The American League So Far

With the NBA and NHL almost over, baseball is just about all we have for the rest of the summer. Here is what you may have missed out on in the American League.

AL East:
- Yankees – A-Rod is in Mid-season form and the Yankees are coming off the best streak they have seen in years. They have a one game lead on the Sox going into play June 2
- Red Sox – David “Large Father” Ortiz still cannot hit, but the Sox have been able to stay in the race. Best part about the Red Sox is that they have this year’s Andruw Jones
- Blue Jays – This team has been reeling, going 2-8 in their last ten. Maybe the hot start by the young pitching was a trick, but we all know Halladay will be there to keep this team going.
- Rays – They are three games under .500 with one of their best pitchers on the DL. Nine will have to equal eight when it is Kazmir’s turn to pitch.
- Orioles – This offense got a huge boost last week from Luke Scott coming of the DL and mashing the ball, Nolan Reimold finding his swing, and Matt Wieters being called up from AAA. The only reason to watch the O’s this year is to see all the young talent, led by Wieters.

AL Central:
- Tigers – Led by Miguel Cabrera’s .355 average and ten bombs, Detroit has a 3.5 game lead in the Central. Brandon Inge and Curtis Granderson will need to step up in the second half of the season for them to maintain that lead in a very difficult Central.
- White Sox – Do they need Jake Peavy or Roy Oswalt? Well, yeah they probably do, but right now the White Sox are doin’ work, winning eight of their last ten games. Alexei Ramirez starts hitting and they start winning… hmm.
- Twins – I think Joe Mauer got tired of hearing that Wieters is “Joe Mauer with power” so he started hitting bombs himself. Twins need Liriano to rebound from his current 2-7 record with a strong second half.
- Royals – Kansas City fans have not had much to like about this season except that they are in fourth and not fifth, largely because of Zac Greinke’s almost unbeatable dealing. With Bannister, they only need three more starting pitchers and then look out.
- Indians – They were able to have that huge comeback against the Rays last week, but struggled against the Yanks, losing three of four. P.S. Peralta still spells “Johnny” wrong.

AL West:
- Rangers – Four players with at least 12 homeruns and Josh Hamilton is not one of them, and will not be for a while, as he has gone on the DL for an abdominal strain. They have the best record in the junior circuit and may be for real if their pitching can keep doing enough to not lose.
- Angels – While LAA really missed John Lackey while he was on the DL, they may have missed Vlad more. He has batted .246 with one bomb since returning from the DL on May 26.
- Mariners – Ichiro will look break his own franchise record hitting streak tonight against David Hernandez and the Orioles. If he fails tonight, no biggie, he’ll just start a new one tomorrow against Brad Bergesen.
- Athletics – This is a very young team that will probably get younger if they trade Matt Holliday. Trevor Cahill has yet to live up to expectations, but friend to R.I., Josh Outman has been impressive with a 2-0 record and a 3.06 ERA.