American League Races : East Teams to Spend Too Much Time in West

Too bad about that American League East.

On paper it looks like a great race. One of the best ever.

The World Series champion Detroit Tigers have improved themselves. So have contenders like Baltimore, Toronto, and the New York Yankees. Boston added some pitching.

Too bad, anyway.

When it comes to settling this potential five-club scramble, the AL can’t provide the same head-to-head competition as the National League, whose divisional rivals meet 18 times a year.

Because of its 14-team roster, the American League instead employs a “balanced” schedule in which a team spends as much time in the other division as it does in its own.

That means when the National League teams are playing those sweet home-and-home series in late summer, the elite East teams will be in Seattle, Texas and Oakland. They are nice places to visit, but you wouldn’t want to settle a pennant race there.

Last year, Detroit met Toronto--its closest pursuer--only 13 times. The Tigers met the Texas Rangers--the worst team in the other division--12 times. Fans in National League cities appear to have a better deal. The New York Mets, for example, will have 18 shots at the Chicago Cubs this season.

Not even the schedule can take away all the fun promised in the American League East, though.

Besides Detroit’s effort to repeat, the best plot figures to revolve around the Yankees and the Blue Jays because of their work at the winter meetings.

The Yankees made a trade that actually improved the Blue Jays. When New York acquired center fielder Rickey Henderson from Oakland, part of the package was reliever Jay Howell. The acquisition of Howell made it possible for the A’s to deal Bill Caudill to Toronto. By landing Caudill, the Jays believe they got the short reliever they needed last year.

Another matter worth watching this year is the performance of Henderson. His forte is the stolen base and some people believe the steal is over-rated as an offensive weapon. Speedy Mickey Rivers served as a Yankee catalyst in the 70s, but New York tradtionally wins by hitting the ball into the right field seats in the seventh inning. Henderson won’t do that very often.

Even with Caudill in their bullpen, the Blue Jays still face some problems. They could use a fifth starter to go with Dave Stieb, Doyle Alexander, Jim Clancy and Luis Leal. The answer could be Bryan Clark, a left-hander who pitched well in the Venezuelan Winter League. Toronto must also find a power hitter to make up for the loss of Cliff Johnson to free agency.

As for the Orioles, they have spent more profusely than ever before in the free agent market, adding offense in the outfield with Lee Lacey and Fred Lynn and some pitching with Don Aase.

Lacy was second in the National League in batting last year with a .321 average, though Pittsburgh still finished last in the East Division. Lynn’s slugging helped the Angels finish only three games behind Kansas City in the American League West. Aase could help in the bullpen.

Detroit anticipated a problem by acquiring right-hander Walt Terrell from the New York Mets. Terrell is ticketed for the rotation in place of Milt Wilcox, whose shoulder problems persist. By the way, anyone who believes the Tigers are invincible should merely recall last spring. Both the Orioles and White Sox looked strong at that time.

Boston looks tantalizing. Three members of the starting rotation--Bruce Hurst, Bob Ojeda, and Dennis (Oil Can) Boyd--finished at .500 last year. Whether they advance or regress could determine the Red Sox’s finish. Bruce Kison may help, too.