The American League East is generally believed to be one of he most competitive divisions in all of baseball. So far this season no one team has proven to be the team to beat in the division. The five teams that make up the AL East are separated by a mere four games, and all have areas in which they can improve. The much anticipated Red Sox have just poked their heads over .500, and the sliding Yankees have given way to the most consistent team--the Tampa Bay Rays. There is only one way to try and understand what has happened so far in the AL East, lets dissect this division by the numbers. Let's take a look:
5. Baltimore Orioles (19-22, 5.0 GB)
What's gone right:
The Orioles once again find themselves in last place in the American League East. The numbers aren't pretty for the O's, but there are some bright points for this young team. Despite being 3 games under .500, the Orioles are still contenders in this tight division. Zach Britton has proven to be the future ace for this staff as he has a record of 5-2, and a stunning ERA of 2.14.
What's gone wrong:
Despite Britton consistently shutting down American League offenses, the pitching staff has a whole has been a weary area for the Orioles. Baltimore currently holds the fourth worst team ERA in the AL (4.22). The O's are also eleventh out of fourteen in runs scored with only 163. This equates to 4.1 runs per game. The slight differential in ERA (4.22) and runs per game (4.1) could help identify why the Orioles have a losing record, but are only 3 games under .500.
Future Outlook:
Indeed, the Orioles are in last place in the division, but with the addition of new manager Buck Showalter the Orioles have showed some serious spunk since the end of last season. Don't expect the Orioles to finish in the upper portion of the division, but do note that other AL opponents will continue to take this gutsy team seriously.
4. Toronto Bluejays (21-21, 3.5 GB)
What's gone right:
What's gone wrong:
The starting rotation has been a bit of a curious part of Toronto's team. The team holds a 3.82 combined ERA, which is currently the second best in the AL East; they also lead the AL with 321 strikeouts. What is ironic about the Blue Jays pitching staff is even though they are on top of some statistical categories, they also lead the American League in walks with 158. One particular starter that has been struggling for the Jays is Kyle Drabek, who despite his winning record of 3-2 has an inflated ERA of 4.32 and leads the team in walks with 34.
Future Outlook:
Not much to say about the Blue Jays other than look out for Bautista as he certainly the main storyline here in Toronto. If the slugging third basemen continues to put up the same kind of numbers into August and September, we will certainly be talking about him more seriously as a candidate for the American League MVP award. Other than Bautista's success the Jays are going to have to have more batting succcess as a team and be less reliant on the slugging of Jose Bautista.
3. Boston Red Sox (22-20, 2.5 GB)
What's gone right:
The Boston Red Sox are 2nd in total hits to the Angels with 370, they are also 3rd in the AL with a team batting average of .260, the Sox also currently claim the number one spot in walks--all adding up to the second highest on-base percentage in the American League. The offense has certainly helped the Sox turn their season around after they dug themselves into an early hole starting the season at 0-6. Adrian Gonzalez has led the way for the Redsox as he leads the team in average and slugging percentage (.327, .583).
What's gone wrong:
Future Outlook:
The Red Sox did have one of the most shocking starts to their season, but since then have played an overall good brand of baseball. look for this team to not only contend but end up on top of the AL East at some point during the regular season.
2. New York Yankees (22-19, 2.0 GB)
What's gone right:
What's gone wrong:
It is difficult to pinpoint an exact part of the team that has "gone wrong" for the Yanks. Overall the Yankees are currently playing some of their worst baseball of the year. They have just ended their losing streak, but over the last ten days the Yankees rotation has has its worst cycle around, and as stated earlier before the extremely powerful offense had been silenced. Jorge Posada is one of the struggling Yankees bats, but it is his off the field behavior that has called national attention. Posada took himself out of the lineup just days ago, many of which have assumed is due to his inability to adjust to the DH role in New York, but more importantly Posada's frustration embodies the troubles that the Yankees are feeling as a team.
Future Outlook:
Yes, the Yankees have struggles as of late, but they still do have the ability to hit the long ball possibly better than any other team in baseball. It is 2011, but we can't forget what essentially the same core team did in '09. My better judgement is telling me that as the season continues this could be a cliche' Al East two team battle to the finish.
1. Tampa Bay Rays (25-18, -- GB)
What's gone right:
The Rays currently have the 3rd best Earned Run Average in the AL at 3.47. This number correlates to the third lowest number of runs allowed in the AL. The pitching staff has really carried this team thus far as they have a true ace in 24-year-old James Shields. Shields is rocking a 2.26 ERA and a 4-2 record. Rays lefty David Price has also excelled into mid May sporting a 3.59 ERA and a winning record of 5-3. It is this strong Rays rotation that has compensated for the slight lack of scoring, and has also helped them rise into first place. The Rays have scored 186 runs to date and have the 7th most in this category.
What's gone wrong:
The Rays occupy slots in the bottom half of most offensive categories, but they do have the fourth most stolen bases in the American League (41). The Rays' speed has been a major part of their offensive production so far this season. The first place Rays have been lead by Matt Joyce who is leading the team in hitting with a .365 average and 11 doubles so far this season. The offense as a whole hasn't been "bad" by any means, but if this team is going to stay on top of the AL East throughout the season they may need to see an increase in run production.
Future Outlook:
The Rays pitching staff has been strong enough so far this season for hem to have the best record in the Al East, but the rotational depth is certainly something that could be argued. The Rays may very well be in the midst of this division battle for the remainder of the season, but if they want to win the division the Rays might look to acquire another powerful bat come the trade deadline.
5. Baltimore Orioles (19-22, 5.0 GB)
What's gone right:
The Orioles once again find themselves in last place in the American League East. The numbers aren't pretty for the O's, but there are some bright points for this young team. Despite being 3 games under .500, the Orioles are still contenders in this tight division. Zach Britton has proven to be the future ace for this staff as he has a record of 5-2, and a stunning ERA of 2.14.
What's gone wrong:
Despite Britton consistently shutting down American League offenses, the pitching staff has a whole has been a weary area for the Orioles. Baltimore currently holds the fourth worst team ERA in the AL (4.22). The O's are also eleventh out of fourteen in runs scored with only 163. This equates to 4.1 runs per game. The slight differential in ERA (4.22) and runs per game (4.1) could help identify why the Orioles have a losing record, but are only 3 games under .500.
Future Outlook:
Indeed, the Orioles are in last place in the division, but with the addition of new manager Buck Showalter the Orioles have showed some serious spunk since the end of last season. Don't expect the Orioles to finish in the upper portion of the division, but do note that other AL opponents will continue to take this gutsy team seriously.
4. Toronto Bluejays (21-21, 3.5 GB)
What's gone right:
The Blue Jays are 5th in team batting average, 4th in team slugging percentage and also 3rd in home runs in the AL. The Jays are in the top five of these three categories for one reason…Jose Bautista. Bautista leads the AL in average (in regards to those players who have had a significant amount of at bats), home runs and slugging percentage with .372, 16, and .843 respectively. With those numbers its not really a surprise that Bautista is currently the front runner for the AL MVP, but what might shock some is that he is arguably the best player in all of baseball right now.
What's gone wrong:
The starting rotation has been a bit of a curious part of Toronto's team. The team holds a 3.82 combined ERA, which is currently the second best in the AL East; they also lead the AL with 321 strikeouts. What is ironic about the Blue Jays pitching staff is even though they are on top of some statistical categories, they also lead the American League in walks with 158. One particular starter that has been struggling for the Jays is Kyle Drabek, who despite his winning record of 3-2 has an inflated ERA of 4.32 and leads the team in walks with 34.
Future Outlook:
Not much to say about the Blue Jays other than look out for Bautista as he certainly the main storyline here in Toronto. If the slugging third basemen continues to put up the same kind of numbers into August and September, we will certainly be talking about him more seriously as a candidate for the American League MVP award. Other than Bautista's success the Jays are going to have to have more batting succcess as a team and be less reliant on the slugging of Jose Bautista.
3. Boston Red Sox (22-20, 2.5 GB)
What's gone right:
The Boston Red Sox are 2nd in total hits to the Angels with 370, they are also 3rd in the AL with a team batting average of .260, the Sox also currently claim the number one spot in walks--all adding up to the second highest on-base percentage in the American League. The offense has certainly helped the Sox turn their season around after they dug themselves into an early hole starting the season at 0-6. Adrian Gonzalez has led the way for the Redsox as he leads the team in average and slugging percentage (.327, .583).
What's gone wrong:
The Sox pitching staff has given up a total of 41 home runs so far this season. This is only nine less than the Baltimore Orioles who lead that statistical category. The Red Sox also hold the 11th-worst team ERA in the AL. This may be surprising to some considering how good Josh Becket has been for the Sox so far. Becket currently has a record of 3-1, a 1.75 ERA, and has allowed the least amount of home runs out of any other Boston starter (three). Pretty good numbers for a guy who began the season as the number four pitcher. Becket had a down year last season and may very much be in consideration for the "Comeback Player of the Year Award"
Future Outlook:
The Red Sox did have one of the most shocking starts to their season, but since then have played an overall good brand of baseball. look for this team to not only contend but end up on top of the AL East at some point during the regular season.
2. New York Yankees (22-19, 2.0 GB)
What's gone right:
A team historically known for its power hasn’t missed a beat yet this season. The Yankees are leading all of Major League Baseball with 63 home runs, which is 17 more than the next best team. The Bombers offense has also scored 201 runs, the second most in the AL. Despite being on top of such major offensive categories the Yankees have struggled recently to get hits, let alone score runs. The Yankees are just exiting a tough stretch in which they lost 6 straight games and have fallen out of first place in the American League East division.
What's gone wrong:
It is difficult to pinpoint an exact part of the team that has "gone wrong" for the Yanks. Overall the Yankees are currently playing some of their worst baseball of the year. They have just ended their losing streak, but over the last ten days the Yankees rotation has has its worst cycle around, and as stated earlier before the extremely powerful offense had been silenced. Jorge Posada is one of the struggling Yankees bats, but it is his off the field behavior that has called national attention. Posada took himself out of the lineup just days ago, many of which have assumed is due to his inability to adjust to the DH role in New York, but more importantly Posada's frustration embodies the troubles that the Yankees are feeling as a team.
Future Outlook:
Yes, the Yankees have struggles as of late, but they still do have the ability to hit the long ball possibly better than any other team in baseball. It is 2011, but we can't forget what essentially the same core team did in '09. My better judgement is telling me that as the season continues this could be a cliche' Al East two team battle to the finish.
1. Tampa Bay Rays (25-18, -- GB)
What's gone right:
The Rays currently have the 3rd best Earned Run Average in the AL at 3.47. This number correlates to the third lowest number of runs allowed in the AL. The pitching staff has really carried this team thus far as they have a true ace in 24-year-old James Shields. Shields is rocking a 2.26 ERA and a 4-2 record. Rays lefty David Price has also excelled into mid May sporting a 3.59 ERA and a winning record of 5-3. It is this strong Rays rotation that has compensated for the slight lack of scoring, and has also helped them rise into first place. The Rays have scored 186 runs to date and have the 7th most in this category.
What's gone wrong:
The Rays occupy slots in the bottom half of most offensive categories, but they do have the fourth most stolen bases in the American League (41). The Rays' speed has been a major part of their offensive production so far this season. The first place Rays have been lead by Matt Joyce who is leading the team in hitting with a .365 average and 11 doubles so far this season. The offense as a whole hasn't been "bad" by any means, but if this team is going to stay on top of the AL East throughout the season they may need to see an increase in run production.
Future Outlook:
The Rays pitching staff has been strong enough so far this season for hem to have the best record in the Al East, but the rotational depth is certainly something that could be argued. The Rays may very well be in the midst of this division battle for the remainder of the season, but if they want to win the division the Rays might look to acquire another powerful bat come the trade deadline.
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