I’ve never started the monthly thread, but it is August now. Time for the dog days!
While the D-backs are out of it, there are several races I’m following.
AL West. Shaping up to be a good battle between the Rangers and Angels. The Rangers have played well, but the Angels just won’t lose. Still, even if the Rangers finish second, they could very well be in the wild card. That wild card isn’t guaranteed to the AL East.
NL Central. The Cardinals should run away with this. Still, they haven’t Each team has had their hot streaks. While I’d like to see the Astros make a run for it, most likely this will turn into a Cubs/Cards race by the end of August. I just don’t see the Brewers doing anything to stay in contention.
NL West. The Dodgers are going to win the division, but can the Rockies or Giants do enough to take the wild card?
AL East - Yankees hold on first seems tenuous at best right now. Red Sox got V. Martinez while Yanks countered with… Jerry Hairston Jr.? Mitre’s start yesterday just emphasized their need for a 5th starter but they didn’t get anyone before the deadline.
We should know by the end of the month. The Rockies and Giants play each other seven times (in ten days) in August. The Rockies also play the Cubs four times, and the Marlins and Dodgers three times this month.
It’s a brutal schedule, but if the Rockies have a decent month they could be well ahead in the wild card race come September.
Victor Martinez got a warm welcome from the usual Red-Sox-fan majority crowd in Baltimore last night. Masterson will be missed, but, bluntly, he was expendable. A nice pickup, and he might even be able to catch Wakefield.
Are the Pirates trying to drive everyone away? I see their entire roster makes below the MLB average.
The Mets have managed to be … uh, watchable since the All-Star break, going 6-3 and not doing anything particularly embarrassing besides sending Oliver Perez to the mound every 5 days. All Quiet on the Flushing Front, though: Their main trade moves have been sending Ryan Church to the Braves for Jeff Francoeur and feeding Tony Bernazard to the lions for a raft of bad publicity and a side order of having the GM look like a spiteful idiot.
There’s not much to get excited about. I’m glad to see a dude like Angel Pagan doing well (for his name if nothing else), and am more than happy to clap for Daniel Murphy and Corey Sullivan and Omir Santos – but it’s hard to believe this team of spare parts, dudes just up from AAA, and Your World Champion 1997 Florida Marlins are going to leapfrog 7 teams for the Wild Card at this point. (Although taking 3 of 4 from the Rockies is a nice way of getting our hopes up.) And I’m starting to suspect Reyes, Beltran, and Delgado are actually playing in Japan.
Bud Norris with his first major league win as the Astros win over the Cardinals. Nice game for the Astros. With Oswalt still a question mark, it was nice to see Norris step up. I’m still not convinced that the Astros are going to challenge for the NL Central, but we will see what the Marlins can do about the Cubs now.
The Yankees salvaged the weekend with a win against the White Sox and Mark Buehrle today. Melky Cabrera hit for the cycle, the first Yankee to do so since Tony Fernandez in 1995. Cabrera got his triple last, which is the hardest way to do it, and it was a close play at third.
I’m moderately hopeful as a Cubs fan, after last night’s game. That’s the sort of game the Cubs usually manage to lose, not win. They certainly tried hard enough. :smack:
I’m going out on a limb here: Cubs v. Tigers in a rematch of '45.
I hate being this mad at my Brewers. Their terrible pitching is what I knew it would be all year, then they had to go ruin it by being surprisingly good for 3 and a half months.
Same here with the Reds, except the Reds pitching was considered by many to be their lone “bright spot”, and for a short while, it was.
Not anymore. They are imploding in spectacular, but predictable fashion. Dropped three in a row to the Rockies.
What is up with Colorado, anyway? Isn’t this the second year in a row they have overcome a terrible start to charge their way into the playoff picture?
Second year out of three. 2007 was the year they got so hot at the end of the season and made it to the World Series. 2008 in the NL West featured the Diamondbacks starting very strong, but losing steam in August and September and the Dodgers won the NL West.
I’m really glad the Rangers are hanging in there despite the fact the Angels can do no wrong. 3 of 4 to the Mariners heartened me happily, as did the fact that they didn’t trade Holland for Halladay. If we can keep inching closer to either winning the penant or the wild card (their last [or next-to-last] scheduled home-stand [I think it’s in Texas] has them facing off), I think they can do it. But no matter if they don’t clinch this year because they’ve finally got good pitching lined up for next year.
I’m finally glad to put my money on them. Figuratively speaking.
Willy Aybar hit home runs from both sides of the plate yesterday for the Rays. How common or uncommon is this compared to other feats? (especially for Willy Aybar ;))
