Looking around the league there are plenty of stories to excite us so far in the season. The unexpected leaders, the expected leaders, the great play of some lesser knowns and the great play of the very well knowns.
Assessing our earlier comments about where we thought the cream of the crop would end up, we are looking fairly prophetic slightly over 1/3 of the way into the season. They Yanks and Red Sox.. pretty much neck and neck.. with the Blue Jays playing well, this is surely looking like a 3 horse race. The Blue Jays team Batting average is over .300! That has to come as a surprise to most analysts. Our feeling though was the Yanks hand was a better play.. and although they have had some crippling injuries.. we'll stay with that horse. Jeter is the ace in the hole.
The surprising Tigers and White Sox .. running away with the Central. I still have to ponder.. is it because both teams use the XLR8 Practice Balls :-)
Seriously though, these two teams have proven to be solid up and down the lineup. Great pitching: The Tigers lead MLB in ERA. They hold the AL lead in ERA by nearly a 1/2 run over the Yankees, White Sox sitting 3rd. Hitting is a toss up between these two Central Division leaders. The White Sox are first in AL in HR's with 87 and the Tigers sit right behind them with 86! Only the REDS with Griffey and Dunn have more (88). I think this surprises most people this far into the season. Jim Leyland has done a masterful job with this team and I think he has truly gotten more from them than even he has realized. A talented coaching staff and great moves from GM Dave Dombrowski have this team in position for the long haul. I think they can pull it off although I am hesitant to hang my hat just yet as the White Sox are defending WS Champs and are playing supreme baseball. We'll continue to watch and be entertained by this Division.
Rounding up the AL with the mediocre WEST; Not alot to say here as no team looks strong enough to push much farther than a Division Championship. Funny things happen and you never know with this game. But from the start of the season until now we haven't seen much from this group. Believe it or not, I think the best team here is the Mariners. Sitting just 4 1/2 games out of the lead and to this point not having any significant win streak. They have solid pitching, fielding and hitting . .ranking in the top 1 or 2 in the West in all categories. With Sexon swinging a solid power bat and Ichiro being Ichiro (hitting over .500 in his last 10 games!) .. This could be the team that comes out on top here.
Sliding over to the NL the Phillies have made a small push at the Mets, closing within 5 1/2 at the time of this writing. Although they are in lower half in BA for the NL, they are fourth in HR totals behind the Reds, Brewers (!) and Mets. The power could be the key factor. But, I don't think they have the horsepower in the long run as the Mets are just too solid up and down. The Mets lead the NL in Pitching and I think that will be the difference. I'm sticking with em and hope Rick Down gets that elusive ring this year.
The Central is a little different animal. With Pujols on DL the Reds have seized the opportunity to get solidly back in position to steal this Division. Griffey and Dunn provide the power and the run production has been fantastic, trailing only the Dodgers in the NL. The achilles heel here though is the fielding; 2nd to last in MLB in fielding and not a solid enough pitching to staff to compensate. I say the Cardinals run away with this Division as soon as Pujols makes his return. His health is a huge factor, there is no question there. The Cardinals are solid though, even without PhatAlbert. I'm on the RedBirds here and feel very confident with that choice.
The NL West has really shaped up to be a great Division. The Diamondbacks have played outstanding baseball. The Padres were really smoking earlier in the season, proving that their young talent is capable of making a run. But.. injuries and all the Blue Crew is at the top of the heap. Outstanding run production with very little power has been a key for the team. They are outstanding with RISP and have a young group of guys that are excited to take the field every day. With Gagne on the return.. Nomar playing like his old self.. this is the team I chose at the start and I'll stay with them. You may see some interesting battles with the Diamondbacks though. Arizona has a very solid team and with the right trade at the right time.. they could end up making this long season a memorable one.
So.. lets just let em play and enjoy the games.
