As we reach the stretch run we have, uh, not much resembling a race. Unless the Tigers or Dbacks fade badly it looks like a real quiet September. On the bright side Strasburg makes his triumphant return on Tuesday and I’m ridiculous excited about it.
The Astros have another! four-game win streak going. Also, Brian Bogusevic has a great name.
I still haven’t decided yet whether to completely give up on the Cardinals for this season or keep praying for a miracle.
I think overcoming a 5.5 game deficit will take some work for the White Sox or Indians, but I wouldn’t call it miraculous or anything.
The Dodgers, who WOULD need a miracle to catch Arizona, continue their mini-hot streak, having won nine of their last 10 games. And now, supposedly, there’s an odd offer on the table to buy the team.
The Giants are off to a great start this month. They are guaranteed not to lose any more ground to Arizona today 
This weekend is do-or-die. A sweep by the Giants means they’ve still got a shot. Anything less and it’s pretty much over. The recent roster moves (designating Aaron Rowand and Miguel Tejada for assignment) aren’t going to have much direct effect on things, but they do signal that the club isn’t throwing in the towel. My heart says they’ve still got a fighting chance, but my head thinks it’s too little, too late.
Since coming up to the majors Brett Lawrie might well be the best player in the American League.
I mean, I know it’s early, but talk abo9ut living up to the hype.
He’ll come back down to earth, of course. You can’t strike out three times as much as you walk and hit .330 forver.
Are you kidding?
The Tigers have 6 left against the Indians and 6 against the White Sox.
The Indians have 7 left against the White Sox.
As it stands right this moment, with CLE and CWS both 5.5 back, it is still literally anyone’s game.
Nope. It’s over. For the White Sox or Indians to get into it, they have to get on a really deep win streak. Either that or they need to sweep the Tigers out of their remaining games. The season ended after the Indians dropped the last series against the Tigers.
Mathematically, there’s a chance. In the real world, it’s over.
May Yogi Bera come by and bite you in the ass
He wouldn’t be seen anywhere near my ass. It’s too popular.
…Wait, what?
If the Tigers play 500 the rest of the way,either Sox or Cleveland had to go like 22-8 Since they have struggled to hit 500 all year, I would not hold my breath.
I’d be pretty shocked in Detroit blew it. Aside from the mathematics of it, they’re just a better team.
I’m starting to understand why Seattle fired Don Wakamatsu.
The fact that it’s so close speaks to the weakness of that entire division as a whole. If the Tigers played it right, they could dominate that division for a decade. the White Sox are in a similar boat, but Adam Dunn ended up as a colossal failure this year.
Helluva comeback by the Tigers tonight. The Indians are out as are the White Sox.
However, after Verlander and Fister, that rotation is shaky. Scherzer SHOULD be the guy, but he hasn’t stepped up like he did in the second half last year.
Rivera is now 5 saves short of tying the all time saves lead. It would be nice to see him break it this year.
Yanks have first by a ½ game. The play-off rotation is far from set but the bullpen appears to be the best in the majors and the offense might be the best. This might be enough to win through but the lack of top starters behind CC will make it very tough.
Indeed, watching him in Seattle I was shocked by how unqualified he appeared to be to be manager.
Saturday’s performance was just abysmal; the team holding on to a 4-3 lead but Romero obviously running out of steam and a relief pitcher, Janssen, ready to go. (Janssen had started warming up before the inning began.) They leave Romero in to face Granderson, okay, I get that, it’s a lefty-lefty matchup.
But then he hits Granderson. A righty, A-Rod, is up next, to be followed by a lefty, Cano.
What would you do?
A) Bring in the fresh righthander to face the rightie
B) Leave the exhausted lefthander in to face the rightie, and after he predicably fails, THEN bring in the righthander to face to leftie, thereby losing the platoon advantage both times and leaving your tired starter in one batter longer than necessary
Wakamatsu chose B, and in so doing cost them the game.
Very few games are actually decided by in-game managerial decisions, but that was one right there. I was aghast.
ETA: And he has Mike McCoy leading off, for Christ’s sake.
Could he have pitched around A-Rod, then faced Cano?
That wouldn’t have made sense in context. Romero, the starter, is lefthanded, so that would have set up the platoon advantage. But Romero had already thrown 108 pitches and believe me, he was done; there was nothing left in the tank. So if you have him walk A-Rod intentionally (he did walk him, unintentionally, as it turned out) you’re putting the winning run on base and now either you’ve lost the platoon advantage or you have to keep a tired Romero in the game, and you’re facing a better hitter with two men on instead of one.
The correct move is simply to bring in Janssen to face A-Rod; that probably ends the inning with the Jays still winning. It was such an obvious move that I was in shock when it wasn’t made.
Managers very rarely make such brutally obvius errors; I almost never criticize in-game moves because, to be honest, very few of them are more than the most obvious of decisions and rarely does a game hinge on such a decision. Saturday was probably the first time in two years I’ve thought “that was just dumb.”
But wouldn’t it have been righty v. righty against Cano? I agree he should’ve been lifted. but the platoon situation still holds.