Climbing the Ladder with the American League 7/13/08

Tribe waves white flag to 2008, the Rays skid continues and the Angels stay hot plus more in this weeks Climbing the Ladder with the American League.

Just as the last “Tampa Bay Rays are for Real” article was published in the written world of online sports coverage, Tampa has spiraled out of control and lost 6 straight.  Tampa is on the verge of being swept by the last place Cleveland Indians with whom the Rays are now 0-11 at Cleveland under manager Joe Madden. Prior to their current losing streak, the Rays had won 7 straight and were in first place in the American League East. The Rays are definitely struggling on their current road trip which has started a stretch in which Tampa will play 23 of their next 35 games on the road. Tampa will need to go at least .500 over this stretch to remain competitive in the East and are already behind the eight ball in doing so.

The Boston Red Sox conclude their pre-All-Star schedule today when they host the Baltimore Orioles.  The Red Sox are 4-1 during their current home stand and have outscored their opponents 40-18 in the 5 games at Fenway while gaining 4.5 games in the standings.  Boston has won 6 of their last 9 and are 41-28 since 4/29.  Their current record of 56-40 is good enough for the 3rd best winning percentage in the American League.  The Red Sox remain tough to beat at home and have won 6 of 7, 7 of 9, and 26 of 33 home games this season, ranking Boston 2nd in the Majors in home winning percentage.

The New York Yankees are 1-2 on their current 4 game road trip and will look forward to resting up during the All Star break.  New York has performed well over a recent stretch in which the Bronx Bombers won 22 of their last 36 games, climbing to 3rd place in the American League East.   Yankee pitching has helped tremendously in the wining ways of New York  but who would have thought that the names Mussina, Pettitte and Chamberlain would take the headlines over Hughes and Kennedy.  The Yankee starting 5 has limited opponents to 3ER or less in each of their last 7 games while the bullpen has held their end of the bargain posting a 1.66 ERA in their last 11 games.

A.J Burnett will make his start today on 3 days rest, something he’s done only 3 other times in his career and twice this season.  With the Blue Jays falling into the “seller” category during this years trade season and Burnett being their most valuable bargaining chip, you have to would wonder why the Jays would make a decision like this.  Burnett has had a history of injures through out his career and by throwing him out there in a situation like this seems foolish.

The Baltimore Orioles look to end their streak of Sunday losses that currently stands at 13.  The O’s have been outscored 78-44 on Sunday and a lost today to the Boston Red Sox would put them within one game of the current streak of 14 straight losses on a  given day held.  The streak is held by the Arizona Diamondbacks’ who lost 15 straight games on Saturdays from May 8th-August 14, 2004.  The current Major League record of consecutive losses on a given day is 21, held by the 1939 St. Louis Browns (Tuesdays from May 2-September 26) and the 1890 Pittsburgh Innocents, who lost 21 straight Fridays from May 9th through September 12th.

The Chicago White Sox have won 5 of their last 7 games and 13 of 18 as they finish their series with the Texas Rangers.  Chicago has been in first place for 84 days this season and have lead the division by as many as 6.5 games.  The White Sox have upped their total days in first place by a whopping 83 days from the 1 day they held onto first in 2007. Chicago’s .582 winning percentage through Saturday is .129 percentage points higher than this time in 2007, making the White Sox the second most improved team in the Majors behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

Everyone knows the Minnesota Twins have a lights out closer.  The Detroit Tigers know this better than anyone.  Joe Nathanclosed out the Twins win on Saturday against Detroit for the 26th time in 26 opportunities.   This is the most saves without a failed conversion by any active player against any team, the next most is held by John Smoltzvs. the Mets (24 of 24).

The Detroit Tigers have lost 3 straight but have won 22 of their last 33 games since June 7th, tying the Minnesota Twins for most wins during that stretch.  Tiger wins have come at a point that has coincided with the hitting of slugger Miguel Cabrera.  Cabrera has hit in 22 of his last 29 games, batting .325 with 7 doubles, 8 home runs, and 20 RBI’s while collecting multiple hits in 9 of his last 16 games.

Who knew that the Major League leader in hitting with runners in scoring position played for the Kansas City Royals?  On Friday night, David DeJesushit a first pitch strike in walk off fashion to put the Royals on top 5-4 for the win over the Seattle Mariners.  The walk off marked the first for the Royals in a little over a year with the last one coming on July 7, 2007.  Last nights win was also the first in 48 tries in which the Royals won after trailing after the 8th inning. Although Kansas City’s season is over, its good to see streaks like this coming to an end.

The Cleveland Indians are on the verge of sweeping the first place Tampa Bay Rays.  Cleveland has won 12 straight home games against the Rays and will look to extend the streak to 13.  Over the last 50 years the Indians have won 12 straight home games against a single team only one other time, a 15 game winning streak against the Tigers from 1994-1997.

The Angels 56 wins ranks the team second in the Majors behind the Chicago Cubs.  Los Angeles has reached the 50 win mark before the All Star break for just the 8th time in franchise history and the 3rd time in the last 4 years.  Last week the Angels became the second team since 1900 to allow 20 hits in a game and win and hold a team hit less and lose in the same season since the 1992 Boston Red Sox.  The Angels are also the only team in the Majors to lead their division on July 13th this season who was leading their division on the same date in 2007.

The Oakland A’s were held to one run on Saturday night.  This marked the 24th time this season that the A’s were held to one run or less and is one more time then the entire 2007 season.  The Oakland Athletics hold a 51-43 record and it’s the clubs 9th consecutive season that the A’s have held a .500 record or better at the All Star Break.  The last time the A’s were more than 2 games over .500 at the All Star Break was 2004.  Oakland holds a team ERA of 3.39 which leads the Major Leagues.  The last team to hold an ERA under 3.46 at the All Star Break was the 1990 Boston Red Sox.  Despite the impressive pitching numbers, Oakland doesn’t lead in all positive categories.  Jack Custcurrently has 114 strike outs and is one shy of Bo Jackson’sthe record 115 strike outs before the All Star Break.

The Texas Rangers hold a record of 49-46, which match’s the Ranger’s 2nd-best mark by the club since the teams last division title in 1999.  Texas also holds the 4th best improvement in winning percentage and the 4th best improvement in the standings compared to the first half of 2007.  Texas has made the biggest jump in winning percentage and standings of any team not leading their division in 2008.

The Seattle Mariners are 1-6 in their last 7 games and Seattle’s awful season continues.  Despite performing poorly in nearly every offensive category, the Seattle Mariners do lead one category.  Seattle is the top stolen base team by percentage in the American League and has stolen 65 bases while getting caught just 17 times for a 79.3%.