As the air gets cooler and summer starts to wind down, so does the Major League Baseball season. And while freshmen stream onto the Tufts campus this week with clean slates and a focus on first impressions, nobody in baseball has a clean slate — we're way past the point of first impressions.
The undeniable story of the year at this point is the success of the Tampa Bay Rays. In the offseason they altered their team name, uniforms and apparently their losing ways as well. It's only August and they've easily surpassed their total of 66 wins last season, as well as their previous team record of 70 wins.Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, in less certain positions. The Red Sox still appear poised to make the playoffs with the wild card lead thanks to the best run differential in the American League. Their rotation is as deep as ever, and outfielder Jason Bay has proven he can handle the Beantown pressure. Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins are battling for the division title, while the second-place finisher will vie with Boston — and perhaps New York — for the wild card. The White Sox have a team built on pitching and the long ball, while the Twins have again built a contender without many household names. Chicago Cubs are going to finish with the best record in the National League, while the wild card will likely go to the Central runner-up. The Milwaukee Brewers lead the chase and have been one of the best teams in baseball since they traded for ace CC Sabathia. He has a 1.60 ERA in nine starts, completing five of the efforts, and is a great complement to their powerful offense, led by sluggers Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun.St. Louis Cardinals either. Pitching coach Dave Duncan has once again transformed journeymen into more than suitable starters (see Todd Wellemeyer, Kyle Lohse), while Ryan Ludwick, Rick Ankiel and their 55 combined homers say that this offense is about more than Albert Pujols.New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are within one game of the division lead, while the Florida Marlins are also still alive in the race. The Mets and Phillies have two of the strongest offenses in the National League, but it's the pitching that will decide this race. Johan Santana has been great, but the rest of the Mets' rotation has proven inconsistent and the bullpen was terrible even before the loss of Billy Wagner. Los Angeles Dodgers made strong moves in adding Manny Ramirez and Greg Maddux, but the Arizona Diamondbacks struck back by adding slugger Adam Dunn, once again making them the presumptive favorites to win the division.
So what's been the difference? While the offense has benefited from the continued development of young players such as catcher Dioner Navarro and outfielder B.J. Upton, as well as the addition of young phenom infielder Evan Longoria, pitching has made the real difference for the Rays.
Scott Kazmir and James Shields make up a legitimate 1-2 punch, Andy Sonnanstine leads the team with 13 wins and Matt Garza and Edwin Jackson each sport sub-4.00 ERAs and winning records.
The bullpen is one of the deepest in the majors, featuring veterans like Troy Percival, Dan Wheeler, Grant Balfour and Chad Bradford, as well as youngsters J.P. Howell and Jason Hammel. All of this has yielded a team ERA of 3.69, good for second lowest in the majors. And they have former No. 1 overall draft pick, pitcher David Price, lingering in the minor leagues, just waiting to make an impact down the stretch and in the playoffs.
That has left the two traditional AL East powerhouses, the
Meanwhile, the Yankees are lucky even to be in the discussion. With injuries to pitchers Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain; outfielder Hideki Matsui; and veteran catcher Jorge Posada, this season has largely been a write-off for the Bronx Bombers. Unless hurler Carl Pavano and slugging catcher Ivan Rodriguez can re-create some 2003 Marlins magic, the franchise's run of 12 straight playoff appearances seems headed to its end.
As for the AL Central, the
Minnesota's young pitching has proven up to the task, while the middle of their batting order Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel is nothing to scoff at. If they manage to power into October baseball, GM Bill Smith is in line for an Executive of the Year award.
Moving over to the Senior Circuit, it seems that the
One should not overlook the efforts of the
In the East, the
The Phillies have a young ace in Cole Hamels and have finally gotten something out of Brett Myers, who has put up a 1.94 ERA since the break, but Philadelphia's rotation depth and bullpen are equally suspect. Look for another dramatic finish to the race in the East this year, lest anyone forget the Mets' collapse last September.
In the West, the annual battle to be the team with the worst record in the playoffs continues. The
While neither will finish with an impressive record, both have the chance to get hot come playoff time. It's safe to say that no team wants to face the fearsome D-backs' rotation of Brandon Webb, Dan Haren and Randy Johnson in a five-game series.
