Even though it is still only August and there is still much more Major League Baseball left to play this season, the beginnings of what battles lie ahead in competition for the playoffs have already taken shape.
It is clear that the best two clubs in MLB are the New York Yankees in the American League East and the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central. Both hover around 10 games or more ahead of their nearest challengers, the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, respectively. While New York has a much better home record than St. Louis, the Cardinals have excelled on the road.
Although it is quite the eye-opener to witness the dominance of their lineups, New York and St. Louis most likely will take a backseat in the sports headlines to the remaining close contests in the American League West and the National and American Leagues' wildcard races.
At the July 31st no-waiver trading deadline, the experts claimed that 20 out of 30 clubs remained in contention for postseason play. Give us a little bit more credit than that! While we can do the math, the close division rivalries can more be more realistically pared down to the American League West, between the Texas Rangers and the Oakland A's and possibly the National League West between the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres, and the San Francisco Giants.
But the real spotlight during August will be on the wildcard races taking place in both leagues. The wildcard has historically been met by both criticism and delight from MLB's fans.
The traditionalists want to see MLB have a battle to the finish for the division titles of its leagues, with the wildcard a mere footnote to make it a bit more interesting. The advocates for the wildcard have subscribed to it, citing the Florida Marlins and their World Series championship as the direct result of it.
But this year, the division races appear to be easier to predict with many more eyes on the wildcard. And to make it even more interesting, either the Texas Rangers or the Oakland A's could win their division, which they have shared being in first-place much of the season, or either one could wind up winning the AL wildcard.
Yet, there is very little room for error between the wildcard contenders as very few games separate the top three teams in each league's wildcard standings.
This is why August will be crucial for the various teams to separate themselves from the pack as the season winds down. As of this writing, Oakland, Anaheim, Texas, and Boston are separated by no more than two games in the AL, while San Diego and San Francisco only trail Chicago by two and three games, respectively, in the NL.
There are also some trades, which could be made in August for those players put on waivers that might be a determining factor in the tight races. Already the acquisition this week of Larry Walker by St. Louis has made their squad even more formidable, if that was even possible.
And many still hope for a Cinderella story such as the 2003 Florida Marlins. Whether a wildcard advocate or a baseball purist, the fans must admit that the quests for the wildcard spots this year may prove to be the most hotly-contested races, and the wildcard's most compelling story to date.
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