At a Glance: American League

Jason Michael Barker

Last week we took a whirlwind look at the National League, so it seems only fitting to catch you up on the happenings (hip kids would say the "happs") in the American League. You can probably name the three division leaders (but watch out for the East!), but there are a few surprising teams out there you might not be aware of.

Over in the East, the Red Sox (30-19) took advantage of the Yankees' (29-19) week-long swoon to take an early lead in the division. Boston has been led by the tremendous pitching of Pedro Martinez (10-1, 2.08), who has struck out an incredible 117 batters in just 80.2 innings pitched this season. Overall, the Red Sox lead the AL with a 4.07 ERA, nearly half a run better than the next-best team.

Meanwhile, New York has failed to repeat their success of a year ago, despite a tremendous start by Derek Jeter (.460/.631), who has been on base by hit or walk every game this season. The rest of the offense has struggled, particularly Paul O'Neill (.333/.393), Scott Brosius (.264/.408) and Jorge Posada (.303/.364).

After a very hot start, the Blue Jays (24-28) have struggled mightily, mostly due to the ups and downs of their young pitchers. Roy Halladay (4-2, 4.06), Chris Carpenter (3-5, 3.57) and Kelvim Escobar (4-2, 5.86) have been great at times and extremely hitable at others, while the two veteran members of the rotation, David Wells and Pat Hentgen, have struggled. Injuries have plagued the Jays, with Shawn Green, Homer Bush, Alex Gonzalez, and Joey Hamilton all having missed time or are currently shelved.

At 23-27, the Devil Rays have shown improvement from last season, but have also been hit hard by injuries, particularly to their pitching staff. Starters Tony Saunders and Rolando Arrojo are both on the disabled list, the former lost for the year after breaking his arm while pitching. One surprise has been veteran DH Jose Canseco (.374/.665), who has been among the league leaders in home runs all season.

After struggling last season, little has gone right for the Orioles (19-30) this season. Surprisingly, the aging offense hasn't been the problem, as the Birds stand sixth in the league in runs scored. Rather, it's been the pitching staff, which has the fourth-worst ERA in the league (5.59). Injuries to Cal Ripken Jr, Will Clark and Delino DeShields haven't helped, however.

The AL Central story has been "same old, same old" this year, with Cleveland (32-16) boasting the best record in the league, despite a middle-of-the-pack pitching staff. The league has been no match for the Tribe's mighty line-up, with regulars Kenny Lofton, Roberto Alomar, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Wil Cordero and David Justice all posting OPSs of .892 or better. Wow.

The surprising K.C. Royals, at 23-24, are one of the best stories in baseball this season. Two talented rookies, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Febles, in addition to youngsters Jermaine Dye, Johnny Damon and Mike Sweeney, have the Royals near the top of the league in runs scored. KC also has three good starters in Kevin Appier, Jeff Suppan and Jose Rosado who so far have been enough for the team to stay competitive.

Up next are the White Sox (22-25) and Tigers (21-29), two teams which sport a mix of young players and veterans. That youth is primarily on the pitching side of the ball, and each team has a number of good arms this season. Detroit has 23-year old starter Jeff Weaver (6-3, 2.89), not to mention reliever Matt Anderson, who hits 100+ on the radar gun. Chicago answers with John Snyder (6-3, 3.60) and Jim Parque (5-4, 4.35) in the rotation.

The Twins (17-32) closely resemble a AAA franchise. That's AAA as in triple-A, not American Automobile Association. No fewer than ten rookies grace Minnesota's roster, and eldest member of the team, Rick Aguilera, was traded to the Cubs. It's going to be a very long year.

Out West, the Rangers (29-20) have pulled out to an early lead over the rest of the division. The usual suspects (Juan Gonzalez, Pudge Rodriguez and Rusty Greer) have led the way on offense, while newcomer Rafael Palmeiro (.466/.691) has had a huge season at the plate thusfar. Last year's dynamic duo of Rick Helling and Aaron Sele have been anything but, combining for a .500 record and an ERA over five. And they're the two best starters on the team, ERA-wise.

The AL's second surprise is the Athletics (26-24), who are over .500 despite the struggles of Ben Grieve, Eric Chavez and A.J. Hinch. The A's have made up the difference with decent starting pitching from Kenny Rogers (2-2, 3.34) and Mike Oquist (5-3, 3.41), and solid contributions from the bullpen. If their young hitters get it turned around and the pitching holds up, they could be a darkhorse in the division.

You knew the Mariners (25-24) were going to have plenty of offense, what with the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Alex Rodriguez, and that they would probably come up short of pitching. Indeed, that's been the story in 1999. Seattle sports the worst team ERA in baseball, giving up just over six runs per nine innings. The good news is that they're third in the league in runs scored thanks to 97 home runs (no other team has even 70), led by Griffey's ML high 19. As usual, one solid starting pitcher would probably be enough to put them over the top in the division.

Despite all that free agent spending this off-season, the Angels (24-26) sit in last place in the West. Unlike the rest of the division, they aren't hurting for pitching -- Anaheim has the fourth-best ERA in the league, just ahead of Oakland. The difference is that Oakland has allowed twenty-some more runs this season, thanks to a number of unearned tallies. On the other hand, the Angles have struggled to score runs, sitting 10th in the league in that department. Offense have been few and far between save for Mo Vaughn, a hot start by Troy Glaus, and Tim Salmon, currently on the DL.

about the author

Jason Michael Barker wants to make sure you enjoy your day off today, and if for some reason you don't get the day off, feel free to whine and complain about it when you email him atjmb@strikethree.com.