MLB’s playoff race or lack thereof
Ah, this is when things should be getting exciting in baseball. We’re getting close to the final months of the season and this is when all the playoff races should start heating up and teams should be making their final push to the playoffs. At least we would think that. This season’s playoff race is only down to a select few. Yes you could argue that teams are still mathematically alive but that’s the only hope they have. We can see who will really still be around when the end of the season comes along and that doesn’t include many teams.
The most intriguing race as usual, is in the AL East, where it’s essentially a three-team race between the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox. It’s really a neck and neck race with the Rays and Yanks but the Sox are still hanging around and should not be counted out. The Orioles despite some strong play lately will not recover and the Toronto Blue Jays will likely only play a good spoiler towards the end of the season.
The wild card race is essentially the same thing. The Red Sox, Yankees and Rays will be battling it out. Two of these three teams will likely make the playoffs. There aren’t really any teams threatening this trio of doom in the American League.
The AL Central is essentially down to two teams between the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. Even that race cooled down with the Twins recent sweep of Chicago. That division is almost decided as the Tigers, Royals and Indians will be no threat to the pennant.
In the AL West, the Texas Rangers pretty much have the division wrapped up. Even when the Rangers have slumped, the Los Angeles Angels and the Oakland Athletics have not been able to take advantage and the Rangers still hold the largest division lead in baseball. The Rangers have just figured it all out this year with some great pitching and an MVP-like season from Josh Hamilton. The Rangers could probably cruise to play .500 the rest of the way and still take this division, but that won’t happen as they’ll have to keep their focus down the stretch.
Onto the National League, the West started off with an interesting race as the San Diego Padres, the San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers were all in the heat of the race. Now, the Padres and Giants appear to be the only ones with a chance at the division as the rest have slumped and the Arizona Diamondbacks were never a force this season.
In the Central, the race has come down to ultimately the surprising Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates were never anywhere near the Reds and Cards. The Reds and Cards may be the most interesting rivalry in baseball right now in light of their recent brawl and this may be the most interesting race in the National League.
The East looked like a very promising race but now it has fallen to two teams, the Atlanta Braves and the defending National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies. The New York Mets and Florida Marlins have fallen well behind while the Washington Nationals brightest spot has been their recent draft picks. The Phillies started slow but have caught fire and will challenge the Braves all season long for the division.
The Wild Card race is essentially between the Giants and the Phillies as these two teams have risen above the rest of the pack. Both teams can very likely still win their divisions but one of these two should be in regardless of how they fare in their division.
If you add up all the teams that are in the thick of this playoff race, you get 12 out of 30 teams in the playoff race. Only eight teams will make the playoffs. Let the real race begin.
Tags: