Speaking of collapses, how 'bout the 2004 Yankees? Ha ha ha......
AMERICAN LEAGUE:
AL EAST: Red Sox lead Yankees by 4.0, Blue Jays by 8.5
AL CENTRAL: (Gotta post this now, for Petronski).... White Sox lead the Tribe by 8.5
AL WEST: Angels lead A's by 2.5
AL Wild Card:
A's lead Yankees and Indians by .5, Twins by 2.5, and Blue Jays by 5.0
Yankees are in BIG TROUBLE..In case you didn't realize it, the Little Pinkie ( or, the player formerly known as the Big Unit) turns in Sept...and yesterday he pitched like it...he looks older on the mound than Sheets does on the Senate floor..the 4th home run ..the pitch was heading for the backstop..
Yankees have a 4 game series with the Blue Jays, and it says here they lose 3 of 4, maybe get swept, since Moose is due for a bad outing.....and then they welcome the newly resurgent Royals for 3..Nothing less than a sweep is acceptable for the Yankees and it won't happen..so, by this time next week..Yankees could be out of it for all practical purposes..
Red Sox get Schilling back into the rotation. I think they'll be 7 up by the end of the week...Could well be that the 6 games left with the Yankees become meaningless..
Many here have said the Chisox are overrated..and they've had a little slump..they're playing .500 since the All-star break..but I think they really miss Posednik..he makes the team go..and he should be back this week..but how about the Tribe....as predicted here, by yours truly and Petronski..Indians are quietly getting the job done..and they're getting overlooked in all the hoopla of the AL east and west races...Cleveland has a soft schedule..and should be atop the WC standing by the week's end. And if, IF the Chisox don't get back on track..and the lead falls to 4-5, then all bets are off...
A's were due for a mini-slump after that incredible stretch..I think the race stays tight down to the last week..
Gotta give kudos to the Twins..they've played themselves back in to the race, when, after losing Torii Hunter, they could have folded, and of late Sanatana has returned to last year's Cy Young form. FYI..the hottest team in MLB since the all-star break..your very own Tampa Bay Devil Rays...and the Tribe gets them now for a series..Tampa may not care about beating anyone outside their division....
NATIONAL LEAGUE NL EAST: Braves lead the Phillies by 3.5, Marlins by 4.5, Nats by 5.0, and the Mets by 6.5
NL CENTRAL: Cardinals!!! CARDINALS!!! CARDINALS!!! (that's for our good friend SCALEMAN, who never gets to see his team listed on this thread..)
NL WEST: do we have to.....??? Pods lead by 4.0...they are UNDER .500
NL WILD CARD: Phils lead Astro's by.5, Marlins by 1.0, Nats by 1.5, Mets by 3.0
My Metsies, after I consigned them to the has-been list last week, played themselves back into contention this week, though they almost pulled off one of the "greatest?" collapses ever Sat night...blowing Pedro's 8-0 lead..now they are off on the road for 7 games..4 in Arizona and 3 in SF..If, IF, they are serious, they need to go 5-2 on this road trip...
Braves are coming back to the fold..everyone in the NL EAST is not thinking about the WC..they're looking ahead to the Braves and the division title..
Pettite is the suprise of the 'Stros staff..winning 8 of his last 10 starts...I told you all here two weeks ago that Nats would finish last..Oh, how you all scoffed at me...they'll be there by next week...
Let's take a closer look at the NL wild card schedules:
Phillies: Today they start a 12 game 14 day road trip, then they're home for 16, playing Houston, Florida, and Atlanta..Of their final 31 games, 21 are against winning teams.
Astros: 8 of Houston's next 12 series are against losing teams. They play the Marlins 4 games Sept 12-15, then do NOT face a winning team in their final 16 games, except for 2 late games against the Cards, who will be resting everyone by then, unl;ess they wanyt to knock off the Astros. With their pitching, including a very hot of late Pettite, Astros look like the class of the field, which makes our own Allegra ecstatic... ...
Nats: They have 25 home games left, most of any WC hopefuls. They finish with 9 of 12 at home..including 3 game sets with the Mets, Marlins, and Phillies.
Marlins: They close August with a 3 games series against the Cards befoe 20 straight games against other wild card contenders..Mets, Nats, Phils, and 'Stros...Starting Sept 5...the play 17 of 20 on the road..
Random thoughts...did you see the Little League playoff game..with the kid who struck out all 18 batters he faced? Well, this "12 year old" shaves once a week...and he has a goatee..go figure....
Note: I need a pinch-hitter to do the thread NEXT week...I expect to be travelling...so PLEASE!!!!..Freepmail me..thanks...
What? No mention of the Cubs in the wild card race? Astounding!
Pettitte's performance is no surprise to anyone who's been paying attention the last decade. The Yankees not doing everything in their power to re-sign him was a disastrous non-move.
How about Randy Johnson pitching a complete game in a 6 - 2 loss yesterday? Weird. Gave up 4 HRs in one inning, and that was all she wrote.
Good Monday Morning all..BTW.. I think the ping list is finally all corrected, but if anyone wants off or on..just Freepmail me..regards..
Tigers have turned up the heat again with two wins against Boston and a sweep of the series against Toronto. Carlos Pena has returned from the minors and hit 3 homeruns against the Jays.
I will agree the Yanks are in big trouble but not that much more than Boston.
I like it.
Scott Rolen is going to have surgery on his left shoulder so, he's out for the season. Molina is back, but Grudzielanek is on the 15-day DL with a knee infection.
Yeah, The Yankees are in "big" trouble going 7-3 in their last 10... -sarc
He's just pitching like he did the last time he was in the AL, in 1998-- 4.33 ERA vs. 4.34 now.
Schilling returning to the rotation is no guarantee of success. His control is off and his velocity is inconsistant. If he can throw a split/curve/slider combo for strikes consistantly then he can be effective without a good heater but I have not seen enough yet to be impressed with his stuff.
As a warrior he is without peers though.
Up your Pedro.
Speaking of collapses, how 'bout the 2004 Yankees? Ha ha ha......
Yankees have a 4 game series with the Blue Jays, and it says here they lose 3 of 4, maybe get swept, since Moose is due for a bad outing.....and then they welcome the newly resurgent Royals for 3..Nothing less than a sweep is acceptable for the Yankees and it won't happen..so, by this time next week..Yankees could be out of it for all practical purposes..
My Yankees usually get hot in Sept. This year maybe not but we'll see...In the meantime, I hope the Big Unit only signed for a year or Steinbrenner and I will have to have a talk!
Hopefully the Red Sox will sweep the Royals then put it to Detroit at home and perhaps put a bigger cushion between them an N.Y.