Maine's MLB PT, Labor Day weekend

[MaineDolFan]

This has been a very interesting year around MLB.  With just about 30 games left in most MLB schedules, let's take a look at the "best of the best" and break down the playoff races.  Contenders or pretenders?  Let's see!

1:  Atlanta Braves, 81-52 (NL East Lead, +13)

The NL East is easily the largest disappointment in baseball this season, with a lot of folks picking Washington and Philly to have much better showings.  Washington has quietly climbed 3 games over .500 and trail the wild card by 6.5 but the Braves will coast to another division title, sitting pretty with a 13 game lead.

2:  Boston Red Sox, 79-56 (AL East Lead, +2)

The shockers of all shockers, right?  Sure, for anyone who doesn't really know the game.  The only team under .500 in the meat grinder AL East is the one team who emptied their wallets, the Blue Jays.  I saw that coming a million miles away.  Boston of 2010 and 2011 should have been a cautionary tale for those Jays.  What some folks might not know is Boston is doing this with both of their closers gone for the season and their #1 pitcher sidelined since July.  Their pitching staff boasts the best ERA in the league since David Ross returned from a concussion in July.  For all of their hard work, Boston is in the fight of their lives.  They do not want to finish the season having to win a one game playoff to get in.

3:  Detroit Tigers, 78-56 (AL Central Lead, +6.5)

The collective Tiger Nation held it's breath as Miggy came from the game the other night.  As Miggy goes, the Tigers go.  Can they win without him?  Sure.  Will they?  Jose Iglesias, a pick up at the trade deadline, gives them an amazing glove at short.  Victor Martinez is hitting .300 ~ again...and crushing left handed pitchers as though he were playing in a softball beer league.  They can win without Miggy, they would rather not think about it.   Interesting note: When Phil Coke is going to be among your September call ups for bullpen depth, you know your pen isn't in great shape.

4:  St. Louis Cardinals, 78-55 (NL Central Lead, +1.0)

7-3 in their last ten and they better keep winning.  This year the Pirates aren't going away.  Pittsburgh, sitting with 77 wins, is close to clinching their first .500 season in 1,243 years.  They trail the Cards by only a game.  The Reds are only 3.5 out, having face punched St. Louis 10-0 last night on the road.  This division will go right down to the wire.

5:  Texas Rangers, 78-55 (AL West Lead, +3.0)

They are finally getting a little breathing room over those pesky A's, winning three straight while the A's are in a 5-5 in their last ten.  One thing that really pops out at you about Texas this season is how much of a road king they are, going 40-28 while away from that sweat camp they call home.  Did you know the average temperature of a home Rangers game is 187 degrees?  It's crazy.  Yu Darvish is ridiculous, by the way.  ERA under 2.70 and leading the league in strike outs.  Perez is pitching well, Beltre is still hitting bombs from his knee.  They aren't missing Cruz much, for now.

6:  Tampa Bay Rays, 75-57 (trail AL East 2.5, lead AL Wild Card +0.5)

The Rays can't score runs.  Take last night's game.  Odorizzi pitched a gem for them and they couldn't muster anything, dropping a 2-0 decision to the Angels.  They faced a pitcher with decent stuff in Jason Vargas, but a pitcher you can certainly put the ball in play on.  Not the Rays.  They have a pitching staff makes each team scramble on how to approach them, and then they have a crap load of kids at AAA and a handful at AA who can spot start and give you solid outings.  We get it, Tampa, you know your pitching.  Feel free to scout some bats.  I would not want to play Tampa in a one game playoff, not with that rotation.  They can start Price and they throw a barrage of ace pitchers at you after for matchup nightmares.  No-freaking-thank you.

7:  LA Dodgers, 78-55, (NL West lead +9.5)

The Dodgers have one of the most potent offenses in the game.  They also were exposed in their three game series, offensively, when Boston game in.  Jake Peavy set a bit of a blue print on how to keep them off balance.  Understood, not all teams have Boston's pitching talent, however the teams LA will face in the post season are not slouches, pitching wise.  Don't think, for a second, other teams aren't going to watch game film from that series.  The Dodgers are on a historic run, however every good thing ends.  I'm not quite drinking the same Dodger Kool Aid a lot of folks are.  Maybe it's the Carl Crawford thing.

8:  Pittsburgh Pirates, 77-56, (trail NL Central -1.0, lead NL Wildcard +2.5)

I love the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Who doesn't?  Not one, but two submarine pitchers.  That doesn't mean anything, I just like submarine pitchers.  Amazing defense, front to back.  Byrd is paying off in the deal made at the deadline.  McCutchen is the greatest player to ever walk the planet.  Okay, that's not true, but he's really good.  Alvarez is a threat to launch one into the river every time he steps in.  They trade for Melancon to be their closer and end up getting 30 slams from Grilli (and 9 from Mark).  AJ Burnett leads the team in ERA.  Yeah, Yankee fans, his ERA is great.  3.18.  1.24 WHIP.  How does that taste?

9:  Cincinnati Reds, 75-59, trail NL Central -3.5

Don't tweet bad things about Brandon Phillips.  Just sayin'.  So, years ago, who remembers a trade the Boston Red Sox made?  It sent Bronson Arroyo to the Reds for...who?  Willie Mo Pena.  He's probably washing someone's car, as we speak.  Good move, Theo.  I digress.  Arroyo, who didn't have a place on a team who would go on to sign the Goodyear Wells, has put together a heck of a career in the 'Nati.  This season he leads the team in wins (13), 3rd in ERA (3.42) and is 1st in WHIP (1.10).  Plus he sings real pretty.  Chapman, the Red's closer, has a fastball that is ridiculous.  It was clocked the other night at 117mph.  He's going to kill someone some day.

10:  Cleveland Indians,  71-62, trail AL Central by 6.5

First year skipper Lou Brown has the Indians, long considered dead in the water, challenging for both the division and wild card.  Detroit will most likely walk away with the division, but Brown's bombers are hanging around.  A resurgent Ricky Vaughn has 9 wins on the season since coming over in a trade from the Rockies a couple seasons ago, however trails the club leader in wins (Eddie Harris leads the staff with 14 wins and a sparkling ERA of 3.49).  Veteran back up catcher Jake Taylor was signed today, immediately adding him to the AAA roster.  He should be a September call up.  Taylor spent time in the Indians system for three seasons before and handles a pitching staff very well, which could pay off, should they get a wild card slot.  3rd baseman Roger Dorn has been getting the nod lately over the budding and raising star.

[Brian Fein]

No mention of the Mighty Miami Marlins?



Glad to read this again, I love these.

[Sunstroke]

Response in classic bulleted ramble form:

* I can't believe that the Padres didn't make the top-10 here...a true traveshamockery of the hey-batta-batta variety.
* Love the Indians wrap...but the real story in Cleveland has been Jason Kipnis. That guy has sick tools.
* If Chapman's fastball was clocked at 117 mph, it's because his mother was holding the JUGS gun.
* I wish I was industrious enough to go back and dig up all the negative things you said about Miggy when he left Florida.
* A Dodgers report that didn't mention Yasiel Puig? STOP THE PRESSES!!
* McCutchen may not be the best player in baseball, but since the trade I made for him in my local $$ league 5 weeks ago (dealt Yu Darvish and Jeff Locke for McCutchen and Ryan Zimmerman), he's certainly been acting like the best. The dude is a beast, plain and simple, and he's going to make me some money by the time the season is done.

[MaineDolFan]

No mention of the Mighty Miami Marlins?



Glad to read this again, I love these.

They missed it by this (-) much.

[MaineDolFan]

Response in classic bulleted ramble form:

* I can't believe that the Padres didn't make the top-10 here...a true traveshamockery of the hey-batta-batta variety.
* Love the Indians wrap...but the real story in Cleveland has been Jason Kipnis. That guy has sick tools.
* If Chapman's fastball was clocked at 117 mph, it's because his mother was holding the JUGS gun.
* I wish I was industrious enough to go back and dig up all the negative things you said about Miggy when he left Florida.
* A Dodgers report that didn't mention Yasiel Puig? STOP THE PRESSES!!
* McCutchen may not be the best player in baseball, but since the trade I made for him in my local $$ league 5 weeks ago (dealt Yu Darvish and Jeff Locke for McCutchen and Ryan Zimmerman), he's certainly been acting like the best. The dude is a beast, plain and simple, and he's going to make me some money by the time the season is done.

1: The Padres suck.  Love ya, mean it.
2: Cleveland has a lot of great stories this year, Kips is certainly one of them!
3: Chapman's FB was actually clocked at 162 MPH.  I was wrong.
4: I stand behind everything I said about Miggy.  He's a piece of crap of a human being, HOWEVER has seemed to start to mature a little.  He is also the best PLAYER on the Tigers roster and they can't afford to lose him. 
5: I heart Pittsburgh and the trade they made tonight makes them more dangerous.

[AZ Fins Fan 55]

The Dodgers have one of the most potent offenses in the game.  They also were exposed in their three game series, offensively, when Boston game in. 

It also helped that Boston did not have to face either Kershaw or Greinke. Capuano and Nolasco don't really scare anyone. My guess is the series would have gone a touch different had Boston faced either or both of these hot pitchers!!!!!

[MaineDolFan]

Boston crushed your pansy ass.  Stop making excuses.


Kershaw, maybe.  Boston has a good track record V Greinke.

[Sunstroke]

I love seeing Dodgers fans brawling with Red Sox or Yankees fans. It's like being a human in Middle Earth and watching trolls fighting orcs. You don't really care who wins, you're just crossing fingers for a high death toll.   

[masterfins]

Congrats to the Bucs for avoiding their 21st losing season.

[AZ Fins Fan 55]

Boston crushed your pansy ass.  Stop making excuses.


Kershaw, maybe.  Boston has a good track record V Greinke.

  Hopefully we get the chance to find out in October!!!!!

[AZ Fins Fan 55]

I love seeing Dodgers fans brawling with Red Sox or Yankees fans. It's like being a human in Middle Earth and watching trolls fighting orcs. You don't really care who wins, you're just crossing fingers for a high death toll.   

So are you calling me a troll or an orc? 

[Sunstroke]

I think Maine is larger than you, so he's the troll and you're the orc.

As a Padres fan, I'm a kindly Hobbit.

Logic...it's what's for dinner!

[MaineDolFan]

I may be taller, but I'm leaner these days.  So, I don't know!  I am running 215 now.  Doesn't matter, my Sox would crush you under their collective boot.

As much as I (clearly) am happy to see Boston bounce back from last year, I really, really want to see a deep Pittsburgh run this year.  I think that would be really good for baseball.

[AZ Fins Fan 55]

Pitt is a very good team and they have added a few more pieces to make a run. I am looking forward to the playoffs this year for a change.

[EDGECRUSHER]

Yankees become the first team in AL history to score 8+ runs in 3 straight games and lose.

Goodbye Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, thanks for never living up to your potential.