins at Cleveland Indians: A rematch of one of the best World Series that nobody remembers (1997). And both teams are in contention after slow starts.
- Cincinnati Reds at New York Yankees: Rematch of the 1976 World Series, which wasn't a great one. It was the pinnacle of the Big Red Machine, however, and it's one of the few matchups of the weekend that could actually be the 2012 World Series with a couple of breaks.
- Atlanta Braves at Tampa Bay Rays: There should be a lot of Braves fans in Tampa, as many grew up with the Braves as the top (and only) team in the South. Could be a first-place matchup as well.
- Texas Rangers at Houston Astros: Battle of Texas looks pretty one-sided this season. But anytime Josh Hamilton is hitting recently, it's must-see.
- Los Angeles Angels at San Diego Padres: Maybe seeing National League pitching will jog Albert Pujols' memory of his power swing. But Petco Park just might negate that, too.
- Oakland A's at San Francisco Giants: Rematch of the 1989 World Series, the one with the earthquake. In Friday's series opener, Barry Zito (pitching well again) faces the team for which he was at his best.
- Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs: Won't get much respect beyond Chicago with two losing teams.
- Pittsburgh Pirates at Detroit Tigers: A rematch of the 1909 World Series, won by the Pirates in seven. Bet you didn't remember that one.
Filling out the slate
- New York Mets at Toronto Blue Jays
- Arizona Diamondbacks at Kansas City Royals
- Minnesota Twins at Milwaukee Brewers
- Seattle Mariners at Colorado Rockies
- NL: St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
Few have fallen faster in fans' eyes than Josh Beckett has in Boston.
A big reason why the Red Sox won the title in 2007, Beckett was booed off the mound last Thursday in a loss to Cleveland in which he gave up seven runs in 2 1/3 innings at home to an offense that nobody will mistake with the 1927 Yankees.
The pitching performance wasn't the real reason fans were fuming. They were mad because Beckett went golfing the day after being scratched from a start because of a strained latissimus muscle (the largest in his back). And that came after last year's sideshow, when Beckett and his pitching buddies would reportedly spend games in the locker room drinking beer, eating fried chicken and playing video games.
Fans weren't the only ones who took their gloves off. Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan was vicious in his criticism:
"They took the beer out of the clubhouse, but nothing changed. They switched the man in the manager's office, but he's no better. The rot in the Boston Red Sox organization runs too deep for cosmetic upgrades, and nobody better personifies it than Josh Beckett, the clueless, defiant egomaniac who's poisoning another Red Sox season."
Beckett was back on the mound Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners, and performed like he got the message. He threw seven shutout innings on his 32nd birthday as the hot-and-cold Red Sox won their fifth in a row.
Bobby Valentine called him the "king of the hill." Skeptics might call him king of the day. It was against the Mariners, the worst hitting team in baseball last season. It's a step forward, but the Red Sox have made a habit of following those up with two steps backward.
The Boston Red Sox might have given themselves some karma on Saturday night.
Without fanfare, Boston executives John Henry, Larry Lucchino and Tom Werner went to the visiting Cleveland Indians clubhouse before Saturday night's game at Fenway Park. They presented Derek Lowe with a 2004 World Series ring, one to replace the ring that was stolen from his home in Fort Myers over the winter.
"I just thought it was one of the classiest things I've seen," Lowe said Sunday to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "The traveling secretary called over to our clubhouse and said, "Hey, someone is going to stop by and wants to give you something.'"
Lowe added: "It's something I'll never forget. It almost means more this time because it was a selfless act on their part. I just want people to know they did this."
Lowe went 3-0 during the postseason for the 2004 Red Sox, and started and won Game 7 of the ALCS against the Yankees. And after the gesture Saturday, the Red Sox went out and beat the Indians in two games in a row, 4-1 and 12-1.
The Red Sox are not in the Top 5 this week, but this move was worthy of No. 1. Presenting this week's Monday Morning Manager:
WHO'S HOT
Josh Hamilton, Rangers: He hasn't stopped hitting since his monster game last Tuesday, one of the greatest in baseball history. He's hit nine homers in the last seven days and is leading all three Triple Crown categories not just in the AL, but in the majors.
Joey Votto, Reds: He's not quite among the league leaders yet, but he had a Hamilton-esque game on Sunday, hitting three homers, including a walk-off grand slam, against Washington.
Carlos Beltran, Cardinals: He's been a nice pickup for St. Louis, and hit five homers and drove in 12 in the last seven days.
WHO'S NOT
Scott Rolen, Reds: He's quietly had a career at third base that statistically puts him in Cooperstown conversation. But his chronic left shoulder is bugging him again, and has a .174 average in 29 games.
Johnny Damon, Indians: Another borderline Hall of Fame hopeful is barely good enough to play in the outfield these days, and he is just 7 for 44 with 2 RBI so far in his Cleveland stint, with an anemic OPS of .423.
Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson, Indians: Throw strikes, guys. The Cleveland teammates rank 1-2 in the majors in walks.
TOP 5
1.Texas Rangers (23-12, last week No. 1)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (23-11, last week No. 2)
3. Atlanta Braves (22-13, last week No. 3)
4. Baltimore Orioles (22-13, last week No. 5)
5. Washington Nationals (21-13, last week NR)
BOTTOM 5
26. Chicago Cubs (14-20, last week No. 26)
27. Kansas City Royals (13-20, last week No. 28)
28. Colorado Rockies (13-20, last week No. 27)
29. San Diego Padres (12-23, last week No. 29)
30. Minnesota Twins (10-24, last week No. 30)
It's Mother's Day, a day for pink bats and an unofficial quarter pole to what's been an eventful regular season.
And if the season ended today, the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and Washington Nationals would be in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox are in last place.
So is it time to panic in Philly and Beantown? Ehh... maybe.
Buster Olney, in his Saturday ESPN Insider notes column, wrote that the Phillies have begun having talks to lay the groundwork in case they'd want to be sellers in a trade instead of buyers. They're just 6.5 back of the Nationals entering Sunday's games, but their lineup -- still without Ryan Howard and Chase Utley -- is one of the worst in the league. If they don't come back in a strong way, the Phillies will want to try to get something out of the season. That would mean trading Cole Hamels and/or Shane Victorino, who are both free agents in the offseason.
Still a little early, though, and the Nationals just lost their promising catcher Wilson Ramos for the season with a knee injury. The Braves are probably the favorite at this point, the Marlins are lingering, and the Mets probably aren't a serious threat. The Phillies have won the NL East for five years in a row. They get at least another month to show if they have a real intent in making it six.
The Red Sox don't have such a streak, and they're still a mess right now, although they have won two in a row over the Indians entering Sunday. Josh Beckett is being (deservedly) booed, they've got plenty of holes, and they're in a division that's stronger top to bottom. They don't have as much to shop, either, with all of their core players locked up for at least another season.
