JT the Brick

The All Star break gives us the opportunity to take a step back, evaluate the first half of the 2008 MLB season, and make bold predictions for the upcoming playoffs in October.

American League

New York Yankees
I have been on the radio since 1996 and have not missed once as I have always picked the New York Yankees to make the playoffs. That streak is in jeopardy as this teams tries to find their way through the season after an inconsistent first half.

It is put up or shut up time for New York's $209 million payroll that cannot seem to get hot when it counts. They are in third place in the American League East, six games back of the Boston Red Sox and 5 1/2 behind Tampa Bay. The Yankees have a team batting average of .266 and only have 90 home runs.

Other than Mariano Rivera, every star player has underachieved this season and must get hot for the Bombers to make the playoffs as a wild card. Chien-Ming Wang is still hurt and the rest of the Yankees' young starters are obviously in over their heads as they look to gain confidence after each start. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have been borderline busts and Joba Chamberlain needs more time before he can be counted on to win as a starter in September.

Manager Joe Girardi has recently shown more emotion when discussing his underachieving roster, but time is running out for a team that cannot be counted on to show up for more than two games in a row.

Boston Red Sox
They are still the beast of the East and are fortunate to be in first place after playing most of the first half with out David Ortiz and Curt Schilling. The Red Sox have benefited by clutch players such as Mike Lowell and Dustin Pedroia while Kevin Youkilis earned a spot on the All-Star team with a .314 average and 63 RBI at the break. The team is hitting .282 while dominating their opponents at Fenway Park with a 36-11 record.

The Red Sox are in the market for another middle relief pitcher, but have enough pitching depth to hold off the Rays and the Yankees to win the east and look to defend their title.

Tampa Bay Rays
You either believe the Rays are good enough to make the playoffs or you think they are toast after losing seven in a row heading into the break. I believe their pitching will break down in the second half and their inexperienced lineup will make outs when the pressure is on heading into September.

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Manager Joe Maddon deserves to be Manager of the Year for leading his team to a 55-39 record thus far and has the entire market of Tampa-St. Petersburg believing that they will host playoff games come October.

Tampa's 3.79 team pitching ERA is better than Boston or New York, but they are 19-25 on the road and that should cause concern. I would still be very surprised if they made the playoffs, but I have been amazed already by so many of their accomplishments in the first half. I believe that they miss the post season.

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Detroit Tigers
After a brutal start to the 2008 season, Detroit only trails the Chicago White Sox by seven games in the AL Central. They have an expensive lineup that is starting to hit, but their pitching is inconsistent and overrated as they are ranked 11th in the American League with a 4.39 team ERA.

They are also terrible on the road with a 19-29 record, but have an experienced manager in Jim Leyland who should be able to find a way to help his ball club stay in the race until late September. The big bat of Gary Sheffield (5 HR, 33 RBI) better wake up if the Tigers want to stay close in the wild card race. 

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