There are roughly 6 games left in the MLB regular season, which is approximately two series or in other words the FINAL week of the regular season, if you can believe that!. Much like the last few weeks, that means that the playoff races (Divisions and Wild Cards) are pretty much over and our final playoff picture will be available to all of us shortly.
Since we are almost there, I will focus on both league’s probable playoff teams.
American League (current standings and projected records)
1. ***Boston 105-51 (.673) 109-53
2. Houston 98-57 (.632) 102-60
3. ***Cleveland 87-68 (.561) 91-71
W1. New York 95-60 (.613) 99-63
W2. Oakland 94-62 (.603) 98-64
Since the last time I posted a "standings" article, the Red Sox and Indians have clinched their respective divisions and the automatic playoff berth that comes with it. Furthermore, based on records, the Red Sox have also clinched home field advantage as long as they are alive in the playoffs (#1 seed) and the Indians have clinched the third best record which means a trip to either Houston (likely) or Oakland for the first round of the playoffs.
Houston
continues to roll along and they currently have a magic number of 3,
needed to clinch the AL West and the #2 seed in the playoffs. With only
7 games left on their schedule, that seems extremely likely. If that
comes to pass, then Oakland will assume one of the Wild Card spots and
a much tougher road in the playoffs (their magic number to make the
playoffs is 1, so the Rays will be officially eliminated shortly).
Speaking
of Wild Cards, the Yankees are still holding off the A's for the right
to host the Wild Card match up, but that lead is a bit tenuous with just 7 games left to play (2 games in the loss column, magic number of 6). Despite the drama, I expect the Yankees to hold onto the #4 spot in the playoff picture since they understand that their chances are much better in the "band box" they call Yankee Stadium.
IF
all that comes to pass, New York would host Oakland in the Wild Card,
with the winner going to Boston for the Divisional Series. Houston
would host Cleveland in the other Divisional Series and the winners
would meet in the ALCS. Houston and Boston, could potentially meet in
the ALCS, so in other words, not much has changed in the past week.
National League (current standings and projected records)
1. Chicago 91-64 (.587) 95-67
2. *** Atlanta 88-68 (.564) 91-71
3. Los Angeles 87-69 (.558) 90-72
W1. Milwaukee 89-67 (.571) 92-70
W2. St. Louis 87-69 (.558) 90-72
***Colorado
has started to "spit the bit" with a horrible series against Los
Angeles that moved them from leading the division, to trailing the
second Wild Card team by a game, heading into the last week of
the season. None of the other teams in the National League are in the
playoff picture at this juncture.
Unlike the American League, most of the National League playoff races are still in doubt, as you can see above. Atlanta has been playing really good baseball and they have already clinched the NL East (for this year anyway). However, they still trail the Cubs by 3.5 games for the top seed in the National League, so they seemed destined to meet the winner of the NL West in the first round of the playoffs. But, they shouldn't feel too comfortable, since the surging Dodgers are only a game back of the Braves and could easily overtake them and host the listed series, as opposed to traveling to Atlanta (very tight contest as they head down the stretch).
Unlike the American League, most of the National League playoff races are still in doubt, as you can see above. Atlanta has been playing really good baseball and they have already clinched the NL East (for this year anyway). However, they still trail the Cubs by 3.5 games for the top seed in the National League, so they seemed destined to meet the winner of the NL West in the first round of the playoffs. But, they shouldn't feel too comfortable, since the surging Dodgers are only a game back of the Braves and could easily overtake them and host the listed series, as opposed to traveling to Atlanta (very tight contest as they head down the stretch).
The
Cubs (2.5 game lead, magic number of 5) still have the Brewers right
behind them and the aforementioned Dodgers (1.5 game lead, magic number
of 6) still need to contend with the fading Rockies. Any of those
scenarios could change with a bad week of baseball, so stay tuned.
The
Wild Card chase remains close with the Brewers, Cardinals and Rockies
all within 3.5 games of each other! Milwaukee is in solid shape (magic number
of 4 for a playoff berth and 6 for home field in the Wild Card match
up), but the Cardinals and Rockies could finish in either spot or out of
the playoffs all together. All of this is to say that
handicapping the NL playoff picture is much more problematic as the
final week unfolds.
IF the season ended today, Milwaukee would host St Louis in the Wild Card with the winner going to Chicago for the Divisional Series. Atlanta would host Los Angeles (for now) in the other Divisional Series and the winners would meet in the NLCS. Picking the potential NLCS is much more difficult, but if we rely on the home teams, you would have the Braves and Cubs going at it for a chance to reach the World Series against either Boston or Houston, most likely.
BUT, as I said in a different article over the weekend, don't look past the Dodgers and Astros! We could easily have a repeat of the 2017 World Series before all is said and done.
IF the season ended today, Milwaukee would host St Louis in the Wild Card with the winner going to Chicago for the Divisional Series. Atlanta would host Los Angeles (for now) in the other Divisional Series and the winners would meet in the NLCS. Picking the potential NLCS is much more difficult, but if we rely on the home teams, you would have the Braves and Cubs going at it for a chance to reach the World Series against either Boston or Houston, most likely.
BUT, as I said in a different article over the weekend, don't look past the Dodgers and Astros! We could easily have a repeat of the 2017 World Series before all is said and done.
4 comments:
I too like the LAD
I would not mind the Yanks playing at home, losing in the one game, and having depressed fans leave the stadium wondering if they should switch their allegiance to the rising Mets!
In a way I want the Yankees to win so they might be less inclined to spend big in the off season.
The Yankees SHOULD have invested more into their pitching staff, IMO. Adding Stanton was nice and it makes their lineup pretty scary, but in a short series they can be neutralized a bit.
Imagine a Jake Arrieta or someone similar on that staff instead??
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