Forty games into baseball’s marathon of a season is probably a good time to sit back and recap just exactly what has happened. There have been surprises and disappointments aplenty. Our At Home Plate staff takes a look at the American League in part one of this two part series.
1. Which team is the biggest surprise in the AL?
Bjoern Hartig – Detroit Tigers – The Tigers are a good example what health, defense and some young developing players can do for you. Magglio Ordonez is finally doing what the Tigers are paying him to do and everyone already knows about Chris Shelton. But the Tigers are carried by their pitching right now, with only “ace” Jeremy Bonderman sporting an ERA above 4 in the rotation.
Bob Gallagher – How about those Tigers? They’re on pace to win 100 games this year.
Brian Popkin – Detroit Tigers
Bryan Roth – Texas Rangers – Who thought they’d be leading the AL West after just about everyone picked the A’s as a favorite to make it deep in the post-season.
Daniel Paulling – Most people were picking them to finish fourth in the AL Central, but those Detroit Tigers lead the AL in wins and ERA
Danyel Jones – The Detroit Tigers
James Murdock – The Detroit Tigers. (See May 17 post, Now THAT’S Some Pitching http://palatialbaseballblog.blogspot.com/.)
Jeff Curry – Detroit Tigers – After losing 91 games last year and only aging pitchers Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones added to the 2006 club, few people expected much from the Tigers this year. No one expected them to be in first place in the AL Central (a game ahead of the World Series Champion White Sox as of 05-19-06.)
Jeff Reppert – Jim Leyland is the first manager to make the Tigers roar since Sparky Anderson.
Joe Kirshenbaum – Detroit Tigers
2. Which team is the biggest disappointment in the AL?
Bjoern Hartig – Los Angeles Angels – Minnesota (18-24) and Cleveland (21-21) also haven’t played as advertised so far, but as an Angels’ blogger, the Halos total lack of offense displeases me the most. Combine that with inconsistent pitching and an uncharacteristic sloppy defense, and the Angels edge out the Twins and the Indians easily.
Bob Gallagher – A toss up between Minnesota and Anaheim, I think. They’ve both looked pretty brutal this year.
Brian Popkin – Cleveland Indians
Bryan Roth – Cleveland Indians – Weren’t they supposed to compete with the White Sox for first and not the Twins for third in the division?
Daniel Paulling – The Toronto Blue Jays are looking pretty bad right now, especially after spending all that money on AJ Burnett (more on him later), BJ Ryan, and Troy Glaus.
Danyel Jones – Los Angeles Angels
James Murdock – L.A. Angels; and the A’s and Rangers haven’t been all that spectacular, either.
Jeff Curry – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Maybe it's because their name is too long but the team that won 95 games and finished first in the AL West last year is sitting at 17-23 (.425) and 3rd place. It sure looks like they could've used the big bat of Paul Konerko but he re-upped with the White Sox in the offseason. Now they look like a team that is lost and waiting for something to happen.
Jeff Reppert – The Angels aren’t winning at home or on the road, but luckily the AL West still looks shallow enough to win.
Joe Kirshenbaum – Los Angeles Angels
3. Who is the AL Cy Young?
Bjoern Hartig – Kenny Rogers, Detroit Tigers – Tough one, but I have to go with the “worst free agent acquisition of this winter” (as I wrote in my former German blog). He leads the Majors in wins, his team is tied for the best record and his ERA is more than solid (2.91). Rogers probably won’t keep it up as he usually struggles later in the season, but right now, he’s the man.
Bob Gallagher – Gotta go with Johan Santana, despite the rough start. Mussina could be a dark horse, too.
Brian Popkin – Roy Halladay
Bryan Roth – Scott Kazmir/Curt Schilling – By virtue of the normal Cy Young categories, these guys are it. They both have six wins and over 50 strikeouts.
Daniel Paulling – Scott Kazmir is my Cy Young, because he’s doing well in nearly every category that the writers care about. This will be the first of many, Mets’ fans.
Danyel Jones – Mike Mussina
James Murdock – Johan Santana and Roy Halladay will be a toss-up for this every year.
Jeff Curry – Mike Mussina has the benefit of a great Yankee offense but he has been pitching well enough to win with anyone. His 6 and 1 record is backed up by an ERA of 2.5 and a WHIP just a shade over 1. He's getting 5 strikeouts for every walk he allows and almost one strikeout per inning. If he has the stamina to keep it up and stay healthy there's no reason he can't contend with Johan Santana for the AL Cy Young.
Jeff Reppert – Run support may derail his Cy Young aspirations, but Johan Santana is racking up the Ks and may run away with the strikeout crown.
Joe Kirshenbaum – Mike Mussina, New York Yankees
4. Who is the AL MVP?
Bjoern Hartig – Jim Thome, Chicago White Sox – Jim Thome’s 1.125 OPS is second only to Albert Pujols, so are his 17 home runs.
Bob Gallagher – Jim Thome
Brian Popkin – Jim Thome
Bryan Roth – Jim Thome – He’s among the top players in the league in homers and RBI and is even better near .300. The White Sox are also in first place in the AL Central.
Daniel Paulling – “Hats off to” Jim Thome. Who knows where the Sox would be without his bat.
Danyel Jones – David Ortiz
James Murdock – Too many options right now. Jim Thome has certainly been mighty impressive.
Jeff Curry – Jim Thome – He leads the AL in HRs, RBI's, and Slugging % (minimum 100 at bats.) He's done everything the White Sox had hoped for. If Travis Hafner played the field he might get more interest.
Jeff Reppert – Jim Thome has added the pop to the White Sox lineup that will help win them the division.
Joe Kirshenbaum – Jason Giambi, New York Yankees
5. Which player has been the best acquisition in AL?
Bjoern Hartig – Both Kenny Rogers and Jim Thome joined new teams in the off-season, so they are obviously the best acquisitions so far. I’d give Jim Thome the edge though.
Bob Gallagher – Jim Thome. He’s somehow managed to make White Sox Fan forget Carl Everett and Frank Thomas.
Brian Popkin – Jim Thome
Bryan Roth – Jim Leyland - Yes, the Tigers have a good team, but he's made them this good.
Daniel Paulling – Kenny Rogers, because he has taught those youngster how to pitch. Who would’ve thought the Detroit Tigers would have the best ERA in the Major Leagues?
Danyel Jones – Johnny Damon
James Murdock – See answer #4. (Jim Thome)
Jeff Curry – Jim Thome (again) – When you're the World Champs, there's not much room for improvement. Remember the talk that adding him might disrupt the chemistry in the clubhouse? Thome is the best acquisition because the White Sox took a gamble that his back would hold up and he'd return to the 40 HR neighborhood of the first half of the decade. So far, so good.
Jeff Reppert – While Aaron Rowand is a nice player, Jim Thome is looking refreshed back in the AL and is fueling another pennant run – a rare trade that will work out for both teams.
Joe Kirshenbaum – Jim Thome, Chicago White Sox
6. Which player has been the worst acquisition in AL?
Bjoern Hartig – Edgardo Alfonzo, Los Angeles Angels – The Angels sent Steve Finley to the Giants in what was thought to be an exchange of overpaid, washed up players. While Finley is having a second, no, third, no, fourth spring (.838 OPS), Alfonzo is hitting .255 clip, OPS, that is.
Bob Gallagher – Another race too close to call, this time among all the guys Allard Baird signed this winter.
Brian Popkin – AJ Burnett
Bryan Roth – Does Adrian Beltre still count?
Daniel Paulling – AJ Burnett reminds me of Darren Dreifort for some reason. Five years, $55 million and too injured to play.
Danyel Jones – AJ Burnett
James Murdock – Doug Mientkiewicz, hitting like his usual inept self and blocking Justin Huber.
Jeff Curry – AJ Burnett – He's on the DL for the second time this season and has only pitched 10 innings this year posting a 6.3 ERA.
Jeff Reppert – The Rangers’ Brad Wilkerson has an outside shot at breaking the single-season strikeout record.
Joe Kirshenbaum – A.J. Burnett, Toronto Blue Jays (5 years, 55 million to a guy who refuses to pitch because he's a hypochondriac)
7. What surprise won’t continue in the AL?
Bjoern Hartig – Detroit Tigers – Their offense is really solid, no real holes anywhere. But the rotation isn’t that good as it is pitching right now. The rookies are bound to hit the occasional bump in the road and Mike Maroth isn’t going to have a 2.18 ERA in September. And as I have already said, Rogers usually melts down in the summer. I predict they will be overtaken by Cleveland Mid-August at the latest.
Bob Gallagher – The Tigers. They’re better than last year, but I’d be surprised if Leyland can keep them going at this pace all year.
Brian Popkin – Detroit Tigers
Bryan Roth – Texas Rangers - The A’s and Angels are too good and Texas has never proven that they can play well for a full season in enough aspects of the game to succeed.
Daniel Paulling – Johnny Gomes’ power game -- look at those strikeouts!
Danyel Jones – Texas Rangers
James Murdock – Casey Blake ain’t gonna keep hitting .366.
Jeff Curry – Randy Johnson having an ERA over 5. He isn't the dominator he once was but he does have the ability to get people out and his ERA should drop.
Jeff Reppert – Sorry Detroit. The White Sox are still the class of the AL Central, and the loser of the Yankees-Red Sox scrum will still take the Wild Card.
Joe Kirshenbaum – Detroit Tigers hot start.
8. What surprise will continue in the AL?
Bjoern Hartig – Jon Papelbon, Boston Red Sox – The kid is for real. A 0.40 ERA, 15 saves, only three walks and 11 hits in 22.1 innings. And he’s doing it under the pressure of the Red Sox Nation and the Boston media.
Bob Gallagher – Randy Johnson’s decline.
Brian Popkin – Johnny Gomes
Bryan Roth – Detroit Tigers - This team is that good. They’re above average at every position and their young pitching staff continues to gets better (aside from the Gambler).
Daniel Paulling – Jim Thome’s return to relevance. He’s been one of the best run producers in the Major Leagues for his career and should’ve never been counted out.
Danyel Jones – Detroit Tigers
James Murdock – The Tigers
Jeff Curry – Detroit Tigers return to respectability. I'm betting that Jim Leyland has been able to shake things up enough in the organization to get them to believe that can win games. A .500 record would be a big step for a club with some good young talent. They've just reeled off a string of seven straight wins (most in a row since 1993) and look to have found a balanced attack of power hitting and steady pitching.
Jeff Reppert – The Indians were highly touted, and have struggled to hover at the .500 mark. Maybe this wasn’t the year that all the young players came together to help Cleveland back over the hump.
Joe Kirshenbaum – Scott Kazmir's breakout season (forget Johan or Dontrelle, if I were to choose any lefty to build a team around, it would be him.)
Bjoern Hartig is the AtHomePlate Angels blogger.
Bob Gallagher and James Murdock share the Palatial Baseball Blog at http://palatialbaseballblog.blogspot.com/
Bryan Roth is the Prospect Pulse blogger
Daniel is an AtHomePlate blogger; to see his article archive, click here.
Joe Kirshenbaum handles the AtHomePlate San Francisco Giants blog, which can be found here.
