AL Playoff Race: Week 17
Aug 1, 2011 13:34:36 GMT -5
Post by Ben (Rays GM) on Aug 1, 2011 13:34:36 GMT -5
Now that the trade deadline has passed and we know more or less how teams are going to look for the remainder of the season, I'm going to be posting updates on how the playoff race in the AL is shaping up, because we have some exciting things happening in every division, as well as the Wild Card. Anyone is welcome to add anything I might have missed, as there's no reason that this should have to be done by a commissioner. And if anyone would like to try their hand at NL recaps, they're more than welcome to do so.
This first installment will be a recap of the week before the deadline. Records in parentheses are records from the beginning of last week - they have now changed (see updated standings)
To start off, we had an exciting match-up of two AL East teams battling for the division lead, with the Boston Red Sox (11-1-4, 1st in AL East), winners of 5 straight, taking on the Toronto Blue Jays (12-3-1, 0.5 GB in AL East, 1st in WC). After a back and forth match-up that saw the Red Sox in the lead at the beginning of the week and the Blue Jays leading in the middle, the Red Sox took the lead during Sunday afternoon's games, leaving the Blue Jays with a last remaining hope for a big offensive night from Darwin Barney and Matt Holliday. Alas, it was not to be, and the Red Sox won the match-up 6-4, taking a 1.5 game lead over the Blue Jays. The other AL East team in contention, the Rays (10-3-1, 1.5 GB in AL East, 1.0 GB in WC), also winners of 5 straight, needed a win against the Mariners (6-9-1, 1st in AL West), to hold their ground in the AL East race. Though the match-up was close at times, the Rays won 7-3, pushing themselves into a tie for first in the Wild Card race and maintaining their 1.5 game deficit to the Red Sox in the East. The East remains a three-team race, with the Red Sox 1.5 games ahead of both the Rays and the Blue Jays.
With the Blue Jays losing ground in the Wild Card race, the Indians (11-4-1, 1.5 GB in AL Central, 1.0 GB in WC) had an opportunity to tie them and the Rays if they could beat the Yankees (1-16-0, 13 GB in AL East). The Yankees jumped out to an early lead on the shoulders of an outstanding pitching performance by Ivan Nova. Though they did hold on to win the ERA and K/BB categories, the Indians clawed back to win most of the counting categories and the week, 5-3, creating a 3-way tie for the AL Wild Card lead between Tampa Bay, Cleveland, and Toronto, and putting pressure on the Royals (12-2-2, 1st in AL Central) for their match-up with the Twins (7-7-2, 5 GB in AL Central, 4.5 GB in WC), who had won 7 match-ups in a row before losing to the Red Sox the previous week. Despite the Twins' recent success, the Royals won 9-1, ending Minnesota's last faint hopes of a playoff berth.
With the Mariners losing to Tampa Bay, the Rangers (5-9-1, 0.5 GB in AL West) and Angels (5-10-1, 1.0 GB in AL West) both had a chance to take at least a share of the AL West lead. The Rangers faced the Tigers (7-5-4, 4 GB in AL Central, 3.5 GB in WC), but were dispatched handily, 7-1, leaving Detroit with a glimmer of hope and 4th place in the WC race, 2.5 games behind the Rays, Indians, and Blue Jays. The Angels faced the Athletics (3-12-1, 3 GB in AL West) but lost 6-3. As the Athletics were the only team that gained any ground in the AL West, that division is now a four team race, with Texas, Los Angeles, and Oakland all within 2 games of Seattle. No team in the division has a shot at the Wild Card, however.
We have an exciting week next week. Stay tuned!
This first installment will be a recap of the week before the deadline. Records in parentheses are records from the beginning of last week - they have now changed (see updated standings)
To start off, we had an exciting match-up of two AL East teams battling for the division lead, with the Boston Red Sox (11-1-4, 1st in AL East), winners of 5 straight, taking on the Toronto Blue Jays (12-3-1, 0.5 GB in AL East, 1st in WC). After a back and forth match-up that saw the Red Sox in the lead at the beginning of the week and the Blue Jays leading in the middle, the Red Sox took the lead during Sunday afternoon's games, leaving the Blue Jays with a last remaining hope for a big offensive night from Darwin Barney and Matt Holliday. Alas, it was not to be, and the Red Sox won the match-up 6-4, taking a 1.5 game lead over the Blue Jays. The other AL East team in contention, the Rays (10-3-1, 1.5 GB in AL East, 1.0 GB in WC), also winners of 5 straight, needed a win against the Mariners (6-9-1, 1st in AL West), to hold their ground in the AL East race. Though the match-up was close at times, the Rays won 7-3, pushing themselves into a tie for first in the Wild Card race and maintaining their 1.5 game deficit to the Red Sox in the East. The East remains a three-team race, with the Red Sox 1.5 games ahead of both the Rays and the Blue Jays.
With the Blue Jays losing ground in the Wild Card race, the Indians (11-4-1, 1.5 GB in AL Central, 1.0 GB in WC) had an opportunity to tie them and the Rays if they could beat the Yankees (1-16-0, 13 GB in AL East). The Yankees jumped out to an early lead on the shoulders of an outstanding pitching performance by Ivan Nova. Though they did hold on to win the ERA and K/BB categories, the Indians clawed back to win most of the counting categories and the week, 5-3, creating a 3-way tie for the AL Wild Card lead between Tampa Bay, Cleveland, and Toronto, and putting pressure on the Royals (12-2-2, 1st in AL Central) for their match-up with the Twins (7-7-2, 5 GB in AL Central, 4.5 GB in WC), who had won 7 match-ups in a row before losing to the Red Sox the previous week. Despite the Twins' recent success, the Royals won 9-1, ending Minnesota's last faint hopes of a playoff berth.
With the Mariners losing to Tampa Bay, the Rangers (5-9-1, 0.5 GB in AL West) and Angels (5-10-1, 1.0 GB in AL West) both had a chance to take at least a share of the AL West lead. The Rangers faced the Tigers (7-5-4, 4 GB in AL Central, 3.5 GB in WC), but were dispatched handily, 7-1, leaving Detroit with a glimmer of hope and 4th place in the WC race, 2.5 games behind the Rays, Indians, and Blue Jays. The Angels faced the Athletics (3-12-1, 3 GB in AL West) but lost 6-3. As the Athletics were the only team that gained any ground in the AL West, that division is now a four team race, with Texas, Los Angeles, and Oakland all within 2 games of Seattle. No team in the division has a shot at the Wild Card, however.
We have an exciting week next week. Stay tuned!