Daniel's Huge American League Midseason Report Card

Detroit Tigers
Record: 44-38
Grade: A-

Season In Review (Grades)

Management: A-
Jim Leyland took a team that nobody expected to do anything and transformed it into a playoff-bound team. He's gotten consistent play when he's needed to and has the pitching staff in control. He was faced with tough decisions (like benching Magglio Ordonez), but he did what was best for the team. He could well be on his way to another Manager of the Year trophy.

Defense: A-
The Tigers play exceptional defense. They have only committed 40 errors as a group. Brandon Inge has committed one-fifth of the team's errors, but he has saved a lot more runs. Placido Polanco is the best defensive second baseman in the game. The shortstops have had their share of problems (12 errors). The outfield has been great and Gerald Laird has a 40 caught stealing percentage.

Starting Pitching: B+
The Tigers have the fourh best (4.26 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) starting rotation in the American League. Their two All-Stars Justin Verlander (8-4, 3.54 ERA) and Edwin Jackson (6-4, 2.59 ERA) have been consistently dominating, and dubbed the best one-two pitching punch in the American League. Rick Porcello (8-6, 4.14 ERA) has been mostly consistent, but starting to struggle as a rookie. Armando Galarraga (5-7, 5.03 ERA) hasn't been good. It looked like Alfredo Figaro was going to be good, but he was optioned after his second start. Now, they're trying out Luke French, as Dontrelle Willis and Jeremy Bonderman are on the disabled list.

Bullpen: C
The bullpen hasn't been a strong suit (4.41 ERA), leading the American League with 15 blown saves. Joel Zumaya (5 blown saves, 4.25 ERA) and Zach Miner (4.78 ERA) have not been reliable. Brandon Lyon (3.92 ERA) and Bobby Seay (3.20 ERA, 0.99 WHIP) have been consistenly good. Freddy Dolsi looks like he has promise while Fernando Rodney (4.25 ERA) is nail-biting at the end of games, but has yet to blow a save.

Offense: C+
The Tigers have a lot of good offensive players, but not a lot of offensive production. There's Miguel Cabrera, who ranks among the best in the triple crown categories. They also have Brandon Inge and Curtis Granderson to drive in runs, although they won't hit for average. Magglio Ordonez has been struggling all year and Gerald Laird isn't a good offensive weapon. There's also not much production from Adam Everett or Marcus Thames, either. Ryan Raburn is starting to start more, and he's been good. The bench of Dusty Ryan, Josh Anderson, and Ramon Santiago is just average.

Team Thoughts

Detroit's most valuable player has been Edwin Jackson. He has brought consistent, strong pitching to a rotation that would be screwed without him. Out of his 17 starts, 13 were quality. His sub-3.00 ERA and 1.09 WHIP are also spectacular and he pitches deep into games.

Detroit's least valuable player has been Magglio Ordonez. He was once the best player in the game. Now, he's batting .264 with 4 home runs and 28 RBI. His production has dropped off and his playing time has been reduced because of it. He doesn't deserve the money he's getting.

Detroit's best moment came on June 23. The Tigers were hosting the Cubs, and were losing 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. In the bottom of the ninth, there was one out and Ryan Raburn came in to pinch hit. He hit a walkoff two-run homer to secure the rally.

Detroit's worst moment came on May 13. The Tigers didn't just blow the lead once or twice. They blew it three times, and it was against the Twins. Going into the 13th inning, the Tigers had the lead 10-9. Then Joe Crede took care of that, with a two-out, two-strike grand slam to give the Twins the victory.

Power Rankings

Detroit's highest ranking was 3.
Detroit's lowest ranking was 15.
Detroit's average ranking is 8.38.

Playoff Potential

Detroit looked like they were going to run away with the division earlier. A key question will be what to do with the tail-end of their rotation. They have two dominant starters and a great rookie. But there's two other slots you have to worry about.

Kansas City Royals
Record: 36-46
Grade: D

Season In Review (Grades)

Management: C-
Trey Hillman does not have a load of talent to work with. Like the Indians, injuries and the players' play have put cramps on the team. The bulk of the blame does not land on Hillman. This team started off fast, and became the Cindarellas of the American League. Now, everybody has jumped off the Kansas City bandwagon.

Defense: D-
The Royals are the second worst fielding team in the American League. They have committed 60 errors as a club. The bulk of them has come from Alberto Callaspo with ten and the four different shortstops that have combined for 13. Third base has been iffy, and the outfield could really use Coco Crisp's glove. Miguel Olivo has been adequate, catching 34 percent of runners.

Starting Pitching: A-
The Royals have a nice, young pitching staff. No rotation has thrown more complete games (eight). Also, they have a 4.13 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. Zack Greinke (10-4, 2.00 ERA) has been the Cy Young of the first half, with 14-of-17 starts being quality. Brian Bannister (6-6, 3.87 ERA) has also been effective. Gil Meche (4-8, 4.14 ERA) and Luke Hochevar (4-3, 5.08) need to be more consistent, because they are talented. The Royals are trying to see if Bruce Chen will be effective, while Kyle Davies and Sidney Ponson try to figure out their control problems in triple-A.

Bullpen: D+
Kansas City has problems in the bullpen. Neither their 4.53 ERA nor 12 blown saves is going to get the job done. Joakim Soria (13 saves, 1.66 ERA) struggled briefly due to injury, but has come back strong. Kyle Farnsworth went on the disabled list. None of the middle relievers have really been effective: Juan Cruz (4.46 ERA), (4.50 ERA, 1.69 WHIP), Jamey Wright (4.23 ERA), Robinson Tejeda (4.50 ERA, 1.75 WHIP), or John Bale (6.39 ERA, 1.66 WHIP).

Offense: D-
The Royals have one of the weakest offenses in baseball. No American League team has scored less runs than them and they don't hit often. Coco Crisp won't be back and Mike Aviles sophomore slumped his way onto the disabled list. Mike Jacobs and Jose Guillen have underperformed by not driving in enough runs. David DeJesus leads the team in RBI, but doesn't get on base much. They do have a .300+ hitter in Alberto Callaspo. Also, the Silent Assassin Wilie Bloomquist is effective and clutch. They also have a weak bench in Tony Pena and Luis Hernandez.

Team Thoughts

Kansas City's most valuable player has been Zack Greinke. There's no question about it. In his 17 starts, he's kept his team in the game 14 times. He also has five complete games (including two shutouts). His WHIP is a minuscule 1.05 and he also has ten wins. Without Greinke, this team would be the Nationals.

Kansas City's least valuable player has been Mike Jacobs. Jacobs is a strikeout machine that is only batting .225 with 28 RBI. His on-base percentage is a meager .303. What's worse is he is only batting .200 when there are runners in scoring position. He has failed to come up in the clutch many times.

Kansas City's best moment came on June 24. In Houston, the Royals were down 2-1 going into the ninth inning. David DeJesus would single in the tying run to force extra innings. Miguel Olivo then cranked a home run on the first pitch in the 11th inning to give the Royals the lead and the game.

Kansas City's worst moment came on May 25. They were playing the Tigers and they go blown out, 13-1. The Royals team allowed 19 hits and two unearned runs to cross the plate. Starter Gil Meche only lasted 2 1/3 innings and the bullpen didn't pitch much better.

Power Rankings

Kansas City's highest ranking was 6.
Kansas City's lowest ranking was 28.
Kansas City's average ranking is 17.62.

Playoff Potential

I'm not counting out Kansas City yet, either. They play in such a weak division and are only eight games back. With their pitching, if the offense gets on a roll, they could make some noise.

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