Mid-Season MLB Report Card: AL Central

The AL Central has shaped itself out to look like it will be a landslide, with the White Sox running away with the title. I do not think that will be the case. The Twins have the experience of making the playoffs and know what it takes to get there; the White Sox seem to be in good standing at every All-Star Break then find themselves behind without much of a chance by the end of the season. But this year is different. The White Sox are the best team in baseball. They have given up the least amount of runs in the entire league at this point, and still hit the best out of all the AL Central clubs (based solely on runs scored). The Twins desperately need to get hot and hope that the White Sox slow down a little bit if they are ever going to catch them. On to the teams:

Chicago White Sox: Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Jose Contreras, and Freddy Garcia have all been great for the Sox. Orlando Hernandez, despite his high WHIP and poor K/BB ratio, still has managed to hold a 7-2 record at the break. Their starting pitching mixed with the great work of the bullpen, despite the bloated numbers of Shingo Takatsu and Luis Vizcaino, has proven to be a dominant combination. The reason they are so good so far is because of their pitching, giving up the fewest runs and having three starters with WHIPs under 1.20. That being said, they need to continue this trend of well-pitched, low scoring games because the bats are definitely not going to crush opponents for the next few months.

Hitting looks like a problem for the White Sox when reading the stat sheets for their hitters. Not one hitter in the starting lineup has an average over .295 or an OBP over .370. But if you look at the RBIs and their distribution, it shows that the entire lineup is capable of bringing in runs. They get runs when they need them, which is not very often the way the pitching staff has performed. At the current pace, the White Sox will win 107 games this season. I find that very unlikely, given the fact that their pitching can't be expected to be completely healthy all season. It should be mentioned that the White Sox are only 17-17 against teams with .501 winning percentages or better; whereas they are a staggering 34-8 against teams .500 or below. A telling stat considering they have yet to play their 13 games against the Yankees and the Red Sox. They are still going to be good, no doubt, and people should expect them to be in the thick of the battle for the World Series. Grade: A+
Final Season Record: 101-61; Winner of the AL Central

Minnesota Twins: The Twins are currently 10 games over .500 but nine out of first in the AL Central. Usually, any team with a record that hovers around .500 has been capable of winning the division; but this year is definitely different. The Twins are on the verge of losing their superiority in the AL Central, at least for the time being. The Twinnies have managed to be successful in recent years despite ever really having a big bat. They are always fast baserunners, efficient fielders, well-managed, and stocked with pitching.

The pitching staff has an incredibly solid K/BB ratio, a telling stat of their effectiveness, and yet, with the obvious exception of Johan Santana, lack overpowering WHIPs. These two pitching stats are the most important in my opinion, and are telling of the pitching's efficiency. The stats show that the Twins starters give up lots of hits, which could mean one of two things: a) their fielders aren't getting to as many balls as they used to, or b) their pitches are being hit in places that are unreachable by their fielders. I would assume its the latter. They need Kyle Lohse and Joe Mays to kick things into a higher gear, Brad Radke to stop giving up home runs, and score more runs to support Johan Santana. The lineup must keep getting hits in the right spots, and the pitching has to work things to a higher level, otherwise, the division is gone, and the Twins enter the fight with the Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Indians, A's, and Rangers for the AL Wild Card. Grade: B
Final Season Record: 91-71; 2nd in the AL Central.

Cleveland Indians: The Indians are a stocked, young team that carries more talent under the age of 30 than almost every other team. That being said, it seems like things are just not entirely there yet, and the Indians might need this year as a stepping stone to next year. The hitting has been above average, but not quite to where it needs to be. Travis Hafner's late surge, mixed with the gem, Grady Sizemore, makes it look like maybe the Indians will be better off in the second half nonetheless.

Pitching wise, the Indians really need lower WHIPs from their starters, and bigger things from C.C. Sabathia. Kevin Millwood has turned out to be the best starter in a rotation that features a bona fide ace in Sabathia, two great youngsters in Jake Westbrook and Cliff Lee, and a decent five starter in Scott Elarton. Arthur Rhodes, Danny Riske, and Bob Wickman have all turned in high quality first halves, and if they keep it up, they will keep their team in a lot of ball games. Hopefully for the Indians, Sabathia will heat up and carry the staff, Millwood will be the 2-starter that lots of AL hitters don't want to see on Saturdays, and Hafner and Sizemore will continue to carry the hitting load. These guys need to really get hot if they want to catch the White Sox, but its not entirely out of the question. The young talent may find its groove and go on a big win streak, who knows, but as of now, they do not look like a playoff team. Grade: C
Final Season Record: 87-75; 3rd place in the AL Central.

Detroit Tigers: Considering the fact that the Tigers were one of the worst teams in MLB history just 2 seasons ago, they have done incredibly well this year. Brandon Inge has turned in a great performance in the first half of the season, making the subtle switches in his swing necessary to become the hitter he can be. If Carlos Guillen was healthy enough to play everyday, the Tigers would probably have won perhaps 3 to 6 more games. The biggest hitting problem for the Tigers is that no one walks. Nobody on this team gets on base efficiently or sees a lot of pitches, and that means they are impatient and more likely to swing at bad stuff early in the count. They cannot use Dmitri Young and Carlos Guillen effectively if they do not have any on base for the two key hitters on the team to bring home.

The four main starters: Bonderman, Maroth, Johnson, and Robertson, have all been great this season. They do not walk too many batters, and that keeps the margin for error at a more manageable level. With young Justin Verlander finding his name in headlines as the leading prospect in all of baseball, the Tigers have something to look forward to in years to come. Wil Ledezma is still improving his already decent curveball and change up that will eventually mix well with his fastball, provided he starts keeping it down in the zone. As long as the Tigers keep working on their bullpen--that has some quality young players-- they will be a team to be reckoned with in the next few years. Grade: A-
Final Season Record: 80-82; 4th place in the AL Central.

Kansas City Royals: If there is one team that can compete with the Devil Rays, its the Royals. Angel Berroa doesn't get on base, Mike Sweeney is never healthy, and Terrence Long shouldn't be starting for any Major League team. That's only a third of the lineup, the other two/thirds are just too young or too inexperienced to be expected to bring in much more than the 30 wins they have right now. This team cannot win, ever, without using their prospects more effectively.
When it comes to pitching, the Royals staff is just plain awful. They do not have five starters, and the other four have WHIPs over 1.40, something that can only mean bad things for a team, especially one without hitting. Jose Lima is running on fumes in Kansas City, and needs to be a long reliever/5th starter for a contender to really bring much to the table. Having seen Ambiorix Burgos in person, I believe he will become a good Major League pitcher, but not in 2005; try maybe 2007 or 2008. Poor Zach Greinke looks exactly like Jeremy Bonderman in 2003, making plenty of pitches but losing every night. Grade: F
Final Season Record: 62-100; good for dead rotten last in the AL Central.

The second half of the season will eventually run its course, and at the end of the tunnel, the White Sox will be crowned AL Central Champions. The Twins will definitely be in the running if they catch fire, and at least have a shot at the Wild Card. The Indians really need Sabathia to come around for anything to happen, otherwise, they will ride in the backseat as the third member of the AL Central family. The Tigers will be great in 2007, but this year they are still working their way up, and should be a tough team to beat in Detroit. The Royals are just plain awful, and can only hope that they only lose 100 games. So there you have it, the White Sox win, and the Twins contend for second best.