Standings and Placement Analysis

This week I will cover all the teams in the AL and where they are in the division and analyze why they are there.

AL East:
1. Toronto Blue Jays (25-14) – The reason the Blue Jays are doing so well right now is pretty much everything. They have the 2nd best ERA in the AL (3.97) behind the Kansas City Royals, and they have scored the most runs in the AL (223), by 17. Also, they’re tied for the 3rd least amount of errors in the AL (19) with Texas, behind only Detroit (18) and Minnesota (13). They have dominated in close games, too, as they are 8-3 in 1-run games, and against righties, as they are 17-8 against them. When you put all that together, that’s a first place team.

2. Boston Red Sox (22-15) – The reasons for the Red Sox not being in first are:
#1: David Ortiz, he is hitting .208 with no home runs, only 15 RBI’s, and is only hitting .136 when leading off an inning, and only .163 in the month of May.
#2: Their pitching is 9th in the AL with a 4.82 ERA, and they have walked the 3rd most amount of batters in the AL with 146 walks this year.
#3: Their fielding, as they are tied for the 3rd most errors in the American League with 24, behind only Oakland (26) and Seattle (31).
The reasons that the Red Sox aren’t farther down that 2nd:
#1: Jason Bay, he is hitting .305 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI’s. The 40 RBI’s is 2nd in the majors behind only Evan Longoria.
#2: Their offense, the Red Sox are tied for 2nd in the AL with the Rangers in runs scored with 206 of them.
#3: Their home record is 13-4, more than making up for their 9-11 road record.

3. New York Yankees (19-17) – They are 7-12 against the East, and have allowed 15 more runs than they have scored, and have the 3rd highest ERA in the American League at 5.41, so they really should not have a winning record, or be 3rd in their division.

4. Tampa Bay Rays (18-20) – Unlike the Yankees, the Rays should not have a losing record, as they have scored 14 more runs than they have allowed, are 12-10 against the East, and are 15-11 vs. Righties. It’s been the lefties that have killed them, though, as they are 3-9 against them.

5. Baltimore Orioles (16-21) – They have the 2nd highest ERA in the AL at 5.43, and haven’t done that well on offense or defense to make up for that.


AL Central:
1. Detroit Tigers (19-16) – The Tigers haven’t hit terrifically, just solid, as they are 7th in the AL in runs and home runs and 10th in the AL in batting average. But their pitching and defense have been terrific. Their pitchers have a 4.07 ERA, 3rd in the AL, and their defense has made only 18 errors, 2nd least in the AL, and has a .986 fielding percentage, tied for 3rd best in the AL. Also, the Tigers pitching has the 2nd lowest batting average against in the AL, and future phenom Rick Porcello has pitched well with a 3.86 ERA and a 4-3 record in his rookie season.

2. Kansas City Royals (19-18) – The Royals have had the best pitching by far so far this year in the entire major leagues, with a 3.63 ERA, the next lowest anywhere at 3.75 (Dodgers) and the next lowest in the AL at 3.97 (Blue Jays). That’s a pretty big difference. They have the 2nd most quality starts in the AL with 20 (in just 37 games) and have allowed the least amount of runs and earned runs in the AL. The only reason they aren’t in first is their hitting. They have scored the 4th fewest amount of runs in the AL, and have the 4th lowest batting average in the AL, due in large part to Alex Gordon being put on the DL after just 7 games. If it weren’t for Zach Grienke’s seven wins and 0.60 ERA, this team would probably have a losing record because of their hitting.

3. Minnesota Twins (18-19) – The Twins are only 4-10 on the road, and even though they’ve been great at home (14-9), that still doesn’t even make up for it enough to get them to even .500. The road record is the only reason they aren’t doing better this season.

4. Chicago White Sox (15-20) – The White Sox have scored the least amount of runs in baseball. It’s pretty much impossible to win when you’re doing that.

5. Cleveland Indians (14-24) – The Indians have the worst record in the AL, and are tied for the most runs allowed in the AL. They are actually 5-4 against lefties, but the 9-20 record against righties more than cancels that out. Also, they’re almost as bad at home (7-11) as they are on the road (7-13). Those are all signs of losing teams, and that’s why they are one.


AL West:
1. Texas Rangers (22-14) – The Rangers have been good just about everywhere so far this year. Here is their good list:
#1: They are 6th in the AL with a 4.66 ERA.
#2: They are tied for the 2nd most amount of runs scored in the AL with 206.
#3: They have the 3rd highest batting average in the AL.
#4: They have hit the most home runs (62) in all of baseball by 8. They have 43 more home runs than the Oakland Athletics.
#5: They are tied for the 3rd least amount of errors in the AL with 19.
#6: They are tied for the 3rd highest fielding percentage in the AL with the Tigers at .986.
#7: They have three of the top seven AL home run leaders (Ian Kinsler, Hank Blalock, and Chris Davis).
#8: Kevin Millwood has turned it on with a 2.93 ERA this year, which is 5th in the AL and better than Roy Halladay (2.95).
Here is their bad list:
#1: Brandon McCarthy has a 5.92 ERA.
#2: Frankie Francisco is on the DL.
That is why they are a first place team, the good outweighs the bad 8 to 2.

2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (18-17) – Here is the Angels starting pitching so far this year:
John Lackey – On the DL, then got thrown out of his 1st game after two pitches.
Kelvim Escobar – On the DL.
Ervin Santana – On the DL.
Dustin Moseley – On the DL.
Shane Loux – 5.40 ERA.
Anthony Ortega – 0-2 with a 9.24 ERA.
When you add that to a 6-9 road record, being outscored, and a 5-8 record in the West, the Angels are lucky to have a winning record.

3. Seattle Mariners (17-20) – The Mariners started off the season great, but are 4-12 in their last 16 games.

4. Oakland Athletics (13-20) – The A’s have scored the 2nd fewest runs in the AL, and are just 8-10 at home, 5-10 on the road, 3-11 vs. lefties, and 2-7 in one-run games.

Results of last week’s poll:
Which of these five players do you think had the best Rangers career?
Jeff Burroughs – 66%
Aaron Sele – 25%
Steve Foucault – 8%
Mickey Rivers – 0%
Bump Wills – 0%

Come back next week for my All-Star teams through May.