I  know that I am a little late, since it comes the first of June, but I am wanting to discuss the first third of the baseball season. It has been crazy so far, we have had two perfect games (should have been three, if you watch baseball at all, you know what I am talking about) We have had several teams with monumental meltdowns (Phillies, Baltimore, KC) and we have had teams who looked out of it turn it around (Braves), and we have already had a legend retire from baseball (Ken Griffey Jr.). Some teams are already completly out of it (Baltimore, Houston), but most races are wide open, including the race for the American League West.

   The Rangers have been at the top or a game or so out of the top of the West for some time now, and they have not been playing their best ball, but, then again, neither has Oakland or the Angels. The Rangers have a team ERA of 4.26, which is 8th in the AL. Their starters began the year very hot, but have slumped off. C.J. Wilson actually held the ERA lead in the AL for a week or so before his last 3 starts, which have not gone well. His ERA is now 3.48. The Rangers defense has not been steller either. They have 32 team errors, which is not good. They also have a lot of missed played that didn’t count as errors, but were just as costly. Michael Young is the king of all errors for the Rangers with 8, Elvis is second with 6, and no one else comes close to that. Elvis and Young need to work those things out if the Rangers want to be contenders. I can’t tell if it is a lack of concentration or if they are just lazy, sometimes it looks like a mixture of both, but Michael has really picked up the slack with the bat, and Elvis leads all of the Major leagues hitting with runners in scoring position. 

   They have finally come around offensivly, with many thanks to Vlad and Nelly (both injured at the moment). Their team batting average is .272, 4th in the AL. Not bad. Vlad, Michael Young, and Aries are all over .300, and several other guys are flirting with .300. The Rangers are third in the AL with 49 stolen bases, but first in the caught stealing department with 22. Other teams now know that the Rangers are going to run, so it is not going as well for them. They need to show a little more patience if they want to start stealing more bases. One of the smartest base stealers on the team is Vlad, becuase he still has the element of suprise. Elvis really needs to start getting a lot more choosey for when he tries to steal. Justin Smoak is finally comming around and looking more comfortable at the plate, but his defense is still lacking the ability of Chris Davis. I know the Rangers want to give Smoak a chance to show that he is a good first baseman, but I think that if they want to be contenders, they need a first baseman with power and a great glove. 

   Right now, the AL West is a jumble of 3 teams (Angels, Rangers, A’s) and there is no clear frontrunner. The Rangers and A’s have been the only teams in first for most of the season, but as usual, the Angels are really picking it up. Here are my predictions, at the 1/3 point of the season, for your playoff teams in MLB.

AL West:

1. Angels – 90-72

2. Rangers – 87-75

3. A’s – 82-80

4. Seattle – 75-87

AL East –

NY Yankees – 97-65

Tampa Bay Rays – 95-67

Boston – 91-71

Toronto – 88-74

Baltimore – 66-96

AL Central-

Detroit – 88-74

Minnisota – 87-73

Chi White Sox – 81-81

KC Royals – 75-87

Cleveland – 69-93

There you have my American league predictions. I know you think I am crazy for having the Angels win the division. Your saying, are you not a real Rangers fan. I am, I just expect history to repeat itself again this season, and I hope that I am wrong. I do not watch the National league very much, so I will do some more research and list them in another blog.