As if by clockwork, the Central League standings have emerged from a humdrum one-star show featuring the Yomiuri Giants to a three-dog race with Chunichi and Hanshin poking their heads in -- and Yakult not out of it either. The E-List loves competition, parity, stories without predetermined endings, the kind of stuff fans see in the NFL or in the September wild-card chase, especially in the National League.
And as compelling as the CL has been during interleague season, with the Giants' fall from grace and periodic re-emergence, alongside the rise of the Tigers and Dragons, the List wonders how long it can go on.
Treading water in the standings is easier to do when everyone is playing teams that, for the purposes of determining championships and playoff positioning (months down the road, granted), it is much easier to play teams that count as nothing more than a result.
Sure, the Giants got swept by Chiba Lotte. Twice. Yeah, Jennifer the Fire Girl probably didn't like it, but the fact is Yomiuri could just take the loss and roll with it. The Giants didn't have to worry about Lotte coming up like rising floodwaters from below because the Marines were safel stowed away in the CL.
When interleague play wraps up later this month, the Giants, Tigers and Dragons (Oh my!) will be back to playing against each other, and all of a sudden a series sweep will mean a lot more because there will be no Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to step in and take two of three from the Tigers, etc.
So the potential for the CL being as interesting as it has been the last couple weeks is a bit less, which is unfortunate, because tight standings in May and June are pretty worthless, aside from entertaining fans and sports writers.
The List is hopeful the current CL balance is more than a memory come September. Because only one team from the league will make the playoffs, a three- or four-team race heading into the final fortnight would be a dream.
Too bad the crystal balls were lost in a recent earthquake. For now, however, the List will cross its fingers and hope the Hiroshima Carp and Yokohama BayStars stay out of the way of what could be a pretty interesting stretch run.
Not quite built to kick bottom for a whole season, the Carp and 'Stars are the only CL teams without no serious Japan Series dreams.
A spoiler's role is better than nothing, but maybe they should try to spoil a team or two instead of the whole spread.
ACCORDING TO RECENT numbers, Hanshin's Andy Sheets is the only foreign player leading votes as a starter for July's Sanyo All-Star Series.
Alex Cabrera (above) and Jose Fernandez
Can the List please get some love for Jeremy Powell, if for no other reason than easing the guilty conscience of jinxing J.P. when he was 6-0 and annihilating everyone who stepped into the batter's box?
Other foreigners the List would like to see at Jingu and Sun Marine for the two-game set:
Greg LaRocca (Yakult Swallows): This guy has been an absolute animal at times this year, and there's no doubt he enjoys being more in the mix with the Swallows than he was last season with the Carp. LaRocca's bat would be great to have around in any capacity the way he is hitting. And with home turf propelling him in the first of the two All-Star Games, he's almost guaranteed to do something spectacular.
Tyrone Woods (Chunichi Dragons): It's as simple as this: If Woods hits well, the Dragons win. If they don't, it could be a different story.
Alex Cabrera (Seibu Lions): You're telling me that Cabrera-san's triple-crown numbers don't belong in the midsummer classic(s)? With the kind of year he is having, he really needs to be there.
Julio Zuleta (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks): Are you going to be the one to tell him he doesn't belong? OK, unfair jokes aside, try this: Zuleta is talented, and he is an important part of one of the best teams in the Pa League. The charging the mound thing has given him a bit of a loaded reputation, but that should be a nonfactor because the chances of him facing Satoru Kanemura again are zero because they'd be on the same team in any case. What's not to love here?
Sean Douglass (Hiroshima Carp): He's not infallible, but the second "S" in his last name stands for "superstar," and this gaijin newbie is racking up victories like a pro. Get him in there, OK?
Jose Fernandez (Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles): Not only is he playing with his third Japanese baseball team -- no small feat for gaijin -- Fernandez is doing his part to make the Eagles much less a pushover than they were on the maiden voyage last year. Sure, the pitching is a bit rough up in Sendai, but with bats like Fernandez's in the lineup, they are scoring runs to be competitive and even win a little more this year at Fullcast Stadium.
So all those guys probably won't make it, but from the E-List, consider it a wish list.
THE LIST FINALLY figured out Bruce Arena. He's been so secretive and surly because he knew the American soccer team was going to go out and get waxed this World Cup, hence the practices with un-numbered jerseys, the closed-door scrimmage with Angola and the lodging at Hotel Speakeasy in lovely Hamburg, Germany. He knew Landon Donovan, et al, would be exposed, and he wanted to postpone the moment of awakening until the latest possible moment.
It pains the List to write these words, but after a night of ineptitude against the Czechs (who are gearing up for Ghana, thoroughly unbounced), there is nothing else that can be said.
Another thought: Arean must really love Taylor Twellman. Arena left Major League Soccer's defending MVP off the roster in lieu of Brian Ching, and after the match against the Czechs, the List figures it must be because Arena likes Twellman and wanted to spare him the embarrassment.
THE SCORE IS James Mulligan 1, List 0, in terms of green tea. Send donations to [email protected]