Wildcard Weekend

There is something to be said about September baseball. In what’s referred to typically as a sad time of the year, as the true summertime sadness kicks in, as we wave goodbye to the warms days, and begin to embrace the cold, the kids go to school, and we can count the amount of home baseball games on our fingers. But sometimes it’s all made up for with how entertaining September baseball is as it leads into the playoffs. This year is certainly no exception.

September baseball is already a great time, with excitement happening all around the league as teams make those finals pushes to make the post season. It’s even more enthralling when we’re blessed with exciting division and wild card races, that should keep us on the edges of our seats right until the final out of the season. Something that has been happening more and more frequently over the last couple seasons, and nobodies complaining, unless you’ve been a part of one of the September meltdowns.

The addition of the second wild card team has really spruced up the hunt for October, and put some stress on the importance of winning the division to avoid a play in game. Now with that much more to play for, September baseball has new stakes.

This weekend baseball fans got a taste of the action we should expect to see over the final two weeks of the season. With multiple series that had as direct of impact as possible on divisional and wild cards races. Some teams gained ground, others stood fast, and some lost the ever so important inches of life. There is not a single playoff spot locked up yet, and overall 16 teams still play with serious stakes on the line.

AL East
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The AL East seemed wide open just about a month ago, when the Rays excellent pitching had them hot on the Sox’s trail. As they have all season, the Sox staved that off, and have held on, and now built an almost untouchable division lead. You can’t call it done until it’s done, as the Red Sox are all too familiar with this. Painting the World Series logo on the field before clinching in 2003, and the September meltdown of 2011. However the magic number of clinching the division is well within reach, and with four wins they can secure themselves their second division title since 1995.

The Boston pitching rotation is locked down as of right now, and the bats are extremely hot too, so it’s gonna take a great run here in the next two weeks to top Red Sox this year. At this point, the biggest question coming from the east, is can the Red Sox do enough to secure the top seed in the playoffs? The beards are looking great and they’re currently one of the hottest teams in the league.

AL Central
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The AL Central has felt very tight all year. The heavy favorites Detroit Tigers have had the Cleveland Indians in their rear view for a large majority of the season, and during a stretch earlier in the year, were even playing leap frog for the lead. The Tigers seemingly have the advantage of both pitching and batting, and with their remaining schedule, it’s their lead to lose.

The Indians have been clawing back winning 7 of their last 10, and four in a row now, but have to be nearly perfect to catch the Tigers. They’ve got a tough series against the Royals in KC starting later today. Both teams are fighting for the wildcard and the series could determine the outcome of the year for either team. After that it’s Houston, Chicago White Sox, and Minnesota for the Indians.

Kansas City proved this last week and a half that they’ve got heart and the talent to threaten the wild card right down until it’s all done. Currently eight games out in the division, the Royals sit a mere three and a half games back from the wild card. If they can continue to get good starts from guys like Guthrie, Santana, and Shields, they’ve got the offensive talent. They do have the hardest schedule, having to take on Cleveland, and Texas, but with those series, have the chance to close ground on the wild card.

The Tigers are in a good spot to hold onto the division, but don’t rule anything out. Teams love being playoffs busters, and it puts a big target on the Tigers, as they face teams they could easily overlook.

AL West
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The AL West was much closer at the start of the weekend, but the red hot A’s put some serious ground behind them in terms of the division title. With a three game sweep in Arlington, the A’s sit a pretty 6.5 games ahead. They’re 8-2 in their last 10, and everything is coming together for this team at the right moment. In September alone the A’s went 5-1 against Texas, and have really shown they aren’t ready to hand over the division lead. The pitching staff is looking solid, and the bats haven’t been questioned all year, it’s very Safe to say Oakland is going to take the division. They’ve got six games against the Angels who they’re 9-4 against, and then just Minnesota and Seattle to secure their season. They and the Red Sox are the teams to fear heading into the playoffs.

Right now the Rangers should be focusing on playing defense. They’ve got a tough schedule remaining, sitting atop the wild card standings, they’re good candidates to lose it all. The team has not functioned as well as hoped, and are slumping at the worst time possible, going 1-9 in their last 10, and 2-11 in September. They’ve got fellow wild card teams Tampa and Kansas City on the road before concluding with seven straight games at home against Houston and the Angels. In a year where things didn’t go their way, it’d at least be some satisfaction to keep the Rangers out of the playoffs for LA, so watch out for that.

NL East
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The Braves have the second biggest division lead, and have sat atop of the division without a challenge all season long. Washington is making a push at last, but it might be a case of too little, too late. With a 10 game difference left, it’d have to be an utter meltdown for the Braves, although like the Red Sox they’ve suffered such disasters in recent years. It’s not time to quit for the Braves yet, as with history nipping at their heels, it’s important to finish strong, but also the Braves have a two game lead for the top seed in the NL. In a year where the playoffs look to be very competitive, every advantage is worth fighting for, and it’d be in their best interest to play the season out full speed to take the top spot.

NL Central
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The NL Central has been the most entertaining division to watch all season long. It’s been a steady three horse race since they broke from the gates, and there is still no clear winner. Currently the Pirates and Cardinals are in a heated deadlock for the top of the division. It remains the tightest race still as well, as all three teams are still in great running to win the division. This division alone takes up the entire wild card discussion as well, as the top three teams have been so good they will all likely be playoff bound.

The Pirates finally snapped their 20 year losing streak, and are fighting hard to take the division and avoid playing yet another division game to decide their October fate. They’ve bolstered up their roster bringing on Justin Morneau, Marlon Byrd, and Joe Buck, and with one of the top pitching staff in the league, should be in a good spot to take the title. They’ve got two tough series against the Reds though, and have to remain nearly perfect, as the Cardinals are pretty much in cruise control from here.

St. Louis gets the joy of at this point sitting back and watching the Reds and Pirates beat up on eachother to decide the division. They’ve got Colorado, Milwaukee, Washington, and the Cubs left on the schedule, and with their high octane AL like offense, should have no problem putting the pressure on Pittsburgh to perform.

Cincinnati is certainly the more underrated team of the final two weeks, but could be biggest factor in how the divisions ends up. Either way they can’t take the two series with Pittsburgh lightly. They could potentially steal the division, but even if they take a couple games from the Pirates, they could do enough to drop them into the wild card giving the the Cards the division. Considering they’ve played much more evenly with the Pirates, their best hope is to play them over the Cards in the one game playoff. If Johnny Cueto can make a quick and successful return back into the rotation, things will quickly be looking up for the Reds.

NL West
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The Dodgers had an amazing turn around in the second half of the year. From a sub .500 team, to serious playoffs contenders, the Dodgers have been on one giant rally since the All Star break.

Their biggest problem in the early part of the season was injuries, and unfortunately for them, they’re starting to quickly pile back up. Matt Kemp was shut down, and Andre Ethier and Hanley Ramirez are dealing with nagging injuries, and it’s showing on the field. They had a less than stellar weekend losing three of four to the Giants, getting outscored 29-11. They’ve established a big enough lead in the division that they should be ok, but the major concern is if the team can be healthy for the playoffs. Nothing would damper the great run they went on to get back into the race than a quick first round exit. And the playoff competition looks to be fierce.

The Diamondbacks aren’t out of chances to win the division, although they’re not far away from being to that point either. With series against the Dodgers, Rockies, Padres, and Nationals, they could certainly shock the world. The biggest factor for them will be the consistency of their pitching rotation. It all has to start with their four game series at home against the Dodgers.

AL Wild Card
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The AL wild card is a hot mess. With some key series coming up ahead, it’s truly anybodies to grab. The slumping Rangers having to face multiple teams looking to steal their spot. It’s going to be a very exciting sprint to the finish.

As said above the Rangers are the most vulnerable team here, already slumping, and with two series against fellow wild card contenders, all their hard work could be going out the window in the final weeks. At just 2-11 in September, the Rangers have to wake up. Yu Darvish has now lost two games this month with a score of 1-0, meaning they’re pitchers are putting in the work, but the bats are nowhere to be found, which is just unacceptable.

The Rays are probably the most likely team to make the wild card. Although they themselves have a tough schedule ahead -with series against Texas, Baltimore, New York, and Toronto- they’ve proven all year that they can beat these teams. Granted the final meeting, and with the playoffs on the line there is much more incentive, they’ve got the pitching staff to make it happen. Their biggest concern is the transition from starter to closer, as Joel Peralta alone has lost three games now in September. It’d be a good time for Price and crew to start throwing complete games again.

Cleveland could really use Justin Masterson back right now as his status remains day to day with not timetable of return, although the team is reporting he could potentially have a bullpen session next weekend, but it could be too late at that point. They’ve only lost three games in September thus far though, and have proven the rest of their pitching staff can step up. Can they do enough to close the deal?

Chris “Crush” Davis and the Orioles have been right in the mix all season, and even though their trade deadline moves (Scott Feldman) haven’t panned out to be too game changing, it has helped create some consistency in their pitching rotation. As has been the case all season, the only thing holding this team back from dominating this wild card race is their lack of pitching. Chris Tillman hasn’t seemed to step up to the pressure, as he’s 1-2 in September having given up 10 runs in three starts. It’s gonna take some bash brothers power from Adam Jones and Crush, but two and a half games is not something they can’t overcome. They have two series against the Red Sox and could yet again cause headaches for them while gaining some serious ground with even a couple of wins. Their biggest series has to be against the Rays in St. Pete starting this weekend.

The New York Yankees have refused to go away despite how badly the odds have been against them all year. With two weeks remaining they sit three games out of the wild card. The Yankees are the Yankees and have that knack for winning the big games, and with their remaining series with Boston out of the way, can now look at the key games that remain ahead. A series in Toronto, home games against San Francisco and Tampa, ending with a gracious series in Houston. The slumping starters have to turn things around for the Bronx bombers, or the effort that guys like Alfonso Soriano instill in a game go to complete waste. Although their biggest problem exists in their bullpen, where they keep calling up help in utter desperation. The margin is small, but it’s a harder road ahead than it appears for the Yankees.

Finally we’ve got the Royals who’s best chance remains in the wild card. They’ve put in great work in September, and if their pitching staff can stay consistently good this is a team that gets it done on the diamond and should not be over looked. With so much going on above them, and key series against the Rangers and Indians, the Royals could potentially steal the spotlight and sneak their way into October. Just three and a half games hold them back.

NL Wild Card
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The NL wild card is exhilarating in it’s own fashion. With so much going on in the NL Central it’s overflowed to take over the entire wild card discussion. We talked much about the complexity of what these last two weeks could mean and the important series that exist that could ultimately determine those final standings, but what we didn’t go into too much detail about is the silently lurking closer Washington Nationals.

As mentioned they’ve made a good push winning eight-of-ten and 11 of 14 in September, but it’s likely all a matter of too little too late. The Nats have a horribly hard schedule ahead, with a series against a Braves team fighting for the top NL seed, a series against a Marlins team that is just pesky currently, a road series in St. Louis where they are battling for a division, and a road series in Arizona, also fighting dearly for a chance to play in October. It’s a damn shame, too, as this team had so much promise heading into the year. If they can prevail these final weeks, then they truly deserve a spot in the postseason. The key, if failure occurs here, is get healthy, as that was one of the biggest issues that plagued this team.

Arizona is another team that could potentially sneak up here at the end. They’re going to be giving it their all and attempting to capitalize on a Dodgers squad that’s just waiting to implode. They’re efforts might not be enough to take the NL West, but it would bring them closer to taking a wild card spot, although there is such much happening above them already, it’d be a serious stretch. Although stretches aren’t impossible.

At this point, there shouldn’t be a better time to watch baseball, as every game has such big implications. If you’re a fan of good baseball, you couldn’t be more excited. Sure the season is almost over, but the sadness gets deferred while the captivating September baseball consumes our lives.

My personal predictions on how the final two weeks go down is, with so many match-ups between wild card teams, both the current wild card leaders Texas and Tampa slip up and give their playoff spots to Baltimore and Cleveland. In the NL, I don’t see the wild card situation changing, but St. Louis taking the NL Central and Pittsburgh and Cincinnati taking the wild card.

How do you think the final two weeks end up? Be sure to let us know. And as always, thanks for the read, and be sure to like us on Facebook.

(Photo 1 source) http://media.star-telegram.com/smedia/2013/09/14/19/15/vEgC6.St.58.jpeg

(Photo 2 source) http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0915/mlb_g_buchholz_gb3_300.jpg

(Photo 3 source) http://www.sikids.com/images/cms/imce/users/dantec/2013/09/pittsburgh-pirates-82-wins.jpg

Author: Tyler Arnold

My name is Tyler Arnold, I am the founder, co-owner, and editor-in-chief of The Runner Sports. Sports have been my life since I was young, so here I am doing the only sensible thing, making a career of it. I love it all, and will watch any and every game I possibly can. Thanks for your readership.

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