MLB: American League, Best & Worst---2013.

For more analysis, go to Mile High Sports Radio AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team, milehighsports.com.  .  . 

.  .  .   SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed. & Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner.

MLB   ---    Seven of the 15 MLB-American League franchises finished the 2012 season above .500, the New York Yankees leading in number of won games, 95, the Oakland A’s next with 94, the Yankees with one more win than accrued by 2012’s World Series championship team,  the National League’s San Francisco Giants, the A’s matching the same number of wins that the Giants had. Also, the AL’s Texas Rangers finished the 2012 season with 93 wins. Yet the AL’s championship team, the Detroit Tigers, which beat the Yankees and went on to the World Series, won fewer than 90 games in 2012---88.

And, just as in 2012 only four AL teams were in the top 10 of the 30 MLB franchises, four AL teams were among the bottom 10, including 2012’s worst baseball team, the 55-107 Houston Astros. Nevertheless, two NL teams were among 2012’s bottom three clubs, the Chicago Cubs (61-101) and the Miami Marlins (69-93). By no means, then, is there real parity when comparing the best and the worst of the AL and the NL. However, the two leagues were close enough in 2012's final standings for baseball analysts to say that in 2013 neither will be far superior, nor deeply inferior, one up against the other.

So, how might the above-listed top AL teams fare in 2013?

Starting from within the top five of the AL, the Yankees have a starter rotation of several pitchers with 15 or more wins during 2012, three with ERA’s below 4.0, including LH C.C. Sabathia, 15-6, ERA 3.3; RH Hiroki Kuroda, 16-11, ERA also 3.3; RH Phil Hughes, 16-13, ERA 4.2. Among Yankee hitters, three have batting averages higher than .300---second baseman, Robinson Cano; outfielder, Brett Gardner; shortstop, Derek Jeter. An oddity is that Yankee outfielder, Curtis Granderson, holds one of the team’s lower batting averages (.232), but in 2012 he hit 43 home runs and led in RBI’s, 106. Even so, for the Yankees to achieve 90 or more wins in 2013 and a post-season billet, they might not have what it takes from its relievers, LH Boone Logan being the only reliever with a winning 2012 record, 7-2, ERA 3.7. The great Yankee closer, Mariano Rivera, could only finish 2012 at 1-1, due to an injury.

The 2012 AL championship team, the Detroit Tigers, has a fine chance to become the same in 2013, the  enhancers being starting pitchers RH Justin Verlander, 17-8, ERA 2.6, and RH Max Scherzer, 16-7, ERA 3.7; reliever, Octavio Dotel, 5-3, ERA 3.5; possible new closer up from the minors, RH Bruce Rondon, 29 saves, ERA 1.5. Among Detroit’s hitters there is Miguel Cabrera (third baseman,.330 batting average, 44 HR's, 139 RBI’s); Prince Fielder (first baseman, .313 BA, 30 HR's, 108 RBI's; Tori Hunter (outfielder, .313, 16 HR's, 92 RBI’s).

As for the Oakland A’s, this team won’t drop beneath the margin; it’s unlikely that they will play poorly even when they lose, for there isn’t a losing pitcher within the team’s starter rotation, three that can boast of double-digit wins, at the top RH Jarod Parker, 13-8, ERA 3.4. Nor is there an A’s reliever that isn’t a winning hurler, RH Ryan Cook atop, 6-2, ERA 2.0. A downside is that within a batting order of better than adequate and consistent hitters, there isn’t a phenom, in 2012 no A’s hitter finished above or at .300, A’s outfielder Yoenis Cespedes the closest with his .292 BA, 23 HR’s, plus 82 RBI’s, and first baseman, Brandon Moss, 291 BA, 21 HR’s, 52 RBI’s. Added power will surely come from new arrival to the A’s from Japan, shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, .302 BA.

Re. the Texas Rangers, a question that’s more hoopla than having a great deal of significance, has been, “Can the Rangers lineup do as well in 2103 without outfielder/superb hitter, Josh Hamilton, now with the L.A. Angels, Hamilton having had a 2012 .285 BA, 43 HR’s and 128 RBI’s?” Fact: in 2012, Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre hit for a .321 BA, with 36 HR’s and 102 RBI’s, and outfielder David Murphy reached .304, with 15 HR’s and 61 RBI’s, and outfielder Nelson Cruz batted .260 and had 24 HR’s and 90 RBI’s. Among the Rangers starters, LH Matt Harrison finished 2012 at 18-11, ERA 3.2, and RH Yu Darvish, 16-9, ERA 3.9. Then there are Texas relievers with ERA’s under 3.0, the 6-0 LH Robbie Ross, and 3-5 RH Joe Nathan .  .  .  Hamilton won't be missed greatly by the Rangers.

The L.A. Angels were 89-73 in 2012, more wins than obtained by the AL Champions, the Detroit Tigers. In 2013, with Hamilton aboard plus super hitters Albert Pujols (1B, .285, 30 HR’s, 105 RBI’s) and Mike Trout (OF, .326, 30 HR’s, 83 RBI’s) and a starter rotation that includes Jered Weaver (20-5, ERA 2.8), C.J. Wilson (13-5, ERA 3.8) and Jason Vargas (14-11, ERA 3.8), well, it shouldn’t surprise if the Angels will be leading if not the AL from the start of the season, then the AL West, though a downturn could occur from the Angels now being without above-the-margin relievers.

Reaching to the bottom, in view are the Houston Astros, no winning starting pitcher among eight, RH Lucas Harrell having the most wins, 11-11, ERA 4.6, and no hitter close to .300, the team's cumulative HR’s and RBI’s among the lowest inside the AL. Most difficult for the Astros in 2013 will be that the team’s division consists of three of the best ball clubs in either the AL or the NL---the Angels, the A’s and the Rangers. Without Roy Hobbes popping out for the Astros from the book or film version of The Natural, it’s hard to imagine them moving up more than a rung or two from the team’s 2012 finish.

To date, informed guesses for the 2013 AL standings have landed on the Tigers, Angels, Yankees, Rangers and the A’s, for being up front April into September, then competing for the AL-LC. Deja-Vu all over ag .  .  .  well, that’s how it could be!

END/ml  // For analysis of the NL, scroll down.