At Home Plate - American League Standings

Written by At Home Plate Staff (Contact & Archive) on March 28, 2009

Last week, the AHP writers predicted the major awards of the Junior and Senior Circuit, now they sit down again to come up with forcastings for the three division standings, starting with the American League. With the East loaded with three teams that project above 90 wins and the Central as wide open as any division ever, this should make up for some interesting prediction.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
Zach	Rob	Matt	Justin	Tony	Daniel	Bjoern
Boston	New York	Boston	Tampa Bay	Boston	Boston	Boston
Tampa Bay	Boston	New York	New York	New York	New York	New York
New York	Tampa Bay	Tampa Bay	Boston	Tampa Bay	Tampa Bay	Tampa Bay
Toronto	Toronto	Toronto	Toronto	Toronto	Toronto	Toronto
Baltimore	Baltimore	Baltimore	Baltimore	Baltimore	Baltimore	Baltimore

Will the Red Sox add another chapter to their colorful history in 2009?

Photo by Paul Keheler, used under creative commons license.

ZACH: The BoSox are far and away the best team here. That combination of a stellar rotation, staunch lineup and team chemistry (which went up after Manny left) is deadly. The Rays will win the Wild Card and the Yankees, with the devastating news that A-Roid is out 6-9 weeks, fall back. Sabathia nor Burnett will live up to their contracts as the Yanks don’t hit 90 wins. As far as the cellar dwellers go, just take your pick!

ROB: I see things getting back to normal in the East. However, the Rays are for real and will be in a battle all season long with Boston for the eventual Wild Card. Toronto and Baltimore just do not have the firepower to keep up.

MATT: In the AL East, the Yankees spent approximately 792 trillion dollars on new free agents to replace the last crop of horrible contracts they gave away that have now largely departed. Their payroll actually went down while signing Teixeira, Sabathia and Burnett to ludicrous deals that will universally be hated in 3-4 years when those players are aging and losing their effectiveness. This is all well and good…the only problem is, Boston started the year with a better team and spent about a third as much money to get better depth and more youth. As for the AL Champion Devil Rays, I hate to say it, given how much fun it was watching them shock the baseball world, but I smell a bit of a let down here. They overperformed by quite a lot last year and I don’t think Burrell is going to help them much. The only way they can win this year is if David Price becomes an overnight sensation rather than merely being an intriguing young pitching prospect on the rise.

ROBERT: Tampa Bay. The Red Sox have too holes in their rotation and the Yankees will falter without A-Rod’s bat in the middle of the order. The Rays added a big stick (Pat Burrell) and their young arms are battle tested after reaching the Series.

JUSTIN: People are seriously sleeping on the Yankees. Even if Jeter keeps declining and Posada and Matsui don't play much, this is a seriously good team (assuming Rodriguez is really back by May.) Similarly, there are just too many risks with the Red Sox--too many guys like Lowell, Ortiz, Bay, Drew that are at dangerous age/health stages, Varitek's still a black hole in their lineup, and there's a lot of spotty health with their pitching. I think a lot is going to have to go right for them to win 95.

DANIEL: Boston has the best chances for everything to go right, which is what it’s going to take to win an epically amazing AL East race. The Rays’ vaunted rotation should fall off due to a huge uptick in innings in 2008, while the Yankees are going to suffer without A-Rod.

BJOERN: I switched the first three teams around in my head several times, but it never feels right. The Yankees have reloaded big time, but they are a pretty old team and all their pitchers carry significant risks. With Manny gone, Boston’s offense depends on the health of David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew, who were all injured at some point last year. The Rays are bound to regress, but they are young and energetic. In the end, I rolled a dice (no kidding). Oh, and Toronto is still better than Baltimore.

MLB2K9: Boston Red Sox

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
Zach	Rob	Matt	Justin	Tony	Daniel	Bjoern
Detroit	Minnesota	Chicago	Cleveland	Chicago	Cleveland	Minnesota
Cleveland	Chicago	Cleveland	Detroit	Detroit	Detroit	Kansas City
Chicago	Detroit	Minnesota	Kansas City	Minnesota	Minnesota	Detroit
Minnesota	Cleveland	Detroit	Chicago	Cleveland	Chicago	Chicago
Kansas City	Kansas City	Kansas City	Minnesota	Kansas City	Kansas City	Cleveland

Only Zach sees the Tigers on top of the AL Central

Photo by jebb, used under creative commons license.

ZACH: I like the Indians and Tigers to have comeback seasons: Tigers will knock of the White Sox. I just like the Tigers offense, and I think their rotation returns to form. The Indians, led by Cliff Lee, will make some noise. Royals will finish last and the Twins will not make so much noise.

ROB: I see another down to wire run between the Twinkies and Chi-Sox but this year will belong to the Twins. Detroit will be better than last year but still disappointing to their fans. Cleveland is headed in the right direction as are the Royals but they will not compete.

MATT: Although many consider the AL West the weak division, I think the AL Central is just as thin, if not worse. All five teams are deeply flawed, have room for upside and downside, and no major additions to put them over the top. Despite my low opinion of the White Sox, they entered the year the best overall team in the division and nothing has changed. Minnesota got ridiculously lucky on offense last year and that is unlikely to happen again. Cleveland had the reverse problem…horrible bad luck and injuries…and that is just as unlikely to continue.

ROBERT: Minnesota. I love their young starters, especially Baker and Slowey, who should keep the offensively-challenged Twins in the hunt. If Mauer is absent for an extended period, it places enormous pressure on Morneau to carry the offense.

JUSTIN: This division's a total tossup. I would not be shocked if the Royals won it, or if the Twins won it, or if the Tigers won it. Everyone's bunched in around the 78-85 win area; luck with injuries will determine this division's fate.

DANIEL: The Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers stage remarkable comeback seasons, but give the Tribe this division. Its offense should be back, while the Tigers will be held back by their starting rotation, the Twins their loss of Joe Mauer. I don’t see anyone else contending this season.

BJOERN: The Central is so wide open, that every team can win it. I picked the Twins, but only if Joe Mauer gets healthy fast. Detroit will score runs, but even Verlander pitches like he did before last season, they do not have enough starters. The Royals actually have a shot if the bottom of their rotation holds up and the bullpen does not get overworked. Chicago is likely to struggle compared to last season with all the players they lost and they have a lot of old sluggers, but I won’t count them out. Finally, I really don’t like the Indians’ rotation after Cliff Lee and I don’t see Martinez and Travis Hafner hit like they did in the past, they are actually the one team I would be surprised to see win the division.

MLB2K9: Chicago White Sox

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
Zach	Rob	Matt	Justin	Tony	Daniel	Bjoern
Los Angeles	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	Los Angeles	Los Angeles
Texas	Texas	Oakland	Oakland	Oakland	Oakland	Oakland
Oakland	Seattle	Seattle	Seattle	Texas	Texas	Texas
Seattle	Oakland	Texas	Texas	Seattle	Seattle	Seattle

Yes they can. Everyone has the Angels winning the AL West.

Photo by ewen and donabel, used under creative commons license.

ZACH: Parallel to the Red Sox, the Angels are the best team here, no doubt. Led by Josh Hamilton and David Murphy, the Rangers’ offense will still be among the best, albeit the loss of Bradley. The A’s, even with Holliday, are nothing special, especially if Duchscherer is not healthy.

ROB: Not even close. The Angles will again run away with this Division and the Rangers, Mariners, and Athletics will be left in the cold

MATT: Anaheim is the class of the division again this year, but before we get ahead of ourselves too much, I’d just like to voice my concern over Oakland’s series of highway-robbery contracts and stellar trades this off-season…not to mention my belief that the Angels are due for some bad age decline amongst the core of their line-up Vlad, Hunter, Figgins…) and played way over their heads last year anyway. I am worried that Oakland may have fixed its porous infield defense with the signing of Orlando Cabrera, not to mention stabilizing the middle of their line-up by acquiring Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi (who, yes, I do think still has a few decent seasons left). A lot of folks will pick the Mariners to finish last, and that’s understandable, but they’re another example of a team with untapped potential masked by horrible luck and injuries.

ROBERT: Los Angeles Angels. Even with Ervin Santana beginning the season on the DL, the Angels enjoy the best blend of pitching, speed and defense. Look for Vlad Guererro to have a season more in line with his career stats. Oakland, Texas and Seattle simply don’t have the resources to hang with them.

JUSTIN: I think pretty nearly everyone on earth that isn't a fanboy of one of these four teams has them in roughly this order.

DANIEL: The Angels are the class of this division, but Oakland isn’t too far behind. Texas and Seattle are both rebuilding, which places them at the bottom of this division.

BJOERN: The Angels should win the division unless they are hit by a big semi-trailer of injuries. I actually don’t understand why the Athletics get so much love. Sure, their offense is much better, but their starters are unlikely to be able to carry the team. Texas will never win unless they move to another ballpark and the M’s are probably the worst team in the American League.

MLB2K9: Oakland Athletics

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