(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
With the month of June winding down, the talk around baseball right now is about the upcoming All-Star Game and the looming July 31 trade deadline as teams try to decide whether to be buyers or sellers.
As playoff races and pennant pushes start to heat up, here is a look at our current division leaders as the 162-game marathon is about halfway over.
American League
East: Boston Red Sox (45-28)
Strengths: offense, defense, starting rotation, bullpen, pitching depth
Weaknesses: Daisuke Matsuzaka, defense at shortstop
Top competition: New York Yankees (41-32), 4.0 GB
After a busy off-season in which General Manager Theo Epstein made many money-smart additions to the team; mainly improving the bullpen and adding a remarkable amount of pitching depth. With all the upgrades made, it doesn't come as much of a surprise that the Red Sox stand in first place, four games ahead of the Yankees.
Scoring runs hasn't been a trouble for this team, as Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell, Jason Bay, and Jason Varitek have all hit over 10 home runs each, as J.D. Drew has contributed nine more and David Ortiz has busted out of his slump.
Jacoby Ellsbury has improved upon his numbers from last year, hitting .307 with 30 stolen bases. Nick Green has been a pleasant surprise filling in at shortstop, hitting .284 with four home runs. Finally, we have reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia, who leads the team with 52 runs, and is also hitting .289 with 12 steals.
From the mound, Josh Beckett has reverted back to the dominant pitcher he was in 2007, compiling an 8-3 record with a 3.74 ERA and 88 strikeouts heading into his Friday start against Atlanta. Jon Lester has heated up on the hill, and Tim Wakefield and Brad Penny have time and time again left the Red Sox in position to win games.
Capitalizing on the solid work of the rotation has been one of the league's best bullpens, led by fireballers Ramon Ramirez, Manny Delcarmen, and Josh Bard, along with the ever-crafty Hideki Okajima, Takashi Saito, and the versatile Justin Masterson. Closing games is the lights-out Jonathan Papelbon.
Along with the great performance of the pitching staff at the Major League level, the Red Sox still have yet to unleash Clay Buchholz or Michael Bowden on the hill, as both have been dominating hitters at AAA for Boston's affiliate Pawtucket. If any injuries befall the big league staff, the Sox can call up one of these kids for a-quick fix.
One issue for the Red Sox, who own the second best record in the league, has been Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dice-K is currently on his second stint on the disabled list, and has been downright dreadful when off it.
In eight starts, Matsuzaka is 1-5, with an 8.23 ERA. He has been shut down indefinitely, and will soon start rehabbing a sore shoulder in the Minor Leagues, which manager Terry Francona expects to be a long process.
Shortstop has been a slight issue, but not so much as of late. Early on, Jed Lowrie did horribly on offense, hitting .056 while trying to play through a wrist injury, and is currently on a AAA rehab assignment.
At first, fans witnessed a Nick Green/Julio Lugo platoon, which was expected to be a showcase of ineptitude on the diamond and at the plate. However, Green has been swinging a hot bat this year, and his defense, which was sloppy at first, has picked up as of late.
The Red Sox have a pretty comfortable lead with the way they are playing, but they can never be too careful about the Yankees, or both the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. This could very well be a four-team playoff race, and the leader today could be in third place next week.
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