Yesterday, we took a look at the National League, the inferior kid brother to the AL. (Don't tell me about the All-star game. AL pwns in interleague play.)
Today we'll take a look at the American League. I'll give a little more attention to teams outside the AL East, since we may not be quite as familiar with them on this Red Sox worshiping blog.
Here goes nothin'.
AL WEST
TEX - 51-38
Fresh off last night's beatdown of the Sox in Beantown, the Rangers boast the AL's 3rd best record (NYY,TB). They've always had the bats, but it seems now they're getting the arms as well. They've gotten good pitching this year from Colby Lewis and C.J. Wilson, the reformed closer. And last week they added veteran ace Cliff Lee to the rotation. All three of those guys are toting ERA under 3.5, under 3 for Lee! With the run production these guys get this division should be a cake walk. If they can get any kind of healthy production from Rich "perpetually injured" Harden this team could be really scary.
The Rangers, run by MLB as they go through their bankruptcy legal process, have only won one playoff game in their franchise history. One of only three MLB teams to never have appeared in the World Series (SEA, WAS) and the oldest American major sports franchise to have never appeared in its league championship. Basically, history is not on their side.
LAA - 48-44
The L.A. Angels of Anaheim. So stupid...but that's for another day. The Angels are certainly not out of things mathematically, but they just don't give the impression that they are really ready to contend. They've obviously got to catch Texas to win the division, and the Wild Card might prove even more elusive with Detroit, Tampa Bay and Boston all ahead of them, and Minnesota nipping at their heels. It looks like the long reign the Angels had on the A.L. west might be over, as they watch once beloved Vlad the Impaler tear the cover off the ball in Texas. At least Halo fans can take solace in the fact that Chone Figgins sucks in Seattle.
One guess at who leads the MLB in strikeouts for pitchers. Would you have said Jered Weaver? Because you'd be right. Through 121 IP, Weaver has 137 K. Nice. That being said, with the inconsistency of Scott Kazmir and Ervin Santana I don't think this team will be able to hang around as we approach October.
OAK - 43-46
Does anyone like this team? Why? I would think it would be frustrating to be a A's fan. The whole moneyball thing is a little played out. Great. You've got a team of guys that get on base and don't hit the ball. How's that working out? I understand they're a small market but I don't think guys like Scott Hatteberg, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Giambi (2nd time) are really the answer. They've always had good arms though, and this year is no different. Young phenoms Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson have proven to be good MLB starters and look like they'll only get better as the season and their careers wear on. There isn't really much to say about this team. They're just kinda...blah. Hopefully they get that new stadium and can start spending some money to get those fans a nice team. More likely, it'll just be a matter of a few years before Anderson and/or Cahill are signing contracts with NYY, BOS, NYM, DET or somebody else who is willing to pony up the cash.
SEA - 35-54
Remember last winter when we were all amazed because Seattle had Cliff Lee and Chone Figgins and Milton Bradley plus Franklin Gutierrez and Ichiro, and they were supposed to be ready for a run at the AL West? That hasn't quite worked out. Instead, they're one of the worst teams in MLB and just sold off Lee to the Rangers for young slugger Justin Smoak who has struggled mightily in his brief time in the majors. There's still hope for Smoak, but not for the Mariners. Previous management really screwed this team up and they'll have to do some serious overhauling to get it right. It is really a shame that Ichiro hasn't been able to get on a good squad. He has been one of the finest players in the game for some time now, but probably hasn't gotten his due because he has been stuck in futility up there in the Pacific north west. Chone Figgins has been a terrible disappointment with career lows for first half stats in most categories. And Milton Bradley doesn't seem nearly as exciting after a stint at some kind of anger management counseling. I'm afraid this team might have a long slow crawl out of the basement of the AL West.
AL CENTRAL
CHW - 50-38
The White Sox on a nine game win streak are the hottest team in baseball, winners of 26 of their last 31 games! And with good reason. Alex Rios is finally realizing that potential that scouts always thought he had. He's on pace for some ridiculous season totals - 27 HR, 42 SB, 97 RBI. I think White Sox fans will take that! Paulie Konerko has found that old form with 21 bombs and 63 ribbys. Carlos Quentin has also been on a tear of late along with Sexy Alexei Ramirez, to a lesser degree. If the White Sox can get last year's rookie sensation Gordon Beckham going they'd have probably the deepest lineup in baseball as far as production 1-9, and one that no one would want to deal with in October.
On the hill, young John Danks and Gavin Floyd continue to lead the way for the South Side, while Buehrle has been mostly his usual self...a bit up and down. They did lose Peavy to a nasty injury in which a muscle was separated from his shoulder blade. That won't help anything, but hopefully Daniel Hudson, just recently called up, can prove to give them some help in the rotation. Bobby Jenks has reasserted himself as the closer for the White Sox with a very nice first half performance, following some rumblings in the offseason that the team might look to move him.
If Hudson doesn't perform up to task I won't be surprised to see sly ol' Ken Williams getting active at the deadline. I think they have a contender in Chicago, and don't be shocked to see them try and get even better.
DET - 48-38
The Tigers are only one game back right now, and have arguably the best hitter in baseball this season in Miggy Cabrera. Josh Hamilton and Cabrera will likely slug it out this season for MVP as both set their sights on triple crown statistics. Miggy was previously leading all three categories, until Hamilton recently passed him in BA. If I told you that the young ace in the making, Rick Porcello would be sent down to the minors and so would Max Scherzer would you still believe this team would be in contention at the break? Thanks to ridiculous offense and the winner of the "who?" award for 2010, Brennan Boesch, the Tigers are still right in the thick of it. Justin Verlander has been very effective with 9 wins at the break. I still think they might need a little bit more on the pitching end unless Porcello can come back and find some of that 2009 form he had as a rookie. Jeremy Bonderman, of 20 losses in a season, fame doesn't do it for me. However, if Miggy keeps up his pace and Boesch doesn't fall off the table perhaps they can just slug their way to a Wild Card position. They do have a good closer in Papa Grande, Jose Valverde. He's been mostly unhittable this season, with a .92 ERA and .86 whip. So the strategy is slug it out to a late lead and let Papa Grande nail it down.
MIN - 46-43
The Twins locked down their boy wonder, Joe Mauer this past winter with a huge contract, but this first season in their beautiful new ballpark hasn't gone quite as they planned. Mauer is still hitting for average, but the homers aren't leaving the yard for him like they did a year ago in the old dome. Morneau has been his usual MVP form self through the first half, but recently landed on the DL with a concussion. They've finally gotten some decent play out of Delmon Young and Orlando Hudson has been as advertised. However, the left side of the infield in J.J. Hardy and Nick Punto leaves a little to be desired. They're hitting a combined .241 so far this year.
Outside of Francisco Liriano and the unlikely Carl Pavano, the pitching hasn't been that great. Scott Baker is underachieving by most standards with a ERA of almost 5 and a BAA of .284 Liriano has been a bit polarizing, awesome when he is on, but just about opposite when he is not. Pavano seems to have found his little niche in Minnesota, away from the bright lights and pressure of NYC. With 10 wins and an ERA under 4 he's pitched nicely so far.
KC - 39-49
The Royals aren't in last place!!! Woohoo. Things are looking up in Missouri, or is it Kansas? I don't know. Anyway, this team still isn't playing well but at least they're out of the basement. David DeJesus is having a very nice season batting .326 and Billy Butler is establishing himself as one of those rare power and average type hitters. He is hitting .322 with 46 RBI. They have a 3rd hitter at .300 in Scott Podsednik who is rejuvenated in KC. On the hill, Zack Greinke hasn't been nearly as stellar as he was in 2009 with a record of 5-8, though his last start was much better (even if it was against SEA). He has also been battling some shoulder issues which has to make you wonder if that is the cause of his woes.
The Royals have quite abit of talent knocking at the door in the minors. None better that Mike Moustakas who is absolutely killing MiLB pitching this season. KC, always very cautious with the youngsters, says he won't be called up this season. But the way things are going, I would say a September cup of coffee is not out of the question. Let's all hope he's better than Alex Gordon.
CLE - 34-54
I won't crap on the Indians too much, because I'm sympathetic to what just happened with LBJ, and that city has no hopes of winning in any sport any time soon.
Grady Sizemore and his penis haven't been very good in recent years. Steroids? I don't know about that but something definitely isn't right with that guy. The lone bright spot in Cleveland had been Shin-Soo Choo their Korean slugger. Unfortunately, he just landed on the DL as well and now there is no reason to come out and watch that team, even though they have my favorite ball park in all of baseball. They do have Carlos Santana, one of the best young players in baseball, but he has some huge shoes to fill from Victor Martinez. This team doesn't look like a competitor in the AL Central in the near future. Godspeed, Cleveland.
AL EAST
NYY - 56-32
What can I say? They're the best team in baseball, with the best roster. I hate the Yankees like I hate lima beans! Gross.
The fact that the Yankees had the best record at the break with AJ Burnett struggling and ARod not really in top form, as well as Texeira for most of the first half is pretty scary. I don't even want to think about what will happen when ARod finds his form. He has 70 RBI good for 3rd in the AL, and is only hitting .269 Hopefully, the pressure of chasing down these HR records will get to him a little bit, but I doubt it. The Evil Empire looks to be as strong as ever, despite the recent death of Lord Vader (Steinbrenner).
Hopefully, Skywalker (Dusty Pedroia) can get healthy and he and Hans Solo (Youkilis) can take them down with the help of Chewy (Papi). I don't know why I just did that. I don't even like Star Wars! Ridiculous. Fuck the Yanks!
TB - 54-34
The Rays have found their form as we begin the 2nd half. They started to hit their stride right before the break and don't look to be slowing down anytime too soon. The days of this team being a cellar dweller seem like distant past with their play in recent years. Led by Carl Crawford and MLB chosen son Evan Longoria the Rays offense is clicking on all cylinders. Crawford is displaying his talents in hopes of cashing in a huge payday in the off-season. It is likely that Tampa won't be able to afford him, and some have even speculated that he may get traded. But, with them right in the thick of the race I would be shocked if that were to happen. I'm sure they'd be content to try and make another deep playoff run and let him walk if that is what happens. One guy they should trade is BJ Upton. That guy sucks and he seems like a terrible clubhouse guy. I don't think he is anything but hype, and I wish Evan Longoria would have knocked his teeth in.
David Price has risen to the challenge of being the Ace down in Tampa. He's taken that brilliance he flashed in the playoffs a couple years ago out of the pen and stretched it out into one of the most dominant starters in MLB. He doesn't get the hype of Strasburg, but he's perhaps every bit as good and plays on a much better team. MLB really has some marketable guys on their hands with this Tampa team.
I don't know if this team has enough to overtake the Yankees, but they've definitely got enough to make a run at the Wild Card. I expect DET, TB and BOS to be battling it out for that spot all season.
BOS - 51-38
Boston stumbled into the break, and really what can you expect with all the injuries they've had. Hopefully, they'll get most of those guys back soon. It really is miraculous how they've stayed in it with the injuries they have had. You could make a strong case for Terry Francona for manager of the year, especially if they end up winning the Wild Card.
This team is covered on a daily basis, so I'll stop there. However, I do want to add that I would love to see them add David DeJesus at the deadline.
TOR - 44-45
The Jays have really embraced the grip it and rip it mentality, and it has been productive, at least in the sense of HR and run production. Not so much in batting average. Jose A. Bautista is a nice microcosm of the Jays on a whole. His average is under .240 yet he leads the league in home runs with 24. The Jays lead baseball in homeruns, yet find themselves a game under .500 and in 4th place in their division. Vernon Wells had a nice first half, after years of being the most overpaid guy in baseball. They just traded for the underwhelming Yunel Escobar, a young shortstop from ATL who many though had lots of potential, but has yet to deliver. All of their starting pitchers have been up and down, including Brandon Morrow who just can not seem to harness his stuff long enough to get through a whole start. Shawn Marcum is on the DL and Ricky Romero has been great at home, and awful on the road.
This team doesn't have a whole lot of hope for the near future.
BAL - 29-59
Talk about not a lot of hope. The only team in baseball with under 30 wins, The Orioles are obviously the worst team in the league. In their defense, they've had some injuries as well, but I think even without the injuries they're the worst team in this division. Kevin Millwood, Brian Roberts, Mike Gonzalez and Matt Wieters have all spent time on the DL. Brian Matusz one of their great young arms has not been very good, and they've been putting Chris Tillman in a tug of war between AAA and the majors. His last start was very impressive, and he'll look to build on that momentum in the 2nd half. It's all about padding stats if you're on BAL now. Another shitty club in a beautiful ballpark. Just plain sad.
AL TOP 10 Power Rankings
#1 New York Yankees
#2 Chicago White Sox
#3 Texas Rangers
#4 Tampa Bay Rays
#5 Boston Red Sox
#6 Detroit Tigers
#7 Minnesota Twins
#8 Los Angeles Angels
#9 Toronto Blue Jays
#10 Oakland Athletics
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