MLB outlook, week of 6/20/10

Aubrey Huff, 1B, San Francisco Giants
Huff, an MLB journeyman (four teams in the last five seasons) has been scorching hot batting in the month of June. Since June 1, Huff has hit .347, with five home runs and 13 RBI. The Giants, a team with excellent starting pitchers, need this type of production from the hitters to contend for a pennant. With the help of Huff, the Giants are only a half game behind in the NL West.

STORYLINES

1. Jim Joyce again? » Joyce, infamously known for his blown call that terminated Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga’s perfect game, makes the headlines again. But this time for positive news. Joyce has been named the best umpire in baseball by the players. A poll done by ESPN a few days after Joyce’s blunder took 50 players from each league and had them vote on the best umpire in the game. A surprising 53% chose Joyce has their No. 1 guy. Moments after blowing Galarraga’s potential perfect game, Joyce apologized and admitted to his mistake. He showed great sorrow and distress while crying as he shook Galrraga’s hand the following day. That side of Joyce showed the players what incredible appreciation and care he has for the game.

2. Ace of Aces » Earlier this season, Nats pitcher Livan Hernandez tossed around the term “Cy Young” after Colorado ace Ubaldo Jimenez bested him in a 2-0 game at Nats Park. That was on April 22. The 26-year-old has only gotten better from there. We’re still over three weeks from the All-Star break and he’s rocking a 13-1 record after Thursday’s 5-1 win at Minnesota. That’s the best start by a major-league pitcher since Roger Clemens was 14-0 in 1986. In fact, only one pitcher in history has posted a lower ERA than Jimenez (1.15) through his first 14 starts of a season — Al Benton with Detroit in 1945. And that came during the World War II era when many of the game’s best players were still in the military.

3. Et Tu, Chipper? » We’ve already lost one baseball legend this season when Ken Griffey Jr. retired. Is Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones the next to go? Retirement talk crept up again this week with the 38-year-old batting just .234 entering the weekend. It didn’t help that he made some cryptic comments to the media — lending support to the idea Jones was ready to call it a career. But while that outcome is still likely at the end of the season, Jones and the Braves are currently fighting for first place in the NL East. And so — with his team in playoff contention — Jones said on Thursday that no announcement would come before the end of the year. That is one distraction, at least, Atlanta will do just fine without.

SERIES TO WATCH
Dodgers at Angels, Tuesday-Thursday
Intra-city rivalry and interleague play between teams with high expectations, thanks to recent success. The Angels have been AL West champs the last four seasons, while the Dodgers have been NL West champs the previous two. The Angels batting average is a subpar .258, but they are in the top 10 statistically in MLB in RBI and homers. Right fielder Andre Ethier, the Dodgers MVP, is leading L.A. in batting average, RBI and home runs.

 — Special to The Washington Examiner Nabeel Ahmadieh contributed to this report