2009 Progress Report

Dan:

Early in the season, when teams and players are very hot or very cold, I often say "Wait and see where they are come Memorial Day." Now here we are, at the end of May, and we can finally take a look at who are real players this year, and who are pretenders. So here are some of my thoughts on the year so far:

--Goodbye, Toronto. Thanks for playing.

--You have to be happy with where the Sox are considering Papi's woes and that their starting pitching has yet to click.

--I hate to say it, but Papi looks done. Consider that this slump extends well back into last season. This happens a lot in baseball. You just hoped it wouldn't happen to such a pivotal great in Sox history.

--I don't know what's more surprising: That the Devil Rays are four games under .500, or that the Orioles are only four games under .500. Actually, yeah I do. The more surprising one is the Orioles.

--The Tigers are winning the Central. But what's up with the Indians? They just can't put it together. Eric Wedge, meet the unemployment line.

--The Rangers are good, but not that good. They benefit from a weak division. And, yeah, I am saying the Angels are weak.

--Stick a fork in Matt Holliday. He's done.

--Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria would own the title of Team Owner I'd Most Like To Hit With A Shovel . . . if Mark Cuban wasn't so damn annoying.

--The Cardinals won't be near the top of their division come September.

--Ha ha ha ha. The Cubs are .500 and more than 4 games out! Ha ha ha ha ha . . .

--The Dodgers own the game's best record by nearly 6 games . . . and they are probably only about the sixth best team in the game. They should send thank-you notes to all those Four-A teams that make up the rest of their division.