AL East Round Up: A Quick Look at the Numbers

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Welcome to this week’s AL East Round Up! It’s been a while since I rode this horse. I used to enjoy writing this up because it allowed me to keep tabs on the other teams in the division. Rather than just following the Blue Jays, I get to follow the struggles of the Red Sox or the oddity of the Rays.

So, this week, I wanted to see if I could find some reasons for the way the division is shaping up. Is there a reason the Yankees are somehow in first place? Is there a reason that the Rays are too?What is going on with the Red Sox? And, can we forget about the Orioles?

Standings:

New York Yankees 33-28 (–)
Tamp Bay Rays 34-29 (–)
Toronto Blue Jays 33-30 (1GB)
Baltimore Orioles 31-30 (2GB)
Boston Red Sox 27-36 (7GB)

For all of the talk about a weak division, it should be noted that the leader in each of the other divisions are not exactly miles ahead of those in the East. The Central leading Royals sit at 34 wins while the West leading Astros (!) have 35. That is only a few games ahead of the Blue Jays, who sit in third place.

Likely what makes the AL East stand out as being “weak” is the fact that all teams in the division have, up until this point, been kind of spinning their tires. There hasn’t been one team taking hold of the division just yet. That is until about 10 days ago. Let’s take a look at the last week in the East.

Next: The First Place Yankees

Jun 13, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter

Alex Rodriguez

(13) sits in the dugout after hitting a two run home run and rbi 2001 of his career in the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

New York Yankees

Part of the reason for the Yankees’ leading the division has to do with the resurgence of Alex Rodriquez and Mark Teixeira. A-Rod (love him or hate him) has come back form his year long suspension like he never missed a beat. In fact, you could make the argument that he came back better. Maybe the time off allowed him to rest his hip. Regardless, in 58 games, he’s collected 56 hits including 12 HR. His 32 RBI put him 3rd on the team behind Brian McCann and Teixeira. He’s putting up an OBP of .374. We should all age so well.

If you combine A-Rod’s performance with that of a healthy Teixeira, you have pretty good insight into the team’s success. Tex is hitting just .255, but his 46 RBI have him leading the American League. Oh, and he’s currently tied for 4th in HR with 17. IF that weren’t good enough, take a look at this: He has 34 walks and just 35 strike outs. Make all the jokes you want about an aging team, clearly their eye sight is working just fine.

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So, what is the problem? Why aren’t the Yankees walking away with the division? How about pitching? How about the fact that the crown jewel of the Yankees’ rotation, Masahiro Tanaka has made all of 6 starts. He’s been avoiding surgery on that elbow for a while now. As a result, he’s made fewer starts than Marco Estrada has for the Blue Jays. When he does start, he can be downright unhittable. But, thus far, he hasn’t been able to stay out there very 5th day. As someone who has him on his fantasy team, this is disappointing. As a Yankee fan, it would be more so.

The rest of the rotation has not been great. C.C. Sabathia has been a mere shadow (albeit a large one) of himself. In 13 starts, he’s 3-7 with a 5.38 ERA. Why? He’s not walking anyone, really. Just 15 free passes have been issued by the big man. As well, in his 13 starts he’s collected 67 strike outs. So, what’s the problem? Well, he’s also given up 14 HR and 96 (!) hits…in 13 starts.

The rest of the pitching staff shakes out thusly: 9th in the AL with a 3.85 ERA, 13th with 25 quality starts, 7th with 236 earned runs, 11th with a .253 batting average against. How far can the offense carry the pitching? Time will tell, I suppose.

Next: The Pesky Tampa Bay Rays

Jun 12, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays center fielder

Mikie Mahtook

(27) is congratulated by second baseman

Logan Forsythe

(11) after he scored during the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Tamp Bay Rays

Heading in to the 2015 season, many believed that is this team stood a chance to win the division, it was going to have to rely on pitching and small ball. In fact, many had written them off as a mere add on to the division. “Oh, and don’t forget about the Rays”. As if their past years’ success would somehow have an impact on this season. Well, something has. Because here they sit tied for the lead in the AL East. You may be able to make the argument that the fact that they are tied for 1st place points to how weak the division is. But, let’s take a look at these “pesky” Rays.

The Rays sit in 13th place in the AL with 234 runs scored. They’re 10th in OBP at .306 and 13th in average at .241. IT would appear that everyone was right when they said that the Rays do not have a potent offense. OK, it’s true. But, they are scoring runs. They are winning some games, which means they are scoring more runs than their opponents at least some of the time.

Toronto Blue Jays

How the Blue Jays got to be where they are today is well known to fans of the club. A pretty intense 10 game winning streak has helped them climb a bit in the standings. What is exciting about this current streak is that the games have shown some grit and determination. They haven’t all been cake walks. This team has had to fight for some victories. It has people buzzing about what could be.

Toronto Blue Jays

It just so happens that the win streak came at the same time as other teams are winning quite a few games as well. So, in those 10 games, the Blue Jays have only managed to make up 3.5 games. But, that’s nit picking. It’s been a fun ride regardless. It has some of us excited about that 1st place spot. If you figure that that it might take 85 wins to claim the pennant, the Blue Jays would have to go 55-44 the rest of the way. Very doable. If it takes 89 wins, they’ll need to go 59-40. That’s a little more daunting, but still doable. The point is, this win streak has made things a little easier for them to make a run at the division.

Leading the charge is the early AL MVP candidate Josh Donaldson. This might be a difficult label to put on him since this offense is currently the highest scoring one in all of baseball. Their 343 runs has them out in front by 57 runs. If you figure that the average run total per game is 5 or 6, that’s a lead of 11 games or so. And Donaldson is leading the way. In the American League, he sits in 1st place with 51 runs scored, 3rd in hits (79), tied for 4th in HR (3 are tied for first with 18), 2nd in RBI (45) and 3rd in slugging (580). Who’s Brett Lawrie, again?

This season could be much different if the pitching staff had started the season the way they are capable of, or the way they are playing right now. Thanks to a terrible start, they sit in 14th spot in the AL with a 4.28 ERA. They’re 10 in quality starts (27) thanks to some good outings lately. But, here’s the kicker: they’ve allowed 280 runs (263 earned).

Now, it isn’t all bad. The pitching is coming around. And, we’re seeing what happens if the pitching keeps this team in games long enough for the offense to strike.

Next: Remember the Baltimore Orioles?

Jun 13, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder

David Lough

(9) and center fielder

Adam Jones

(10) and right fielder

Nolan Reimold

(14) celebrate on the field after defeating the New York Yankees 9-4 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Baltimore Orioles

Remember the Orioles? They’ve been awfully quiet this year. Yet, they sit just 2 games back of the division lead. They’re doing it without Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz. With the loss of these guys, it wasn’t exactly clear just how this team would be able to replicate recent success. And yet, here we are.

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The offense hasn’t really missed a beat. They are 5th in the AL with 262 runs 4th in HR (70), 4th in average (.259). It is no surprise to see that Adam Jones is leading the way. He’s putting up some numbers that would garner him some early MVP consideration. He’s hitting .306/.345/.504 with 10 HR, 33 RBI and 71 hits. As well, the Orioles are benefiting from a healthy Manny Machado. The oft injured third baseman is having himself a good season also. He has the 2nd most hits on the club (67) for 11 HR and 30 RBI and a .285 avg. As well, a clean Chris Davis is contributing with 13 HR and 37 RBI. Though his average could use a little enhancing at .231.

The pitching staff hasn’t actually been that bad. Their ERA is good for 7th in the AL at 3.79. Yet, they are the recipient of just 26 quality starts, which is good for 11th. Opponents are hitting .244 against them. Like just about every other team in the AL East, the Orioles have a pitching staff that is average. This isn’t due to injury issues, either as the O’s have had 4 starters chip in 12 starts. Bud Norris has made just 8. But, when Ubaldo Jimenez has become your most consistent starter, putting up an ERA of 3.19 and 66 strike outs, can your rotation really be called anything but average? That said, they’re sitting just 2 games back and haven’t really had to deal with much in the way of injuries.

Given what seems to be the theme in the AL East: pitching that is good enough is carried by strong offensive production, the Orioles stand a good chance of competing.

Next: The Woeful Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox are a mess. They could be called the busiest team in the AL East during the offseason. They attempted to overhaul their rotation. They splurged on Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. And, what has it yielded thus far? A last place spot and 9 games under .500. Perhaps the only good news is that they sit just 7 games back of the division lead.