With fall just around the corner, the playoff races are heating up in the American League and a number of teams have a legitimate shot at winning the pennant.
The AL East has gone according to plan. The Baltimore Orioles predictably faded, leaving the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees to compete for the top spot (surprise!). Boston and New York, however, are seriously weakened by injuries, so much that they are no longer clear favorites to make it to the World Series.
The West has also been predictable. The Oakland A's have made their usual late-season surge, and Billy Beane looks like a genius once again. A number of new young studs like pitcher Danny Haren, closer Huston Street, and first baseman Dan Johnson have helped propel the A's to the top of the division. They will certainly be a team to watch down the stretch.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have also met high expectations and are neck and neck with Oakland. This Angels team has far more potential than last year's squad because of its strong starting pitching. Bartolo Colon, Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey, and Paul Byrd all have ERAs under 4.00, and young phenom Ervin Santana has also shown flashes of brilliance.
The biggest surprise thus far in the American League is the Central division. People in Chicago thought this might finally be the year they could crown a champion -but most expected it to be the Cubs. Yet the Chicago White Sox (83-51) hold the best record in the American League. An improved pitching staff and an excellent defense have provided the foundations for the Chi Sox's strong showing. Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, and Freddy Garcia have all had very solid seasons. The bullpen has also been an integral cog to Chicago's success as Neal Cotts, Bobby Jenks, Damaso Marte, Cliff Politte, and Dustin Hermanson all have ERAs of 3.00 or lower.
But the White Sox shouldn't be awarded the pennant just yet. They have been coming down to earth lately, and their record outside of the central division is mediocre. Jon Garland's low strikeout rate seems to finally be catching up with him (4.78 ERA in August), and it remains to be seen how speedy outfielder Scott Posednik will come back from his groin problems.
And though their bullpen is excellent, some of the pitchers (Dustin Hermanson in particular), simply cannot go on having great success with such mediocre peripheral statistics. Hermanson is striking out only 5.11 batters per nine innings (compared with over seven a year ago). His low ERA (1.64) combined with those types of numbers mean he's getting lucky. "Inside the AL" predicts that Hermanson will cause a collapse for the Sox in the postseason.
The other major surprise in the central division has been the play of the Cleveland Indians. The young Indians are just a half-game out of the Wild Card race. Designated hitter Travis Hafner has carried the Cleveland lineup and has proven to be a masher in the last two years, with OPS stats of .993 and .984. The fact that the Texas Rangers traded him to Cleveland for catcher Einar Diaz could eventually go down as one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history. Centerfielder Grady Sizemore and catcher Victor Martinez are both outstanding young players who could be all-stars in future years.
Yet the unsung hero of the Indians is their 23 year-old shortstop Jhonny Peralta. In 405 at-bats, Peralta has 20 home runs and an .877 OPS. His defense has also been outstanding, and although Alex Rodriguez may run away with the award, Peralta must be considered one of the top choices for Most Valuable Player this season.
The Tribe also has a nice core of starting pitchers. Kevin Millwood, Cliff Lee, and C.C. Sabathia have all put together good seasons. Cleveland, much like Chicago, has received great bullpen production from lesser-known players like Bobby Howry, Scott Sauerbeck, Bob Wickman, and others. Relief pitchers tend to be very volatile from year to year, and it looks like the White Sox and Indians have hit the jackpot. But the big question as October rolls around is whether these two teams will be able to parlay that fortune into a World Series Championship.
