Answering the most-asked questions

Two months into the season, here are answers to your most-often asked questions for your Memorial Day weekend reading: Q: Are the Blue Jays for real in the American League East? A: Yes, especially in a division where every team has flaws for the first time in who knows how many years? There is no question the Blue Jays have enough hitting. They lead the AL in home runs and are in the top five in run production. The question is the pitching: R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle are fine, but can a rotation survive with the growing pains of Drew Hutchinson, J.A. Happ and Liam Hendricks, a walk machine when he pitched for Minnesota in previous seasons? The Blue Jays also have two top-notch pitching prospects, Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez, who could make a difference. They might need pitching prospects to carry them into contention, much like Pittsburgh last season. Q: How is expanded replay working? A: It's working just fine. The challenges haven't taken forever, and some calls that have been overturned have changed the outcome of the game. So that's good. But overall, expanded replay is inconsequential. Unlike the NFL, where every challenge has a bearing on the game's outcome, baseball's challenge system doesn't have the same gravitas. I give in a B-plus. Q: Who is the favorite to win the AL East? A: Without a doubt, it is the Orioles. If they could ever put a streak of good pitching and good hitting together, the team would build a big lead in the AL East quickly. No need to worry about the run-scoring capabilities. If the rotation goes deep into games, that's all the Orioles need. Who would have thought that Bud Norris would be the Orioles' most consistent pitcher at this point? Q: Is Ubaldo Jimenez ever going to be consistent? A: He's streaky at best. The reason is that he's got so many moving parts in his mechanics and delivery. If any one part is off, it causes him to miss the strike zone. But if he can focus on pitch selection instead of mechanics, he can be one of the top right-handers in the league, just as he was last season in the final month for Cleveland. Q: Are the Nationals underachieving or overrated? A: The tendency is to say they are underachieving, but maybe it is the second choice. For now, they are following the same pattern as last season: They look good for a few games, and then they slip back and lose, frustrating Nationals fans. Yes, they have been hit hard by injuries, but name a contending team in the last couple of seasons that hasn't had a lot of injuries. Q: Will Ryan Zimmerman play left field for the Nationals this season? A - Some people say no way, but the indications are that he might. General manager Mike Rizzo isn't opposed to the idea. Manager Matt Williams hasn't said no. Zimmerman, out with a thumb injury, has said he's working out in left field for exercise. But why would there be two coaches out there with him as well? If rangy Danny Espinosa can hit consistently at second and Anthony Rendon breaks his May slump at third, Zimmerman in left would make sense. Q: Who is the surprise team in the National League? A: There are three. The Brewers are for real because of their pitching and defense, and their ability to score runs with Carlos Gomez and Ryan Braun makes them dangerous. The Marlins lost pitcher Jose Fernandez, but their preseason plan is still working: Get run production to take advantage of the pitching. And Atlanta is surprising in that the Braves are winning despite a spotty offense and beginning the season with three starters on the disabled list. Q: What about the San Francisco Giants? A - They are for real. They won the World Series in 2010 and 2012 with strong pitching and just enough hitting. This team is different because it hits for more power than the title teams and former Nats outfielder Michael Morse is a big reason for that. The Giants are scoring runs even though Pablo Sandoval has slumped for two months and first baseman Brandon Belt, amid a breakout power season, is on the disabled list. The Giants bullpen is strong and their starters are coming around. Hard to believe that Madison Bumgarner is 24 and has already pitched in two World Series and an All-Star Game. Q: Are there surprise teams in the AL? A - There are two. The Blue Jays keep rolling in the AL East and are in a span where they play 16 of 19 home games. That's a good test. In the AL West, Oakland keeps buzzing along despite have two of its top pitchers, Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin, on the disabled list. Q: If the season ended today, would the Orioles' Nelson Cruz have a shot at the AL MVP? A: I would hope so, because where would the Orioles be without him? The top contenders for the award at this point - and it is way too early to think about it too much - are Detroit's Ian Kinsler, Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera, the Angels' Albert Pujols and Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion. Q: What is wrong with the defending World Series champion Red Sox? A: Plenty. They miss center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury's base-stealing ability. They don't have any right-handed power. Mike Napoli's offense has fallen off the map. Their young players - Xander Bogaerts, Will Middlebrooks and Jackie Bradley Jr. - aren't pulling their weight. They aren't catching any breaks. They are a different team and don't have the same fire as a year ago. They are getting good pitching, however. But, they can't score runs to take advantage. Q: What about all these extreme defensive infield shifts? A: Wild, isn't it? Does it mean that for 100-plus years, infielders were being stationed at the wrong position? Now baseball's infielders are moving almost as much as an NFL secondary. The never-ending information has teams trying new defensive alignments. Can you believe there have been a few 6-5-3 double plays, with the shortstop fielding the ball on the right side of second base and flipping it to the third baseman covering second? Check out my report Tuesday on "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report" at 5 p.m. on MASN to see how the Orioles and Nationals are dealing with the trend.