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Midterm Report Cards
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Pass out the midterm report cards

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Yahoo! Sports
Midterm grades arent printed on transcripts or diplomas. Yet they can be a wakeup call, a guidepost, reinforcement or a sober indication a person might be better suited anywhere but in a classroom.

In the sweat-stained, low-brow institutions of higher achievement that comprise Major League Baseball, mid-season report cardas serve the same purposes. Eighty-one games into this familiar protracted grind, taking stock is irresistible.

Sit up straight, boys and girls. Keep your hands to yourselves. Pass these midterm report cards back to your neighbor and dont let your eyes stray.

Grade: A-plus

  • Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays went from laggard to teachers pet, a student who overcame poverty and a junk-food diet to surge to the head of the class. Sure, privileged kids in Boston and New York might eventually nose out the Rays. But this is a no-name team (is there a single slam-dunk All-Star?) that has established it will be a force for years.

Grade: A
  • Boston Red Sox: Yes, one rich kid, present and accounted for. No slouch, either. The Red Sox house is in order, with only a whiff of domestic violence (Manny vs. hired help) to raise eyebrows. This is now a team that expects to win, expects good things to happen, a dramatic about-face from the pre-2004 Fenway culture.
  • Chicago Cubs: Heres the kid who bombs on the final regardless of midterm grades. Ninety-nine times in a row. Yet the Cubs are positioned nicely to end their century-long World Series title drought. Getting through the NL playoffs shouldnt be daunting. Their corner infielders and outfielders are seasoned run producers. Pressure on the starting rotation will increase as the calendar turns.
    •  
      • Los Angeles Angels: An AL team winning 3 of every 5 games while batting only .256 is staggering. The offense should improve because not a single everyday player has exceeded expectations. The same isnt true of the pitching staff. Will young starters Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana match their first-half output? Will closer Francisco Rodriguez?
      • Chicago White Sox: Ending the first half with a sweep of the crosstown Cubs was an emphatic statement that the White Sox might see this first-place thing through September. Starters Jose Contreras and Javier Vazquez are a tad creaky, but an offense built around slugging outfielders Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin is consistently productive. The ChiSox have outscored opponents by 85 runs, the biggest differential in the AL.
      • Philadelphia Phillies: Meet the seeming A-student who bombed the midterm and ended up with his grade lowered. It doesnt appear the Phillies would be a strong World Series representative they lost 9 of 12 in a late-June interleague swing. The Phillies defense is constantly pressured because starters Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick, Adam Eaton and Brett Myers all allow significantly more than one hit per inning.
      • New York Yankees: Anything short of an A isnt acceptable to new headmaster Hank Steinbrenner, but a B certainly is an improvement over the way the Yankees began the season. Will their aging position players wilt in the summer sun? Can the holes in their rotation be patched by the likes of Sidney Ponson for long? Last summers second-half rally keeps hope alive.
      • Oakland Athletics: One of only five teams in baseball with a winning road record, the As are playing just well enough to make a trading deadline fire sale by Billy Beane a crying shame. Catching the Angels for the AL West title might be an easier proposition than staying in a wild-card race with the Red Sox-Rays runner up.
      • Florida Marlins: The overachiever in a classroom of slackers, the Marlins remain in the thick of the NL East despite being surrounded by the expensive, somnolent Phillies, Mets and Braves. Marlins pitchers are coming off the disabled list and the offense is legitimate, so the smattering of fans that show up at Dolphin Stadium might watch the Marlins flummox the sleeping giants through September.
      • Baltimore Orioles: Such a shame the Orioles are in a division with those powerhouse Rays, and, oh by the way, the Red Sox and Yankees as well. This has quietly become an excellent team six days a week. Inexplicably, the Orioles have lost 12 in a row on Sundays, having won on the Sabbath only on April 6, dragging them into fourth place.
      • Arizona Diamondbacks: Talk about playing down to the competition. Just treading water after their 28-15 start would have made them runaway leaders in the NL West. Instead they are struggling to stay above sea level and have allowed the punchless Dodgers and horrific Rockies to believe they are in a pennant race.
      • Detroit Tigers: Like the whip-smart kid who thinks he can get by without doing homework, the Tigers needed to be embarrassed repeatedly before getting it together just before midterms. Its entirely possible they could go 52-29 in the second half and win the Al Central. Or, the frightful bullpen and more injuries could keep them at .500.
      • Texas Rangers: Is there a more uneven roster in baseball? Feel-good reclamation stories Josh Hamilton, Milton Bradley and Vicente Padilla are juxtaposed against disasters Jason Jennings, Kevin Millwood and whoever might currently have a tenuous hold on the back of the rotation. The heights and depths cancel each other out and the result is an average team.
      • New York Mets: New manager Jerry Manuel, an avid student of Martin Luther King Jr. speeches, might infuse life into a team suffering from post-traumatic September fold syndrome. Yet more important than words will be the effectiveness of pitches by underachieving starters Pedro Martinez, Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey. Still, the recent Phillies fold has kept hope alive.
      • Atlanta Braves: Not that Turner Field is comfy cozy, but get the Braves away from home and they turn utterly pathetic: 12-29. It must be dispiriting when frustration pervades every road trip. Yes, Chipper Jones is having his best year, but Jeff Francoeur is having his worst. Give up or make a push in a bumbling division? If Mark Teixeira is dealt at the deadline, well know the answer.
      • Toronto Blue Jays: Too many knee-jerk decisions and off-hand comments from the front office. Too little wiggle room in a division where the one consolation the Blue Jays always could count on being better than the Rays has deserted them. If the Blue Jays were in the NL West, theyd be 1½ games out of first place. And if a third grader was still in kindergarten, hed probably be getting straight As.
      • Los Angeles Dodgers: The vaunted young talent is developing as expected, but the veterans acquired for obscene sums of money to complement the kids have been huge disappointments. So Joe Torre is left with an anemic offense and an inconsistent rotation. Two years ago the Dodgers were in a similar plight, then inexplicably went on a July tear and made the playoffs. So anything is possible, especially in the forgiving NL West.
      • San Francisco Giants: The inevitably painful post-Barry Bonds era has begun. But, no pain, no gain, and the Giants are already slowly moving forward. It would have helped if Barry Zito hadnt lost his Uncle Charlie while crossing the Bay Bridge. Now, its Lincecum and Cain and pray the bay fog turns to rain. A smattering of young position players Fred Lewis, John Bowker provide hope.
      • Kansas City Royals: Everyone agrees the Royals are improving. Everyone agrees they are stockpiling strong arms. Everyone agrees their farm system and front office are in order. Then why are they still seven games under .500 and nowhere near the top of the AL Central? $$$$$. And they misspent the $$$$$ they had.
      • Cleveland Indians: The biggest disappointment in the AL save that rainy outpost in the Pacific Northwest has trading deadline decisions like no other. Its got to be gut wrenching to all but quit by dealing starters C.C. Sabathia, Paul Byrd and perhaps a position player. Especially so soon after finishing one game short of the World Series. But the time is drawing near.
      • Pittsburgh Pirates: But, dad, I didnt get an F. That could be the Pirates refrain, a team so accustomed to failure that a first half six games under .500 qualifies as success. Dad aint buying it. Yes, the outfield is productive and Matt Capps can hold most of the infrequent late-inning leads, but the infield doesnt hit and the rotation always spits out at least one severe disappointment, as in, whats up with Tom Gorzelanny?
      • Houston Astros: When words to describe your clubhouse environment mirror those once used to explain Three-Mile Island (toxic, lethal, noxious), the only positive that can come of it is for Lance Berkman to grow a third eye and see the ball so well he bats .556 with 63 HRs and 140 RBIs. And just when it seemed Roy Oswalt had his mojo back, he leaves a game with an injury.
      • Cincinnati Reds: Like slugging strikeout machine Adam Dunn and struggling strikeout machine Johnny Cueto, all or nothing is an apt description of the entire Reds franchise. Theyll trade Ken Griffey Jr. if he lets them and somebody wants him. They might trade Dunn. Theyll draw hope from Edinson Volquez, Jay Bruce and Joey Votto. And wait til next year.
      • Washington Nationals: New stadium, same slapstick team. Manager Manny Acta worked miracles last year with the worst roster in baseball. A team batting average of .239 and a rotation headed by the immortal Tim Redding has made that impossible this year. They avoid an F only because of low expectations, wide concourses and a breathtaking view of the Capitol.
    Grade: A-minus

    Grade: B-plus

    Grade: B

    Grade: B-minus

    Grade: C

    Grade: C-minus

    Grade: D-plus

    Grade: D
    Grade: D-minus

    Grade: F


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The Forum Celestial Advisor

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Seattle Mariners: New manager Jim Riggleman is beginning to make changes. Jeff Clement, not Kenji Johjima, will do most of the catching. Richie Sexsons at-bats will diminish. But what does he do with slop throwers Carlos Silva, Miguel Batista and Jarrod Washburn? Any slight improvement in the Mariners will be like a kid raising his test scores from 35 percent to 40 percent. Its still an F.

I'll tell you that watching the M's this season hasn't been a lot of fun.
On the other hand the Mariners are "my" team and every day can become
a new begining. Attendance is usually in the 20-30,000 range for the
home games and every game is on TV. The baseball scene in Seattle
is strong. The recent shake ups had to be made. There are signs that
some players early struggles are turning around. I like Richie Sexon
(maybe because we share the same birthday) and I think he's a
great 1st baseman, but Seattle must not jive with his Astrocartography
lines. Jose Vidro has proven credentials but once again he may be in the
wrong location. I love Adrian Beltre to death. I am amazed how easy he
can field a tough grounder at 3rd base and whip a perfect throw to first.
J.J. Putz our ace closer out of bullpen has been a huge "?" in my opinion.
He's been on the disabled list twice this season and when he has pitched
it's been a drama. Ichiro is back on track and he's the man to get things
going. I think Seattle can make it back to .500 before the season ends.
Not what we all hoped for coming out of spring training but with the way
the season has started off it will be an accomplishment that most
around these part can live with.

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Richie Sexson is just another "Rob Deer".......he will give 30 HR's with a .205 batting average and 150 K's.

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I see he batting .224 with 10 HR's, 27 RBI's and 75 K's so far this season.

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Perhaps, a crosstown Series between the Cubs and White Sox? I have to find a bookie to take that bet.

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Freddie Krueger wrote:

Perhaps, a crosstown Series between the Cubs and White Sox? I have to find a bookie to take that bet.




It has been 100 years since the Cubs last won a world series.



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The Forum Celestial Advisor

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I hope the M's can swing a trade for Richie Sexon
somehow. He's being payed some big bucks this
year and will be be a free agent at season's end.
Real sure he won't be back in a M's uniform next year
but the guy has more left in his career. He's a decent
1st baseman and who knows what a change of scenery
might do for the man. Richie has the "boo-birds" chirping
at home games right now in Seattle. I wish the best for him.

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The Krink wrote:
I hope the M's can swing a trade for Richie Sexon

somehow. He's being payed some big bucks this
year and will be be a free agent at season's end.
Real sure he won't be back in a M's uniform next year
but the guy has more left in his career. He's a decent
1st baseman and who knows what a change of scenery
might do for the man. Richie has the "boo-birds" chirping
at home games right now in Seattle. I wish the best for him.


Me too. I always liked him when he played for the Brewers: played hard, never took an inning off, always fun to watch. He was the same guy with the media whether he hit three homers in a game or struck out swinging four times. I'm sure some contender will take him off the Mariners' hands before the season is over.

 



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So much for a trade for Richie Sexon as he'll be with
another team(?) with the Mariner's picking up the rest
of his salary. Richie got released today. I guess if you
watch the M's every day, it's no surprise it came to this.
He's the only player in a Mariner uniform to get boo'd
that I can remember. They boo A-Rod whenever he come's
to bat but he's wearing a Yankee uniform. For the most
part Seattle fans don't do much booing. Perhaps a bad call
from an umpire but otherwise booing is rarely heard.

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Unstable & Irrational

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I think that is because they put something in the Starbuck's coffee.

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Uke


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The Indians broke the hearts of many a Seattle fan by beating up on the Mariners this afternoon. Maybe Cleveland isn't tearing up the league, but they taught Seattle a thing or two about fundamental baseball.


SEATTLE -- The Indians certainly know how to give second base a beating.

Constantly digging their spikes into the bag Saturday afternoon thanks to seven doubles, the Cleveland hitters launched an extra-base hit attack in the early innings to secure a 9-6 victory in front of 37,879 at Safeco Field to even the three-game series.

"Our offense did a good job of jumping out, of putting a couple of innings together," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "That was really the difference."

Things got tight at the end when Ichiro Suzuki took Masahide Kobayashi deep for a two-run homer with two out in the ninth inning to get Seattle within three runs. But after a Willie Bloomquist single, first baseman Casey Blake stopped the tying run from coming to the plate with a spectacular diving stop on Raul Ibanez's hard shot before tossing the ball to a sprinting Kobayashi at the bag for the final out.

Despite the ragged finish, Saturday's real story was the Cleveland lineup, which rebounded from a subpar performance against Seattle ace Felix Hernandez the previous night.



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The Forum Celestial Advisor

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Face it Uke, the Mariner's are going to have a bad year.
Seems like most teams in MLB get to experience it at
some point of their existence. I still turn the game on
every night just because I love baseball. The one game out
of four that they win still makes me feel good. Seattle
is a baseball town.

-- Edited by The Krink at 00:48, 2008-07-22

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