5 NL, 1 AL

Well there goes our home field advantage (Thanks CJ Wilson).

Prince Fielder hit a three run home run in the 4th while the NL pitching staff shut down the AL lineup and win the All Star Game 5-1.

How did the AL score a run? Of course Adrian Gonzalez hit the bomb off of Cliff Lee in the 4th. After the 4th the AL just got 3 hits, one of those being from Kevin Youkilis. David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury both went 0-2.

Josh Beckett was supposed to go, but opted to sit after the knee felt a little funny. He said if it was a regular season game he would have played, I like it.

End result, whoever we play in the world series we are going to have to start in their stadium.

A Closer Look at the AL Cy Young Award

For decades the Baseball Writers Association of America has been handing out the Cy Young award to the best pitcher in each league. And for decades the most heavily weighed factor has been a pitcher's win total. It was long considered an atrocity if a pitcher with less than 20 wins was given the award. In fact, that has only happened a combined 24 times in the AL and NL since the award has been given (not counting RP winners.) Last year's winner, Zack Greinke tied the all-time low in wins for an AL Cy Young winner with 16.

Recent trends and developments in statistics and saber metrics (insert nerd joke here) have become wide spread enough that some writers are beginning to consider them more heavily when voting for the winner. (See Greinke, Zack K.C. Royals 2009) No longer, does the award get decided by archaic statistics like Wins, Losses, ERA and BAA (batting average against). We now have things like BABIP (batting average per balls in play) and WAR (a measurement of a player's contributions to a win compared to a replacement player...Wins Against Replacement). Basically, some nerds who jerk off to baseball games came up with some pretty sweet statistics to try and more accurately measure a player's performance by removing factors out of his control.

The AL Cy Young award is, by most accounts a race between two pitchers. C.C. Sabatthia of the Yankees and Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, although some might include David Price and Clay Buchloz of the Rays and Red Sox, respectively. A few fools might even try to throw Trevor Cahill in the mix, although without 200 IP he's not in my consideration. For the sake, of brevity and simplicity we'll keep this comparison between the top two in my consideration, C.C. and King Felix.

The Argument for C.C. Sabatthia

C.C. knows how to win. Or so Yankees fans and other ignoramouses will try and tell you. However, that is an outdated way of looking at things. C.C. greatly benefits from playing for the Yankees, arguably the best offense in baseball. This is not to say, he's not great and isn't deserving of being in the conversation. He is, in fact near the top of many advanced statistics. WHIP, Percentage of runners left on base, and Wins Against Replacement (WAR) are just a few categories in which he excels (but doesn't lead).

The Argument for Felix Hernandez

King Felix should be one guy who is very glad that an army of basement nerds have come up with the statistics I referenced above. Without them, people might look at his 13-12 record and think he has no chance at winning the Cy Young award. However, a close look reveals that King Felix has been by most measurements the most dominant hurler in the league. He is the leader in Quality Starts (6 IP or more and 3 ER or less) and Innings Pitched. He also has 6 complete games, 4 more than C.C.

Side by Side

Basically, Felix leads Sabatthia in every category that is not dependent on his team, ie. Wins and Losses.

Runs Allowed
C.C. - 92
Felix - 80

Strikeouts
C.C. - 197
Felix - 232

Wins When Team Scores 4 runs or Less (4 is about league average)
C.C. - 6
Felix - 8

When Team Scores 3 runs or less
C.C. - 1
Felix - 2

WAR (Wins Against Replacement)
C.C. - 5.4
Felix - 6.0

If those stats aren't enough to convince you take a look at some of this anecdotal evidence.

In 7 of Hernandez's last 13 starts the Mariners have scored ZERO RUNS! What?!

He has pitched into the 7th inning or better in 24 consecutive starts.

If you give him 4 runs or more, he doesn't lose. He hasn't lost once in that scenario all year long.

He has given up 17 Unearned runs this season. Meaning that those 80 R mentioned earlier is really 63 ER. In almost 250 IP!

You can't hold the failings of his teammates against him. King Felix reigns supreme on the mound. The Mariners are the worst run scoring team in the league, barely cracking 500 runs to this point. The Yankees on the other hand are the league leader in runs with over 830 scored so far.

The AL Cy Young should definitely go to King Felix. Let's hope the crusty old writers are all reading fangraph.com!


*NL Cy Young Award debate later this week.

Circling the Bases - American League

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

Top 25 Under 25: #8 Evan Longoria

One of the new phenoms of Major League Baseball is the star thirdbaseman for the Tampa Bay Rays Evan Longoria. 24 year old Longoria born 10/07/1985 burst onto the scene in 2008 winning the Rookie of Year Award. In 122 games he hit .272 with 27 HRs and 85 RBIs; not to mention a .963 fielding % at the hot corner. Longoria was certainly a major reason why the Tampa Bay Rays were the AL East, and AL League Champs in 2008; and this was all after coming off a mid-season broken wrist. Now in his second season, Longoria has not slowed down one bit. Apart from a few minor injuries, Longoria is being hailed as one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball. In 126 games thus far, Longoria is matching his statistics from last season posting a .272 BA 25 HR 91 RBIs and 57 walks. Although Longoria had a .189 BA in July '09 he remains the top threat in a potent Rays lineup that includes Carlos Pena, BJ Upton and Carl Crawford. For a 24 year old player to be ranked the #3 best thirdbaseman in the league in just his second season speaks volumes to his ability and his future. Look for Longoria to post these and better numbers year in and year out; no doubt. If your a baseball fan, its hard not to love this guy...and no I don't mean Eva Longoria...no relation. Fuck Tony Parker.

-Beerman Posts

MLB Standings

AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL East
BOSTON 54-34 -
NEW YORK 51-37 3GB
TAMPA BAY 48-41 6.5GB
TORONTO 44-46 11GB
BALTIMORE 40-48 14GB

AL Central
DETROIT 48-39 -
CHICAGO 45-43 3.5GB
MINNESOTA 45-44 4GB
KANSAS CITY 37-51 11.5GB
CLEVELAND 35-54 14GB

AL West
L.A.A. 49-37 -
TEXAS 48-39 1.5GB
SEATTLE 46-42 6GB
OAKLAND 37-49 12GB


NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL East
PHILADELPHIA 48-38 -
FLORIDA 46-44 4GB
ATLANTA 43-45 6GB
NEW YORK 42-45 6.5GB
WASHINGTON 26-61 22.5GB

NL Central
ST. LOUIS 49-42 -
MILWAUKEE 45-43 2.5GB
CHICAGO 43-43 3.5GB
HOUSTON 44-44 3.5GB
CINCINNATI 42-45 5GB
PITTSBURGH 38-50 9.5GB

NL West
LOS ANGELES 56-32 -
SAN FRANSISCO 49-39 7GB
COLORADO 47-41 9GB
ARIZONA 38-51 18.5GB
SAN DIEGO 36-52 20GB

MLB League Leaders

BATTING
Batting AVG
AL:
Joe Mauer MIN .373
Ichiro Suzuki SEA .362
Miguel Cabrera DET .321

NL:
Hanley Ramirez FLA .349
Carlos Beltran NYM .336
Pablo Sandoval SF .333

Homeruns
AL:
Carlos Pena TB 24
Russell Branyan SEA 22
Nelson Cruz TEX 22

NL:
Albert Pujols STL 32
Adrian Gonzalez SD 24
Mark Reynolds ARI 24

RBI's
AL:
Jason Bay BOS 72
Justin Morneau MIN 70
Evan Longoria TB 66

NL:
Albert Pujols STL 87
Prince Fielder MIL 78
Ryan Howard 67

Stolen Bases
AL:
Carl Crawford TB 44
Jacoby Ellsbury BOS 40
BJ Upton TB 31

NL:
Michael Bourn HOU 32
Nyjer Morgan WAS 24
Juan Pierre LAD 23

Runs
AL:
Chone Figgins ANA 68
Dustin Pedroia BOS 65
Marco Scutaro TOR 64

NL:
Albert Pujols STL 73
Shane Victorino PHI 63
Chase Utley PHI 62

PITCHING
Wins
AL:
Josh Beckett BOS 11
Tim Wakefield BOS 11
5 tied with 10

NL:
Jason Marquis COL 11
4 tied with 10

ERA
AL:
Zach Grienke KC 2.12
Edwin Jackson DET 2.52
Felix Hernandez SEA 2.53

NL:
Dan Haren ARI 2.01
Tim Lincecum SF 2.33
Matt Cain SF 2.38

Saves
AL:
Brian Fuentes ANA 26
Joe Nathan MIN 23
Jonathon Papalbon 23
Marino Rivera NYY 23

NL:
Health Bell SD 23
Fransisco Rodriguez NYM 23
Brian Wilson SF 23

Stikeouts
AL:
Justin Verlander DET 149
Jon Lester BOS 131
Zach Grienke KC 129

NL:
Tim Lincecum SF 149
Javier Vazquez ATL 136
Dan Haren ARI 129