Here are the most alluring matchups, stories, and personalities in Major League Baseball for the coming weekend.
It's an interleague play weekend, which means we get to see some interesting individual and team matchups. As you'll see, the NL East vs. AL East showdowns steal the show.
Every single team in the AL East is .500 or better. You hear that stat bandied about a lot these days, and it is a strange phenomenon. But here's my favorite fact about the division:
The second-place New York Yankees have a +33 run differential, but the first-place Orioles only have +3.
Wild, right? So wild.
Wait, that's not actually very wild? How about this: The third-place Tampa Bay Rays have a +8 differential, still better than the Orioles. And the fourth-place Blue Jays are at +30. And the last-place Red Sox? +19.
Every other team in the division has a better run differential than the team in first place.
By the grace of Tebow, Jonah Keri has landed at his new home in Denver and is back with a new podcast. He and New York Times national baseball writer Tyler Kepner go around the majors to break down the Prince Fielder deal, the loaded AL East, and the twin towers of the AL West.
Shifting to the National League, we run through the much-improved Reds, the maybe-one-player-short Nats and Marlins, and an NL West division that might not have a 90-win team in the bunch. All that plus Scott Boras' target-the-owner negotiating strategies, why Matt Kemp should have won the MVP last year, and a tribute to the great Gary Carter.
Listen to Thursday's podcast here:
ESPN.com Podcenter
Subscribe to the Grantland Network on iTunes, and check out our podcasts page.
Previously on the Grantland Network:
The Jalen Rose Show
Men in Blazers
The Basketball Jones
Follow Jonah Keri on Twitter at @jonahkeri.
