American League

By Bill Pettigrew
Sports Editor, ‘11

Catcher Joe Mauer of the Twins

The 2009 American League pennant race should make for an entertaining ending to the regular baseball season.  Those who deserve to play in October are the teams who persevere through an entire 162-game schedule. Those who succeed in October are the teams who get hot at the right time.
September is the month when the magic numbers decide the standings.  Teams are either already looking forward to next year, enjoying a comfortable lead and resting their starters, or in the hunt for a playoff berth.  The latter is what any baseball fan hopes for, where late regular season games become the make or break contests.
In the AL East, the New York Yankees seem to be sitting pretty atop the Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays.  As of August 24, 2009, they were enjoying a seven game lead after taking two of three in Fenway Park.  The Yankees’ big spending in the off-season not only put them back in first with the best record in baseball, but also seems to have the type of shutdown pitchers that teams need in the short series of October baseball.  The Yankees will have to end with the best record in order to have home-field advantage throughout the post-season.
Detroit leads the White Sox and Twins in the Central, but both teams have the type of clutch performers to make a late season run at first place.  Chicago improved with a waiver wire deal that brought them Jake Peavy, who is coming back from an injury as the ace of the Padres staff before he was dealt.  If healthy, Peavy can be the type of player that will anchor the White Sox through October with a deep rotation that already includes John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Mark Buehrle.  Minnesota has MVP-candidate Joe Mauer leading the way, and that team is not out of it at only 4.5 games back.  However, Detroit still has Justin Verlander pitching lights out, and the acquisition of Aubrey Huff from Baltimore gives their bench the depth it needed.
On the West Coast, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim enjoy the top spot over the Texas Rangers, but have a tough schedule to finish regulation.  The Angels play 26 of their remaining 40 games against teams that are over 500, including three series in a row on the road against the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rangers.  What the Angels do could really affect the rest of the league.  If they dominate these teams, they head into the playoffs with a chip on their shoulder.  If they falter late in September, all of the standings could be shuffled.
The Wild Card race is what should be most exciting, where the Red Sox, Rangers, and Rays will battle to the last game to determine who will have a chance in the post-season and who will be packing their bags home.  The Red Sox have the pitching, the Rangers have the high-powered offense, and the Rays have the youth that clinched the pennant for them last year and could be the sleeper in ’09.
With eight teams vying for four open spots, September should bring us some fun to watch baseball, and fans will be in for a treat as every game becomes more meaningful than the last.