A View of the Standings Almost 30 Games Into 2013

I think I'm going to take a peek into my predictions at random points during the season to see how badly I made my picks in both the American and National League Standings. So at the point of game 30 for most teams, here is how the standings look (courtesy of Yahoo Sports):

American League
East	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	Diff	Streak	L10
Boston Red Sox	20	8	.714	--	11-5	9-3	148	99	+49	Won 2	8-2
New York Yankees	17	10	.630	2.5	11-5	6-5	125	114	+11	Won 2	7-3
Baltimore Orioles	17	12	.586	3.5	7-5	10-7	146	121	+25	Won 1	6-4
Tampa Bay Rays	12	15	.444	7.5	8-4	4-11	113	114	-1	Lost 2	5-5
Toronto Blue Jays	10	19	.345	10.5	6-10	4-9	106	150	-44	Lost 2	2-8
Central	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	Diff	Streak	L10
Kansas City Royals	15	10	.600	--	8-4	7-6	113	98	+15	Won 2	7-3
Detroit Tigers	16	11	.593	--	10-4	6-7	134	107	+27	Won 1	7-3
Minnesota Twins	12	12	.500	2.5	7-6	5-6	98	101	-3	Won 1	5-5
Cleveland Indians	12	13	.480	3.0	4-6	8-7	126	109	+17	Won 4	7-3
Chicago White Sox	12	15	.444	4.0	7-7	5-8	97	109	-12	Won 2	5-5
West	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	Diff	Streak	L10
Texas Rangers	17	11	.607	--	8-4	9-7	121	94	+27	Lost 2	5-5
Oakland Athletics	16	13	.552	1.5	9-8	7-5	162	142	+20	Lost 1	4-6
Seattle Mariners	13	17	.433	5.0	9-8	4-9	103	131	-28	Won 1	6-4
Los Angeles Angels	10	18	.357	7.0	6-7	4-11	117	148	-31	Lost 1	3-7
Houston Astros	8	21	.276	9.5	4-9	4-12	118	168	-50	Lost 3	3-7
National League
East	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	Diff	Streak	L10
Atlanta Braves	17	11	.607	--	8-4	9-7	115	88	+27	Lost 2	4-6
Washington Nationals	15	14	.517	2.5	9-7	6-7	101	116	-15	Won 2	5-5
Philadelphia Phillies	13	16	.448	4.5	7-8	6-8	107	130	-23	Won 1	5-5
New York Mets	11	15	.423	5.0	7-8	4-7	126	124	+2	Won 1	3-7
Miami Marlins	8	21	.276	9.5	5-11	3-10	81	131	-50	Lost 2	4-6
Central	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	Diff	Streak	L10
St. Louis Cardinals	17	11	.607	--	7-5	10-6	127	100	+27	Won 3	7-3
Pittsburgh Pirates	16	12	.571	1.0	8-4	8-8	116	114	+2	Won 1	6-4
Milwaukee Brewers	14	13	.519	2.5	9-7	5-6	127	125	+2	Lost 2	5-5
Cincinnati Reds	15	14	.517	2.5	12-4	3-10	128	106	+22	Lost 2	4-6
Chicago Cubs	11	17	.393	6.0	5-7	6-10	100	117	-17	Lost 1	6-4
West	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	RS	RA	Diff	Streak	L10
Colorado Rockies	17	11	.607	--	9-3	8-8	148	119	+29	Won 1	4-6
San Francisco Giants	16	12	.571	1.0	8-4	8-8	124	117	+7	Won 3	5-5
Arizona Diamondbacks	15	13	.536	2.0	8-8	7-5	121	108	+13	Lost 3	5-5
Los Angeles Dodgers	13	14	.481	3.5	7-8	6-6	91	115	-24	Lost 1	6-4
San Diego Padres	11	17	.393	6.0	5-7	6-10	107	131	-24	Won 1	6-4
x-Clinched Playoff Spot; y-Division Champ Last updated Friday, May 3, 2013 3:31 pm EDT

Now looking back to my predictions for the American League from March 28, 2013, my picks for the AL are all screwed up. The only teams that I have correctly picked (if the season ended today) were the Houston Astros. Not very surprising there. The Boston Red Sox lead the majors with a 20-8 record playing gritty ball backed by some damn good pitching by Clay Bucholz and John Lester. The Yankees are also playing gritty ball leading them to a 17-11 record. Baltimore is where I thought they would be in the middle of the pack with a 17-12 record and Tampa is starting slow at 12-15. The Blue Jays are playing some bad ball amid injuries and failed expectations totally busting my prediction for the AL East with a dreary 10-19.  I know I said we need to see how this team plays together before crowning them with any championship but are the Blue Jays really this bad? Are the Boston Red Sox really this good?

Weather has played havoc on games played in the Midwest especially with snow cancelling many games. So in the AL West, Kansas City leads the division with a 15-12 record with Detroit hot on their heels with a 16-11 record. The Twins have played the least amount of games in the majors and are at .500 with a 12-12 record while Cleveland who looked like they were going to get demolished all season are actually one game under .500 with a 12-13 record. The White Sox are the bottom dwellers with a 12-15 record. Is this the season that Kansas City finally plays to the expectations and potential people have been saying that they have with their talented players and prospects?

In the West, the once again under-performing Angels are ruining my picks. First in the division are the Yu Darvish lead Texas Rangers with a 17-11 record followed by the balanced Oakland A's with a 16-13 record. After that the division takes a dip with the Seattle Mariners at 13-17 and the Angels at 10-18 and the Astros at 8-21. Can the Angels rebound in time to catch up to the Rangers and Athletics before being buried in the AL West?

My picks for the National League are a bit better compared to today's standings. In the National League East, my picks are almost on point with the exception of the flip-flop of Atlanta and Washington being one and two in the division. The Braves after a torrid start have come back down to earth with a 17-11 record while the Nationals are right behind them with a 15-14 record. The rest of the division is Philles at 13-16, New York at 11-15 and the dreadful Miami Marlins at 8-21.

The Central has the tightest race in the National League. The St. Louis Cardinals are in first with a 17-11 record. The Pirates are hot on their heels with a 16-12 record, Milwaukee at 14-13, Cincinnati at 15-14 and the Chicago Cubs joining their American League neighbors the White Sox in last place at 11-17. The Reds were my pick to end up in first place so we'll see how Dusty Baker leads this team in the months to come.

In the West, the surprising Colorado Rockies are leading the division with a 17-11 record. The healthy duo of Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzski are crushing the ball in the way the team imagined when they were both signed to long term deals. The Giants are right behind them at 16-12 and the in third Diamondbacks at 15-13. The Los Angeles Dodgers are sitting at a disappointing 13-14 and the Padres are where I thought they would be at 11-17. Injuries and slumping players have wreaked havoc on the Dodgers who came into the season with high expectations due to the arrival of new management and their high spending. Will the team gel and play to the degree that many expected them to play? Time will tell on that one.

So keep you eyes glued to the standings and I'll return to them at another point in the season to see where everyone stands.

Sisco Kid