[jg2977]

1927 Midseason Standings

MIKE FRANCESA:
Lemme tell ya somethin’, folks… you look at these standings at the halfway point, and I’m sorry—I’m sorry—but this is one of the strangest seasons we’ve seen in a long time. I mean, the Cleveland dynasty? The team that’s basically owned the American League for eight years? One game over .500. One game! Forty and thirty-nine. That’s not a dynasty—that’s a midlife crisis. And don’t tell me about “slow starts” or “tough schedule.” They’ve been mediocre. Period. End of story.
And how about the defending champion Dodgers? Thirty-six and forty-four. That is a fall from grace. That’s not a hangover—that’s a full-on collapse. They can’t pitch, they can’t hit, and right now they look more like the 1922 Newark Peanuts than the champs of baseball.
Now look at the Yankees. One game behind Toronto. One game! And Yankee fans—believe me, I hear ya—you’re sayin’, “Mike, how are we behind the Blue Jays? The Blue Jays stink!” Well guess what? Toronto doesn’t stink right now. They’re playin’ well, they’re gettin’ timely hits, and the Yankees… they’re just kinda there. Not bad, not great—just hangin’ around like a guy at a party who doesn’t know anybody.
CHRIS “MAD DOG” RUSSO:
OH BABY, AND LOOK AT THE METS, MIKEY! HOOOO! THE METS ARE A DISASTER!
A COMPLETE AND UTTER—DISGRACE! They had that beautiful little 1921-1923 run—three years, boom boom boom—and it is over! It is O-VER! Thirty-five and forty-four?! 17-and-a-half games out?! COME ON! They’ve fallen harder than a man on roller skates goin’ down a hill!
And the Phillies! THE PHILLIES, MIKE! WORST RECORD IN BASEBALL! WORST! Thirty-and-fifty-two! What happened?! What happened to this team?! They were supposed to be right there with Atlanta and Milwaukee! Instead they’re playin’ like they’re tryin’ to get relegated to the Eastern League. TERRIBLE! But how about the Washington Nationals? 48-31, 1st place in the National League Wild Card!
FRANCESA:
Now you wanna talk dominance? Look at the AL West. Seattle, Houston, Texas—all 50 and 32. You can’t make this up. Three teams tied with the best record in the American League. It’s a clown car of elite baseball. You open the door and three monsters jump out. Someone in that division is gonna win 98 games and finish in third place. It’s absurd.
Detroit—give ’em credit. Tigers are 44 and 38, leading the AL Central. Not a great team, but they’re solid. They’re steady. They’re the adults in a division full of children.
Arizona in the NL West—look at the Diamondbacks! Leading the division! Not by much, but you know what? Considering the Dodgers look like they’re playing with oven mitts on, Arizona might just run away with that thing.
MAD DOG:
AND THE BRAVES, MIKE! THE BRAVES ARE A MACHINE! FIFTY-THREE AND TWENTY-SEVEN! They’re runnin’ away with the NL East like Secretariat down the stretch! And the Brewers—they’re right there with ’em! Fifty and thirty-one! Those two teams look like the class of the National League. The rest? GET OUTTA THE WAY!
FRANCESA:
So bottom line: strange season, unpredictable season, and a whole lotta teams that better wake up fast—ESPECIALLY Cleveland and the Dodgers—because right now, folks, they don’t look anything like the teams we got used to seeing.
MAD DOG:
AND THE METS ARE A MESS, MIKEY! A MESS!!
FRANCESA:
We know, Dog. We know.