The 2013 Major League Baseball season just completed its second week and things are all ready off to a very surprising, confusing start. Several teams have headed down a dark path achieving less than expect results, while others have come out of nowhere, displaying their raw talent. In the American League things have not exactly gone according to plan, as some expert analysts would say, especially considering that all the teams in the cellar from last season and the teams at the top have switched places. Granted, the season is still quite young and a lot can change quickly. Here are the problems that each team in needs to fix in the upcoming months.
American League East
Tampa Bay Rays (5-9)
On Sunday, the Rays almost became victim to Clay Buchholz’s second career no-hitter as the Boston Red Sox beat them 5-0. The Rays have found themselves on the receiving end of a no-hitter/perfect game at least once a season since Joe Maddon took the managerial helm in 2006. Currently they are 30th in batting average (.204). Their pitching is off to a less-than-expected start as they are currently 21st in ERA (4.31) with Matt Moore being the only redeeming quality of the rotation at 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA. The Rays need to fix everything, but mostly their hitting.
Toronto Blue Jays (6-9)
The Blue Jays have had a grocery list of problems to start the season: 28th in ERA (4.88), 28th in WHIP (1.54), 24th in batting average (.237) and 19th overall in runs scored (45). Starting pitchers Josh Johnson and R.A. Dickey have been less than stellar on top of the loss of Jose Reyes for three months is making their deal with the Miami Marlins in the offseason look like a mistake. The Blue Jays need to re-evaluate their rotation as well as rely upon small ball over home runs.
Baltimore Orioles (7-7)
Baltimore setting out to prove that its 2012 campaign wasn’t a fluke, and the bats of Adam Jones and Chris Davis are certainly paving the way. Davis currently has six home runs and 19 RBI while Jones is third in the American League with a .390 batting average. Overall their hitting has been solid at 11th overall in average (.261). The pitching has been decent, and has really been their only fault on the season thus far. They are currently 11th in ERA (3.90), but the WHIP has been solid at sixth overall (1.20). The Orioles need to more games off with a lead as they relied too heavily upon comeback wins last season.
New York Yankees (8-5)
The Yankees have been a bit of a surprise as most people wrote them off on account of their injury problems. So far the team is sitting with the third best batting average in the Majors (.281) and are 10th in scoring with 64 runs. Their pitching has been less than stellar, only keeping a decent 13th-best ERA (3.91) but near worst-in-the-league batting average allowed of .288. The Yankees need pitching and fast to keep in the hunt. While they can obviously score runs, they need to work on preventing them as well.
Boston Red Sox (10-4)
John Farrell and the Red Sox are off to a solid start, nearly attaining a no-hitter on Sunday from Buchholz. The entire pitching staff has been marvelous: second in the Majors in ERA (2.64) and third in WHIP (1.16). The bats have been somewhat quiet, but they’re still averaging 19th-best (.247). The Red Sox are expected to hit more home runs than they’re producing, which seems to be the only issue at the moment.
American League Central
Cleveland Indians (5-8)
Michael Bourn may miss a week after receiving a slight injury to his hand after sliding into first base; however, the Indians are starting to bring things around as a team. Justin Masterson has been phenomenal with a 3-1 record, 1.67 ERA and 25 strikeouts, but the rest of the rotation has been mediocre at best. Despite what Masterson has done, the team ERA stands at 4.71, the 23rd-best in the Majors. Hitting, on the other hand, really needs to improve. Bourn is the only player currently hitting over .300 who has played in every game this season. The .233 team average is truly their biggest weakness at the moment.
Minnesota Twins (6-7)
The Twins were projected to finish in last place in the Central Division, and they’re certainly on the fast track to making that a reality. Despite a solid opening series against the Detroit Tigers, the Twins have not been clicking at all on both sides of the plate. They’re currently batting .246 as a team, 26th-worst in the Majors and their ERA is 22nd at 4.38. Vance Worley has been getting rocked in all of his starts and the team barely survived a no-hitter from the New York Mets on Saturday. Solution: more consistent hitting and more quality starts from the rotation.
Chicago White Sox (7-8)
Like the Twins, Chicago started off well, but went on a five-game skid against the Washington Nationals and Cleveland Indians before coming up with a win against The Tribe on Sunday. The pitching has been above average: 10th-best ERA (3.82) and eighth-best WHIP (1.22). The hitting must be improved. The White Sox are 22nd in average (.240) and 23rd in scoring (49 runs). If the bats stay consistent and their starting rotation produces more quality starts, the White Sox will get back atop the leaderboard with Addison Reed ready to close things out.
Kansas City Royals (8-6)
The Kansas City Royals are currently tied for first place in the AL Central. Let that one sink in for a moment. After two weeks of solid ball the Royals are exceeding expectations. Alex Gordon is paving with way with a .350 batting average despite the team being 16th in the Majors with 55 runs scored. Jeremy Guthrie, for the moment, has found a revival in his career as he is 2-0 with 17 strikeouts and a 3.20 ERA. The Royals are currently have the eighth best ERA (3.56) which comes from a so-far stellar move by manager Ned Yost having Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar coming out of the bullpen. Their biggest issue at the moment is the lack of quality starts from veteran, and offseason acquisition James Shields.
Detroit Tigers (9-5)
The Tigers finished the week taking two of three from one of the hottest teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics. The Tigers are the only team in the Majors hitting over .300. The Colorado Rockies at .286 are the next best, so there isn’t much that needs to be worked on there at all. Torii Hunter and Prince Fielder have been the biggest surprises thus far. Hunter is hitting .414 with nine RBI, while Fielder is hitting .383 with four home runs and 19 RBI. The pitching is improving. Anibal Sanchez has proved to be a great retainer, going 2-0 with 21 strikeouts and a 1.42 ERA thus far. The bullpen needs a bit of work, mostly in the closing department as well as a solid fifth starter.
American League West
Houston Astros (4-11)
For a brief moment the Astros were starting to resemble a professional baseball team by winning three in-a-row before dropping their last two to the Angels. The Astros had lost six straight starting with being on the receiving end of a near-perfect game by Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers on the second game of the year, but turned things around in Seattle against the Mariners. The team currently has the 18th-best batting average (.247), but the pitching needs a lot of work. Jose Altuve and Marwin Gonzalez have been the offensive stars with Bud Norris was the only speck of hope in the starting rotation until he got shelled against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.
Los Angeles Angels (4-10)
Somewhere there is a decent ballclub here, and their last two games are finally starting to show signs of it. The Angels got off to an atrocious 2-8 start, but finally bounced back at home with back-to-back wins against the Houston Astros. The bats of Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout have finally woken up; however, the pitching on all accounts has been dismal. Fix the pitching; fix your chances on winning more games.
Seattle Mariners (6-10)
Michael Morse started off brilliantly, but the fractured finger he suffered will force him to miss a week or two, which the Mariners don’t need. Hisashi Iwakuma has been the breakout pitching star for the team, going 2-0 with 16 strikeout and a 2.18 ERA thus far. Felix Hernandez has had back-to-back rough starts plus a no decision on Wednesday, but will more-than-likely recover in the near future. Outside of Morse the rest of the team is only hitting .219 collectively and the team ERA (4.59) has taken a hit on account of rookie Brandon Maurer. The Mariners need to focus on everything, but mostly developing a consistent pattern of hitting.
Texas Rangers (9-5)
The Rangers are right on the heels of the Athletics, and they’re staying in the hunt with solid pitching from Darvish and a revived Alexi Ogando. As a team the Rangers have the third-best ERA in baseball (2.85) and the second-best WHIP (1.09); however, the hitting has taken a turn for the worst since last season as they have the 16th-best average (.253) and have only scored a 20th-best 53 times. If the Rangers can get someone other than Lance Berkman and A.J. Pierzynski to hit consistently, they might be in good shape.
Oakland Athletics (12-4)
Despite dropping two games to the Tigers over the weekend, the Athletics are easily the best team in the American League. Unfortunately the Athletics are starting to get marred by injuries as Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick are battling wrist-related issues and Coco Crisp is dealing with an injured groin. Outside of that, Jed Lowrie, Seth Smith and Eric Sogard have been putting on a hitting clinic. The team leads the Majors in home runs and runs scored (89) and the pitching has been above board. With the exception of Jarrod Parker the Athletics have one of the strongest rotations in the game, as well as a top-three bullpen. The Athletics may need to send Parker down and bring Dan Straily up to stay on top.