Tigers/52-34/1 (3) - Tigers finish strong with a 5-1 week, including 2 of 3 from Cleveland and
a 3 game sweep of the BoSox. Tough not to peg Detroit as the team to beat in the AL, especially with the gradual emergence of Andrew Miller (3.31/1.30) who put up a 7 inning one run performance against Boston last Friday (6 K, 3 H, 4 BB). Offense is also 1st in the AL in SLG, OPS, BA and runs, and 3rd in OBP.
White Sox/39-47/10 (12) - Congrats to Kenny Williams and the southsiders on signing Buehrle (shown right, celebrating). Let's see how quickly they can unload Dye (and whether they can get anything of substance in return). I'd check Arizona to see if Brett Anderson is available, but my guess is that's aiming high. The supplemental pick may be more valuable than anything they get through trade talks.
a 3 game sweep of the BoSox. Tough not to peg Detroit as the team to beat in the AL, especially with the gradual emergence of Andrew Miller (3.31/1.30) who put up a 7 inning one run performance against Boston last Friday (6 K, 3 H, 4 BB). Offense is also 1st in the AL in SLG, OPS, BA and runs, and 3rd in OBP.Red Sox/53-34/2 (4) - Despite a sweep at the hands of the above team, Boston locks up the number 2 spot through the All Star Break. While the Sox haven't been lighting up the scoreboard (7th in the AL in scoring), they continue to get on base (1st in AL - .358) and knock the ball around (3rd in SLG - .437). The runs will come. Pitching staff continues to cruise (2nd in AL in ERA, OPS and WHIP; 3rd in BAA, 5th in QS), and Lester should be able to fill in for Schilling. There aren't any threats remaining in the East, so Boston can focus on playing solid ball and resting up for October.
Indians/52-36/3 (2) - How impressive has V-Mart been through the first half? How about .324/.382/.553, 16 HR and 68 RBI. Think how good this offense could be in the second half if Grady and Pronk catch fire. Adam Miller looked solid in his first start since returning from the DL, and could be a fine addition to the staff or pen in August if everything goes according to plan.
Angels/53-35/4 (1) - Angels stumble into the break dropping 2 of 3 against both the Rangers and the Yankees (not exactly the cream of the AL crop right now). Still, you can't ignore the impressive three months of baseball the LAAoA have produced, including a staff that is top 5 in the AL in ERA, BAA, OPSA, WHIP and QS (this with Santana, Colon and Weaver under-performing).
Twins/45-43/5 (5) - Here starts "the rest" of the AL. Twins finish the first half seven games 
back of the current Wild Card Indians. Minnesota has been a good second half team over the last couple of seasons, and they will have to replicate that effort in 2007 if they want to continue play in October. Good to see Garza up and throwing well (at least through his first start). The Twins have stated he'll get at least one more -- if that goes well I expect him to stick, as his stuff is better than any other prospect they have.
back of the current Wild Card Indians. Minnesota has been a good second half team over the last couple of seasons, and they will have to replicate that effort in 2007 if they want to continue play in October. Good to see Garza up and throwing well (at least through his first start). The Twins have stated he'll get at least one more -- if that goes well I expect him to stick, as his stuff is better than any other prospect they have.Mariners/49-36/6 (7) - Seattle is just a game and a half back of Cleveland for the Wild Card, but it's hard to imagine this team competing throughout the remainder of the season. Again, I cite: 11th in the AL in QS, WHIP, BAA; 10th in ERA; 7th in OPSA. The biggest win for Seattle may be the fact that a strong showing this year could go a long way towards convincing Ichiro to stay put.
Yankees/42-43/7 (9) - The Yanks will make a run, I'm sure, over the next three weeks. Unfortunately, it may be a case of too little too late. A run differential of +70 tells me this team is probably not as flawed as the media would have us believe. More likely, we're looking at the 2006 Indians all over again, with nothing but bad luck (and, okay, a bad bullpen) to blame.
Blue Jays/43-44/8 (8) - Jays took 2 of 3 from each of the A's and Indians to close out their first half. It would be nice to see a little more offense, but it's hard to argue with the staffs ranking of 4th in AL in BAA, OPSA and QS. Riccardi may be expressing frustration at AJ and his contract, but I'd like to know how he feels about BJ's bloated deal.
Athletics/44-44/9 (6) - Like the Twins, the A's have enjoyed great second halfs the last couple of years, and like the Twins, they will need a repeat performance in '07. The improvements are going to have to come from the offense, as I'm not sure how you improve on a staff leading the AL in ERA, OPSA, WHIP and QS and 2nd in BAA.
White Sox/39-47/10 (12) - Congrats to Kenny Williams and the southsiders on signing Buehrle (shown right, celebrating). Let's see how quickly they can unload Dye (and whether they can get anything of substance in return). I'd check Arizona to see if Brett Anderson is available, but my guess is that's aiming high. The supplemental pick may be more valuable than anything they get through trade talks.
Rangers/38-50/11 (14) - Rangers take 2 of 3 from LA and Baltimore over the last week. With bullpen arms available (Gagne and Otsuka), look for lots of trade rumors -- especially involving Boston and Philly. There's really not a market out there for Teix, so Texas will have to plan on a pipe-dream run at the playoffs next year and a supplemental pick in '09.
Royals/38-50/12 (13) - Like the Rangers, the Royals have an arm to trade in Dotel, and will likely pull the trigger. Gordon is starting to look like the RoY candidate we all expected back in April. It's going to be a lot of fun watching him and Butler in the lineup together.
Orioles/38-49/13 (10) - Despite solid efforts from the pitching staff as of late, Baltimore 
limps into the break after a disappointing first half. Guthrie, Bedard, Roberts and Markakis give the team a decent core, but they are two or three bats and another starter away from making any noise. Tejada's injury means no big trade in July -- although I'm not sure this year's Tejada would bring back anything worth the removal of his bat from the lineup. Next up for O's fans is the signing of Wieters in August...at least I hope so.
limps into the break after a disappointing first half. Guthrie, Bedard, Roberts and Markakis give the team a decent core, but they are two or three bats and another starter away from making any noise. Tejada's injury means no big trade in July -- although I'm not sure this year's Tejada would bring back anything worth the removal of his bat from the lineup. Next up for O's fans is the signing of Wieters in August...at least I hope so.Devil Rays/34-53/14 (12) - Rays have dropped 20 of their last 25. The young bats have been fun to watch this first half -- especially Upton, Young and Harris. It's nice to see Pena living up to his hype; better late than never. Looking forwad to seeing how Longoria fares against MLB pitching -- he's been good for .301/.396/.522, 8 HR and 17 2B for the Biscuits so far this year. Look for a September call-up.
AL MVP - Alex Rodriguez, Yankees (.317/.413/.665, 30 HR, 86 RBI, 21 2B, 9 SB)
AL Cy Young - Dan Haren, Athletics (10-3, 2.30 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .205 BAA, 101 K/32 BB/ 129.1 IP)
AL RoY - Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles (4-2, 2.74 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, .207 BAA, 72 K/ 18 BB/ 102 IP)
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