Danny Knobler on the American League: When the season began, we told you that the best three teams in the American League (and maybe in all of baseball) reside in the American League East. At midseason, we’re here to tell you that the best three teams in the AL (and maybe in all of baseball) reside in the AL East. The Red Sox were the best of the best in the first half, but the Yankees and Rays are both rolling now. Out West, the Rangers’ pitching and defense have kept them afloat, while the Angels keep wondering if they’ll ever get healthy. The Central is a three-team race, but with three teams that would have little chance in the East. Also: CBSSports.com editors Eric Kay and Brian Stubits review the first have of the season. Listen to the Podcast. For the full interactive version of this feature, click here.
BOSTON RED SOX (54-34, .614 -- 1st) OVERALL: A OFFENSE: A PITCHING: A
It’s not fair to say that the Red Sox had a trouble-free first half. David Ortiz struggled so much that the Sox wondered if he’d ever get going. Daisuke Matsuzaka struggled so much that the Sox twice put him on the disabled list. Josh Beckett had a 7.22 ERA in April. Mike Lowell made an impressive return from hip surgery; then he ended up back on the DL, too. Still, the Red Sox have so many good players and so much depth that they look like the class of the division -- and thus the class of baseball. Beckett and Jon Lester are pitching like aces, Tim Wakefield is an All-Star, and Jason Bay is playing like an MVP. Ortiz has recovered, the Red Sox still have more rotation depth than anyone in the game, and Jonathan Papelbon is among the best 3-4 closers in the game. For now, the Sox look like the best team out there.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES (40-48, .455 -- 5th) OVERALL: C OFFENSE: C PITCHING: D
It’s not fair to judge the Orioles on wins and losses, because everyone (including the Baltimore front office) knew this team could never be competitive this year. The real question is whether the Orioles are making progress, and finally they seem to be doing just that. Matt Wieters is in the big leagues and winning the expected raves, Adam Jones looks like a star in the making in center field, and Nolan Reimold has shown some power in the outfield. The rotation is the mess it was expected to be, but 23-year-old Brad Bergesen has five wins, and 24-year-old David Hernandez has two. As promised, the Orioles’ top young pitching prospects remain in the minor leagues. As for those wins and losses, the O’s went 5-17 against the Yankees, Red Sox and Angels. They’ve been right around .500 against everyone else. They haven’t been as bad as we feared, but they’re still not close to being good enough. The question is whether they’re making progress, and at midseason it seems they are.
NEW YORK YANKEES (51-37, .580 -- 2nd) OVERALL: A OFFENSE: A PITCHING: B
It’s hard to believe now that the Yankees were still under .500 as recently as May 13. All the talk back then was about their bandbox of a ballpark and all the empty seats. But Alex Rodriguez came back from the disabled list, Mark Teixeira took off at the plate and the Yankees started winning. Rotation depth is still a real question, with Chien-Ming Wang on the disabled list and Joba Chamberlain having an uneven season. Phil Hughes was going to be the Yanks’ rotation insurance, but now he’s a key middle reliever instead. Still, the lineup is as powerful as any in the game, CC Sabathia is a true top starter, and Mariano Rivera remains an elite closer. Oh, and about that ballpark? There are still some empty (expensive) seats, but the Yankees are tops in baseball in attendance (45,273 a game), and they’re outhomering their opponents, 79-63, through 42 home games.
TAMPA BAY RAYS (48-41, .539 -- 3rd) OVERALL: A OFFENSE: A PITCHING: B+
The magical feeling isn’t there for the Rays, but only because after last year’s shock trip to the World Series, we all knew they’d be good this year. Even when the Rays were still under .500 in early June, we still believed they’d be good. And they are. The lineup has produced more runs than any team but the Yankees, and that’s with big offseason acquisition Pat Burrell providing a lot less punch than expected. Jason Bartlett and Ben (Zo-rilla) Zobrist have been the offensive surprises. The rotation has been inconsistent, with Scott Kazmir hurt and struggling, and with Andy Sonnanstine pitching his way to the minor leagues. The bullpen remains a question, but with Troy Percival out again, J.P. Howell has stepped in as a sort-of closer, and manager Joe Maddon has done well juggling everyone else. If the Rays hadn’t won last year, we’d all be asking if this still-young team could hang in with Boston and New York, but now we believe they can.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS (44-46, .489 -- 4th) OVERALL: B OFFENSE: B PITCHING: C
In another division, the Jays would have a chance. In another division, they’d be excited about the second half, and they wouldn’t even think about trading Roy Halladay. But this isn’t another division, and the Jays understand that. They also understand that a crazy run of pitching injuries forced them to go through 12 starting pitchers in the first half, and basically killed whatever longshot chance they had. It also doesn’t help that high-priced hitters Vernon Wells and Alex Rios have underperformed, and high-priced closer B.J. Ryan was so bad that the Blue Jays released him with $15 million remaining on his contract. On the plus side, Aaron Hill and Adam Lind have been great offensively, Ricky Romero has been a rookie of the year on the mound, and Halladay has been his usual Cy Young-candidate self. That’s especially good news, because now that the Jays are committed to listening to trade offers, the better Halladay looks, the more they should be able to get back for him.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX (45-43, .511 -- 2nd) OVERALL: B OFFENSE: C PITCHING: A
They tried to trade for Jake Peavy, only to have him turn down the deal. They talked of becoming trading-deadline sellers, only to see their team wake up and get back in the race. It was a strange first half on the South Side, but it ends with the White Sox still in contention and (for now) not looking anything like a seller. The Sox remain an offensive disappointment, near the bottom of the league in runs scored. And that’s even after getting a surprising boost from the return of Scott Podsednik, and from rookie infielder Gordon Beckham, and a revival from Paul Konerko. All-Star Mark Buehrle has been the one consistent in the rotation, but the overall pitching numbers look good. Gavin Floyd and John Danks haven’t been as good as they were last year, but they’ve pitched well enough in spurts to provide hope for the second half. Same goes for Jose Contreras, who has been much better since returning from the minor leagues.
CLEVELAND INDIANS (35-54, .393 -- 5th) OVERALL: F OFFENSE: C PITCHING: F
We thought the Indians might be in trouble with Carl Pavano as their third starter. Who knew that Pavano, with seven wins, would be one of the few things going remotely right for the Tribe? And with a 5.36 ERA, even Pavano isn’t going that right. The rotation has been a mess, the bullpen has been a mess, and even though the Indians are among the American League leaders in runs, they’ve supported Cy Young winner Cliff Lee so poorly that he’s 4-8 despite a 3.45 ERA. Grady Sizemore has a bad elbow that still could require surgery, and after Victor Martinez tore up the league in April, his average has fallen big in each month since. The Indians have already traded away Mark DeRosa, one of their two big offseason additions, and they could make another deal or two before this month is over. One thing they say they won’t do is fire manager Eric Wedge -- at least not during the season.
DETROIT TIGERS (48-39, .552 -- 1st) OVERALL: B+ OFFENSE: C PITCHING: A
Their highest-paid player (Magglio Ordonez) has been so bad that he’s now being platooned. Their three highest-paid pitchers (Jeremy Bonderman, Dontrelle Willis and Nate Robertson) are all on the disabled list, with a combined two wins, a combined 7.98 ERA and little hope that any of the three will contribute the rest of the year. And with all that, the Tigers have spent most of the season in first place. The reason? Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson have been great at the front of the rotation, Rick Porcello has been a real contributor at age 20, and Fernando Rodney is the only full-time closer in baseball who went through the first half without a blown save. The Tigers need to get Carlos Guillen back from the disabled list, and they need Miguel Cabrera to hit like an MVP. They still need another bat, and can only hope that Ordonez can find the sort of revival that David Ortiz did in Boston.
MINNESOTA TWINS (45-44, .506, 3rd) OFFENSE: B PITCHING: B OVERALL: B
The Twins seemed to survive their month without Joe Mauer, remaining right around .500 while their best player missed April recovering from back trouble. But even with Mauer playing as well (or maybe even better?) than expected, the Twins were still right around .500 at the season’s midway point. You can’t blame Mauer, and you sure can’t blame Justin Morneau. But too often the Twins seem like a two-man lineup. Early on, the Twins made up for poor play on the road by winning 17 of their first 28 home games in their final season at the Metrodome. Sure enough, when they had a couple of winning road trips in June, they followed them up with subpar homestands. Whatever they do, it seems, the Twins can’t break out above .500. It’s been enough to keep them in the race in the Central, but the Twins will have to do better in the second half if they hope to win it.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS (37-51, .420) OVERALL: C- OFFENSE: D PITCHING: C
Early on, it seemed remotely possible that Zack Greinke could be good enough to lift the Royals into contention. Now, it seems like if Greinke doesn’t win, the Royals are headed for another extended losing streak. Greinke would have had to be superhuman to lift this team -- and for a while, it seemed he was. He was 8-1 with a 0.84 ERA in his first 10 starts; he’s 2-4 with a 3.96 ERA in eight starts since. It’s not like the Royals are scoring runs for any of their other starters, either. Kyle Davies hasn’t been nearly as good as the Royals hoped, but Brian Bannister has been better than they expected. Luke Hochevar has also pitched well. But with an offense that has ranked last in the league, Bannister and Hochevar would have had to be superhuman, too. Mike Aviles struggled and then got hurt. Same goes for Alex Gordon. Coco Crisp is out for the year. Closer Joakim Soria was hurt for a while, too, but he’s still having a fine year.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS (49-37, .570) OVERALL: B OFFENSE: B PITCHING: C
At this point, you have to wonder if the Angels are ever going to get healthy. They played much of the first half with a makeshift rotation, using 12 different starting pitchers. Key reliever Scot Shields had season-ending surgery on his left knee. Vladimir Guerrero spent time on the disabled list. Torii Hunter hurt his groin running into a wall at Dodger Stadium in May, and aggravated it in the final days before the All-Star break. Still, the Angels have stayed in contention, and many still expect Mike Scioscia’s team to win the West. One thing about the Angels is that the parts always seem to fit together, from leadoff man Chone Figgins through Hunter and on to Juan Rivera, who has helped out with power. The bullpen seems to miss the presence of Francisco Rodriguez, but Brian Fuentes is leading the American League in saves.
OAKLAND A’s (37-49, .430) OVERALL: C- OFFENSE: D PITCHING: C
There was a plan in Oakland, right? Well, there was, but it didn’t exactly work out. The idea was that by adding Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi and Orlando Cabrera, the A’s would hit enough to help their young pitching staff make it through the early part of the season. That’s fine, except that Holliday struggled in his first months away from Coors Field, Giambi saw his average dip under .200 and Cabrera wasn’t very good, either. The A’s haven’t scored runs, and they haven’t won games. It’s so bad that their No. 3 hitters have combined to hit under .200. Not only that, but Holliday’s so-so first half has hurt the trade value of a free agent the A’s have little expectation of re-signing after the season. The good news? Well, the young pitching does look promising. The A’s have started a rookie in almost two-thirds of their games, and their rotation ERA still ranks in the top half of the league. Brett Anderson has been especially good, with recent wins over the first-place Tigers and the first-place Red Sox.
SEATTLE MARINERS (46-42, .523) OVERALL: B OFFENSE: C PITCHING: A
The Mariners have outperformed expectations more than any team in baseball. New manager Don Wakamatsu has gotten great reviews, Ken Griffey Jr. has been a nice presence in the clubhouse and 23-year-old Felix Hernandez has developed into an ace. The M’s have managed to keep their record right around .500, staying on the fringes of the AL West race, but management remains focused more on developing a team that can be a true contender. This doesn’t seem to be that team, even after a 5-4 road trip that saw the M’s win a series at Dodger Stadium and another at Fenway Park. This also isn’t the bad team so many of us expected to see in Seattle. Russell Branyan has been a surprise offensively, Ichiro Suzuki is as good as ever, and Jarrod Washburn and Erik Bedard have been fine backing up Hernandez in the rotation.
The news isn’t all good in Texas, where financially-troubled owner Tom Hicks has been trying to sell the team. But with Nolan Ryan in charge as the club president and Mike Maddux in place as the new pitching coach, pitching and defense have made the Rangers one of baseball’s biggest surprises and kept the team first place for much of the first half. Kevin Millwood has been a quality top starter, Scott Feldman and Vicente Padilla have done well behind him and Frank Francisco and C.J. Wilson have been very good at the end of the bullpen. There are those who wonder if the pitching will hold up through the summer in the Texas heat, but so far it’s been good. The Rangers may not be their usual slugging selves, but they’re not bad offensively, either. And they should get better now that Josh Hamilton has returned from the disabled list. Nelson Cruz, who passed through waivers unclaimed last year, has been a big find, Ian Kinsler had a nice first half, and 20-year-old Elvis Andrus has been outstanding at shortstop.
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