1. The Most Dangerous Team: Going into the playoffs, the scariest team in the American League isn’t even a division leader. It is the Wild Card-leading Minnesota Twins, who have been rolling since the All Star break. Even with only one great starter in Johan Santana, their pitching staff has found a way to get the job done. Yesterday, Boof Bonser won his third straight decision to lead the Twins to an 8-2 victory over the Red Sox. Torri Hunter continues to be a man on a mission and has hit 5 homers and 15 RBIs in his last 10 games. Despite David Ortiz’s 50th homer of the year, the Red Sox lost again and are virtually out of the playoff hunt. The 90-61 Twins, meanwhile, will win the Wild Card barring a total collapse. Watch out for this team in the postseason.
2. The Last Battle: The Detroit-Chicago season series has finally come to a close. Chicago beat them 12 out of 19 times, but take out the first five games between these teams and they each won 7. The Tigers got the last laugh, as they won the final series 2-1. They beat the White Sox 6-2 yesterday behind a strong outing from starter Jeremy Bonderman. Bonderman, who had been inconsistent recently and lost 4 of his last 5 decisions, pitched six innings, allowed two runs, and got just enough run support to get the job done. Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez each homered for the Tigers, who got 12 hits and 5 runs off the White Sox’s best starter, Jon Garland. The ChiSox are 5.5 games out of the Wild Card with 10 games left to play, meaning they have virtually no chance. The Tigers are just holding off the Twins by a half game.
3. Tying it up: The Phillies had been looking for the Wild Card lead for a while, and now they’ve finally found it. The Phils tied the Dodgers and Padres, who each share the WC lead at this point. Philly beat the Cubs yesterday 6-2 behind an outstanding pitching performance by Brett Myers. Myers went for a complete game, allowing 2 runs and striking out 12 in the process. He got homeruns from Chas Utley and Pat Burrell, which was enough for the Phils to win. But can they hold onto the Wild Card? Probably; the team plays Florida six times, Washington three times, and Houston once the rest of the season. If they take seven of those games, the Phillies will make the postseason.
4. Falling in: Would you celebrate in this circumstance? The Yankees lost 3-2 to the Blue Jays yesterday, but they clinched the AL East division title via a Red Sox loss. While it’s hard to celebrate after a loss, this would be the best time to do so. This is the team’s ninth straight year winning the division, and they certainly deserve it. Despite the losses of Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui in addition to a somewhat mediocre pitching staff, this team is as good as any. The Yanks are 92-60 and should be a force come the playoffs. If only people would just shut up and realize that A-Rod is a damn good player. He has more RBIs than any other thirdbaseman in the game. With 34 homers, 116 driven in, and 14 steals, A-Rod is still one of the best all-round threats in baseball. The media should just let him play like everybody else.
5. Wait till next year: The Braves are officially done this year. But what will the team look like in 2007? Their bullpen at least will have a closer. That’s because Bob Wickman just re-signed with the team through next season. This means they probably won’t be amongst the league leaders in blown saves anymore. Wickman has saved 15 games in 16 chances for the Braves this year and has a 1.19 ERA since joining the team. The team’s biggest problem will be a former strength: starting pitching. They have no one reliable outside of John Smoltz, and he is getting older. There’s one thing for sure though: the team will not be as bad as this year’s mediocre 74-78 club.
