The Not So Surprising American League East: A Year in Retrospect

The Best Month for Sports

It’s the time of year that any sport enthusiast can appreciate, football is almost ready to kick-off, hockey will drop the puck very soon and baseball is in full-swing. Now that I’ve got that very cliché sentence out of the way it’s time to talk baseball.

First on my list of to-do’s is the rivalry that never gets old, Yankees nation vs. Red Sox nation. Being a fan of neither, I think I have a pretty non-bias approach to the argument of who’ll take the top spot in the AL East and most likely the whole conference.

Now let’s really play ball.

For a Month that Means Consistency for Some…

In April I previewed the American League East and my predictions have proven true as we head into the final month of the regular season. Boston is atop the standings in the AL and Adrian Gonzalez has done the team good, leading the team with a .345 batting average.

There’s even talks about  Gonzalez earning MVP status by the end of the season and as much as I’m not a “fan” of the Red Sox, you can‘t deny it when you see a good baseball player. In his last ten games alone he’s averaged more than .340 and is already nearing his projected hitting totals for the year. Gonzalez also leads the AL in bating average (.345), is second in RBI’s (103) and fourth and fifth in slugging percentage (.559) and runs (90), respectively.

Don’t forget that Boston is also a huge threat when Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford are both healthy and ready to go. Ellsbury, who’s finally at that defining stage of his career has been outstanding defensively and has also been of great importance when up to bat. He leads the team in runs with 95 and is also second in the league overall. He and CC’s wheels and a .251 batting average to boot leave the Sox in good shape for the playoffs.

Also, with four of their big names hitting above .300 Boston has the confidence it needs to guide itself through the first few rounds of the playoffs in what I believe should be effortless fashion. For a team that was anything but consistent in the first month and a half of baseball, since they’ve been just that.

…September Means Higher Expectations for Others

As I try to completely erase the memory of New York setting a record against my beloved A‘s (I won‘t say what was done, but baseball fans know), the Yankees are right behind the Sox and I predict will take the wildcard spot in October, but for now that question is still up in the air being only two games back. What the Yankees don’t have that the Sox do is a solid core that can develop output all at the same time.
 
Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, two of the biggest threats on the roster have been in-and-out with different injuries and while Eric Chavez and Ramiro Pena have served as back-ups, the amount of playing time they receive and other variables (age, experience) are not enough to make the team able to keep up with the competition that surrounds them.

Robi Cano has served as the rock of this team for the past two seasons and has a solid .303 average (team leader) and is second on the team in RBI’s (95) just behind Curtis Granderson who has 107. If A-Rod and Jeter can get healthy and stay solid for the rest of the regular season along with Granderson and Cano then watch out. These top four players will be eyeing to edge the Red Sox’s top four in what makes for some great end of the season baseball (they will be playing each other this week and the second to last series in September hint hint).

Other keys to the Yankees success could be Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher. Gardner has wheels and makes a statement in the outfield and while Swisher has been a bit of a wash this year, a breakout September could help him regain his confidence and spirit that makes him so well liked by teammates and fans alike.

Last Call

With out a doubt these two teams will be the most talked about teams this month given their rich history, but at the same time who wouldn’t be excited? Do we remember the AL all star roster? Many complained that it consisted of too many players from these two teams (including me…hey look at my last blog), but now that they are in a truly competitive atmosphere watching these two teams won’t be all that bad to say the least.

Next up I will look at the rest of the AL and what my predictions for the playoffs will be and then I’ll share what I think about the National League.