The American League Is Putting The Mid In Middling | Defector

"The American League having only one of those four teams if anything undersells how baffling the rest of that league has been. The Yankees are 25-12, with a run differential of +74-both admirable statistics if ultimately of minimal value given that we're still weeks from Memorial Day. The second-best team is Tampa Bay, at 24-12, and they also have the AL's second-best run differential, at an extremely modest +15. And those are all the teams in the American League with an actual winning record. Nearly a quarter of the season has gone by, now, which is enough time to at least make some assumptions. Let's start with this one: The American League stinks."

"This does not mean that the National League teams are excellent by default. The NL East, which was presumed to have a pair of contenders in addition to Atlanta, is wall-to-wall lousy except for the Braves; spare a thought, here, for Ted Turner, who died on Wednesday and is the biggest reason the Braves are not boatracing everyone from Salt Lake City. The Dodgers have slowed after a ridiculous start, the Padres are only now arresting a tough run of baseball by playing the anti-descript Giants, and the Cardinals, Reds, Pirates, and Brewers have all been good enough to slapfight each other around .500 but not good enough to get all that close to the Cubs. It's not the American League, but it's also not what you want."

"Baseball is giving Rob Manfred a moment, in that the four good teams in baseball are the marquee-est of marquee teams: the Yankees, Braves, Dodgers, and Cubs. One on the East, one South, one Midwest, and one West. Couldn't have planned it better, Rob; you can use this to keep you warm when the lockout enters its eighth month."

The standings show a lopsided early season in which the American League contains only a small number of teams with winning records. The Yankees lead with a 25-12 record and a strong run differential, while Tampa Bay follows at 24-12 with a modest run differential. Beyond those teams, the league lacks additional clubs that are clearly above .500. The National League also has weaknesses, with the NL East largely underperforming except for the Braves. Other NL teams show uneven results, including a slowdown after a strong start and teams hovering around .500. Overall, neither league appears consistently strong, but the American League looks especially baffling.

Read at Defector