I'm Back...

Hello Americans. I'm sorry it's been a while since I've written. I just finished up my internship, which was great, and now I'm home for a bit so I have more time to write.

I apologize for not having the gumption to stick with it, but I just didn't have the time. However, I am going to jump straight to the good stuff right now as though I have been blogging this whole time.

I can't tell you how excited I am for these last 6 weeks of the season. I think the AL playoff race is pretty much set. Considering how irrelevant the AL Central is, I am very excited to see the Yankees, Rays, and Rangers duke it out in October. All kidding aside, I think the AL Central race will be a fun one to track, but none of those teams seem as sexy as the Yankees/Rays/Rangers.

There are some pretty consistent performers on the White Sox and Twins with plenty of playoff experience, and there are some really fantasy relevant players on both teams that have done a lot for fantasy rosters. But, like their respective teams, none of those players are very sexy. The injury to Justin Morneau will also play a large role in this race. The Twins have been managing just fine, how their offense has scored the 3rd most runs in the majors is beyond me, but I just don't see a world series in their future. I do think they will edge out the ChiSox for the AL Central.

Now, moving on to the 3 teams that can actually win the World Series from the American League:

Yankees:

This lineup is the best in baseball from top to bottom. Their two weak links on offense have been Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson, but they both haven't been completely terrible. The rest of that offense has been ridiculous. Teixeira and A-Rod have really turned it on. Nick Swisher has gone from random schmo to All-Star, and Jorge Posada is on pace for a solid 20-60 campaign. Posada's 13 home runs is 5th among major league catchers.

I do see reason for concern with the Yankees pitching staff. Other than Sabathia, I don't think I trust Vazquez or Burnett to win games in October. Both of them have ERA's nearing 4.5 in the past month. With Hughes rules already slightly taking shape, I think there's reason for concern for the Yankees pitching staff. Sure their stupendous offense can easily carry them to a second consecutive championship, but when you've traded for Kerry Wood to help anchor your bullpen I don't think that's necessarily a good thing. The reason the starting pitching is so important is because they will not be able to get away with their 3 pitcher system that they employed in October last year. Major Leauge Baseball eliminated 3 October off-days to quicken up the playoffs and partially to prevent teams from getting away with what the Yanks did with Pettitte, Sabathia, and Burnett last year.

Rays:
Speaking of sexy. I think everything about this Rays offsense is sexy. They run- the Rays lead the majors in steals.... BY 31 STOLEN BASES.... and they get on base, their .338 OBP is 5th in the A.L. Joe Maddon is a man who knows how to manufacture runs and get the most out of what he's got on offense. There's no way a Ben Zobrist, Sean Rodriguez, or Matt Joyce would be any good in another manager's system where they don't run or don't draw walks. Plate discipline and the ability to manufacture runs definitely helps win championships.

I think their pitcting has "it". David Price is the real deal, Matt Garza has had a phenomenal year, Jeff Niemann has also had his best year of his career yet, and the Rays have one of the best young pitchers in baseball in Jeremy Hellickson tearing it up for them. I am not even mentioning James Sheilds and Wade Davis, guys who have shown what their upside can be, but haven't quite put it all together. Assuming Niemann can get healthy, that is an extremely dangerous pitching staff. Couple that with having the best middle reliever in baseball, Joaqin Benoit. Oh, their other three relievers have ERA's below 3 and WHIP's below 1.08. I'm not sure if you can tell, but I love this Rays team.

Texas:
This team is just running away with AL West. I think that's equally a function of the division being terrible and this team being very good. Their offense has most certainly cooled off here in the past month, 8th in the AL in runs (17th in the majors). But when their offense has slowed, their pitching has been amazing. Cliff Lee's K/BB rate is one of the most dominating statistics of this season. He strikes out almost 15 guys for every one, ONE, uno, EIN, 1, batter than he walks. That's just stupid good. With him anchoring that pitching staff of Tommy Hunter, Colby Lewis, and C.J. Wilson, I think that the starters can really make some noise. I think the fact that Hunter, Lewis and Wilson are so inexperienced makes me believe that they won't be there at the end, but this team is so much fun to watch. I don't count the Rangers out by any means because they can turn it on at any time, but I don't see them having the firepower to make serious noise in the AL pennant race.

That's it for tonight, welcome back to the blog. My thoughts on the NL will be coming tomorrow.

Shalom.