August Rush

I have never seen this movie, but I did some checking and August not only is the eighth month of the Georgian calendar year named after Roman Emperor Augustus, but it also refers to something grand, or majesty. So as I am majestically rushing to get a post in at the end of August, I felt the title made some sense. The reason I am rushing is because this month, like the rest of this summer, has been immensely busy for me. Apart from work and theater, there was a funeral that required attending, an earthquake that hit Virginia and shook apparently everyone on the east coast except me, a brother that needed moving, and the latest and greatest, Hurricane Irene, which saw to it to send me and my fiancée packing for one evening. It's been hectic.

While I'm sharing things, I want to be quite honest with you, my faithful readership. I barely know what's going on in the baseball world right now. Not only don't I have time to check into things, but without cable, it's even harder to catch little tidbits here and there to reference. So please be prepared. This post will be quick and probably without much point as I try to sum up not only for you, but for myself, what the heck is going on in baseball right now. So sit back and relax.

Holy crap, here comes the Milwaukee Brewers. They have won 21 of 26 games in August so far, and have been 32-11 since the All Star Break, making them the hottest team in the game. Led by MVP candidates Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, the outstanding rotation of Yovanni Gallardo, Shaun Marcum, Zach Greinke, and Randy Wolf, and John Axford closing games at a league-leading pace, this team has been almost unbeatable. The team is second in the NL in team average, fourth in homeruns, and fifth in on-base-percentage. Their pitching has been holding the team up like never before, and with the offense putting up numbers the way they can, this team is looking like a serious contender for the National League Championship.

Elsewhere in the NL Central, the Cubs fired GM Jim Hendry because, well... he kind of sucked of late. After nine off-and-on successful years, the Chicago Cubs decided that it was time to take a different course. The reason? Hendry had been responsible for some of the most disastrous deals in recent baseball history. Still with the team are Alfonso Soriano's roughly $60 million until 2014, the now retired? Carlos Zambrano's $22 million until next year, and they are still paying Kosuke Fukudome's contract even though he's with the Indians. For a full list of Hendry's moves, check out MLBTradeRumors.com's handy-dandy Transaction Tracker. The Cubs may have gotten rid of the ship's captain, but they still need to steer it out of icy waters, which make take a year or two of frugal baseball management.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are showing everyone in the league that they are no joke. They have hit the third most homeruns in the NL and driven in the fifth most runs. But they have always been a good run-producing team. The real difference this year is that the young pitching staff is holding their own against the competition. Led by Ian Kennedy's huge breakout year of 17-4, with a 3.03 ERA, the staff is showing people that there is more to this snake's bite than just the bat. I'm not sure if that made sense or not. Anyway, the young Daniel Hudson, who came over from the White Sox late last year, has been proving a young stud in the making as well. Josh Collmenter and Joe Saunders haven't been getting the same victory totals, but they've been keeping their ERA's low, and not walking too many, which is a recipe for continued success. The real question is, will the Diamondbacks be able to hold off the San Francisco Giants who keep surging and stumbling due to their erratic offense. As there is no other serious competition in that division besides the Giants, the D'Backs could very well take the West this year.

Justin Verlander has been the best pitcher in baseball this year, and finally is getting some of the respect he deserves. It's always been Sabathia and Beckett and others getting the American League pitching pomp and circumstance. Now though, Verlander is leading not only the AL, but both leagues in almost every pitching category. He's first in wins (20), first in innings pitched (215.2), first in strikeouts (218), first in opponent batting average (.190), and first in WHIP (.90), but he's only third in ERA (2.38), so I guess he sucks. With 20 wins already, and the whole month of September to go, he could collect another 4 or 5, depending on how close the race is for the AL Central. The Tigers should be wary not to push him too hard, though. While Verlander has been a workhorse his whole career, if he goes down, so do the Tigers chances of having any post-season success. In the meantime though, Verlander should be getting his trophy polish ready, because I think I see a Cy Young coming his way.

There has been some other big news around the league. Jose Tabata and Jered Weaver both received contract extensions recently. Tabata's extension is for 6 years, with option years in 2017, 2018, and 2019. If the extension is played out in its entirety, Tabata will receive $37.25 million. This seems a very team-friendly contract as Jose won't make anything north of $9 million for any season of the extension. Tabata is a skilled centerfielder with very good speed. He's only 23 so his power numbers will go up, but it appears he will be a solid lead-off or number 2 hitter in the lineup for years to come. It's nice to see the Pirates signing their young talent to stay. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, the Angels signed Jered Weaver to a five-year, $85 million extension. "The deal includes a full no-trade clause", according to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, and various "significant" bonuses for winning the Cy Young and MVP awards and for earning All-Star berths, writes Scott Miller of CBSSports.com. Weaver is having the best season of his career as he has the second best ERA of any starting pitcher, and could easily eclipse his career win total of 16 in a season this year. Congrats to both players.

This post wouldn't be complete, however, without mentioning one of my favorite players accomplishing a tremendous feat. The 40-year-old Thome became the eighth player in baseball history to reach 600 homeruns, hitting two in one game against the Detroit Tigers. It's true that Thome isn't the player he once was, but he's been a productive asset to the Twins over the past two years. Soon after hitting his 600th though, Thome was asked to become a productive part of his former club, the Cleveland Indians, as the Twins traded him through waivers. With Travis Hafner out again, Thome will be the regular DH for the rest of the season as the Tribe tries to fight back against the White Sox and Tigers atop the AL Central.

But let's get back to Big Jim for a second. The Illinois native is one of the most dominant power hitters ever to play the game. His 1665 RBI are 27th best All Time, and his 1715 walks are 8th best All Time. The ferocity with which he hits homeruns is so palpable, that seeing him hit is like watching fireworks go off. His days as an Indian during the mid to late 90's, when he, Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez were all knocking the stuffing out of baseballs, must have been a thing of beauty to see in person. His electric and amicable personality always made me root for him, even when he was with the Phillies. While he might play for a little bit longer still, many think this might be his last year. It's a wonderful way to go out, if he does. Hitting 600 homeruns is an accomplish only 7 living people in the whole world can say they've done. I can't think of a finer person to be a part of those ranks. Congratulations Jim.

Thanks again to my readership for putting up with my delays and for continuing to bug me about writing another post. I started out doing this for myself, but I quickly learned that I was writing this for you all. Thanks for being a part of this little baseball-minded universe I've created here. Your support, feedback and comments are always appreciated. Until next time, whenever the hell that is!