Baseball After the All-Star Break

July 11, 2019

The all-star break is over and baseball can get back to games that matter. The two things I can guarantee are that you will continue to see more home runs and strike outs. There should some exciting division and wild card races.

A.L. West – The Oakland Athletics have been playing good baseball as of late. They have moved past the Texas Rangers into second place. However, they are not in the same class of the division leading Houston Astros. The Astros have a star studded line-up and pitching staff. They are one of the best teams in the league. The Athletics are 7.5 games back and have an outside chance of being a wild card playoff team. Mike Trout is without a doubt the best player in the game. He currently leads the league in homers, RBI, slugging percentage, on base percentage and is second in runs scored. Because he signed a long term contract extension with the Los Angeles Angels he may be the best player never to appear in a World Series.

A.L. East – The Tampa Bay Rays are 13 games over .500; the Boston Red Sox are 8. The Rays trail the New York Yankees by 6.5 games and the Red Sox trail by 9.  Despite injuries to key players, the Yankees are probably going to win this division. They are third in the league in home runs and runs scored. They only have one stud starting pitcher, Domingo German, who is 10-2 with 3.67 ERA, which is real good when your team averages over 5 runs per game. With Zach Britton’s 2.43 ERA, Adam Ottavino’s 1.80 and closer extraordinaire Aroldis Chapman’s 1.82 in your bullpen, the starters only have to last 5 innings.

A.L. Central – The first place Minnesota Twins may be hearing the sound of moccasins. The Cleveland Indians have cut their lead from 12 to 5.5 games. After a slow start the Indians are showing why they were the favorites to win this division. I previously thought both wild card teams would come from the A.L. East. With the return of Mike Clevinger, the Indians should hold on to their lead in the wild card race. Two-time Cy Young Award winner, Corey Kluber, would help but he may not come back this year. The Twins lead the league in home runs and runs scored. The pitching has been excellent. They also will play in the post-season.

N.L. East – The Atlanta Braves have taken command of this division and I’m not sure how they do it. Aside from Mike Soroka, 9-1, 2.42, their other starters aren’t that impressive. Opening day starter Julio Teheran is 5-6 with a 3.79 ERA. The closer has 14 saves. They did sign Dallas Keuchel to hopefully bolster the pitching staff. Offensively they do have one of the best hitters in the game, first baseman Freddie Freeman. They have all-star outfielders Ronald Acuna Jr. and Nick Markakis. No one else in the line-up is hitting over .270. It helps that even with Bryce Harper, the Philadelphia Phillies aren’t much better than last year. The Mets must hold some record for injured pitchers. The Florida Marlins just suck. The Braves may get a challenge from the not so good Washington Nationals.

N.L. Central – People talk about this being the most competitive division in baseball. All teams are within 5 games of the lead. The reason for this is most of these teams are lousy. The last place Cincinnati Reds are 4.5 games out with a 41-46 record. In fact, only two teams have .500 records. This could change if the Chicago Cubs or Brewers get hot. I don’t think the other teams can go on a winning streak. Most of the other teams in the division have no pitching. I feel sorry for the Cardinals. Free agent signee Paul Goldschmidt is having an awful year and what was supposed to be an improved team is 44-44.