While the mighty have not yet fallen in the American League, they at least seem to be running in place.
The infallible 15-3 New York Yankees (as of Sunday) aside, last year's AL playoff teams entered the week with a 28-28 record. For the Anaheim Angels, Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics, not much has come easily in this short season.
More than any of the other teams above, the defending World Series champion Angels are finding the honeymoon period to be short lived. Their 9-10 record has come as a bit of a surprise to those who saw them play last October. Panic has certainly not set in yet, though, as it is well known by now that the Halos started last year 6-14 on their way to the title.
The early season slumps of some of Anaheim's postseason heroes have been much publicized. Inspirational shortstop David Eckstein is only hitting .239 with one homer and five RBI. First baseman Scott Spiezio is in a rut, batting .217 with two home runs and eight RBI. Add this to second baseman Adam Kennedy being on the disabled list, and those who showed up for the Angels last fall have yet to break out this spring.
Despite these lackluster performances, the team is currently second in the league in batting average (.295) and third in runs (104). Garrett Anderson, Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad and World Series MVP Troy Glaus have all pulled their weight in April.
But Anaheim's hitting has not been their main problem. The fact is that both their starting pitching and their bullpen need to improve for the team to entertain thoughts of a repeat championship. The starting staff comprised of Ramon Ortiz (2-2, 5.96 ERA), Jarrod Washburn (1-2, 4.33 ERA), Kevin Appier (1-1, 7.36 ERA) and John Lackey (1-1, 7.17 ERA) has been nothing short of shaky.
The starters' performances have apparently rubbed off on bullpen studs Francisco Rodriguez and Troy Percival. Rodriguez, a phenom and Rookie of the Year candidate, currently owns a 5.91 ERA. Percival, their closer, also cannot be pleased with his performance thus far (0-1, two saves, 5.40 ERA).
The road does not get any easier for the defending champs, as they play out of their division for the first time to host the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox this week.
Similar struggles have visited the Angels' ALCS opponent, the Twins. The 9-9 Twins have been as streaky as Boston's spring time weather. After winning their first three games, they proceeded to lose six straight. They then won six in a row, before dropping three more this weekend to the Yankees. The Twins have now lost 12 straight games to New York.
While their 3.97 team ERA is mediocre, their offense has been the real disappointment thus far. Eighth in the league in team batting average (.261), only two of their regulars (Jacque Jones and Christian Guzman) are hitting over .300. Torii Hunter has seen the biggest drop off from a tremendous 2002 campaign, as his .172 average would earn most players a seat on the bench.
The 10-8 A's may actually be pleased with their start, considering that in 2001 and 2002 they looked like a last place club for the first couple of months before turning it on late in the season.
Their pitching has been steady, but as with the Twins, the offense has yet to produce. Reigning MVP Miguel Tejada is hitting .175, and Jermaine Dye is checking in at .200. But this team has always proven it can drive in runs, and offseason pickup Erubiel Durazo is doing just that. The slugger has four home runs and 20 RBI. In true Oakland fashion, the A's are a close fifth in the AL in runs (102) but ninth in average (.257). In other words, the big play is what these A's are looking for.
At the moment, these three teams are trying to recapture whatever it was that gave them so much success in the 2002 season. But they better do it quickly, before the Yankees run away from the pack behind both a starting staff that is 13-0 and six players who have four plus home runs. Scary stuff from the Bombers, but it's still only April.
Doofus(es) of the Week:
Chicago White Sox fans, or whoever it is that is attending White Sox-Kansas City Royals games. After three separate "fans on the field" incidents in Wednesday's game at US Cellular Field, the final episode saw a man attack an umpire. This comes after Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa was attacked in September of last year at the same park. Classy people, those ChiSox fans.
One More Thing:
I can't go through an entire AL roundup without putting a little in about our Red Sox. They currently stand at 13-6 after a 7-2 opening homestand. And while the bullpen has not yet proven itself, this offense can hang with anyone in the league. They haven't played any playoff caliber teams yet, though, so it remains to be seen if this team can go toe to toe with the aforementioned Yanks.
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