Getting healthy on MLB's sick

Ever consider how the MLB standings would look if the division leader didn't play the last place team? Didn't think so. But maybe you should. Interesting stuff. Really.

Perhaps the standings would look similar if you threw out those games where the first-place team plays the cellar dweller. But not if you were the Oakland A's.

The Athletics -- ironically, not that athletic as far as ball clubs go -- won their 12th-straight against the AL West's last-place Mariners Sunday. The win pushed the A's to 60-51, nine games over .500, and Oakland is now 12-1 against the M's on the year. See where we're going with this?

Good. You do.

The A's are 48-50 against the rest of their opponents, making them a less-than-mediocre team when they aren't beating up on Seattle. And on the flip side, had the Mariners not faced Oaktown 13 times, they'd be seven games over.

Really it's pretty funny. Why? Well, laugh a little, will ya. It's Monday. You need to loosen up a bit. By throwing out those bottom teams and things change a fair amount.

The same can be said for the AL Central, where Detroit has made the Kansas City Royals look like fucking peasants. The Tigers are 11-1 against KC, making the Royals not very good against their division foe. If the Royals got those 11 losses back by not having to face Detroit, well, they'd still suck.

Ok, so this tinkering with results works better with Oakland and Seattle. Still though, it's an interesting way to look at the standings.

In other news: Jeremy Shockey returned to practice Sunday after being held out of practice for nearly a week with a "killer hangover."