MLB State of the Union: The A.L.

By Chad Hollingsworth
Love of Sports Correspondent

It’s never too early to measure success or, conversely, survey the damage.

We’re going to issue out all the need-to-know information that you, well… need to know.

In the spirit of election season, (isn’t is always election season?) here is the state of the American League:

AL EAST

Tampa Bay “don’t call them Devil” Rays

The Rays entered the season as a team on the rise. However, nobody could have possibly predicted this team to make these kinds of leaps and bounds in terms of progress. Their young players are maturing into fantastic players, and the sudden commitment to winning in Tampa can’t be ignored as a motivating factor. Evan Longoria and Scott Kazmir were extended this season. The team is shelling out money to keep guys like James Shields and Carlos Pena around. With this nucleus, you would think they can contend this year and beyond. These aren’t the Devil Rays of the past featuring washed up former MVPs (Greg Vaughn) and lousy pitchers (Victor Zambrano… sorry, Mets fans.)

Boston Red Sox

The Sox have the perfect mix of veterans and youth to put together a solid lineup each night. The starting pitching has been above average with Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka as the headliners.  However, the bullpen has holes in it (Delcarmen’s and Hansen’s slow maturation and Mike Timlin’s age catching up to him,) and Jonathan Papelbon has blown two saves. Scoring runs won’t be a problem for the Sox, but scoring enough to compensate for the bullpen’s miscues could be.

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are starting to come back to Earth. After a fast start, they are back to .500 and will probably hover around there for the rest of the season. Their youth (Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, and George Sherill) is a great asset, while vets like Kevin Millar and Jay Payton leave plenty to be desired. The pitching staff, led by Jeremy Guthrie and Daniel Cabrera, has overachieved as well. Things are looking like they’re getting back to normal in Baltimore. 

Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto will go as far as their pitching will take them. Roy Halladay is averaging almost eight innings per start! Remember in Saving Private Ryan when the wounded soldier picks his arm up off the ground? That’ll be Roy Halladay someday. However, he and Shaun Marcum are the brightest spots on a team whose offense has left them in the dark. The Jays are definitely waiting with baited breath to get Vernon Wells back.

New York Yankees

The Bombers are in last place in May, which isn’t a big deal unless you’re Hank Steinbrenner. However, Brian Cashman couldn’t have predicted that Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy would perform as badly as they have. Losing the reigning MVP for a few weeks would also hurt any lineup. They’ll need to find some pitchers to compensate for the underwhelming performances of Hughes and Kennedy, but the bats could heat up when Alex Rodriguez comes back. The Yankees are hardly ever out of contention, but this could be the year where they don’t get up off the canvas.

THE AL CENTRAL

Cleveland Indians

The Tribe are essentially leading the division by default. It seems like no one wants to win the division. However, the Indians have arguably had some great starting pitching to boost their slumping offense, which is ranked in the bottom part of the American League. If Fausto Carmona and C.C. Sabathia return to form and Cliff Lee remains unhittable, it might not matter if the offense struggles. Speaking of struggling, the Indians could also possibly get Joe Borowski back soon. Look for them to shop for a closer in July.

Chicago White Sox

The Southsiders are pitching well but can’t hit. Looking at their lineup and rotation, shouldn’t it be the other way around? Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Nick Swisher have been inconsistent all year while Gavin Floyd and John Danks have complemented the usually solid Javier Vazquez. If the offense can get a groove on and the pitching remains stable, the White Sox could be a dark horse if Cleveland falters.

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are the bizarro White Sox: good hitting with an iffy rotation. When Livan Hernandez is the rock of the pitching rotation, that’s not a good thing. If Francisco Liriano can contribute at all this season, the Twins might be able to put together a mid-season run like they’ve done in previous years. Unfortunately, the outlook isn’t good at this point.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals are getting there, but they’ll have to wait another year. It’s hard to not like guys like Alex Gordon and Billy Butler. However, it’s tough to have those two guys shoulder the load when there isn’t a 25-30 home run threat on the roster (yet) to help with run production. Joakim Soria is doing an amazing job of closing out games for them. The starting pitching is steady, but it’d have to be spectacular to make up for a team that has a .366 slugging percentage.

Detroit Tigers

Le Tigres aren’t exactly making music in Motown. After trading six prospects to get Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, the offense hasn’t been scoring the runs and their pitching has been awful. After numerous prognosticators all but handed them the AL pennant before the season, winning the AL Central could be a mountainous challenge for this team. If the offense snaps out of their funk (which is possible) and the pitching can return to form (Justin Verlander, probably… the rest of the staff, not likely), then this team could get on a roll and make their fans forget their horrific start.

THE AL WEST

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The California Angels (yes, I’m going with California… if a team claims two cities, they should just assume the name of the state) are hitting great but their pitching is ranked 29th out of 30. Losing John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar had something to do with that. With Lackey back, his presence should benefit the staff immensely. The offense can only get better when Howie Kendrick returns and Vladimir Guerrero gets back on track. They shouldn’t have too much competition for first in this division.

Oakland Athletics

Of course, the A’s could make things interesting if they keep playing over their heads. The team has used the two pitchers they received in the Dan Haren trade to balance their rotation. Greg Smith and Dana Eveland have held down the fort while Rich Harden continues his perpetual DL visits and Joe Blanton has been… well, Joe Blanton. The bullpen is buoyed by the performances of Joey Devine and Santiago Casilla setting up Huston Street. If the pitching can hold up (and a healthy Harden would be a bonus), the A’s could use that to counter their powerless offense and possibly make a run at the Angels’s stranglehold on the division. 

Texas Rangers

I’m not sold at all on the Texas Rangers, but Josh Hamilton has led the offense to a top 10 ranking. However, even if they keep it up, their pitching is atrocious. (Surprise!) Neither the starters nor the bullpen can be trusted. Hence, the Rangers will soon eventually fall into the cellar, currently occupied by the team which you see below.

Seattle Mariners

The M’s have the 23rd ranked offense and the 24th ranked pitching staff - not a winning combination. However, the team has called up two offensive-minded prospects in Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien in an attempt to bring the offense to life. Amazingly, a 1-2 punch of Erik Bedard and Felix Hernandez garners a bottom third ranking in the majors? Granted, injuries to Bedard and J.J. Putz haven’t helped, but the hole the Mariners have dug themselves into won’t help them either.

Check back soon for when I give the NL some love and review the contenders and pretenders in the National League.