And then there were six

Our little group has expanded to six with the addition of Tammy, our home-schooling mom extraordinaire, who announced yesterday that she wanted to play! She's not really into baseball all that much, to tell you the truth, but I'm going to include her teams because they are in the same divisions as two we're already following.

"Teams" (plural) was not a typo. When Tammy does pay attention to what's happening in baseball - and she admits that it's only when her teams are doing well, she roots for the St. Louis Cardinals (altho she lives in Idaho) because that's what her daddy does and her grandpa did, and for the Yankees because she lived there for a short while years ago and quickly became captivated by the Yankee mystique. An interesting little sidenote here. Her great grandpa was a cab driver in St. Louis. Last year, she sent me a photo of him standing beside his taxicab, and here it is ... ...


All right, so where are we now? Well, my team (Astros) continues to suck big time! We were swept by St. Louis in that three-game series and are now tied with the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central for the second worst winning percentage in baseball, a .167. Isn't that pitiful? Only the Washington Nationals (formerly the Montreal Expos) have a worse record. Bless their hearts, they haven't won a single game!

Steven's team (Blue Jays) lost yesterday, so they no longer can lay claim to the best winning percentage. That honor is now co-shared by the Atlanta Braves (Patrick's team) and the Florida Marlins, both of whom are in the National League East. Where are the Yankees and Red Sox (my son-in-law's team) in this mix? Well, they're in the same division as the Blue Jays ... the American League East. The Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays are currently tied for 3rd with identical records of 3-3, and the Red Sox are in last place in that division with a record of 2-4.

Yesterday, I linked a site that I thought Steven might find useful in his quest to try and keep up with baseball in general and his Blue Jays in particular. (He's really not a diehard baseball fan, but his first love in professional sports - the Toronto Maple Leafs [hockey] got knocked out of the playoffs early, and he was looking for a place to try and transfer his affections.) Today, I'd like to recommend a couple more sites for him. Actually, these are the ones I go to most often for updates. The first is the home page for FOX Sports baseball. Headlines, photos, trade rumors, recaps of some of the games, gossip, etc., can all be found on this page.

FOX Sports covers many aspects of not only major league baseball, but other sports as well. You'll find out for yourself, Steven, if you click on that site. My personal favorite - and one I have programmed into my computer shortcuts - is this one. In addition to the standings, there is a scroll bar at the top where you can check on games in progress and a "Power Ranking" sidebar which - while it is as yet VERY early, you might want to make a note of what it says today, tomorrow, next week, etc., to see how how much it varies throughout the season. Fascinating!

You might well ask, "Why have I left out Chuck?" I've gotta tell ya, folks, that Chuck does more than hold his own with his 'stark raving mad' (my term) fanatical support of his beloved Cubs. He moans and groans a lot over his team, but at least they have - albeit that it occurred a century ago - a World Series win under their belts! Anyone who has the ring on their cell phone programmed to the "Go Cubs, Go!" fight song does not need my support!

As I've already said, it's early yet. This is just the first salvo. To be continued in another couple of weeks or so.