In Boston, Mac Cerullo noted entering this past weekend the AL East’s collective win percentage was .554, which is the “best for a five-team division in MLB history.” But as strong as the AL East is right now, the “cracks are beginning to show.” The Orioles “seem like the only sure thing.” Cerullo wrote it is “still unclear” if Orioles Chair & CEO John Angelos is “willing to spend the extra money in free agency to put this team over the top.” The Rays “always seem to find a way despite its financial limitations,” but even the team could have a “hard time overcoming some of their recent setbacks.” The Blue Jays are “built to win now,” but if they “can’t get it done this year it’s only going to get harder.” Cerullo wrote considering what the Yankees “used to be,” it is “shocking to see how bad things have gotten in the Bronx.” The Red Sox have “plenty of question marks of their own” (BOSTON HERALD, 8/20).
A BASEBALL TOWN: In Seattle, Matt Calkins wrote what the Mariners are doing right now “supersedes any sport involving a Super Bowl.” What the Mariners are doing is “impressive” winning 22 out of their last 29. Calkins noted there were 68,458 tickets sold for the Seahawks preseason game Saturday. Calkins: “Good for them. Lots of history, talent and potential there. But it isn’t their town right now. Not even a little bit” (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/19).
TIME TO SAY GOODBYE: In L.A., Gustavo Arellano wrote the city of Anaheim “might have needed the Angels when residents were looking for something to rally around.” Arellano: “We’re a big-league city now, with big-league problems.” If the Angels were to “leave for greener pastures,” the city would have a “vacant, 153-acre property that could transform Anaheim far more than a franchise that wants every break possible while doing little to deserve it.” Arellano wrote, “Anaheimers: Let’s let some pretender municipality build a stadium for the Halos -- a Las Vegas, an Eastvale, a Nashville -- and tell Arte adiós already” (L.A. TIMES, 8/18).
SELLING HOPE? In S.F., Scott Ostler wrote when A’s President Dave Kaval promised the team would "jack up the player payroll to a competitive level” when they move the Las Vegas, his "BS detector just exploded." Ostler: "What if the A’s wildly optimistic attendance projections fall a bit short, creating a cash deficit?" Will team owner John Fisher “dip into his own pocket to buy those free agents?” The city of Oakland, when it negotiated with the A’s, was also “willing to trust Fisher and Kaval when they claimed they would pony up to field a competitive team.” But if for some reason the A’s “show up at their new ballpark with another sad-sack version of the Garage Sale All-Stars,” they will have a “great explanation for why it’s someone else’s fault” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/19).
IT STARTS AT THE TOP: In N.Y., Cary Goodman writes it is “time for Hal Steinbrenner to sell the Yankees.” The team’s “biggest problem” is their “lack of leadership, on and off the field.” This “lack of leadership on the field starts at the top and permeates on through the organization.” Steinbrenner is “not George, his father," who “wanted to make money so the Yankees could win and continue the Yankees’ role as the winningest franchise in sports.” Hal “only wants to make money so he can make more money.” GM Brian Cashman “stood by stubbornly” as the August trading deadline approached -- “refusing to try to refresh this tired group of under-performers” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/21).
