NEARING THE FINISH LINE

With approximately 20 games left for the MLB teams, it’s time for a last review of what is anticipated in the final weeks of regular-season baseball.  Of course, we’ll start with the Yankees:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Eastern Division:  The Yankees not only lost Mark Teixeira for the season, (so much for the Atlanta & NY doctors determining the bone wasn’t broken), but they’ve just finished losing 3 out of 4 to their only American League East competitors, the Toronto Blue Jays.  Tonight, after avoiding Toronto’s 4-game sweep, the NYY are 3 games behind the Blue Jays in the all-important loss column.  The NYY are looking way too lethargic.  They are lucky that they still have 3 games left to face the Blue Jays, but it may be too late if they don’t find a way to physically energize themselves!  Plus, the Blue Jays look unstoppable as they have been defeating everyone in sight ever since their major acquisitions (especially David Price) right before the trading deadline.  Ironically, as of now, the Yanks are just as far ahead in the wildcard race as they are behind in the division race.  So, their chances of making the playoffs are still above fair as long as they go back to winning more games than they lose!

Western Division:  The Houston Astros are barely leading this division over the Texas Rangers, while the Los Angeles Angels are hovering under a few games below the top.  It’s still anybody’s lead to be had and this division offers the only true 3-team race.

Central Division:  The only team with a comfortable first-place lead within the American League is the Kansas City Royals.  They currently lead their division by a whopping 11 games! 

The other contenders in the American League besides the Yankees, Blue Jays, Astros, Rangers, Angels, and Royals include the Indians and Twins - that’s because MLB has 2 wildcard opportunities.  Of course I’m rooting for the Yankees to win but, based on today’s records, the Royals have the advantage and if no one calms down the Blue Jays’ massive offense, they will homer their way into the pennant.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Eastern Division:  Of course, I have to start with New York’s other team, the Mets.  They have completely turned their season around thanks to the moves they made prior to the trading deadline and the “move” they chose not to make for the wrong reason.  The main players they acquired were Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson, and Tyler Clippard and each have contributed (especially Cespedes); but, what really woke them up was the last-minute decision by their GM, Sandy Alderson, to pull back their attempted trade of their second baseman/shortstop, Wilmer Flores, for centerfielder Carlos Gomez.  Most believe, including me, that they finally realized the prospective acquisition of Gomez was going to cost them too much money (a noun that affects the Wilpons like kryptonite affects Superman).   After Flores found out from the fans that he had been traded, he cried and eventually (during that game) his manager/uninformed Terry Collins had to take the emotional Flores out of the game.  Once the Mets changed their mind and pulled back the pending deal (claiming health concerns with Gomez), the Mets united as a “team” and the fans began to go nuts every time Flores came to bat thereafter.  Collectively, with the Flores issue and the acquisitions, the Mets have become one of the most winning teams.  While they have successfully beaten up on such weak teams as the Braves and the Phillies, they have also annihilated the Nationals (the most disappointing team in all of baseball).  As of today, the Mets have practically won their division with a dominating 9-game lead in the loss column.

Western Division:  The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently leading the defending champions, the San Francisco Giants, by 8 games in the loss column.  That gives them a most-probable position of victory.

Central Division:  The National League’s Central competition is between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates.  While the Cardinals have been maintaining the best record in baseball for long time, they have not been playing too well lately.  On the other hand, the Pirates have been playing very well.  The Cardinals’ 2-game lead (again, based on the loss column) over the Pittsburgh Pirates makes the NL Central a very tight race.

The only other contender in the National League besides the Mets, Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals, and Pirates is the Chicago Cubs.  The Mets have been the hottest team as of late, but they haven’t proven that they can dominate strong teams as they’ve had their way with the Braves, Phillies, and Nationals.  I personally like the Pirates as a whole team, but no one can discount the fact that the Cardinals have the best record in baseball, or the fact that Giants have excelled in the last few years during playoff contention time.