Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Coco Crisp - the best centerfielder in baseball?... The NL West is virtually a dead heat among three teams with the Rockies not too far behind. Colorado is easily the best hitting team of the four but they will need another starter like Mark Buerhle or Dontrelle Willis if they are to make a run at the division. The Dodgers are the most balanced team in the division (8th in runs scored per game and 3rd in runs allowed per game in the NL) and the addition of James Loney to the lineup may just prove to be the move that puts the Dodgers over the top... Changing of the guard? It is very possible that the best shortstops in baseball today are Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramizez in the NL and Orlando Cabrera in the AL. Gone are the days of A-Rod, Tejada, Jeter and Nomar ruling the roost (with Omar Vizquel tossed in for you leather fans). Only Jeter among the "big 4" is still playing shortstop at a high level. Is the Golden Age of Shortstops over? Or is the Golden Age continuing with a new generation of slugging shortstops?... Happy 64th birthday to Red Sox great Rico Petrocelli. If you want to win a bar trivia bet - ask "Who is the only major league player with a first name of Americo to start in the All-Star game?" The answer of course is Rico Petrocelli...