We are about three weeks into the baseball season and we've finally got something besides predictions to look at. Lets take a quick look at the teams who currently occupy first place in the divisions:
AL East: Toronto (2.5 Games up on the Yankees and Red Sox)
Why Are They There? They've actually been hitting. Adam Lind (.352/.426/.593) and Aaron Hill (.365/.388/.603) have been crushing the ball.
Can They Stay? Other than above, the guys who have been hitting aren't the guys you'd expect to be hitting, so things may change a bit in that category, and not for the better. Also, their pitching has been good so far, but they've had a bunch of injuries, so I don't expect that to continue either. In a word, no.
AL Central: Three Way Tie between the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, and Kansas City Royals
Why Are They There? The White Sox are getting the starting pitching that many didn't expect them to have. It could continue... but probably not. The Tigers have beat up on Seattle and Texas, and the Royals... well, Zach Greinke and uh, I have no idea.
Can They Stay? The White Sox, maybe. The rest, I seriously doubt it.
AL West: Seattle Mariners (2.5 Games up on Oakland and Texas)
Why Are They There? The Ms are preventing runs, it's as simple as that. Their defense has been outstanding, and Eric Bedard is healthy. So, with Felix Hernandez and a healthy Bedard they have a nice 1-2 combo.
Can They Stay? I suppose so. Despite the Angels winning 100 games last year, this is a remarkably weak division.
NL East: Florida Marlins (5 Games up on Atlanta and New York)
Why Are They There? The Marlins are hitting better than expected, but they're 9-1 because they've faced (and beaten) the Washington Nationals six times. This is a decent team, maybe a slight bit above .500, but they aren't going to win this division.
Can They Stay? Kinda answered that above. I'm going to go with "no."
NL Central: Cubs and St. Louis tied for first
Why Are They There? The Cubs are in first because they are the best team in the NL talent-wise. The Cardinals are there because Albert Pujols is fucking God.
Can They Stay? This is the first division where the order now could actually be the order come September. The Cubs and Cardinals (if their pitching holds up) are the class of this division.
NL West: LA Dodgers (1 game up on San Diego)
Why Are They There? The Dodgers are probably the second best team in the NL, top to bottom. They have a great lineup, and their pitching is above adequate, with a high top end of Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw, who is crushing crushing crushing right now.
Can They Stay? Yup, the Dodgers should win this division. I'd expect the Diamondbacks to finish second, though they could challenge LA if their veterans experience any serious injury problems.
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2 comments:
I'm gonna disagree as to the legitimacy of the Marlins. They have the best starting pitching in all of baseball (or at least the NL East, which is all that matters right now), and as we well know -- and here's the important part -- just 'cause no one's heard o' them dudes don't mean they ain't good. And starting pitching is the most important thing in baseball.
They might have the best 1-2-3 in any rotation in the NL East. Sanchez, Volsted and Johnson are really good, but its not THAT much better than the Braves, and Atlanta has a better 4-5 than Florida.
Ah... I just looked it up to make sure I'm not full of shit, aaaaand I'm kinda full of shit. The Braves don't have a better fifth starter than Florida, but they do have a better fourth.
I'll stick to my guns about the competition they've faced so far though. Wait and see what happens when the Braves play the Nationals. And then the Phillies play the Nats. And then the Mets. I'm guessing whomever is kicking the shit out of DC at the moment is going to be the flavor of the week.
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