Baseball this 'n' that

 With two weeks in the books in the 2025 season, certain teams have already fallen back down to earth.

Take, for example the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who begin play tonight in 3rd place in the NL West, 1/2 game behind San Diego, and percentage points behind San Francisco for 2nd. The Dodgers (10-4) open a series vs. the Chicago Cubs tonight, while the Giants are in the Bronx to play the Yankees, and the Padres host Colorado.

Speaking of the Yanks, they're in 1st in the AL East, percentage points in front of Toronto, after the Blue Jays won 3 of 4 from Boston, while the Yanks scuffled in losing 2 of 3 to Detroit. 2 1/2 games separate the 5 teams in the division in all, as Boston is in Chicago to play the White Sox, while Toronto & Baltimore have been rained out. The Yankees send Marcus Stroman to the hill against San Francisco's Robbie Ray.

A week ago, Philadelphia looked like they'd run away and hide in the NL East. Not so fast. The Phillies endured a nearly 3 hour rain delay in Atlanta before dropping a 4-2 decision in 11 innings to the Braves, which enabled the idle Mets to move into a 1st place tie with the Phils.

And how did Atlanta pull this off? Check it.

The Braves, sitting in last place, visit Tampa Bay at Steinbrenner Field. Philadelphia, meanwhile, continues their road trip in St. Louis, while the Mets are in Sacramento to play the A's. MLB won't allow the A's to be known as the Sacramento A's for the duration. Apparently, they want to save merch money until the A's move to Las Vegas in 2029.

It's still early.