NL Central Champs
Looks like Vs. 
in Round 1
BTW..unless anyone has any other suggestions on how best to do it..my thoughts are to do a new thread for every round of the playoffsI cast my vote in that direction.
Posted on 09/19/2005 7:21:17 AM PDT by ken5050
Good Monday morning, all you FReeper baseball fanatics....Two weeks left in the season, and just about everything is wide open...so let's begin...
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL EAST: Red Sox lead the Yankees by 1.5
AL CENTRAL: White Sox lead the Tribe by 3.5
AL WEST: Angels lead the A's by 2.0
AL WILDCARD: Indians lead the Yankees by 1.5
NATIONAL LEAGUE NL EAST: Braves lead Phillies by 5.0, Marlins by 6.0
NL WEST: Pods still by default
NL WILDCARD: Astros lead the Phillies by 1.5, Marlins by 2.5, Nats by 4.5
Let's start with the American League..
We have SIX teams all in contention, and any two of the six could find themselves out of the postseason. It's that close..
Yankees now find themselves rooting for the White Sox, who host the Tribe for three starting tonight. BTW, will the Chisox fans come out? Chicago MUST win this series at home.. Millwood, tonight's Tribe starter, has a deceptive record..He's been very, very good of late..and his ERA this season leads ALL AL starters, and in his last 3 starts, it's 1.80. If Chicago loses tonight, they face MUST WINS the next two...
In the West, the A's are now effectively out of the Wild card race, and they have to catch the Angels, or go home. A's have to keep it under three games behind until the meet the Angels in the next-to-last series..However, even if they manage to do that, they end the season with 3 AT the Mariners, and that will be tough.. This looks like the Angels as division winners, and Bart Colon has been a stud the last month. He's also pitching for the AL CY YOUNG, if he needs more incentive..
In the AL EAST, it's tightened..but lots of factors tend to favor the Red Sox.
Sheffield will now DH for the rest of the season...and if Giambi's back is hurt..that means Torre loses one big bat every game...Alan Embree's ERA is now 7.07, and heading north rapidly.. The Yankees don't have an effective leftie in the bullpen. Al Leiter may get that roll...but he's no bargain of late either...that really hurts Torre'e options..The medium sized Unit's temper tantrum this weekend forced Torre to blow up his bullpen, and meant that Rivera wasn't available the last two games....Mussina may make his reguale start this weekk..
Red Sox have to wonder what's up with Clement? In four starts in September, he is 1-3 with a 7.36 ERA.....and yesterday's outing was pathetic. In the post season, look for Clement to be sent to the bullpen, and Arroyo to make the playoff rotation. He's won his last three straight decisions..and is pitching effortlessly. Clement needs to do something radical..like maybe shave off the stupid beard..then he can return as his alter ego..a $25 million pitcher..
Despite pitching woes, Boston of late hasn't been scoring, which is their real problem. Red Sox have the highest-scoring offense in baseball, yet have plated three runs or less i thier last 4 games..first time that's happened this season.
Boston is 5-6 and averaging 3.3 runs in their last 11 games. However, Manny shows signs of coming out of his batting funk...
Red Sox have 13 left..last 3 with the Yankees. If they go 7-3 their next 10..against Tampa, Baltimore, and Toronto, they force the Yankees to run the table..
My take is that Yankees and A's don't make it to the post season..The AL Wild Card will be either the Tribe or the White Sox.., and the way the Indians have been playig of late, 9-1 in thier last 10 games, they look now like the best team in the American league..BTW..anyone know if the White Sox and Tribe had a coin flip? Petronski, that means you....
In the National League..things are a little more settled..Cards have clinched, and the Braves and Pods have comfortable leads. Phills could make it REAL interesting, however, if they sweep the Braves in the series that starts tomorrow nght, and the Phils have been the hottest team in the NL EAST, going 7-3 in the last 10, including an early Christmas gift from the Marlins this weekend..4 Fish errors in the 9th gave Philly a huge win, though props to the Marlins for rebounding last night, and thumping the Phils. That had to help wash away the taste of a blown game..
Schedule seems to give the 'Stros the advantage in the NL WILD CARD, though 9 of their 13 remaining are on the road... There's NO smart $$$$ here for the Wild card..it's still pick'em among the 'Stros, Phils, and Fish..
BTW..unless anyone has any other suggestions on how best to do it..my thoughts are to do a new thread for every round of the playoffs..
Am now grinding my teeth to a fine, white powder...
Freudian typo...sorry...LOL..I was fantasizing..
If they blow it now, they really have no one to blame except for themselves. They had every opportunity to bury the Yankees this year, and they failed miserably. Normally I'd make a Patriots comparison right about now, but the Patsies chewed yesterday.
Six more games against the White Sox for my Tribe, including the last 3 of season at home.
As for who I'd like my team to face in the playoffs, it really doesn't matter.
Relax..Boston will start to hit again,aand the Yankees are a severely, structurally unsound and unbalanced team now...and look who's gonna come in for the Yankees to face Big Pappi in the late innings..Embree or Leiter...Sheffield being only able to DH really hurts the Yankees...
Vs. in Round 1 I cast my vote in that direction.
You're right. The Pale Hose will probably be out of it by next week. Interestingly, I'll be in Chi Town then and I have to tell you, the Sox are not a priority among the fans.
OTOH, I'll be seeing my first Bears game--that's where the love lies in Chicago.
Our aim is on the BoSox and they are prime for the taking. Yesterday would have been a great win but enemy plant Embree is doing his best to take us down. Sox have next six on the road and Yanks have the next seven at home. Our best chance to gain the lead I think.
tribe were the centerpiece of the 3rd best baseball movie ever..major league. Of course, I think the two best were The Babe Ruth Story("..they can't do that to ya Babe...You're the Babe!")and bang the drum slowly.
tribe were the centerpiece of the 3rd best baseball movie ever..major league. Of course, I think the two best were The Babe Ruth Story("..they can't do that to ya Babe...You're the Babe!")and bang the drum slowly
I vote for 'Bang the Drum Slowly'.
The Sox and Yanks are both severely flawed teams, and I think the Sox get the slight nod as the less severely flawed of the two. I like the Yanks' starters slightly better than ours, but I like our offense and our bullpen better than I like the Yanks' D or bullpen (except for Mariano, of course).
Ortiz should command a lot of respect for this year's AL MVP, as well.
"Bang the Drum Slowly" - excellent taste!!!!
Here's a classic trivia question for you..who was the starting right fielder for the Yankees before Babe Ruth took over the position..?
Looks like Mark Sha-PYE-ro is breathing a little easier
while the Yanks' Brian Cashman could be sweating bullets.
We're still not totally sure of the AL West but Angels might get it--as for the other spots, could be:
RedSox-Tribe (div.)-White Sox or Yanks (wildcard)
Red Sox-White Sox (div.)--Tribe or Yanks (wildcard)
Yanks (shudder, div.)--White Sox or Tribe--Red Sox or
Chi or Tribe (wildcard)
verrry interesting
Being an everyday DH requires a totally different mindset. Sheff may not be up to it, especially with such short notice.
True, but it also forces Torre to be only able to use one of the big three..Giambi, Sheff, or Sierra..as DH..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.