1. All in: In the National League only one team has clinched a playoff berth. But in the AL, all four playoff teams are already in. They are the Yankees, Tigers, Twins, and after last night, the A’s. Oakland won 12-3 against Seattle to finally clinch the AL West after four days of trying. Rich Harden pitched well and improved to 4-0 this year. Harden, who has been injured most of the year, will certainly help the A’s in the playoffs. So the A’s, at 91-66, are in. That means that the Angels are outta here. Anaheim/LA had made a remarkable comeback after starting off the year in last place. They were just unable to hold off the superior A’s.
2. They just can’t win: The Cardinals have looked absolutely horrendous this past week. While all they’ve needed to do is just cruise and win half their games to make the playoffs, the Cards have lost 7 in a row. Yesterday was seemingly a good situation for a St. Louis victory, with Cy Young candidate Chris Carpenter on the mound. But Carpenter blew a three-run lead in the seventh in what was his worst outing of the month. The opposing Padres took advantage by winning 7-5 and keeping their two-game lead in the NL West. If the Cardinals can’t win, the Astros will be more than happy to take their division title. Houston has won seven in a row.
3. Chase for the title: The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers are both in the playoffs already. But they both are continuing to win in the quest for the AL Central title. Each team has won 4 games in a row, including yesterday. The Tigers handled the Blue Jays by a count of 4-3, with Jeremy Bonderman earning his 14th victory. Detroit stands at 95-62. Meanwhile, the Twins edged the Royals 3-2. Johan Santana went eight innings to advance to 19-6. He maintains the lead in each Pitching Triple Crown category, and currently would be leading the National League as well. The Twins are just one game back at 94-63.
4. Great player, extraordinary season: David Ortiz is having one of the best unaided seasons of our era. Ortiz, despite the Red Sox’s elimination from playoff contention, is still mashing the ball. He has 5 homers in the past week alone, and 54 on the season. He leads the AL in homers and RBIs, with 137. He manages to get on-base at a .407 clip despite the infamous “Ortiz shift” by the opposing team. Just so you know, he’s recorded the 18th-most homers of any player ever in a single-season, though taking out the clear roiders he’s in the top 10. Will this be enough for an MVP? Somehow, probably not.
