American League Teams After the All-Star Break, Especially in the East Division

After all games were played on the Saturday, July 28, 2018 schedule, we have our usual questions to answer:

• Performance: How did the teams in the #American League East and West do these last two weeks?
• Positions: Which team is in first place in the three American League divisions?
• Potentials or Possibilities: How do things look regarding those four potential 100-win teams in the American League?

1. Performance: How did the teams in the American League East and West do during the last two full weeks from July 15-28?

1.1 The first week began with the following #AL East and other division statistics:

Team           Wins Losses Score on #UBWS18 Scale

Boston         67     30        +50

Yankees       62     32        +43.6

Tampa         49      46       +07.9

Toronto       43      51        -08.4

Baltimore    27      69       -59.8

Other Teams Wins Losses Score on UBWS18 Scale

Cleveland       51    43         +21.6

Houston         64     34         +42.8

Seattle           58     38         +33.2

Oakland        54     42         +18.2

1.2 How did the teams in the American League East do during the two weeks from July 15-28?

(Games Won and, Lost and UBWS18 Scale Scores):

Due to the All-Start break, the first week of this report was a short week in Major League Baseball, with regular-season games only on Sunday, July 15, and then for Thursday, July 19/20 to Saturday, July 21. The second week was a normal week.

The Boston Red Sox won two games the first week and four games the second week, going from 67 to 73 victories. The Red Sox lost one game the first week and two games the second week, going from 30 to 33 defeats. With Boston's two week combined score of six victories and three defeats, its UBWS18 score rose from +50 to +51.2 after the second week.

The New York Yankees won one game the first week and three games the second week, going from 62 to 66 victories. The Yankees lost two games the first week and three games the second week, going from 32 to 37 losses. With the New York team's combined two week statistic of four victories and five defeats, its UBWS18 score went down from +43.6 to +40.8.

The Tampa Rays did not win any games the first week but won four games the second week, going from 49 to 53 victories. The Rays lost three games the first week and three games the second, going from 46 to 52 defeats. With Tampa's combined statistic for the two weeks of four victories and six defeats, its UBWS18 score went from +7.9 to +3.9 at the end of the second week.

The Toronto Blue Jays won two games the first week and two games the second week, going from 43 to 47 victories. The Blue Jays lost one game the first week and four games the second week, going from 51 to 56 defeats. With Toronto's combined score of four victories and five defeats, its UBWS18 score went from -08.4 to -10.7 at the end of the second week.

The Baltimore Orioles won one game the first week and three games the second week, going from 27 to 31 victories. The Orioles lost two games the first week and three games the second week, going from 69 to 74 defeats. With Baltimore's combined score for the two weeks of four victories and five defeats, its UBWS18 score dropped from -59.8 to -62.1.

The Cleveland Indians won all three games the first week and two games the second week, going from 51 to 56 victories. The Indians lost four games the second week, going from 43 to 47 defeats. With the combined two-week total of five victories and four defeats, Cleveland's UBWS18 score went from +21.6 to +20.8.

The Houston Astros won two games the first week and one game the second week, going from 64 to 67 wins. The Astros lost one game the first week and four games the second week, going from 34 to 39 defeats.With its combined two-week total of three victories and five defeats, Houston's UBWS18 score went from +42.8 to +39.2 at the end of the second week.

The Seattle Mariners won one game the first week and two games the second week, going from 58 to 61 victories. The Mariners lost two games the first week and three games the second week, going from 38 to 43 defeats. With a combined two-week total of three victories and five defeats, Seattles UBWS18 score dropped from +33.2 to +29.6.

The Oakland Athletics won two games the first week and five games the second week, going from 54 to 61 victories. The Athletics lost one game the first week and two games the second week, going from 42 to 45 losses. With its combined two-week total of seven victories and three defeats, Oakland's UBWS18 score rose from +18.2 to +26.2 at the end of the second week.

1.3 Statistics After July 28 Games

Team           W     L      Difference      GB of      GB of           Games      10% x 2     Final

                                                           division    wild card      left                             UBWS18

                                                           leader       leader                                              Score

Boston         73    33    +40               - 00           NA                56           5.6 x 2        +51.2

Yankees       66    37    +29               -05.5         0                   59           5.9 x 2        +40.8

Tampa         53    52    +01               -19.5         -08.5             57           5.7 x 2        +03.9

Toronto       47    56    -09                -24.5        -13.5              59           5.9 x 2        --10.7

Baltimore    31   74    -43                -41.5        -30.5              57           5.7 x 2         --62.1

Cleveland    56   47   +09                -00           NA                 59           5.9 x 2        +20.8

Houston      67   39   +28                -00           NA                 56           5.6 x 2        +39.2

Seattle        61   43   +18                -05            NA                58            5.8 x 2       +29.6

Oakland     61   45   +16                -06            -01                56            5.6 x 2       +26.2

LA Angels 54  52    +02                -13          - 08                56             5.6 x 2       +05.2

2. Which team is in first place in each division of the American League?

2.1 In the East Division

The Boston Red Sox are still in first place, ahead of the New York Yankees, in the East Division. Boston has gone from being +3.5 to +5.5 games ahead of New York.

The second-place New York Yankees went from being 3.5 to 5.5 games back of Boston and is now 14 games ahead of Tampa.

The third-place Tampa Rays went from being 17 to 10.5 games back of Boston, and from 11 to 8.5 games back in the wild card behind Seattle.

The fourth-place Toronto Blue Jays went from being 22.5 to 24.5 games back of Boston, and from being 14 to 13.5 games back of Seattle.

The fifth-place Baltimore Orioles went from being -9.5 to 41.5 games back of Boston, and from being 31 to 30.5 games back of Seattle.

2.2 In the Central Division

The Cleveland Indians leads Minnesota by 9.5 games in the Central Division, while Minnesota is -16 games back of Seattle.

2.3 In the West Division

The Houston Astros leads Seattle by 5 games in the West Division.

The Seattle Mariners went from being 3.5 to 5 games back of Houston, and from 4 to 5.5 games back of Yankees for the first wild card and from +4 to +1 ahead of Oakland for second wild card.

3. After these last two weeks, how do things look regarding those four potential 100-win teams needing a +38 score on the UBWS18 Scale?

The Boston Red Sox won a total of six games these past two weeks, raising its UBWS18 score from +50 to +51.2.

The New York Yankees won a total of four games these past two weeks, lowering its UBWS18 score from +43.6 to +40.8.

The Houston Astros won a total of three games these past two weeks, lowering its UBWS18 score from +42.8 to +39.2.

The Seattle Mariners won a total of three games these past two weeks, lowering its UBWS18 score from +33.2 to +29.6.

Observations

The Red Sox, the Yankees, and the Astros are playing better than the +38 UBWS18 score needed to win at least one hundred games this season. Boston is maintaining itself comfortably above that minimum score, but New York and Houston, while still above the minimum +38 score needed, have both slid back a little bit in the last two weeks. If these teams slide back any more, they both may not lose their present position in the respective division but will be in danger of losing the possibility of winning at least 100 games this season. 

The Seattle Mariners has not only dropped significantly in its pursuit of a 100-win season but has also slipped significantly in its division. If the Oakland Athletics continues its extended Big Winning Streak, it may soon challenge Seattle for second place in the division and in the second wild card position of the postseason playoffs. If the Athletics accelerate its Big Winning Streak, it could even have the outside possibility of replacing Seattle as the fourth American League team looking for 100 victories these season. This would not be an easy task for Oakland, since the Athletics began the season very slowly in March, April and May before starting to win significantly over the last few weeks of June and July.

Published by Ambrose Powell

Ambrose Powell, professor, counselor and lifelong fan of professional sports teams from the Boston area (Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots) was born and raised in the well-known New England region of the United States. He currently teaches English in Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela but also maintains his interest in his New England professional sports teams and follows them closely from his present location. You can find him on Facebook (ambrosio.powell), Twitter (@ambropow53), and Instagram (ambrosio399) as well as on this sports blog (https://soxcelticsandpatriots.blogspot.com).