American League leaders’ strengths and weaknesses
With 50 games left to go in the Major League Baseball season, division leaders are desperate to hold on to their titles and fulfill their post-season aspirations. Here are the current National League division leaders’ strengths and weaknesses:
AL East – New York Yankees: As of Monday morning the Yankees are two-and-a-half games above the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East pennant. The Yankees’ strength lies in the unbelievable depth of their roster. Almost every single starting player is an All-Star calibre player at his respective position. Their biggest strength down the stretch is pitcher C.C. Sabathia. He has been unstoppable at home and is 13-0 at Yankee Stadium since the 2009 All-Star Break.
Even though their roster is the most expensive in the majors, they Yankees still have some, albeit few, weaknesses. Mainly most of the starting rotation after Sabathia has been unable to consistently pitch well. A.J. Burnett has an ERA that is pushing near five. Phil Hughes has not been the same since the Yanks skipped him a start. To top that off, Andy Pettite has been injured and on the disabled list.
The real question for the Yankees is how dominant their starting roster can be to make up for the lack of depth leading up to lights-out closer Mariano Rivera, who is also now bolstered by Kerry Wood.
AL West – Texas Rangers: The Rangers have been atop their division since 8 June and are ahead of the Oakland A’s by a whopping 7.5 games as of Monday. Given their dominance of the West and the relative inferiority of teams like the Los Angeles Angels and the A’s, the Rangers are the easiest lock for a division title.
The Rangers best attribute is, and has generally been, their hitting. They are currently batting a team average of .274, which is third best in the Major Leagues. They aren’t a one-trick pony though, and have a very feared starting pitching rotation as well. Amidst their financial difficulties the Rangers impressively managed to improve their roster en route to the post-season.
Their powerful offence is primed to only improve with the additions of Jorge Cantu and Cristian Guzman to the already strong roster which includes Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero.
Texas also signed the best available pitcher in Cliff Lee to a rotation that is not name-brand, but strong nonetheless. The Rangers aren’t really weak, but they might face some problems when their young pitchers C.J. Wilson and Tommy Hunter face some pressure in September and October.
AL Central – Chicago White Sox: The Sox are desperate to remain atop the AL Central, a lead they hold by a mere half-a-game. Their best bet to do so is to continue relying on their strong pitching roster.
Chicago currently has a rotation with starter after starter that can shut down opponents. Their best asset down the line has been Gavin Floyd, who is 6-2 in his last 12 starts with an ERA of 1.19. They’ve also got Mark Buehrle and John Danks, which makes the Sox a very tough team to beat in a short series.
Their only true weakness might be their offence, which has been plagued with light hitting courtesy of Juan Pierre, Gordon Beckham, and A.J. Pierzynski. In general though, this is a solid team that got off to a slow start and can actually hit fairly well.
Another slight issue that the Sox may have to deal with is an iffy backend of their pitching rotation due to Jake Peavy’s injury. Freddy Garcia and Edwin Jackson are currently taking up the fourth and fifth spots, and they aren’t particularly bad just not as good as the Sox would like for a deep play-off run.
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