[Illusion]

From top to bottom, which division is the best in your opinion?

[presley177]

AL central
AL east
NL central
NL east
NL west
AL west

[onlooker]

AL East.

Yankees and Red Sox, but the Blue Jays have improved a lot this year. So the Yanks and Sox better now slip up any, because the Jays could pressure them.

The AL Central dont look to bad with them surprising Tigers. It will be interesting to see how they do after the Allstar break. You cant count out the Tribe either, they are a better team the their current .500 record indicates.

[Illusion]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the NL west yet. Every team is over .500 in that division.

[onlooker]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the NL west yet. Every team is over .500 in that division.

Well last year that division was lucky to get a team over .500, so I think they will all fade in the second half. Nobody is taking any of them seriously at this point in the season. Well I know Im not.

[EBone]

Well last year that division was lucky to get a team over .500, so I think they will all fade in the second half. Nobody is taking any of them seriously at this point in the season. Well I know Im not.

I agree with that statement except for one team. The LA Dodgers....I think they have some extreme value right now. They just swept a Rockies team that is a little overvalued in my opinion. Their whole division is overvalued in my opinion. Padres are on the fence but certainly the Giants and Rockies and Diamondbacks are not the same caliber.



E

[Willie Bee]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the NL west yet. Every team is over .500 in that division.

That division wasn't the first to pop in my head. But as they say in the NFL, "Upon further review..."

There have been 361 games played that were interdivison (ID) contests. And below is how the wins and losses stack up:

DIVISION . . ID RECORD
NL West. . . 73-53 (.579)
AL East. . . 55-46 (.545)
AL Central . 50-46 (.521)
NL Central . 76-79 (.490)
NL East. . . 54-69 (.439)
AL West. . . 53-68 (.438)

Now, like any stats, it's tough to just go by one column, or in this case two columns (wins and losses), to draw a conclusion to such an arbitrary or subjective question as 'what is the best division.' Once you look inside those numbers, you can start finding little chinks in the armor of each division.

The AL West, ranking last on that list above, is a commendable 28-29 against the AL East which has the 'Big 2' with the Yanks and BoSox. The AL Central, which includes the defending champs White Sox and the upstart Tigers who are statistically one of the best teams going this year, is a rather poor 10-19 against the AL East.

The NL East has had trouble with the NL Central (26-41). The NL Central has had trouble with the NL West (26-44), and the NL West is a rather pedestrian 21-23 against the NL East.

Once we get through the rest of the interleague slate, I'll try and update these numbers for further debate and discussion.

[RickySteve]

I vote AL Central.

[Illusion]

I vote AL Central.

The Tigers, White Sox, and Indians are all tough but any division with the Royals can not be the toughest.