MLB Weekly

MLB Weekly
Cody Goggin
9-3-13  7:28 pm

OWENSVILLE, MO-Well, September is nearing and that means that teams are being eliminated, awards are being won, divisions are being solidified, and pennant races are coming to a peak. Every game is a must-win in September. 2011 might have been the best example of this as the Cardinals and Rays both showed that a playoff spot can be earned in September and that sometimes teams can just fall apart at this juncture in the grueling 162 game season. Things are heating up in many divisions, while others have already been decided.

            In the American League East, there are four teams that are all in the mix. The Boston Red Sox have a two and a half game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays, who are leading the wild card standings, and a six and a half game lead on the Baltimore Orioles. New York is in fourth place, only eight games out of the division and five games out of the second wild card spot as of right now. Out of all of these teams, the Rays probably have the most important series coming up as they play Oakland, the team that is trailing them by half a game for the wild card. In the next week, the Yankees and Orioles could have their fates decided as they will take each other on in a three game weekend series in which a sweep for one team could put themselves right in the thick of the race and send the other team out of contention, while a close series could mean that neither team really makes up any ground on teams ahead of them. The division is in the hands of Boston as they must defeat the under .500 White Sox and then the Central Division leading Tigers next week.

            In the American League Central, the Detroit Tigers keep pulling away from the pack as they are now six and a half games ahead of the Indians and eight and a half ahead of the Kansas City Royals. Unless Detroit hit the skids majorly, these two teams will likely have to rely on the wild card spots which they are only four and six games away from respectively. Detroit has a tight grip on the division, but the other two teams could play spoiler for some playoff hopes.

            Texas and Oakland have been battling back and forth all season for first place in the American League West, but right now the Rangers have a three game lead on the Athletics for this division. AS of right now though, both teams are in a playoff spot, however, it is their spot to lose down the stretch.

            Shifting over to the National League now, the East is a blowout.  Atlanta leads the division by a solid 13 games and should definitely be in the playoffs. However, the Washington Nationals have really turned it on as of late and they are playing like they were expected to all season. They have now moved up to where they are only six and a half games out of a wild card spot. The most impressive thing about the Nationals is that 20 out of their remaining 29 games are against teams that are under .500. Washington will have to dominate these teams to make the playoffs, but that schedule looks pretty promising for the Nation’s capital.

            The most tightly contested race all year has been that in the National League Central. There are three teams in this division that are above average teams and would all be locks for the playoffs if they were not competing against each other. It is very likely that the Pirates, Cardinals and Reds will all make the playoffs as the worst of these teams, the Reds, still hold a six game lead on the final playoff spot. All three of these teams are super dangerous and there is a good chance that two of them will meet en route to the World Series.

            Only two teams in the National League West really have a chance at this point as the Los Angeles Dodgers have caught fire in the past three months and left every other team in their dust in that span. They now have a nine game lead on the division and have likely clinched their spot in the postseason. The Arizona Diamondbacks are only six games out of the last wild card spot, however, it may not be promising for Arizona.

            This is a great time to be a Major League Baseball fan. Destinies will be written, non-contending teams will play spoiler, and there will be surprises in the coming weeks. Anything can happen in the game of baseball and these next couple of weeks will just prove that fact.