The Sox are going to have a difficult time making the playoffs this year. I’m no sucker for the Jays quick start (they’ll start to slip once they deal Roy Hallady and realize Marco Scutaro is starting at shortstop) but I think the rest of the American League is better than most pundits allow.
The Royals are a dangerous team based not only upon the promise of their pitching (will Zack Greinke lose a game this year?) but also upon an underappreciated lineup that is dynamic at the top. Coco Crisp has reverted to his pesky former-self (he leads baseball with 4 triples). Alberto Callaspo, currently hitting a robust .378, follows in the two-hole and, if Jose Guillen, Alex Gordon and Billy Butler can at least hit their weight, Kansas City should challenge Detroit atop the under-appreciated AL Central.
Don’t sleep on the AL West either, where the Mariners pitch enough and field well enough to make up for a gawd-awful lineup. Ditto the Angels who, once Vlad returns, should muster enough O to put up a fight. The entire division, in fact, has potential. And if the Rays taught us anything last year, its that any team with legitimate talent can do serious damage given a little luck and some realized potential.
I see a lot of potential Rays throughout the American League this year. I really think if the Sox don’t take the division from the Yanks (or Rays, for that matter) they could be on the outside looking in come October.
Keywords: Alberto Callaspo, Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Boston Red Sox, Coco Crisp, Jose Guillen, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Marco Scutaro, Roy Halladay, Seattle Mariners, Vladimir Guerrero, Zack Greinke
