[tdotter]

Alex Rodriguez is done

And so are the Yankees.They're not making the playoffs this year unless Boston or TB really fall off.

[pedonbio]

Alex Rodriguez is done

Imho he was done when he left Seattle.

[rtpoe]

On a more positive note...

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the best record in baseball.

Even if they lose tonight (they are getting clobbered by the Cardinals at the moment)....
The Pittsburgh Pirates will still have the best record in baseball.

They need win only 17 of their remaining 54 games (a .315 winning percentage) to finish the season with their first winning record in something like 20 years.

I also note that the Detroit Tigers have won 9 of their last 10 (the city really needs something to cheer)... which is a good thing, since the Indians have won 8 in a row and the Royals (!) have won 9 in a row (!!!)

[pedonbio]

Hey, the Mariners did it again! Leading 7-1 going into the 6th, they lost 8-7! It takes a really special skill!

[rtpoe]

Now that we are heading into the home stretch...

AL EAST: Definitely a three team race, and one of them is NOT the Yankees. The way they've been playing lately, they will be lucky to finish with a winning record. Keep your eyes on the Orioles - over the rest of the season, they play the Red Sox 9 times and the Rays 7... One other thing to watch: if you count his time in Japan, Ichiro Suzuki should collect his 4,000 career base hit by the end of August.

AL CENTRAL: The Royals and Indians both had the misfortune of getting hot at the same time as the Tigers, but they are still close enough and talented enough to make it interesting. Kansas City has a chance (small, but still there!) to make the playoffs for the first time since 1985. The players to watch are Max Scherzer who is a lock for the AL Cy Young award and has a chance at 20 wins and Miguel Cabrera who is following up his Triple Crown / MVP season by being even better!

AL WEST: Oakland and Texas face off six times over the rest of the season, but Texas has the easier job in the rest of the schedule (10 games against the Astros, for one).

NL EAST: The Braves have pretty much wrapped it up, in large part because there's no serious competition in the division - no one else even has a winning record! The Mets have been the best of the rest lately; they have a chance to actually come in second, ahead of the disorganized Nationals and aging Phillies. Can you imagine the consternation of Yankee fans if the Mets finish with a better record than the team from the Bronx?

NL CENTRAL: GO PIRATES! They face the Cardinals nine times over the rest of the season; things are going to get exciting! Especially with the Reds lurking on the edge, hoping those teams will beat each other up and let them sneak in...

NL WEST: The one question here is whether or not the Dodger's Clayton Kershaw can win both the Cy Young Award *and* MVP. His only challenger for the former is the Mets' Matt Harvey, and the word is that Harvey is going to get fewer starts over the rest of the season as the Mets try to protect their ace. For the MVP, the race is going to be a tight one. The success of the Pirates gives Andrew McCutchen a leg up.

[rtpoe]

And the days dwindle down....to a precious few....

In the NL, it looks like all the playoff spots are locked up. The Dodgers and Braves have unassailable leads in their divisions, while in the Central the three teams in the mix (Cardinals, Pirates, Reds) are all pretty much guaranteed at least one of the wild card spots. The Nationals are hot right now, but that's only by virtue of having played the punchless Mets. Don't expect them to keep it up.

It's more interesting in the AL. Boston and Detroit have just about nailed down their divisions, while Oakland and Texas are still fighting it out in the West. The real fun is in the race for the wild cards. Six teams are in contention for the two spots!

Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer look like the Cy Young Award winners; Andrew McCutchen and Miguel Cabrera are most likely to get the MVP Awards. Rookies of the Year? How about Jose Fernandez of the Marlins (giving that team something to be excited about) and Wil Myers of the Tampa Bay Rays (just across the state!) leading a crowded field. For Managers of the Year, the Pirates' Clint Hurdle is a good choice, and in the AL - how about Joe Girardi for keeping the collection of has-beens, never-weres, and walking wounded known as the New York Yankees in contention this deep into the season?

No further predictions until all the playoff spots are set. Watch this space - plenty of exciting baseball yet to come!

[pedonbio]

Watch this space - plenty of exciting baseball yet to come!

   I love it! Yes, exciting to watch the Astros sweep the Mariners!

The Mariners are not Stooges. There were only three of them...

[Peter]

Rtpoe, I agree that Joe Girardi of the Yankees should be the manager of the year and the race for the AL wildcard spots is the wildest free for all that I've ever seen.

[tdotter]

I don't see how Tampa does not end up with one of the wild cards and then play a do or die game at home in front of their usual 10,000 fans.
I'd like to see Kansas City or Cleveland get in there.The Yankees,Oakland or Texas can sit and watch the playoffs for a change.
The Yankees get in and you can smell the 4 hour long 9 inning games along with them.

[rtpoe]

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have just clinched their division titles.

Keep your eyes on the NL Central, where Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are fighting for both the division title and the wild card spots - they face each other six times in their next nine games...

[rtpoe]

Congrats to the Boston Red Sox, for going "worst to first" in the AL East!

And a tip of the hat to Max "Bullshit on pitchers' wins being a meaningless stat" Scherzer on his 20th win for the Detroit Tigers this year.

[tdotter]

I had an argument with a friend who said pitcher wins was overrated.I could see his point that just because a pitcher wins 20 games does not mean they pitched great if they have a high era and get lots of run support.There are many examples of guys who win 20 games in a season and never come close to that number in any other season.
I told him to go to the hall of fame and look at any pitchers plaque.I bet at least 90% of any pitcher's career stats that is listed at the hall of fame will begin with career wins.

[rtpoe]

My opinion is that if you tweak the "pitcher's wins" stat however you want to, you most likely won't change things by more than two wins per season. Not enough to keep a star pitcher from being a star pitcher.

And wins, however you assign them, are important. If not, why don't we assign positions in the standings according to some "new age" stat like team WAR?

[rtpoe]

While everyone was worshiping at the altar of Mariano Rivera, another great player quietly decided to hang up the spikes.

Todd Helton, who played first base for the Colorado Rockies for the entirety of his 17-year career, retired at the end of the season. He took out a full-page ad in the Denver Post to thank the fans. I can't show it, since it's a full color photo of him with his kids, but I can give you the text:

Dear Fans,
I want to thank you. For every ticket you bought, every cheer you led, every rain delay you weathered, every sign you held, every rally cap you sported.

Thank you for welcoming me out of the shadow of the "Big Cat" and inspiring me to give every pitch, every pick, all I had. You inspired me to try harder, play through pain and weather the dry spells.

Today I give you the curtain call. I offer my sincerest gratitude for your support over these 17 years.

Todd Helton
Colorado Rockies, 1997-2013

His career numbers? How about a "slash line" of .316/.414/.539 (batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage), .953 OPS (20th in MLB history), 133 OPS+, 2,519 hits, 592 doubles (16th most ever), 369 homers, 1,406 RBI, 1,401 runs, six All-Star Games, three Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. He finished in the top 10 of MVP voting three times and was the 1998 runner up in NL Rookie of the Year voting to Kerry Wood. He is the Rockies career leader in WAR, games, at-bats, plate appearances, runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases, walks, extra-base hits, times on base, sac flies, intentional walks........

To compare him to Mariano Rivera - Helton's career Wins Above Replacement total is 61 (3.6 per season). Rivera totals 56 (2.9 per season). During his peak (2000 - 2004), Helton averaged a 7.5 WAR. Rivera's best WAR was 5.0 in 1996, when he was the set-up man for John Wettland.

(WAR numbers from Baseball Reference.com)

Rivera is being hailed as a "first ballot" Hall of Famer. Todd Helton gets a "I don't think so...."

Oh well.

In the meantime, here's a flow chart to help you decide which team to root for in the playoffs.

[tdotter]

My predictions for the ALCS and NLCS.
Detroit over Boston in 6
LA over St.Louis in 7