Only in April: Division-leading Orioles, Royals, Marlins?
You’ve got to love the first two weeks of the season. Bizarre things are not only common, they’re almost certain to occur. Take a look at the standings, for instance.
Baltimore (Baltimore!) is atop the AL East with the best record in baseball. Boston and New York are below the .500 mark. In the AL Central, Kansas City leads the way, Cleveland is under .500 and Detroit only today won their first game of the season.
In the National League, things are just as unexpected. The Florida Marlins are atop the East, while everyone else has lost more then they’ve won. In the Central, the injury-plagued Cardinals are nevertheless at the top of the board.
It’s only in the two West divisions that some semblance of reason holds sway. The Angels, as expected, are leading the AL West, just ahead of the A’s — a bit of a surprise on Oakland’s part. In the senior circuit, things play out just as most expected: D-backs, Padres, Rockies, Dodgers, Giants. Funny, isn’t that the division that couldn’t sort itself out the past two years, and had the most lead changes of any in baseball? That figures…