AL East/AL Central

By Dr. Jekyll

It’s been a long hiatus, but thankfully baseball is a long season. Looking back on the first part of the season has offered a lot of incredible story lines. There’s the incredible performances of Ubaldo Jimenez, the deaths of The Boss and The Voice, and a complete dominance of big league pitchers. There are potential triple crowns and pitchers throwing their brains out and more than likely not breaking ten wins on the year. So with that, let’s take a look at how each team stacks up at the half way point of the season.

AL East
Let’s start things at the top, and by the top, I mean with three of the four best teams in baseball, who all happen to be playing in the same division.

New York Yankees: They lead the majors in runs. They’re deadly from top to bottom in the lineup. And as though that's not enough, they have a lot to play for. What better way for the Bombers to send off Steinbrenner than taking a championship home in his honor. Really, there’s no reason apart from injuries or their own division to keep the Yanks from putting up another banner come next season.

Tampa Bay Rays: Always the brides maid, never the bride. And this season looks to be playing out similarly. Behind a top 5 pitching staff and a very solid middle of the lineup the Rays are a dangerous team, and probably the best shot at knocking New York off their pre-made pedestal come postseason.

Boston Red Sox: Injuries, injuries, injuries. With an all-star lineup sitting on the DL, it’s impressive that the Sox have hung on as long as they have. As great as it is to have a gritty underdog, an August swoon looks inevitable for this club. The bullpen has been atrocious, and apart from surprising contributions from minor leaguers like Bill Hall, this season has turned into a feel-good wash.

Toronto Blue Jays: They’re leading baseball in homers, but that doesn’t do much when no one is on base for them. They’re probably the best .500 team in baseball, and in a weaker division may be making a playoff push. They’re starting to look like the Rays from a few years back when they showed flashes of promise but ultimately were left without a helpful result. Look for them to make a one and done attempt akin to what the Marlins do in the next year or two.

Baltimore Orioles: Anyone who saw this team going somewhere at the start of the season was either a season ticket holder or thought Matt Wieters could magically play every position. Neither happened, although the latter was probably for the best. Wieters is having a porous sophomore season after all the hype from tearing up the minors. This is a team that reeks of rebuilding, and probably should get used to their spot as division bottom feeders for the foreseeable future.

AL Central

Chicago White Sox: There is absolutely nothing special about this ball-club, and I’d be shocked to see them do anything come playoff time, assuming they’re still in position to even make the post season. Literally middle of the pack in every offensive and defensive category, this team is a testament to all that is good about Ozzie Guillen. Apart from being a great sound bite, he can coach a team. They make playoffs and this is a coach of the year candidate.

Detroit Tigers: Miguel Cabrera is putting together an MVP season and willing this team to stay in the division. Currently he’s sitting either second or first in all three of the triple crown categories, and the Tigers need every bit of it if they’re going to hope to hang in there until the end. This is a three team race, and they’re probably on the short end of the stick when it comes to a supporting cast for their star players.

Minnesota Twins: Probably the best team in the Central to seize control of the division, Minnesota is only just out of first despite losing their closer to start the season and having Joe Mauer play through quite the slump this season. They’ve found a diamond in the rough in Carl Pavano, and Francisco Liriano is showing some of the flash that made him so great a few years back. Once they start clicking they’ll be repping the division come playoff time.

Kansas City Royals: They have the best batting average in baseball. They have a top of the line starting pitcher. They’re everything you’d want in a sleeper team, but they just haven’t clicked quite yet. Still a year or two off, this is a team on the rise in a winnable division, just not quite ready to break over the hump. Get Billy Butler another season under his belt, and get some run support for Zack Greinke (who may not break ten wins despite a great statistical season), and this team can make some noise at the top of this division. A second place spot next year isn’t out of the question by a long shot.

Cleveland Indians: The Cleveland Indians are a shell of the team they were just three seasons ago. Fausto Carmona is the only player on this team even worth mentioning by name. Like the Orioles, they are in clear rebuilding mode, but don’t seem to have the depth of talent to make that a quick transition. Get used to the basement fellas.