Six Weeks In

Guest Post written by Dennis Gronau

The first month of Baseball means it’s April and spring time, which is a win-win situation. Crack of the bat, the snap of the ball hitting the catcher’s glove in the bullpen during warm-ups and most importantly the shouting words of the umpire to yell “Play Ball”.

The 2015 Baseball Season is underway and let’s say it has been a very interesting and exciting first Month of Baseball. The thrill of knowing America’s pastime is back for another year is the best thing. Being a fan of the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs brings yet another season of hope and excitement thinking could this be the year one of these teams can win the World Series. Time will only tell.

Seems like most of the talk in the first month was about Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs. The phenomenal prospect who was tearing the cover off the ball in spring training. He got sent down to Triple-A and was there for only two weeks. Now that is history while Mr. Bryant is getting used to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.

Since the calendar has flipped over to May now some teams are turning heads and other teams are making fans shake their heads.

Let’s look at each division starting with the AL West. One team that’s a huge surprise is the Houston Astros. Probably one of the youngest teams in the division and they are taking off like a Rocket (Houston Joke here) out of the gate. No one player on the Astros is dominating the stats sheet it’s just a team playing very well together. All other teams in the AL West are playing so-so after the first month. But remember there are still a lot of games to be played.

Now with the AL Central it’s a battle between the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers so far. Last year’s ride for the KC Royals has continued into the 2015 season. The Tigers are usually atop the AL Central and that has not changed so far this season. The Minnesota Twins are hanging in the upper part of the division so far. Chicago and Cleveland are playing so far below their value. A lot of talent but just not putting up the wins in the standings so far.

American League East you always have to bring up the New York Yankees. Love them or hate them there is no doubt they are usually in the upper part of the AL East. The start of the 2015 Baseball Season brought back Alex Rodriguez to the playing field. The Yankees are leading the division after the first month. The rest of the division is near or below .500 baseball. One good winning streak could change this for a couple of teams.

Let’s jump over to the National League and first talk about the NL West. The Los Angeles Dodgers have been playing well so far. A young prospect by the name of Joc Pederson has been tearing up and taking the league by storm. The Dodgers are built on Veterans as well as young players. The combination has paid off well so far. The San Diego Padres made wholesale changes in the off season, hovering around .500, we’ll see if it pays off well for them. Can never forget the defending World Champs San Francisco Giants.

The NL East has been a one team race so far and it’s the get ready for it…drum roll please… the New York Mets. Met’s got off to a very fast start. Now let’s see if it will hold up in May and beyond. The Washington Nationals were favorite by almost everyone to run away with the division.

Now onto my favorite division (besides the AL West) let’s talk about the National League Central. The St. Louis Cardinals got off to a very hot start in April while even losing Adam Wainwright to a season ending injury (Torn Achilles). The Chicago Cubs got off to a slow start in April but did call up one guy named Kris Bryant. I truly do believe the kid can be good for years to come.

Well that’s just a small write up about the first month of the 2015 Baseball Season. As the weather gets warmer around the country it should also mean the baseball races should start heating up.