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After the dust settles on today’s action it’ll be exactly one week until the contenders pivot for the final month of Sept. I always expect to see sparks fly as contending teams position themselves to either fend off or overtake division competitors in the final push for the post-season. And with the possible exception of the NLW, every other division title looks to be up for grabs. In the NL, the Brewers enjoy a somewhat comfortable 7 game lead and I guessed they’d win the NLC, but I’m not ready to bury those Cubbies just yet. In the NLE, I’m still guessing that the Phillies will overtake the Braves after looking like they had fallen out of contention as recently as a couple of weeks ago. The schedule makers got that division right as those 2 team face each other 7 times in the final month. The AL looks to be a genuine across the board free for all where nothing’s even close to being decided. I’m still staying with my original picks consisting of the Yankees, Indians and Astros. Good luck on trying to make a sliver of sense on any WC predictions. At any rate, it should be fun to watch the savage struggle for baseball survival…Haha!
Edit…I neglected to mention that the Cubs/Brewers also have 7 games remaining against one another beginning with a 4 games series at Wrigley which commences on the last day of Aug. Those 4 games should be some first rate baseball mayhem.
Yeah if the Brewers can win at least 3 of the 7 remaining with the Cubs they should be in good shape. If they win more than 3 it is pretty much over for the NLC title.
It is amazing how weak the AL is this year. It is quite probable that the final AL wild card spot will be a team with a losing record. That should be highly embarrassing for MLB. They keep expanding playoffs out of greed but to have a playoff team with a losing record should be considered shameful.
Yes I know the 2006 Cards got in with 83 wins but at least we won the division.
It sure is possible, gscottar. I think it was just about a week ago I checked the standings and, to my recollection, there were 4 teams tied for the final ALWC berth and all of them were situated at 3 games under .500 which looked like a genuine Chinese fire drill. Sept. should provide some interesting and exciting baseball. You probably recall in ’11 when, despite there being only 1 WC berth per league, countless scenarios were played out on the final day of the season. It may take one of those fancy mathmaticians to figure out who goes and stays on the final day of this season.
Just a couple of comments. Walker should be a GG contender for right field. The Phillies have everything but elite defense. They’re not going very far in the playoffs because of that. Gastelum and Bruhl are getting better.
Personal note: I got censored several time last night. I’m okay with that. I was mad because I believed that Matthews is an up and coming star. Then when I saw him on the mound, I thought I had been snow jobbed again. I wish the spokesman for the organization would abandon the hype. I’m going to start doing more of what BW does. Watch what they do not what the pundits say.
Tonight’s action begins with Skippy’s Rangers in a dead heat with the ALC and in state rival Astros. Despite picking the Astros to win that division I’ll be pulling for the Rangers for the simple reason that Skippy pushed across the solitary run of game 5.
Edit…The Astros get a bargain as they get KC at home in Houston, while Skippy’s club faces a taller order in the form the Red Sox at home in Arlington. I’m hoping I can find one of these games on my cable setup.
The AL Central and West are going down to the wire. I too am hoping the Rangers can sneak past their in-state brethren. In the Central I am rooting for the Pale Hose, but if the Guardians claim top slot that is fine by me.
Saw a game in Cleveland in 2024 where the Guardians beat our old buddy Jack Flaherty & the Tigers, and this summer saw the White Sox knock off the Bronx Bombers in extras. The Yankees were without Aaron Judge unfortunately. Wanted to see him play but he was not available.
Yeah, Bikemike, it’s only the 3rd inning, but if the White Sox can make a 3-1 lead stand up in CHI against the Tigers, they’ll begin the weekend locked in a tie with the Indians atop the ALC. Sadly, I can’t find any meaningful games on my cable set up, but I’ve been routinely switching the channel over to what’s called “MLB Big Inning” which provides continual live look-ins around the league. It beats a blank.
I have the mlb package and can see all but the Rockies games, and an occasional game that is featured on Peacock or something like that.
Will check in and see how things are shaking out.
Whoever wins the ALC and ALW should feel very very fotunate to be called a playoff team. There is no guarantee that either of them will have a winning record.
I agree, gscottar, and it wouldn’t bother me too much if one of those teams rode that lackluster W/L record all the way to a WS championship. Maybe that would drive home how having 12 playoff berths has not only watered down the regular season, but also the post-season.
Others may have been watching, but I just happened to notice that the Blue Jays are only 1.5 games off the pace for the final ALWC berth. With 9 games remaining, I certainly wouldn’t paint them out of the picture.
Man alive…The Red Sox push 3 runs across in the visitor half of the 8th to defeat Skippy’s Rangers in a 4-3 final as the Astros TCOB to down the Royals and take back sole possession of 1st place in the ALW. This time of year isn’t for the faint of heart.
The AL Central and AL West to me are disappointments and I will not be rooting for them unless it is the Guardians. The Mariners in particular I had high hopes for but they floundered.
I am excitedly watching to see if the Brewers get to 100 and if they can hold off the mighty Dodgers for the best record
Same here ATM although I am also pulling for the ChiSox. But I like the Guardians as well. Whoever wins that division I would love to see get through a couple of rounds of post season, or more.
And like you I thought the Mariners would ride to the ALW in a cake walk, but our buddy Donny never got untracked and Cal Raleigh’s production fell off the table. They just never got things in order this year.
If they had an anti-comeback player of the year award, I think Raleigh would be the AL “winner” and Kyle Tucker in the NL.
Yeah, Raleigh really went from hero to zero in a hurry. I just checked and that .182 is more than a little shy of not too sweet.
Looks like the Cubs, Padres and Phillies will be the three non-division winners in the NL post season, with the seeding order going down to perhaps the final game of the season
In the AL, the Yankees and Red Sox pretty much have the first two wild card seeds sown up. The final contender looks to be either the Guardians or White Sox, whichever team does not win the division. The ALW is still a dog fight, with two .500 teams from the Lone Star state battling it out.
Yeah, Bikemike, TEX now sits alone atop the ALW as Skippy’s Rangers TCOB with a W over the Blue Jays at Arlington last night while the Astros lost to the Braves in HOU. It’s nearly certain that only the winner of that division is going to qualify for any bonus baseball.
Kind of crazy that the phillies havent clinched a playoff spot. If diamondbacks win they are only one game out with 2 to go. Could we be seeing 1964 all over. They had a pretty big lead over 3rd spot a ways back. Both them n cubs have scuffled a lot lately. I say keep tbe padres, they have played well lately. Just get rid of last two spots.
Craziness abounds. The Phils and Cubs have not exactly seized their places, while in the ALW the winner will be at best a .500 club, and to do that at least one of the Rangers and Astros needs to win their final two.
Meanwhile the ALC has two teams really going for it, as both the Guardians and White Sox have played well down the stretch.
I was thinking about this AL West deal, and wondering if there should be a rule where if a division winner is at .500 or lower, and what would be a non-playoff team from another division has a winning record record, that team gets the post season berth instead of the division winner. But then I looked and no one would qualify in the AL anyway. It could be that the Rangers and Astros lose their final two and end up 79-83, and the Orioles win their final two and end up 80-82. So maybe you give the O’s the final slot even though they also would have a losing record, but that is not saying much.
Unless either the Astros or Rangers win both of their remaining games, the winner of the ALW will end the season with a losing W/L record.
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