As the month of July is upon us now, we're pretty much right around the "halfway" point in the 2011 MLB season. At this point, it's more than likely that the last place losers of each division are already determined, for the most part. Injuries unfortunately happen and teams play better than others in different parts of the year. These and many other factors are what make baseball the interesting game that it is for all of us to watch from late March through October.
AL East...
Baltimore looks to keep its spot at the bottom of the AL East. Toronto will keep itself afloat for the most part with the big bats of Jose Bautista and Adam Lind, but with their lack of quality arms on the mound, the Blue Jays will be the mainstay in 4th place for the rest of 2011. Tampa Bay will get no further than their current 3rd place spot. James Shields is good in their rotation, but he doesn't have enough behind him in the rotation to make a push for the AL Wild Card. As per every year, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will fight to the end for the AL East crown. The Yankees currently have a 2.5 game lead, but I honestly look for the Red Sox to have a better second half and overtake them for the division. Regardless, whichever doesn't win the division will represent the AL as the Wild Card.
AL Central...
Kansas City took a big nose dive to the cellar of the AL Central after starting the season confidently in first place. Minnesota's having a difficult time being in 4th place after being atop the division in recent years. The Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox are within 3.5 games of each other and it will only get to be a tighter AL Central race from here on out.
AL West...
Oakland will more than likely stay in 4th place in the AL West. They are one of many teams that lack good starting pitching and good run-producing hitters in their lineup. Seattle will probably stay right where they are, just above Oakland for 3rd place. Texas and the LA Angels will be neck-and-neck until one edges the other and stays ahead. I expect that Texas will win this division and try to get back to the World Series for the 2nd straight year.
NL East...
The Florida Marlins are the current doormat of the NL East, but they're not the worst team in the National League or the rest of Major League Baseball. The did have one of the worst months by any team, ever. The Marlins started out the month of June at 1-19. With the re-hiring of former skipper in 80 year-old Jack McKeon, Florida ended June on a much better note with a 4-4 record, but still going 5-23 in June.
The New York Mets are starting to play better baseball, but they're missing the bats of David Wright (on DL til after the All-Star break) and Ike Davis, along with pitching ace Johan Santana. The Washington Nationals are surprising everyone in baseball by winning more games and they're doing it by growing as a club. With first-time all-stars in Relief Pitcher Tyler Clippard and 1B Michael Morse leading the way, it makes things a lot easier for Closer Drew Storen (Brownsburg, IN), who has a 5-2 record with 20 saves in 40 appearances. Atlanta will probably make a push, but Philadelphia is just much too strong with their bats and arms to take the NL East title again.
NL Central...
Houston has etched its role in the 2011 season. They're currently 29-55 and sitting in a not-so-comfortable place below the Chicago Cubs in the basement of the NL Central. The Chicago Cubs are struggling again and this might possibly be 103 years straight without a World Series title. Looks like that'll be the case, because Cubs management is much too afraid to spend big money in the middle of the season. Cincinnati is probably not going to repeat as NL Central champs, unless they make a hug surge in the second half. Pittsburgh hasn't played this well since they're winning ways back in the late 80's and early 90's. Who knows if they'll be able to keep it up the whole year, but it's a much improved Pirate team for sure. Milwaukee and St. Louis share the division lead at 45-39. Milwaukee has the edge all over at this time of the year. With Pujols out for another month and pitching being the question mark, look for St. Louis to slide backwards in the second half.
NL West...
As expected, the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants are leading the NL West, but only by 3 games over Arizona. The Diamondbacks are playing well and it should be pretty interesting down the stretch. Don't count out the Colorado Rockies for a second half run of their own. They're only 6.5 games out with a week and a half until the All-Star break. San Diego was predicted to have a better year than they're having. I'm not sure what's worse, they're pitching inconsistencies or sub-par pitching. The LA Dodgers were also supposed to be a lot better than they currently are as well, but you can't expect a few bats and a couple arms to get the job done all the time.
Stay tuned toward the middle of August for more on these tight AL and NL division races.
Standings as of July 3, 2011
AL East Record GB
New York Yankees 50-31 ----
Boston Red Sox 48-24 2.5
Tampa Bay Rays 46-37 5.0
Toronto Blue Jays 40-44 11.5
Baltimore Orioles 35-45 14.5
AL Central
Cleveland Indians 44-37 ----
Detroit Tigers 44-40 1.5
Chicago White Sox 42-42 3.5
Minnesota Twins 35-46 9.0
Kansas City Royals 33-50 12.0
AL West
Texas Rangers 44-40 ----
Los Angeles Angels 43-41 1.0
Seattle Mariners 40-43 3.5
Oakland Athletics 37-47 7.0
NL East
Philadelphia Phillies 53-31 ----
Atlanta Braves 49-35 4.0
Washington Nationals 42-42 11.0
New York Mets 41-42 11.5
Florida Marlins 37-46 15.5
NL Central
Milwaukee Brewers 45-39 ----
St. Louis Cardinals 45-39 ----
Pittsburgh Pirates 42-41 2.5
Cincinnati Reds 42-42 3.0
Chicago Cubs 34-50 11.0
Houston Astros 29-55 16.0
NL West
San Francisco Giants 48-36 ----
Arizona Diamondbacks 45-39 3.0
Colorado Rockies 41-42 6.5
San Diego Padres 38-46 10.0
Los Angeles Dodgers 37-47 11.0
