<\/a>Bib Papi. Big smile. Big bat.<\/p><\/div>\n
Koji Uehara abnd David Ortiz.<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0A couple of \u201cveterans\u201d are the Red \u00a0Sox\u2019 two biggest surprise.\u00a0 Since taking over at closer (from Andrew Bailey) in late June, thirty-eight-year-old right-hander Koji Uehara has appeared in 18 games (eight saves, two blown saves, two wins), throwing 19 1\/3 innings, logging 28 strikeouts against just one walk, and allowing just one earned run.\u00a0 Just a year younger than Uehara, DH David Ortiz\u2019 was boasting a .324-20-68 line as of July 31.<\/p>\nYankees over .500, bullpen bearing the load.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0The fact that the Yankees \u2013 despite age, injuries and controversy (read A-Rod) are still over .500 (56-51) \u2013 is a surprise.\u00a0 The bullpen has helped keep the Yankees in the hunt (their offense ranks 12th<\/sup> in the AL runs scored and 14th<\/sup> in average and HRs \u2013 and only Hiroki Kuroda has an ERA under 4.00 among starting pitchers). The pen, led by the ageless Mariano Rivera (34 saves, 1.60 ERA) and set up man Dave Robertson (4-1, 1.83) has also gotten strong performances from Preston Clairborne, Boone Logan and Shawn Kelley.<\/p>\nThe Blue Jays and R.A. Dickey.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 Toronto, the preseason division favorite, is the biggest disappointment, facing a 14-game deficit in the AL East race.\u00a0 The starting pitching is the biggest disappointment for Jays\u2019 fans.\u00a0 Last year\u2019s NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey (20-6, 2.73 for the Mets), a key off-season addition, stands at 8-11, 4.66.<\/p>\nChris Davis.<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0No longer a total surprise, but still a bit surprising is\u00a0Orioles\u2019 first baseman Chris Davis \u2013 closing out July with a .304 average, an MLB-leading 38 homers and an MLB-leading (tied with Miguel Cabrera) 99 RBI.\u00a0 Davis is probably all that stands between Cabrera and a Triple Crown repeat.<\/p>\n\u00a0Wil Myers.<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0Twenty-two-year-old Tampa Bay call up Wil Myers is also a surprise, not for how well he is doing (.331-7-27 in his first 36 games), but rather for how soon he was called up.<\/p>\nAL Central<\/strong><\/h2>\nScherzer leading Tigers to top.<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0Detroit is on top, followed by Cleveland. No surprise there \u2013 or anywhere else in the Central standings.\u00a0 What may be a bit of surprise is that Detroit\u2019s power pitching (fourth-best AL ERA and a league-leading 932 strikeouts in 957 2\/3 innings pitched) is not being led by preseason Cy Young favorite Justin Verlander (11-8, 3.88, 138 strikeouts in 143 2\/3 innings).\u00a0 Max Scherzer, with two less starts than Verlander (21 vs. 23), has thrown an identical 143 2\/3 innings, but surpasses Verlander in wins (leading MLB at 15-1), ERA (3.01) and strikeouts (164).<\/p>\nTorii Hunter.<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0Not to be outdone by the Red Sox in terms of contribution from veterans, 38-year-old Torii Hunter continues to wield a hot bat. \u00a0Hunter, has been a reliable source of offense (and defense), but did not reach .300 for the first 15 years of his MLB career, went .313-16-92 for the Angels in 2012) and stands at .316-11-53 for Detroit this year.<\/p>\nAL West<\/h2>\n Oakland at top, Angels 14 out.<\/strong> <\/span>Oakland at the top, and the free-spending Angels 14 games out and ten games under .500 constitutes a mild surprise and a major disappointment, respectively.<\/p>\nHamilton and Pujols.<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0The Angels clearly expected more from Josh Hamilton (.226-16-50) after his .285-43-128 for Texas in 2012.\u00a0 Same for Albert Pujols, who stands at .258-17-64.<\/p>\nA’s infield bats.<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0Oakland, on the other hand is getting surprisingly positive results from its infielders: third baseman Josh Donaldson (.297-16-43); shortstop Jed Lowrie (.293-8-43) and second baseman Eric Sogard (.273-2-19).<\/p>\nBartolo Colon strong at 40<\/strong><\/span>. On the mound, the most notable surprise is the A\u2019s 40-year-old Bartolo Colon (14-3, 2.50).<\/p>\nIwakuma and Ibanez in Seattle.<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0Seattle\u2019s had a couple of surprises this far.\u00a0 Right hander Hisashi Iwakuma is 10-4, with a solid 2.76 ERA; while 41-year-old Raul Ibanez finished July at .252-24-57, within striking distance of the record of 29 home runs in a season for a player after reaching age forty.<\/p>\nSo, there are some BBRT observations on the season through July.\u00a0 Looks like a fun run to October, with plenty more surprises \u2013 and certainly a few disappointments \u2013 in store.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Another month in and it\u2019s time for BBRT to again review some 2013 MLB surprises and disappointments.\u00a0 A couple of these are, of course, repetitive \u2013 as some surprises (the Pirates) appear poised to stay the course and a few disappointments (the Blue Jays) \u00a0continue to flounder.\u00a0 BBRT won\u2019t touch on all the surprises, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n