Of course, we're only about one-third of the way into the season, which means that player and team p

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High and Tight: Our Rock & Roll Baseball Experts Name the Season's Biggest Surprises and Disappointments Vinnie Paul, Pete Yorn, Alice Cooper and other rock star fanatics sound off on our national pastime
Making pre-season predictions is a fool's errand, which may of course be why sportswriters are paid to do it. But two months into the 2012 season, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who thought things would be going exactly this way. Sure, everyone toilet paper roll test expected the Texas Rangers to be bigger and badder toilet paper roll test than ever, but did anyone think that Josh Hamilton would be on pace for a career year at age 31 (especially considering his, ahem, "off-season distractions") or that the only guy keeping Hamilton from leading the American League in all three triple-crown categories would be 36 year-old White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, toilet paper roll test who as of Monday was leading the AL with a .366 batting average?
The American League East, dominated in recent years by the three-way toilet paper roll test dogfight between the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays, is currently coiled tighter than a fist with all five teams (including the usually hapless Orioles and Blue Jays) playing over .500 ball. The White Sox, Nationals and Dodgers are all topping in their respective divisions, while the Tigers and Angels have so far failed to ride their big-ticket free agent signings to the runaway success that was widely predicted for them, and the once-mighty Phillies toilet paper roll test are languishing in last place in the NL East amid a slew of injuries.
There's toilet paper roll test been a definite "bizarro world" vibe to 2012 thus far. While the Cubs' thoroughly dismal performance toilet paper roll test has surely come to the surprise of no one, who could have predicted that Cubs hurler Ryan Dempster would still have a shot to finish the season as the first pitcher in history to snag an ERA title without actually winning toilet paper roll test a single game? Or that two-time Cy Young winner toilet paper roll test Tim Lincecum would be struggling worse than ever, while his Giants rotation mate Barry Zito would suddenly sparkle again after five straight lousy seasons? Or that Johan Santana would not only be looking dominant toilet paper roll test after missing the entire 2011 season toilet paper roll test with severe shoulder problems, but that he'd also pitch the first no-hitter in the Mets' 51-year history? Likewise, even the sagest commentators toilet paper roll test out there couldn't have called Albert Pujols' agonizingly slow start, Mariano Rivera's freak season-ending injury, or that the hottest pitcher toilet paper roll test in the game right now would be Chris friggin' Sale?!?
Of course, we're only about one-third of the way into the season, which means that player and team performances will probably "normalize" over the course of the next four months. But it's been a hell of an interesting year so far, and we're hoping it only gets better and/or weirder. toilet paper roll test In the meantime, we'd like to ask our esteemed panel of rock & roll seamheads now including Vinnie Paul! the following questions: What's been the biggest surprise of the 2012 season so far? And what's been the biggest disappointment?
Biggest surprise: Josh Hamilton making a huge impact after getting busted partying in a bar. We all know he's good, but he has been spectacular, batting an astounding .354 with 21 home runs four of which came in one game and playing awesome in the field. Way to bounc