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Welcome back to the second edition of the Cliff Notes. I know I promised you folks only a four day break, but with all of the traveling I've had to do for this column, I just couldn't get any time. Well, better late than never, right folks? Let's get right into this quarter-season review of the Satchel Paige division. Starting off at the top, we see no real surprise here. The Las Vegas Devil Rays are currently in first, and to be honest here, I can't see a team in this division that can beat them yet. Let's start off with a look at their rotation. Newly acquired ace Chris Carpenter hasn't exactly had a great season, what with the most recent trip to the DL and not getting a single start yet, but luckily for Las Vegas Josh Beckett has really stepped it up. With a 6-1 record and a 2.53 ERA, this kid is hotter than Georgia asphalt in August. The funny thing is though, none of Vegas's batters are hitting over .300. Their current MVP is Andruw Jones and he's batting a measly .239. I think David Eckstein out in New York is hitting just a shade over that. Unlike Eckstein though, Jones has been getting his hits when the runners are on base, so the Rays have been able to pull ahead late in the game. Speaking of late in the game, how about that bullpen? Brian Fuentes has been great in the setup role for them and the Devil Rays coach has had the option to go with either J.J. Putz or Al Reyes with equal amounts of confidence. Top to bottom, this team is solid. I'm going out on a limb here and I'll say that Vegas takes the whole thing. Next up, the Scottsdale Hawkeyes. Wow. How exactly has this team managed to stay above .500? Sure Bonderman is 6-1, but those have not been a pretty 6 wins. He's tossing around a 4.20 ERA and still he's managing to get the wins. Sabathia has been on the other end of the spectrum. He's pitching very well, but thanks to a lack of run support he's fallen to 3-3. The only real good thing I can say about this staff is that Francisco Cordero has been lights out as the teams primary closer. It looked like Scottsdale would have themselves another great closer in re-acquiring Bobby Jenks from New York, but they immediately flipped him and Kameron Loe for...Eric Byrnes and Anibal Sanchez? What? Huh? Byrnes would be a solid addition to just about any other team in the league, but Scottsdale is already carrying Nick Markakis, Jeff Francoeur, and recently acquired Carl Crawford in the outfield. It's looking like they're planning on tossing him in at DH, but that puts him ahead of guys like Jason Giambi and rookie sensation Elijah Dukes. Mark my words, in 2 months these guys will be fighting New York for control of the Paige division cellar. Continuing our sad progress down the Paige Division, we come upon the Louisville Rednecks. Look at this lineup. C: Jason Varitek, 1B: Carlos Delgado, 2B: Adam Kennedy, SS: Michael Young, 3B: Akinori Iwamura, OF: Vladimir Guerrero, Bill Hall, and Ryan Freel, DH:: Travis Hafner. Need pitching? They've got Curt Schilling, Jose Contreras, and Tim Wakefield. Closer? Joe Nathan. Seriously, how have these guys lost as many games as they have? Oh yeah, Delgado played out of his mind last year and is taking this year off, Iwamura has come down with every injury short of requiring Tommy John surgery, and Hafner just hasn't been playing to his potential. Hafner and Young should both come around and put some runs on the board for Joe Nathan to protect late in the game. The outlook for these guys is very good. All of their starters have tremendous upside and we should see a marked improvement in the second half and a possible shot at the wild card berth. Well, we all knew that this was coming. It's the last team of the Paige division, and I mean that with every ounce of sincerity. The New York Knights. I really don't know where to start, except with the only hard luck story in the league. Chris Capuano. He is pitching over his head right now and New York just can't take advantage of it. Let's take a quick look at his stat line. 6 starts, 34 IP, 7 ER, 26 H, 25 K's, a 1.85 ERA, and a 1.08 WHIP. These are Cy Young winner numbers, and he's posted a 1-4 record. To get his first win of the season he pitched 8 1/3 innings of shutout ball with 9 K's. If that's what it takes for New York to get a win, then this is going to be a long year for Capuano. Why is Chris getting hosed so bad? Well, it's the rest of the team. Gary Mathews Jr. is the big bright spot here. He's actually living up to the hype that he generated last year with a solid start. Frank Thomas can't be expected to put up another 30 home run/100 RBI season like he did last year, but he seems to be thinking about doing it. Nomar and Chavez are actually playing decently when no one is on base, but that really doesn't help much when the bottom of the order is this bad. Let's take a look at the 7-8-9 of the Knights lineup. Batting Seventh and playing somewhere in the outfield, Ryan Langerhans. I don't think I need to say any more than that. Batting Eighth, and also attempting to play major league outfield is Jay Gibbons. Poor guy, I heard is wife is really into helping out battered women. Maybe she should lend a hand to the Knights pitching staff. Except for Capuano. He's still the man. Batting Ninth? Oh god, the butt of just about every joke about overspending, David Eckstein. This guy is just all over the place. His normal swing, which is reminiscent of the old Baltimore Chop, has turned into the New York Hack. Commissioner Harbaugh should allow this guy to go up to the plate with a 3 foot wide plank and he might just then live up to the faith the New York owners group put in him. Probably not, but you have to admit that it would be funny to watch this guy step up to the plate with a bat bigger than he is. Just so I can give my New York fans (all 2 of you) a bit of good news, I hear Kaz Matsui should be healthy in just a couple of weeks. Now that we've gone through the National Lague, let me take a moment out of my column to say something to my fellow staff writer here at C-R-A-B-S.com. Mr. Gumley, I'm here to stay. My "typical rookie mistake" was to start with the most exciting division in the league? I guess I should have done what you did and take the easy way out. You claim to be an expert? Fine. I challenge you. Right now, as of the quarter season, I believe that I can finish the season with a better prediction record than you. What do you say pal? Think you're man enough to step up to the Cliffster? Thought not. ~Cliff | |||