Deep in the Heart of MLB and Texas
Major League Baseball teams have each played about 53 games. About one-third of the regular-season has been played and here’s a quick sketch of what’s going on and a more detailed look at one team.
NL East
The Phillies and Mets are looking like they are for real once again. If the Mets don’t take the division this time, you’ve got to wonder—they certainly have the stuff to do it. The Nationals are 13-36 with a run differential of minus-68. Man—can anyone stand to watch them? That’s cruel and unusual punishment.
NL Central
The Brew Crew is in first-place but I’ve got to believe that the St. Lois Cardinals will be on top in the end. The Chicago Cubs, once again, have had their share of problems and have been unable to put it together. Don’t count them out just yet. Coach Pinella does know how to get guys to come through.
NL West
Despite their problems with Manny, the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to score, stop opponents from putting runs up and win. They are 35- 17 with a .673 winning percentage, which is the best in MLB. The Giants have fine pitching and no hitting. Think they can do something about that before the trade deadline? The Diamondbacks and Rockies are both out of it.
AL East
New York and Boston have, overall, been winning and the wheels have come off the bus for the Toronto Blue Jays. In the division, Tampa Bay has seen it’s pitching fail while it’s hitting has been cranking it out. The Os are unable to score runs.
AL Central
Detroit has certainly fooled me. Early in the season, they are in first-place by four over the White Sox and four-and-a-half over the Twins. Kansas City has the best starter in the league but they won’t be able to do much with that. The Cleveland Indians are 22-30, proving that it’s tough to figure out what’s going to happen when your previewing a season. I thought the battle for the division crown would be between the Twins and the Indians and that the Tigers would be in the cellar.
AL West
The surprise of the season thus far are the Texas Rangers. The Rangers sit atop the AL West with a mark of 30- 20. They are the ONLY team in the division with a plus RS/RA differential. Presently, it stands at plus-37. Over the past few years, the Rangers have proven that they can score runs but their pitching has been weak. With an improved staff, they’ve been putting up “Ws.” Here’s what’s going on with this exciting team.
1) Fire Power: Michael Young continues to play like Michael Young. He leads the club in batting average with a .333 mark and in OBP with a .376 grade. Then there’s the power that Nelson Cruz (14), Ian Kinsler (13), Hank Blalock (12) and Chris Davis (12) bring to the plate. The team has hit 83 homers thus far while opponents have knocked just 60.
2) Closer: Frank Francisco is the best closer in the majors. He’s got 11 saves and an ERA of 0.48. In 18 games and 18.2 innings, he thrown 19 SO, allowed 1 HR and 1 ER. It’s troubling that he’s spent time on the DL. He was activated on May 23 and thus far looks good. By the way, Texas closers have a total of 16 combined saves. That’s the best in the league.
3) Starters: Three starters have performed well and they will need to continue to do so for this team to excel. Brandon McCarthy (5-2 W/L, 4.35 ERA), Kevin Millwood (4-4 W/L, 3.23 ERA) and Matt Harrison (4-4 W/L, 5.43 ERA). The team ERA stands at 4.46, which is the sixth best in the AL.
4) Speed: The Rangers are not the fastest team in the league, but they do have some speed. They’re third in the AL in base stealing with 40. (Tampa Bay leads with 82!) Kinsler has 10 and Cruz 9 steals.
5) Division: This is a weak division and that doesn’t hurt. The Rangers get to play Seattle and Oakland a whole lot. It also helps that the usual division powerhouse, the Los Angeles Angels, are struggling. They play each division opponent 18 times. Their inter-league schedule includes the Padres, Giants, Houston and Diamondbacks. The one hitch—it also includes the Dodgers!
The Rangers are on the road and will meet the Yankees and Red Sox, playing six straight games. They then come home to play the Jays and the Dodgers. They will play 13 total games against those four teams in 13 days. The next two weeks will be a major test for this team.
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Tags: Frank Francisco, Michael Young, MLB, Texas Rangers
