The Outer Edge, A Weekly Report on the 2001 Season, by James Floto

WEEK 13

It's July and things are heating up: the weather, the divisional races, action on the trade front, the All Star Game. This week's "Outer Edge" comes to you in two parts. Today, a review of the divisional races to the halfway point. Thursday, after your 4th of July holiday, we will be discussing the major trends and issues of the season, from a rash of retirements to a fresh supply of good young arms, to some hitters who are putting together career years.

And so, to the divisional races, which are interesting this year in that we are not seeing the same old faces. Consider: Boston and Chicago lead their respective divisions, and have done for most of the year. Neither of these venerable ballteams has claimed a World Series championship since World War One. The Phillies, another Original Club, lost to the Red Sox in the 1915 World Series, didn't return until the Whiz Kids of 1950, when they were swept by the Yanks, then lost to the Orioles in 1983. They were a sub-.500 club in the 1990s.

The Minnesota Twins, which were born when the Washington Senators moved to the Twin Cities in 1961, have been pretty weak in recent years, so much so that the rumor mill had been full of talk of them moving, or even folding up shop until they came back to life this year. But just as they came out of nowhere in 1987 and again in 1991 to win World Championships, the Twins are on a roll this year. Out west, two newer teams, one 35 seasons old, the other only in their 4th season, are in charge. This would be the Seattle Mariners, who continue playing .700+ ball even though they have slowed down just a bit, and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have pulled away from those ancient rivals, the Dodgers and Giants. The Yankees, Braves and Indians, who usually are in first place by this time of year, are all still right in the hunt, but it is refreshing to see them having to battle for supremacy of their divisions.

AL EAST: The fascinating thing about the Red Sox is that they have been without their best pitcher (Pedro Martinez), their batting champ shortstop (Garciaparra), their excellent catcher (Jason Varitek), outfield slugger Carl Everett, starter Frank Castillo (7-5), and fine setup man Richard Garces. This would be enough to destroy most teams, and the Sox have struggled of late, but after 80 games they maintain a 1/2 game lead on their enemies in New York. For the first time in years, Steinbrenner has reared his obnoxious head and singled out players who aren't doing as well as he thinks they should and this is not the 1998, nor even the 2000 edition of the Bronx Bombers, but Roger Clemens is having a career year within one hell of a career, and Bernie Williams, after a slow start, is hitting .328. This is a classy professional club, fighting the scrappy, hardscrabble and hard luck Red Sox.

The Blue Jays, who were supposed to be right in the mix with Boston and New York and who, for two months were, seem to have lost their drive. You can't beat Carlos Delgado for class, and he is showing good power (22 HRs, 54 RBIs) but is hitting only .250. The Jays have fallen behind the mildly resurgent Orioles, whose main goal seems to be to reach .500. As for the Devil Rays, they seem to be stinging themselves with their own tail. Through games of Sunday, July 1, Boston was 47-33, NY 46-33, Baltimore 39-42 (8 1/2 out), Toronto 38-43 (9 1/2 behind) and the Rays, are 24-57 -- a .297 W-L Pct., which leaves them 23 1/2 behind.

AL CENTRAL: Let us to return to the days of yesteryear, let us say spring training. Examining this division, one found that most knowledgeable baseball people saw a battle between the White Sox and Indians, with the Royals playing the role of spoiler. There was some hope that the Tigers and Twins would show slight improvement. About the only team that is playing like they are supposed to be is Cleveland, which, despite losing 4 in a row to complete June, are still only three behind the Twins.

Minnesota, of course, is the big story in the ALC. With young hitters like Frank Mientkiewicz (.314, 11, 50), Christian Guzman (.307, 55 runs), plus Matt Lawton, Corey Koskie and Torii Hunter, all of whom have plus-40 RBIs -- pounding the ball, and the dynamic pitching trio of Joe Mays (10-5), Brad Radke (8-4) and Eric Milton (8-3), this is one solid, exciting young ballclub. The Twins are 49-31, the Tribe 45-33. As for the White Sox (38-40, 10 GB) the trouble seemed to start with the deflation of Frank Thomas and has continued all season. Kansas City (34-46, 15 out) has been unable to present their talented young corps the way the Phillies have and Detroit (32-46, 16 out), for decades a reliable baseball powerhouse, is once again bombing.

The AL WEST presents the simplest of stories. The Seattle Mariners (59-21) showed up and ran away with the division, the A's (38-42) and Angels (also 38-42) are trying to reach .500, and Texas (32-48), still needs some decent pitching.

In the senior circuit, we begin with the NL East. It looked like the surprising Phillies (47-34) were slip-sliding away, with the wags saying we don't even have to wait until September for a repeat of 1964, but they are hanging tough and lead the Braves (45-36) by 2 games, although the Braves have been playing excellent ball recently, including taking eight of their last 10. Florida is playing the type of role that many thought KC would--not really contending, but breathing down the necks of the two contenders, letting them know that if either slips there is a new act (41-41) in town. New York (36-47, 12 GB) has been a true enigma, all those great players who made the Subway Series last year but who are playing more like they should be playing for the Subway Sandwich All Stars from Hoboken. Montreal purged themselves of Felipe Alou but it didn't make any difference. They are still playing .415 ball (34-48), trailing the Phils, with whom they have shared the bottom of the division most of the past decade, by 13 1/2 games.

Like the Phils, many thought the Cubs would go away after their strong start. Well, it's July and they have the second best record in the NL, tied with the Red Sox for the fourth best in all of baseball. At 47-33, they lead the Astros, who have quietly climbed back in, by 4 1/2 games. The Cards were keeping pace with their long-time rivals from Illinois, but have lost eight of 10 and hit the halfway mark at 40-40, 7 out. The slugging Brewers are fun to watch and they are only a half game behind the much better (on paper, but-baseball-is-not-played-on-paper) Cardinals. All these teams are at least respectable; it gets pretty dicey after Milwaukee, with the Reds, another team like the Tigers who over the generations have put together strong clubs era after era, stinking it up of late. This year they are 32-48, 15 out, just enough to stay 2 1/2 of the tail-ender Pirates (29-50).

Arizona (50-31) has been the greatest early years expansion team in baseball history, and with Curt Schilling's 12 wins and Randy Johnson's 10, combined with Luis Gonzales MVP-type season (.356, 32, 78: remember, the season is halfway over, so just for fun double those power stats. If he keeps apace with his first half, Luis hits 64 long flies, drives in 156! Even if he just did half as well the remainder of the year, he would have 48 homers and 114 RBI).

This division was impossible close in May, with, at one point, only 2 games separating the top from the bottom. The cream has risen, but the Dodgers and Giants (both 44-37) are keeping pace with one another, while letting Arizona know they are both right around the corner, waiting on a D-Back slump or Dodger or Giant streak. Colorado strutted strongly in the early goings but has been the Rocky Mountain Fizz of late, with a ho hum 38-43 record, while the Padres had better do some praying and playing if they are to escape the cellar, where they are 13 1/2 games out.

Remember, check this space on Thursday for a comprehensive report on the 2001 season to the midpoint. From Bret Boone to Ichiro, Barry Bonds to Todd Helton, it's been one memorable year so far.