Minor bookkeeping note, Angels have 140 runs, A's have 135.

So...does this mean that you guys were all wrong about the Cardinals?

Oh and do you still think it's true that the NL Central is baseball's worst division?

Well, based purely by watching him play live and the sense I got that he was highly doubted with the DBacks, I think Carlos Quentin will be a good player the whole year through. No, he won't sport an 1.052 OPS the whole year and lead the league... He's good though, and it's time for people to recognize that.

maybe.

I am afraid you might indeed have further antagonized the "estimable" Buzz(ard). After all, you are considering all sorts of new-fangled statistics and nary a bow to BA or RBIs or pitcher Wins.

I think the Rays' position in run prevention is for real. It may not remain as highly ranked all year, but I do think it will continue to be significantly improved from last year and among the better defenses in the league.

It's interesting to me that the both players involved in the Cincinnati/Texas deal -- Edinson Volquez and Josh Hamilton -- show up on the April leaderboard. My instinct at the time of the trade was that it was going to be a very even deal for both sides, and that it could be tough to grade immediately (and 5 years down the road), but mostly because I didn't think Volquez was going to be so good so fast.

I think everybody's pulling for J-Hammer, but Volquez's performance makes the story even more compelling.

"So...does this mean that you guys were all wrong about the Cardinals?"

Probably not. Several guys who aren't as good (as measured by their track record) as they've played so far, especially on the pitching staff, and not much room for improvement with others to make up for the inevitable backslide to planet Earth by guys like Lohse and Ludwick. The Orioles have perfected the "great start, then revert to what everyone expected" move over the last few years, I suspect the Cards are going to go the same way.

So why is it that the Braves, who are 5th in league OPS, 5th in league ERA, and 5th in league defensive efficiency are three games under .500 as we leave April?

Why, it's that 0-9 record in one run games!

Here's looking forward to May. >_

The Braves' luck in close games have been horrible for awhile now. guess it might be all the good fortunes of years pasts comming back to haunt them a bit.

Most people doubted Quienten's health, not his bat. he's proving that he can indeed hit when healthy, but there's still a little more to go before he proves he can actually do the later part on a consistent basis.

A few general thoughts on some of the teams so far.

Yankees: what is it with them and slow starts? they've been off to bad or really bad starts 3 of their last 4 year now. and in the year that they didn't start horriblly ( 06) they lost both corner OF by early in the season to major injuries. still though, there's a lot of things to be scared here. that their 2 best hitters on on the shelf. that their kids are imploding. that their bullpen is even more taxed. they figure to rebound . and Boston hasn't ran away (yet) but boy have this month been making many fans wanting to drink Vodka or DDT.

Tigers: they're offense came back strong, but there's still a lot to worry there. the pitching staff is pretty shaky. espically if Verlander's early struggles and lost of velocity is for real.

O's : not happening ... mirage of the biggest perportion.

Rays: may be for real here. though I still don't think they make it all the way. should easily set new franchise win record though (when it's 70 games that's not exactly a huge accomplishment though)

D-backs: for real, Upton and Jackson and some of their pitchers are due for a slight regression at this point, but they always had the highest upside, I worried that they hit a little regression this year before the start of the season considering their ugly pythag last year and all their sophmores. but looks like it was too much worry

Cards: no , not happening. if they make it they need to give a Nobel Prize to Dave Duncan though.

White Sox: don't see it ... yet.... though if Dank / Floyd continue their good start I'll change my mind. their legit talents. but for Floyd he took so long to put it together that i was giving up a bit on him, and for Danks he simply never dominated anywhere. though that might be a Texas thing. still though I have a bad feeling about their team health and depth. we'll see how that goes.

Utley .405
Jesus, that's Ruthian right there.

As a fellow BoSox fan, I'd be curious to know how much their batting stats have slipped in the last 5 games since they are hitting about a buck fifty in their last 50 innings or so.

"White Sox: don't see it ... yet.... though if Dank / Floyd continue their good start I'll change my mind. their legit talents. but for Floyd he took so long to put it together that i was giving up a bit on him, and for Danks he simply never dominated anywhere. though that might be a Texas thing. still though I have a bad feeling about their team health and depth. we'll see how that goes."

Floyd is a BABIP fluke. Danks could be more for real. Consider that Buehrle and Vazquez are on the bad side of BABIP luck right now though (though Floyd is a way-out outlier). I still think they're a .500 team and I'm a fan, but there's at least some hope of contention right now. I can see it happening, but they'll need to stay healthy and Contreras has to be Good Contreras instead of Evil Contreras. You just can't know what to expect from him.