Lately the Red Sox’s have seemed to push all the right buttons and the majority of the credit has to go to Theo Epstein. Epstein who was named the best GM in baseball by Jon Heyman has taken advantage of being the GM of a large market team and not only going after the big free agents, but using the teams resources in player development as well. The team saw some of the benefits of this last year, as they got huge contributions from several home grown player who were signed under Epstein’s watch. With the second ranked farm system in Baseball Americas rankings they have a strong foundation to stay at the top for a while.

While the team is almost the same as last years World Champion team it would be wise to make a few upgrades at the deadline. While the team might have one of the best records now, its not smart to stand still while everyone else around you is getting better. Julio Lugo has only seven extra base hits, no home runs and more errors than anyone in baseball. Jed Lowrie is a posible in house upgrade and has already played a few games at short for the Red Sox. Lowrie isn’t going to be a super star anytime soon but it won’t take much to be a upgrade over Lugo at this point. Coco Crisp is a guy who still holds some trade value and is only holding the development of Jacob Ellsbury down.

The rotation is pretty deep with Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka at the top. Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are both promising young developing pitchers and solid members of the rotation. Tim Wakefield is Tim Wakefield, he will give you some good and some bad outings but more importantly is a solid innings eater. Bartolo Colon will be interesting to see if he can build up any value for a possible trade latter in the season. Curt Shilling also will be back some time this season and may be able to get a few quality starts in. The bullpen is strong as well with Jonathan Papelbon as the closer and Hideki Okajima as the setup man. The rest of the bullpen though is a little questionable. Justin Masterson could be a interesting piece for the bullpen later in the season.

The biggest questions facing the Red Sox’s though likely won’t come until after the season though. Manny Ramirez has a $20 million option that needs to be addressed and Jason Varitek the teams captain will be a free agent. With David Ortiz starting to slow in his production and Manny Ramirez not getting any younger going after Mark Teixeira wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. If that were to happen though they would likely have to decline Ramirez’s option and move Kevin Youkilis to left. The upside of this move is that for about the same money they get a younger powerful clean up hitter and probably a defensive upgrade at both positions. It will be interesting to see if the Red Sox show any interest in a big time starter this offseason. While it likely isn’t a must need for them, if a CC Sabathia or AJ Burnett are available and can be signed to a moderate length deal it would a huge plus for a already stacked rotation.

The Red Sox are being looked at by some as the model franchise in baseball. While they do have some key pieces that are getting older, I don’t see them slipping to far anytime soon. As long as they continue to use their big market resources and use them wisely, they will be a contender for quite a while.

Without further ado here is some fun facts.

On May 19th Jon Lester became only the second pitcher to no hit the Kansas City Royals. The Boston Red Sox have now had the last two no hitters in baseball, the last team to do that, the California Angels. When the Angels did it though both no hitters were thrown by Nolan Ryan, who is the only other pitcher to no hit the Kansas City Royals.

Jason Varitek now holds the record for catching the most no hitters with four. He could have had the record last year when Curt Shilling was just a few outs from a no hitter, but Shilling shook off Varitek and then gave up a single in the ninth.

Shawn Chacon before getting his first win this past week had gone eight starts without getting a decision. While he didn’t get the record for most consecutive starts without a decision (10) he did get the record for most to start a season. What makes this even more impressive is that out of the eight starts, six were quality starts and he averaged six and a third innings per outing.

The Orioles are currently treading water around the 500 level and in the middle of the AL East but their only realistic goal should be to not finish last. The team has some hope for the future but the team just isn’t talented enough to even have a chance of sniffing the playoffs this year. They should be in full sell mode come the trade deadline and continue to build around some of their young stars.

The team should be in good hands with team president Andy MacPhail as long as team owner Peter Angelos lets him do his job. The current roster has several pieces that would be perfect to move come the trade deadline. Brian Roberts will be on the top of a lot of teams wish lists. Aubrey Huff and Kevin Millar would also be great additions to a lot of contenders. While the team won’t be able to offer a lot of starting pitching to a contender, they will be able to offer closer George Sherrill who would be a great lefty to put in any teams pen and could be even more sought after than Brian Roberts come deadline time.

The future does have some promise though as the team already has two young stud outfielders in Adam Jones and Nick Markakis. There isn’t much coming up very soon though in the minors. Matt Wieters their first round pick last year and top prospect could come up sometime next year but likely wont be an impact bat for awhile. Jeremy Guthrie, Daniel Cabrera and Adam Lowen would make a good back end of a rotation for a contender, but with only Radhames Liz close to the majors the rotation wont be a strength anytime soon. The return of Chris Ray will be a huge boost for the bullpen. When he comes back he will likely become the teams closer again as hes only 26 and already has 49 saves and a 3.19 career ERA to his credit.

How can they turn this thing around? Well there’s no quick fix here, its going to take a lot of good scouting, the face of the franchise and bring plenty of people to the ball park. If would be a good sign for the team as long as they don’t let it affect their player development. Teixeira himself wont take this team anywhere close to the playoffs. They have the 16th rated farm system according to Baseball America, so while the farm isn’t horrible it could still use a lot of improvement. Investing more money into the draft and into international signings is likely their best move.

In order for this team to turn it around and compete in the very deep AL East they need a better top of the rotation and a lot more depth in the batting order. They just don’t have the money to be able to address all these needs in free agency. Landing Teixeira should be a top priority for them this offseason since he can become the face of the franchise and build hope in Baltimore. The trade deadline will be very important for the Orioles rebuilding process, as Robert’s and Sherrill’s value will likely never be higher then it is now. Not worrying about going over slot in the draft like they did last year will also be key to their rebuilding process. Even if they play all their cards right it would be hard to see them competing for a playoff spot anytime within the next two or three years.

The first post will be on the AL East and should be up soon!

The Cleveland Indians have been hit 24 times this season. That’s 22 more times than Seattle, Atlanta and Cinncinati have been hit this year. In fact if you add up the Giants, Royals, Twins, Mets, Mariners, Braves and Reds it doesn’t add up to the amount of times the Indians have been plunked so far this year. Carlos Quentin has been the most abused batter of the year getting hit seven times already this season.

The Texas Rangers lead the majors in doling out hit batsmen with 18. Thats 15 more than the Royals who are bringing up the rear. Tim Wakefield and his dancing knuckle ball along with Justin Verlander lead the majors with six hits batsman.

Now comes the records.

Hughie Jennings is the record holder for being hit 287 times in his career and 51 times during 1896. If only Craig Biggio could have staid around a little longer the career record probably would have belonged to him as he finished his career with 285 HBP’s. The active leader is Jason Kendell who has 223 HBP’s so far but is starting to see less and less playing time. Hughie’s record seems safe for now as no other active player has reached the 200 HBP plateau yet.

On the pitching end Walter Johnson holds the record for most hits batsmen with 205. The active leader is Randy Johnson with 184 hit batsman. Randy would need to be pretty busy to catch Walter. That’s probably not something many batters would be to happy about, but hey its a record hes gotta do what hes gotta do. Joe McGinnity once hit 41 batsmen in 1900 and no one has came within 20 since 2003 to his single season record.

Further proving Fukudome is not a night person he has three stolen bases, nine RBIs and 37 total bases during the day. At night those numbers drop to no stolen bases, one RBI and only 19 total bases. Maybe Fukudome needs to invest in some Red Bull or make a Starbucks run before his next night game.

AL MVP-

Winner- Josh Hamilton

Now before everyone freaks out lets take a look at his numbers. He has a .336/.386/.582 line and has 11 walks to only 13 strike outs. He leads the majors in Hits, RBIs and Total Bases. He is also in the top three for home runs, runs created and doubles. Defense shouldn’t be lost either as he is in the top five for zone rating and outfield assists.

Runner Up-Manny Ramirez

Close to Hamilton in almost all the stats and leads the league in OPS. Doesn’t get the nod though because of defense and isn’t as much of a threat on the basepads. Its very close though and while Hamilton has the feel good story on his side Ramirez has the better team on his side. It will be interesting to see how that plays as the voting goes on.

NL MVP-

Winner-Chase Utley

While a case could me made for several guys, Utley takes the early lead with his impressive home run streak. In addition to the streak he has a league leading .776 slugging percentage, 85 total bases and 11 home runs.

Runner Up-

Chipper Jones

If it wasn’t for Utley’s home run spree early on Jones likely would have been the pick. His .410/.455/.690 line shows that he has been on an absolute tear. Chippers key to staying in the race will likely just be health. When healthy Chipper has proven over his career to be as good as it gets but he hasn’t been healthy for a full year in quite some time.

AL Cy Young-

Winner-Cliff Lee

Who saw this one coming? Its not even close too. Lee leads the league in ERA (.96), Wins (5) and has a sweet 16 strike out to walk ratio. Guys are only hitting .150 off of him and has only a .41 WHIP!

Runner Up-Joe Saunders

How bout another who saw this one coming? Saunders belongs on the list though so far as he also has five wins and only a 2.08 ERA. While he doesn’t have the dominate strike out ratio (4.15 per 9) he does have the low batting avg against (.204) and low WHIP (.95) that are required for this list.

NL Cy Young

Winner-Brandon Webb

The ace on the team with the best record in baseball is a good start. He leads the league with six wins and has a solid 1.98 ERA. His strike out numbers are better than normal (7.46 per 9) and still has the same great control (2.43 k/bb) that you come to expect with him.

Runner Up-Edison Volquez

At the start of spring training he was fighting to make the team not even thinking about a Cy Young but he has quickly found himself with that possibility. I have watched two of his starts and he definitely has the stuff to stay on this list. He attacks the lower part of the zone and doesn’t give into hitters. His 1.23 ERA leads the league and his 4-0 record along with his great 10.13 strikeouts per 9 gives him the numbers to back up his stuff.

AL Best Rookie

Winner-Evan Longoria

He was held down the first few weeks of the season but still finds him self at the top rookie in home runs and fourth in RBI’s. His .273/.388/527 line is very impressive and his .936 OPS is top among rookies.

Runner Up-Jacob Ellsbury

While he doesn’t get to play every day he takes advantage of all the time he gets. He leads all rookies in home runs and stolen bases. His 1.86 walk to strike out ratio is great for a rookie and just what you look for in a lead off hitter. If he continues to see his playing time increase he could challenge Longoria for the title as the season moves on.

NL Best Rookie-

Winner-Geovany Soto

He could be the best catcher in the national league right now. Anytime you could be the best at your position in your league and your a rookie you probably have the rookie of the year on lock down. He leads all rookies and catchers in home runs and RBIs plus his .333/.427/.621 line is extremely impressive no matter who you are.

Runner Up-Joey Votto

While some may think Kosuke Fukudome should be here I find it hard to believe a 31 year old with nine years of professional experience should be considered a rookie. Even if I didn’t factor that in to my decision Votto would still be my choice. Votto is second in home runs and RBIs following only Soto and has a solid .308/.341/.538 line. As the season goes on Votto should continue to see lots of playing time and will get a chance to possibly challenge Soto for rookie of the year.

AL Relief Pitcher

Winner-Mariano Rivera

You want your closer to just come in and close the door. No one has done this better in their career than Mariano Rivera and this season is no different. So far this year he has 11 innings pitched 11 strikeouts, no walks, only four hits and no earned runs to go along with his eight saves. Not a tough sell.

Runner Up-Joakim Soria

Soria has been just as impressive this year as Rivera, but is just a few saves short and that is the reason he finds him self as the runner up early in the season. His stats are about as good as it gets so far 11 inning pitched, three hits, no earned runs and 13 strike outs to just one walk.

NL Relief Pitcher

Winner-Billy Wagner

Wagner has been lights out and retired 27 straight hitters to start the season. That alone is enough to put him on the top of the list but the great six to one strike out to walk ratio, 0.42 WHIP and zero ERA makes this a open and shut case.

Runner Up-Brad LIdge

Lidge has been almost as good as Wagner in the early on. The only real thing separating the two are a few hits and Lidge’s two to one strike out to walk ratio versus Wagner’s six to one ratio. This is still about as good as it gets though and he may be the missing link the Phillies needed to get over the hump.

AL Mangager

Winner-Bob Geren

The Oakland A’s skipper will get the nod for now since his team is tied for first in the AL West with a offense that is in the bottom half in batting average, total bases and several other offensive categories. Geren is the early leader because of a solid showing by the pitching staff. He should enjoy the lead while it last though, the offense isn’t going to get much better and hoping for the entire staff to keep this up all season might be a little much to ask for.

NL Manager

Winner-Tony La Russa

La Russa seems to just win where ever he goes. His Cardinals lead the NL Central even though they probably have the third maybe even fourth most talent roster in the division. La Russa has pushed all the right buttons so far and his style of always going with the match-ups has paid off so far in the early part of the season. With the possibility of Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder coming back from injury and call up of stud prospect Colby Rasmus this team might get even better as the season goes on.

Note on Manager Award Race:I’m just going to pick a winner for now. Its to early in the season to truly know how much of an impact or good job a manager has done.