Playing Pepper

Well folks, here we are one month into the 2010 MLB Season and there have been some interesting happenings. There have been some surprises, disappointments, "wow" moments and funny moments all throughout the majors and I will touch 'em all in this look around the majors after the one month mark.

1st Base (Surprises)

San Diego Padres: A team that was picked by many to finish in the cellar of the NL West is off to a 16-9 clip and sit atop the division by 1.5 games over the Giants. The Padres are tearing it up at Petco (10-3) with Chase Headley having the hot bat hitting .327 to go along with the power game Adrian Gonzalez bring game after game. Their pitching staff has been fantastic so far with Kevin Correia (4-1, 3.86 ERA) and Jon Garland (3-2, 2.06 ERA) to go along with Heath Bell (7 Saves, 1.80 ERA) and keep the powerful Dodgers and rising Giants from gaining any ground. Will this last? Who knows, but it has to be a great thing to see for the people from the city named after an old, old wooden ship.

2nd Base (Disappointments)

I have to go with the Red Sox as the biggest disappointment so far in the 2010 season. They are currently sitting at 11-14 in a very competitive AL East but they are 2 games beind the Blue Jays!! The dreadful hitting clinics being put on by Victor Martinez, David Ortiz and J.D. Drew are enough to make any Sox fan cry. When you are seeing Darnell McDonald highlights on ESPN, you know that there are players who aren't producing at the plate the way Francona has seen in the past. When Clay Buccholz is the only starter whose ERA is under 4.50 (2-2, 2.19 ERA) and your ace, Beckett, is 1-0 in 6 starts with a 6.31 ERA, there are some mutterings going on in Boston, not to mention panic at the Worldwide Leader seeing one of their beloved teams not starting hot. Yankee fans; revel in it now. Who knows when/if the Sox will revive; they better how sooner than later.

3rd base ("Wow" Moments)

To me, the "wow" moment this season has to be Philly management shoveling a $125 million truckload of money to Ryan Howard for the next 5 years. To me, Howard is Adam Dunn with a World Series ring. If you look back at his career starting back in 2004, he has only hit .300 once (.313 in 2005) and hovers generally around a .260 clip. He strikes out totals since 2006 are 188, 199, 199 and 186. He is good to strike out once every 3 times at bat, and even though he has hit 40+ HR's the past 4 seasons with 130+ RBI, he is not someone I would've put $25 million a year into at the ripe old age of 30. Philly fans have to be wondering why they didn't spend that money on Lee when he was there; could you imaging Halladay and Lee going 1-2 in that rotation? They would be a lock to win the 2010 World Series. Instead, management wants to put that extra money into Howard when he is hitting the age when bat speed starts to fall and the game gets a little too quick. Will the Phillies regret not putting the money into starting pitching? Only time will tell.

Home (Funny Moments)

This one has to be a toss up between Javier Vazquez's struggles in New York and Alfonso Soriano's fielding prowess in Chicago but I will go with Vazquez. As of his last start on Saturday, Vazquez sits with a 9.78 ERA and a 1-3 record along with 8 HR's given up and 25 ER. The Yankess and Cashman are always lauded for their offseason moves and the one that sent Melky Cabrera packing for Javier Vazquez was one of them. Javier was supposed to shore up their rotation and get the Yankess closer to a repeat title. Unfortunately, the numbers he is putting up are in no way becoming of a great Yankee pitcher. The guy has only had 5 seasons in his career where he posted a sub-4.00 ERA and they traded Melky for him? I guess his 2009 season in Atlanta was an illusion. If he doesn't turn things around quickly he is going to lose his spot in the rotation, which may allow Joba to get a shot, which will bring more hilarity to an already great situation to watch every 5th day in the Bronx.

That does it for this edition of Playing Pepper, where we look at the Surprises, Disappointments, "Wow" Moments and Funny Moments that take place between the foul lines. Until next time; be careful out there!