Tigers moving up; Rays still the best

AL CENTRAL

Look out Minnesota. The Detroit Tigers have won five in a row, and the offense is not the only reason for the sudden surge. The fifth starter, Dontrelle Willis, only gave up four hits without yielding a run in a big win over the first place Twins.

With a big three game series starting tonight, the Tigers may jump ahead of Minnesota in the standings and my power rankings. Magglio Ordonez was a huge question mark for the Tigers after a horrible season last year, but he is hitting .293 with four homeruns and 18 RBIs.

The rest of the Central is very inconsistent, with the Chicago White Sox still seriously under achieving. They really need to have a few good weeks soon, or the Tigers and Twins will both have huge leads with very good teams. It may be a two-team race if a change doesn’t happen soon.

AL EAST

The Tampa Bay Rays are still a top the division, and they have shown they have the pitching to go toe-to-toe with the Yankees. However, New York is still playing well, and they are one of the best teams in the American League.

For the Rays, they ended another good week with a 1-0 win over Zack Greinke and the Kansas City Royals. The great baseball must be a worry for Yankees fans. Both teams are nearly identical in batting average, but the Rays lead the league in runs scored, with 146, and ERA, 3.14.

The worst of the East is the Boston Red Sox right now. They can’t pitch. They can’t hit, and the Baltimore Orioles just swept them. The Red Sox are in the same situation as the White Sox. If they don’t have a few good weeks soon, they will find themselves too far behind the Rays and Yankees.

AL WEST

As expected, the Oakland Athletics have dropped off a bit. Where did the pitching go? They gave up 43 runs in five losses last week. The one game they didn’t give up more than six runs; they won.

With the freefall of the Athletics, the Texas Rangers have snuck into first place. However, the West is extremely inconsistent. The Mariners and Angels are both under five hundred, and the Rangers are only one game over.

All the teams in the West are at the bottom half in runs scored. There was a bright spot for the Mariners, however. Cliff Lee won 1-0 in his first game. If he is the pitcher Seattle thought they were getting when they signed him, the Mariners will have a great one-two punch.

TOP FIVE AL TEAMS APRIL 26:

1.) Tampa Bay Rays - They lead the league in runs scored and ERA.

2.) New York Yankees – They continue to win series, and the bottom

half of the rotation is playing well..

3.) Minnesota Twins – They struggled with a mediocre week and lost a

series to the Tigers. Next week is big for them.

4.) Detroit Tigers – With the offense clicking and Dontrelle Willis

looking decent, they will be hard to beat.

5.) Texas Rangers– They are the best in the West, for now.