Daniel's Huge American League Midseason Report Card

Texas Rangers
Record: 45-36
Grade: B+

Season In Review (Grades)

Management: A
I don't think many people expected the Rangers to be this good. They've had to adjust with Josh Hamilton going down on the disabled list. They're pitching staff has been better than expected in that ballpark and the offense continues to be one of the best. Ron Washington has this team under control and ready to compete.

Defense: B-
The Rangers have made so many good plays, but they've also committed 50 errors. Elvis Andrus, the rookie, has contributed the most (12) errors while Ian Kinsler and Michael Young have each committed six. The outfield has been pretty good, especially Nelson Cruz. Jarrod Saltalamacchia only catches 24 percent of thefts.

Starting Pitching: C
The Rangers rotation has a 4.52 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and .262 batting average against. Kevin Millwood (8-6, 3.34 ERA) has been great all year. Vicente Padilla (6-4, 4.75 ERA) has been inconsistent, and the injury seems to be nagging him. Tommy Hunter (1-1, 3.18 ERA) looks promising while Scott Feldman (7-1, 3.91) has been under-the-radar good. Derek Holland (2-5, 6.18 ERA) hasn't been good so far. Matt Harrison was inconsistent and went on the disabled list and we will see if Dustin Nippert is able to do anything.

Bullpen: C+
The bullpen is average (4.11 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 23 saves), although no American League team has blown fewer saves (six). CJ Wilson (7 H, 2.57 ERA), Doug Mathis (2.16 ERA), and Jason Jennings (3.38 ERA) have all been effective. Jason Grilli (4.55 ERA) has been unreliable. Frank Francisco (14 saves, 2.10 ERA) has been great, but hopefully his injury won't derail his great season.

Offense: A
The Rangers have one of the most potent offenses in all of baseball. They're up there with the big three from the AL East in the home runs and slugging categories. They have Michael Young, whose batting .300+. They also have Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz, who have 50+ RBI. Josh Hamilton's return will inflate these offensive statistics even more. Marlon Byrd has been a great surprise. Elvis Andrus needs to be more consistent and Jarrod Saltalamacchia needs to start producing more. Hank Blalock can drive in runs, but needs to get on base more. They're bench is decent (Andruw Jones and Omar Vizquel).

Team Thoughts

Texas's most valuable player has been Nelson Cruz. He filled a big void when Hamilton went down. Cruz is batting .262 with 20 homers, 50 RBI, 13 stolen bases, and an .854 OPS. He also has a rocket arm and is one of those five-tool players.

Texas's least valuable player has been Chris Davis. He was demoted to make room for Josh Hamilton. He was batting .202 with 114 strikeouts, and on pace to break some strikeout records. He only had a .256 on-base percentage, and his occasional RBI wasn't worth his .215 average with runners in scoring position (including 37 strikeouts).

Texas's best moment came on April 15. The Rangers blew out the Orioles 19-6. However, what was more impressive was Ian Kinsler. He went 6-for-6, and batted for the cycle. The Rangers as a team belted 19 hits and every Ranger player got on base.

Texas's worst moment came on June 20. Derek Holland was dominant the entire game. The problem was the Rangers offense decided not to show up and support him. The game went to extra innings on a 1-1 tie, and the Rangers lost because the Giants scored on a wild pitch in the eleventh.

Power Rankings

Texas's highest ranking was 2.
Texas's lowest ranking was 23.
Texas's average ranking is 10.31.

Playoff Potential

The Rangers could make the playoffs. They've battled against the Angels well so far this year. I think that the Angels will take the division. Who knows? Could they sneak in as the Wild Card?

Toronto Blue Jays
Record: 43-41
Grade: B-

Season In Review (Grades)

Management: B
Did anybody think the Blue Jays would be in first place for a large portion of the season? No. Cito Gaston has been great for this franchise. The Jays early on competed with the best of the rest and were topping the pitching and offensive statistical charts. That's disappeared, and Gaston's wondering why.

Defense: A
There's not a better defensive team in the American League. They've only committed 30 errors, which is less than half of Seattle. Aaron Hill has committed most of the errors (six). Scott Rolen continues to be a defensive wiz and Marco Scutaro has been phenomenal at shortstop. Vernon Wells and the rest of the outfield continue to play great defense and Rod Barajas catches 33 percent of thefts.

Starting Pitching: B-
The starting rotation has a 4.39 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and has hurled five complete games. The pitching staff has been depleted by injuries. Roy Halladay (10-2, 2.79 ERA) has continued to be his Cy self.  Ricky Romero (7-3, 2.96 ERA) has been a rookie sensation. Brian Tallet (5-6, 4.38 ERA) and Brett Cecil (2-1, 6.23 ERA) have been way too inconsistent. The Jays are also using yet another new rookie starting pitcher Marc Rzepczynski, and we'll see how that goes.

Bullpen: C-
The bullpen is iffy. It has a 4.12 ERA, .251 batting average against, and has blown 11 saves. BJ Ryan (6.53 ERA) has been absolutely horrendous. Jeremy Accardo (4.32 ERA), Jesse Carlson (4.89 ERA), Brandon League (5.08 ERA, 3 BS), and Shawn Camp (4.10 ERA) have been neither good nor consistent. Jason Frasor (2.40 ERA) has been okay, but Scott Downs will be a huge boost when he makes his return.

Offense: A-
The Jays have a better offense than most. No American League team has no more hits than them. Scott Rolen continues to beast with his .325+ batting average and Adam Lind has put up All-Star caliber numbers in the triple crown categories. Aaron Hill has been the best second baseman in the American League, while Marco Scutaro has been a consistent staple in the offense. There's not enough offense from Vernon Wells or Alex Rios. The bench (Raul Chavez, Jose Bautisa, John McDonald, Kevin Millar) is a little better than average.

Team Thoughts

Toronto's most valuable player has been Adam Lind. He's batting .310 with 18 home runs, 57 RBI, and a .944 OPS. He has come up with big RBI when it matters and has been the most consistent run producer on the team.

Toronto's least valuable player has been Vernon Wells. This is mostly because he has an insane paycheck that he does not deserve. Wells is only batting .257 with eight home runs, 37 RBI, and a .715 OPS. All of his numbers have dropped. He's also only batting .167 with runners in scoring position.

Toronto's best moment came on June 16. The Blue Jays were playing the Phillies and were down 3-2, going into the ninth inning. They tied the game in the top of the ninth, and then won the game in extra innings by scoring five more runs in the tenth, with production coming from almost everywhere.

Toronto's worst moment came on June 27. The Blue Jays were embarrassed by JA Happ. They not only gave up 10 runs to the Phillies offense, they also only got five hits as JA Happ threw a complete game shutout against the Jays.

Power Rankings

Toronto's highest ranking was 1.
Toronto's lowest ranking was 20.
Toronto's average ranking is 6.38.

Playoff Potential

The Blue Jays have made me a disbeliever again. I really don't think they can compete with the big three in their division. They're only 8-14 against the AL East, which is not going to cut it come playoff time.

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