Surprise Division Leaders

It's only April, but there are surprises atop three divisions - the White Sox, the A's (tied with the Angels), and the Marlins.


For Oakland's strong start, Jeff Hackman of the Hardball Times credits productive starting pitching.


The White Sox have based their success so far on both offense - 2nd in the AL only to Boston in runs scored, and first in home runs (led by Thome and Crede with 5 apiece) - and pitching (team ERA behind only Oakland and Minnesota). They've also benefited from a weaker-than-expected AL Central.


Florida's run seems the most likely to be a fluke - they've got a negative run differential, have beaten up on the Pirates and Nats, and their starting pitching hasn't been there: of their rotation, only Scott Olsen and Mark Hendrickson have ERAs under 6. Things could get ugly fast if the heavily-taxed bullpen starts to wear down or Hanley Ramirez goes into a slump. Also, despite their strong start, they're again having trouble filling the seats.

Baseball Preview, part 4: Trade Bait

Hank Blalock - his production has dropped off in the past few years, but his salary has been rising and just as the going-nowhere Rangers shipped Teixiera last season, they could look for someone to take Blalock (who has often been linked to trade rumors) off their hands.

Keith Foulke - the A's have a reclamation project going with him. Oakland will be hard-pressed to finish above 3rd this year, and several of the contenders will inevitably be looking for bullpen help, so if he pans out it wouldn't be surprising for the A's to try to parlay him for some younger talent.

Kevin Gregg - you wouldn't think that (a) Florida had anybody left to trade and (b) that he was the highest-paid Marlin at $2.5 million, but with the team always looking to cut costs and the fact that contenders will be looking to add an OK reliever, he could easily switch teams before the deadline.

Anyone on the White Sox - this team has a high payroll and plenty of big-money players, yet it's hard to imagine them being able to challenge Cleveland and Detroit in their division. This could mean some rebuilding-type moves are in the cards for this season.