Where Things Stand: 2021 MLB Edition Part 2
We here at WTS headquarters have opened up a portion of our workspace to the ball diamond next door for our first annual cookout to celebrate summer, take a quick break and watch some baseball hanging on the TV overhead.
That doesn’t mean we forgot about writing WTS: 2021 MLB Edition Part 2! We had a few fireworks from the trade deadline and some interesting movement in the standings. If you need to catch up on 2021 Part 1, click here.
With football season and the back-half of WTS: 2021 MLB Edition’s Part 3 finale colliding, we were able to bring on intern Mindy at the start of July. Now we have an extra helping hand to get a jump start on the 2021 NFL Edition and to retrieve intern Jason from 1981.
Speaking of intern Jason, we did get an update from him shortly before publication. He said that he’s been able to rake in $4 million dollars from Las Vegas sports betting based on his future sports event knowledge, some of which we can use to help fund a new, permanent studio lab.
He got lucky to find $5,000 lying around in a briefcase and laid most of it on the Super Bowl. We told him to place bets on the World Series and especially on MVP awards.
However, he still needs to limit correspondence from the communication center since we somehow programmed in a slow fuel recharge device despite accidentally wiring the machine for one-way trips only.
The reason for limited updates is once the fuel runs out, he’s on his own. We’re working to digitize the blueprints and relay them via “time fax”, so he can find someone not in the U.S. Government to help get him back here.
In the meantime, interns Paul, Randy, Mindy, editor Brandon Lewis and myself have to deliver on the humor, snark and analysis. I think the AL East is a good spot to start.
*Note: All team page hyperlinks are to Baseball Reference.
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AL East
Tampa Bay: 35–20 | Part 2: 63–42
Boston: 32–21| Part 2: 62–43
NY Yankees: 29–25 | Part 2: 55–48
Toronto: 27–25 | Part 2: 53–48
Baltimore: 17–37 | Part 2: 37–66
State of the AL East:
Tampa Bay: I don’t know how the Rays do it. They traded starting shortstop Willy Adames to the Brewers, and he started raking. Yet, they keep winning with Wander Franco, Vidal Burjan and Taylor Walls in his place.
They traded for The Boomstick that is Nelson Cruz to fortify the lineup and then turn around a day later to flip Rich Hill, and they’re still winning games.
While a losing skid forced their hand to call up Franco, the Rays will be bound for October. If I’m Boston, I’m very nervous that the Rays are somehow better than last year after losing their top two starting pitchers and had a willingness to actually add a bit of salary at the deadline.
Boston: Yes, the Red Sox are winning, and no, I’m not happy about it.
Look, Boston kids are spoiled silly with titles galore, and the team re-hiring cheater Alex Cora in the offseason still doesn’t sit well with me.
The one thing you can’t deny about Cora if you take the scandal out is how desperately they needed him in the skipper’s role. Good managers get the best out of their team.
Throughout most of this edition, he’s had his team in first place, only to fall back to second in the division the last day of July, and this is without the true superstars of years past like Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, etc. Rafeal Devers has finally taken the mantle up with Xander Boegarts on the left side of the infield with him.
Also, here’s a little fun fact about one of their starters, Nick Pivetta. My jaw dropped when Bob Nightengale tweeted this out.
At the deadline, Boston and Chaim Bloom didn’t make a ton of additions, but the return of Chris Sale in the coming weeks as the staff’s undisputed ace is as great of an addition this team could get.
New York: Okay, that fan throwing a baseball at Alex Verdugo deserved to be banned and screw them in general.
And… the Yankees suck, so that’s another positive for the rest of America. All of your whining fills me with the ability to churn out snark and also will put into perspective the plights of another team.
Your miserable season is enough shredding for now. I hope you’re enjoying Gerrit Cole and Aroldis Chapman’s regressions since sticky substances were banned a few weeks ago!
I also find it laughable that you think Joey Gallo — a guy of power and many strikeouts — Anthony Rizzo and Andrew Heaney will all get you to the playoffs. I hope you don’t prove me wrong and still miss out.
And… Rizzo is balling out with the Yankees.
Toronto: Vlad Guerrero Jr. is a beast. It sounds like a copout but not really.
If it weren’t for a certain Angel, Vladdy Jr. would be the runaway MVP. Heck, he’s just a monster!!
One of the Blue Jays’ weaknesses was their lack of rotation arms. Well, Ross Atkins decided to pony up by trading last year’s №5 pick Austin Martin and another top five prospect in Simeon Woods Richardson for Jose Berrios.
That’s a lot for Berrios, but it could be a shrewd win-now move with long-term repercussions.
They’ve gotten good production once again from Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Robbie Ray has bounced back into All-Star form, but super prospect Nate Pearson has missed a ton of time due to injuries. Good thing Alex Manaoh has shown some ability in the big leagues.
Baltimore: If not for Pete Alonso, Trey Mancini may have actually won the Home Run Derby. I loved the Mancini story and thought maybe he’d be a good dark horse candidate to win. Little did I know Alonso would become the GOAT of the derby.
Back to non All-Star weekend points, on one hand, the O’s rebuild is starting to progress a bit, with Adley Rutschman being the catcher of the future, Cedric Mullins keeping up a sustained breakout and still having John Means.
I know Orioles fans are likely tired of losing, but there’s good news for you guys: The front office is finally catching up to the rest of the league. It took a few years, but there’s hope for a contender by the middle of the decade at the very latest.
AL Central
CHI White Sox: 33–21 | Part 2: 61–44
Cleveland: 29–24 | Part 2: 51–50
Detroit: 22–32 | Part 2: 50–57
Kansas City: 26–26 | Part 2: 45–58
Minnesota: 22–31 | Part 2: 44–61
State of the AL Central:
Chicago: As much as I want to bitch about one June Lance Lynn start getting wiped out after heavy rain and tornado sirens going off, costing me a very personal fantasy matchup, or the demotion of Yermin Mercedes and his recent almost-retirement, there’s other things to talk about.
It’s about Tony La Russa. He’s a Hall of Fame manager, literally, and yet I can’t help but see how this guy is still so out of touch with the current landscape, and yet, he continues to produce results.
If you think I hate the White Sox, that’s not really the case (check back with me in 2023). I’m baffled that La Russa has weathered all of this and even if his players aren’t happy with him, they’ve produced results that had me very scared of them in 2019.
They’re getting Eloy Jimenez back and potentially Luis Robert. Not to mention they landed Cesar Hernandez, Craig Kimbrel and now nothing will stop them from getting into October baseball. I won’t be surprised if they either get booted in the first round or win the whole damn show.
Cleveland: Before we get to the whole name change stuff (maybe I write a more expansive article in the future?) or the real narrative, I wanted to show a Jose Ramírez hustle play versus a horrid Orioles defense. Keep your awareness and emulate Jose, kids!
Intern Randy, please roll the clip.
At one point, the Indians were 42–33 and close enough to the White Sox that maybe they could take the division with injuries piling up. Little did we know that Cleveland’s strength would be its greatest detriment.
Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, and Shane Bieber all went on the injured list in close succession. Only Plesac has returned from that trio.
Triston McKenzie has flashed some of the stuff that made him a can’t-miss prospect with a few frustrating starts mixed in, and guys like J.C. Mejia and Sam Hentges haven’t seized on opportunities to make their mark and continue the pitching factory production line where any starter Cleveland has turns into a good one. Cal Quantrill has started to look like a possible solution though, so some progress has been made.
The Indians managed to not be swept through the first three months before two straight sweeps by Houston and Tampa Bay, followed by another stretch of 2–5 baseball the first full week out of the All-Star break.
Did I truly expect the Indians to contend? Not really, but I saw a team that as long as they had their three ace-like starters, they had a chance. Instead, it’s going to be a wash this year as the Tribe will transition to the Guardians next season.
However, the Indians will likely be contenders in 2022 or 2023 with one of the better farm systems in baseball supplying talent and hopefully a new minority owner to give the front office some money to work with. Getting a long-term solution in center field in Myles Straw makes me feel a lot better.
If Daniel Johnson can show signs of progress in his development during the next few months and breaks camp with Cleveland next spring having some momentum behind him, that could solve a potential outfield spot. He has nothing left to prove at Triple-A.
Also, to the fans of the South Side of Chicago, do not throw bobbleheads at Oscar Mercado. Not cool!!
Detroit: Getting into third place, even in a weak AL Central, is a massive step forward for this Tigers rebuild. Casey Mize will have his innings limited for the majority of the second half, but he’s on the verge of a breakout the next two years that will see him be Detroit’s next ace since Justin Verlander left.
There is something to be desired from the on-field product, as the rebuild still has taken a bit longer to bear its fruit and get them back to the top of the league. They may very well be a team built on pitching and a powerful corner bat in Spencer Torkelson in the coming years.
Detroit is almost where the 2019 Chicago White Sox were. Be ready folks.
Kansas City: The Royals are literally the epitome of hot and cold. A few hot stretches followed by brutal stretches of bad baseball have this team lower than I projected them to be.
Hunter Dozier has absolutely tanked this season, and it’s a surprising development. Brad Keller looks to have turned a corner for the moment, but the big question going into the deadline was what would happen to Whit Merrifield?
Merrifield stayed put, but Danny Duffy waived his 10-and-5 rights to go to the Dodgers, and Jorge Soler was flipped to the Atlanta how-many-outfielders-do-we-need-to-replace-our-superstar Braves.
Nothing shred worthy here.
Minnesota: The Twins became sellers, and it’s a shocking fall from their perch atop the division. Nelson Cruz was shipped out, and they couldn’t agree to extend Byron Buxton or Jose Berrios. Buxton was the only one of those three not flipped to a contender… at least for now.
I’m honestly speechless with this team falling apart so suddenly.
Fortunately for Minnesota, Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson add to a talented prospect pool that still has Royce Lewis and Nick Gordon. Color me impressed.
Hold on! Did San Francisco steal Minnesota’s power and if the Twins somehow win again next year, and the Giants suck, are the even-odd year narratives reversed?! What in voodoo magic is this?!?!?!
AL West
Houston: 29–24 | Part 2: 64–41
Oakland: 31–25 | Part 2: 59–47
Seattle: 28–27 | Part 2: 56–49
LA Angels: 24–30 | Part 2: 52–52
Texas: 22–33 | Part 2: 37–67
State of the AL West:
Houston: Okay baseball gods, this isn’t funny. The Asterisks should not be winning like this!!
They cheated and aren’t paying for it. They almost got to the World Series last year. The shame tour with fans around should see them suffer! If you want to call me a Houston hater, so be it, but if the main players even showed some modicum of shame, no, not shame, Oh! An actual apology and remorse, I could move on from this.
If Rob Manfred hadn’t granted everyone straight-up immunity and went with the “The more honest you are, the less your punishment will be” approach to the investigation, which would have led to some actual closure, when the Asterisks players seem to have been protected at all costs.
At least the players seemed to sense the ire they’d face that through legitimate reasons or otherwise, the Asterisks had zero representation in Denver after multiple players withdrew from the midsummer classic.
To even imagine their level of play without Alex Bregman is a testament to their resilience. I’ll give them that much.
Oakland: Oakland fans have a winning ball club yet can barely get attendance, even in that concrete block that is the Colosseum.
They added Yan Games and Josh Harrison, along with the addition of Starling Marte, likely nudging them to be favorites to lock in the second wild card. That is, if they can hold off our next team…
Seattle: I’m honestly surprised. Jarred Kelenic was only recently brought back up after a rough first stint in the majors, but this team is actually contending. You’d have thought he’d be the reason for this surge.
While I’m still puzzled by the trade of Kendall Graveman even if they did land Abraham Toro, they made up for what was a “riot” in the locker room by acquiring Diego Castillo to replace Graveman.
I don’t know if the Mariners are going to make the wild card, but they’ll hopefully keep it an entertaining race.
LA Angels: Why do I waste breath on you like you waste Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout’s primes? You have some nice young pieces, but it’s time to put it all together.
You drafted all pitchers during the Rule 4 Draft and almost all of them were college guys. Hopefully Arte Moreno gives a damn and improves minor league living conditions in his organization. No wonder you guys have sucked at getting pitchers to develop as well as your other position players.
Still, the wondrous Shohei Ohtani gave us a show in the Home Run Derby as he and Juan Soto went to a three-swing swing-off, and man I can’t wait to see him back next year at Chavez Ravine!! Oh, and he was pretty good to pitch a clean inning and DH during the actual All-Star game itself.
He isn’t just the Babe Ruth of the East. He is SHOHEI OHTANI!! End of story!
Texas: The team lost so much early on that an early June win basically felt like a World Series win for this team.
However, they do bid ado to Joey Gallo and Kyle Gibson to move forward in their rebuild.
I don’t have much on the Rangers. The AL isn’t super shred-worthy right now.
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To my surprise, there are several shred-worthy teams in the National League this edition. Unfortunately, it seems a team I’ve previously extolled praise upon will get the hammer dropped on them and they’re a group you might not expect.
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NL East
NY Mets: 26–20 | Part 2: 55–48
Atlanta: 25–26 | Part 2: 52–53
Philadelphia: 25–29 | Part 2: 51–53
Washington: 21–29 | Part 2: 48–56
Miami: 24–28 | Part 2: 44–60
State of the NL East:
NY Mets: “Lindor hasn’t hit well *yet* and is practically the only healthy starter this team has for the moment!”
Well, it seems like every Amazin’ Met was going to wind up on the injured list at some point, and Lindor is honestly making Amed Rosario look far better than he should at the plate. Lindor’s defense is still elite, and I miss him only for that as I write this piece.
He did get his good friend, and guy the Cubs took instead of Lindor in Javier Baez to join the squad as his double play partner for two months, so that’ll be exciting.
However, it won’t be nearly as exciting as Pete Alonso being the GOAT of the Home Run Derby.
I want Alonso, Shohei Ohtani, Franmil Reyes, Trey Mancini, Cody Bellinger, Vlad Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. and Christian Yelich as next year’s field. That would top the 2019 derby by a landslide. 2021 in Colorado was fun, but this would be pure chaos.
Then, there’s the matter of former Vanderbilt starter Kumar Rocker. The team didn’t like something in his physical and refused to sign him, pocketing the №11 pick in next year’s draft. More of my thoughts in the linked tweet right below this line.
Philadelphia: Come on Philly!! I am not happy with you guys. Joe Girardi was acting like a clown during the beginning of the foreign substance crackdown, and you can’t even catch a hobbled Mets squad, even without Jacob deGrom for a bit now!
You’re supposed to be contending! You’re lucky that I’m letting you off the hook right now.
Make the playoffs or face the Fleagles’ punishment! I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger!
Atlanta: The Braves have continued their nightmare season, and yet, still have a chance to win this god forsaken division.
They reinforced the outfield HEAVILY with Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario and more at the trade deadline because…
Ronald Acuna Jr. went down with an ACL tear.
He’s one of baseball’s brightest stars, and it’ll be a lot harder for Freddie Freeman and Austin Riley’s breakout to continue holding down the fort.
While we’re on the subject of Acuna…
Miami: To the Marlins social media team, ~who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to put out this tweet?~
For those wondering, that is the play Acuna tore his ACL on. THAT WAS COMPLETELY CLASSLESS!!!
C’mon Marlins, you’re better than this!! This is what I get for sticking my neck out for you time after time, and yet, THIS?!?! Even though it was deleted later, you should know better.
I should be talking about Kim Ng’s great deadline deals, and how this team is starting to potentially emerge from the full depths of hell. This is your shredding, and you will like it!!
Do not disappoint me again.
Washington: SOMEONE GET ME BARTOLO COLON FROM 2016!! JON LESTER BECAME THE OLDEST PITCHER SINCE BIG SEXY TO LAUNCH A ROCKET TO THE SEATS ON JULY 19.
Unfortunately for the Nationals, Lester, Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Daniel Hudson and other key pieces from that miraculous 2019 World Series run are gone.
You have megastar Juan Soto, Josh Bell and Stephen Strasburg, who is undergoing Thoracic Outlet Surgery. That is a death sentence for pitchers nowadays if you look up what happened to Matt Harvey. I guess franchise icon Ryan Zimmerman still exists on your roster, too.
However, you got your ring. There is no shredding. I just thank you for proving me right two years ago, and you let Ted Lerner look at his championship ring in peace after the years of spending in old age paid off unlike a certain late owner in the AL Central.
You paid the price, but in the end, banners fly forever.
NL Central
Milwaukee: 29–25 | Part 2: 62–43
Cincinnati: 24–28 | Part 2: 55–50
St. Louis: 30–24 | Part 2: 52–52
CHI Cubs: 30–23 | Part 2: 51–55
Pittsburgh: 20–33 | Part 2: 40–64
State of the NL Central:
Milwaukee: I have a confession to make: The Brewers are probably one of my two favorite NL teams that I would have rooted for if Cleveland’s franchise didn’t exist. Don’t ask why.
Carrying on, Willy Adames has found his stroke in the latest city of champions as well as still adding pieces at the deadline to fortify weaknesses. Kolten Wong looks more and more like a steal from the Cardinals, and now you sit atop your division once again.
Word to the wise: Don’t fall off a cliff again like you did with Ron Roenicke all those years ago.
Cincinnati: “When you lose Trevor Bauer, you lose a lot of the games he won you last year. Luis Castillo has regressed significantly, but I’d still expect a rebound.”
That rebound finally came for Castillo. Did it take a bit longer than I originally thought? Yes, but he’s so talented that I knew he’d come around. I can’t say the same for Eugenio Suarez after the team’s dumb decision to move him back to shortstop to begin the year.
There’s a reason he failed as a shortstop in Detroit and flourished as the Reds third baseman, Nick Krall and David Bell!! Whether it was Bell or the front office’s decision, yikes!
Also, Joey Votto smashed a home run in seven straight games at the end of July. Something tells me when this lineup gets Nick Castellanos back for the stretch run, things are gonna get a heckuva lot more interesting around here.
St. Louis: This team has disappointed me in their performance as they looked more legitimate back in Part 1. Now, less so. Still a good ballclub, but not exactly where they need to be as the “Midwestern Evil Empire”.
Okay, you all know what you’re here for. Time to go scorched earth on our next contestant.
CHI Cubs: IT! IS!! TIME!!! YOU FOOLS ARE GETTING SHREDDED INTO OBLIVION, AND I WILL ENJOY EVERY MINUTE OF WRITING THIS!!!
I bet you wish you didn’t trade Yu Darvish in a salary dump this offseason, eh Tom Ricketts?! You could have used an ace on that near abomination of a pitching staff.
~But that’s right! Being in a big market and crying poor while still holding Darvish would look bad, amiright?~
Too bad it looks far worse now. Not only that, you even had first place in your grasp before you proceeded to do the following:
How bad did you blow this? So bad that longtime faces Anthony Rizzo, Javy Baez and 2016 MVP Kris Bryant all were traded at the deadline. I will commend you for the return on Baez, but that’s hollow. Do you know why?
Each of your former employees blasted home runs in their first games with their respective new teams!! ~Isn’t that just great!~
You had the makings of a dynasty and screwed it all up!! As punishment, I subject you to witnessing your former stars excelling elsewhere. ~Enjoy them in their full at-bats.~
Intern Paul, please queue the clip.
Oh, you also swapped Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox. I had to rub it in a little.
Pittsburgh: I will do what must be done. This Pirates squad of eternal gaffes will far better explain their current situation than what I can do alone. The following tweets were collected by Intern Mindy.
The first is the Pirates not knowing how to field the ball (again) for their damn lives.
Then Pittsburgh couldn’t even properly sweep the Mets!!
And finally, Ke’Bryan Hayes misses the base on a dinger that ends up in him making an out. It’s pretty rare, and I won’t knock him fully for it, but it’s still a blunder.
Will this team get better? Common logic would say eventually. We shall see what those Pirates end up doing and if the Steelers follow them into obscurity.
NL West
San Francisco: 34–20 | Part 2: 65–39
LA Dodgers: 32–22 | Part 2: 63–43
San Diego: 34–21 | Part 2: 60–47
Colorado: 20–34 | Part 2: 46–59
Arizona: 19–36 | Part 2: 33–72
State of the NL West:
San Francisco: Am I a little happy for Giants fans this year?
Yes.
Have they ruined my NL West narrative building?
100%, and that’s what I’m not happy about. IT’S NOT AN EVEN YEAR!!!
However, I will applaud your efforts of making it this far as the division leaders for the first two editions, and you added Kris Bryant for some extra thump in the lineup.
Unfortunately, that has awoken the owner of the Los Angeles Invitational division because…
LA Dodgers: The Dodgers pulled off an old-style blockbuster and acquired both Max Scherzer AND Trea Turner!! And they’re going to be able to play Trea Turner at the keystone and maybe a little in the outfield in order for Max Muncy and Albert Pujols to get in the lineup, not to mention the return of Corey Seager!!
Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urias, Walker Buehler. A terrifying quartet that is the equivalent of a murderer’s row with David Price mainly pitching out of the bullpen. That is not a typo about David Price. This squad is completely stacked!
And no, I didn’t forget anybody here. If I did, they probably did something so bad allegedly that I don’t want to talk about it.
If you know, you know.
That line’s for you, Liam Yatsko.
San Diego: You guys are good, really good! Unfortunately, the Giants awoke from their slumber a year too early, and the Dodgers are, well, the Dodgers.
I can’t fault you too much for anything. You got stuck in the “Division of Death” and now have to fight for the division against two teams instead of one.
Let’s hope Fernando Tatis’ latest injury doesn’t keep him off the field for too long. We cannot have him turn into this generation’s Grady Sizemore. Tatis is too fun to watch!! He even defies gravity!!
Colorado: The Rockies had JUST ONE JOB: TRADE TREVOR STORY!!!
You failed in that job miserably. How did no offer entice you enough to trade him and instead collect the compensatory pick this winter!? Unbelievable. Another superstar lost in your organization.
Speaking of soon or former Rockies superstars, ~I’m sure Dick Monfort will love watching this clip!~
Now get out of my sight until the Part 3 finale!!
Arizona: A 24-game road losing streak. Again, a 24-game road losing streak.
This team may be on the levels of early 2010’s Houston bad, even with Ketel Marte and Carson Kelly. I’m speechless.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot that their owner threatened the former state attorney general. The criticism was deserved. Ken Kendrick has more to worry about than lawyers right now, like actually fielding a competitive team.
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We have a surprise entrant to the No-Hitter Division that I wasn’t expecting to end up here.
Yes, this is a trend this year.
No, I haven’t decided if it’ll return next year… yet. It depends on the number of no-hitters.
And once again, no! The Tampa Bay combined no-no in seven innings doesn’t count! Just like with Madison Bumgarner, seven inning double-header no-no’s do not officially count in the MLB record books.
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No-Hitter Division
Texas Rangers: 2-Joe Musgrove, San Diego (April 9) and Corey Kluber, Yankees (May 19)
Seattle Mariners: 2-John Means, Orioles (May 5) and Spencer Turnbull, Tigers (May 18)
Cleveland Indians: 2-Carlos Rodon, White Sox (April 14) and Wade Miley, Reds (May 7)
Los Angeles Dodgers: 1-Zach Davies and Chicago Cubs Bullpen (June 24)
LA Dodgers: How?! How are you the NL West team that ended up no-hit first and not the Diamondbacks or Rockies?
Well, this was a shocker that you ended up here. How does it feel to slip into this dubious designation of a division?
I won’t make your pain last long. Just get one of the Diamondbacks or Rockies here in Part 3, and we’ll call it even.
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And with that, Part 2 of WTS: 2021 MLB Edition is done! Seriously, between the 2019 MLB and NFL Part 2’s, the 2020 NFL Part 2, and this edition… Part 2’s are just hard to do!! The rest of the editions are easy.
Now then, WTS: 2021 NFL Edition Part One will arrive on Thursday October 7, at noon here on Medium more than likely. And then at 1 p.m. on October 8, the 2021 MLB Finale for Where Things Stand!
I hope you’re looking forward to it!
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Sean Fitzgerald is a Kent State journalism graduate and former Black Squirrel Radio sports director and show host. He is now the press box correspondent for Mark One Sports and CLE TribeCast, along with co-hosting The Weekenders Podcast with 92.3 The Fan’s Mitch Spinell.
Follow him on Twitter @fitzonsportsbsr for insights, Cleveland Indians game recaps, other articles, livestreams and more.
