Tuesday, July 19th - The AL West Division Race Preview.

The AL West - Becoming clearer by the week.


(Standings as of July 19th)

Texas - 55-41
Los Angeles - 51-45 (4 GB)
Seattle - 43-52 (11.5 GB)
Oakland - 42-54 (13 GB)

I'm going to speak briefly on Oakland and Seattle before moving on to the obvious division frontrunners.

I don't know what to make of Oakland.  I haven't since... I want to say it was 2008 or 2009, when they were sitting fine around .500 at the All-Star Break, with a good little team developing, then had a mid-season fire sale and blew it up.  They haven't been the same since then and they still aren't competitive.  They'll look to sell at the trade deadline and may be able to get Josh Willingham dealt; the only other major trade bait they have are pitchers Trevor Cahill or Gio Gonzalez, neither of whom I assume will be moving.

As for Seattle, well, they've been a baseball dystopia for awhile now, ever since their $100-million, 100-loss season.  The Griffey episode last year only further reinforced how this mighty franchise has fallen.  However, I like what the Mariners have done lately - with Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda, they have a great 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation, assuming they can hold onto both.  Justin Smoak appears to have been worth acquiring, also.  They're a young team, but I like the direction they're going in - but it'll take time and some luck to develop.  They don't have a lot of trade deadline options, but one to consider is offloading Eric Bedard.  In a market strained for starting pitching, when several teams will desire it, they have a shot to make a trade there which could be of great value.  I've heard rumors surrounding Brandon League, too, but in a market with lots of relievers available, I doubt they'll want to move him.

Both the Mariners and A's have pieces in place - solid young pitchers, some good position players.  But neither is particularly competitive in the long-term sense yet.  I like the Mariners more going forward, but as I hinted at above, the development of young players is always a matter of time, patience and luck - everyone predicted great things for him after Rick Porcello's stellar rookie year in Detroit, but he's struggled since, for example.

So, onto the contenders.

The Rangers are in a good place.  They're currently on an 11-game winning streak, much of which game in-division (sinking the Mariners and the A's).  The Rangers are doing what teams need to do to win divisions, and they're built for it - sustain success and win.  They aren't always pretty, but they can go win games.  The key to this is their solid starting rotation.  C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison and Alexi Ogando all have pitched 100+ innings already and three of them (Wilson, Lewis, Harrison) are posting an ERA of 3.11 or below.  Only Lewis and Holland are above a 4.00 ERA - not bad.  While that might not always make for a lot of flash, it makes for a lot of wins.  The Rangers bats are adequate - Michael Young is hitting .321 and Josh Hamilton is at .294.  One key number is that among all of their position players - bench players included - no one is hitting below .233.  Only three men are hitting below .250.  That kind of depth leads to division titles.  It also pays off when a player like Julio Borbon goes out indefinitely - his ankle surgery may cause him to miss the rest of the season; while that does strain their OF corps, it also makes Endy Chavez and his .342 average (through 32 games) an everyday starter.  Provided no fluke injuries to any crucial players, pitchers in particular - and even then, it might not matter - if the Rangers keep playing the way they have, I think they lock up the division by September.  The Rangers are also in the fortunate place of not having any pressing needs as they go into the trade deadline.  They can upgrade their reliever corps, but it's not a burning necessity - which means that if they do deal, they'll make sure to get good value for it; and they are in the enviable position of having prospects and bench players to deal.

As for the Angels, they also are in relatively good health.  Relievers Fernando Rodney and Francisco Rodriguez are on the 15-day DL, but both are over 4.00 ERA and, at the very least, Rodney should be back soon.  Center-fielder Peter Bourjos is also injured with a hamstring issue, but likely to be back soon, too.  We can't start going further into the Angels, though, without saying Jered Weaver.  Just as the Tigers rely on Verlander, so do the Angels rely on Weaver, who has an impressive 1.90 ERA at this point in the year.  Beyond that, the Angels have Dan Haren's 10 wins and 2.75 ERA showing more reliability down the starting rotation.  Starters Ervin Santana and Tyler Chatwood also are posting ERAs below 4.00.  The Angels do not lack for pitching talent.  Rather, it's their bats that might be holding them back.  The Angels have only seven position players batting .250 or above and only nine batting over .225.  While those nine are their typical starters, it illustrates a lack of depth across the board that plays out when someone goes down with injury (like Bourjos).  With Texas unlikely to be slowed by any injuries because of their depth, the Angels might have to make a deal to get another bat or two to help capitalize on the quality starts they so frequently get from guys like Weaver and Haren.

While I think the Angels keep it interesting, I find it hard to think last year's American League champions won't hang onto the top spot the rest of the way.

Around the MLB -


Cleveland 5, Minnesota 2 - In his first start of 2011, David Huff held the Twins to nothing but five hits across seven stellar innings.
Cleveland 6, Minnesota 3 - In Game 2 of a sweltering doubleheader, Scott Diamond made his MLB debut for the Twins, allowing three runs in six innings and some change before the Indians beat on the Twins bullpen for more.
Boston 15, Baltimore 10 - The Baltimore bullpen let a 7-7 tie slip away in the eighth inning, when the Red Sox bats lit up for eight more.  Of note, despite 25 runs being scored in this game, only 4 HRs were hit.
Pittsburgh 2, Cincinnati 0 - After a pair of rain delays, the Pirates bullpen continued what Charlie Morton started, stifling the Reds and securing a shutout victory.
Florida 4, NY Mets 1 - The Marlins continue to roll, this time behind Clay Hensley's return and holds by relievers Michael Dunn and Edward Mujica.
NY Yankees 5, Tampa Bay 4 - Tied 4-4 in the ninth, it was a walked-in run in the top of the inning that ultimately sealed the game.
Chi. Cubs 6, Philadelphia 1 - Roy Halladay gave up three runs before leaving in the fifth, as the Cubs scored in four different innings to back Rodrigo Lopez's seven-inning start.
Washington 5, Houston 2 - After a 2-2 tie, the Nats entered the ninth and got the go-ahead RBI single they needed from Ryan Zimmerman, holding up Jason Marquis' impressive start.
Chi. White Sox 5, Kansas City 2 - Mark Buehrle's two-run ball over seven innings and a throwing error that led to runs put the White Sox over the top.
Atlanta 7, Colorado 4 - Derek Lowe's strong seven-inning start and steady bullpen secured the win as Freddie Freeman knocked in 3 RBIs and scored twice himself.
Arizona 3, Milwaukee 0 - Josh Collmenter dominated the Brewers for eight shutout innings, allowing only three hits.
San Francisco 5, LA Dodgers 0 - Ryan Vogelsong went seven scoreless for the Giants and dropped his ERA to 2.02 in the process as the Dodgers were stifled for only seven hits, with none off the bullpen in the final two frames.