I think it's time for me to panic and to pay attention.
No, this is not about my favorite team the Houston Astros -- God knows their playoff hopes are shot for the next five years -- or the New York Yankees -- they're just a game back from the Boston Red Sox. This is about my fantasy baseball team, which last week fell out of first place, and is now out of a playoff spot after losing 2-8 this week.
I understand, I am the only person who cares about this issue, but I need someplace to vent and a baseball notebook is a solid place to do it (because there some people who have no life and understand what I am going through).
See, I don't take fantasy baseball too seriously, but I've been very successful at it. So, when I begin to lose it bothers me (because I am not very successful at a lot of things). I can't blame my first baseman, Adrian Gonzalez, because he's probably the best player in fantasy baseball. The only person I can blame is myself. I run this team, I coach this team and it's time for me to devote more of my free time to this team.
OK. I am finished. Here are the real top stories in the MLB during this past week:
Florida: The place were old managers "retire": After dropping 10 straight games and going 1-18 in June, Florida Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez decided to call it quits Sunday. The unexpected resignation leaves the Marlins front office in a weird position, which is going to force them to hire 80-year old Jack McKeon.
In 2005, McKeon was the Marlins manager and ended his three-year stint with the team by announcing his retirement at the end of the season.
The Marlins not only have a banged-up ace, starting pitcher Josh Johnson and a struggling superstar shortstop, Hanley Ramirez, but now they will try and fill seats with an manger, who's basically just trying to finish out the season.
For a squad that is usually everybody's favorite for a pre-season sleeper team, it doesn't look like that selection is going to work out this year.
Also, a quick word of advice to former mangers who would like to retire. Don't move to Florida. Sooner or later you'll be managing the Marlins.
Asdrubal Cabrera is a living highlight reel: Every week, it seems the Cleveland Indians shortstop makes a few amazing plays, and I share them (the link is a compilation that MLB.com put together). Well, just a few days ago Cabrera made this beauty of a play.
There's no doubt that Cabrera should win his first Gold Glove award this year, and he's going to be a stellar shortstop for years to come. However, I'd like people to hold off comparisons of Cabrera and Omar Vizquel, who at 44 years old is still playing! Cabrera is an All-Star, but not yet a first ballot Hall-of-Famer.
The red-hot Twinkies: Just a few weeks ago, the Minnesota Twins were the worst team in the majors. Since then, the Twins (31-39) have won 14 of their last 16 contests and moved out from the AL Central cellar. Now, Minnesota isn't the best team in the league, but it'son a winning streak which featured sweeps of the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres, that needs to be mentioned.
The Twins, who are now eight games behind first-place Cleveland (39-31), still have a lot of work to do to get to .500 and to get back into any playoff race. But we all know how unpredictable the AL Central is, which makes a playoff push not out of the question.
Weekly Nugget No. 1: On Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies lost to the Seattle Mariners, 2-0, and dropped yet another series to an AL West squad. According to ESPN's Jason Stark, the Phillies are 0-6 in series at an AL West ballpark. Ouch!
Weekly Nugget No. 2: From Thursday to Saturday morning, I was in St. Charles, IL for a wedding. Congratulations to Mark and Lisa MacKenzie, who's wedding was a lot of fun. Actually, it was so fun that I need to share this:
Bulletproof Bride (via pattydeviva)
Weekly Video Clip No. 1: Finally, if there's one thing that you can do better than Washington Wizards point guard John Wall, it's throw a baseball.
John Wall Presents - The Worst First Pitch In Baseball History (via 12thMoonTV)
Have your own thoughts on the MLB Season? E-mail: JaredSmith16@gmail.com; or Tweet: Jared_E_Smith. Here are other previous MLB Notebooks: 4.21.11; 4.25.11; 5.2.11, 5.9.11, 5.16.11; 5.23.11, 5.30.11, 6.13.11.