Yuku free message boards

Is this finally the year for Josh Dunlap? Three straight 100 win seasons for the Tribe, three straight division crowns, and a 2-9 record in the ALDS would seem to have made the Indians passe. But the Dunlappians are off to a red hot 14-4 start and have been an offensive wrecking crew, posting a .918 OPS, a .293 batting average, getting on base at a .395 pace and have stolen 54 bases already at a 78% success rate. There's no arguing that Cleveland's lineup is a murderers' row, it is one of the best batting orders -- if not the best -- in all of baseball. But can a rotation of Mark Prior, Bob Curtis, Scott Fisher, Leo Andrews and Al Downing get them to the World Series? That's the big question, isn't it? None of those guys is an ace, and none have ever had an ERA in the 3's. So while the tribe should win the AL central handily and batter their opponents into submission, unless their current starting pitchers pitch better than they have in the past, or the Indians acquire a horse of a stopper, it'll be difficult -- but not impossible -- for them to go deep into the playoffs. But we'll see, they're certainly off to a great start.

Surprisingly, Cleveland's main threat in the Central has come from the upstart Chicago White Sox. The Pale Hose continue to bring in plenty of new faces in their rebuilding program, with some considerable success. Payne is building a very, very good team for the future in Chicago, just like he did with San Diego. This team should be a pennant contender in two to three seasons, and could be a playoff contender as early as next year. But they're not that good right now and should fade soon. Still, it is good to see this longtime doormat of a franchise finally headed in the right direction. I really like the additions of Frank Casey and Darrell Evans.

Somehow you just get the feeling that the San Francisco Giants can deal away a stud like (OF) Clyde Loftus and not even blink. The Giants are off to a 15-4 start and look to contest with perennial NL Champ San Diego, Milwaukee and the upstart Pirates to represent the National League in the Series this year. It's difficult to bet against San Francisco, who lost a heartbreaking 7 game NLCS to the Padres last year. They get on base at a superb rate, steal bases, hit for power, play terrific defense and had the fourth best pitching staff in the senior circuit in 2011. While their 5.11 ERA appears middle of the pack in 7th, in reality they're only .01 out of 5th in pitching. They're 134/101 run scoring ratio is among the best in AWBL (5th RS). We'll see what a difference a year makes come playoff time.

Payne's Padres are off to an 11-7 start, but are #2 in RS, so it looks like they've had a little bad luck. San Diego is once again one of the worst defensive teams in all of baseball, though they're playing a bit better in the field than expected. That 11-7 mark is probably more the result of an underachieving starting rotation so far, just take a look at Scott McGregor (1-1, 11.57 ERA). Scott was a combined 40-5 the past two years, posting ERA's of 4.14 and 4.03. If he doesn't turn it around and revert to form, it may not matter how many runs the Padres prolific offense scores. Still, you've got to love the starts Teddy Ballgame, Willie Mays and rookie Phelan Kell are off to.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have the same 11-7 mark as the Padres, but they've done it with far less offense and mediocre pitching. Arizona's .831 OPS is in the bottom half of the NL, and they're 5.64 ERA is middling at best. 23 year old Mark Langston (2-0, 3.92 ERA) and 27 year old Gordon Rupe are off to solid starts however. The Dbacks surpassed Colorado and the Dodgers a few years ago as the main threat to the Padres, but now may have been passed by the young and exciting Giants.

Quick, make a power poll, Toine is in first place! Under the guidance of new GM Toine Otten, the Baltimore Orioles have surged to the front of a slow to get moving AL East. The birds are getting some fantastic pitching, leading the junior circuit with a 3.42 ERA. Closer Faith hill (1-0, 0.82 ERA, 6 SV) has been simply dominant, and John Webb (3-0, 1.57 ERA) may be the best pitcher in all of baseball. Baltimore will need all that pitching and then some however, as their offense has been anemic this year, getting on base at a .335 pace and posting an OPS of only .761. They certainly have the pitching to beat Boston and Toronto, but I think once again, they're going to need to drastically improve their offense if they want to win the division, or even just have a shot at the playoffs.

The Boston Red Sox have gotten scintillating pitching through their first 18 games (3.69 ERA), but their offense which was so very good last year has been barely mediocre to date (.816 OPS). The Bosox haven't been getting on base and their power is way down as well, but I think it is likely they'll improve. Christy Mathewson, heading into his free agent walk year, has been overpowering (3-1, 1.71 ERA). The Sox are stuck in the middle with you -- Toronto and New York anyway. The Jays are getting on base at an impressive .396 rate, but their problem is they have had a major power outage north of the border. Toronto's OBP is nearly as high as their slugging percentage (.40 . We've got to believe that's just an early season fluke. The struggles of Boston and Toronto have allowed the young and coming New York Yankees, led by rookie Randy Johnson Jr (1-1, 2.88 ERA) to be in the thick of the race for the first time in years. While it's very early, the Yankees could remain in the race so long as Boston and Toronto fail to get their acts together.

With the Milwaukee Brewers positioning themselves as the dominant team in the NL Central last year, many an expert hopped on the B's beerwagon and proclaimed them the next powerhouse. But while the Brewers are certainly pennant contenders, they may very well have their hands full winning the Central this year, as the Pittttsburgh Pirates have put together an awesome young pitching staff and significantly bolstered their lineup with the addition of (OF) Tuffy Rhodes. I'm thinking this comes down to a two team race this year, with both teams also fighting the Giants and Padres for the wildcard.

Speaking of the NL Central, what's with the Cubs? After their best season ever in 2011 (80-82), the Cubs are off to a miserable 4-14 start, ranking 15th of 16 NL teams in pitching (6.89 ERA) and 14th of 16 in hitting (.780 OPS). Things are so bad so early at Wrigley that Cubs management has already announced a firesale in an attempt to rebuild. And things were finally starting to look up for the Cubbies last season.

The reigning NL East Champion Montreal Expos may be off to a 7-11 start and battling the perennially woeful Mets for last place, but once again no one is stating a claim that they're the team to beat, making it feasible for any of the four of Montreal, Atlanta, Philadelphia or Florida to win that division. And just as last year, if no one can put Montreal away while they struggle, it's likely El Mat will find a way to win this division once again.

Every time Jess Raven announces she is rebuilding, her players get their asses in gear and start winning. So Raven proclaims 2012 a rebuilding year for her Mariners and starts dealing away her veterans for young players, and Seattle zips by a very good Texas Ranger ballclub into first place. It's a fun start for Seattle, much like the White Sox, but things should settle back down a few more sims into the season and the Rangers should put this division away early. Still, good job by Jess Raven early.

One thing I've noticed is that teams don't use the trade block enough. Lots of good players are annually offerred on the block by any number of teams, but more often than not teams just don't scoff up those players. Some pretty big pieces to some teams' puzzles are currently being shopped around, including veteran #1 starter Tomo Ohka by the Phillies, All-Anna outfielder Duke Snider by the Giants, slugger Jason Stokes of Florida, professional hitter George Sisler of Montreal and pitcher Ryan Anderson of Seattle, as well as power hitting prospect Mike "Roll Tide" Price of Boston. I think teams would be amazed at the bargains you can get on the trading block -- sure you'll find some overprices stiffs, but I think more often than not you can find a good match. teams that do their homework can anyway.

That's all for this time, and remember.

Let's play two, from both sides of the plate!