The next couple weeks will wrap up the MLB regular season, so I'm going to take a look at each division around baseball, and give you my thoughts on them. And yes, I'm only doing this because I'm sick of watching the Orioles give up 10 runs a night and try to come up with something positive to say (although Radhames Liz did pitch well on Sunday.....but I digress.) I'll start with the best division in baseball, the AL East. 4 of the5 teams are over .500, and all of those 4 are probably among the 10 or so best teams in the majors. The one exception, well....that would be the O's. Anyways, here is a look at my take on the AL East from this past season.
2008 AL EAST
Most Encouraging Team: Tampa Bay Rays
This also falls under the category of "Easiest Selection of the Year." Tampa Bay, a team that has never had a winning record in it's existence, is tied for first place by percentage points as we speak. They have two more with the Red Sox at the Trop in the next two days, so it will be interesting to see if they can fend them off. I tend to think the Red Sox will win the division, but the Rays will still make the playoffs as a wild card. An incredible season for Joe Maddon and company, and their prize in the post-season will be a match-up with Maddon's former organization, the Angels (gulp!)
Most Disappointing Team: New York Yankees
This one was pretty easy too. When you've made the playoffs every year since the strike season of '94, and then you don't make it, you can go ahead and assume you'll be the biggest disappointment in your division. They thought their young pitching (Hughes, Kennedy, and Chamberlain) would be enough pitching so they wouldn't need to make the run at Johan Santana. Turns out, the decision not to go get Santana may have cost them the playoffs this season. However, I still think it was the right move for the future of the Yankees, and I still expect Hughes to become a solid major league starter. (Kennedy, on the other hand, has always been overrated, in my opinion.) I'm assuming the Yankees don't let their chance to get a dominant lefty starter go by twice, and that they'll sign CC Sabathia to a monster contract in the off-season.
AL East MVP
5- Roy Halladay, Toronto
Everyone has been caught up in saying how great Cliff Lee has been for the Indians this year, and rightly so, but take a look at Halladay's numbers. He has already thrown 230 innings, has 8 complete games, and his ERA is in the 2.7's. Lee should win the AL Cy Young, but if Halladay isn't second I want an investigation.
4- Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay
He should be the Rookie of the Year in the AL easily, and his counting numbers aren't as high as a lot of guys because a) he started the season in the minors and b) he has been injured the past month or so. However, all that aside, he still slugged .528 and was the leader of this Tampa team as a rookie. When he went down (although Willy Aybar played very well in his absence) there was a real lull with this team. Him coming back is huge for the Rays.
3- Dustin Pedroia, Boston
Yes, the runt comes in third place, despite lots of talk that he should be the MVP of the league. Look, Pedroia has had a fantastic season, no doubt about it. But he hasn't even been the best guy on his own team. Has he carried the Red Sox offense? I'd say no. He has been great, but having Bay, Ortiz, and the other Boston player who has been better than him have certainly helped.
2- Kevin Youkilis, Boston
Take a look at Youk's numbers. Were you are surprised as I was? Not to mention this guy is one of the best defensive players in th league, regardless of whether he plays first of third. Everyone talks about how Pedrioa leads the league in average, which is nice, but despite a 15 point deficit in average, Youkilis still has a higher OBP than Pedroia, not to mention a higher slugging percentage. The only argument to be made for Pedroia is his 17/18 steals, which is great, but I just think Youkilis has been the better player this year.
1- Alex Rodriguez, New York
I know people will go nuts over this. Call him a choker, call him a prima donna, call him whatever you want. I'll call him either 1 or 1A (along with Mr. Pujols in St. Louis) as the best player in baseball. Have his numbers with RISP been down this year? Sure. But that doesn't take away from what he has done overall. A-Rod's OBP is near .400 and his sluggin is almost .600. He has more homers than Youkilis, and only 5 fewer RBI's despite his table setter (Derek Jeter) having a much worse season than Youk's table setter (Pedroia). Yes, the Yankees have struggled. No, they aren't going to the playoffs. But to me, the MVP is the guy who has been most valuable to his team. Where would the Yankees be without Rodriguez? I'd go ahead and say they would be under .500 and in a battle with Baltimore for last place in the league without him.
Apologies to: JD Drew, Boston; Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff, Baltimore; Jason Giambi, New York; Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay.
AL East Cy Young
5- Jonathan Papelbon, Boston
I always say for a closer to get any recognition for a Cy Young they need to be unbelievably dominant. Well, it's tough to be any more dominant than Papelbon was this season. In 64 innings Papelbon struck out 72 and only walked 7. His ERA hovers right around 2. He has 38 saves for a team that will probably win their division, which doesn't hurt his cause either. Hate him or love him, it's hard to debate that Papelbon is simply nails at the end of a ballgame.
4- Mariano Rivera, New York
Rivera will see Papelbon's numbers, and then raise him. Rivera has thrown just over 65 innings, and has 73 strike outs with only 6 walks. It's truly incredible for a guy who is by my book without a doubt the greatest closer of all-time have what could be his best season when he is 38 years old. Also interesting that with all of Rivera's post-season heroics, his best season ever could come when the Yankees miss the playoffs. with 36 saves and an ERA at about 1.50 (1.50!), he has been the best closer in baseball (I'm looking at you too, Francisco Rodriguez.)
3- Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston
If you just went by record, you'd probably think that Matsuzaka was the best pitcher in the division. He sits at 17-2, and pitches for the best team in the division. However, you'd be wrong. (And I'd whack you with a blunt instrument for thinking that's the best way to judge how a pitcher has performed.) Matsuzaka has been great, no doubt, but much like the Pedroia argument from before (this is much closer, by the way) he really hasn't even been the best pitcher on his own team. Matsuzaka has lots of strikeouts (143 in almost 157 innings), but his walks are off the charts (90). The walks have led to his innigns being so low, and his inability to pitch deep into a game could really hurt the Red Sox in the playoffs. They've won a lot of games for Dice-K by battering inferior opponents pitching while Matsuzaka goes 5 innings. That won't fly in the playoffs. That said, a very solid year for Matsuzaka, and if he can get his walks under control, look out.
2- Jon Lester, Boston
Lester doesn't have the gaudy strikeout numbers like Matsuzaka. His ERA is actually a little bit higher than Dice-K's. However, I like pitchers that stack up innings at a low ERA. That helps take out the main weakness of basically every team (middle-relief). Lester has thrown just over 197 innings so far this year, and also has two complete game shutouts (one the no-hitter he threw against Kansas City). Ask any Boston fan who they want pitching in a big game this October. Many will probably tell you Josh Beckett, because of his success in the playoffs in his history, which is certainly fair enough. However, if you ask them to choose between Matsuzaka and Lester, I'm pretty sure just about all of them will want the big lefty on the mound.
1- Roy Halladay, Toronto
Not even close for me. Halladay has been by far the best pitcher in the division, and it's actaully pretty close for me between he and Cliff Lee of Cleveland for the AL Cy Young. We mentioned his numbers above, and just the fact that I considered him in my MVP mentions should tip-off how good his year has been. This guy keeps proving year after year that he is one of the best in the business.
Apologies to: AJ Burnett and Shaun Marcum, Toronto; Jeremy Guthrie, Baltimore; James Shields, Tampa Bay; Mike Mussina, New York.
All-AL East Team for 2008
Catcher: Dioner Navarro, Tampa Bay (Runner-Up: Jason Varitek, Boston)
Navarro, is really the only catcher in the division that had a good year. I'll give Varitek runner-up status for how well he calls a game behind the plate, but a bad year for catchers in the AL East. (Insert "Wait till You see Matt Wieters next year homer-istic comment here.")
First Base: Kevin Youkilis, Boston (Runner-Up: Jason Giambi, New York)
No doubt Youkilis wins this one, but people are over-looking how well Giambi has played this year. He has 30 homers, and OBP of almost 380 and is slugging over .500. Giambi just beats out Carlos Pena for the runner-up spot.
Second Base: Dustin Pedroia, Boston (Runner-Up: Brian Roberts, Baltimore)
Another no-doubter, and almost as easy to select the runner-up. Roberts had a fantastic year, it will be interesting to see what the Orioles do with him this off-season, as his contract is up after the 2009 season.
Shortstop: Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay (Runner-Up: Derek Jeter, New York)
This was the toughest decision of all, mainly because nobody had a really stand-out year. I took Bartlett because he is by far the best defensive shortstop in the game, and really played a big role for that Tampa team this year. Jeter had a sub-par year for his standards, and has become a butcher defensively. Jed Lowrie would be a consideration as well.
Third Base: Alex Rodriguez, New York (Runner-Up: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay)
A-Rod is the easy choice, with Longoria an easy runner-up selection. Actually a pretty good year at third in the AL East, as Melvin Mora had a terrific second half for the Orioles and Scott Rolen and Mike Lowell were very solid for Toronto and Boston, respectively.
Left Field: Jason Bay, Boston (Runner-Up: Luke Scott, Baltimore)
This was sort of a tough choice because the Yankees have used a bunch of different guys out there, as have the Rays. I went with Bay because he has been fantastic since coming over at the deadline. Manny gets all the pub because he has been great for the Dodgers, but nobody can complain with what Bay has done since coming over. Scott has quietly had a nice season for the Orioles, and has made their trade of Miguel Tejada last winter look pretty good all by himself.
Center Field: Vernon Wells, Toronto (Runner-Up: Johnny Damon, New York)
Wells has played very well in the second half, and there really wasn't much other options. Damon has played a lot of left too, but we'll put him as the runner up in center as he has quietly had a solid year. Certainly can't complain too much about a couple of young centerfielders as well. Look for Jacoby Ellsbury of Boston and Adam Jones of the O's to make huge strides next season.
Right Field: Nick Markakis, Baltimore (Runner-Up: JD Drew, Boston)
Call me a homer if you want, but take a look at Nick's numbers. They stack up with Drew's pretty well. Then take into consideration that Drew has been out for almost a month, and that Markakis leads the league in outfield assists, and all of a sudden this isn't a stretch. Well, maybe a little bit of a stretch, but I have to give my guys a break somewhere, don't I?
Designated Hitter: Aubrey Huff, Baltimore (Runner-Up: David Ortiz, Boston)
With Giambi getting lots of time at first, there wasn't a ton of competiton here. Ortiz has been pretty good since getting back from the wrist injury, but Huff has been a monster all season. He is another Orioles who's contract expires after next year, so it will be interesting to see Andy MacPhail's plan for the slugger who has destroyed pitching all season long.
Well, that's a look at the AL East. I'll get to the AL Central in the next couple days.
