For the contenders, there are so many reasons that stand obvious to fans why they are in fact contenders. Example, they're obviously all contenders because Bengie Molina is not their clean up hitter, or Jose Contreras is not in their rotation. Most people, except for maybe the managers of those teams, would see the obvious positives in those cases.

But obvious isn't just what wins for a team. I'll give you five not so obvious reasons why these teams are contenders and even possible championship favorites. Obviously you must find out, so continue to read my children.


St. Louis Cardinals:
It's no surprise their biggest reasons they win and can win the series, is that they have the best player in baseball.. in Brendan Ryan. Er, wait, I meant Albert Pujols. They also have Tony LaRussa, Chris Carpenter, one of the most loyal fan bases around (they easily would have sent realmofotalk to the gallows if he was a cardinal fan, goodie for them).

5. It's not just the players they acquired but who they acquired. You can't argue that the cardinals lack chemistry, in fact, they might have the best in the league. So adding Mark DeRosa, who many cub diehards feel not having has put a dent in their season from the get go, and an all or nothing Matt Holliday make all the sense in the world. Throw in John Smoltz, and everyone loves John Smoltz, it's like LaRussa made a wish list and he got everything he wanted. Walt Jockety who?

4. Stripping them down and rebuilding them. Safe to say that's happened to Ryan Franklin, Joel Pineiro, and Adam Wainwright. Cardinals have a formidable top 3 in the rotation thanks to the quality of life found in Pineiro and Wainwright this season. And Franklin was an all-star. An.. all-star. Huh?

3. Making do up the middle. Julio Lugo was ran out of Boston. I don't know where Brendan Ryan came from. And Skip Schumacher goes from outfield to 2B, doesn't that happen the other way around? It works.

2. Good thing it didn't happen. You have to figure if Troy Glaus and Khalil Green were healthy, some of the guys previously mentioned wouldn't be playing or would never have been picked up. Are they better or worse? Personally, I say better, Green has never been the slightest bit impressive and Holliday is a better hitter than Glaus. Oh and that DeRosa guy... don't forget the supposed closer of the team Chris Perez was traded for him.

1. It's no longer a mystery, thank God. Yadier Molina creates havoc, puts the other team in the hole, and completely effects every game he plays in.. by never having to matter with the bat.




New York Yankees:
Pretty sure somewhere it says it is a sin for me to praise the Empire in any way whatsoever. But hey, you know what, even for 200 million, they can be surprising. Obviously they can win it all because of that shortstop they have, but also the the idea of having a real ace, and some other things. That cost a lot of money.

5. It's something about having him around. He's not the best hitter or fielder, and he's old and always needs time off, but the yankees can't win it with out Jorge Posada. Despite never being on the same page with AJ Burnett, he just has that about him. And yes he's infinitely times better at the plate than Jose Molina.

4. Forgive and forget. Okay so maybe not that easy, but with the controversy surrounding Andy Petitte and Alex Rodriguez, it feels like it's barely an issue anymore. Maybe they figured out that copping to your mistakes and answering questions is a good way to go on with the season. Whatever works.

3. You at least figured out one guy. The problem I continue to have is the leashes Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes have. It's not like we're playing softball here, these are men playing professional baseball. Wait, they actually use the same pitcher over and over in softball, bad analogy. Anyways, who knows what the future holds for Phil Hughes, but as a reliever/setup man, it's very exciting to watch him pitch. I really don't know if they'll screw up but Hughes looks even better than Chamberlain did in the same role years ago. Just sayin'.

2. He cares again! Robinson Cano has better numbers than Dustin Pedroia, no lie. His defense is no longer a black hole, instead, it's good enough. Okay so maybe having Mark Teixeira at first helps some but he's looking a lot like the promising guy Larry Bowa thought would be great. Only on the Empire would he be batting in the lower third of the order.

1. Tension has dissipated. That is a word right? Dissipated? Saber? Leo? Eh? Anyways, amid the big spending, they seemed to finally target a breath of fresh air. The difference between the red sox now and the red sox then, they have no personality and they don't seem to have any fun. Skip to the yankees now and the yankees since losing to expansion teams in the world series, they.. they.. have charisma! Life! Laughter! Suppose Nick Swisher and CC Sabathia help a little bit? I think so. You know why the phillies are good? They have a good time. Same for the cardinals, angels, and rockies. Yankees are now in that crowd. It's okay to smile and be juvenile.