Off to the races
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by MegECass110
First off, I have to thank Barry Bonds. For not being a bitter douchebag in the press conference afterwards. For showing some class. For getting all choked up when thanking his dad (I can relate). For getting Pedro Gomez out of San Francisco and hopefully off of ESPN for the forseeable future.
But most of all, for getting it out of the way before the middle of August. Because there are some crazy delicious pennant races going on, including in the ::gulps:: AL East. They sort of disappeared in Barry's chase of 756, and now they can come to the forefront. No more town meetings, no more games on the West Coast, just Baseball Tonight in all of its glory and Pedro Gomez-less Sportscenters.
AL East
It now seems like ages ago when the lead was 14.5 games for the Red Sox. It's now down to 5. The Yankees have taken advantage of playing the JV division of the AL since the All-Star break (Tampa Bay, KC, Toronto, etc.), while the Red Sox have whethered the storm playing some of the AL's best (3 out of 4 from Cleveland, 2 out of 3 from Seattle), until they headed to LA and have gotten mowed over by the Angels. Luckily, the Red Sox have a JV stretch ahead of them (at Baltimore, Tampa Bay, LA at home, Tampa Bay again), while the Yankees have a tough stretch (at Cleveland, Baltimore and Detroit at home, at LA and Detroit, home against Boston). I still think Boston wins the division, and I now hold the firm belief the Yankees will win the Wild Card.
AL Central
With the Tigers playing more like the Kittens lately, some have hit the panic button in Detroit. I'm not one of them. Despite C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona, Cleveland's starting pitching has been mediocre. Their bullpen is sketchy too (closer Joe Borowski: 4.74 ERA). The offense, with the exception of Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez, isn't terribly scary (batting average: 14th in the majors). They can hit homeruns and get on base, but that won't do much good if your pitching can't hold up. If Detroit gets Joel Zumaya, Andrew Miller and Kenny Rogers healthy, I look for these kitties to get their roar back.
AL West
It's the Angels. Seattle's had a great year, but the Angels are still one of the best in the AL, as they've shown against Boston. They can pitch (three game series: Lackey, Escobar, Weaver), they can hit (Vlady Daddy, OC, Casey Kotchman), they're just solid all around. They are one of the teams that could fly under the radar (sort of) and make some noise in the playoffs. Unrelated question: does the Rally Monkey still exist, or is he in a better place?
NL East
The Mets currently have a 3.5 game lead on the Braves, and a 4 game lead on the Phillies. They have the 4th best ERA and have allowed the fewest hits in the majors. Their offense is solid in an NL where offense is at a premium, in comparison to the AL. So they are solid overall. But check this out: the Phillies have the 2nd-best batting average, the best OBP, the most runs, and the highest slugging in all of the NL. Their offense is sick. And when Chase Utley comes back? But, they also have the 4th worst ERA, 4th most hits allowed, and 4th worst WHIP in the NL. Pitching and defense, folks, pitching and defense. With the Braves, pretty much the same story (1st in NL in avg, 2nd in runs, 3rd in OBP), pitching is middle of the pack in the NL. I still like the New York David Wrights.
NL Central
How frickin awesome would it be if the Cubs won the division? Although I would miss seeing sausage races at Miller Park in October, I would love to see the Cubbies make the playoffs. That Brewers bullpen is an absolute mess, Scott Linebrink hasn't done much to help. Starting pitching is eh, even with Ben Sheets in the rotation. The Cubs have Big Z, who's been nearly unhittable since his little scuffle with Michael Barrett, and the third best ERA and WHIP in the NL. Their offense is in the middle of the pack. The Brewers are an icky 21-34 on the road (26 of their last 48 are on the road), and have lost 7 of 10. I think the sausages are cooked. Cubs win the division.
NL West
This is probably the hardest division to pick. The D'Backs have a 1-game lead over the Padres, and they've been pretty much on fire, winning 13 of their last 16. The Rockies and Dodgers are also in it, both teams 4 games back. Even though I just said pitching and defense wins, I can't pick a team last in batting avg and last in OBP to win the division. Something needs to happen. If baseball was a contest to allow the fewest runs, the Padres would win in a landslide. But that's not the case. I really think the Dodgers can pull it out. They have the offense, pitching is solid, Dodgers win the division. Padres get the Wild Card and will play their proverbial get-swept-away-in-the-division-series role.
That was exhausting. But I'm so glad we can talk about divsion races again.
