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Since the dreadful series against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Reds have reeled off six-straight wins, sweeping both the Florida Marlins and now the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In doing this, they have become the hottest team in the major leagues.

They are currently 19 games over .500 and have their biggest lead of the season in the National League’s Central Division.

They aren’t beating people with smoke and mirrors, but with old fashioned, hard-nosed baseball. They have played two suicide squeezes to perfection in the last few games.

Many people are calling for the head of Jonny Gomes, why?

Even with his less-than-stellar play recently, he is still third on the team in RBI, just two behind Scott Rolen at 66. His average with RISP is still fourth in the entire league. That is his job—drive in runs, not just get on base. Everyone knew he was a defensive liability from game one.

I have watched him get at least three infield hits in the last few weeks. He hustles every play (did you read that Brandon?).

Their are a couple of quaint sayings that certainly would apply here, right now.

First—if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Simple, but true and very self-explanatory. You don’t have to be Einstein or even His Holiness Bill James to figure that out.

Second—dance with the one who ‘brung’ you. An adage with some Appalachian vernacular for your reading enjoyment. If Sadie brought you to the dance, don’t go off dancing with the new girl because she is showing a little more cleavage.

Maybe the second is not as eloquent as the first, or even as understandable. The point remains the same: If the food is fit for a king, don’t switch cooks.

All year long the substitutes have come through remarkably well. When someone goes down, another man steps up.

Miguel Cairo has been so valuable stepping in for Rolen or Joey Votto when he needed a day off.

Paul Janish filled in so well for Orlando Cabrera that the “O.C.” may have difficulty getting his job back when he crawls off the shelf.

Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan have spelled each other behind the plate admirably. Hats off to Corky Miller while he was up in place of Hanigan earlier in the campaign.

I have fought all year long against Coco Cordero being lifted as a closer. It was actually to my delight that Dusty Baker pulled him from a game recently, while Nick Masset effectively cleaned up his mess.

The fact remains that Coco is still the closer and round and round we go.

I have to say that Baker and Walt Jocketty have done a tremendous job juggling the talent—especially the pitchers this season. I believe we have seven or eight starters here and at Louisville that could start for many other MLB teams.

Until the wheels start wobbling like they are about to give out, keep the course steady.

The Reds appear to have one of the best teams in the National League. Please don’t tinker with success.

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With the playoff races heating up, and everything starting to take shape, I am here to put in my opinion on who will win each MLB division, who will win each pennant, and who will win the Fall Classic.

The only division in the MLB right now with possibly a clear outlook is the AL West, but anything can happen.

I’ll keep it short and sweet, so here we go.

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This is what Baseball is all about! This season is shaping up to have some phenomenal finishes.

With only 1 division in baseball having more that a 3 game lead atop the division this is sure to be one historic finish. 

The Wild Card spots are all but decided with only 1 game separating teams in the NL and only 4 in the AL.

With divisional races this close, and this much drama coming down to the end, it is guaranteed to be one hell of a finish!

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Considering that it is August, post-season baseball is just two months away. With the playoffs looming, the way the standings will ultimately shake out could be determined relatively soon. 

Many of these determining factors come down to how teams can mesh, second half track records, and team health.

However, on each contending team, there are certain individuals that hold the key to contention for the remainder of the regular season. Heading into the second week of August, now is the time for the difference-makers to stand up and propel their team to meaningful wins.

Here are 15 game changing difference-makers on different contending teams that will help decide the fate of their respective clubs as the 2010 MLB season heads down to the wire.

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The Reds and Cards are in one of the longest running one and two pennant races in history. Neither team can really put substantial distance between themselves and the other.

Both squads have strong talent and deep rosters.

Let’s take a look at the way the teams stack up against each other, position by position.

CATCHER

Yadier Molina is one of the best defensive catchers in the game. His average has dropped this season to .243 and his run production has dropped as well.

The Reds do not have a “true” starting catcher. They rotate (not platoon) Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan, and with the production they get from the duo places them high on the list in both leagues.

Advantage: REDS

FIRST BASE

Albert Pujols is arguably the best player in the game today, and has been for a few years. He is a rare bird indeed, blending excellent power with a high average.

Prince Albert is currently batting .305 and is second in the NL in home runs and RBI. He is also second in the league in OBP.

His counterpart Joey Votto is only in his third full year in the majors. He has a legitimate chance at winning the Triple Crown this year, and is having an MVP-type season himself.

He leads the league with a .324 average and OBP at .423. He is currently tied for second with Pujols in home runs with 27 and is fifth in RBI.

Advantage: EVEN

SECOND BASE

Skip Schumaker ranks near the bottom in almost all offensive categories for second basemen. A natural outfielder, he was relegated to the middle infield position last season.

The Reds Brandon Phillips made the All-Star team for the first team this year and leads the league in runs scored and is second in total hits. Many people see him as the best defensive second baseman in the National League.

Advantage: REDS

THIRD BASE

Cardinal rookie David Freese was having an exceptional season until injuries forced him to the DL. He re-injured himself in a rehab game and it is unknown how long he will be out. Journeyman, Felipe Lopez is taking his place at the hot corner in the interim.

Scott Rolen has won seven Gold Glove Awards and is enjoying his best season since 2006 when he was still with St. Louis. He is hitting .299 with 18 HR and 62 RBI.

Advantage: REDS

SHORTSTOP

Brendan Ryan has played the majority of the season at shortstop for the Cards. He is batting .223 with two HR and 21 RBI.

Reds shortstop Orlando Cabrera came to the Reds just prior to Spring Training and has been a welcome addition. He is the missing link which makes the Reds the best infield in the National League.

He is batting .260 with three HR and 37 RBI, and has been a decent hitter in the clutch.

Advantage: REDS

LEFT FIELD

Matt Holiday has been on fire lately. Since July 18, he has hit 15 HR and driven in 40 while batting ,318.with an OBP of .393.

Prior to the All-Star break Gomes was batting near .300 and was in the top five in RBI in the NL. He has since slid downward to the .275 range with 66 RBI.

Advantage: CARDINALS

CENTER FIELD

Rookie Colby Rasmus is batting .276 with 18 HR and 47 RBI.
Reds rookie Drew Stubbs is batting only .226 with 13 HR but leads Rasmus in RBI with 49.

Advantage: CARDINALS

RIGHT FIELD

John Jay has taken over the reigns in right field after Ryan Ludwick was traded in July. In only 123 AB Jay is batting .366

Reds under-achiever Jay Bruce is batting .254 with 10 HR and 41 RBI.

Advantage: REDS (slightly)

STARTING PITCHERS

Adam Wainwright, Cris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, newly acquired Jake Westbrook, and Jeff Suppan is certainly one of the most formidable rotations in the Major League. The Cards ERA for their starters leads the league at 3.32. They are 45-32 and have held the opposition to a BA of .260. Wainwright has the lone shutout for the Cards this year.

The Reds have had many different starters this season. Their current rotation of Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake, Travis Wood, and Edinson Volquez could almost be called Bronson and the Babies.

The starters stats for the Reds are as follows: 41-28 with an ERA of 4.07 with an opposing BA of only .256. Homer Bailey and Cueto have the only two shutouts for the Reds this year, ironically back-to-back.

Advantage: CARDINALS (slightly)

BULLPEN

The Cardinal bullpen has not been their strong suit this season. Kyle McClellan, Blake Hawksworth, Mike MacDougal, Dennis Reyes, and Trever Miller are all front men for closer Ryan Franklin.

Their bullpen is only credited with 23 saves in 31 opportunites with an ERA of 3.71 with an OBA of .252

The Reds bullpen has been toyed with all season with men being sent back and forth to Triple-A Louisville. It is currently stocked by Sir Arthur Rhodes, Nick Massett, Logan Ondrusek, Bill Bray, and Jordan Smith with Francisco Cordero in charge of heart attacks and strokes.

They are credited with 31 saves in 42 chances and have posted an ERA of 3.99 while holding the opposition to a .251 BA.

Advantage: EVEN

BENCH

The Reds have a stronger bench by far. Chris Heisey, Layne Nix, Miguel Cairo, Paul Janish, Juan Francisco, and either Hernandez or Hanigan make choices alot easier for Manager Dusty Baker.

The Cards bench is lead by Randy Winn, Jason LaRue, Aaron Miles, and Aaron Craig.

Advantage: REDS

You may draw your own conclusions, but any way you dissect it, the teams matchup very well. It should be a nail-biting finish to a wonderful season.

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WhatIfSports.com utilizes its award-winning baseball simulation engine to present the most comprehensive and unbiased ranking possible of all 30 teams in baseball each Monday during the regular season.

To come up with the rankings, using only their statistical performance to date this season, each team is simulated against every other team 100 times (50 at home and 50 away) so that all five pitchers in the current rotation start ten times at each location.

(Note: If a pitcher who was in the rotation was recently put on the disabled list, he will not be included in the simulations.)

Teams Ranked by Winning Percentage
(everyone plays everyone 100 times)

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The first base position in fantasy baseball produces a lot of depth from owners to choose from either via their drafts back in March, or a waiver wire pick-up during the season. With the second half of play underway, let’s take a look at how the first basemen will finish out the season.

In previous seasons, I’ve done just  a “straight” ranking by position, as opposed to a “tiering” system, but have recently found that the tiering system will help you to better distinguish the difference between a Tier-One player and a Tier-two player, ultimately leading to better value.

Tier-One

1) Albert Pujols – St. Louis Cardinals

2) Miguel Cabrera – Detroit Tigers

3) Ryan Howard – Philadelphia Phillies

4) Mark Teixeira – New York Yankees

Nothing new with these top tier guys, as any of these options will provide solid numbers during the second half of play. Albert Pujols is Albert Pujols, and is still the king. Miguel Cabrera certainly is second to no one in fantasy baseball this year, as he’s posting a MVP/Triple Crown type of season.

Ryan Howard and Mark Teixeira had up-and-down numbers during the first half of play, but both know how to produce huge numbers after the All-Star break. As the temperature rises, so do the HR and RBI totals for both of these sluggers.

Tier-Two

5) Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds

6) Prince Fielder – Milwaukee Brewers

7) Kevin Youkilis – Boston Red Sox

8) Adrian Gonzalez – San Diego Padres

Again, can’t go wrong with any of these guys. Joey Votto is carrying the Reds offensively right now and has done so all season long, and he could easily be thrown into the Tier-One group. Prince Fielder will probably be staying in Milwaukee the rest of the season, but his numbers should still continue to be around the same mark with the power numbers taking a slight hit.

The on-base percentage (OBP) machine that is Kevin Youkilis is putting together another solid season. Expect more of the same during the second half, as the runs scored, slugging (SLG), and OBP numbers will be near the top of the AL leader board.

I’m sure every Adrian Gonzalez owner is hoping that the Padres acquire a power-bat before the trading deadline passes. Gonzalez currently sits in second place in the NL with 17 intentional-walks, but with pennant races hitting up, I fully expect teams to start treating Adrian like Barry Bonds.

Tier-Three

9) Justin Morneau – Minnesota Twins

10) Billy Butler – Kansas City Royals

11) Adam Dunn – Washington Nationals

12) Paul Konerko – Chicago White Sox

13) Carlos Pena – Tampa Bay Rays

Justin Morneau has yet to play a game during the second half due to an injury (surprise!) and is a suspect the rest of the season for poor numbers. Morneau floats around a .300/.360/.550 with an on-base plus + slugging percentage (OPS) over .900 during the first half of play, but when the second half hits, his numbers take a huge hit, posting drops in all categories, especially the home run department. Hopefully, you were able to trade Morneau for a high return before the second half of play started. 

Billy Butler doesn’t have the HR power like most first baseman, but still flat out hits every month. With KC being what it is, Butler will likely be limited as far as his runs scored and the RBI department.

The Nationals want to move Adam Dunn before the trade deadline, but the price is reportedly high, so I see him staying put and signing an extension in D.C.  Dunn has always been known for the high home run totals, walks, and high strike out totals, but he is surprisingly hitting at an average above the .275 mark right now, which is something he simply isn’t known for. The highest average Dunn has ever hit during an entire season is .267 (2009 season).

Another down factor for Dunn is his OBP number this season, as he’s been attacking the zone aggressively, seeing the lowest numbers of pitches per plate appearance during his ten-year career.  Over the past two seasons, Dunn hasn’t hit over 15 home runs post All-Star break since the 2007 season.

Tier-Four

14) Adam LaRoche – Arizona Diamondbacks

15) Aubrey Huff – San Francisco Giants

16) James Loney – Los Angels Dodgers

17) Derrek Lee – Chicago Cubs

18) Lance Berkman – Houston Astros

I’ve had a serious man-crush  on Adam LaRoche all season long. Everyone knows how he tears the second half of play up, but I think we will see his best second half surge ever during the 2010 season. 

Aubrey Huff of the Giants is having his best season since 2008 and has already surpassed his home run totals from last season. Huff’s best month has yet to come, so watch out when the calendar hits August 1st. 

James Loney reminds me of Billy Butler because of their similar numbers, and the fact that he will not hit for a ton of power, but will still have the high AVG and OPS number.

Derrek Lee and Lance Berkman have a lot in common this season, from poor production numbers to the inability to hit left-handed pitching. On the bright side, owners can expect some bounce back from both players. I especially like Lee moving forward, so see if you can grab him from someone for a cheap price. Closing out the season, Lee should hit around the .290 clip and will end with between 20-25 HR.

Tier-Five

19) Ike Davis – New York Mets

20) Gaby Sanchez – Florida Marlins

21) Russell Branyan – Seattle Mariners

22) Justin Smoak – Seattle Mariners

23) Todd Helton – Colorado Rockies

24) Troy Glaus – Atlanta Braves

25) Daric Barton – Oakland Athletics

Most of the Tier-Five guys are part of the youth movement and will be moving up the ranks next season, as they are able to hit for solid power numbers and are reliable late round options for that corner infield position on your team.  

Like most of the Mets roster, Ike Davis is red-hot when playing in Citi Field (.298/.387/.496), but struggles on the road (.212/.272/.400). The good news is that he’s hitting .278 with a .329 OBP against left-handed pitching this season.

Former University of Miami slugger Gaby Sanchez is having a terrific rookie season across all categories. He’s hit left-handed pitching extremely well to this point and hits both while at home and on the road.

Justin Smoak has the power, but has struggled against left-handed pitching this season, which should be expected for a player of his age.

Written by Reggie Yinger, exclusively for the TheFantasyFix.com
Reggie Yinger is a programmer in the IT field and also writes for BaseballPress.com. He previously worked for a Minor League Baseball team and hopes to return to baseball full-time in some fashion. You can follow him on Twitter @sacksjacked.

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Here are some more articles that will not self destruct in ten seconds…

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With less than a half of a season to be played, little has been decided as far as the playoff picture goes.

As what has been a slow trade deadline season thus far starts to pick up, we will have a better idea of what teams will be playing in October and what teams are looking to the future.

So with so much baseball left to be played, here are 10 bold predictions on who will be playing in October and who will take home some of baseball’s biggest awards, among other things.

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The Cubs may be known as the lovable losers, but Joey Votto doesn’t care.

Votto refused to congratulate Chicago Cubs outfielder Marlon Byrd when he made a big play in right field in the ninth inning of the 2010 MLB All-Star game, throwing out David Ortiz at second base for the second out of the inning. 

This play paved the way for the National League’s first victory since 1996.

“I don’t like the Cubs,” Votto told ESPN, “And I’m not going to pat anybody with a Cubs uniform on the back. But because he made that really cool play, it turned out to be a really cool experience. I’m really glad we got the win today,” Votto said.

He went on to explain why he harbored such cold feelings towards the Cubs.

“We are Cincinnati Reds,” Votto said. “We’re taught to hate everything in the Central Division. That’s just how it is.”  

Is it me or does Votto sound a little robot-esque?

It sounds like the quote should have ended with, “they must be destroyed.”

If Cubs fans needed more reasons to dislike the Dusty Baker-led squad, here you go.

Maybe Votto was just a little bitter that it took a final vote for him to get voted onto the All-Star team…

Read more: John Mark runs a blog that covers the Cubs and the Cardinals over at

TheOutfieldIvy.com

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