FR Baseball thread: W/E 9/5/2005...Races tighten, and BTW, the Cards are the BEST team in baseball

[ken5050]

Last week, we had 14 viable contenders for a playoff spot, and 7 pretenders. This week, we shall winnow down the list considerably...

NATIONAL LEAGUE

NL EAST: Braves lead the Phils by 5.0, Marlins by 5.5, Nats by 7.0, and my Metsies by 7.5

NL CENTRAL: Cards are the class of MLBB..should clinch by 9/15.

NL WEST: Padres lead the Giants ( hello!!) by 5.5

NL WILD CARD: Phils lead Marlins and Astros by .5, Nats by 2.0, Mets by 2.5

AMERICAN LEAGUE

AL EAST: Red Sox lead the Yanks by 3.5

AL CENTRAL: White Sox have it locked up

AL WEST: Angels lead the A's by 1.0

AL WILD CARD: Yankees lead the A's by 1.0, Tribe by 2.0.

There you have it...please note we've dropped the Twins from the list, and added, for this week at least, the Giants..they've won 5 straight, Bonds may come back...and the Pods are SOOOOO bad, they could easily reel off a 7 game losing streak.

Note to all: I have now decided ona reverse psychology technique for the NY Teams. Having consigned the Yankees to oblivion, and the Metsies to the playoffs, in previous weeks, only to have them both make me look like an idiot, I shall now do the reverse flip flop. I predict the Yankees will win it all..division and World Series, and the Mets won't make the playoffs. We shall see if the double hex works..

Let's review some high, and low lights of the last week..

Boston is 8-2 over the last 10. Olerud has been awesome, and a healthy Wells is a good sign for the challenged Boston staff. Yankees may lose Mussina for the season.

This is Cleveland's week to put up or shut up..Angels and A's continue to switch places in the AL WEST.

Factoid: The last team to win the NL EAST with a bullpen with a losing record was the 1963 NY Mets..( who else). The Braves bullpen curently has a 20-23 record..OUCH!!!..Last night's loss was a beaut...and you have to wonder if the Braves can go deep into the playoff with that pen, assuming they make it..Phils had some rotation problems, had to start two rookies, and lost both..Wagner is great, but they have to be able to get to him...which is now not very easy.

NL EAST still looks like the most exciting race..down to the wire, for both the division, and the Wild Card...

Our good friend SCALEMAN should be along soon with his magic number update..he's a very happy camper, and desewrvedly so..

[cardinal4]

NL CENTRAL: Cards are the class of MLBB..should clinch by 9/15.

They are right where they were last year. I just hope there is a better outcome this time..

[ken5050]

FYI..good morning all

[ken5050]

....and the magic number is......??

[WKB]

And in other news Miss State beat POWER house Murray State

OM is on ESPN today

[birddog]

For the cardinals? 12

[.cnI redruM]

>>>>Braves bullpen curently has a 20-23 record..OUCH!!!..


The Braves NEVER have a good bullpen. It's a perennial frustration. Glavine, Maddux, Smoltz all three would have automatic HOF tickets punched if that bullpen could have been more credible the last 13 years.

[IndyTiger]

Cleveland has a easier schedule than NY or Oak for the next three weeks...10 games against either KC or Tampa Bay. That being said, I still don't see the Tribe making it to the wild card. Of course, I'm a long-suffering Tribe fan going back 40 years, so I'm rather cynical.

[hflynn]

BTW, the Cards are the Best team in baseball

Not in October, when it counts.

BTW, World Series banner in Boston:

World Series Banner in St. Louis pub

[ken5050]

soem interestingfactoid abotu the Tribe.

Cleveland has benefitted MOST from the dissimilarities caused by interleague play. Indians were 26-29 BEFORE tirnign in an 11-1 run aginst the NL WEST pathetic foursome of SD, SF, Colorado, and Ariz. Cleveland went 4-2 against in-state rival Cincinnati...All told, Tribe was 15-3 in interleague play..

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

you will find no argument from me that the cards are the best team in baseball. But they were last year as well!

[ken5050]

Hey...that's why they play the WS..look I'm a huge Red Sox fan..but on paper, and the numbers to date, especially the pitching staff, the Cards look awesome...Of course, La Russa can still screw it up...<P.
Here's the way to look at it...right now, you'd be hard press to pick any RedSox pitcher over his counterpart on the Cards..starters,a nd pen..and position players..well, go around the team..if you were picking for a drsaft..who'd you take..only RedSox that is a sure bet is CF...and that's becuase of relative age..for a two year period, I might be tempted to go with Edmonds..

[Lawgvr1955]

Of course, La Russa can still screw it up.

As a Cardinal fan of long standing, I have to admit that I was always critical of La Russa. However, lately I have been forced to give him his credit. He did a good job keeping the team focused when Darryl Kyle died and this year he has managed to win games with a different line up each day. (Of course I point out that he has used quite a bit of running and suicide squeezing ala Whitey Herzog this season). So put me in the pro-La Russa column. (I still am anti Mike Martz though).

[Lawgvr1955]

Kyle = Kile (D'oh!!!)

[misterrob]

Thanks for the post this week...

Sox continued their winning ways in ways that will make their fans cringe, Wankees getting three quality starts out of five and Wright was doing okay until he got conked with a line drive.

A's spanked the Yanks on Monday then took the next two days off. That race out west will be a tight one.

Who has best record in AL at year's end? Chicago ain't no sure thing any more.

[ElTianti]

Red Sox magic # 24

Regarding the Cards; they're division that has quite a few crappy teams(Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Pittsburge). I don't think they'd fair so well in the AL East.

[cloud8]

I don't remember the last time the Red Sox were 3 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees in early September. Their pitching is shakey, their bats are hot, and Manny is just being Manny. Stay tuned.

Good luck with Bellhorn, btw. Ha ha!

[dakine]

Wild Card in A.L. = Boston. I have them at 10-1.

[SCALEMAN]

and the magic number is......??

Magic # = 12

The Cards went 9-4 on this long road trip and could very well have been 11-2.
They seem to have the best starting rotation in baseball at present. (5 starters with 10 or more wins) After giving up a thriller on Fri (MY GOD... King hits the only batter he faces with the bases loaded in the 13th !!!!... Anyone want King?) night they came back with two complete game wins against the Stros.

Bonds may come back...and the Pods are SOOOOO bad

The Pods are one of the few teams (along with the Flubs and Phillies) who have a winning record against the Cards this season.

And now just for you Ken, I will be rooting for the PondScum Metzzzzzzzz.

[SCALEMAN]

Not in October, when it counts. BTW, World Series banner in Boston

Well you have something to dwell on in your lifetime. Hold it close to your heart.

As a direct contrast, I have attended more Cards world series games in my 58 years than Boston has actually played during the same time frame. I have dozens of shining momemts to look back on, rather than just one.