MLB Stretch run, who's in, who's not

[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.

[flames_1987]

There's part of me that loves Joe Girardi as a manger and the way the Marlins are playing, but it's so damn hard to cheer for a Jeffery Loria team

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by flames_1987

There's part of me that loves Joe Girardi as a manger and the way the Marlins are playing, but it's so damn hard to cheer for a Jeffery Loria team

AGreed to a tee...

Hey SylvanFan, that was quite well done...I hope to get some thoughts in maybe tomorrow. Cheers.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by flames_1987

There's part of me that loves Joe Girardi as a manger and the way the Marlins are playing, but it's so damn hard to cheer for a Jeffery Loria team

Yeah, I echo that sentiment too. Loria is as dislikable as they come, but Girardi's a guy that deserves respect. In a way this Marlin team doesn't seem that different from the one that took the series in 2003.

And yeah anyone please feel free to add a few comments.

[Jiggy_12]

The NL wildcard is in the biggest log jam I have ever seen. And it's not for good reasons. All teams are so equally mediocre it makes me sick.

The Senior circuit is a joke, MLB needs to do a shakeup soon. It isn't fair to all the quality AL teams.

The Colorado Rockies and Milaukee Brewers are 9 games below .500, and sit just 6 games out of the wildcard.

W/L/W%/GB

San Diego 68-65 .511 -
Philadelphia 67-65 .508 0.5
Cincinnati 67-66 .504 1.0
Florida 65-66 .496 2.0
Houston 65-68 .489 3.0
San Francisco 65-68 .489 3.0
Arizona 64-69 .481 4.0
Atlanta 63-68 .481 4.0
Milwaukee 62-71 .466 6.0
Colorado 61-70 .466 6.0

[Sylvanfan]

Well going into the last 10 games or so it's looking like this

Yankees done
A's done

The Tigers have faded a bit here, but a win tonight would put them 5.5 games clear of the White Sox. They may not hold on enough to win the division, but they're going to the playoffs. The Twins have been very solid lately and Tory Hunter has been pretty stellar of late. It looks like the Twins may step up and grab the AL Central here. In a way I'm surprised that Chicago faded off the way they did as they seem to have a pretty good team. But head to head the Tigers and Twins took them out.

National League
Mets done
Cards done

Leaving the Padres and Dodgers to go at it in the West. The Dodgers are suddenly slumping and the Padres started winning a bit and are currenly playing leap frog for the NL West. The Phillies are adding to it with some decent play of late nipping on the heels of who ever can't win that division. At this point in the season it's basically 3 teams vying for two spots.

I'll still place money on the Yanks to take the Subway Series V2.0.
That lineup of
Damon
Jeter
Abreu
Rodriguez
Giambi
Matsui
Cano
Posada
Williams, Sheffield, Melke Cabrera or a lot of others is pretty much an allstar team.

[Jiggy_12]

I would love to see the Dodgers make the playoffs by 1 game.

Their win 2 nights ago would have huge meaning, and baseball could use a storyline like that.

[evman150]

I don't care about any of the teams contending in the NL. The Braves are pretty much done this year.

Now I'm cheering on AL MVP candidate Justin Morneau and his Minnesota Twins. I'm also hoping to see Victoria kid Rich Harden come back and lead the A's to success in the postseason.

[Resolute 14]

The Mets served their purpose by finally ending the Braves ELEVEN year run as NL East champs. They can go away now.

I sincerely hope that Roger Clemens suffers a nasty hang nail or something so that he can't come back again next year to boost his ego with yet another "final game" celebration.

A Yankees-Mets World Series is pretty much the worst possible thing that could happen to MLB. ABNY.

[Flickered Flame]

Originally Posted by evman150

I'm also hoping to see Victoria kid Rich Harden come back and lead the A's to success in the postseason.

Harden is expected to make a starter today vs the Indians for the A's. He hasn't pitched since June so hopefully his arm troubles are behind him now.

The American League is already decided its just a matter of who wins the central and who gets the wild card. Personally I am hoping to see the A's face the Tigers in the first round.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Snakeeye

A Yankees-Mets World Series is pretty much the worst possible thing that could happen to MLB. ABNY.

Well it certainly would make for a very regionalized world series. But these are the two best teams in Baseball, even if they are the biggest spenders. I'd love to see the Twins or A's find a way to knock off the Yankees, but I don't see it happening. Maybe if Liriano was able to go for the Twins and they could get a 7 game series against the Yankees where Sanatana and Liriano could have thrown two games each. As for the NL, I don't see any team there who can touch the Mets. St.Louis when healthy could come close, but right now they're far from healthy. But stranger things have happened in the past and maybe it will be a Padres vs A's world series.