AL EAST Boston 53-34 --- - Toronto 43-44 --- 10 GB New York 42-43 --- 10 GB Baltimore 38-49 --- 15 GB Tampa Bay 34-53 --- 19 GB
AL CENTRAL Detroit 52-34 --- - Cleveland 52-36 --- 1 GB Minnesota 45-43 --- 8 GB Chicago 39-47 --- 13 GB Kansas City 38-50 --- 15 GB
AL WEST Los Angeles 53-35 --- - Seattle 49-36 --- 2.5 GB Oakland 44-44 --- 9 GB Texas 38-50 --- 15 GB
NL EAST New York 48-39 --- - Atlanta 47-42 --- 2 GB Philadelphia 44-44 --- 4.5 GB Florida 42-47 --- 7 GB Washington 36-52 --- 12.5 GB
NL CENTRAL Milwaukee 49-39 --- - Chicago 44-43 --- 4.5 GB St. Louis 40-45 --- 7.5 GB Pittsburgh 40-48 --- 9 GB Houston 39-50 --- 10.5 GB Cincinnati 36-52 --- 13 GB
NL WEST San Diego 49-38 --- - Los Angeles 49-40 --- 1 GB Arizona 47-43 --- 3.5 GB Colorado 44-44 --- 5.5 GB San Francisco 38-48 --- 10.5 GB
Halfway through, there are a lot of interesting races in place. The most obvious ones are in the AL Central and NL West. It looks like a two-horse race between the Tigers and Indians, but Minnesota's all about surging in the second half and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the Twins come out of nowhere to steal the wild card.
The NL West will likely be neck-and-neck for the rest of the year. But the Padres hold a huge advantage, since they've absolutely owned L.A. throughout the season and will definitely hold the tiebreaker if it comes to that. Either way, both teams should just focus on winning out, because it's likely that the wild card will go through the west. Don't count out Arizona, though.
I think everyone is ready to hand Boston the AL East crown...except for the fresh memory of last year's monumental collapse. It doesn't help that Boston backed into the break, having lost 8 of 13 (with four of those wins coming in a sweep against the lowly Devil Rays). The tone will be set by the opening series against the second-place Blue Jays. But if the Sox struggle early, the Yankees will smell blood.
The AL West looked to be a lock until the Mariners started surging. Mike Hargrove's departure knocked the M's for a bit of a loop, but they're still in it, thanks to the Angels, who also backed into the break by losing 8 of their last 12. The most staggering part of that stat is the fact that the Halos were swept by the ROYALS! Who the hell gets swept by the KANSAS CITY ROYALS in this day and age? The Mariners will obvious look to get into the playoffs through the AL West crown, but they're actually a lot closer to the wild card than you might think. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the Oakland A's have this nasty habit of getting REALLY hot in the second half of the season.
No division leader has struggled more than the Mets, who have lost 6 of their last 8. With Atlanta sitting just two games behind them, New York's playoff fate could be decided by the returning Pedro Martinez. If Pedro stinks up the joint, pencil in the Braves for October. If Ryan Howard goes on a tear like he did in the second half last year, the Phils will at least make things close, but I don't see them getting in at all.
I'm shocked that the Brewers are leading the division in the NL Central, but I'm more amazed that the Cubs are hanging in there in second place. If Soriano can keep his numbers up and Aramis Ramirez starts living up to his contract, the Cubs could make this thing close. Especially since I don't think the Brewers will be able to handle the September pressure.
(edited by It's False on 9.7.07 2249)
(edited by It's False on 9.7.07 2253)
The Wisdom of Homsar: DaAaAa, these Easter pants are gettin' way too tight!
Originally posted by It's FalseI think everyone is ready to hand Boston the AL East crown...except for the fresh memory of last year's monumental collapse. It doesn't help that Boston backed into the break, having lost 8 of 13 (with four of those wins coming in a sweep against the lowly Devil Rays). The tone will be set by the opening series against the second-place Blue Jays. But if the Sox struggle early, the Yankees will smell blood.
Only 3 of those wins were against Tampa, as they have only played Tampa 3 times, unlike the Yankees who have played Tampa 4 times and won a grand total of 1 game. The Red Sox have struggled, mainly offensively, for 6 weeks but still have a double digit lead. Between now and the beginning of the last week of the season, the Red Sox play 4 series against teams currently with winning records and 5 series against Tampa Bay. They do finish with Oakland and the Twins at home, but hopefully those games are meaningless. And, most importantly: 75 games remaining, 39 against the White Sox, Royals, Orioles and Tampa. If they don't make the playoffs with this schedule, everyone should get fired.
Maybe this is just the pessimistic Sox fan in me talking, but the Red Sox seem to have a lot of problems for a team with the best record in baseball and a double-digit lead in their division.
* Bad middle relief. Donnelly coming back will help this, but Pineiro has been really disappointing and it would be great if we could get a guy to occasionally spell Okajima or Papelbon in the 8th/9th inning. Aki Otsuka, maybe?
* Kason Gabbard: Major League starting pitcher. I've got nothing against the kid, but Devern Hansack is better in virtually every measurable way. Personally, I can't wait for Schilling and Lester to be ready to go.
* Manny and Papi. Running a check at baseball-reference.com suggests that there might be something more than just a coincidental slump behind their disappointing first halves. Ortiz' top comparables include Mo Vaughn, Tony Clark and Lance Berkman, while Manny's have Juan Gonzalez, Jeff Bagwell and Barry Bonds. All of those guys started seriously falling off at a similar age, except for Bonds, who started doing steroids.
The Red Sox should definitely win the division, with the lead they have and the teams they have left to play. Hopefully things will improve by October, though; just ask the Mets about how far winning the division by 15 games gets you in the playoffs.
Originally posted by it's false I'm shocked that the Brewers are leading the division in the NL Central, but I'm more amazed that the Cubs are hanging in there in second place. If Soriano can keep his numbers up and Aramis Ramirez starts living up to his contract, the Cubs could make this thing close. Especially since I don't think the Brewers will be able to handle the September pressure.
ah, the Cards will be the winners in the end. They are coming. This from a Cubs fan.
(edited by AWArulz on 10.7.07 1642) http://myspace.com/awarulz We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
Originally posted by it's false I'm shocked that the Brewers are leading the division in the NL Central, but I'm more amazed that the Cubs are hanging in there in second place. If Soriano can keep his numbers up and Aramis Ramirez starts living up to his contract, the Cubs could make this thing close. Especially since I don't think the Brewers will be able to handle the September pressure.
ah, the Cards will be the winners in the end. They are coming. This from a Cubs fan.
(edited by AWArulz on 10.7.07 1642)
This is an outside possibility, but only if the stars align correctly. The hitting needs to stay strong (and Pujols has to get his pow-ah back,) and most of all Carpenter and Mulder have to return sharp. The former should happen within two weeks, but the latter is a big question mark.
If the pitching solidifies, they can win the division. That's a BIG if.
Originally posted by AWArulzah, the Cards will be the winners in the end. They are coming. This from a Cubs fan.
Cubs fan? Cubs fan?!?
Where are you at? Louisville. Once the top drawing minor league team in history and AAA for what team? THE CARDINALS!
Cubs fan. Sure.
Seriously, if the Cubs make the right deal like they have in the past...1984, 1989...the pickups of Lofton and Ramirez, etc...they can make a run.
If Milwaukee can get a little veteran leadership they will still win it out.
As of 2/28/05: 101 pounds since December 7, 2004 OFFICIAL THREE-MONTH COUNT: 112 pounds on March 9, 2005 OFFICIAL SIX-MONTH COUNT: 142 pounds on June 8, 2005 OFFICIAL ONE YEAR COUNT: 187 pounds on December 7, 2005 As of 2/27/06: 202 pounds "I've lost a heavyweight" As of 7/31/06: 224 pounds
I wouldn't worry about the Mets. If the offense was good and the pitching was struggling like last year then I'd be worried but it's the other way around. The pitching has been good, they don't need Pedro, he's a big bonus if he plays well, but they don't have to have him. What they need is for Delgado and/or Beltran to hit and I doubt they'll both continue to slump for the entire season.
If we're counting Arizona as a contender for the Wild Card we have to count Colorado too. If it wasn't for Brian Fuentes imploding for a week then Colorado would've already caught Arizona in the standings, maybe Los Angeles and San Diego too.
Originally posted by AWArulzah, the Cards will be the winners in the end. They are coming. This from a Cubs fan.
Cubs fan? Cubs fan?!?
Where are you at? Louisville. Once the top drawing minor league team in history and AAA for what team? THE CARDINALS!
Cubs fan. Sure.
Seriously, if the Cubs make the right deal like they have in the past...1984, 1989...the pickups of Lofton and Ramirez, etc...they can make a run.
If Milwaukee can get a little veteran leadership they will still win it out.
Craing Counsell - 2 World Series Rings Jeff Suppan - World Series Ring last year lots of day-to-day Brewers starters - too young to know they should be worried
I gotta be optimistic about the Tribe's chances this year. The starting pitching is doing very well, and Hafner should be getting back on track after his slump. I've been impressed how Detroit is hanging in there too, as the teams keep trading first place. Whoever doesn't win the division certainly looks like they'll win the Wild Card.
Here's hoping the Tribe can continue their streak of being a good-to-great second half team!
"As you may have read in Robert Parker's Wine Newsletter, 'Donaghy Estates tastes like the urine of Satan, after a hefty portion of asparagus.'" Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock
Originally posted by whateverI gotta be optimistic about the Tribe's chances this year. The starting pitching is doing very well, and Hafner should be getting back on track after his slump. I've been impressed how Detroit is hanging in there too, as the teams keep trading first place. Whoever doesn't win the division certainly looks like they'll win the Wild Card.
Here's hoping the Tribe can continue their streak of being a good-to-great second half team!
Wouldn't it be the Indians luck that the 4 game blizzard in April costs them the last week of the season against a revived Mariners team that now gets the extra game in their building? On STO Indians broadcasts: I like the announcers. However, as someone who generally has the Indians game programmed in and jumps to around 4 games between pitches, I despise the way they have the score and the balls/strikes listed. Covers too much of the screen, plus it disappears constantly. Put it on top like most other broadcasts.
Being in M's country, this turnaround with them has been short of stunning in town. I'd still like to get Sexson out of town with his .203 average. It was pretty cool to see Ramirez come back last night, throwing 94mph instead of 86 like we were seeing earlier in the year.
That being said, the bullpen has been scary good this year and Putz is a beast! And most of the second half is against teams at or below .500! I smell wildcard!
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Eh, so what? There's still almost two months until pitchers and catchers report. There's plenty of guys out there that the Sox can snag to put in at short that will be just fine.