August’s thread is here.
Welcome to the final month of the regular season! The Dodgers are in a bit of a tail-spin (or a correction for real-world norms), and the Astros just scored Justin Verlander to help them into October. Meanwhile, roughly 73 teams are still in contention for the AL Wild Card spots.
Is it just me or is this a terrible time for the Dodgers to have cooled off?
Im feeling anxious.
If it makes you feel any better, the 1998 Yankees, who won 114 games, had a 13-16 stretch from late August to the middle of September. It didn’t mean anything when the playoffs started.
There’s never a good time to play poorly but this is no worse a time than any. Nice to see that the astros got verlander without giving up anyone who would help in the next 3 years. Realistically their best window is until 2019, after which they will either start losing guys to free agency or pony up an insane amount in salaries.
Also, am I right in thinking AL MVP is basically altuve’s to lose at this point?
Standings as of September 1:
NL West
Dodgers, Diamondbacks (16 GB), Rockies (19.5 GB), Padres (32.5 GB - Eliminated), Giants (40 GB - Eliminated)
NL Central
Cubs, Brewers (3.5 GB), Cardinals (6 GB), Pirates (9.5 GB), Reds (15.5 GB)
NL East
Nationals, Marlins (15 GB), Braves (21.5 GB), Mets (23 GB), Phillies (31 GB - Eliminated)
AL West
Astros, Angels (11.5 GB), Rangers (14 GB), Mariners (14.5 GB), A’s (22 GB)
AL Central
Indians, Twins (6.5 GB), Royals (11 GB), Tigers (18 GB), White Sox (24 GB)
AL East
Red Sox, Yankees (4.5 GB), Orioles (8 GB), Rays (9.5 GB), Blue Jays (14 GB)
NL Wild Card
Diamondbacks, Rockies, Brewers (2.5 GB), Cardinals (5 GB), Marlins (6 GB), Pirates (9.5 GB)
AL Wild Card
Yankees, Twins, Angels (1.5 GB), Orioles (2.5 GB), Rays (4 GB), Rangers (4 GB), Mariners (4.5 GB), Royals (4.5 GB), Blue Jay (8.5 GB)
Note: compared to standings on August 1st, the only team to lose its first place spot was the Yankees.
Magic Numbers as of September 1 (Division / Any Playoff Spot)
Dodgers: 14 / 8
Cubs: 26 / 26
Nats: 15 / 15
Astros: 18 / 18
Indians: 24 / 22
Red Sox: 25 / 22
No. It’s merely an unpleasant time. A terrible time would be during October.
Tigers have done a nice job of shucking contracts. It looks like they are prepared to rebuild now. Great pickup though by Houston, this makes them even more dangerous in the playoffs.
Yanks had a nice win over Red sox yesterday. Hopefully the bats wake back up.
Only in a Troutless world.
Excellent point.
It just makes me uncomfortable. Flashbacks to Kershaws 7th inning in 13 and Hanley getting hurt.
I don’t deal with the stress of following a good team well.
C.C. Sabathia got mad because the Red Sox made him field his position.
I like C.C., but that was just ridiculous. You’re OK with a defense adjusting to an offensive player’s weakness, but an offensive player can’t adjust to a defense’s weakness?
Shut up and play.
I like CC and I’m a Yankee fan. CC has got to shut up about this one though.
[QUOTE=linked ESPN article]
“I don’t give a f— about their reaction,” said Sabathia, who apologized for swearing. “I don’t really care what they have to say. I’m out there early every day. If they have something to say, we can meet in center field.”
[/QUOTE]
Oh, but we’re supposed to take him seriously and care what he thinks? I missed that decree.
True, but haven’t you always wondered why the Yankees never bunted on the ketchup sock guy? Was it a Torre directive or some other reason?
I assumed that was Torre being stupid.
The blood didn’t slow Schilling down a bit. It was all surface abrasion of sutures, not some debilitating puncture. A bunt would have gotten the Yankees zero advantage.
This is a great time for them to cool off. The playoffs are more than a month away.
Altuve is certainly the ore valuable player this year. Not even a close call. Trout is great, but missing 40+ games really bites into your value.
That’s true, but I think teams want to play meaningful games toward the end of the season. The Yankees were the Yankees, and the core of that team already had already won a title in 1996, so they knew what October baseball was about. The Dodgers are a team of playoff contenders but they haven’t won the title. There will be big time pressure to, at minimum, win the National League pennant.
When I evaluate the teams going into the post-season, I look for quality wins in September. How do the leading teams perform in situations when they really need a win, and more importantly, against other teams who also need a big win. Even if they lose a game here and there, just the experience of competing in big games in September counts for something. The problem the Astros, Nationals, and Dodgers have is that they haven’t had to play their best baseball yet. They’ve still managed to play great baseball, but mentally, there’s an edge for teams who enter the playoffs having played in a few games or series that they really don’t want to lose.