Published: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 Scanning the Majors: 5/10/06 Edition

Real or No Real? There are a few teams that are off to some surprise starts, both good and bad. This week, we’ll examine if they are…Real…or No Real (I had to butcher the English language to make that work).

Colorado Rockies: 20-13 (thru 5/8), 1st place, 1 game lead in the NL West…Real (sorta) It depends on your definition of real. In this column before the season started, I said the Rocks would surprise. By surprise, I thought they’d play .500 ball and improve greatly upon their 95-loss season from a year ago. The amazing part is they’ve done it 1) without Todd Helton for a chunk of the season and 2) by going 11-5 on the road, where the Rockies have always had problems. Helton returned this past weekend from a mysterious stomach ailment and the team’s success in his absence gives them confidence that they can miss their best player and still do well. It’s not like they’ve faced a cupcake schedule either, with only 8 of their games coming against teams with sub .500 records. Manager Clint Hurdle has done a good job of managing the pitching staff and letting his pitchers finish what they start, with Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis and Jason Jennings averaging roughly 6-7 innings per start. However, these are the Rockies and while their young players are coming along well, things tend to get hectic in the Mile High city when summer rolls around. When the balls start flying out of the park and they’re fighting to survive 12-11 games, it will take a toll on this team and leave their tank empty come September. By hovering around .500 though, they’ll keep themselves in the NL West mix. Detroit Tigers: 20-12, 2nd place, 2.5 GB Chicago in the AL Central…Real Jim Leyland was brought in to try and revitalize a franchise that has been stagnant for the better part of the last 2 decades and so far, so good. The Tigers have done it with some very solid starting pitching. Lefties Mike Maroth (4-2, 2.55), Nate Robertson (3-2, 3.25) and the media savvy Kenny Rogers (5-2) have held their own while highly touted youngsters Jeremy Bonderman and Justin Verlander have improved steadily. Offensively, Magglio Ordonez is finally healthy and contributing and former Rule 5 pick 1B Chris Shelton started the season as if he were shot out of a cannon (.296 BA/.364 OBP/.661 SLG). While the White Sox will be tough, the Tigers should stay in contention due to the solid pitching. However, to make a sustained run, Ordonez must remain healthy and Shelton must keep the gains he has made at the plate. The possibility of both happening remains to be seen. Atlanta Braves: 13-18, 3rd place, 8 GB New York in the NL East…No Real Every year, the Braves are dismissed quicker than Cindy Sheehan at a Toby Keith concert. This year, they have had to endure injuries to Chipper and Andruw Jones, as well as starting pitcher John Thomson. OF phenom Jeff Francoeur got off to a slow start and SP Tim Hudson looked very average. In addition, the bullpen is a mess and seems to have no real anchor, with closer Chris Reitsma providing as much direction and hope for success as Donald Rumsfeld. With pitching guru Leo Mazzone no longer around, it’s easy to worry that this might be the year the Braves stay home in October. However, the Braves are generally slow starters and still have the pieces in place to make a run. 2B Marcus Giles (.211/.302/.316), 1B Adam LaRoche (.200/.327/.453) and Francoeur (.231/.241/.415) figure to be much better than they have been thus far and with the Jones boys returning to health and the rotation rounding into shape, this team can easily run off an 8 game winning streak at any time. Bobby Cox, who is perhaps the most underrated manager in the history of the game, always finds a way to rally this team into position to win and this year should be no different. GM John Schuerholz always makes a move or two near the deadline to address the team’s weaknesses. They’ll be right there with the Mets and Phillies at the end of the year.