NOTE: The stats do NOT include tonight's Cards/Cubs game...and remember, unless a team is at least playing .500 ball, it doesn't get mentioned ( hmmm..does that mean we're going to ignore the entire NL WEST?
Both Central Division races are over, done, finito..
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL EAST: Braves and Nats are tied, they lead the Phillies by 3.0, Mets by 3.5, and the Marlins by 4.5. EVERY team in the division is over .500. Nats are collapsing, as I predicted, and the Braves's rookies may be feeling the pennant race. Mets look awesome. YIPPEE!!!! ( hey, it's MY thread..so don't complain. Benson has been even better than Pedro since the All-Star break..
NL WEST: Padres lead by 3 games..
NL WILD CARD: Braves lead the Phillies by 3.0, Astros and Mets by 3.5, Marlins by 4.5, and Cubbies by 5.0 Astros pitching rotation has to give them an edge, in my book
BREAKING: ESPN just reported that Card's Rollin may be done for the season.. Bummer for you Cards' fans. They'll need him in the WS..
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL EAST: Red Sawx lead Yankees by 1.5, O's by 3.5, Blue Jays by 5.0. Baltimore blows three to Tampa Bay...If they don't make the playoffs, they can look to this weekend for the reason why.. Yankees got shellacked by the Angels..Leiter was a one-game wonder, then reverted to true form, and Kevin Brown is finished..he's a mop-up guy now...They'd better hope that the medium sized UNIT is OK ..The AL WC is NOT coming out of this division.. MY money says the Yankees don't even play in the post-season..
AL WEST: Angels lead the A's by 5.5...Texas is finished. Oakland may well be the hottest team in all of BB right now...
AL WILD CARD: Twins and A's are tied, they lead the Yankees by 0.5, Orioles and Indians by 2.5, and the Tigers and Blue Jays by 4.0..
White Sox and Red Sox split a 4 game series..and the Chisox gave away a game to boot. Both teams look like they expect to see each other again in the fall.. LAA is playing great baseball..but they may start to look behind them just a little at the A's...
There was a line in today's NY POST sports section, an AL GM quoted anonymously as saying that besides the Cards, there's no reason to let another NL team into the playoffs...There are what..6-7 AL teams who would be in first place in the NL WEST...Could we have a division winner with a LOSING record? Stay tuned..
And it shoudl be a wild week leading up to the trading dealine..Lots of teams could go either way....
another week without barroid bonds is a great week...Go Marlins !
FYI..anyone want on or off..just Freepmail me..
Padres may be trading Nevin.
And in a different trade we are getting
the Red Legs 3rd baseman
For a team who has had its top players out over
long periods of time with major injuries and
and a few week flu bug with many, it says a lot
for the San Diego Padres to still be in first place.
"I've had a pretty good success facing Stan (Musial) by throwing him my best pitch and backing up third base." - Carl Erskine
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings. ~Earl Wilson
Seems like every year is a rerun for Oakland -- start slow, get hot in the second half. NL East is really interesting -- everybody has a shot -- I think the Phillies can sneak in there, but until somebody actually BEATS Atlanta, you have to give the nod to them. The Yankees just finished a rough road trip with only two major league starters and still won 6 of 11 against Boston, Texas and LA -- Brown is garbage, but Pavano back next week, and Wang may return sooner than originally thought. That will make an enormous difference. With the BoSox struggling themselves, do not count the Yankees out. O's look like a team in decline, but they have bounced back before. But this is the best race in many a year in the AL. Lots of legitimate Wild Card possibilities. Minnesota will always give a good account of itself, and has a big series coming up in The Bronx. I love baseball.
Could be. His shoulder's messed up. He was screaming in pain after some swings last week. But Rolen is the ultimate gamer.
Cards are really banged up, lots of regulars out. With the lineup they were putting out there yesterday, it looked like the Memphis Redbirds.
BTW, maybe a record heat index of about 125 in St. Louis today. Even with the game shifted to the evening, it's still broiling here.
I agree with you on the AL East, and that's hard for a Yankee fan to do! I never understood the deal for Randy Johnson.
"You've known me all this time and you still can't spell my name"
Heard a rumor on ESPN about Bob Wickman maybe going to the Red Sox. It will be interesting to see how the Tribe does this week on the west coast road trip to Oakland and Seattle. Not sure yet whether the Indians will be buyers or sellers...may depend on their performance this week prior to the trading deadline. Supposedly the Yanks had scouts at the Indians - KC series earlier this week, looking for a CF.
Don't look now, but here come the Phillies (again)!
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They're melting...and it ain't even August yet.
Damned rough week for a Twins fan. They show flashes, then have games like today again where they can't buy a hit.
look for sox to deal big this week!!!
My Sawks had a great weekend. Splitting a four game set with the best club in baseball IN THEIR HOUSE!
They are now off to get fat on the Royals.
Going into July 25 now, out of the 30 teams, 22 teams are within five-and-a-half games of a playoff berth!!!
The only teams really out of it are, in the AL, Seattle, Kansas City, and Tampa, and in the NL, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, San Fran, and Colorado.
The only teams really assured of a playoff berth are the White Sox and the Cardinals. That leaves 20 teams with an unsure chance!
I tend to agree with you this moment on all counts...
But there is something about "Mystique and Aura" that can't be discounted.
Heck, as bad as they've been playing, for one day they were actually ahead of the Bosox -- AND still they're only 1 1/2 behind that powerhouse Beantown team (Guess who else has no pitching?)