AL Playoff Race: Week 18
Aug 1, 2011 13:57:38 GMT -5
Post by Ben (Rays GM) on Aug 1, 2011 13:57:38 GMT -5
Though ten teams in the AL still have a shot at the playoffs, all eyes will be on the five teams with the best records, fighting for three playoff berths: the Red Sox and Royals each lead their divisions by 1.5 games, but the Rays, Indians, and Blue Jays, tied for the Wild Card lead, continue to breathe down their necks. Two key match-ups will play a large part in determining how these races will look one week from now:
The Red Sox and Rays will fight a battle of the winning streaks. Both teams have now won 6 straight, but at least one of those streaks must end. If the Red Sox win they will likely eliminate the Rays from contention for the AL East, and make themselves even heavier favorites to win the division. Cleveland will certainly be hoping for that result, but fans in Toronto may be split, with some rooting for the Red Sox to put a dent in Tampa Bay's Wild Card chances, and others who are unwilling to settle for anything less than the Division Title rooting for the Rays to take a bite out of Boston's lead. The Rays know that a win against the Red Sox could make them heavy favorites to win the Wild Card - even though the race is tied, the Indians and Blue Jays must depend on outcomes entirely out of their control to make the playoffs, while the Rays are in the unique position where they are guaranteed to make the playoffs if they win all of their remaining games due to a tiebreak system that favors teams on winning streaks - of course, seeing as they're playing the Red Sox, this might be a tall order. The Red Sox have to be considered heavy favorites for this match-up with their new acquisitions of Miguel Cabrera, Roy Halladay, and Phil Hughes, especially as the Rays found themselves playing sellers at the deadline rather than trying to keep up with their rivals' big moves, trading away Evan Longoria among others. After the Rays, the Red Sox face off with Texas, Detroit, and Oakland before ending the season in Los Angeles, while the Rays have Chicago, Texas, Minnesota, and finally Baltimore coming up on the schedule.
The other key matchup will be between Cleveland and Toronto, both of which improved their teams drastically at the trade deadline. If either team loses the match-up, they risk falling 2.5 games behind in their respective divisions, and would fall 1 game behind in the Wild Card race. A draw would keep the teams tied, either 0.5 games ahead of or 0.5 games behind the Rays, and either 1 or 2 games behind their division leaders. Boston will undoubtedly be rooting for the Indians to dispatch one of their division rivals, while Kansas City will certainly hope for a Blue Jay victory to take the pressure off their matchup with the Orioles and, perhaps more importantly, next week's matchup between the Royals and Indians. Tampa Bay fans will also find themselves rooting for the Indians, not only because the Blue Jays are division rivals but also in the hopes that the Indians find the Royals to be too much to handle next week. It's hard to pick a favorite for this match-up, as both teams improved at the deadline. The Blue Jays' revamped pitching staff, behind new acquisitions Jered Weaver, Cole Hamels, C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, and Alexi Ogando makes them the favorite to win the pitching stats (even though the Indians acquired a new ace of their own in Shaun Marcum), while the Indians' offensive acquisitions of Adrian Gonzalez and Lance Berkman may outweigh Toronto's acquisitions of Ryan Zimmerman and Johnny Peralta, making Cleveland the offensive favorites. After Kansas City next week, the Indians will face the Angels, Rangers, and Mariners. The Blue Jays' schedule takes them to Oakland next, followed by Minnesota, Seattle, and Detroit.
Kansas City will undoubtedly have one eye on the Red Sox - Rays match-up, one eye on the Indians - Blue Jays match-up, and one eye on next week and their match-up against the Indians, but if they have any eyes to spare they will be focused on their match-up against Baltimore this week. The Orioles will hope to play spoiler, and a win against the Royals would give the Indians a chance to climb within a half game of the AL Central lead. This would also give the Rays and Blue Jays additional hope, as Cleveland could still take the AL Central, pushing the Royals into the Wild Card race; as such a loss for either AL Central team is a win for the AL East contenders. Of course, the Royals still have to be considered favorites for this matchup despite standing pat at the deadline, as Baltimore's acquisitions can be seen as primarily being geared towards the future. After Baltimore and then Cleveland, the Royals will be flying to Oakland, Chicago, and then Texas.
Of course, while the AL East, AL Central, and Wild Card races depend largely on the outcomes of these three match-ups, there are plenty of folks out west who will be tuning in to match-ups between the Mariners and Angels, Rangers and Twins, and Tigers and Athletics. Meanwhile, the White Sox take on the Yankees in what can surely only be looked at as a consolation match. More to come on the potential repercussions of these games later on!
The Red Sox and Rays will fight a battle of the winning streaks. Both teams have now won 6 straight, but at least one of those streaks must end. If the Red Sox win they will likely eliminate the Rays from contention for the AL East, and make themselves even heavier favorites to win the division. Cleveland will certainly be hoping for that result, but fans in Toronto may be split, with some rooting for the Red Sox to put a dent in Tampa Bay's Wild Card chances, and others who are unwilling to settle for anything less than the Division Title rooting for the Rays to take a bite out of Boston's lead. The Rays know that a win against the Red Sox could make them heavy favorites to win the Wild Card - even though the race is tied, the Indians and Blue Jays must depend on outcomes entirely out of their control to make the playoffs, while the Rays are in the unique position where they are guaranteed to make the playoffs if they win all of their remaining games due to a tiebreak system that favors teams on winning streaks - of course, seeing as they're playing the Red Sox, this might be a tall order. The Red Sox have to be considered heavy favorites for this match-up with their new acquisitions of Miguel Cabrera, Roy Halladay, and Phil Hughes, especially as the Rays found themselves playing sellers at the deadline rather than trying to keep up with their rivals' big moves, trading away Evan Longoria among others. After the Rays, the Red Sox face off with Texas, Detroit, and Oakland before ending the season in Los Angeles, while the Rays have Chicago, Texas, Minnesota, and finally Baltimore coming up on the schedule.
The other key matchup will be between Cleveland and Toronto, both of which improved their teams drastically at the trade deadline. If either team loses the match-up, they risk falling 2.5 games behind in their respective divisions, and would fall 1 game behind in the Wild Card race. A draw would keep the teams tied, either 0.5 games ahead of or 0.5 games behind the Rays, and either 1 or 2 games behind their division leaders. Boston will undoubtedly be rooting for the Indians to dispatch one of their division rivals, while Kansas City will certainly hope for a Blue Jay victory to take the pressure off their matchup with the Orioles and, perhaps more importantly, next week's matchup between the Royals and Indians. Tampa Bay fans will also find themselves rooting for the Indians, not only because the Blue Jays are division rivals but also in the hopes that the Indians find the Royals to be too much to handle next week. It's hard to pick a favorite for this match-up, as both teams improved at the deadline. The Blue Jays' revamped pitching staff, behind new acquisitions Jered Weaver, Cole Hamels, C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, and Alexi Ogando makes them the favorite to win the pitching stats (even though the Indians acquired a new ace of their own in Shaun Marcum), while the Indians' offensive acquisitions of Adrian Gonzalez and Lance Berkman may outweigh Toronto's acquisitions of Ryan Zimmerman and Johnny Peralta, making Cleveland the offensive favorites. After Kansas City next week, the Indians will face the Angels, Rangers, and Mariners. The Blue Jays' schedule takes them to Oakland next, followed by Minnesota, Seattle, and Detroit.
Kansas City will undoubtedly have one eye on the Red Sox - Rays match-up, one eye on the Indians - Blue Jays match-up, and one eye on next week and their match-up against the Indians, but if they have any eyes to spare they will be focused on their match-up against Baltimore this week. The Orioles will hope to play spoiler, and a win against the Royals would give the Indians a chance to climb within a half game of the AL Central lead. This would also give the Rays and Blue Jays additional hope, as Cleveland could still take the AL Central, pushing the Royals into the Wild Card race; as such a loss for either AL Central team is a win for the AL East contenders. Of course, the Royals still have to be considered favorites for this matchup despite standing pat at the deadline, as Baltimore's acquisitions can be seen as primarily being geared towards the future. After Baltimore and then Cleveland, the Royals will be flying to Oakland, Chicago, and then Texas.
Of course, while the AL East, AL Central, and Wild Card races depend largely on the outcomes of these three match-ups, there are plenty of folks out west who will be tuning in to match-ups between the Mariners and Angels, Rangers and Twins, and Tigers and Athletics. Meanwhile, the White Sox take on the Yankees in what can surely only be looked at as a consolation match. More to come on the potential repercussions of these games later on!
