AL EAST: The Red Sox have led since April and show no real signs of slowing down. Their lead over the Yankees was once 14.5 games and is now only 7. However, a 7 game lead this late in the season will not be overcome. Count the Red Sox as good as in.
AL CENTRAL: The Indians have a six game lead on the Tigers. If seven is a going to be tough to overcome for the Yankees then six should be pretty darn tough for the Tigers. I'm gonna say right now that the Indians will win this division even though their hitting as been way below where it should be.
AL WEST: The Angels lead the Mariners by 6.5 games and the Mariners have won only one of their last 10 games, so they are headed in the wrong direction. Right now the Angels appear to have the best pitching in the AL. If their hitting stays hot they will be the team to beat in the AL.
AL Wild Card: The Yankees lead the struggling Tigers by 2.5 games and the struggling Mariners by one game. Although these margins are not tough to overcome, the two teams fighting back are really having a tough time beating anyone lately. Toronto is hanging in there, back 5.5 games, but they don't appear to be much of a threat. Of the Tigers, Mariners, and Yankees, the Tigers have the most games at home and the most games against teams with losing records, including a weekend series against Seattle. This is too close to call as all three teams have some big flaws. Gun to my head I have to pick the Yankees.
NL EAST: The NY Mets lead the Phillies by 5.5 games. This is a possible comeback situation. Loyal readers may recall me picking the Phillies to make it to the World Series. Hopefully they make me look good. The Mets pitching has been suspect all year. If it can hold up another 4 weeks they should make it in.
NL CENTRAL: The Cubs lead the once hot Brewers by 1.5 games, a go
od close race. Too bad the Cubs are only 4 games over .500. The Cardinals, once left for dead (sound familiar, see 2006) are only two game back and are playing some great baseball. The Cubs and Brewers have both been pretty average the past few weeks so I'll go out on a limb here and will say that the Cardinals should win the NL Central. Also, if you have some free time, check out the wikipedia entry on Rick Ankiel (right) a really cool story there.NL WEST: Right now the Padres lead the Diamondbacks by only one game and these two teams actually play later tonight. I like the Padres to win this division because of their superior starting pitching. However, if the D'Backs hot young hitters can get hot the last couple of weeks it really could be either team. The D'Backs are really set up to be good for the next 10 years if they can avoid big injuries and bigger egos. Padres this year, D'Backs next year.
NL Wild Card: The D'Backs lead the Phillies and Dodgers by 3 games each. I'm betting on a D'Backs collapse and the Phillies to come through for me. Go Phillies!
3 comments:
I did enjoy the Rick Ankiel article on Wikipedia. Thanks.
I beg to differ with your assesment of the Mets. Yes, the pitching has been a bit questionable at times, but I think the return of Pedro Martinez will bring nothing but good things. Pedro had a great outing on Monday, throwing his 3000th strikeout and allowing 5 hits in as many innings.
The Mets have also been in first place in the NL East since May.
Despite the damage they have done to the Mets this year, it is hard for me to hate the Phillies; they are a pretty good ball club. What's not to like about Ryan Howard? And I appreciate a guy who still wears stirrups (Jamie Moyer) in the age of baggy baseball pants. That is hardcore. Anyway, I've got tickets to the Mets/Braves game on Sept. 12. I was hoping it would be a more decisive game, but it looks like the Braves are all but finished this year. I'll be pulling for the Phillies to sweep them this afternoon. But I will be watching the Mets far more intently.
I really like the Phillies as well, one of my favorites is Jamie Moyer. Did you know that he is 44 years old and made his MLB debut in the 1980s (1986 with the Cubs) and won 21 games as a 40 year old? What's not to like about him? Anyway, I like Pedro, I just wonder how much he's got left in the tank.
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