American League Second Half Predictions
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by user Thefeed
AL EAST 1. Yankees 2. Red Sox 3. Blue Jays 4. Devil Rays 5. Orioles
AL CENTRAL 1. White Sox 2. Indians 3. Twins 4. Tigers 5. Royals
AL WEST 1. A’s 2. Angels 3. Rangers 4. Mariners
That’s the way I predicted the American League way back in April. The first three months haven’t been too rough on my prognosticating skills. Sure the Tigers have outperformed my meager expectations for them but I feel like I’m not alone in that department.
But what’s going to happen now? Can those precocious kitties keep up the pace over the second half? They are two games up on the defending champs and eight up in the wild card race so they are certainly a strong bet to be in the postseason. That would likely mean that the wild card won’t be the door prize for the AL East runner-up, as is its custom, and that the Red Sox-Yankee race will be even more heated this year than in years past. Frankly neither team is too exciting, the bloated payrolls seemingly incapable of producing worthwhile starters of a newer vintage than Curt Schilling and Mike Mussina and the specter of aging bodies breaking down looming over the admittedly strong lineups on both sides. I’d love to be more bullish on the Yankees chances for the division but the Sox have the lead and a question or two less about their lineup. So Boston is the pick in the East.
In the Central, I think the White Sox will overtake the Tigers. As good as Detroit’s been, they are still pretty green and at some point soon the experienced and talented Sox will ease past them toward a second straight divisional crown. I actually think the Twins will be the best of the top three Central teams in the second half but the hole they’ve dug themselves is a little deep to climb out of over the remaining 76 games. They could be a Wild Card dark horse though.
Out West the picture isn’t quite as clear to me because of the underperforming Oakland A’s. They’ve scored the fewest runs in the American League, hit for the lowest average and generally disproved any notion that you can build a team around slow, patient hitters only. They’ve actually given up more runs than they’ve scored despite being above .500 and having the second fewest runs allowed in the AL, which has kept Texas in the race despite their eternal struggles finding competent starting pitching. Ultimately, I think if Rich Harden comes back and is fit Oakland will be able to outlast the Rangers and take the division but Mark Teixeira hasn’t been in top form thus far and should that change he could carry his club past the undeserving Athletics. So I’m sticking with Oakland in the West, but I’d love to see more from them.
That leaves the Yankees, Tigers and perhaps the Twins in a fight for the Wild Card. You could throw the Blue Jays in there but I won’t because they don’t have a pitcher outside of Roy Halladay and B.J. Ryan that fills me with confidence. A.J. Burnett could help but how long until he goes down with another injury? As for the Twins, as mentioned earlier I think the hole is just a little too deep to climb out of at this point in the proceedings, especially with so many teams ahead of them in the rankings. That leaves the Yankees and Tigers to battle it out, a classic matchup of a team on its way down against a fast rising bunch trying to bite off more than they may be able to chew. My head says the Tigers who, after all, have been the best team in baseball to this point. But my heart isn’t ready to quit on the Bombers just yet.
Date
Thu 07/13/06, 7:12 am EST
