The major league baseball season now heads into the second half as its’ All-Star game, which is the closest thing to a real display of the actual sport as any of the pro all-star games, is now concluded. For the first time in 13 seasons the National League won and whatever team wins the NL pennant will now have home field advantage over it’s AL opponent. Figuring out which teams in both leagues will persevere into the post-season is even harder this year than usual. In the American League, the New York Yankees are a given. In an earlier post I posed the question of whether the Tampa Bay Rays would be able to stay with the Yanks for the long haul, and so far they have. The Chicago White Sox have risen from the dead to take over the lead in the AL Central, and the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers are still contending. The expectation early on was that the Los Angeles Angels would win the AL West, but the Texas Rangers had other plans, and have shown they mean business by acquiring Cliff Lee for their rotation. I’m going to go out on a limb and write off the Boston Red Sox right now. I don’t expect them to remain a post-season threat. I also see the Twins overtaking both Detroit and Chicago to win the Central, and the Rangers to hold on and win the West, especially now that they have Lee. I see the Rays as the AL Wild Card, leaving the Angels, Chisox, Tigers and Red Sox empty-handed. In the National League, all 3 divisions have great races going, with multiple teams involved in 2 of the divisions. I expect St. Louis, with their experience, to out-wrestle the Cincinnati Reds for the NL Central crown. In the East, I’m starting to believe in the New York Mets. I see them winning the division, with the Phillies grabbing the wild card and the Braves falling out of the race eventually. There are 4 teams battling for the NL West title, and I see only one of them surviving into post-season play. My choice to win this tight division are the surprising San Diego Padres. They have strong pitching, a young, exciting lineup and a great manager in Bud Black. I think Joe Torre’s L.A. Dodgers will give them the toughest battle among the remaining division teams still alive, with the Rockies and Giants falling out of the race eventually.
MLB – Sizing Up The Races
20
Jul