SHL: American Atlantic Weekly Overview

Checking in with the American Atlantic division.

Phi-KC-Oak Athletics-It was once again a big week for A’s pitching.  Eddie Plank laid some wood on the Twins in a 16-0, 2 hitter while Chief Bender notched his 200th win in an 8 inning, 2 run, 4 hit effort against the Cubs. Bender’s career record stands at 200-106 with a minuscule 2.33 ERA.  The Athletics have managed to keep a strong grasp on first place in the Atlantic but Bill James and his Boston Red Sox are gaining ground in the standings. The A’s pitching staff has been stingy in allowing runs all year long and could be the best overall staff in the league.  What’s really been impressive is how the A’s bats have shown up and have improved each week since the season began.  The pitching staff rank’s tied for second in runs allowed per game at 3.9 while the offense has managed to bring their runs scored per game up to respectable 5.5, good enough for 4th in the league.  The A’s deadly combo of strong pitching and hitting makes them not only a division leader but one of the best teams in the league which they’ve proven beyond a doubt with their league best 42 wins.

Bos Red Sox-The Red Sox saw a nice jump in the standings after putting together a nice week of baseball.  Boston was able to take advantage of injuries to key players in the Yankee line up by playing well and going 7-3 over their last 10 games.  Boston Ace Cy Young matched Eddie Plank by also notching his 200th win while Lefty Grove posted a solid performance and earning a much deserved W in a 1 hit effort against the against the Twins. It was Grove’s fifth game in which he’s notched off 4 wins and 0 losses.

Was-Min Twins- It’s been a tough week for the Twins.  They suffered an embarrassing 16-0 defeat from the divisional leading A’s in which the Twins musters just 2 hits. The Twins also had Eddie Matthews of the Braves sock his 500th home run against them in a losing effort just after being blanked by Lefty Grove and the Red Sox.  Despite all the negative press, the Twins are still 6-4 over their last 10 and have Tony Olivo leading the league in batting average.  Olivo’s bat hasn’t been enough to carry the team and the rest of the offense, which ranks in the middle of the pack in the runs scored department.  The Twin’s pitching is slightly better than its offense with not thanks to Ace Johann Santana who has posted a 6-4 record and a 4.99 ERA.  Walter Johnson leads the team in Wins and is also the only starter with an ERA under 4.00.  This team will need to start showing some improvement if the want to try and compete in the Atlantic.

Bal-NY Yankees-May and June weren’t kind to the Yankees but they showed some improvement in April, which is the only month the team had a winning record.  No one can blame the offense for the last place ranking in the standings as they’ve performed well and rank in the top of nearly every category. Yankee pitching is a whole different story.   Joe DiMaggio remains on the disabled list but the addition of catcher Jorge Posada may take some pressure off of Berra.  With 4 pitchers on the roster with ERA’s over 5.00, the Yankees may need to make a move if they want to improve in the pitching department.  The offense clearly can’t carry the team on its back and if something isn’t done soon, it may be too late.