San Francisco
Mention Alex Rodriguez’s name this season and three letters come to mind: MVP. Talk to Rodriguez himself about baseball this season and he mentions three letters: NFL.
“I think with the American League it is like football,” Rodriguez said. “Ten years ago if you asked who was going to win the World Series, most people would have said the Yankees, and maybe a team like Cleveland had an outside shot of upsetting them. Now there are 12 teams in it, and I couldn’t tell who’s going to be there at the end.”
Parity has spoiled the Yankees’ party. They have spent more than $1 billion on players’ salaries since their last World Series title in 2000. Now, there’s a chance they won’t even make the playoffs, with their manager and GM likely to be fired if they don’t.
That Boston finished the first half with the best record only magnifies the Yankees’ shortcomings. The American League’s most intriguing story line resides in the Central, where Detroit and Cleveland are staging a classic cage match. And, in case you didn’t notice, the Angels and Mariners are really good. There’s been talk that A-Rod will become an Angel next season, and by the looks of it, he could be joining a World Series champion.
WEST
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Any team that has Vladimir Guerrero taking the kind of swings that make a chiropractor cringe and Orlando Cabrera manning shortstop has a chance to be good, but this club is terrific. What’s behind the surprise? Gary Matthews Jr., despite being embroiled in a spring-training HGH controversy, has played well, Casey Kotchman has provided protection for Guerrero in the lineup, Reggie Willits hardly ever swings and misses and the rotation is baseball’s deepest. Other than that, they’re just another team.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Texas Rangers
The idea that Sammy Sosa, who spent last summer vacationing through Europe, is the best thing to happen to the Rangers this season is sobering. Despite a well-intentioned trade for Brandon McCarthy and the promise of Robinson Tejeda, the Rangers can’t pitch. Their 5.08 ERA ranks 29th in baseball.
BEST HITTER
Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
Paying a leadoff hitter $20 million a year seems outrageous. But Ichiro is different. He is the face of a franchise and plays for a Japanese owner who has more in his leather couch cushions than most of us will make in a lifetime. Ichiro leads baseball in hits, runs like he’s being chased by law enforcement and could flirt with a .400 season before his career’s over.
BEST PITCHER
Dan Haren, Athletics
Haren looks like he just woke up from a nap, with bedhead and drowsy eyes. He makes a living putting hitters to sleep with a nasty split-finger pitch. A’s assistant GM David Forst said Haren’s work ethic is the stuff of legend, which is why Oakland locked him up long term.
TRADE FRONT
A’s GM Billy Beane possesses an interesting chip in Mike Piazza. He could spin the catcher/DH to get an extra bullpen arm. It’s more likely that Piazza goes, possibly even in August, than Dan Johnson. Texas will be Trade Central in two weeks with first baseman Mark Teixeira, closer Eric Gagne and outfielder Kenny Lofton all attracting varying degrees of interest.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
If the Angels add another bat – geez, who could forget the salad days of Shea Hillenbrand? – they will be the favorite to win the World Series.
CENTRAL
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Cleveland Indians
For a city suffering financial malaise for years, it has been a wonderful run with the Cavaliers and Indians. In Victor Martinez and Grady Sizemore, Cleveland has two of the game’s best young players. And the Indians just locked up Travis Hafner for $57 million. Two things have kept the Indians within arm’s reach of Detroit: They are catching the ball again and closer Joe Borowski has stabilized the bullpen.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Chicago White Sox
As far as bad pop goes, this lineup is new Coke. Hard to believe with these names that this team can’t hit. They are on pace to club almost 100 fewer home runs than last season, and their .241 average is 17 points below the league average.
BEST HITTER
Magglio Ordoñez, Tigers
All those concerns about his visits to Austria a few years ago to correct a knee injury have been quieted. He’s healthy, happy and mashing. His season is unique in its dimensions. He leads the league in average and could finish with 30 home runs and 65 doubles. That’s why he’s firmly in the MVP discussion.
BEST PITCHER
Justin Verlander, Tigers
Just as Jim Leyland discovered with the All-Star Game, there’s no wrong choice. Verlander gets the slight nod over Cleveland’s C.C. Sabathia because of his no-hitter and mouth-dropping velocity. He hit 100 mph against Matt Holliday in San Francisco. As Torii Hunter said about Verlander, “That’s just not right.”
TRADE FRONT
The Indians, Tigers and Red Sox have already called about Houston’s Brad Lidge. Eric Gagne could be a consolation prize. Kansas City is gauging the market on Octavio Dotel, a reliever the Rockies and many others like. The White Sox are the wild card. They could influence several other races if they trade Javier Vazquez, Jose Contreras and Jon Garland, who would be a great fit for the Rockies with his sinkerball.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
This race is so close that a bullpen trade could shift the balance, particularly if Detroit’s Joel Zumaya doesn’t come back healthy.
EAST
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Boston Red Sox
It’s a testament to Boston’s talent and depth that touted imports J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo have been terrible and the Red Sox still own baseball’s best record. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein knew his team would hit and prioritized beefing up the pitching staff, adding starter Daisuke Matsuzaka and reliever Hideki Okajima, who hasn’t allowed a home run since his first pitch of the season.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
New York Yankees
The Yankees’ payroll screams Bentley, yet their record hollers Yugo. It’s getting hard to tell the difference between Old-Timers’ Day and any other regular-season game. The lineup is potentially scary if Bobby Abreu and Johnny Damon get hot, but their rotation is too ancient and injury-prone to make a postseason run.
BEST HITTER
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
Seems like just yesterday he was hitting eighth in a playoff-elimination loss against the Tigers. The Yankees want to break policy and negotiate during the season to prevent A-Rod from opting out of the $81 million remaining on his contract. Good luck. A peek into the crystal ball says he wins MVP – how do 55 home runs and 150 RBIs sound? – and gets a seven-year, $210 million deal as a free agent this winter to play shortstop for the Angels or Cubs.
BEST PITCHER
Josh Beckett, Red Sox
Beckett has gained focus and shed his stubbornness. His fastball still hits 97 mph, but he doesn’t fall in love with it. He’s using it to set up an unbelievable hammer of a curveball. Beckett has held opponents to a .241 average and remains undefeated (6-0, 1.71 ERA) on the road, overshadowing the spectacular start of Baltimore’s Erik Bedard.
TRADE FRONT
The Red Sox are eyeing relief help and are monitoring Brian Fuentes’ situation in Colorado. If he were to become available, they would pursue him. The Yankees are good for a seismic shift every July, but it’s fair to wonder if this season is worth salvaging. They need a first baseman and a few good arms (Jason Jennings, long a favorite of theirs, makes sense). Please, Tampa, for the love of God, trade a position player for pitching.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Will David Ortiz’s knee problems drag on all season, affecting his September and postseason?
