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Crap, after losing three in a row, the swingin' A's are now three games behind the Rangers.

Derek Holland is awesome as he goes through a perfect May with a 4-0 record as he pitches seven innings and strikes out eight batters tonight when the Rangers defeat the Royals 7-2.

Ahh, yes, the Rangers. Think they're the best team in baseball?

They're one of the best in baseball. Right now, I have them as the best in the American League.

NL East

Atlanta – 34-22
Washington – 28-29 (6.5)
Philadelphia – 27-30 (7.5)
New York 22-32 (11)
Miami – 16-41 (18.5)

NL Central

St. Louis – 37-19
Cincinnati – 35-22 (2.5)
Pittsburgh – 35-22 (2.5)
Chicago – 23-32 (13.5)
Milwaukee – 21-34 (15.5)

NL West

Arizona – 32-24
Colorado – 30-27 (2.5)
San Francisco – 30-27 (2.5)
San Diego – 26-30 (6)
Los Angeles – 23-32 (8.5)

AL East

Boston – 35-23
Baltimore – 32-25 (2.5)
Tampa Bay – 31-25 (3)
New York – 31-25 (3)
Toronto – 24-33 (10.5)

AL Central

Detroit – 30-25
Cleveland – 30-26 (0.5)
Minnesota – 25-29 (4.5)
Chicago – 24-30 (5.5)
Kansas City – 23-31 (6.5)

AL West

Texas – 35-21
Oakland – 34-24 (2)
Los Angeles – 25-32 (10.5)
Seattle – 24-33 (11.5)
Houston – 20-37 (15.5)

That's a gorgeous lead in the NL east. Here's hoping they don't run out of gas at the end of the season.

Again.

Same thing could be said about my Rangers.

The Rangers got slaughtered by the Red Sox tonight 17-5. However, what really shocked me was Rangers left fielder, David Murphy pitched a shutout inning including a strikeout.

I was initially really upset when we traded Turner for Sanchez, but the guy's been amazing (5-5 2.79 ERA) and Turner's only played one game this season.

Peralta, you better not have been taking roids. I will be severely disappoint if you have.

Please don't suspend Cruz.

Julio Tehran of the Atlanta Braves was pitching a no hitter into the eighth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Brandon Inge broke the no hitter with a base hit with two outs in the eighth.

Hey LA Dodgers, if you can stop getting in fights, that would be great.

NL East

Atlanta – 40-28
Washington – 34-34 (6)
Philadelphia – 33-37 (8)
New York 25-39 (13)
Miami – 21-47 (19)

NL Central

St. Louis – 44-25
Cincinnati – 42-28 (2.5)
Pittsburgh – 41-28 (3)
Chicago – 28-39 (15)
Milwaukee – 28-40 (15.5)

NL West

Arizona – 37-32
Colorado – 37-33 (0.5)
San Francisco – 35-22 (1)
San Diego – 35-34 (2)
Los Angeles – 29-39 (7.5)

AL East

Boston – 42-29
Baltimore – 40-30 (1.5)
New York – 38-31 (3)
Tampa Bay – 36-33 (5)
Toronto – 32-36 (8.5)

AL Central

Detroit – 38-29
Cleveland – 34-34 (4.5)
Kansas City – 33-34 (5)
Minnesota – 30-36 (7.5)
Chicago – 28-38 (9.5)

AL West

Oakland – 42-29
Texas – 38-31 (3)
Seattle – 31-39 (10.5)
Los Angeles – 30-39 (11)
Houston – 26-44 (15.5)

Rangers sweep the Cardinals. It's a great way to forget the pain from game 6 of the 2011 World Series.

Well, since the NBA and NHL are now done, it's time to enjoy some MLB. The All-Star Game is in three weeks at Shea Stadium in New York City. Who do you think is going?

Homer Bailey does it again. He pitches his 2nd no-hitter in a 3-0 victory against the Giants.

The Giants are on a roll in the sense that someone stuck them in a trash can and is rolling it down a hill. Props to Bailey, maybe this will wake them up.

Home Run Derby Participants:

AL – Robinson Cano (NYY), Chris Davis (BAL), Prince Fielder (DET), Yoenis Cespedes (OAK)
NL – David Wright (NYM), Carlos Gonzales (COL), Michael Cuddyer (COL), Bryce Harper (WSN)

The Derby is next Monday while the AS Game is next Tuesday at Shea Stadium in New York.

Tim Linecum has thrown a no hitter against the Padres. Congrats!!!

Pre-All-Star Break Standings:

NL East

Atlanta – 54-41
Washington – 48-47 (6)
Philadelphia – 48-48 (6.5)
New York 41-50 (11)
Miami – 38-58 (18)

NL Central

St. Louis – 57-36
Pittsburgh – 56-37 (1)
Cincinnati – 53-42 (5)
Chicago – 42-51 (15)
Milwaukee – 38-56 (19.5)

NL West

Arizona – 50-45
Los Angeles – 47-47 (2.5)
Colorado – 46-50 (4.5)
San Francisco – 43-51 (6.5)
San Diego – 42-54 (8.5)

AL East

Boston – 58-39
Tampa Bay – 55-41 (2.5)
Baltimore – 53-43 (4.5)
New York – 51-44 (6)
Toronto – 45-49 (11.5)

AL Central

Detroit – 52-42
Cleveland – 51-44 (1.5)
Kansas City – 43-49 (8)
Minnesota – 39-53 (12)
Chicago – 37-55 (14)

AL West

Oakland – 56-39
Texas – 54-41 (2)
Los Angeles – 44-49 (11)
Seattle – 43-52 (13)
Houston – 33-61 (22.5)

Yoenis Cespedes is your 2013 Home Run Derby Winner.

AL – 3
NL – 0

MVP – Mariano Rivera (NYY)

I tip my hat to the one and only Mariano Rivera. He will go down as the greatest closer of all time.

Remember my question from page 1, can the Giants pitch? After all, they're a pitching team. At the break, starter ERAs are…

• 3.02 – Madison Bumgarner
• 4.26 – Tim Lincecum
• 4.88 – Barry Zito
• 5.06 – Matt Cain
• 7.19 – Ryan Vogelsong

There are two new starters replacing Vogelsong:

• 2.39 – Chad Gaudin (6 starts)
• 10.61 – Mike Kickham (3 starts)

And the "secret weapon" Jeremy Affeldt has a respectable but not great 3.55 ERA, but let's look at that per month:

• 5.79 – April
• 0.73 – May
• 5.23 – June

So with a couple of exceptions the answer is "No", and the Giants are in fourth place. It's really strange how good pitchers don't decline with age or (published) injury on this team, but go from good one year to bad the next.

The A's are doing better.

Come on Texas, you're only two games behind those pesky A's. Woah, what's this, the Rangers are about to get Matt Garza? This is going to be good.

Seattle – 4 runs, 1 hit, no errors
Houston – 2 runs, 7 hits, no errors

The Astros have found another way to lose.

It's official, Matt Garza will be traded to the Texas Rangers.

I was raised in Atlanta. Braves FTW!

Brewers Ryan Braun suspended for remainder of 2013 season (65 games+postseason) for taking roids. This time, he won't be weaseling out of it.

Damn it, Peralta, you've been jacking up too, haven't you? The Tigers can ill afford you being an idiot with the Indians only a game and a half behind and Verlander inexplicably sucking this year.

Good riddance, A-Roid is next. What's your thoughts on the Rangers getting Garza? Will it help them get deep into the postseason?

Rumor: Alex Rodriguez might get a LIFETIME BAN!!!

Matt Garza pitched an excellent game tonight in his Rangers debut. He pitched 7 1/3 innings and gave up only 5 hits and no runs while striking out five batters in a 3-1 victory over the Yankees.

Everyone's talking about the al west, and I'm sitting here watching the Rays finally pass Boston for the top spot.

chowzburgerz said:

What’s your thoughts on the Rangers getting Garza? Will it help them get deep into the postseason?

As a Tigers fan, hopefully not. Had the Tigers got him, I'd be happy but also a little concerned. I know the Rangers have one of the deepest minor league systems in baseball, but if they burn through all their prospects now for short term gains, they'll end up like the Phillies (who just got swept by the Tigers) and be high and dry in a few years.

I like to look at the Red Wings as a good example. They rarely trade their minor league talent, instead nabbing free agents, and as a result, they're constantly in the playoffs because when they lose older players to retirement or more money, they have new talent to replace them.

By the way, how's that Japanese guy that they spent an obscene amount of money on working out? I'd be pissed if my team spent forty million dollars on someone only for them to be a bust.

Oh, our pitching combination of Yu Darvish, Matt Garza, and Derek Holland is great, but our offense went downhill. Because of our bad offense, we're now six games behind Oakland.

I can't believe how bad the Phillies were today.

Damn MLB.com video won't embed, so have a link instead.

…and the link doesn't actually direct to the video. Great.

Trade Deadline News:

Jake Peavy is going to the Boston Red Sox
Alberto Callepso is going to the Oakland Athletics for Grant Green
Brian Wilson has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers (that's not good for Giants fans)
Marc Rzepczynski is going to the Cleveland Indians

Excellent, the Tigers got a pretty good shortstop (Jose Iglesias, .330 BA) to replace Peralta when he gets suspended/asks for too much money at the end of the season. Not happy about getting rid of Garcia (to the White Sox no less), but Iglesias is a rookie so it's not a huge loss.

Disappointing Trade Deadline today, but here's what happened:

Ian Kennedy to the San Diego Padres
Bud Norris to the Baltimore Orioles
Justin Maxwell to the Kansas City Royals

The Texas Rangers hit three walk off home runs in a row. Half-Life 3 confirmed.

Okay, let's see if I can breathe a little life into this thread. What is your most surprising and most disappointing team in each of the Leagues so far this year?

AL:

I'd have to say Boston for most surprising AL team. I thought their rebuilding would take at least a few years after they cleaned house after their collapse, but here they are, sitting pretty atop what is arguably the toughest division in baseball.

For disappointing, gotta go with the Angels. They spend all that money, get Pujols, Hamilton, and Wilson and then bomb. I'm glad I'm not an Angels fan, cause I'd be pissed right now.

NL:

Admittedly, I know little about the NL, but seeing the Pirates atop their division after years redecorating the basement is definitely a surprise. Even if they have been getting better for the last few years.

Going from sweeping my Tigers to taking the Pirates place as bottom dwellers is definitely something I didn't expect to happen to the Giants. I wonder what happened in one season to make them so bad?

AL Surprise: Boston and Tampa Bay
AL Dissapointment: LA Angels and Toronto

NL Surprise: Pittsburgh and Arizona
NL Dissapointment: San Francisco and Washington

Why is my team so bad now.

Because Twins.

Anyway, who would have thought the Mets, of all teams, would break the Royals' winning streak? Being a New York fan, I have to say I'm pretty happy right now.

Breaking News: 12 players have accepted a 50 game suspension. The biggest names from these suspensions are Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers and Jhonny Peralta of the Detroit Tigers. When it comes to the suspension, they'll miss the final 50 games of the year, but can still play in the postseason if their team makes it.

Peralta, you gigantic idiot. The hell were you thinking? Screw you. We got a replacement shortstop, so you can go back to the Indians. Thanks for forcing us to get rid of one of our best prospects too. That'll really help the team.

Jon Daniels, you idiot, how could not go for another outfielder who could bat before the non-waiver deadline. You knew Cruz's suspension was imminent.

Quote from Wikipedia:

Ultimately, on August 5, 2013, MLB suspended Rodriguez from August 8 through the end of the 2014 season for violating the league's PED policy, a total of 211 regular-season games plus any postseason games. He was one of 13 players suspended for their roles in the scandal. In its official statement, MLB said the punishment was based on Rodriguez's "use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years" and "for attempting to cover-up his violations of the Program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner's investigation." Although the standard punishment for a first offense under MLB's drug policy is 50 games, MLB had the option of suspending Rodriguez for longer than that under the collective bargaining agreement if it determined his actions constituted conduct detrimental to baseball.

Update:

NL East

Atlanta – 69-45
Washington – 54-59 (14.5)
Philadelphia – 51-61 (17)
New York 50-60 (17)
Miami – 43-68 (23.5)

NL Central

Pittsburgh – 68-44
St. Louis – 66-46 (2)
Cincinnati – 62-51 (6.5)
Chicago – 49-63 (19)
Milwaukee – 48-65 (20.5)

NL West

Los Angeles – 62-50
Arizona – 57-55 (5)
San Diego – 52-61 (10.5)
Colorado – 52-62 (11)
San Francisco – 50-62 (12)

AL East

Boston – 69-46
Tampa Bay – 66-46 (1.5)
Baltimore – 62-51 (6)
New York – 57-55 (10.5)
Toronto – 53-60 (15)

AL Central

Detroit – 66-45
Cleveland – 62-51 (5)
Kansas City – 57-53 (8.5)
Minnesota – 49-61 (16.5)
Chicago – 42-69 (24)

AL West

Oakland – 64-48
Texas – 64-50 (1)
Seattle – 52-61 (12.5)
Los Angeles – 51-61 (13)
Houston – 37-75 (27)

@chowzburgerz
>not posting Wild Card standings
>not posting Power Rankings

Do you even stats?

Wild Card Standing will come in about late August or early September

I'm not into Power Rankings

Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers are now back in 1st and are tied with the Oakland Athletics in the AL West.