Baseball's Fantastic Four
Stan McNeal - SportingNews.com
May 06, 2010
One month into the six-month season, four clubs are making their case for excellence. This fine foursome has a balance of hitting and pitching that bodes well for the marathon season. The secrets to success for this season's early elite (ranked from first to fourth):
1. Rays
With essentially the same lineup that finished 19 games behind the Yankees last season, Tampa Bay has had at least a share of the AL East lead for 21 days this season. The early success is no surprise to rivals or scouts. "This team was in the World Series two years ago so everyone knew the talent was there," Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira says. Adds a scout: "The most talented, athletic roster in the major leagues."
Two numbers support the claim: The Rays lead the AL in runs scored and ERA. Nine Rays already have reached double figures in RBIs. One of the game's top 3-4 lineup combinations, Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena, leads the way. Hard-throwing right-hander Matt Garza has emerged as the potential ace of a rotation that has dominated. Scouts say Garza is showing more maturity -- and less emotion -- on the mound. "He's grown up," one scout says.
2. Cardinals
While the rest of the NL Central waddles along, St. Louis already is threatening to run away with the division. That can happen when you give the game's best player, Albert Pujols, and arguably the best 1-2 pitching tandem, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, this much help.
High-priced Matt Holliday has yet to heat up, but two rookies -- left-handed starter Jaime Garcia and third baseman David Freese -- have exceeded all expectations. Garcia sports a sparkling 1.13 ERA for the rotation that leads the majors in ERA. Freese ranks among the NL leaders in batting average and trails only Pujols for the team lead in RBIs.
3. Yankees
What does it say when the Yankees own one of the game's four best records even though Alex Rodriguez and Teixeira haven't started hitting and new starter Javier Vazquez has flopped? "It says we have a great team, a deep team," Teixeira says.
Robinson Cano is playing like he is about to become the team's next superstar. He ranks among AL leaders in average, homers and RBIs. Right-hander Phil Hughes has shown the club made the right decision by making him the fifth starter. He will take a 3-0 record and 1.44 ERA into his start Friday at Fenway Park.
4. Twins
Manager Ron Gardenhire said "no one will feel sorry for us" when they lost All-Star closer Joe Nathan for the season during spring training. There certainly wasn't a need to. The Twins quickly proved they could overcome the setback. On the day Nathan decided he would have season-ending Tommy John surgery, Minnesota announced it would spend $184 million to keep Joe Mauer on his hometown team. Not long after, the club moved into its sparkling new park. Most impressive, the Twins quickly moved to the front of the AL Central.
Francisco Liriano (4-0, 1.50 ERA) has re-emerged as an ace, Jon Rauch has filled Nathan's shoes thus far and Justin Morneau is hitting like he is healthy again. And Mauer had been Mauer until he was sidelined by an injured heel. The three-time AL batting champion has become the toughest out in the league.
"What you hope to do is get (Mauer) to a 3-2 count, and then hope he swings at Ball 4," Royals right-hander Brian Bannister says. "I threw the best possible backdoor cutter that I could hope to, and he hit it like it was on a tee. After him, there's Morneau. And then Michael Cuddyer. That is a tough lineup."
One that you'd expect of one of baseball's best teams, no matter what point of the season.
Stan McNeal is Sporting News' MLB columnist. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com
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