Tagged As: baseball, MLB, MLB Playoffs, Sports, Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees

Everybody knew that the intensity of the MLB after the All Star game would quickly separate the real contenders from the handful of clubs that were going to receive participation trophies at best. It was what happened that has been such a surprise to those of us who do not make a living sitting down, reading all the stats, studying every box score, and enabling a Google alert for every MLB transaction.

Second City Collapse

Way back on July 13th, just after the last few games before the All Star break, Chicago had two teams within a good week of first place. The Chicago White Sox were trailing the Detroit Tigers by 3.5 games in the AL Central. The Chicago Cubs were in third place, by just three games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.

Now, on September 2, the White Sox have fallen back into third place and are seven games back. The trade for Jake Peavy looks like a move for next year as the team is 1-9 in the last ten games and just sent Jim Thome to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Jose Contreras to the retirement home. The Cubs were never able to really gain traction and dropped to 10.5 games back, staying the course at .500 while the Cardinals have only gotten better and the Milwaukee Brewers have only gotten worse.

The fact that neither one of these teams is going to win the division is not much of a surprise (as opposed to Milton Bradley claiming the fans are racist); however, just how quickly both teams have squandered their chances is. The Cubs technically have a shot at the wild card with 32 games left, but they are 6 games back and would have to leap frog four teams to fight for the right to play the Dodgers (and get summarily swept again).

Red Sox Recoil

The days of the Evil Empire were supposed to be over. The AL East was supposed to be a neck and neck race until the very end of the season, with the loser coming away with the AL wild card. The four game series against the New York Yankees from August 6 to August 9 was supposed to kick off a classic pennant race. The baseball battle royale ended quickly though, with the Boston Red Sox dropping each game. The series 12 days later would simply be a reminder of the devastation as the Yankees took two out of three.

Boston still has postseason hopes thanks to the wild card. The closest competition is the Texas Rangers, who are 3.5 games back. It is the echo effect of losing six out of seven games that must make every Red Sox fan stagger a little bit. The series were not enough to knock the 2004 0-3 ALCS comeback off the mantle, but it will definitely have a place in Bill Simmons next volume of the Now I Can Die in Peace.

The Red Sox could still conceivably catch the Yankees since they are just 6.5 games back, but the Yankees are playing so well it is hard to imagine a 13 game swing going the Red Sox way in the final 33 games of the season (especially with just a three series with the Yankees left). Maybe this could be a set up for another postseason like 2004, but it just does not feel like destiny is in the air this time.

Marlins Magic Gone

Quick, find Steve Bartman and put him in the left field stands near fouls territory. The Florida Marlins rule of six appears to have failed them. The Marlins are in third place in the NL East, trailing the first place Philadelphia Phillies by 9.5 games and the second place Atlanta Braves by two games.

Then again, we all know that the Marlins’ rule of six has never included a division title. Still, Florida remains in fourth place in the Wild Card standings, trailing the first place Colorado Rockies by five games. It appears ass though the wonderful weird world of Marlins baseball may be returning from the rabbit hole and the rules that apply to every other team (must have more runs than your opponents throughout the entire season to win) finally apply to Florida. The Marlins can still win the NL wild card, but a 10 game swing that helps only them is unlikely.

NL “Wild Card” West

Just last season (well, before the Manny Ramirez trade at least) everyone was bemoaning the NL West. The division was perhaps the worst in baseball. Those sentiments did not change over the winter. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers were supposed to be good.

Well, it appears Manny Ramirez is such a force that he can save an entire division. The Colorado Rockies and the San Francisico Giants are the frontrunners for the NL Wild Card. They have no shot at catching the NL leading Dodgers, but are making a strong case for two NL West teams in the postseason. Of the two, the Rockies have to be favorites since they can pitch, hit, and win on the road. The Giants can only win at home and cannot hit well enough to support the second best pitching staff in the National League.

The fact that the division could turn around so fast is a testament to the unpredictability of a sport whose fate is so tied to minor variances in statistics and long standing traditions.

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