Why Saber Watches the Game-The American League

Why Saber Watches The Game-The American League

Even a cold-hearted bastard like me has a soft-spot for watching any team try to compete at such a high level. But why watch a team that isn’t your favorite, or even in the same league? Well, that’s easy…

AL East

Baltimore
….or maybe not that easy. But when I watch the Orioles, I see a young franchise centerfielder in Adam Jones. He is the kind of player a contender can be built around. When the ownership is making poor decisions, when it usurps the GM, when the team gets old and expensive and doesn’t win games, he’s the hope. Players like Adam Jones, Adam Loewen, Nick Markakis, are the men that, at the end of the day, you have to hang your hat on and say, “Maybe it isn’t so bad.”

Boston
Now here’s the thing. We all know how good Boston is as a team and as a franchise. That’s established. Where you really see it, though, is on the field. Boston players are very deliberate. If you’re at the plate, you’re there with a plan. Now, part of that is the nature of the players Boston acquires, but I have to believe that there’s a mantra they beat into you.

“Look for your pitch, (Red Sox player with a cadre of dedicated fans with nasal voices)….”

New York Yankees
One thing you’ll never see me tout is the “swagger” of the Yankees. I don’t think that each member of the Yanks has the spirits of Babe Ruth and Cap Anson or something on their shoulders. (Clay Bellinger?) Anyway, one thing the Yankees do emphasize is “professionalism.” They do care about the image they project. For better or worse, they make it look like they care.

Tampa Bay Devils
Hope. They have hope now. All the crap from years before, the Jose Cansecos, the Fred McGriffs, the signing of Toe Nash, the travails of Josh Hamilton and Elijah Dukes and Delmon Young…it’s all gone. All you see now is a huge collection of talent. Where don’t they have a potential huge bat or arm? This is a team with a short past, but a bright future.

Toronto Blue Jays
You get to see Matt Stairs in light blue. And the homeruns are hit in meters. Also, Roy Halladay is pretty good.

Chicago White Sox
The White Sox move aggressively to stay in contention. There is a sense of urgency in Chicago, and there should be. For a team that the Windy City of Big Shoulders blatantly ignores, you should still watch them. Ozzie is a hoot. He’s just plain crazy, but he still generally makes reasonable decisions on the field. As an Angels fan, I remember Bobby Jenks when he was a hard-throwing jerk who got released. That Don Cooper and Ozzie Guillen could turn that into a fine closer is a testament to something being done right up north. (North? Midwest? South tip of that Great Lake?)

Cleveland Indians
The Indians, after a fine run in the 90’s, are making another run with fantastic talent. You get to watch Sabathia’s fat ass and Fausto’s groundballs all year. Grady Sizemore is a star. Even better, Rafael Betancourt has shown us all that steroids make you a winner. Hey kids, he’s imitatable!

Detroit Tigers
With players running the gamut from Gary Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez to Miguel Cabrera and Curtis Granderson, Detroit is building with young and old, star and scrub. Dave Dombrowski has aggressively built this contender, with the draft, trades, and free agent signings. He’s shown that even a team that was historically bad just a few years ago can build quickly and effectively, if it has the know-how. While this team is much older than it seems, I believe the Detroit leadership can do what is necessary to keep in contention for the next several years.

Kansas City Royals
In KC, there’s been as little hope the last few years as any franchise in the game. But Dayton Moore is changing that. Just 5 years ago, this team was making disastrous picks in the draft. Colt Griffin? If anything shows progress, it’s the fact that you no longer believe that young Royals players are doomed to failure. Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Zach Greinke, Joakim Soria….while these young men may never win a ring, their success proves that there is life in Missouri since Bret Saberhagen and Kevin Appier ruled the Earth.

Minnesota Twins
In Minnesota, they play an older style of ball. The Twins scout old school, they draft old school, and they play old school. If you want to know what the game was like in the 1970s, then catch the Twinkies. I think the stadium hasn’t changed since then, either. I think the mound is higher there, too, and all the players have handlebar mustaches. Also, you should like concrete.

California Angels
Angels Stadium is where you go to just see a ballgame. There aren’t any grudges, or even fans that are sure what’s going on most of the time. It’s sunny, warm, and the batters take their hacks. The Angels play a brand of ball predicated on aggression. This aggression, when it works, it very effective, but heavily dependent on batting averages. However, when they get hot, they can win the World Series, as they have done. While the Angels don’t lead the league in steals every year, they’re usually at the top, and few teams are better at taking the extra base.

Oakland Athletics
The lesson that most people take from Moneyball is the wrong one. The goal was not to get guys who walk a ton or college draftees. The goal was, and still is, to exploit market inefficiencies. That means getting players who can be fixed, rebuilt, who are underrated, with whatever skills other teams aren’t valuing enough. Look for more of the same trades as they made in the offseason, because Billy Beane is a shark. If he stops, he drowns.

Seattle Mariners
Ichiro! makes watching the game a joy, but you knew that already. Felix Hernandez may one day send an entire league into fits, and that day is closer than anyone thinks.
As an aside, my brother and I don’t necessarily get along. But as Angels fans, when we heard that Bill Bavasi was put in charge in Seattle, we laughed together for quite awhile. You don’t know what suffering is for others until you know it yourself.

Texas Rangers
Ah, the end of this brief dalliance. While the Rangers have yet to realize on how good (bad) they are, there is still one man you should care about. Josh Hamilton continues his destruction of preconceptions. We are a nation founded in the Christian belief of redemption, and if anyone personifies it in this game, it’s Joshua Holt Hamilton.