It’s September which means many people have given up on baseball in anticipation of football in both college and non-gay form. That’s alright, it happens every year; no use getting upset about it.
The fans of all but 10 teams have quit checking the standings everyday choosing instead to lament the condition of their team and make positive claims about next year’s chances while playing armchair GM. For these fans I write today. Because if they don’t have a voice then their casual fandom is for nothing. Without a voice speaking directly to them, their reputations as hard core baseball fans will be quickly exposed.
It is to these brave souls I speak to.
Let’s start with the National League. You can more or less call the division leaders a lock since no one has less than a 4.5 game lead. Though the Dodgers are fading and at one point were only 2 games up on the Rockies, it seems like they’re going to hold onto the division. No one would be happier to see them lose it and fall out of the playoffs than me, ladies and gentlemen but I don’t see it happening.
Current Standings:
Rockies: 74-59
Giants: 73-60 1GB
Braves: 70-63 4GB
Marlins: 69-64 5GB
Cubs: 67-64 6GB
As you can see, for the 3rd time in the last 4 years it will be the NL West winning the Wild Card. This isn’t that amazing considering the NL is garbage but it is surprising since, at one point in time, the NL West was once considered the worst division in baseball. That title now sits squarely on the shoulders of the NL Central but then again there isn’t much about the MidWest that doesn’t suck balls.
Colorado’s road to the playoffs seems light. They only have 3 against the Dodgers, 3 against the Giants and 3 against St. Louis. Likewise, the Giants only have 6 games against the Dodgers. It appears that the winner of the Rockies/Giants series (Sept 14th-16th) is going to be the WC winner.
American League: The division leaders here have less of a lock than in the NL. The Yankees have the biggest lead because they play on a little league field. The Angels came out like gangbusters after the All-Star break but have slowed down a bit and are now only up by 3.5 games over Texas. The Tigers have a 4.5 game lead in the AL Central which feels like a sure thing because no one in that division seems capable of putting a 3 game winning streak together.
As for the Wild Card, there’s really no point in even discussing this. The Red Sox are going to win the Wild Card and then kill the Yankees in the ALCS again on route to their third World Series victory in the past 5 years. But, since some of you want to stay current on the specifics, here they are.
Current Standings:
Boston 77-55
Texas: 75-58 2.5 GB
Tampa Bay: 72-60 5GB
Boston has 4 more left against Tampa, 3 against LA and 3 against NY. Everything else looks like gravy. Texas has 7 against LA and 3 against Tampa but the rest are against Oakland and Seattle which is no difficult task. Tampa seems to have the hardest road ahead of them. They’ve got 7 against NY, 3 against Texas and 4 against Boston. If they win the WC they might be hot enough to win the whole fucking thing.
You suckered me in with “quick” in the title.
So glad that the Red Sox are gonna miss the playoffs.
Remember, kids – racism doesn’t pay off.
I’m rooting for the Lone Rangers.