American League East Midseason Review
July 15th 2009 14:26
Approximately halfway through the season, the AL East is yet again playing out to be the strongest division in the MLB. Tampa Bay, Boston, and New York are arguably 3 of the 4 best teams in baseball, and the Toronto Blue Jays are in the Top 10, although they are fading. The Orioles are one of the worst teams in baseball this season, but they have young help rising in the minors. The Orioles could be boasting one of the best rotations in baseball soon and have super-prospect C Matt Wieters to join Adam Jones and Nick Markakis in the lineup.
Standings
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees 3 GB
3. Rays 6.5 GB
4. Toronto 11 GB
5. Baltimore 14 GB
Playoff Contenders
Boston Red Sox
Strength: The strength of the Red Sox is their pitching. They have had the best pitching staff in all of baseball this season. Josh Beckett has been a dominant ace, with a 3.35 ERA, while Jon Lester, striking out over 1 batter per inning, and Tim Wakefield are providing solid innings in the rotation with him. Brad Penny and John Smoltz have struggled some at the back-end of the rotation, but Smoltz has shown improvement over his first few starts, and Brad Penny could certainly rebound in the second half. A return to the rotation of a healthy Dice-K would stack this rotation.
The bullpen has gotten strong performances from top to bottom, with Jon Papelbon and Hideki Okajima providing dominant innings. They are now joined by flame-throwing, and future closer, Daniel Bard, who is striking out more than a batter per inning with a sub-3.00 ERA.
Weakness: The Red Sox fielding ranks 28th in the majors, turning only 67.8% of balls in play into outs. Mike Lowell, Julio Lugo, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Bay, and Rocco Baldelli seem to be the main culprits in that department.
New York Yankees
Strength: Contrary to their rivals, the Red Sox, the Yankees' strength lies at the plate. Derek Jeter has been one of the most valuable batters this season, posting a .396 OBP at what has arguably become the weakest offensive position in baseball. Alex Rodriguez, although his batting average is down, is still providing an All-Star-caliber .959 OPS. In addition, Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira, and Robinson Cano all find themselves having one of the top 30 or 40 most valuable offensive seasons in the AL. Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher, Hideki Matsui, and Melky Cabrera all fill out the rest of a lineup that has had all 9 guys post above-average seasons at the plate. They have not contributed more than 100 PA to any one player that has dragged their offense down and the overwhelming majority of their plate appearances have gone to guys who have contributed significantly. This is truly an offensive team with no weakness.
Weakness: While not a glaring weakness, the starting rotation has lacked a true ace, despite having one of the best pitchers in the league over the last few seasons, C.C. Sabathia. While Burnett and Sabathia have both been solid #2 starters, Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain have been nothing more than #4 starters. They have recently added prospect Alfredo Aceves to their revolving #5 spot, but he should be no more than a capable innings-eater. If Sabathia throws like the ace that he is in the second half and Chamberlain matches his potential, then this weakness could quickly turn into a strength for the Yankees.
Tampa Bay Rays
Strength: Like the Yankees, the Rays thrive at the plate. Of all people, Jason Bartlett and Ben Zobrist have been by far the deadliest 2B/SS combo at the plate. They are both posting OBPs over .390 and are among the 10 most valuable offensive performances this season. Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria are among the top 25, while Carlos Pena has supplied power at 1B. Pat Burrell and Dioner Navarro have burdened the offense, but not enough to stop it from chugging along as one of the best in the MLB.
Weakness: The Rays have been unable to get quality pitching past the first three in the rotation: Shields, Garza, Niemann. David Price showed great strikeout potential with 9.61 K/9, but 6.3 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9 brought his ERA to 4.70. Andy Sonnanstine has been way to hittable at 11.35 H/9, with too many of those hits going for HRs (1.65 HR/9). Finally, Scott Kazmir's 7.11 ERA performance has been rather ugly. A team can get by in the playoffs with a three-man rotation, but it would be awfully hard to make it to the playoffs with one.
Standings
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees 3 GB
3. Rays 6.5 GB
4. Toronto 11 GB
5. Baltimore 14 GB
Playoff Contenders
Boston Red Sox
Strength: The strength of the Red Sox is their pitching. They have had the best pitching staff in all of baseball this season. Josh Beckett has been a dominant ace, with a 3.35 ERA, while Jon Lester, striking out over 1 batter per inning, and Tim Wakefield are providing solid innings in the rotation with him. Brad Penny and John Smoltz have struggled some at the back-end of the rotation, but Smoltz has shown improvement over his first few starts, and Brad Penny could certainly rebound in the second half. A return to the rotation of a healthy Dice-K would stack this rotation.
The bullpen has gotten strong performances from top to bottom, with Jon Papelbon and Hideki Okajima providing dominant innings. They are now joined by flame-throwing, and future closer, Daniel Bard, who is striking out more than a batter per inning with a sub-3.00 ERA.
Weakness: The Red Sox fielding ranks 28th in the majors, turning only 67.8% of balls in play into outs. Mike Lowell, Julio Lugo, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Bay, and Rocco Baldelli seem to be the main culprits in that department.
New York Yankees
Strength: Contrary to their rivals, the Red Sox, the Yankees' strength lies at the plate. Derek Jeter has been one of the most valuable batters this season, posting a .396 OBP at what has arguably become the weakest offensive position in baseball. Alex Rodriguez, although his batting average is down, is still providing an All-Star-caliber .959 OPS. In addition, Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira, and Robinson Cano all find themselves having one of the top 30 or 40 most valuable offensive seasons in the AL. Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher, Hideki Matsui, and Melky Cabrera all fill out the rest of a lineup that has had all 9 guys post above-average seasons at the plate. They have not contributed more than 100 PA to any one player that has dragged their offense down and the overwhelming majority of their plate appearances have gone to guys who have contributed significantly. This is truly an offensive team with no weakness.
Weakness: While not a glaring weakness, the starting rotation has lacked a true ace, despite having one of the best pitchers in the league over the last few seasons, C.C. Sabathia. While Burnett and Sabathia have both been solid #2 starters, Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain have been nothing more than #4 starters. They have recently added prospect Alfredo Aceves to their revolving #5 spot, but he should be no more than a capable innings-eater. If Sabathia throws like the ace that he is in the second half and Chamberlain matches his potential, then this weakness could quickly turn into a strength for the Yankees.
Tampa Bay Rays
Strength: Like the Yankees, the Rays thrive at the plate. Of all people, Jason Bartlett and Ben Zobrist have been by far the deadliest 2B/SS combo at the plate. They are both posting OBPs over .390 and are among the 10 most valuable offensive performances this season. Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria are among the top 25, while Carlos Pena has supplied power at 1B. Pat Burrell and Dioner Navarro have burdened the offense, but not enough to stop it from chugging along as one of the best in the MLB.
Weakness: The Rays have been unable to get quality pitching past the first three in the rotation: Shields, Garza, Niemann. David Price showed great strikeout potential with 9.61 K/9, but 6.3 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9 brought his ERA to 4.70. Andy Sonnanstine has been way to hittable at 11.35 H/9, with too many of those hits going for HRs (1.65 HR/9). Finally, Scott Kazmir's 7.11 ERA performance has been rather ugly. A team can get by in the playoffs with a three-man rotation, but it would be awfully hard to make it to the playoffs with one.
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Two Cents From Beantown
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