[Sylvanfan]

Well down to the last month in MLB and it appears as though only the two Wild Card spots are up for grabs.

AL East
Yankees again have this thing wrapped. They held up well enough on the mound with the emergence of Chien Ming Wang to go with Mussina and Randy Johnson. The Abreu acquisition seems to have added to what was already a potent lineup. Come post season they're the favorites again in my books. If they get healthy they could have a lineup of Jeter, Cano, Abreu, Giambi, Sheffield, Rodriguez, Matsui, Posada, Williams. That is just insane. The Bo-Sox hung in for awhile and Big Papi has been great this year, but they just don't match the Yanks. As for the Blue Jays, they're pitching never got it going, and the bats came back to Earth. I still think they'll be luckey to finish at .500.

AL Central
Baseball's surprisingly best division (except the Royals). People have waited for the Tigers to cave all year and they haven't given an inch. As usual Kenny Rogers has fallen off in the second half, but Verlander, Bonderman, and Nate Robinson have all given them pretty good starting pitching. Not many teams boast 4 guys with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. Than throw in the fact that they've got a decent lineup thats pretty balanced and I don't see them caving in.

The White Sox and Twins look like they'll fight tooth and nail for that Wild Card spot. The White Sox would seem to have the superior team, but the pitching that was so good last year hasn't been there. Still they boast a nice lineup and Jermaine Dye is playing like he wants the MVP right now. The Twins are the team getting better pitching this year. Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano have been strike out machines as well as Nathan and Neshek in the bull pen. Justin Morneau has cooled considerably in the last month and you'd have to think Mauer being a catcher is wearing out and will continue to fade down the stretch too. Pitching is supposed to win at this time of year and the Twins have it, but I think the Sox and that offence will prevail. Still Go Twins!

AL West
Oakland has this thing wrapped. They have received pretty good starting pitching and still use the approach of take a lot of pitches and get timely hits offensively. They've quietly broke out here in the second half and are starting to run away from the pack. Come playoffs they might prove to be pretty dangerous, especially if Loaiza throws like he has been lately and Harden can get healthy. Than again it seems like that every year with the A's as they start off terribly, put up a great second half and than lose in the first round of the playoffs.

NL East
New York Mets, thats all you need to know. Delgado's addition really seems to have helped Beltran and like the Yankees it's a pretty stacked lineup throughout. The starting pitching is a bit old with Hernandez, Glavine, Martinez and Trachsel, but the bullpen's been good. It would be shocking if they don't represent the NL in the series.

NL Central
Again this is the Cards Division to lose. They could falter a bit here as I see Edmonds and Mulder are said to be done for the season. Chris Carpenter has been money and they'll need Jason Marquis and Jeff Suppan to hold up in this last month. If any team could lose their division I think it's the Cardinals. Than again someone would have to step up and seize it too, and I don't think any NL team is up for that the way it's gone this year.

NL West
Well the Dodgers finally look like they'll win the Division. After sputtering a bit for the better part of the season the trade deadline acquisitions appear to have added something. If Maddux can keep it up to give the rotation three good starters and the lineup stays healthy enough the Dodgers should hold on. The Padres might nip at their heels a bit, but they failed to seize the division all year when it was there for the taking. The other teams aren't exactly out of it, but they don't seem to be able to get it going either to keep up.

NL Wild Card
Well it's like last years NL West where it's a battle of who loses less as opposed to who goes out and wins it. The Padres currently lead the Reds who had it most of the season. There are currenlty 10 teams within 5.5 games of this spot, and only 3 of them are above .500. Teams like Houston and Florida might be able to mount a last minute charge and steal this last birth but it's unlikely. Houston does have three good starters but Lidge has been awfull. Florida is actually winning these days and looks to want it the most right now. Behind Miguel Cabrerra and Dontrelle Willis they're a bit of a no name lineup and it's hard to say if they'll fade or not. Philly as usual should be better but aren't despite Ryan Howard and Chase Utley's efforts. Meh, theres too many teams to discuss in depth here. I'll take the no name Marlins to get in and draw 12,000 people for all their playoff games even if they make the series.