Boom! "The Experience Is Back" Edition of Ramblin' Man

I really don't know how I didn't manage to crank out any blogs in the past 10 days or so, because obviously plenty has been going on, but here we go. The hiatus is over. My apologies to the die-hards out there.

-The AL East has been tilted back on its axis since May 14, with the Red Sox posting a 7-2 record over the span to pull within a half game of the Yankees. Looking much more like that team we all expected to cruise to 100 victories. Adrian Gonzalez has been the catalyst. He's hitting .381 since my last post, and while his power binge has cooled off, he still has 8 home runs in the month of May. Definitely living up to the hype.

-For what it's worth, how are the prospects the Red Sox gave up for Gonzo performing?

• Anthony Rizzo, 21, is hitting a cool .366 with a 1.162 OPS to go along with 14 home runs and 56 RBI in 42 games for Triple-A Portland. If there's any knock on Rizzo, it's that he's also struck out 42 times (for an easily-calculated average of 1 per game). But my God, the rest of his stat line.....
• Casey Kelly, also 21, is 4-1 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.37 WHIP for Double-A San Antonio. Average numbers at best, although he's knocked a over a full run off his ERA from last year (5.31) so far. 
• Reymond Fuentes, 20, his batting .311 with a .733 OPS, to go along with 17 steals, for High-A Lake Elsinore. Like Rizzo, Fuentes has been striking out at an alarming rate (35 times through 40 games). But the kid can't even drink yet.

So it's safe to say the Padres got a great haul for Adrian Gonzalez, even if it won't matter for the classy citizens of San Diego until 2013.

-By the way, Eric Patterson, the "Player to be Named Later" in the deal, is hitting .197 for the Pads. 

-Josh Beckett is leading the American League in ERA at 1.69.  Much like my March Madness exploits, Beckett has one of those even year/odd year things going on. Can he keep this up?

-Jose Bautista's numbers these past two seasons: They're real, and they're spectacular.

-Ubaldo Jimenez is 0-4 with a 5.44 ERA. Since June 1, 2010, Jimenez is 9-11 with a 4.40 ERA. Compare that with his 10-1, 0.78 ERA start to last season.

-Albert Pujols doesn't lead the Cardinals in any significant offensive category, is hitting a paltry (by his standards) .267 with a .752 OPS, yet the Cards are 30-20 with a 3 1/2 game lead over Cincinnata in the NL Central. Why? Matt Holliday and the resurgent Lance Berkman, who have combined to hit .347 with 17 home runs and 66 RBI between them.

-My emotions vary pertaining to the NBA right now. On the one hand, my boy Dirk is one win away from returning the Finals still in search of his elusive first ring. And it makes it even sweeter that I told everyone Dallas would be playing for the Larry O'Brien Trophy back in October. But....

-It looks like a certain someone else will be joining Dirk in said NBA Finals, also in search of his first ring. Bear in mind, said player I'm referring to has only been in the league 8 seasons now to Dirk's 13. And Dirk has stayed loyal to his city, playing his entire career in the Big D thus far. Just sayin'.

-I'm so invested in Dallas right now, I've almost completely forgotten that the Celtics lost in 5 games to a team in the Eastern semis, and am seriously considering purchasing a plane ticket down to Dallas should they knock off those villains in the 'Ship.

-OKC is a great story, making the leap to legitimate contender sooner than anyone could have expected, but you've gotta lose before you can win. The same thing is going on in Chicago right now. Plus, it just wouldn't be right to see a championship banner in Oklahoma City so soon, just three seasons after the team was abducted from Seattle. It would be the fastest amount of time a relocated team has won a championship in NBA history.

-The only team across the four major sports to win a championship in its first season in new digs would be the Colorado Avalanche, one season after abandoning Quebec City.

-Speaking of NHL relocations, the Atlanta Thrashers are all but signed, sealed, and delivered to Winnipeg. I thought it would've been a better story if the wrong of the Jets leaving for Phoenix had been righted, but this'll do just fine. Should the deal go through, as expected, it will be the second time Atlanta has lost an NHL team (the Flames bolted for Calgary in 1980). 

-Vancouver has skated into its first Stanley Cup Final since 1994, where they lost to the New York Rangers in an epic 7 game series. The Rangers ended a 54-year Cup drought with that victory. Do you see what I'm getting at here?

The last time the Canucks were in the Stanley Cup, they helped an Original 6 team end a long Stanley Cup drought. Just pointing it out.