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AL East

AL East

Red Sox Injured and Inconsistent, But Just Keep On Winning Games

An entire lineup could be assembled out of members of the Boston Red Sox who have struggled with either injuries or inconsistency in 2009. Such problems could derail a season for many major league teams, yet the Red Sox just continue to win games.
They currently sit at 20-12, second in the American League east behind the surprising Toronto Blue Jays.

A Closer Look at Stolen Base Tendencies

The Rays lead all of baseball with 53 stolen bases thus far. While as it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, due to great team speed and manager Joe Maddon's aggressive mindset, there is a strange anomaly that was pointed out by a buddy of mine.

I looked into it, and sure enough, there is a very wide gap between bags stolen off of righties and off of lefties: 45 vs. RHP, 8 vs. LHP.

So let’s take a closer look, with stats provided by baseball-reference.com.

The AL East: The Best Soap Opera on TV

The AL East is one of the most entertaining divisions in all of sports.  It is unequivocally exciting and unpredictable.  The Blue Jays are playing incredibly well, the Rays and Yankees have been a disappointment and the Orioles have had moments of greatness to match moments of incredible frustration. 

The only team that has played even close to what was expected is the Boston Red Sox even though they have an injury hampered rotation and their ace is not playing up to snuff.

Interesting Offensive Percentages

I was reading Baseball Reference today and ran across some interesting stats about the offense.

39.8 % of Carlos Pena’s AB’s end up in a homerun or strikeout, with 30.4% of those being K’s.

28.6% of B.J. Upton’s AB’s end up in a strikeout.

Evan Longoria averages 11.2 AB’s for every homerun while Pena hits one every 9.2.

29% of fly balls that Dioner Navarro hits are only in the infield.

77% of balls hit by Willy Aybar are in play.

Looking at the New York Yankees on an Off Day

Now that the season is over a month old, there are some judgments that can be made. Although it's too early to know for sure what will hold out and what won't, there are some general trends:

  • Whatever the team's problem, it's not the offense.
  • The starting pitching can show flashes of brilliance, but has mostly been pretty average.
  • The bullpen has two reliable pitchers and the rest are firestarters.

Let's take a more in-depth look, shall we?

The Man, The Myth, The Zorilla

Should Zobrist be the everyday RF? (AP)

Should Zobrist Be the Everyday RF? (AP)

Rays-Red Sox: What to Watch For

Here at Trop Talk, we want to wish all the mothers out there a happy Mother’s Day. You all deserve it and we hope you enjoy the day. Today’s game will feature two premier right-handers with Matt Garza going up against Josh Beckett.

 

What to Watch For

The one thing we all would like to see is Garza continue his dominance against the Red Sox.

Jorge Posada: The Heart and Soul of the New York Yankees

Jorge Posada is one of the most underrated Yankees ever. He has been a staple behind the plate for the Yankees since entering the league in 1995. Even at the ripe old age of 37, Jorge is still remains as a force offensively but has declined a bit defensively. Along with his age comes his injuries which prove to be very costly to the team.

Starting Lineups 5-09

Here are the big games on tap for the day. Home teams are in bold.

Kansas City vs. L.A. Angels
I have now made it illegal to miss a Zack Greinke game. How can you see that he is scheduled to pitch and choose not to watch it. He comes into the game tonight 6-0 with a 0.40 ERA. The Royals will be opposed by Joe Saunders, 4-1, 3.29.

Florida vs. Colorado

Top Five Yankee Moments vs. Red Sox at Yankee Stadium

Well, after the embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Red Sox two weekends ago up at Fenway Park, the Sawx travel down to the Bronx for their first games in the New Yankee Stadium.

In honor of this occasion tonight, I have come up with another edition of the Smoking With Hank Top Five, where we take a look at the top five moments between the Yankees and the Red Sox to take place at the Old Yankee Stadium. Enjoy!

Poll

Best of the American League
Tampa Bay
19%
Boston
19%
Chicago
7%
Minnesota
10%
Los Angeles
17%
Texas
27%
Total votes: 270

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