Two observations about the season so far:

1. The distribution of power teams has definitely shifted westward as the East divisions are playing sub-.500 ball. The traditional powers look weak. The Red Sox don't have the fire or competitiveness of last year; the Yankees appear old and punchless; The Rays can't score; the Phillies can't win and the Mets have little after David Wright. Even the Braves are struggling to create distance from these rusty teams and the Nationals are in their second consecutive year of being predicted to light the world on fire, but barely creating a spark.

Meanwhile the exciting teams live in the central and west: Oakland, San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Detroit. Even the Angels and Dodgers and Cardinals offer more excitement than the East.

I thought the Manny Machado incident and Oriole game against the A's offered an appropriate metaphor for the difference between east vs. west.

2. There are more exaggerated infield shifts for batters than I have ever seen in one season, and why not? Batters don't have enough skill and versatility to beat the shift. I remember the Reds in '77 putting on a huge infield shift for Rich Hebner, a left-handed, dead pull hitter, who was a pretty good hitter, but never going to smell a batting crown. He went 5 for 5 as he bunted 3 grounders to the vacated third base, and aimed two soft grounders through the vacated spot. He was never a bunter, but there was a time when every hitter was expected to be able to lay one down. As a result there were rarely exaggerated shifts employed.

Hitters today, when faced with shifts that leave the entire left side of the infield open are much more likely to ground out to right field where the second baseman is, than even consider taking it the other way even when a homerun is not needed.