MLB Discussion thread - 50 games to go

Standing from ESPN.com ^ | Now | Me

[MikefromOhio]

Here we go....Most teams have 50 or 51 games to go after today's games.....here is how things are shaping up baseball fans....

2006 American League Standings
EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
NY Yankees	65	42	.607	-	36-19	29-23	595	503	Lost 1	8-2
Boston	65	44	.596	1	35-17	30-27	600	540	Lost 1	4-6
Toronto	57	53	.518	9.5	35-23	22-30	574	545	Lost 7	1-9
Baltimore	50	61	.450	17	30-30	20-31	538	618	Won 1	5-5
Tampa Bay	46	65	.414	21	28-26	18-39	492	599	Won 1	4-6
CENTRAL	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
Detroit	74	36	.673	-	35-17	39-19	579	436	Won 2	7-3
Chicago Sox	65	43	.602	8	34-19	31-24	619	524	Won 2	6-4
Minnesota	64	45	.587	9.5	39-15	25-30	563	493	Won 3	6-4
Cleveland	47	62	.431	26.5	26-29	21-33	594	564	Lost 2	3-7
Kansas City	38	72	.345	36	23-32	15-40	501	661	Lost 3	3-7
WEST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
Oakland	59	51	.536	-	28-25	31-26	490	485	Won 3	8-2
LA Angels	56	54	.509	3	26-28	30-26	537	515	Won 1	5-5
Texas	56	55	.505	3.5	26-30	30-25	566	547	Lost 1	5-5
Seattle	53	56	.486	5.5	28-28	25-28	510	507	Lost 2	5-5
2006 National League Standings
EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
NY Mets	65	44	.596	-	31-22	34-22	585	498	Won 1	6-4
Philadelphia	53	56	.486	12	27-31	26-25	563	569	Lost 1	7-3
Florida	51	59	.464	14.5	27-27	24-32	511	531	Lost 2	4-6
Atlanta	50	59	.459	15	22-28	28-31	568	560	Lost 3	3-7
Washington	49	61	.445	16.5	26-24	23-37	511	571	Lost 1	5-5
CENTRAL	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
St. Louis	59	50	.541	-	32-23	27-27	531	530	Won 1	2-8
Cincinnati	57	53	.518	2.5	29-28	28-25	541	562	Won 2	4-6
Houston	53	57	.482	6.5	30-26	23-31	503	520	Won 2	6-4
Milwaukee	52	58	.473	7.5	32-23	20-35	502	580	Lost 1	4-6
Chicago Cubs	46	64	.418	13.5	24-31	22-33	459	567	Won 1	7-3
Pittsburgh	42	69	.378	18	28-28	14-41	501	562	Lost 1	7-3
WEST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
San Diego	57	53	.518	-	27-31	30-22	501	496	Won 1	4-6
LA Dodgers	55	55	.500	2	31-24	24-31	558	517	Won 8	8-2
Arizona	55	55	.500	2	26-28	29-27	554	559	Lost 3	4-6
Colorado	54	55	.495	2.5	28-26	26-29	502	479	Won 3	7-3
San Francisco	52	58	.473	5	30-28	22-30	507	517	Lost 2	1-9
Glossary
W: Wins, L: Losses, PCT: Winning percentage, GB: Games back, HOME: Home record, ROAD: Road record, RS: Runs scored, RA: Runs allowed, STRK: Current streak, L10: Last 10 games
Standings are updated with the completion of each game.

American League

The Yankees are playing well right now and are winning games when they DON'T play well. Can they keep it up? Boston has struggled a bit this week (David Ortiz is excused from this observation). I would say that the Yankees are still short on pitching, but their lineup will make games really interesting at time. The Red Sox might have the pitching to win it, but they need to get healthy quickly. Toronto is fading in the AL East and Wild Card races. They made a good run at it earlier this year, but they should aim for .500 this year and bigger things next year....

The AL Central is all but wrapped up for Detroit assuming their pitching holds up. I think it will. What remains to be seen is whether or not the White Sox or the Twins can stay in contention for the Wild Card. Currently the Twins are a game back of both Sox, Red and White, who are tied for the lead. If Liriano's arm continues to cause him to miss starts, the Twins might not have the pitching to win it, but they can still make some noise (they play the White Sox 9 more times) and that may go a long way to determining which team, if any, emerges from the AL Central.

The AL West is proving to be a dog fight. Oakland is again proving itself to be a 2nd half team after winning the last 3 games and 8 of their last 10. The Angels had closed the gap but haven't quite been able to overtake the A's. Same goes for Texas and Seattle. As the division leader is nearly 7 games back of the Wild Card leaders, this is a one and done division.

National League

The NL East is over and done with. The Mets have officially run away and hid from the rest of the division. For the rest of the teams within that division, it's Wild Card or bust. Don't tell the Phillies that their management traded away any shot at a playoff appearance this year. Since the trading deadline, they've played .800 baseball (4-1) and have gained a couple games on the Wild Card leading Reds. They aren't out of it by far. Florida is to be commended for hanging around this year. After the firesale, there were many out ther expecting 100 losses from this group of young players. But lo and behold, they are in the wild card race. The Braves are finally going to have their streak of division championships broken. I don't think they have the horses to pull out a Wild Card either, but they have a solid nucleus of young players who are getting tons of MLB experience both last year and this year.

The NL Central is a LOT closer than anyone would have believed at the beginning of the year. The Cardinals are leading, but they have struggled a bit recently, especially with their pitching. Who would have thought that the Red would ONLY be 3 games out (they just lost) in August? Not me and judging from some of the preseason predictions that I remember, no one else thought so either. Cincy is ALSO leading the Wild Card, but it is a very tenuous lead which they may not be able to hold. Their pitching and now their hitting are so streaky who knows what may happen. The Astros still don't have enough hitting to get back into this race, and they are wasting the probable final year of Roger Clemens.

The NL West is just as close as the AL West. The Padres are leading, but the entire division is within 5 games of the leader. Also, it should be noted that all 3 of the non-division leaders in the NL West are within 2 games of the Wild Card.

If I were to pick who wins the Wild Cards in each league, I'd go with the Yankees in the AL (with Boston winning the AL East) and I'd go with whichever team does NOT win the NL West. I think that Cincy's pitching will falter in the final month and a half of the season.

[MikefromOhio]

The Dodgers are as streaky as the Reds are...

They've swept 3 straight series after losing 13 of 14 after the all star break....

I don't know how you can put them into the NLCS based on that.

[Osage Orange]

Dodgers???

No way...in Chavez Ravine.

[Mr. Mojo]

Oh yeah .....Yanks now up 2 on the Sox. Wang has stepped up to be a dominant starter, and Mussina (yesterday's game aside) is having one of his best seasons. The Unit appears to be done, but he still pitches a gem on occasion. Wright's been pitching very well as of late, but Torre pulls him out of games early and leaves it up to the shaky mid-relief. Lidle looked excellent in his pinstripes debut, but time will tell. Mo is still the hammer in the bully, even though he's not quite as invincible as he used to be.

When Matsui, Sheffield, and Cano get back the offensive will be unstoppable.

Pleasant surprises: Melky Cabrera (a future batting champ, according to many) and Bernie Williams (a Yankee legend who they got this year at a bargain price, and who evidently still has some game left).

[MikefromOhio]

yeah....

The Yankees still have played 3 fewer games than the Red Sox have. I'm allowing for the fact that they may wear down over the final month with fewer days off.

On a side note, I'm damn glad that I drafted Cano and Wang in keeper leagues this year.

I think both of them could be there for a LONG time.

[Mr. Mojo]

The Yanks are so deep with talent that I can't see them wearing down. Torre plays everyone, so rest isn't a problem. Pitching is certainly a concern, but it's a concern for the Sox as well. ...bigtime.

Neither team wants to play the Twins in a short series, that's for sure.

[misterrob]

Baseball Ping...

Red Sox screwed the pooch AGAIN today in a major way. Their bullpen is useless right now, their team is banged up and they are going on a downhill slide.

Reminds me of days gone past when August was the time to fade away.

[mainepatsfan]

They better pull out of this nose dive quick. Oh well. At least the NFL season is coming up soon.

[MikefromOhio]

or the Tigers for that matter.

[MikefromOhio]

well you all keep pitching Freddie Krueger ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Julian Tavarez in key situations.....

That's what is killing you.

[misterrob]

Willie McGinist had some comments about is old team today. Talked about the loss of key personell and some of the guys they brought in to replace them.

Said Duane Starks played like trash last year!!

[mainepatsfan]

That's not fair to talk about trash that way.

[misterrob]

Hansen (who belongs in the minors) gave up three runs in the eighth that proved to be the difference last night. Delcarmen gave up 2 runs, Timlin, Papelbon and Tavarez all gave up home runs as well today. Timlin gave up 2 home runs to lose to Seattle two weeks ago and no one outside of Papelbon has any consistancy. This is the same problem they have had for most of the last 4 years.

[misterrob]

Remember when Shaughnessy of the Globe called Jose Awfullman trash (or maybe it was garbage) back in 2002?

[MikefromOhio]

yep...

But generally this is the time of the year where they get everything put back together and then make a run starting mid-August on.

Teams slump. Maybe they are just in a bit of a funk.

[mainepatsfan]

He's slightly more vain than Joe Biden.

[misterrob]

Nixon has limited power and hits like a bottom of the order guy,

Tek's average and .obp is down 30 points,

Crisp and Gonzalez are up there hacking and simply do not get on base enough,

Mark Loretta hits like Loretta Swit

Buckett Head still has not learned that people can hit his fastball and Francona simply has no one in his pen that he can count on.

Theo should have just allowed this year to be a rebuilding year and held on to Marte and Ramirez.

[MikefromOhio]

yeah the trade of Marte REALLY didn't make sense as he will be an All Star 3rd baseman for the next decade if he ever gets a chance....

I don't know why they don't just get rid of Nixon and let Wily Mo play every day.

That guy could hit 50 every year in Boston....

[misterrob]

He hit one the other night at Fenway that was an absolute laser. It that hit the wall behind the front row of the Green Monster seats and bounced at least 50 feet backwards onto the field. Any other ball park that one goes 450 plus feet. I have also seen him hit line drives that no one else in baseball can mash. He simply doesn't know how to hit though. Ron Jackson could do wonders with him in terms of filling in his holes at the plate and being able to be more selective.

The front office mess in the offseason created some real problems for the team. Crisp was a panic signing. Yes, he can make plays in the outfield and he can steal bases but he looks lost at the plate. Theo is going to have to do some major rework of this team in the offseason. The Yankees are going to be packed with high priced talent but they will also be a year older. The Jays will not be able to add much in the way of payroll so the Sox can certainly compete next year.

Time will tell.

Who's your team?

[MikefromOhio]

I am a very disaffected Orioles fan who hasn't followed the O's since Ripken retired.

I'm waiting for Angelos to die so then I can reassess my options......

I know it was at Great American Band Box, but Wily Mo is the only right hander I've seen EVER put one out to Left Center ONE HANDED during a game in that park.

It was nuts.....

[nutmeg]

Red Sox screwed the pooch AGAIN today in a major way. Their bullpen is useless right now, their team is banged up and they are going on a downhill slide.

Will the Kansas City Royals sweep our Red Sox tonight? What has happened to our team? I am quickly losing the faith. I guess Jason Varitek really is "the brain" behind the winning Red Sox... he is sorely missed.

I'm so sorry I wasted so many hours last night watching endless conferences between Javy Lopez and Beckett, Delcarmen, Timlin, etc., only to watch the Royals win in a walkoff... their first of the season.

Is this our official baseball thread for now? Ken... what happened to your weekly baseball threads?