E-Mail This Article to a Friend First-half looks: The American League BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

Sportswriters traditionally use the All-Star break to look back at the half-season that’s past and anticipate the half-season to come. Pretty predictable thematically, but what else are we going to write about around here, right now? The Bruins? Celtics? Revolution? Hah. Maybe the Patriots — soon — but until they make off-field news or even begin training camp, anything about the defending champs is a just a tad premature.

Today, the AL glance; Friday we’ll run down the Senior Circuit.

Where to begin? How about the A-number-one, top-of-the-list, king-of-the-hill, etc., New York Yankees? Since their sluggish start, the Pinstripers have gone 47-20, and have established a seven-game lead on the Red Sox in the AL East. New York underachieved for only its first 19 games, while Boston has run hot and cold since its 15-6 start, which partially explains the Bombers’ comfortable lead in the East. The Sox were left for dead after a 1-5 road trip through the Bronx and Atlanta, but their 5-1 home stand against the elite of the AL West has again propelled them into divisional contention. The East’s three other teams are already afterthoughts. The Devil Rays had a solid run — including an unheard-of 12-game win streak — but losing four straight to the Yanks prior to the break has dropped them three games below .500 and 13 back (though that’s still a remarkable achievement for a squad whose total payroll is less than Derek Jeter’s and A-Rod’s combined salaries this season). On the other hand, disappointment reigns in Toronto and Baltimore, where the Blue Jays — expected to continue their youth movement of past years and advance to the upper echelons of the league — are 10 games below .500 and inexplicably hovering around the cellar. GM J.P. Ricciardi used to be classed with Oakland’s Billy Beane and Boston’s Theo Epstein as one of the new breed of dynamic team-builders. Somewhere along the way, however, the foundation has rotted, and because the team is neither hitting (.265 as a team) nor pitching (4.62 ERA) particularly well, Ricciardi’s days at Skydome could be numbered. Finally, the Orioles also expected a turnaround year, but that just hasn’t happened in spite of some free spending in the off-season. Not since 1988 have the Birds found themselves in the basement, and it’s all due to their pitching, which has been woeful. The supposed ace, Sidney Ponson, is a stunning 3-12 (with a 6.29 ERA); the team obviously expected more from its free-agent prize (three years, $22.5 million), but he’s not the sole reason the O’s are 28th out of 30 teams in pitching (with a 5.02 ERA) and 17.5 games back.

In the Central, it’s shaping up as a bit of a dogfight between a pair of above-average teams. The well-balanced White Sox have gotten solid starting pitching en route to their half-game lead and 46-38 record. The team’s rotation has accounted for 35 of its 46 wins, and Seattle’s Freddy Garcia has been a nice addition to a franchise struggling to compete for media attention with its cross-town rivals. The Sox appear headed for their fifth-straight winning season, but with precious little to show for it in terms of post-season success. Hanging right behind Chicago are the Twins, who are quietly putting together another reasonably successful season. Just half a game back, Minnesota has been getting on-the-cheap production from some less-familiar faces (including rookies Lew Ford and Joe Mauer) and the league’s second-best pitching staff (4.16 ERA) — of whom only Brad Radke’s name would likely ring a bell. Next up in the division and still supposedly in contention are two teams that no one would have expected to be within spitting distance of .500, but there they are: the Indians and Tigers, both at 42-45 and within six games. Only Omar Vizquez remains from the glory days of Injuns past, but the team has gone 23-16 since June 3 despite a schedule that saw the Tribe face Anaheim and Oakland twice, along with Florida, Atlanta, Cincy, the Mets, and the White Sox. Detroit, meanwhile, well, brace yourself: the Tigers did not win game number 42 last season until September 28 — the penultimate game of the year. A big part of Detroit’s success has been the addition of Marlins playoff heroes Pudge Rodriguez and Ugueth Urbina, along with the majors’ best-hitting roster (.283), although the Tigers’ pitching (26th, 4.94 ERA) won’t take anyone back to the days of McLain and Lolich. Pulling up the rear — surprisingly — are the KC Royals, who courageously contended throughout the 2003 season but are just 31-54 this season — 15.5 games back —and already in salary-dump mode. Carlos Beltran, who along with Mike Sweeney was one of the Royals’ sole stars, has already been traded to Houston to avoid his free-agent departure. Sweeney, despite recently signing a contract extension, could be close behind. KC is 26th in hitting and 29th in pitching, and last year’s Manager of the Year, Tony Pena, can do only so much with a $47 million payroll.

In the West, what in tarnation are the Texas Rangers still doing in the race? Forget the race; the formerly pitching-poor team is leading the division by two full games and has the second-best record (49-37) behind only the you-know-whos in the AL. How are they doing it? Well, not so much via the pitching, as the Rangers are still only 20th in baseball in that department (with a 4.59 team ERA). Hitting-wise, however, they’re clubbing the ball at a .280 clip (fifth in the majors and better than any NL club), and are the latest team actually to benefit from the departure of one Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez. Eight Texas regulars are batting .280 or better, led by the Youngs — Michael and Eric — at .332 and .329, respectively. Despite the fact that no starting pitcher except for the ageless Kenny Rogers (inexplicably 12-3) has more than five victories, the team has provided Francisco Cordero the opportunity to close out 27 Ranger wins in 29 chances. Can Texas — a team that has not won more than 73 contests since 1999 — lose the league’s best player in A-Rod and still capture a division title? Stay tuned.

In the Rangers’ way are two solid contenders in Oakland and Anaheim. The A’s head into the All-Star break eight games over .500 and just two games back after a dismal 3-6 road trip that saw the team drop five of six to Boston and Cleveland. Having just gotten All-Star third baseman Eric Chavez back from the DL (and with starters Tim Hudson and Rich Harden on the brink of returning from various maladies), Oakland could be readying itself for one of its patented second-half runs. On the other hand, 2002 Cy Young winner Barry Zito is just 4-7 with a 4.62 ERA, though his efforts have been nicely offset by the work of All-Star starter Mark Mulder (12-2, 3.21). The health of staff mates 3-4-5, along with Zito’s potential turnaround or continued free-fall, will determine Oakland’s fate, but right now they’re a better-balanced club than Texas. But don’t forget those 2002 champs, as the Angels are just two and a half back with a 47-40 record despite a brutal string of injuries that has at one time or another claimed starters Troy Glaus, Darin Erstad, Tim Salmon, Troy Percival, Garret Anderson, Shane Halter, Bengie Molina, Aaron Sele, David Eckstein, Raul Mondesi, and Kelvim Escobar. (And Sox fans moaned about Nomar and Trot’s injuries.) Only Glaus is unlikely for second-half action, and that rejuvenated roster — in spite of the team’s pitching inconsistencies — should thrust them into the post-season. Most assuredly out of it and soon to be applying for AARP membership are the Seattle Mariners, whose transformation from division winner to also-ran was somewhat expected, but certainly not at the speed and depth with which it took place. The M’s — just three years removed from a 116-win season — are 22 games below .500 and 17 games behind the division pace-setters, and are likely headed for their worst season in a dozen years. Look for their starting rotation any day now at a flea market near you.

So what can we discern at this point in the season? Well, it’s likely that seven teams realistically remain in contention for the AL’s four playoff slots, and while a return to reality is expected for some squads (Texas in particular), it would be foolish to assume that their impressive first-half performances were mere flukes. No team is decimated by injury anymore, so excuses should be in short supply. Also, don’t forget that the trading deadline is just under three weeks hence, and some keen horse-trading could be the difference between a post-season berth and a cocktail on the veranda.

Some random notes regarding the contenders: the Yanks have a 33-12 road record, but unless another top-flight pitcher is attained (or Kevin Brown returns from the DL unscathed), there’s no way this staff can win a World Series. Boston’s offense seems to be jelling, but the team needs more consistent results out of its 3-4-5 starters in order to envision that long-elusive title. It’s hard to imagine a squad with the majors’ 19th-best pitching staff going deep into the playoffs, and that’s Chicago’s problem right now. Like the White Sox, the Twins benefit from their weaker divisional mates, but they have yet to play the Red Sox or the Yankees, and being carried by your youngsters is no guarantee of pennant-race success. Texas has been a great surprise, but pitching wins championships, and the Rangers frankly have a dearth of it and cannot expect the nearly 40-year-old Rogers to continue to excel. Finally, Oakland and Anaheim are likely to carry on a wonderful duel to the finish line, with the Halos’ $40 million payroll advantage likely giving them the overall nod.

Friday: the NL glance.

"Sporting Eye" runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com. Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com