162 Not Enough

Apparently 162 games are not enough to decide who gets to play in October. The AL Wild Card race is going to game 163 to decide whether the Tampa Bay Rays or the Texas Rangers get in to face the Cleveland Indians in the one-game WC playoff. The winner then gets to face the Boston Red Sox. The Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics will battle it out to see who gets to head to the ALCS to face the Red Sox (more than likely). However, if one of those Wild Card teams will get hot, you never know.

On the other side of the bracket, the National League settled their October teams in 162 games. The Pittsburg Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds will face off in the one-game Wild Card playoff to see who gets to face the St. Louis Cardinals, who beat out the Braves for best record in the NL. That leaves the Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers to square off in the first round beginning this week.

As we look back on this season there are a couple if interesting things to take note of. The thing that jumps out immediately is that the Braves did make the playoffs this year. They battled a lot of injuries and used several different line-ups throughout this season to put themselves in a good spot. They cruised through the NL East, a division that was supposed to be Washington’s without a fight. The Strasberg Curse has reared its ugly head! For Nationals fans I sure hope it isn’t on par with the Curse of the Bambino or of the Goat in Chicago. Theo Epstein, general manager of the Cubs, put the Curse of the Bambino to rest in Boston so we fully expect him to do the same thing in Chicago. Just give him time.

Another interesting thing to take note of is the Wild Card teams in the AL. While our pick of the Baltimore Orioles was based on sound baseball (and southern) tradition, they did not make it while two of the remaining teams (Rangers and Rays) were up for consideration for our team back in April. I’m still happy we went with the Orioles. They came up short in way too many one-run games this year. Last year that is what propelled them in to the playoffs. If they get a touch more pitching this off season then they will be right back in the thick of things next year.

Check back occasionally for some playoff updates as we pull for the Braves to go all the way.

Stick a Fork in ‘em…They’re Done

With what may go down as the biggest series of the year for the Baltimore Orioles (81-74), they have come up terribly short. On Friday they opened a four game series against the Wild Card Leading Tampa Bay Rays. This was an opportunity to take over the Wild Card lead and they have already dropped the first 3 games. This puts them 4.5 games out now. With three other teams ahead of them fighting for one of those spots it just doesn’t look good.

On the other hand, the Braves (92-63) clinched the NL East this weekend. The Cubs (65-91) didn’t make it easy on them though. The Braves won game three of the series to clinch the division. Hopefully they can get their rotation set for the postseason and make a push to the World Series again. The Cubs still hold a lead in the City Title race so we still have something to keep an eye on for the Cubbies.

The season comes to an end this week and when it does I hope to give my thoughts on this season and the fate of our chosen teams. Until then…

It’s Getting Late

Folks, another MLB regular season is about to come to an end. The opportunity to make the playoffs is slipping away for the Baltimore Orioles (81-71). They are still very much alive for one of the AL Wild Card spots but they have officially been eliminated from winning the AL East. They open a CRUCIAL 4 game series at Tropicana Field tonight against the Rays, the team they are trying to overtake for a Wild Card Spot. After this series their fate will almost certainly be decided.

The Braves (90-62) have reduced their magic number to 2 and are in Wriggly right now facing the Cubs (64-89). It would be nice if the Cubs would “take one for the team” (our Blog supported team) and allow the Braves to go ahead and clinch the NL East this weekend. As I write this they are cooperating. The Braves are winning 4-0 in the 3^rd inning. The Cubbies do hold a 4 game lead (in the win column) for the Chicago City Title so a couple of losses to the Braves won’t hurt too badly.

While we have officially chosen to support the Braves, Cubs, and Orioles we must put in a good word for the Cardinals. They are in a fierce battle for the NL Central title with the Pirates and the Reds. They hold a 1 game lead right now but that race has gone back and forth all season.

September 9, 2013

Well fans the Cubbies (60-82) are officially eliminated from the NL Central Race. They are also guaranteed not to finish above .500 again this year. One day the curse will be lifted and we can only hope it will be in our lifetime. After all, the Red Sox were without a series win for nearly 100 years and they have overcome the “Curse of the Bambino” to take their place at the top of the MLB world and they way things are going this year they may just do it again. They are 9.5 games ahead of the Orioles (76-66) and look to be firmly in control of the AL East. Baltimore just can’t seem to go on a long winning streak right now. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games and that just isn’t going to get it done.

The Braves (85-57) are no longer in possession of the best record in baseball (Red Sox) but do still hold the best record in the NL, which is what really matters at this point. They just got swept by the Phillies but still hold a 12 game lead over the Nationals. Magic number is 9.

40-Man Roster

September 1^st marks the call-up date for MLB teams. Each team has a 40-man roster from the beginning of the season but only 25 of those are eligible to play from day one through August 31. As the month of September begins those 40 players are all up with the major league team and can be used during those September games. For some teams it gives them a chance to rest players for the postseason and for others it gives them a chance to see them play for next year.

As we have mentioned already the Cubs (58-79) are playing for next year. However, they are also playing for what we have called the City Championship of Chicago. The White Sox (56-80) are 2 games from being eliminated from their division race. The Cubs have a four game cushion from being eliminated from the NL Central and hold a 2.5 game lead in the City race. The Marlins and Astros have already been eliminated from possibly winning their division. Hang tough Cubbies!

The Orioles (73-63) are slipping in the AL East. They are now 7.5 games behind the Red Sox and sit 2 games back in the Wild Card race. They cannot afford to go on any kind of losing streak this month or we will be talking about them in terms of next year as well.

The Braves (84-53) still own the best record in baseball. They sit comfortably ahead in the NL East by 15 games. That makes their “Magic Number” 11 over the Nationals. Any combination of Atlanta wins and Washington losses that total 11 means the Braves win the East.